Can Shaka Smart Reek HAVOC with Texas Frontcourt?

It was a tumultuous journey for Rick Barnes at Texas. Some will remember it fondly for times like the Kevin Durant year, but most will remember the past four years, and every disappointment in between. Barnes impressed many in 2011 when he went into Allen Fieldhouse and won. They looked like they had a legitimate shot to end Kansas’ conference title streak that season. But of course, they lost five out of their last nine games, dropping to a four seed, and losing in the round of 32.

He did virtually the exact same thing in 2014, sitting at first place in the Big 12 in early February, then going on to lose 7 of their last 13, ending in another exit in the round of 32.

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And in case anyone already forgot about last year, Texas was a top 10 team as late as January, but went just 8-10 in the Big 12, mostly because he decided to play Conner Lammert 20 minutes a game while his best player, Myles Turner, rotted on the bench for half the game. While Lammert continued to brick threes, Barnes’ seat got hotter and hotter, Texas lost in the round of 64 as an 11-seed, and Barnes was canned.

Enter Shaka Smart. He’s young, energetic, and pretty much the opposite of Barnes in every way. Barnes recruited well, Shaka doesn’t (though a lot of that probably had to do with the fact that he was coaching at VCU). Shaka is a smart, pedal to the medal coach, and Barnes runs a slow, fundamental, motion offense.

Of course, what Smart is most famous for is his trademark havoc defense (not kidding, VCU literally trademarked it). It’s a 1-2-1-1 press that traps the ball at every stop in the backcourt.

Thus, Smart likes guards. He likes quick players. He runs four-guard lineups probably about 90% of the time (with the one exception being his first year, when he inherited a frontcourt of Larry Sanders and Jamie Skeen). His tallest rotation player the past four years has been Juvonte Redic, who sits at 6’9″. But Redic was quick, versatile, and was so much more than just a post player.

So what happens at Texas when one of his best returning players is a six-foot-ten, 280-pound center? Cameron Ridley is a type of player Smart has never had before — a bully, back to the basket, big man.

Guys like Redic and Skeen would traditionally drop back in havoc, while all the guards did the trapping in the backcourt. They were the “safety,” to prevent anyone who breaks the press from having an easy layup.

Sure, Smart can have Ridley do this. It’s reasonable to think that Isaiah Taylor, Javan Felix, Demarcus Holland, and Ridley get spots in the starting lineup. They’re Texas’ four best players. The final spot gets a little cloudy, however.

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If Smart wants to go with his traditional, four guard lineup, Kendal Yancy wouldn’t be a bad choice. But this creates a lineup where there is only one guy taller than 6’4″. They would get killed on defense once the other team broke the pressure.

Freshman Tevin Mack is the other option, and probably the best option. He’s 6’6″, a great defender, averaging almost 4 steals per game in high school, and a knockdown shooter, something the Longhorns really lacked last year.

Smart can then build his depth around two other freshman guards Eric Davis, Jr, and Kerwin Roach, Jr. Jordan Barnett didn’t show much his freshman year, but still has high expectations.

That’s a lot of unproven guys, and it’s still only eight of them. Smart usually has teams that are 10 deep, since running his press takes so much energy.

So the issue isn’t finding a spot for Ridley. It’s finding a spot for Connor Lammert and Prince Ibeh, two of the more experienced, more proven guys on the team.

Ibeh is a fantastic shot blocker, but he doesn’t provide much on the offensive end. He also got buried on the bench last year with the addition of Myles Turner. Lammert is supposed to space the floor, but he really doesn’t do that very well. He’s a pretty good rebounder.

It’s going to be tough to run havoc when both Ridley, and either Lammert or Ibeh are on the floor. Only one guy can drop back. The four others all focus on trapping the ball. None of Lammert, Ridley, or Ibeh have the footspeed for that.

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Even in a perfect world where Smart trotted out Ridley and four guards all the time, there’s still an issue. Ridley has never played more than 25 minutes a game, and his stamina is likely to be even worse in Shaka Smart’s offense, which relies a lot on quick hitting action, with the bigs running the floor like crazy and immediately setting ball screens.

So to answer the question of how Smart will mesh: it’s really tough to tell. When I saw Smart was going to Texas, I thought for sure Ridley was going to transfer. When it looked like he was going to stay, I thought for sure Lammert or Ibeh would leave. None of them did, and this leads me to believe that they think it can work.

Shaka is smarter than I am. That’s why he’s getting paid millions of dollars to do this. But it’s hard to see a scenario where Texas runs havoc as often as Smart likes to. They just don’t have the personnel yet. For a coach who predicates his offense on his defense, that’s not good. It could spell a long first year for Smart in Austin, and there’s nothing wrong with that. VCU didn’t even make the tournament in Smart’s first year at the helm, but made the final four the next year. But for Texas fans expecting immediate results, let’s pump the brakes a bit.

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Can Shaka Smart Reek HAVOC with the Texas Longhorns Frontcourt?

By Matt Ostrowski | Sep 16, 2015

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