KANSAS CITY - Immediately following the end of Texas’s hugely disappointing 2016-17 season, Dylan Osetkowski, who sat out last season after transferring from Tulane, met with Shaka Smart, and the two came to a mutual understanding.
“It was probably the first or second day after the end of the season last year that me and coach Smart met and started talking about this year. On a personal level, talking about, ‘this is your year to play, go make it happen this is what you’ve been waiting for.’ On a team and program level, we told ourselves this isn’t going to happen again,” Osetkowski said, referencing last year’s 11-22 season.
Even if it rubs someone the wrong way, the goal remains paramount: Osetkowski is going to do whatever he can to make sure last season doesn’t happen again.
“We’re going to make sure, whatever it is, whether everyone else on the team hates us in the fact that we’re trying to be perfect, and do everything at such a high level. But coach Smart was insistent on me and him being connected about making sure that doesn’t happen again and making sure we have the season we want to have," the redshirt junior said.
And Osetkowski, listed at 6-9, 245 pounds, doesn’t mind mixing it up or speaking up either. He should add an edge – Mohamed Bamba affectionally refers to him as a “bully” - to the Longhorns, and comes from a place unique to the roster. Osetkowski wasn’t a highly-recruited guy out of high school. He’s constantly had to prove himself.
“There is no question. I think the fact that he's someone that was under recruited, has always been a guy with a chip on his shoulder, it's huge for our team,” Smart said about Osetkowkis’s ability to set the tone for the team. “We have some other guys on our team that were very highly recruited and always were, you know, maybe in that position where they were used to a lot of things being done for them. Dylan has been on the other side of that.
When Osetkowski arrived at Smart’s office to discuss the 2017-18 season, he didn't arrive empty-handed.
“He came to me as soon as the season got done he had a bunch of notes he had written down. He wanted to talk about leadership and how he could be a good leader for our team,” stated Smart. “We ended up formalizing our culture, putting it down on paper about a month or two after that, giving it to our whole team. Something that we talk about and meet about on a weekly basis and he's been a really good culture-driver from that regard. So, we're excited to see him get the opportunity to actually play, because it's been a long time for him.”
Texas is too talented for last season, or anything like it, to happen again. Osetkowski, a highly intelligent and skilled four-man, is a big part of that. Many at Big 12 Media Day might have wondered who he was. Soon, they’ll all know.
“I just told him in the back about 5 minutes ago, I said, ‘You know what's really neat? As we walk around here and there are all these other teams and players and coaches, a lot of them know each other. None of them know you,” Texas’s head coach said. “Now they get a chance to… he gets a chance to introduce himself as a basketball player to the rest of the league and everyone else we play.”
Osetkowski is the main cog – Texas coaches and players have described him as an offensive “conductor” or “engine” – in what Texas hopes is a well-oiled machine. He also represents a theme throughout the roster that should help Texas win a lot more basketball games this season: versatility.
“We just have a lot more versatility than we had last year. Last year there was a couple of positions where we didn't have a guy at that spot that that was his true position,” said Smart. “And a lot of people talk about point guard, that was one of them, but the other one was the four spot which is really important in what we do, the way we play. Jarrett Allen did a phenomenal job of improving at that position from where he played around the basket just in high school and he got better and better as the course of the year went on. But for us it is important for us to have at least one big on the floor that can pass, handle, shoot, and is comfortable on the basket. So, we've taken a big step in that area with Dylan and even a couple of our other guys.”
Speaking of a point guard, Texas added one of those two, which makes the guard group at Texas much more dynamic. Like Osetkowski, Matt Coleman’s biggest strength is his ability, and willingness, to make everyone around him better.
“It makes it easier for him because he doesn't want to shoot as his first option. He will shoot. He shot the ball pretty well from outside, but the first thing he wants to do is get other guys involved and it's so powerful to have someone like that,” responded Smart when asked how much Coleman helps the other guards. “Between him and Dylan, those guys can create offense for teammates and for people around them and we just didn't have that last year. I think guys are starting to recognize and learn the value of playing with Matt and that will get even more powerful as he gets his feet under him. Right now, in practice, those other guards they go at him when they're playing against him because he came in as the guy that everyone anointed as our point guard but he's handled it really well.”
Going at people seems to be a developing theme too, which probably wasn’t the case last season. The Longhorns are challenging each other in practice, and during extra gym time too, which is happening at an increased rate. It’s not uncommon now for multiple Texas players to play “King of the Court” after a workout.
