1) The most damning part of it all...
By now you’ve probably heard, but the evidence is so mind-blowing it’s worth repeating. Abilene Christian, not that far removed from being a D2 program, became the first NCAA Tournament team ever to win a game despite shooting under 30.0% from the floor and 20.0% from three-point range. Basically, Texas, a popular Final Four pick, lost a first-round game to Abilene Christian that was statistically impossible to lose. Well, almost impossible.
But that wasn’t the most damning thing about Saturday night’s embarrassing first-round exit, and what a dejected Matt Coleman referred to as a bad dream that didn’t feel real. Unfortunately, it was all too real. What could possibly be worse?
Abilene Christian didn’t just shock Texas. It beat the Longhorns by doing the things Shaka Smart did at VCU and the things many expected to see Smart at least try in Austin. ACU played a unique style of defense; created its own version of “havoc” with extremely aggressive, relentless, swarming defense; and was the tougher team mentally and physically. The faulty nature of Smart's offensive style was painfully exposed at the exact wrong time.
This was supposed to be Smart’s best chance, by far, to finally break through at Texas in large part because of his experienced, talented guard trio capable of overcoming a faulty offensive system. And those guards crumbled on the court against the style of defense that made Smart famous. Oh, then there were the 18 offensive rebounds given up despite having a massive size, length, athleticism advantage with three frontcourt players capable of playing in the NBA. That’s a tough pill to swallow, and now Longhorn decision-makers must decide if they want to. They better wash it down with Tito's if they do.
So, it wasn’t just that Texas was upset in the first round. Perhaps the conversation is different if ACU played out of its mind on both ends of the floor and Texas generally played well. It was the way the game looked and unfolded, which despite it’s extreme ugliness wasn’t that much of a surprise to some Texas fans. That gift of the Big 12 Tournament to those fans Smart discussed became a distant afterthought as a nightmare unfolded in Indianapolis.
How serious is Texas Basketball to the people in charge? With a new arena on the horizon, we’re about to find out...
READ THE REST OF THIS COLUMN AND DISCUSS TEXAS BASKETBALL INSIDE THE 40 ACRES
Happy to say this week's column is again brought to you by The Timothy Center. The father-son duo of Doctors Jimmy and Josh Myers, both big Longhorn fans, are doing some great counseling work in the Austin area, especially during such a trying time mentally for many as we all are dealing with a global pandemic.
Drs. Jimmy & Josh Myers are the father/son owners of The Timothy Center here in Austin. Both are rabid UT fans, and both could use counseling themselves due to all the stress that this love of the Horns has generated.
The Timothy Center is unique in that it is the only Christian counseling facility in the Austin area that provides one-on-one counseling, couples therapy, an Intensive Outpatient programs for those teens and adults needing more concentrated help, medication management services, and one of the largest sexual addiction treatment programs in the central Texas area.
Another aspect of the Timothy Center is that all of these services are covered by most major insurance policies. Faith-based counseling, faith-based medication management, all covered by insurance is as rare in this area as an undefeated season by…well, you get the idea.
We have offices in south Austin, north near the outlet mall between Round Rock and Georgetown, and our main office about a mile north of the Arboretum on Jollyville Rd. Of course, right now, with the pandemic still raging, all of our adult services can be accessed in an online format.
If you should ever need our services, just give us a call at our main number 512-331-2700 or check out our website at www.timothycenter.com.
