AP File PhotoFort Worth, Texas ? Rick Barnes stood near the door to his team’s dressing quarters deep in the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon as reporters seeking more in-depth response from players after Texas’ victory over Mississippi State afternoon filed in and out, scribbling on note pads, clicking mini-recorders.
At a second prompting, Barnes paused a moment to consider the impact of taking this still-relatively young team to the NCAA Tournament round of the Sweet 16.
“I do think it means a lot because of … where we want to see the Texas basketball program,” Barnes said. “I’ve said from Day One that I truly believe and the reason I left home and left the ACC and came here was because I felt the University of Texas should be one of the top 10 programs in the country.
“You’ve got everything you need, in terms of a state that produces players and a university that is committed to be the best at everything it does. And that’s why I came here.”
Regardless of what happens in the Midwest Regional in Madison, Wis., beginning Friday, Barnes’ program has taken a significant step toward his goal of developing that program he so fervently wants to see in place in Austin.
Being one of four Big 12 teams among the last 16 playing for a national championship is a tremendous boost. All Big 12 teams will experience an off-season bounce. As Barnes has pointed out, his program has also taken a step forward because of rookie point guard T.J. Ford, recently named the national freshman of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
“What T.J. has done for this program nationally is similar to what Phil Ford did for North Carolina (1974-77), what Patrick Ewing did for Georgetown (1982-85),” Barnes offered during a midweek conversation, noting that he had just hung up from talking to Dick Weiss of the “New York Daily News” about that very subject.
Geez. If he could only get the people in Austin to recognize what’s going on under their very noses. Barnes’ desire to fill the Erwin Center on a nightly basis is no secret. He alone was responsible for the reconfiguration of the floor seating, moving the cash-paying customers closer on the sides and opening up the end zones to better seating for students who responded reasonably well, but nowhere near that of hoops hotbeds around the conference.
There’s also other internal work to be done, like finding a way to get season tickets out of the clutches of people who buy them but seldom use them, and into the hands of those who really want to go to games.
Texas will break ground on the hill behind the Erwin Center sometime in the near future on new workout facilities and other amenities for both the men’s and women’s programs. The new $10 million-$12 million digs will probably carry the name of esteemed former basketball letterman Denton Cooley, a world-renowned heart surgeon and a major contributor to the project, and provide the last piece of the facility puzzle.
The berth in the Sweet 16, and the returning strength of the program, should thrust the Longhorns into the Top 10 preseason polls next fall. The addition of local Westlake star Brad Buckman, a 6-foot-9 forward whom Barnes believes will bid for an immediate starting position, should also boost local interest.
Barnes won’t rest, however.
“I want people to feel like I do,” he said. “That we’ve got something special going on here. When this season is over, we have another level to get to. And I’m going to work my butt off in the off-season to get people excited about that.”
If they don’t, Barnes might eventually take it elsewhere.
AP File PhotoFort Worth, Texas ? Rick Barnes stood near the door to his team’s dressing quarters deep in the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon as reporters seeking more in-depth response from players after Texas’ victory over Mississippi State afternoon filed in and out, scribbling on note pads, clicking mini-recorders.
At a second prompting, Barnes paused a moment to consider the impact of taking this still-relatively young team to the NCAA Tournament round of the Sweet 16.
“I do think it means a lot because of … where we want to see the Texas basketball program,” Barnes said. “I’ve said from Day One that I truly believe and the reason I left home and left the ACC and came here was because I felt the University of Texas should be one of the top 10 programs in the country.
“You’ve got everything you need, in terms of a state that produces players and a university that is committed to be the best at everything it does. And that’s why I came here.”
Regardless of what happens in the Midwest Regional in Madison, Wis., beginning Friday, Barnes’ program has taken a significant step toward his goal of developing that program he so fervently wants to see in place in Austin.
Being one of four Big 12 teams among the last 16 playing for a national championship is a tremendous boost. All Big 12 teams will experience an off-season bounce. As Barnes has pointed out, his program has also taken a step forward because of rookie point guard T.J. Ford, recently named the national freshman of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
“What T.J. has done for this program nationally is similar to what Phil Ford did for North Carolina (1974-77), what Patrick Ewing did for Georgetown (1982-85),” Barnes offered during a midweek conversation, noting that he had just hung up from talking to Dick Weiss of the “New York Daily News” about that very subject.
Geez. If he could only get the people in Austin to recognize what’s going on under their very noses. Barnes’ desire to fill the Erwin Center on a nightly basis is no secret. He alone was responsible for the reconfiguration of the floor seating, moving the cash-paying customers closer on the sides and opening up the end zones to better seating for students who responded reasonably well, but nowhere near that of hoops hotbeds around the conference.
There’s also other internal work to be done, like finding a way to get season tickets out of the clutches of people who buy them but seldom use them, and into the hands of those who really want to go to games.
Texas will break ground on the hill behind the Erwin Center sometime in the near future on new workout facilities and other amenities for both the men’s and women’s programs. The new $10 million-$12 million digs will probably carry the name of esteemed former basketball letterman Denton Cooley, a world-renowned heart surgeon and a major contributor to the project, and provide the last piece of the facility puzzle.
The berth in the Sweet 16, and the returning strength of the program, should thrust the Longhorns into the Top 10 preseason polls next fall. The addition of local Westlake star Brad Buckman, a 6-foot-9 forward whom Barnes believes will bid for an immediate starting position, should also boost local interest.
Barnes won’t rest, however.
“I want people to feel like I do,” he said. “That we’ve got something special going on here. When this season is over, we have another level to get to. And I’m going to work my butt off in the off-season to get people excited about that.”
If they don’t, Barnes might eventually take it elsewhere.
