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Beginning Monday, June 21st,
2004 CHN began unveiling 144 Team previews in 144 Days. CHN ranked the
nations top 144 teams, and is unveiling one per day leading up until the
opening day of the 2004-05 Season.
Bookmark the
144 Teams in 144 Days home page, and check back
each day to see which team is previewed next.
#14 Texas Longhorns
Big 12
2003-04: 25-8, 12-4, 2nd
2003-04 postseason: NCAA Sweet
Sixteen
By
Joel Welser
 Texas could be the next in line in
this day of super freshmen leading teams to national championships. Any one
of four players could make a Carmelo-type impact on the program. Add some
returning experience and things could become a lot of fun in Austin this
year.
Who’s Out: The group of
departing seniors has left behind a load of success at Texas. A couple
Sweet Sixteen’s and a Final Four appearance highlighted the last four years
for the Longhorns. Brandon Mouton led the team last year with 13.9 points
per game. Royal Ivey scored 9.4 points, grabbed 4.0 rebounds and dished out
a team high 4.3 assists per outing. Brian Boddicker added 8.1 points and
4.8 boards per contest, while center James Thomas averaged 5.5 points and
5.8 rebounds. Also leaving is junior guard Edgar Moreno who has decided to
transfer. Moreno played in all 33 games, averaging 2.9 points and 2.5
assists.
Who’s In: How can anybody
lose that much talent and still have such high expectations? Five top 100
level recruits will do that. Daniel Gibson has pretty much been the
starting point guard since he made it clear he would attend Texas in
February of 2003. Gibson is an outstanding shooter and distributor.
Returnee Kenton Paulino will compete with Gibson for playing time running
the point. Dion Dowell will see plenty of minutes on the wing. The 6-6,
195-pounder is quick and athletic. He averaged 23 points and 14 rebounds as
a senior at Texas City High School. With question marks at that position,
Dowell could be starting over returnees Sydmill Harris and Kenny Taylor by
the end of the season. Jason Klotz and Brad Buckman had seven and 26
starts, respectively. They are expected to start again but will see a lot
of competition from the freshmen. LaMarcus Aldridge is the best of the
bunch. The 6-10 power forward is dominating on defense and solid on
offense. He can post up and step out for the mid-range jumper. The
McDonald’s All-American averaged 28.9 points and 13.4 rebounds last year at
Seagoville High School. Mike Williams, another McDonald’s All-American
selection, averaged 28 points and 17 boards as a senior in high school. The
6-7, 220 pound Alabama product prefers the power game. Williams has solid
post moves and is an outstanding shot blocker. Center Connor Atchley is yet
another great recruit, but will struggle to find time in the frontcourt this
season.
Who to Watch: P.J. Tucker
spent most of his time as a power forward last year. As a sophomore, he’ll
switch over to the wing. Tucker started off his career as a Longhorn with a
bang, picking up back-to-back double-doubles to start off the season. He
hasn’t looked back since, averaging 10.4 points and a team high 6.8 rebounds
as a freshman last year. Moving to the wing shouldn’t be a problem for
Tucker and head coach Rick Barnes. He’ll still get plenty of opportunities
to post up, especially with Brad Buckman and Jason Klotz being comfortable
on the perimeter. At the wing, Tucker should be able to better utilize his
athleticism.
Projected Conference Rank:
It’s not all freshmen on this team. The six returning players all averaged
at least ten minutes per game and, injuries withstanding, this will be a
deep team by March once all the freshmen have settled in. The expectations
might be a little too high for a young team, but a 3rd place
finish in the Big 12 and another trip to the big dance isn’t too much to
expect from the Longhorns.
Projected Post-season
Tournament: NCAA
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Team #15 ,
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Email Joel Welser:
jwelser_chn@ameritech.net
Chat About CHN's Top #144
Ranking:
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