Guards have to get the point
Horns’ inexperience could be a detriment in Big 12 tournament.
With the Big 12 tournament starting up next week, the best point guard in Texas basketball history has a simple message for today’s backcourt trio of Isaiah Taylor, Javan Felix and Demarcus Holland.
“Just continue to play like you’ve been playing all year,” T.J. Ford said this week. “Don’t put any extra pressure on yourself. At the end of the day, it’s still basketball. It’s a game.”
March is all about guard play. If your team is shaky in the backcourt, advance that bunch in your bracket at your own risk.
The Longhorns don’t have a single guard with NCAA Tournament experience. That’s the downside of having only one upperclassman, junior Jonathan Holmes.
Taylor, Felix and Holland don’t know completely what lies ahead after Saturday’s regular-season finale at Texas Tech (13-17, 5-12 in the Big 12). They’ll be front and center at next week’s Big 12 tournament in Kansas City and beyond in the NCAAs.
The Longhorns (22-8, 11-6) have been inconsistent down the stretch because of their guard play. They have a fourgame road losing streak. If they stumble in Lubbock against the Red Raiders, it wouldn’t look good, but it wouldn’t be a backbreaker, either.
With their one-game-at-atime mentality, the Longhorns just need to come out of United Spirit Arena feeling confident about the team’s direction.
“We’re definitely confident,” Felix said. “We feel like we’re good enough to play with anyone. We have more important opportunities to show that. That’s something that we need to take pride in, and that’s something I think we’ll be able to do.”
Nobody has more pride in Texas basketball than Ford. Just reminiscing this week about the 2003 Final Four run brought out that million-kilowatt smile.
“I loved the pressure,” Ford said. “I loved it. I accepted it, because I knew that’s what the expectations were.”
Just like Ford, Taylor feels extra pressure as the point guard. It’s his job to keep things together and distribute the basketball. Taylor has earned rave reviews for his floater. But it’s betrayed him, too. Taylor went 1 for 14 shooting at Kansas. He was 2 for 8 at Oklahoma. Taylor’s also had at least two turnovers in each of the last four games.
The 6-foot-1 freshman can make some odd mistakes. Coach Rick Barnes called a timeout in the second half against Baylor specifically to chew out Taylor out for giving up the ball against a full-court press. “You’re the point guard, aren’t you?,” Barnes asked the freshman. Taylor also accidentally threw the ball out of bounds at Oklahoma.
“It’s all a learning experience for me,” Taylor said, “but throughout the season, I have more of a grasp on this team and what we want to do.”
Felix has proven himself a volume shooter. He fires up 3-pointers with Costco-like quantity when sometimes a fraction would suffice. For every game like Baylor (7 for 9 from 3-point range), there’s been a TCU (1 for 6).
If Felix isn’t hitting longrange shots, there are times you wonder about his value on the floor. He was credited with three turnovers in last Saturday’s loss at OU. It was arguably his most disjointed game of the year.
“That messed up everything,” Felix said. “The turnovers.”
Holland isn’t relied on for his offense. He’s the defensive glue that holds things together. Just ask Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins.
Holland averages just 7.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. But every night out, he flashes incredible speed to the rim, be it from the baseline or elbows that leave you dazzled. Now, he’s missed those dunk opportunities lately. If Holland throws one of those down, he’s a SportsCenter Top 10 shoo-in.
“Coach Barnes always talks about knowing who you are,” Holland said. “If they sag off me, I have to learn how to attack and cut to the lane. When I do feed the post, when my man turns his head, go get an easy layup.”
These young guards aren’t inexperienced anymore. They’ve all been through the battles. That’s a big reason why the coaching staff is excited about the program’s future.
All three will get plenty of learning opportunities the next two weeks and maybe more. For college basketball players, this is the month you remember forever.
“If I had to go back,” Ford said, “I probably would have enjoyed it more.” Contact Brian Davis at 512-4453957. Twitter: @BDavisAAS