AP File PhotoFort Worth, Texas ? Rick Barnes stood near the door to his team’s dressing quarters deep in the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon as reporters seeking more in-depth response from players after Texas’ victory over Mississippi State afternoon filed in and out, scribbling on note pads, clicking mini-recorders.
At a second prompting, Barnes paused a moment to consider the impact of taking this still-relatively young team to the NCAA Tournament round of the Sweet 16.
“I do think it means a lot because of … where we want to see the Texas basketball program,” Barnes said. “I’ve said from Day One that I truly believe and the reason I left home and left the ACC and came here was because I felt the University of Texas should be one of the top 10 programs in the country.
“You’ve got everything you need, in terms of a state that produces players and a university that is committed to be the best at everything it does. And that’s why I came here.”
Regardless of what happens in the Midwest Regional in Madison, Wis., beginning Friday, Barnes’ program has taken a significant step toward his goal of developing that program he so fervently wants to see in place in Austin.
Being one of four Big 12 teams among the last 16 playing for a national championship is a tremendous boost. All Big 12 teams will experience an off-season bounce. As Barnes has pointed out, his program has also taken a step forward because of rookie point guard T.J. Ford, recently named the national freshman of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
“What T.J. has done for this program nationally is similar to what Phil Ford did for North Carolina (1974-77), what Patrick Ewing did for Georgetown (1982-85),” Barnes offered during a midweek conversation, noting that he had just hung up from talking to Dick Weiss of the “New York Daily News” about that very subject.
Geez. If he could only get the people in Austin to recognize what’s going on under their very noses. Barnes’ desire to fill the Erwin Center on a nightly basis is no secret. He alone was responsible for the reconfiguration of the floor seating, moving the cash-paying customers closer on the sides and opening up the end zones to better seating for students who responded reasonably well, but nowhere near that of hoops hotbeds around the conference.
There’s also other internal work to be done, like finding a way to get season tickets out of the clutches of people who buy them but seldom use them, and into the hands of those who really want to go to games.
Texas will break ground on the hill behind the Erwin Center sometime in the near future on new workout facilities and other amenities for both the men’s and women’s programs. The new $10 million-$12 million digs will probably carry the name of esteemed former basketball letterman Denton Cooley, a world-renowned heart surgeon and a major contributor to the project, and provide the last piece of the facility puzzle.
The berth in the Sweet 16, and the returning strength of the program, should thrust the Longhorns into the Top 10 preseason polls next fall. The addition of local Westlake star Brad Buckman, a 6-foot-9 forward whom Barnes believes will bid for an immediate starting position, should also boost local interest.
Barnes won’t rest, however.
“I want people to feel like I do,” he said. “That we’ve got something special going on here. When this season is over, we have another level to get to. And I’m going to work my butt off in the off-season to get people excited about that.”
If they don’t, Barnes might eventually take it elsewhere.
AP File PhotoFort Worth, Texas ? Rick Barnes stood near the door to his team’s dressing quarters deep in the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon as reporters seeking more in-depth response from players after Texas’ victory over Mississippi State afternoon filed in and out, scribbling on note pads, clicking mini-recorders.
At a second prompting, Barnes paused a moment to consider the impact of taking this still-relatively young team to the NCAA Tournament round of the Sweet 16.
“I do think it means a lot because of … where we want to see the Texas basketball program,” Barnes said. “I’ve said from Day One that I truly believe and the reason I left home and left the ACC and came here was because I felt the University of Texas should be one of the top 10 programs in the country.
“You’ve got everything you need, in terms of a state that produces players and a university that is committed to be the best at everything it does. And that’s why I came here.”
Regardless of what happens in the Midwest Regional in Madison, Wis., beginning Friday, Barnes’ program has taken a significant step toward his goal of developing that program he so fervently wants to see in place in Austin.
Being one of four Big 12 teams among the last 16 playing for a national championship is a tremendous boost. All Big 12 teams will experience an off-season bounce. As Barnes has pointed out, his program has also taken a step forward because of rookie point guard T.J. Ford, recently named the national freshman of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association.
“What T.J. has done for this program nationally is similar to what Phil Ford did for North Carolina (1974-77), what Patrick Ewing did for Georgetown (1982-85),” Barnes offered during a midweek conversation, noting that he had just hung up from talking to Dick Weiss of the “New York Daily News” about that very subject.
Geez. If he could only get the people in Austin to recognize what’s going on under their very noses. Barnes’ desire to fill the Erwin Center on a nightly basis is no secret. He alone was responsible for the reconfiguration of the floor seating, moving the cash-paying customers closer on the sides and opening up the end zones to better seating for students who responded reasonably well, but nowhere near that of hoops hotbeds around the conference.
There’s also other internal work to be done, like finding a way to get season tickets out of the clutches of people who buy them but seldom use them, and into the hands of those who really want to go to games.
Texas will break ground on the hill behind the Erwin Center sometime in the near future on new workout facilities and other amenities for both the men’s and women’s programs. The new $10 million-$12 million digs will probably carry the name of esteemed former basketball letterman Denton Cooley, a world-renowned heart surgeon and a major contributor to the project, and provide the last piece of the facility puzzle.
The berth in the Sweet 16, and the returning strength of the program, should thrust the Longhorns into the Top 10 preseason polls next fall. The addition of local Westlake star Brad Buckman, a 6-foot-9 forward whom Barnes believes will bid for an immediate starting position, should also boost local interest.
Barnes won’t rest, however.
“I want people to feel like I do,” he said. “That we’ve got something special going on here. When this season is over, we have another level to get to. And I’m going to work my butt off in the off-season to get people excited about that.”
If they don’t, Barnes might eventually take it elsewhere.