“The culture of wanting to play basketball has definitely changed,” said Andrew Jones, who said he returned from the NBA Draft process and eagerly went to the gym to start challenging his teammates, and working on what NBA personnel told him he needed to.
Coleman, like all freshmen, will have his highs and lows. He’s often not going to be a guy that people watch and identify as a star. But his impact will be felt most in the win-loss column because his goals are always going to be to make everyone else better.
“He's not going to play perfectly. He's not going to play mistake free and we don't want his confidence to drop when things do, when challenges do present themselves,” responded Smart when asked how much freedom he’ll give his freshman point guard to play through issues. “I think that's one of the benefits of the fact that we went on a foreign tour. He's already been in some game situations where he's had some success. He's taken some lumps. He's been in some different situations and he's a fast learner. I think he is a guy that has a lot of internal belief.”
For example, Smart said Coleman’s goals for the Texas Tip-off scrimmage were to get Mohamed Bamba 13 shots or more, and to win. That’s it. And he did both.
“We believe he's a really good point guard and he is a guy that can facilitate the game for those around him and make the game easier for those around him,” stated Texas’s head coach. “That belief is not going to change and he's certainly going to have some good games and he will have some games that probably aren't great. But he's a guy that we believe has grown considerably since he got here in June and he's going to continue doing so.”
For the Longhorns’ sake, the shooting needs to change to, and get much, much better. Coleman, Osetkowski, Bamba, Jones, an improved Eric Davis, Jr. and Kerwin Roach, Jr... there are a lot of reasons it should.
“It better be,” responded Smart when asked if this year’s group will be a better shooting team. “You know, that's definitely an area where we need to take a big jump from last year. We shot a lot better in practice, but as you know, carryover to the game is what really matters. I think we have some guys on our team that are better shooters than they shot last year. It's a matter of putting them in position to get high-quality shots as much as possible and then for them to jump up and knock 'em down.
"I do think we will have better passers. There is an old saying in coaching, the passer makes the shooter. I think we will have better guys to hit guys on time and on target with passes to create more high-quality shots. But, yeah, to answer your question, I think we will be a much-improved shooting team. Do I think we will be the best shooting team in the country? Probably not, but I think we will be much improved.”
Is Texas going to be much improved overall? It has the pieces, and it has players determined to do whatever it takes not to relive last year’s nightmare. So, it better be.
“It was probably the first or second day after the end of the season last year that me and coach Smart met and started talking about this year. On a personal level, talking about, ‘this is your year to play, go make it happen this is what you’ve been waiting for.’ On a team and program level, we told ourselves this isn’t going to happen again,” Osetkowski said, referencing last year’s 11-22 season.
Even if it rubs someone the wrong way, the goal remains paramount: Osetkowski is going to do whatever he can to make sure last season doesn’t happen again.
“We’re going to make sure, whatever it is, whether everyone else on the team hates us in the fact that we’re trying to be perfect, and do everything at such a high level. But coach Smart was insistent on me and him being connected about making sure that doesn’t happen again and making sure we have the season we want to have," the redshirt junior said.
And Osetkowski, listed at 6-9, 245 pounds, doesn’t mind mixing it up or speaking up either. He should add an edge – Mohamed Bamba affectionally refers to him as a “bully” - to the Longhorns, and comes from a place unique to the roster. Osetkowski wasn’t a highly-recruited guy out of high school. He’s constantly had to prove himself.
“There is no question. I think the fact that he's someone that was under recruited, has always been a guy with a chip on his shoulder, it's huge for our team,” Smart said about Osetkowkis’s ability to set the tone for the team. “We have some other guys on our team that were very highly recruited and always were, you know, maybe in that position where they were used to a lot of things being done for them. Dylan has been on the other side of that.
When Osetkowski arrived at Smart’s office to discuss the 2017-18 season, he didn't arrive empty-handed.
“He came to me as soon as the season got done he had a bunch of notes he had written down. He wanted to talk about leadership and how he could be a good leader for our team,” stated Smart. “We ended up formalizing our culture, putting it down on paper about a month or two after that, giving it to our whole team. Something that we talk about and meet about on a weekly basis and he's been a really good culture-driver from that regard. So, we're excited to see him get the opportunity to actually play, because it's been a long time for him.”
Texas is too talented for last season, or anything like it, to happen again. Osetkowski, a highly intelligent and skilled four-man, is a big part of that. Many at Big 12 Media Day might have wondered who he was. Soon, they’ll all know.
