With Tulane looming just thirteen hours from now, time is running out to look back on Friday night’s season opening victory over Stetson. I suppose that means that this time’s just as good as any to speed through what we saw.

As Bob Knight said during the 894 hours of basketball coverage last night on ESPN, it often takes a good ten to twelve games to really have an idea of what a team is capable of in any given season. But there were still quite a few nuggets to take away from the 30-point Longhorn victory over Stetson, and of course even more things for Coach Barnes to drill at these first few weeks of the season.

The brightest part of the game was the solid shooting night from senior guard A.J. Abrams. Unfortunately, the tiny guard was not just asked to shoot, but also tasked with running the point during the first half as starter Dogus Balbay sat on the bench finishing a suspension. With Abrams at the one, the rest of the Longhorns seemed content to pass the ball around the perimeter and wait on A.J. to shoot. Most of the time, the senior knocked down his shots to keep Texas comfortably ahead. But there was absolutely no interior game to speak of thanks to the lack of penetration or entry passes opening things up.

Another huge factor nullifying the size advantage over Stetson was the absence of Connor Atchley, who had his chin sliced open early in the first half. Without the senior leader getting things going in his inside-out role, Texas was glued to the perimeter. Connor’s perfect night from behind the arc (3-of-3) was a huge lift coming out of the locker room, as Texas increased its already-lofty 46% shooting to a ridiculous 62% against the Hatters. Stetson was forced to stretch their defense out even more, and the Longhorns started attacking the weaknesses and working it inside.

The other big thing we took from Friday night’s game was our first look at freshman guard Varez Ward. It was obvious that all of the hype surrounding his defense was well-founded, as Ward looked better than would be expected for an 18-year old in his first collegiate game. On the offensive end, he was still a bit sloppy, but showed initiative in attacking the rim when other Longhorns were content to simply pass the rock around. Ward did pick up a pair of charging fouls near the rack, so he will need to work on maintaining control while trying to create. In addition, he missed all six of his free throws in a painful effort that could only be described as Shaq-ian.

Damion James picked up where he left off, as his mid-range stroke was still on display. With the Texas offense refusing to penetrate in the first twenty minutes, James added a few jumpers to augment The Abrams Show. But with Damion marginalized away from the rim, his rebounding numbers suffered on the night, and he finished with only seven boards against a smaller and less athletic Stetson team. As the team finds its identity and the younger post players step up on the glass, DaMo won’t be needed as much to clean up the trash against conference opponents. But in the meantime, having James lead the team with only seven rebounds could be worrisome with the murderer’s row of non-conf games looming.

Justin Mason took things over at the one in the second half, and the Texas offense certainly benefited. J-Mase is obviously not a point guard, and won’t be pressuring Balbay for the reigns anytime soon. But it was perfectly clear that in situations where Dogus won’t be available this year, Mason is the choice to step in. His cerebral play on offense opens up some nice options for subs throughout the season, as Barnes can opt to use a defensive-minded backcourt with Ward at the two and Jay serving as a serviceable point.

Defensively, Texas looked better than what we were expecting in a season-opening performance. They forced Stetson into quite a few low-percentage jumpers and did a good job switching and helping in the man defense. But the biggest problem on the defensive end was how easily the Hatter guards were able to attack on simple pick-and-rolls, forcing Texas into those help situations. Stetson was quite adept at moving the ball quickly to find the open man, and it led to more easy looks than the Longhorns will be able to give to quality teams. Fortunately, the Rick Barnes specialty is coaching up a defense over the five-month season, and holding any team to only 26% shooting is a great place to start.

Gary Johnson quietly put in a solid effort with a six-point, seven-rebound performance in only 17 minutes on the floor. But the rest of the Longhorns were tough to get a read on, as officials constantly called walks and charges in the paint and Barnes spread out the minutes amongst the bigs. Dexter Pittman was still able to put in ten points, but much of his post work was marred by the happy whistles from the refs. With the foul trouble plaguing him, it was tough to get minutes strung together, but we should soon see what Big Dex can do with quality playing time.

Matt Hill and Alexis Wangmene each only played four minutes and didn’t make much of an impression, while Clint Chapman saw the floor for thirteen. The sophomore from Oregon made a few solid defensive plays to give hope that fans will see some marked improvement this year. He’s still obviously rough, but the lost freshman we saw at this time last year was nowhere to be found.

The sloppy first half could spell a future concern for Texas, as the Longhorns barely had more field goals than turnovers for most of the first twenty minutes. But there was a clear adjustment in the locker room, with Texas only coughing it up four times the rest of the way. The addition of Balbay to the lineup should help with ball control in the future, as will a focus on eliminating unnecessary charges.

There are clearly a ton of questions left for Longhorn fans, some of which may be addressed in tonight’s game with Tulane. Look for a preview of the mighty Green Wave this afternoon.