Toros Quietly Begin Defense of Southwest Division Title

As an Austin sports fan, a lot of things are probably lobbying for your attention right now. Everyone is anxious to see how those rogue Harris Poll voters respond to Texas’ 49-9 beatdown of Texas A&M last night. More astute Longhorn fans likely spent their time off this week watching the men’s basketball team take third in the Maui Invitational. Consequently, the start of the Austin Toros’ season has largely flown under the sporting radar, but as anyone who followed last season’s NBA D-League runners-up already knows, this is an unfortunate oversight.

For an Austin market that has long been deprived of a professional sports franchise, and particularly since the downfall of our beloved Ice Bats, the Toros are a diamond in the amateur rough. Former Toros are now making names for themselves in the NBA (Ramon Sessions is averaging 15 points per game with the Milwaukee Bucks), and several players currently with the team have previously spent time in the NBA (Marcus Williams finished last season with the L.A. Clippers). Overall, 60 former D-League players made NBA rosters this season.

Granted, this flux of players in and out of Austin can dilute the appeal of the team for some fans, but the constant competition among players ensures that no star player is ever mailing it in. There is no garbage time in the D-League.

“Call-ups are a success because that means our guys are developing,” Coach Quin Snyder told me when I asked how he measures team success given this high turnover among players. He added, “And the other part of that is a championship. Part of developing is winning.”

Fortunately the Toros have built a reputation of winning. The team finished 30-20 a year ago, good for first in the Southwest Division, and fell one win short of the D-League championship.

So for those of you who long for more local sporting entertainment than UT has to offer, check out the Toros’ 2008-09 season calendar and head over to the Austin Convention Center.