Barnes relies on ‘eye in the sky’

Camera won’t lie, showing UT players’ performance level.

Rick Barnes has a tactic for discouraging delusion on the basketball court.

Think you are playing hard? The camera will determine that.

Convinced you are making the correct pass or taking a good shot? Let’s go to the video tape.

“The big red eye in the sky is filming everything you do,” the Longhorn coach said. “I’ve said, ‘I want you guys thinking that every second you are on the floor you are being watched.’ That tape is going to convict them.”

According to Barnes, video evidence before the Longhorns defeated Sam Houston State indicated that three of nine players in his rotation were reliable every-day guys. Sophomores Jonathan Holmes and Julien Lewis fit the category. So did freshman Demarcus Holland.

After Texas’ 65-37 win, a few others were granted temporary status, including sophomore Sheldon McClellan and freshman Prince Ibeh.

Among the things the coaching staff has determined is that Holmes, a 6foot-8 forward who leads the team in rebounding with 9.2 a game, can become excessively intense and too self-critical.

“Jonathan always gives an incredible effort,” assistant coach Russell Springmann said. “I don’t know if he tries too hard. Sometimes he’s going so hard, and so fast, that he might be a little bit out of control. If he would think a little bit more and still make that kind of effort, he would put himself in better situations more often.”

Barnes said he tells Holmes that his consistent effort has earned him the right to make mistakes. “I said, ‘You have to relax and quit thinking you are going to play perfect,’ ” Barnes said.

McClellan, a 6-4 guard, is the team’s top scorer with 17.5 points a game but has been cited for inertia on defense. “We’re not asking him to do what (the engaged and active) Demarcus Holland does,” Barnes said. “But we need him to be effective in terms of staying in front of the ball.”

McClellan doesn’t deny his defects. “I’m trying to play harder,” he said.

McClellan said improved conditioning would help, citing Holland and point guard Myck Kabongo as examples teammates who are in better shape.

One thing seems sure: McClellan won’t be able to fake intensity. “You can lie to yourself, but that video isn’t going to lie to you,” Springmann said.