The Longhorns are back, ladies and gentlemen. And boy, do they look good.

Sure, it’s important to keep in mind that the team that Texas absolutely dismantled on Sunday afternoon is coming off a season in which they finished 12-19. And yes, the Longhorns were far more talented than their opponents, and their frontcourt towered over the Cal-Irvine big men. But to see Texas pushing the tempo, knocking down shots, and running fresh bodies off the bench for 40 full minutes…well, it was a thing of beauty.

Things weren’t pretty the whole way, though. Texas stumbled in the opening minutes, with point guard J’Covan Brown clearly suffering from some first-game jitters. And for a kid who hadn’t seen the court in actual competitive action for nearly a year and a half, it’s understandable. Brown turned it over four times in the first few minutes of the game, earning himself a pair of breathers on the bench and a few words of wisdom from Coach Barnes.

The early miscues provided Cal-Irvine the opportunity to jump out to a 15-10 lead just eight minutes into the game. But after that, it was all Longhorns. Texas closed out the half on a 32-6 run in which they held their opponents to a scant 16.7% success rate from the field.

The unquestioned leaders for the Longhorns were in the senior frontcourt, where Damion James and Dexter Pittman each chipped in with 21 points. James added 15 boards to start the season with a double-double, while Pittman grabbed seven rebounds of his own and blocked three shots. Although Dexter against the undersized ‘Eaters forwards was one of the great mismatches of all-time, seeing him play for more than 20 minutes while picking up just one foul — albeit 16 seconds into the game — was incredibly reassuring for Texas fans.

The dominating play inside was complimented by the three-guard lineup that Barnes started, featuring Brown, Justin Mason, and Varez Ward. While Ward only scored one bucket, the ‘Eaters respected the offensive threat he brought to the floor. This was made perfectly clear by one exchange where Varez dribbled at the high post and directed Pittman to slide over for a screen. As soon was Ward made his first step towards the basket, both his defender and Pittman’s defender rushed out to cut him off, leaving the big man open for an easy lob pass and dunk. While it was certainly a defensive lapse for the Anteaters, it also underscored the fact that having a guard like Ward who can slash to the basket will open up things inside.

Even Dogus Balbay had improved over the summer, as evidenced in his 19 minutes off the bench. Balbay was not afraid to shoot the ball on Sunday, even tossing up a three-point attempt from the top of the key. And although the Turkish point guard was just 1-of-4 on the afternoon, it is going to keep defenses more honest this year if they know Balbay is now likely take it to the rim when he drives the lane.

But beyond the heady play of the returning Longhorns, the most exciting thing about Sunday’s blowout was the debut of the freshmen talent. While Brown had his early struggles with turnovers, he settled down in the second half and unveiled a silky-smooth long-range shot. J’Covan went 3-of-6 from long range on the day, and only coughed up the rock one more time after his initial hiccup.

Jordan Hamilton and Avery Bradley also gave Longhorn fans much to be excited about this season. Hamilton showed that he can truly do it all, knocking down a three, handling the ball on the wing and inside, moving through traffic with ease, and throwing down a dunk that brought the Erwin Center crowd out of its seats. His stat line was a testament to his contributions all over the floor: twelve points, a pair of steals, a blocked shot, and three rebounds.

Bradley, meanwhile, turned in a solid performance on defense, added ten points, and dropped two dimes in his 22 minutes on the floor. The freshman from Tacoma is certainly going to be something special this season. He seemed calm and collected on the floor at all times, never once looking like an 18-year old kid playing in his first collegiate game.

While we didn’t get to see as much of freshman forward Shawn Williams as we’d hoped, he did scrap on the boards while he was playing. Williams had six rebounds in his thirteen minutes on the floor, but struggled with fouls in his short stint. Shawn picked up three personals rather quickly, so if he hopes to earn any extra playing time throughout the year, he’ll have to control that issue.

As mentioned in the game preview, we’d hoped to use this game as a benchmark for the offseason improvements of the other Longhorn big men, namely Matt Hill, Alexis Wangmene, and Clint Chapman. But with Chapman sidelined by the flu and Hill and Wangmene limited to three and eight minutes, respectively, it was nearly impossible to get a read on either of them.

All told, it was an exciting, promising start for this batch of Longhorns. Coach Barnes had ten players who played for at least thirteen minutes, which means that foul trouble from any player besides the irreplaceable Pittman will likely be just a minor speedbump. Texas also shot extremely well from long range, hitting 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. Coming off a season in which they shot just 32.8% on threes, and had no true threats beyond A.J. Abrams, this added dimension to the Longhorn offense is a welcome relief.

Texas now enjoys a few days off before returning to action in the CBE Classic on Wednesday night against the Western Carolina Catamounts. Tickets are still available through the Texas Box Office website or by calling 1-800-982-2386.