Last Night

LaMarcus Aldridge started the season off with a bang, leading all scorers as Portland lost to San Antonio, 106-97. After sinking the very first basket of the NBA’s 2007-08 season, Aldridge finished with 27 points on 12-of-19 shooting. Unfortunately, he often had difficulty getting rebounding position against the talented Tim Duncan, logging only three boards on the night. But on the plus side of the ledger, L.A. looked comfortable in Nate McMillin’s up-tempo offense. He ran the floor remarkably well for a big man, including one great fast-break dunk during a third-quarter comeback.

The Lakers staged a late rally to tie the Houston Rockets in the final seconds, but ultimately lost, 95-93. Maurice Evans and Chris Mihm provided some minutes off the bench, although Mihm did not even see the floor until the third quarter. Evans contributed with two rebounds, two assists, and a steal in his fourteen minutes of play. Meanwhile, Mihm saw most of the minutes at center eaten up by Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum. Chris played eight minutes, scoring three points and pulling down two boards.

Tonight

T.J. Ford and the Raptors kick off the season at home against the 76ers. (6 PM Central)

Royal Ivey plays his first game as a Buck when Milwaukee travels to Orlando. (6 PM Central)

The defending Eastern Conference champions start the season on national TV as Daniel Gibson and the Cavs host last year’s first-round flameout, the Dallas Mavericks. (7 PM Central, ESPN)

The Texas Exes doubleheader continues when Kevin Durant leads the Sonics to Denver in another nationally-televised game. (9:30 PM Central, ESPN)

It’s time for the second installment of the four-part “Meet the freshman” series, and for the second straight day, the Austin-American Statesman provides us with a story about one of the newest Longhorns. But while yesterday’s news regarding Dogus Balbay was troubling, today fans learn that Gary Johnson has been cleared to play in the exhibition.

Johnson was the prize jewel of Rick Barnes’ 2007 recruiting class, sitting in the top 25 of every major reporting outlet’s rankings. An undersized post player at 6-foot, 6-inches, Gary is known for his incredible post moves, constant motor, and sweet touch from the blocks. Sound familiar? It should. Johnson’s game has drawn comparisons to P.J. Tucker for some time, and now that he’s donning burnt orange, journalists and sportscasters will surely rehash that point.

Gary played his high school ball at Aldine in Houston, where the Mustangs reached the Class 5A Region III semifinals in each of the last two seasons. Johnson was also a member of the insanely loaded Houston Hoops AAU team, which included Jai Lucas (Florida), Mike Singletary (Texas Tech), and Anthony Jones (Yates HS, Baylor commit).

Uncertainty surrounded Johnson all summer after it was announced he was suffering from a heart condition. News from the Forty Acres came out in trickles, as the basketball program kept tight lips regarding the situation, citing privacy concerns. First, there were whispers that GJ was taking part in individual workouts. Then, the Statesman announced he was cleared for team practice. With this latest bit of news, there is a very strong chance that Johnson will be ready before non-conference play is over.

Conditioning will likely be an issue for the first few months, as Johnson added weight during the sedentary phase following the initial diagnosis. But this Texas team is in strong need of a presence in the frontcourt, and Johnson — owner of a 7′1″ wingspan — is the leading candidate. Once he gets up to full speed, he’ll likely lead the team in rebounds and will be one of the top scorers.

Perhaps most important for fans to remember in all of this is that Texas will exercise extreme caution. Johnson is going to be re-evaluated after Friday’s game to see how his body handles the added stress of game conditions. Even if he’s then cleared for the regular season, doctors and coaches will still take things slowly. But when Gary and the medical staff think it’s safe enough for him to take the court full-time, he is guaranteed to immediately and dramatically improve the team.

The new NBA season tips off tonight, and while there are only three games on the slate, burnt orange will still be invading the airwaves.

LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trailblazers travel to San Antonio to check out a ring ceremony and try to dethrone the champs. (7 PM Central, TNT)

Chris Mihm and Maurice Evans continue the long road back from injury as the Lakers host Rick Adelman’s Rockets. (9:30 PM Central, TNT)

With the season less than two weeks away, we’re rolling out a four-part feature here at LRT to introduce the fans to the newest faces on the Texas roster. First up is Dogus Balbay, the young Turkish point guard expected to spell D.J. Augustin. Unfortunately, that plan took a big hit when Texas announced today that Balbay is undergoing surgery on Tuesday and will be out indefinitely. Initial reports had indicated the point guard was only visiting doctors tomorrow for further evaluation of the knee that he injured in early October. At this point, it is unknown if he will be available at any point this season. At 6-foot, 1-inch, Balbay would have added a little bit of height to very small backcourt. His European style of play also provided a reputation as a solid perimeter defender, which was a significant weakness for the Longhorns in many of their losses last season.

Scouts note that his rebounding skills are remarkably strong for a six-footer, and are high on his ability to break down defenses off the dribble. With D.J. Augustin also constantly attacking the defense, the similar style of play ensures that there won’t be a drop-off when Balbay spells the starter. The similarities between Dogus and D.J. don’t end there, as reports constantly mention Balbay’s athleticism and ability to hang in the air, drawing fouls and executing late passes under the rim.

After spending two years with Turkish club Fenerbahce Istanbul, Balbay moved to New Hampshire to study and play basketball at Brewster Academy. Big 12 fans will recognize Colorado guard Xavier Silas as another graduate of the Academy, while recruiting aficionados may also be aware of Brewster big man Emmanuel Negedu in the 2008 class.

This summer, Balbay rejoined his Turkish national team at the UMCOR U18 European Championships, where they finished second in group B and ultimately placed eighth. While the team relied heavily on Dogus as a scoring threat in the tournament, most notable amongst his numbers were the three steals he averaged per game. He also played for the U19 team in the World Championships a month later, where Turkey finished seventh.

At the end of last season, it became increasingly apparent that D.J. Augustin could not withstand the constant abuse of 38 to 40 minutes per game. And in the games where Augustin was forced to the bench with foul trouble, the Longhorn offense often screeched to a halt. The signing of Balbay seemed the perfect remedy for this lack of depth, but this latest bit of injury news quickly dampens that excitement. Only time will tell how long the frosh remains unavailable, but he is clearly going to be an impact player when he does finally see the court at the Frank Erwin Center.

The NBA season tips off on Tuesday night with LaMarcus and the Trailblazers heading to San Antonio to take on the defending champs. But before EJ and Kenny start making fun of Barkley for his inability to win the big one, let’s take one last look at how the former Horns did in the exhibition season…

Royal Ivey’s summer play earned him a spot with the Milwaukee Bucks, although it looks like he’ll typically be coming off the bench to give Charlie Bell a breather. Royal with Cheese played in all eight preseason contests, averaging six points in his 20 minutes per game. His assist-to-TO ratio was a little troublesome for a guard, sitting at 1-to-1.54, but the defensive-minded Ivey did log seven steals.

T.J. Ford started every game for the Toronto Raptors, but averaged only three more minutes per game than his evil time-stealing teammate, Jose Calderon. When he was on the floor, Ford logged 9.4 points and 7.6 assists per game. If those numbers are extrapolated to just 36 MPG, T.J. would be averaging a double-double. While these numbers were put up in the preseason, it might be an early sign that Ford is on the verge of a breakout season.

 

Chris Mihm is back on the floor for the L.A. Lakers after missing an entire season due to ankle problems. Mihm has seen limited minutes in the preseason as he looks to improve his conditioning. The Westlake product started only three of his seven preseason games and played only a quarter of each game, but still managed to put in 5.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG. Look for Mihm’s role in L.A. — and his numbers — to increase as his stamina improves throughout the year.

Mihm’s Laker teammate Maurice Evans is also bouncing back from an injury, as he was hobbled down the stretch in 2007 by knee problems. Mo once again ran into injury problems this October, missing two of the Lakers’ preseason games with hamstring troubles. While Evans did not start in the other five games, he did still log an average of 18 MPG. He is expected to be ready for the first game on Tuesday night against the Rockets, and will be looked to for some critical minutes off of the bench.

