I wish to air a few thoughts on the state of baseball and basketball at the University of Texas.
Baseball starts today. Thank God. Basketball was depressing me. The Horns open at home with a three game series against the Ragin Cajuns of La La, whose history and name undermines their recent talent and success. They cleaned our clock in Houston late last year. One of the few teams to beat the Horns by more than one run. Hopefully we can get some payback.
I really like David Pierce. The coaching search was a mess, but the Horns got a good one. I loved the changes I saw last year and every time I hear Pierce talk, I like what he says.
Basketball, on the other hand, is just terrible. Yes, there were heartbreaks beyond Shaka Smart's control. But I think the University's allure, coupled with one-and-done has destroyed whatever momentum Penders and early Barnes once built.
Look at who puts talent in the NBA: Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina... Texas. One of those is not like the others. Yet Texas continues to allure the one-and-dones only to do little or nothing with them.
It's what killed Barnes in his later years. Hiring a scrapper like Shaka Smart who could make a little go a long ways seemed like to great idea. Then he came in and started eating the same poison cheese.
Meanwhile, freed from the gravy train of NBA talent, Barnes looks like a good coach once again.
In football you want the best talent. Maybe you do in basketball too but you need a coach who can capitalize on it when he has it. Not just squander it.