“I just told him in the back about 5 minutes ago, I said, ‘You know what's really neat? As we walk around here and there are all these other teams and players and coaches, a lot of them know each other. None of them know you,” Texas’s head coach said. “Now they get a chance to… he gets a chance to introduce himself as a basketball player to the rest of the league and everyone else we play.”
Osetkowski is the main cog – Texas coaches and players have described him as an offensive “conductor” or “engine” – in what Texas hopes is a well-oiled machine. He also represents a theme throughout the roster that should help Texas win a lot more basketball games this season: versatility.
“We just have a lot more versatility than we had last year. Last year there was a couple of positions where we didn't have a guy at that spot that that was his true position,” said Smart. “And a lot of people talk about point guard, that was one of them, but the other one was the four spot which is really important in what we do, the way we play. Jarrett Allen did a phenomenal job of improving at that position from where he played around the basket just in high school and he got better and better as the course of the year went on. But for us it is important for us to have at least one big on the floor that can pass, handle, shoot, and is comfortable on the basket. So, we've taken a big step in that area with Dylan and even a couple of our other guys.”
Speaking of a point guard, Texas added one of those two, which makes the guard group at Texas much more dynamic. Like Osetkowski, Matt Coleman’s biggest strength is his ability, and willingness, to make everyone around him better.
“It makes it easier for him because he doesn't want to shoot as his first option. He will shoot. He shot the ball pretty well from outside, but the first thing he wants to do is get other guys involved and it's so powerful to have someone like that,” responded Smart when asked how much Coleman helps the other guards. “Between him and Dylan, those guys can create offense for teammates and for people around them and we just didn't have that last year. I think guys are starting to recognize and learn the value of playing with Matt and that will get even more powerful as he gets his feet under him. Right now, in practice, those other guards they go at him when they're playing against him because he came in as the guy that everyone anointed as our point guard but he's handled it really well.”
Going at people seems to be a developing theme too, which probably wasn’t the case last season. The Longhorns are challenging each other in practice, and during extra gym time too, which is happening at an increased rate. It’s not uncommon now for multiple Texas players to play “King of the Court” after a workout.
“The culture of wanting to play basketball has definitely changed,” said Andrew Jones, who said he returned from the NBA Draft process and eagerly went to the gym to start challenging his teammates, and working on what NBA personnel told him he needed to.
Coleman, like all freshmen, will have his highs and lows. He’s often not going to be a guy that people watch and identify as a star. But his impact will be felt most in the win-loss column because his goals are always going to be to make everyone else better.
“He's not going to play perfectly. He's not going to play mistake free and we don't want his confidence to drop when things do, when challenges do present themselves,” responded Smart when asked how much freedom he’ll give his freshman point guard to play through issues. “I think that's one of the benefits of the fact that we went on a foreign tour. He's already been in some game situations where he's had some success. He's taken some lumps. He's been in some different situations and he's a fast learner. I think he is a guy that has a lot of internal belief.”
For example, Smart said Coleman’s goals for the Texas Tip-off scrimmage were to get Mohamed Bamba 13 shots or more, and to win. That’s it. And he did both.
“We believe he's a really good point guard and he is a guy that can facilitate the game for those around him and make the game easier for those around him,” stated Texas’s head coach. “That belief is not going to change and he's certainly going to have some good games and he will have some games that probably aren't great. But he's a guy that we believe has grown considerably since he got here in June and he's going to continue doing so.”
For the Longhorns’ sake, the shooting needs to change to, and get much, much better. Coleman, Osetkowski, Bamba, Jones, an improved Eric Davis, Jr. and Kerwin Roach, Jr... there are a lot of reasons it should.
“It better be,” responded Smart when asked if this year’s group will be a better shooting team. “You know, that's definitely an area where we need to take a big jump from last year. We shot a lot better in practice, but as you know, carryover to the game is what really matters. I think we have some guys on our team that are better shooters than they shot last year. It's a matter of putting them in position to get high-quality shots as much as possible and then for them to jump up and knock 'em down.
"I do think we will have better passers. There is an old saying in coaching, the passer makes the shooter. I think we will have better guys to hit guys on time and on target with passes to create more high-quality shots. But, yeah, to answer your question, I think we will be a much-improved shooting team. Do I think we will be the best shooting team in the country? Probably not, but I think we will be much improved.”
Is Texas going to be much improved overall? It has the pieces, and it has players determined to do whatever it takes not to relive last year’s nightmare. So, it better be.
