They did - but Alabama at home doesn't really seem that impressive. They've lost at home to Dayton and Valpo already and their 4 wins are all mid-majors. Basically, they are like us. Agree. He'd have been HUGE for this team, and I just don't see an NBA future for him unless he learns to shoot.
UT just landed the number 3 recruit in the Nation - Mohamed Bamba 7 foot Center https://www.theplayerstribune.com/mohamed-bamba-college-announcement/
http://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...change-everything-texas-longhorns-shaka-smart Spoiler Mohamed Bamba could be the player who changes everything for Shaka Smart at Texas. The No. 3 player in the ESPN 100, Bamba would've been a nice piece at Kentucky, a defensive anchor for the rest of the Wildcats' talented freshmen. At Duke, he would've been a quality contrast to Wendell Carter and Marques Bolden. But at Texas, he's at the very least a season-changer and a narrative-changer. He has the potential to be a tenure-changer for Smart. Two months ago, things were going the wrong way in Austin. Texas had just finished an 11-22 campaign, losing its final seven regular-season games. Smart had to suspend leading scorer Tevin Mack multiple times, eventually leading to Mack's asking for his release to transfer in late February. One of the few bright spots of the season, Jarrett Allen, announced he was leaving for the NBA draft and signing with an agent. Freshman Andrew Jones, a former McDonald's All-American, also announced he was testing the waters. The questions started. What would next season look like for Smart? Was Smart's "Havoc" style from VCU sustainable in the Big 12? After all, when Texas won 20 games in Smart's first season at the helm, it was a much slower, more methodical system than what Smart used with the Rams. Could Smart build a program in a power conference? Bamba's announcement Thursday morning, though, sends a message. The top uncommitted player in the country heading into the spring, Bamba is one of the best defensive players to come through high school basketball in several years. He can guard multiple positions, play at the top of a zone or press, and block shots at the rim. He's still somewhat raw offensively, but he can score around the rim and has some touch facing the basket. Make no mistake, though, Bamba is an elite prospect and a potential top pick in the NBA draft. For Texas to beat out two of college basketball's bluebloods, Kentucky and Duke, it gives it a huge boost on the recruiting trail. Smart already had inroads with northern Virginia due to his time at VCU, but Bamba -- a New York native who played his high school ball in Pennsylvania -- could open up the Northeast. In the past two recruiting classes -- Smart's first two full cycles at Texas -- the Longhorns have landed seven ESPN 100 prospects, including two five-star talents and three McDonald's All-Americans. Texas might not consistently have top-five recruiting classes like the powerhouses of the sport, but Smart is still proving himself as a high-level recruiter. He held off Duke for Matt Coleman and now beat Kentucky for Bamba. That's no easy task. Bamba has been a sought-after prospect for a few years, but Smart never backed off even when Duke and Kentucky made their pushes. He solidified his relationship with Bamba on the USA Basketball U18 team last summer, and continued to make trips to Westtown School (Pennsylvania) the past several months to visit Bamba. Landing ESPN 100 point guard Coleman in January helped, as it showed Bamba he would have a pure point guard at Texas. Ironically, the departure of Allen also helped, as it might've been difficult to play Allen and Bamba together. As Kentucky continued to add players to its frontcourt, things started to trend in the Longhorns' direction. So Thursday's decision didn't come as a huge surprise, but it changes the landscape of the college basketball season. Suddenly, Texas can sport one of the better rosters in the Big 12: Bamba and Tulane transfer Dylan Osetkowski in the frontcourt, Coleman and Jones -- who appears to be leaning toward returning to Austin -- in the backcourt and rising juniors Kerwin Roach and Eric Davis as complementary pieces. Smart finally has his type of team in place. He has depth, experience, four ESPN 100 players entering the fold, versatility, a true point guard -- and now a centerpiece in Bamba. It's now fair to judge Smart at Texas. His first season, it was leftovers from the Rick Barnes era. His second season was a transition period despite the influx of talent. It's now his third season, he has his players and he has guys who fit his preferred style. And he has Bamba, the No. 3 player entering college basketball next season. The 2017-18 season is a huge campaign for Smart, especially coming off a down season. But with Bamba in tow, he now has the horses to handle that pressure.
Great pickup. But not sold on this squad or Shaka yet. I guess a tourney bid even with a day 1 exit would be an improvement and step in the right direction. Anything more would obviously be the right direction and make you feel good about he next year. Regarding Bamba... just seems harder for top recruit bigs to stand out as much in college bball today. Hopefully he can anchor a super stout defense and they can win that way.
I liked his intensity on D in the draft combine. He's got good size and athleticism too. Would like it if he'd stay in the draft because then he might fall to one of the Rockets 2nds, but I doubt he does. The latest report was that he was leaning towards withdrawing from the draft.
Didn't see this posted before but Bamba has been cleared by the NCAA. This comes after Bamba's own brother accused him of taking impermissible benefits on a Facebook rant, saying he was going to ruin the kid, and that Bamba didn't help him get into UT graduate school Here's the original story if interested, his brother seems like a real piece of work.
Texas basketball looks solid so far. At the very least, we look better than last year. Not to be cliche, but they actually look like a team, which hasn't been the case in a few years. Assist-to-turnover ratio is way up. That's unsurprising if you just watch them move without the ball.
Went to the game with my pops. We scored tickets just a few rows up at centercourt. Dylan Osetkowski is legit. I don't know that he's an NBA level talent, but he is a certified baller. I look forward to the next two years with the chap.
Texas is playing in the PK80 tournament in Portland, which is extremely stacked and will provide a good early season test. The first game is against Butler on Thanksgiving. They need to win that one to get a shot at Duke on Black Friday. If they beat Duke, the game after that would be against Florida.
Why do centers have to spike the ball out of bounds on blocks. Bamba could have sealed the game if he had kept the ball inbounds on that blocked shot. Instead he spikes it out and Duke gets a 3 pt play
They’re definitely better. But mainly because of better players. Still haven’t seen anything that indicates Shaka is anything other than an average coach. When you’re up so big and the pressure is on... coaching becomes so important. Lots of bad coaching decisions or lack of decisions tonight. But better for sure.
I think that's a bit unfair. Certainly they failed down the stretch - but they also got a 16 pt lead after 30ish minutes. Our players are better than last year, but they aren't better than Duke's, so there was some good coaching to get them that lead too.
Maybe. I’m not attributing the lead or blown lead to coaching as a default. I’m just looking at what I see. Which was pretty meh coaching. It’s particularly troublesome when the announcers are consistently pointing out obvious things.
Tough lost last nite agree with you guys Shaka's teams haven't really scared anyone in the past few years concerning me plus his havoc style hasn't really translated well here...he's a really good recruiter tho...I hope this team continues to do well this season and learn from the tough lost... Bamba is really raw but still is a beast... I was hoping Eric Davis Jr would finally start to show some promise but it dosne't look like it
Fair enough. I think, fundamentally, their problem is that they don't really have any consistent shooters. In critical situations, it creates all sorts of spacing problems on the floor. Seems especially important in college basketball where the zone defenses can just clutter the interior.