Dexter Pittman, A.J. Abrams, and Matt Hill watched the exhibition in street clothes
With injuries sidelining four of the Longhorns for Friday night’s season opening exhibition against Xavier Univeristy, a true sense of the 2007-08 Texas team was hard to come by. A.J. Abrams, Dexter Pittman, and Matt Hill all were in street clothes at the end of the bench, while freshman point guard Dogus Balbay was not even in the building. So while the Longhorns won 87-56 against their over-matched NAIA opponent, depth was revealed to be an immediate concern.
Seniors Ian Mooney and J.D. Lewis both started for Rick Barnes’ club, while returning sophomores Damion James, Justin Mason, and D.J. Augustin rounded out the lineup. While Mooney only played six minutes, Lewis’ assignment was much larger. The JuCo transfer logged 21 minutes in the contest, hitting only 1-of-8 from behind the arc.
Augustin picked up where he left off, scoring 22 points and dishing out seven assists. The Gold Rush presented problems for the sophomore PG, though, often trapping him high following a ball screen from one of the Longhorn big men. This led to a few of Augustin’s six turnovers on the night.
James appears ready to step into the larger role the Horns need him to occupy this season. He hit shots from all over the court, going 2-for-4 from behind the arc, and shooting 64% overall en route to an 18 point performance. Damion was also active on the glass, grabbing eight boards.
The long-awaited debut of Gary Johnson was just as exciting as anticipated, as the freshman star attacked the rim and finished the night with 19 points. He also proved himself able to pop the midrange jumper, and was stroking threes in pre-game warmups, although he went 0-for-2 from behind the arc in the game.
There was one scary moment for Johnson late in the game, as he took an excellent feed in mid-stride at the wing and tried to throw it down. He was fouled in mid-air and came up just short on the dunk, jamming the ball into the rim. He fell hard to the court, but almost immediately popped back up, clapping. His limitless energy is going to be huge this season, and if he manages to play more than the 19 minutes he logged in this one, will certainly draw national attention before the year is out.
Freshmen big men Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene impressed with their rebounding ability, but both will take some time to adjust to playing defense at the collegiate level. Although Chapman came out of the gate with incredibly intensity, tenaciously sticking his man, he did often find himself behind the play. Wangmene also tended to lose his man on high screens, but showed tremendous hustle trying to get back into it. Both look to be big contributors on the glass, hopefully as 10- to 15-minute guys for the Horns.
While Justin Mason wasn’t quite as impressive as he was this time last year, he did seem to make some slight improvements over his play at the end of last season. Jay Mase is certainly a slimmer, faster player now, but he often seemed too amped up to play a smart game. His brief time at the point also further underscored how imperative it is that A.J. Abrams recover from his toe injury. While neither Mason or Abrams are a true point, A.J. is clearly the better option to spell Augustin when he needs a breather or finds himself in foul trouble.
All told, it was difficult to key on any one lineup that Barnes was favoring, as he constantly shuffled players in and out of the game. While it’s likely that he will lean towards a three-guard lineup based on his quotes at the Big 12 media day and elsewhere in the press, the loss of Balbay is going to make this more difficult. J.D. Lewis is a role player, and should not be relied upon for any solid chunk of minutes. And with Justin Mason the tallest guard at 6’2″, it’s a huge defensive liability to play him against any team utilizing a conventional lineup.
At this point, Dexter Pittman could be the X-factor for this season. He is allegedly only going to be on crutches for one more week, but how long the rehab takes after that point is anybody’s guess. Without him, the Longhorns are left with only Atchley, Wangmene, and Chapman as true post players, and forces Johnson and James to occasionally rotate in to grab minutes at the four. The Longhorns have the flexibility and talent to cover for their lack of depth, but over the course of a 30-plus game season, it is going to wear down much of the lineup.
Looking ahead, we can expect another fun season with a bunch of exciting, talented youngsters. But if Pittman’s injury drags on for any length of time, this game of three-card lineup monte may leave the Horns out of gas as the calendar rolls into February and March.
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