Bevo Sports

After testing the NBA draft waters Longhorns guard AJ Abrams has made the decision to return to Texas for his senior season. AJ made the announcement at a press conference today, the last day he could withdraw his name and retain his eligibility.

He had a few workouts with NBA teams but was not invited to the league’s pre-draft camp and it was clear he would not be drafted. Returning to Texas will allow AJ to get his degree while also improving his chances of playing professional basketball. He’s not going to be the team’s starting point guard but he’ll likely have more ball handling responsibilities and at least a chance to prove he’s more than just a spot up shooter.

Watch video of an excerpt from AJ’s press conference and comments from Kevin Durant and Rick Barnes below:

Welcome back AJ.

AJ Abrams works out for the Sacramento Kings. He has until Monday to pull his name out of the draft.

Examining NBA prospects not pointless. As long as no bridges were burned there’s no harm in AJ Abrams testing the waters.

Bad news for AJ Abrams’ NBA aspirations but possibly good news for next year’s basketball team. The NBA did not invite AJ to the league’s pre-draft camp being held this week in Orlando.

From the AAS:

Longhorn guard AJ Abrams is not at the NBA Pre-Draft camp in Orlando this week, after all. Abrams thought last week that he was going. Others, in the media, predicted that Abrams would make the list of players competing there.

But when the list was released by the NBA Monday night, Abrams was not one of the 64 players included. He can still work out for teams starting on June 3 before deciding whether to remove his name from the draft before the June 16 deadline and return to school for his senior season.

This essentially means that according to the NBA Abrams is not one of the top 64 draft eligible players. Hopefully this means he’ll be headed back to Texas next year, assuming he’s willing to accept his role as defined by coach Rick Barnes. This team needs him back draining threes.

Coaches, fans hold their breath as more players flirt with NBA. Discussion on AJ Abrams and other NBA Draft early entries.

In very surprising news, Texas junior guard AJ Abrams has reportedly declared for the NBA Draft. FoxSports.com is reporting that multiple sources have indicated to them that Abrams will workout for NBA teams but not hire an agent, hoping to get a better feel on what exactly his draft prospects are. Since he’s not hiring an agent, Abrams can pull his name out of the draft at any time and return to Texas with no issue. Thanks to a new(?) rule NBA teams can now pay for travel for workouts so there’s no risk for AJ, but I also don’t see the reward in it for him. I don’t believe there’s much chance a team would use a draft pick on a 5-foot-10 shooting guard.

I just put up a poll a few minutes ago about whether incoming frosh J’Covan Brown or Abrams should start next year, it now looks like Rick Barnes might not have to make that decision. Hopefully he decides to stay in school for his senior season, but if not best of luck to AJ at the next level.

The Houston Chronicle looks at how Memphis and UT match up. They give Memphis the edge overall, but I think they’re off in saying Rose has the edge over Augustin.

The NCAA is trying a new set up for tournament games in football arenas and the games in Houston and Detroit this weekend will be fans’ first look at it. In order to get more fans in the stadiums, the courts will be set up at the fifty-yard line instead of tucked away to one side like the normal football stadium set up. When the Longhorns face off against the Stanford Cardinal Friday evening at Reliant Stadium they’ll also do it from 27 inches off the ground.

The set up will allow them to sell more tickets and will look good on TV, but seems far from optimal for the players and coaches in the games. Both the location and elevation could actually affect the outcomes of these very important games. It could change things for shooters and on loose balls near the sideline.

The big drop just a few feet out of bounds is incredibly dangerous. Players are definitely worried about hustling after the basketball and falling off the edge, as evidenced by quotes like this one from Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds: “What if we go for the loose ball and dive off the court? I mean, that’s the thing I was scared about.” It seems like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

The large empty space behind each basket also may cause depth perception issues for shooters, something that would be a very bad for the guard-oriented Longhorns. There will be very few fans behind each basket, and each will be backdropped by large black curtains. On how the shooters would cope, our own AJ Abrams said, “There’s going to be an obvious depth perception [problem] just from the goals, but nothing you can’t handle. Just go out and get a couple shots up and get the feel of it and that’s what it’s all about.”

Hopefully AJ can get comfortable during warm-ups and comes out firing during showtime. And maybe that homecourt advantage means we’ll have Texas fans lining the court to catch any Longhorns that go flying off the ledge. The best outcome is that nobody will get hurt and the final score of the games won’t be affected. We’ll find out Friday evening.

