Texas Longhorns - NCAA Basketball Betting

Should we envy Texas head coach Rick Barnes, or pity him? Let's think about this.

Last season, led by a wealth of talent across the board, Texas shares the Big 12's regular season title with Kansas, wins 30 games and makes it all the way to the regional finals of the NCAA tournament, where they fall to LSU in overtime. And three of the starters on that team are underclassmen.

During the offseason, that Big Three – consisting of point guard Daniel Gibson, forward LaMarcus Aldridge and Big 12 Player of the Year P.J. Tucker – all leave school early and opt for the big money of the NBA. Add to that the fact that the other two starters were seniors, and Barnes is left looking to replace his entire starting lineup coming into this season.

What does the coach do to solve this problem?

He comes up with one of the great recruiting classes of recent memory, at least among the top three of this year, and simply reloads for another run. That class is led, of course, by the wonderful Kevin Durant, a 6-9 forward who can do it all. He shoots from outside, drives it to the hole, has good post moves and, although not known as a great rebounder, grabbed more than 11 boards per game.

He's also not great on defense, but now we're nitpicking. At times this season, Durant has been nearly a one-man show.

Fellow frosh D.J. Augustin took over for Gibson at the point, and showed himself to be a top playmaker who passes first and shoots later. Still, Augustin averaged better than a dozen points a game and racked up an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 2/1, which is pretty damn good for a freshman.

Sophomore guard A.J. Abrams was the only Longhorn returnee to start a game last season. He started once, but was a solid sixth-man, and this season became the team's second-leading scorer. He can shoot the three.

Freshman forward Damion James is versatile, a good defender and helps out on the boards, and another freshman, Jay Mason, contributes what he can and adds a little toughness.

Kevin Durant – What can we say that hasn't already been said? He's pretty good.

D.J. Augustin – Another fine freshman at point guard.

A.J. Abrams – Dangerous long-range shooter.

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