observations:
•we expected three point shooting and FT shooting to be better this year, and both lived up to expectations tonight. FT shooting wasn't perfect, but the entire damn team has a good looking stroke.
•turned defense into offense all night. many of those made threes came in transition. if you watch the video above, in one of the last clips you can hear me say, "speaking of which..." right before Ramey nails a three and the crowd goes wild. my dad and i were talking about all of the transition threes just as that transition three unfolded.
•the team looked surprisingly comfortable and in sync. i don't care if we played Johnston HS tonight, these guys looked like they've all been playing together for 2-3 years. none of the expected hesitation, or second guessing. everything on both ends flowed smoothly all night (ew).
•we won't have a true alpha dog, but this is the deepest Texas team since the 2010 team that had Doj, J'Covan, Damion James, Avery Bradley, Jordan Hamilton, Dexter Pittman, Gary Johnson, and Justin Mason. it's like that. it doesn't matter if one or two guys are having an off night, because we have five more guys who you still have to account for at all times. defending this team will be very difficult for most of the teams on our schedule.
•my dad and i both noted how refreshing the tempo was. the last 4-5 years have featured so many half court sets that last 30 seconds, with so much standing around and so little off-ball movement; this game was not like that. the transition buckets were plentiful, and the half court offense ran more smoothly than any offense we've had since Shaka's first year (shouts out Isaiah Taylor)
•best opening night crowd ever. i'm serious. the excitement is palpable. we were up by 30 in the second half and an HBU player would miss a FT and the entire crowd would go nuts. i was amazed, and just absolutely impressed with the noise level and enthusiasm of the crowd tonight. it was like a high school crowd the way everyone was so into the game. the FEC is going to be *rocking* come conference play. oh, and that game on January 29th will no doubt be one of the greatest atmospheres in FEC history, right up there with the Strollin' Nolan game.
here's my wrap up:
no doubt many of you will remember the events which directly followed the season opener for the 2016-17 season. i went to the game, and i came back to shaggy and said (in so many words) "it's bleak." you will remember this because a feisty and interminable argument started between myself and some other poster whose name i can't recall. he insisted that there was too much mystery surrounding the roster for anyone to definitively declare that the team was good, bad, or anything in between. i, however, was adamant that i had seen enough season openers in my life (20-something at that point) to be able to pass judgment. as you may have tried to forget, we went 11-22 that season and all started huffing gas. shit was, indeed, bleak.
well, this is the anti-2016 season opener. ive been to at least a couple dozen of these things in my life, and i know a very good/possibly great team when i see one. i am telling you, this team should not be as aligned and in sync as it is. there just hasn't been enough time. and yet, they are. that's the biggest thing. that's the one question that every CBB fan/analyst has had: how long will it take for this team to jell, and can they come together enough to be title contenders? i'm here to tell you that the answer is 'yes'.
i was told by someone who was at the U of H scrimmage that, "If Disu is healthy, this team can go all the way. If not, then maybe the Sweet 16 is more realistic." after what i saw tonight, that sounds right. i cannot explain the chemistry that i witnessed tonight, but it's there. hoopers gonna hoop i suppose. we are going to compete for the big xii regular season title, we are going to win 23-25 regular season games, barring an injury crisis we are going to be a 3 seed in the tourney at worst, and if this team can stay healthy, we are going to be ranked in the top 5-10 for the majority of this season, and we will be a highly favored team come March. this is a Chris Beard team on steroids. five guys between 6'3" and 6'9", all of whom can run, defend, and shoot, and all of whom are high level D-1 players. this team is exactly why Chris Beard came to Texas.
get your tickets now. get season tickets if you can. if you can't, then be on the prowl for single game tickets vs KU, OU, BU, and oh yeah, Tennessee. we have a special team that will only be around for one year, and you need to see them in person. you need to experience the FEC when it has 16,000 people going apeshit on a Big Monday vs KU or OU.
ive said this once before, and i'll say it again: the only experience in my life as a sports fan that reminds of this one is the 2016 Cubs- we get Theo Epstein, we get Joe Maddon, we go add Lester, Rossy, Heyward, Zobrist, Arrieta, Chapman, etc. it was like, my entire life i've been a fan of this team, and we've generally been terrible, only to have our hearts ripped out the one time we were good, and now all of a sudden, it's as if i'm personally writing the script. that's what this feels like to me. i'm not afraid to get my hopes up. i'm thrilled to be getting my hopes up, because it's based on some very very solid ground. we have the team; we have the coach; we have the support. we have everything required for this to be an all time special season. get crunk. we're doing this.