Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (Is this the GOAT UT hoops team?)
- Thread starter Ketchum
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The 1947 team lead by Slater Martin finished 3rd in the NCAA tournament. Slater went on to stardom in the NBA where he played on five NBA championship teams. He is the only Longhorn in the naismath hall of fame. The 1914 team was undefeated and was lead by a man known to all Longhorns: Clyde Littlefield.
What do you think the Cowboys with do in the off season. I hope they land a #2 WR in FA or trade and draft a CB in the first 2 rounds.
Also what is your opinion on the Mavs trade so far?
a. It sounds like they will go out and get a receiver. Probably one past his prime. Best playr available at No.26.
b. I don't know if it's going to work, but they had to make it.
The Rodney Terry question for me is/was never about the outcome of this season. For me, it's about how he does when he is the one responsible for building the team/program. To me, that is the massive question mark. One could argue he won't have to build anything here, just maintain it. We'll see.
How can one possibly argue that? This is a sport that almost hits the rest button every year or every other year.
His disappearance wasn't a HIM issue IMO.
He just had the best tight end season in school history.
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From last month
As Ja'Tavion Sanders enters his junior season in 2023, I wonder if the Texas Longhorns universe fully appreciates what it has in the 6-4, 250-pound Sanders, who absolutely started to deliver on his five-star upside as a sophomore in 2022.
We all know that Georgia freak Brock Bowers is the best tight end in the country and is going to be a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft if he stays healthy. That dude is flat out awesome.
Yet, for all of his awesomeness, he caught only nine more passes and two more touchdowns in 2022 than Sanders, despite playing two more games and playing with a Heisman finalist at quarterback.
Of the players listed on the graphic above, Sanders ranked second in receptions, second in yards (among power conference players) and tied for third in touchdown receptions. Those numbers were accumulated in spite of playing with quarterback play that was all over the place during the season and inside of an offense that didn't exactly feature him as a key element at times.
Basically, what I'm saying is that the Longhorns will enter the 2023 season with the second-best tight end in the country and a player that should compete with Bowers for the John Mackey Award
You'd have to go back 15 years to find a Texas tight end that represented the kind of passing game threat that Sanders brings to the table. Hell, the holy grail of Texas tight end play is 2005 national champion starter David Thomas and Sanders matched Thomas' 2005 season stride for stride in 2022.
It's actually kind of uncanny.
Thomas (2005); 50 receptions for 613 yards and 5 touchdowns
Sanders (2022): 54 receptions for 613 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Since the beginning of the 21st century, here's a look at the five next best tight end seasons in program history.
* 2007 Jermichael Finley: 45 receptions for 575 yards and 2 touchdowns
* 2006 Jermichael Finley: 31 receptions for 372 yards and 3 touchdowns
* 2001 Bo Scaife: 30 receptions for 396 yards and a touchdown
* 2004 Bo Scaife: 26 receptions for 348 yards and 2 touchdowns
* 2018 Andrew Beck: 28 receptions for 281 yards and 2 touchdowns
What the Longhorns have in Sanders shouldn't be taken for granted because once he's gone (possibly after the 2023 season), it might be a while before the Longhorns have another player at the tight end position that will prove to be the kind of match-up nightmare that Sanders brings to the table every time he steps on the field.
One look at the tight end depth chart will show that there's no one remotely like him waiting in the wings to take over and finding elite-level tight end prospects in the state of Texas often resembles trying to find a needle in a haystack.
It's not an accident that Texas has struggled to find tight ends that can catch two passes per game for most of the last 23 seasons of football.
That won't be a concern in 2023 because Texas absolutely has the player it needs.
With better quarterback play and a true commitment to maximize his skill set, Sanders just might produce a season that no Texas tight end in the future will ever replicate.
I would tend to side with you in that argument, but he can carry on the culture set by Beard, staff put in place, and the recruiting class (that he was instrumental in signing).
You are correct though. The reset button gets hit almost annually with respect to the players on the court. Terry (and any other coach) will have his work cut out for him, but he's not starting from scratch.
He's never proven to be good at that part of the job.
Where would you rank terry among Big 12 coaches?
You're right that this is one of the all time great Texas teams, and also right that their ultimate place in history will be determined by how far they go in the tournament.
They certainly aren't the most talented Texas team ever (Not even close. Is there a future 1st round pick anywhere on the roster?), but they might be the deepest team in school history. The Final 4 team only went about 7-8 players deep and the 2006 team went about 6 players deep. This team legitimately goes 9 guys deep. They are the only Texas team ever that could win 3 games in 3 days with one of their most important players missing the whole tournament.
And if we are ranking Texas teams, the 2000, 2004, and 2012 teams all rank easily ahead of Shaka's 2021 team, despite what any regular season AP poll says.
They certainly aren't the most talented Texas team ever (Not even close. Is there a future 1st round pick anywhere on the roster?), but they might be the deepest team in school history. The Final 4 team only went about 7-8 players deep and the 2006 team went about 6 players deep. This team legitimately goes 9 guys deep. They are the only Texas team ever that could win 3 games in 3 days with one of their most important players missing the whole tournament.
And if we are ranking Texas teams, the 2000, 2004, and 2012 teams all rank easily ahead of Shaka's 2021 team, despite what any regular season AP poll says.
So, Tango & Cash, Demolition Man, and Cobra just didn’t happen?
That's fine. Its qualifications for being mentioned were the qualifications.
sad to think what might have been if Beard hadn't melted down.
This MBB team didn't use their situation to let up and no matter what they do in the Tourney (although I think they do a lot) they have to be admired for sticking together.
This MBB team didn't use their situation to let up and no matter what they do in the Tourney (although I think they do a lot) they have to be admired for sticking together.
Originally, I thought that even if Terry wins it all, he wouldn't get the hire for next year. But, what marquee coach is "relatively" available right now? I saw some blurb earlier about some of the elite names you might want to think about having big buyouts right now. Are CDC and the powers that be shrewd/cold enough to hire Terry next year with an extremely short leash to wait on a more reasonably affordable blue-blood type coach? I don't know. I haven't been able to watch the team this year because I've been a jinx. Every game I watched, they lost. I watched part of the last Kansas game of the season and during the few minutes I watched, UT only scored 2 points and had several turnovers, so I turned it off for the good of the team. Of course, they turned on the jets and pounded KU after that.
