Commentary: Longhorns live by three-pointer

By Jean-Jacques Taylor - The Dallas Morning News     Mar 24, 2008

? For a while on Easter Sunday, Texas couldn’t miss from beyond the three-point line.

And it didn’t matter who was shooting the ball.

We all know D.J. Augustin and A.J. Abrams are going to knock down their share on long-range shots, but Connor Atchley was draining them. So was Damion James. And Justin Mason.

By the time Texas’s barrage ended late in the first half, the Longhorns led by 13 points.

Game over.

That doesn’t mean the game didn’t get tenuous in the final minutes as Miami went on its own three-point barrage, but the Hurricanes never led. The final score – Texas 75, Miami 72 – gives the appearance of a close game.

Don’t be fooled. It wasn’t.

Texas controlled the game from start to finish because of its dazzling long-range shooting.

If Texas shoots that well the rest of the way, then it’s more than capable of beating any other team left in the tournament, especially in cozy home-away-from-home sites like Houston and potentially San Antonio.

And it’ll certainly need to shoot that well next week against Stanford and its twin 7-footers, Brook and Robin Lopez, in the ultimate matchup of contrasting styles.

But this team has enough good shooters to do it.

A word of caution, though. Jump-shooting teams don’t usually win championships.

We can play semantics games for as long as you want, but it won’t change the truth. Texas is a jump-shooting team.

And that’s OK.

The Longhorns have won 30 games with that style. It would be stupid to change now.

My only point is that it’s more difficult to win a championship shooting the ball consistently from 20 feet than it would be if the Longhorns had a traditional offense that resulted in easy baskets in and around the lane. Eventually they’re going to have to win when the long-range shots aren’t falling.

We can use Sunday’s victory as an example.

In the game’s first 28 minutes, Texas made 13 of 22 three-point shots and built a 58-43 lead. In the final 12 minutes, Texas missed its four three-point attempts and was outscored, 29-17.

That’s not a scientific look at the issue, but you get the idea.

To his credit, Rick Barnes doesn’t care. After all, the Longhorns made 270 of 702 three-point attempts during the regular season, good for 38.5 percent. Nothing wrong with that.

Texas has attempted more than 20 three-pointers in 23 games, including eight of their last nine. More important, Augustin and Abrams made at least 36 percent of their three-point attempts during the regular season. James and Atchley each made at least 43 percent.

What makes Barnes a good coach, despite whatever complaints you have about his game management, is that he willingly adjusts to his personnel.

Remember, he used to pound the ball inside when he had Chris Mihm as his offensive centerpiece. These days, he’s letting his perimeter guys be the focal point of the offense.

And when they do miss, the Longhorns chase down a lot of offensive rebounds because the court is spread. Frankly, that’s another good way to compensate for their lack of size inside.

That versatility is one reason Texas is making its fifth trip to the Sweet 16 in the past seven years.

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