LaMarcus Aldridge missed one game about a week ago to do an injury on his right pinky toe, but came back with a vengeance in the preseason finale. The Marcus finished his six exhibitions with a 19.5 scoring average in only 27.3 minutes per game. With Greg Oden out for the season, Aldridge will be relied on even more as a defensive presence in the paint for Portland this year.

Daniel Gibson and the Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers spent some time in the far east this preseason, taking part in exhibitions in China. D-Gib strained his hamstring and only saw the floor for four preseason contests, but played a team-high 29 minutes in those games. He also continued to impress behind the arc, hitting at a 45.5% clip from three-point range. After missing the last two preseason games, it remains to be seen if Boobie will be ready for the season opener against the Mavs.

Kevin Durant is already being leaned on heavily in Seattle, as the rookie led the team in both MPG (29.8) and PPG (18.8) this preseason. The man with the freakishly-long wingspan swiped the ball ten times in his six appearances, but logged only 4.3 rebounds per game as the Sonics toyed with using him at the 2-guard position. K-Smoove was forced to miss an exhibition with an ankle sprain, but is expected to be ready for his regular season NBA debut on Wednesday against the Nuggets in Denver.

Just in case you missed it during this week’s “Horns in the League” update, here’s one more very important reminder — Kevin Durant will be on national TV tonight. And when his Sonics hit the court at 9 P.M. Central, they will be taking on the L.A. Lakers and fellow Texas-exes Maurice Evans and Chris Mihm. The game is being broadcast live on TNT, which is awesome enough to be bringing us this one in HD.

While I’ll likely be glued to the Sox game — hopefully not the last one of the season — and will miss most of the first half, that’s why Vince Young invented DVR boxes. Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts here after seeing Durant’s domination. With any luck, he’ll have Kobe in tears by halftime.

Apparently last weekend’s Midnight 7 P.M. Madness celebration at Michigan State took a page from the frat and sorority playbook. You know what that means……theme party!!! But instead of “Golf Pros and Tennis Hoes” or the racially-insensitive party of the month, the Spartans’ theme kind of made sense. Building upon the wild success of 300, Izzo and Co. were dressed as…well, Spartans. With wireless microphones.

Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo (AP Photo; Al Goldis)

This is one photo that’s simply too funny to go by unnoticed. And with Michigan State on the Horns’ schedule yet again this year, you can be sure it’ll be a recurring joke, possibly to the point that it loses all comedic value. Just call this website “The Soup,” and that picture “Creepy video of demonic kid licking a pickle.”

What? You don’t get the obscure reference? We can fix that.

While Horns in the League will be a daily feature during the NBA’s regular season, the simple fact of the matter is that the preseason doesn’t matter. In a league where the playoffs are nearly as long as the interminable regular season, a few extra weeks of exhibitions seems a little excessive. But, hey. It means basketball starts a month earlier, and we certainly can’t complain about that. So between now and October 30th, HitL will only be updated on a weekly basis.

Last week

T.J. Ford took Europe by storm, averaging 25.3 minutes in the Raptors’ three exhibitions overseas. His highest scoring output came on Thursday, when he dropped 18 on Real Madrid. He also dished out eight assists in his 27 minutes of play that night, although Toronto fell short, 104-103. His 13.7 PPG average over the first three preseason games puts T.J. behind only Chris Bosh and big man Andrea Bargnani on the squad. Take that, Jose Calderon!

Royal Ivey has played in all three games with his new squad, the Milwaukee Bucks. He’s averaging 20 minutes per contest, which is a good sign as he fights for a spot on the 12-man roster. He is shooting a team-best 58.3% so far this preseason, and is also tied for the team lead with one steal per game.

Daniel Gibson leads the Eastern Conference Champion Cavaliers with his 27 MPG this preseason, and trails only LeBron with his three assists per game. D-Gib is scoring 9.7 points per contest during the exhibition games, but is only hitting his threes at a 40% clip, noticeably lower than the 99.9999999999999% he was shooting in last year’s playoffs.

