Austin, Texas ? When the Texas Longhorns walked off the court after losing in the Final Four in 2003, it seemed natural to expect a quick return.
Sure, T.J. Ford probably was going to leave school early (he did), but four starters returned from arguably the best team in school history. And with the incoming class for 2004-05 ranked by some as the best in the country, more trips to the Final Four seemed all but assured.
Only it didn’t happen that way.
After losing in the round of 16 in 2004 and a first-round loss last season, the last two players from the Final Four team are telling their younger teammates to embrace their run deep into this year’s NCAA Tournament. The No. 2 seed Longhorns (29-6) face No. 6 West Virginia (22-10) Thursday night in the regional semifinals in Atlanta.
“I want to keep it going as long as I can,” forward Brad Buckman said. “I’m a senior, and I don’t want to say goodbye to these guys.”
Buckman and Kenton Paulino were freshmen when Texas made it to the Final Four for the first time since 1947. Buckman was a key part of the rotation that season and scored 14 points in a 95-84 loss to eventual champion Syracuse in the national semifinals.
Paulino, a guard, got little playing time behind Ford, the Naismith and Wooden awards winner for national player of the year. Paulino played only two minutes in five games in the NCAA Tournament that season. He’s averaging 28 minutes and 9.9 points this season,
“I hardly played at all, so I didn’t appreciate it fully, how hard it is,” Paulino said. “This time is better. We all want to get back to the Final Four.”
Texas is in the round of 16 for the fourth time in five years, matching top seeds Duke and Connecticut as the only teams to do that. It’s a strong run of success that made last year’s first-round loss even harder to swallow.
“Hopefully, nobody is taking the Sweet 16 for granted,” Paulino said. “Last year was tough on me. We left with a bitter taste, getting knocked out in the first round. We wanted to get back, and we have.”
Thanks in large part to production from three players who have almost no tournament experience.
Guards Daniel Gibson and A.J. Abrams combined for 33 points in Sunday’s 75-54 victory over North Carolina State, and center LaMarcus Aldridge had 19 points and 10 rebounds in a first-round win over Penn.
Gibson, a sophomore, was the point guard last season when Texas lost in the first round. Aldridge, another sophomore, was hurt and missed the last half of last season. Abrams, a freshman, was still in high school.
Texas will need similar production from all three players if it expects to keep going.