Related Links

• NCAA tries new-look location, elevation of courts in Detroit, Houston
• UTeric32’s (Hornfans) photos from Thursday’s shootaround
• Stanford vs. Texas on the big stage, literally
• ‘Falling off’ edge of court a worry

After playing well in hostile territory in the first two rounds, the Longhorns come home to Texas for the Sweet 16. On Friday the Horns will take on Stanford in a 2 vs. 3 match-up in Houston. The Cardinal pose the biggest challenge in the tourney yet for Texas, particularly the giant Lopez twins down inside.

The 14 feet of Lopezes in the paint means the Longhorns need a big game defensively from the likes of Connor Atchley, Damion James, Gary Johnson, Alexis Wangmene, and big Dexter Pittman. On the offensive end Texas needs another hot shooting night out of junior guard AJ Abrams, but open looks won’t come as easily as they did in the previous two games.

Watch the SI.com video preview of Stanford below:

The opening round game of the 2008 Men’s Basketball Championship turned out about as well as the Texas Longhorns could have hoped for. A nice, comfortable 74-54 win against an overmatched Austin Peay team moves the Horns on to round two against Miami. AJ Abrams was the leading scorer for Texas, he definitely had his three-point stroke working on Friday.

Texas got out to a huge 19-3 lead early and never let up against the Governors. The defense was active and the big men inside gave the undersized scorers for Austin Peay no room to make anything happen. Connor Atchley, Damion James, and big Dexter Pittman controlled the paint and blocked six shots during the game. Texas kept their 15 to 25 point lead throughout the game, and while the starters didn’t get a ton of rest late the second half was relatively easy and everybody should be ready to go Sunday against the Hurricanes.

Related Links

• Game recaps
• CBS video highlights
• CBS GameCenter

All you need to know about the Horns’ NCAA chances. Bohls thinks Augustin and Abrams will help the team coast to Houston.

It’s been a while since AJ Abrams has been in a groove, but he certainly was feeling it Saturday afternoon against the Oklahoma Sooners. In the Big 12 tourney semifinals, Abrams got out of his funk in a big way by making 7 of 12 three point attempts to score 24 points. His shooting helped the Horns take a close game at half time and turn it into a blowout.

ESPN video highlights are below:

Next up for Texas is their third straight match-up with Kansas in the Big 12 Championship finals. Texas lost the previous two games and has never won a conference tournament since the Big 12 was formed. If the Horns can pull out the victory over KU, they’ve still got a shot at a #1 seed for the Big Dance. The game will be on ESPN Sunday at 2pm.

Related Links

• AP game recap
• Box score
• Postgame notes
• Postgame quotes (PDF)
• Photo gallery

Barnes’ job taking a Kevin Durant-less Longhorns team to a Big 12 title was rewarded with a coach of the year nod. He’s been to a Final Four and coached two national players of the year, but this season was probably his best coaching job. The improvement of every single player on this year’s squad definitely reflects well on Barnes and his entire staff.

See the full list of Big 12 awards after the jump.

(more…)

Augustin, Abrams, and James named to AP All-Big 12 team. Augustin was unanimous first-team choice.

They really need to space these doubleheader games out better, it seems no channel does it well with either basketball or football. I guess they’d rather have games overlap and piss off fans than have to fill time between games. Either way, we’re once again missing the start of the Texas game and if it goes to overtime it could mean we miss most of the first half. We’ll have live opinions on the game as soon as CBS switches to the Texas versus Texas Tech game in Lubbock.

First Half

• Texas is up 4 to 3 early. Five minutes gone by but not much scoring so far.
• Watching ESPN’s game tracker Alexis Wangmene already has two rebounds. Getting more early playing time for the youngster.
• I really hope this Georgetown player chokes on this third free throw. I don’t care about his trauma, I just want to watch the Texas game. Crap… maybe at least CBS will be smart enough to switch the Texas region to the game.

Texas 18, Texas Tech 16

• Good. With 11 minutes left in the first half CBS has switched over to our game.
• Texas Tech presses and it worked pretty well but after Damion James breaks the press and Tech forgets to cover AJ Abrams in the corner. After struggling a little at the beginning of Big 12 play Abrams has found his groove and will kill you if left alone.
• Nice to see freshman Clint Chapman handle a pass and take it to the hole. Not sure about his form from the free throw line but he is nice and smooth just made two easy ones.