LaMarcus Aldridge seems to be fully recuperated following his heart problems at the end of last season. He is playing 25 minutes per game so far for the Trailblazers, and his 15.5 PPG is second only to youngster Martell Webster, who is having an absolute breakout preseason in his third year. L.A. is also averaging seven boards per game so far, but has yet to record a block.

Kevin Durant has picked up where he left off at Texas, once again emerging as the star of a young team. K-Smoove’s Sonics are only 1-2 in preseason play, but he is averaging 16 PPG along with five rebounds. He is playing 27 minutes per game for Seattle so far, but will be counted on for many more minutes once the regular season kicks off.

The offseason was good for Maurice Evans, who struggled down the stretch in 2006-07 with injuries. He joined the Lakers on their recent Hawaiian exhibition tour, appearing off the bench in all five contests. Mo is only logging 16.4 MPG for the Lakers, but that is good enough for second among their reserves, while his five points per game leads all bench players.

Tuesday
Royal Ivey and the Bucks host Denver at 7 PM Central.

Wednesday
Orlando takes on Boobie Gibson and the Cavs live from China at 7 A.M. Central on ESPN2.

T.J. Ford and the Raptors host Zalgiris Kaunas, defending champions of the Lithuanian League, at 6 P.M. Central.

Thursday
Kevin Durant and Maurice Evans could potentially play head-to-head on national TV, making Aggie heads explode. Sonics at Lakers, 9 P.M. Central on TNT.

Friday
Da Bulls head north of the border to experience the domination of T.J. Ford first-hand. Tipoff in Toronto is at 6 P.M. Central, and the game will be televised locally by Comcast SportsNet in Chicago.

Out west, LaMarcus Aldridge and the Trailblazers host Sacramento at 9 P.M. This one is also televised locally, on Comcast SportsNet-West.

Rivals.com is reporting that Greg Monroe, the top-ranked prospect in the 2008 class, has committed to Georgetown.

PF Greg Monroe (Photo credit: AJ Mast)

Just two weeks ago, Monroe had narrowed his list of schools down to five, including UConn, Duke, LSU, and Texas. Although it had long been believed that Georgetown was leading the hunt, most observers thought Monroe was going to take all five visits. Sources say that Monroe was originally scheduled to visit Texas this upcoming weekend.

Monroe apparently saw all that he needed to on Friday night at the Hoyas’ midnight madness. Fans lined up around the Washington, D.C. campus all day in order to secure the best seats. Once inside, they were treated to an unveiling of the newest Final Four banner and the hanging of recent alumnus Jeff Green’s Seattle SuperSonics jersey alongside other Hoya greats. Even Jerry Rice was in attendance, and danced to Soulja Boy at midcourt with Patrick Ewing, Jr.

This leaves Texas with a decidedly thin list of prospects for the current recruiting class. J’Covan Brown — who was in attendance at last season’s Texas A&M game — has yet to commit, although sources feel he is the closest thing the Horns have to a lock at this point. Jeff Taylor, Jr., who visited two weeks ago, is also still considering Texas.

But the biggest prize still on the table is Tyreke Evans, the Pennsylvania point guard who sources say will visit the Forty Acres the weekend of November 2nd. At 6-foot, 5-inches, Evans would add some much needed height to the Texas backcourt, and would also fill the vacancy at the 1 if D.J. Augustin declares for next summer’s draft. Early news claimed that Villanova and Louisville were leading the charge for Evans, but family members have denied those reports.

For now, the loss of Monroe is not a huge blow, as many felt his signing with Texas was nothing but a pipe dream. However, big commits are being scored every day across the country, and the Longhorns have yet to land one.

It’s 7 o’clock on the east coast, which means that college basketball is officially upon us. At campuses from Chapel Hill to Storrs, passionate fans have filled arenas just to see the first practice of the season. Texas has not taken part in the “Midnight Madness” in many years — although that temporal name is really no longer appropriate considering the new rules — but the Horns will still be hitting the court in Denton Cooley Pavillion for a team workout. However, the Aggies will be embracing the festivities just one hour from now. And Soulja Boy will be in the house, reminding all the white-bred Ags of College Station to “Crank That.” Ought to be interesting.

Get ready, hoop-heads. Basketball is back.