This came as a shock to me, but we just got a solid verbal commitment from Tristan Thompson. I had no idea this was in the works but here's the story if you have rivals:

http://texas.rivals.com/barrier_noen...

He's a 6'8" 215 pound SOPHOMORE forward, ranked #5 in his class. He's from New Jersey. Good pickup, Barnes

A lot of people on this board have announced their love for Barnes as of recent. Like any coach he has weaknesses as well, but in my opinion he's addressed them very successfully this season. As noted by AW his gameplans have been great this year, when previously they seemed hit or miss. We're all excited about the Horns chances of winning the outright Big 12 championship this year, and the only other time we did that was in Barnes' first year as head coach, when he coached a seemingly subpar team to the conference championship. Lack of depth resulted in a season ending choke, but I ramble now. Barnes has produced excellent players over the years, some great coming in and some developing in the program. Who would you pick for your 13 scholarship players on Barnes' dream team (taking into account college play, not NBA)? Here's mine:

Continue reading this post »

We've been blessed with two Naismith caliber point guards in the last two years. Both stepped up their sophomore years to be terrific team leaders, something every great team needs. DJ has proved a very good passer and an excellent scorer. TJ was a good scorer, and excellent at breaking down the D and distributing the ball to who needed it. Both are phenomenal at penetrating. To be fair, it'll take the rest of the season to decide the answer to this question, but it'll be fun to ask it anyway.

I'd make the argument that it depends on their supporting cast, because they are different types of players.

PB noted this in a thread, but this is the best a UT basketball team has played since TJ Ford's sophomore year.  Will this year's team go farther?  Well, we have to grow a lot first, and we shouldn't act like wins against UCLA and Tennessee mean we'll definitely get there.  However, no one can argue that this team doesn't have the same caliber of potential as that team.

My two cents, the edge in each important category for final four teams:
Ability to slow down other team's runs: so far, 02-03
Rebounding: 02-03
Depth: 02-03
Scoring: 07-08
Defense: ?
Point Guard: Wash? (I'm happy to say that)
Outside Shooting: 07-08 (barely)
Star Power: 07-08 (AJ qualifies as a second star because defenses have to adjust to play him)
Rebounding: 02-03
Free-throw shooting: 07-08
Athleticism: wash
Clutch time: ?
Hair gel: 02-03

With the recent success of Longhorn bball, everyone has been wondering about Gary Johnson.  It's worthwhile to discuss who he is and how he will contribute to this Longhorn team.

-Freshman phenom from Houston Aldine, listed at 6'7" 240 lbs, played in the Jordan Classic

-In high school he reportedly outplayed Deandre Jordan, averaged 27 points 13 boards his senior year

-He was diagnosed with a heart condition this summer.  At first people thought he would not play, but for some reason that changed.  He was allowed to practice before the season at some point, and is still practicing with the team.  Rumor has it that he will start playing in January.

-According to people who have seen him, he will be our best forward

-Rebounds well, is big and very athletic, has good instincts, moves his feet well for a freshman forward
What he will bring to the team, assuming he plays in January:

-Make no mistake, Gary is not a natural 3, he is a power forward (at least right now)

-If there's one area where we really need help, it's scoring down low.  This he will do in some capacity or another.

I don't know about yall, but I was rooting for Mizzou big time. Baylor has played tough against us both games, the second one without their best player, Aaron Bruce. Any coach will tell you that it's tough to beat any decent team 3 times in a season. In addition to that, they have two big men that foul constantly and recklessly, which improves the possibility of our players being injured. Good luck to Mizzou in the second half.