Longhorn Hoops Preview: Strengths Remain Despite Augustin’s Departure

For the past three years the Texas basketball team has, for better or worse, been built like the cast of Entourage. Each of those teams featured an emerging superstar surrounded by a group of hard-working role players that were ultimately bound to the performance of the star.

But in the absence of a superstar, this year’s squad will have to embrace a team mentality, relying on chemistry and effort in order to match and exceed the program’s success in recent years. While perhaps not the most marketable squad that coach Rick Barnes has ever fielded, this could be deepest of his tenure at Texas, and can boast several strengths to compensate for the loss of D.J. Augustin.

The popular stats to cite in previewing this team are those that have rolled over from last season. The Horns are returning 73.7 percent of their scoring and 89.7 percent of their rebounding, not to mention four starters, all of which should be encouraging to fans and coaches. But these stats tend to minimize the loss of Augustin, who controlled the ball nearly 70 percent of the time on offense a year ago. Predictably, senior A.J. Abrams will inherent many of the ball-handling duties after pulling out of the NBA Draft specifically to improve his point guard skills.

During his tenure at Texas, Abrams has built a reputation on his ability to move without the ball, operating as a Rip Hamilton-style two guard and relying on others get him the ball in the right place. Consequently his aptitude as a point guard is largely a mystery, but Barnes has spoken highly of Abrams’ abilities as a playmaker.

"Offensively, he’s worked really hard at trying to get guys involved. He’s a really good passer. He sees the floor. We like the ball in his hands because he’s a playmaker,” Barnes told reporters Tuesday.

Competing with Abrams for time at the point will be junior Justin Mason, who returns as the only Longhorn with significant point guard experience. While backing up Augustin, Mason showed significant improvement toward the end of the season as a scorer and distributor.

Despite the major questions offensively, the team is confident that it can build its identity in terms of its defense.

In addition to returning Mason as a defensive specialist on the perimeter, Texas should control the interior against most opponents due to its largely unparalleled collective size. The team is returning six post players who played significant minutes last season, as well as Damion James, who is expected to play on the perimeter, and Matt Hill, who is coming back from a season lost to injury. And for the up-tempo offense Barnes wants to run, maintaining fresh big men is paramount.

“You've got Clint (Chapman), you've got Dex (Dexter Pittman), you've got Matt, you've got Connor (Atchley), you've got Gary Johnson, you've got Alexis (Wangmene); six guys and all of them bring something to you. What we have to get out of those guys is they're going to run, they're going to rebound and they're going to play defense,” Barnes said this preseason. “That's two positions where I think there will be a lot of substitutions. I think we'll be very physical at those two positions.”

Although the squad will be built around a team mentality, a number of players appear poised to emerge on the national scene for the Longhorns. In addition to Abrams and James, who have been named to the Wooden Award preseason list, sophomores Johnson and Dogus Balbay could establish themselves as key members of future Longhorn teams.

Johnson’s freshman season was inhibited by a lingering heart condition, but the highly touted recruit showed flashes of offensive brilliance late in the season. With the benefit of a full offseason and preseason with the team, expectations will be higher for the second year forward.

Balbay could benefit the most from the team’s lack of an established point guard. After spending the summer playing for his native Turkey, Balbay has impressed Barnes as an all-around player and could emerge as the team’s most natural point guard.

Ultimately, the point guard duties will be performed on a by-committee basis, and will likely impose a steep learning curve during the early part of the season. Atchley, who has seen stars come and go during his four-year stay at Texas, is confident the team will find a way to be successful.

“We still have a good core group here and someone is going to step up to help take the role of what D.J. did for us last year. We'll adapt to what we need to do to be a good team,” he told reporters on the team’s media day. “A lot of it has to do with the mentality of the team going into the new season and just making sure that we're trying to be the best we possibly can.”