Texas 23, Texas Tech 20

• Looks the Red Raiders are hanging around at least in part due to some lucky shots. They’ve had at least two or three shots go in on some crazy bounces just since I started watching.
• Great pass from Chapman to James. Threaded in there right under the basket giving James an easy hoop.
• Wow! What a block by Tech’s Martin Zeno. James was going in for a big dunk and Zeno does a great job swatting it away.
• I like the attitude of Justin Mason but he just picked up a technical foul with his mouth. Not sure what he had to say or who he was talking to.
• I haven’t seen Connor Atchley at all today, must have picked up early fouls again.

Texas 30, Texas Tech 26

• JD Lewis swishes a three and then I think runs down the court giving Tech’s Voskuhl grief. If Lewis had gone to Tech he’d have started/played as much as Voskuhl the last 3 years.
• Pretty bad officiating again as usual. Zeno just flattened DJ Augustin who was standing with his hands straight up but they called it on Augustin. That call is missed pretty bad both ways though.
• Big Dexter Pittman still leaves his feet too much after the pump fake. He has to better job being under control on defense.
• Not sure what the announcer is watching. Abrams took the ball to the top of the key, pump faked, and calmly shot a wide open three. I’m not sure how that makes Texas rattled on offense to have the conference’s best shooter take an open shot.
• One of Tech’s many ugly white gguys apparently didn’t like the fact that he undercut a Texas player and then fell down. He had to be held back but no Texas players even noticed him.
• Rebounding on both ends killed the Horns the last few minutes of the half. Gave Tech too many second chances and didn’t help themselves out at all on the other end.

Halftime: Texas 37, Texas Tech 41

(more…)

We’ll be posting live thoughts on tonight’s Big Monday game versus Kansas on ESPN. The Villanova-Georgetown game is running long. No idea if the Texas game’s start will be delayed or if we’ll just miss some of the game, maybe both.

Pregame

• Vince Young at the game. Hopefully he was around this weekend to say hello to a few recruits. Should be perfectly legal since he’s in classes this semester.
• They’ve delayed the start of the game. As long as Nova-Georgetown doesn’t go to overtime it looks like we’ll see our game in it’s entirety.
• I like that they showed us Rutgers versus Tennessee women’s highlights as if anyone watching either of these two games cared.
• Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds is a former Sooner commit. They’d be pretty tough with him Damion James. Kelvin Sampson really screwed OU over, but I guess they deserved it.
• That’s a BS call with less than a second on the clock. Awful. I don’t think any of the players or refs knew how much time was left. I like it though because it means Texas-Kansas can get started.

First Half

• Well they obviously didn’t delay the start of the game too much. ESPN just switched over and we missed three and a half minutes of the game. First three shots they show are two made threes by the Horns and one by Kansas. Based on the score there wasn’t much defense before we were watching either.

Kansas 12, Texas 15

• Erwin Center sounds nice and loud. Some of my best sports-related college experiences were Monday nights at the Drum.
• If Gary Johnson’s offensive game can keep developing he’ll be huge for us down the stretch and in March.
• After a play that looked like offensive goaltending by KU on the other end, rough call against Johnson for the offensive foul.
• If Justin Mason can continue to play great defense and now handle the ball handing on offense he’s suddenly a big asset for the Horns.
• Ugh. How do you call that foul on Mason? If anything the Kansas guard initiated the contact and Mason kept his hands to himself.
• Better ball movement on offense for the Horns. With DJ Augustin playing off the ball, he and AJ Abrams are all over the place trying to create offensive chances. Everybody looks more active.

Kansas 18, Texas 20

• Mason out, let’s see how much standing around there is on offense. No reason we can’t keep up the good off the ball movement.
• That’s the second time tonight Abrams has had a great steal. Kid has quick hands to go with his quick shot.
• Looks like the refs are allowing tons of contact against Augustin when he initiates it. Now that he’s back at the point he seems to be more out of control than earlier.

Kansas 28, Texas 29

• Kansas scores but ESPN still hasn’t given them the points. Or maybe they had 26 and not 28, I’m old and blind.
• Aaron Ross at the game as well sitting with Mack Brown. I think Ross is in school this semester as well.

Kansas 35, Texas 33

• Connor Atchley is nails from three again. He’s four of four on the night. After he and Abrams were nailing everything we suddenly went away from both of them in our offense.
• Damion James picked up two quick fouls. I was wondering why he hadn’t played at all since we picked up the game.
• Kansas seems to have five guys on the court at all times that can score and create for themselves.
• Ouch. Johnson looks like he’s in serious pain. Is he bleeding? I don’t care how uncomfortable those masks are the kid needs to wear one to protect the nose.

