Young Longhorns Off to Slow, yet Promising Start

The Longhorns erased a 17-point deficit and defeated South Alabama 84-77 on Tuesday night, moving to 2-0 on the season.

Junior Jonathan Holmes led Texas with 23 points, including 15 in the second half, and finished one rebound shy of his second career double-double.

Though the Longhorns brought home another double-u, their unblemished record is not enough to pass the eye test. Despite being undefeated in this very young season, Texas’ 12th-straight 2-0 start under head coach Rick Barnes, the Longhorns are off to a shaky start.[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] 

Both wins, which have been at home against mid-major opponents (both teams are a whopping 1-10 combined in NCAA tournament history), required second-half comebacks. While this shows plenty of heart, a word that’s become synonymous with UT athletics in recent weeks, this erratic play will become worrisome once the Longhorns enter conference play. Big 12 foes Kansas, Oklahoma State, and Baylor all reside in the AP Top 25 and boast deep and talented rosters.

Furthermore, the Longhorns rank 118^th or lower in all major statistical categories and are 154^th in field goal percentage. Though we’re working with a very small sample size, this is noteworthy considering the Horns’ less-than-stellar competition.

The good news: these early-season games should be seen as a sharpening stone with which this young team can use to improve their play, work out kinks, and get in a groove. Before the Horns play Vanderbilt Dec. 2, Texas plays four-straight mid-major schools, all at home.

Unfortunately, following their matchup with UT Arlington, the Longhorns face an onslaught of superior competition, featuring a who’s who of college basketball juggernauts. North Carolina, Michigan State and Temple have all manufactured recipes for continued success in the NCAA, and all remain as relevant as ever. North Carolina and Michigan State both entered the season ranked in the AP Top 25, and we will see just how good, or bad, Texas is when they visit Chapel Hill.

As mentioned earlier, this team is very young. In fact, the Longhorns feature a cast of five freshmen, six sophomores, and not a single senior. Though Barnes is not known for running complicated schemes, it still takes time for players to become acclimated with the system and get a feel for the pace of college basketball. Even so, we’ve seen promising play from some of the freshmen. Isaiah Taylor, in particular, has shown a great deal of aggressiveness and an incredible knack for getting to the foul line. The young man is a true pleasure to watch.

This team has some studs, no doubt, and has the potential to make some serious noise once the young players blossom and they get used to being on the court with one another. Despite the early hiccups, the team has shown great potential and winning these first two games should breed confidence. Let’s just hope it’s the winning that becomes a trend.

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