Kansas 41, Texas 38

• I don’t know how Rick Barnes doesn’t give himself a heart attack and a hernia every nigh yelling at the officials. I know it’s a tough job but hell it’s one of the most frustrating things to watch when refs are seemingly making things up as they go along.
• Sigh. Clint Chapman looks like he has my hands. Kid doesn’t look like he could catch a cold sometimes. He has to expect the ball at anytime.

Halftime: Kansas 42, Texas 38

(more…)

Neither team played well on the offensive end in the first half, but thanks to their big men controlling the paint the Cyclones held a four point lead going into the locker room. All-American point guard DJ Augustin putting the ball through the hoop all game long. On the few occasions in the first twenty minutes when a Texas big man had a scoring chance, they either fumbled the ball away (Clint Chapman) or they missed makeable shots (everyone).

The Horns got off to a horrid start in the second half, it took the guys nearly five minutes to make two buckets. The slow start allowed Iowa State to build up a double digit lead that they held going into the final ten minutes. At that point they handed over point duties again to Justin Mason, allowing Augustin a chance to create off the ball both for himself and AJ Abrams. Abrams’ shooting carried the team all game long, his seven threes were the only thing that kept the team in it. Texas was able to get some timely buckets from Gary Johnson, Abrams, and Augustin to eventually close the gap and send the game to overtime. They had a chance to win it in regulation but couldn’t get a decent shot off in the final seconds.

In overtime, Iowa State couldn’t buy a basket. Their only points from the floor came with 14 seconds left when the game was essentially over. Texas was able to get key buckets from Abrams and Augustin and hit their free throws to seal the win. The 12th ranked Longhorns are now 19-4 on the season and improve to 6-2 in Big 12 play.

Player of the Game: AJ Abrams, 25 points, 7/10 on 3-pointers

Next Game: 8pm Monday vs. #5 Kansas, Erwin Center, TV: ESPN

Damion James dominates but Texas struggles to get past TCU without AJ Abrams. Ian Mooney is outplaying young studs? Ah oh.

After starting the season 11-0, the Texas basketball team has now lost two straight to Big 10 foes. The unranked Wisconsin Badgers nailed a long game winning three pointer with three seconds left to beat the Horns on their home court 67-66. Texas might have had a chance for one more play but Wisconsin’s Michael Flowers, who had just hit the three, then stole the inbounds pass and flung it high in the air to finish off the game.

Not a well played game for the Horns and bad execution in the final minutes as well. Most notably, guard AJ Abrams had a chance to put the team up three in the final moments but could only hit one of two free throws. Justin Mason had a horrible game, playing nearly all 40 minutes and not scoring a single point. He was 0 for 7 from the field and another 0 for 2 from the charity stripe. That’s not good. Mason’s minutes may be in trouble when Gary Johnson makes his debut this week.

Maybe the lone bright spot for Texas, Damion James had an incredible game. James played great on offense and defense, and as usual was a monster on the glass. He scored 21 points on 10 of 16 shooting and had 15 rebounds. He’s definitely stepped on his game this season after an inconsistent freshman year.

Next up for the Longhorns is a home game against TCU Wednesday afternoon at 4 pm. The game can be seen on FSN if you’re in the state of Texas.

The Horns won today against Oral Roberts and are now 11-0 on the season but again struggled with an inferior team at home. Tied at the half Texas was able to pull away thanks to 24 points from DJ Augustin and 10 of the last 17.

No one for the Horns shot the ball particularly well, including Augustin who scored 11 of his points from the free throw line. AJ Abrams shot only 33% from the field including a horrid 1 of 6 from beyond the arc. That continues a disturbing stretch of mediocre 3-point shooting for Abrams, it’s been nearly a month since he shot better than 33% or made more than 3 in a game. Connor Atchley’s strong play continued though, as the junior chipped in 16 points and was the only Longhorn who shot well from either side of the 3-point line.

Next up for Texas is a nationally televised game Saturday against Michigan State. The Horns and #9 Spartans will face off at 5:30pm on ESPN.

The Longhorns easily handled Rice Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston to continue the unbeaten start to their 2007-08 season. The team is now 9-0 on the season (the team’s best start since 1981-82) and if they can get past two more tough games in December then they have a chance to make it into conference play undefeated.

Wooden Award candidate DJ Augustin and AJ Abrams each scored 18 points against the Owls. Damion James chipped in another 18 points and added an impressive 17 rebounds. James’ play is a very good sign for the Horns, a third scoring option and a monster on the glass could mean for a longer tourney run this March.

Next up for the team will be Texas State on Saturday (12/15) at 5pm. No TV so show up at the Erwin Center and support your Horns in person.

Related Links

• AP story
• Postgame notes

AJ Abrams leads in easy win against Arkansas-Monticello. Abrams scores 30 in 100-52 victory over the Boll Weevils.

AJ Abrams leads Men’s Basketball to 73-42 win over UC Davis. Close first half but Texas defense holds UCD to 13 points in second half.

Kevin Durant easily swept all the national awards, many by unanimous vote, but he had to share team MVP honors with fellow freshman D.J. Augustin Monday night. Both players were definitely deserving, you could see Augustin’s importance to the team when he hit a wall late in the season and the whole team struggled to get going.

University of Texas freshmen D.J. Augustin and Kevin Durant shared the team’s Most Valuable Player honor in a vote of their peers, highlighting the 2006-07 men’s basketball team banquet held Monday evening at the Frank Erwin Center. Freshman center Dexter Pittman claimed the Lowe’s Home Improvement Most Improved Player Award.

With rumors swirling that Durant will declare for the NBA Draft this week, it could have been his last public appearance as a (current) Longhorn. Durant was the only Longhorn not available to the media at the banquet. Can’t really blame him though, he didn’t want to all the focus to be on him and I’m sure he’s exhausted. There will be a press conference whenever he announces his decision and reporters will have plenty of time to ask him questions then.

I love that the “Most Improved Player” award has a sponsor. They should sell sponsorship for all the awards. We could have the “Blockbuster Online Blocked Shots Award” and the “Acme Brick Worst Field Goal Percentage Award” and rake in the cash.

Award Recipients

• Slater Martin Award Ryan Clark
• Mike Wacker Comeback Award Matt Hill
• Coca-Cola Solid Citizen Award Damion James
• Jack Gray Award Connor Atchley
• Athletic Director’s Scholar-Athlete Award Craig Winder
• Jay Arnette Award Justin Mason
• Earlene Fulmer 3-Point Attack Award A.J. Abrams, D.J. Augustin
• Assists Award D.J. Augustin
• Blocked Shots Award Kevin Durant
• Field Goal Percentage Award Damion James
• Free Throw Percentage Award A.J. Abrams
• Rebounding Award Kevin Durant
• Hustlin’ Horns Award Ian Mooney
• Spirit Award J.D. Lewis and Harrison Smith
• Outstanding Defensive Player Justin Mason
• Lowe’s Home Improvement Most Improved Player Dexter Pittman
• Team Captains Craig Winder, A.J. Abrams
• Most Valuable Players D.J. Augustin, Kevin Durant
• Senior Award Craig Winder

Texas’ NCAA Tourney run may have ended Sunday with a loss to USC, but the Horns are running away with their first round game in SI.com’s What If Tourney. It’s the third year they’re running the tournament that tries to decide who would win the national championship if high school players had never been allowed to enter the NBA early and everyone had to spend four years in college.

The Longhorns add LaMarcus Aldridge, P.J. Tucker, Daniel Gibson, and C.J. Miles back to the team. Those four guys along with Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin would make for an incredibly good and incredibly athletic team:

Kevin Durant is nearly impossible to stop. Add Aldridge, Tucker, and Gibson and you can subtract the word nearly from that last statement. Aldridge, who averaged 15 points and nine rebounds last season has shown great strides in his rookie year, including a 30-point performance against the Bobcats this month. Who knows how good he’d be as a junior in college?

Keep D.J. Augustin at point guard, and move Gibson, who goes from playing with LeBron to Durant, to his natural two-guard spot. Along with A.J. Abrams and Jazz guard C.J. Miles off the bench, Texas’ athleticism and depth are mind-blowing. If anything, the additions add some experience to a team whose top eight scorers are freshmen or sophomores.

Having Aldridge back in the middle of the Texas defense would have made a huge difference for this team. He’s easily the guy I’d most want back. He can run the floor well with all these young guys, play tough defense, and give the Horns a scoring threat down low. Of course having Gibson playing the two would be pretty nice as well. He’d have gotten a ton of open looks with Aldridge and Durant, and size at the guards was a real problem for Texas at both ends of the court this season.

A starting five of Augustin, Gibson, Durant, Tucker, and Aldridge sure would’ve been fun to watch. The three guys who left early probably aren’t regretting it one bit (especially when they look at their bank accounts), but it’s hard to believe at least one of them didn’t decide to stick around for a chance to play with Durant. Any one of those guys could have made a real impact on this year’s young group of stars.