The Barnes of March deprives us of Durant much too soon
In summary: Under Barnes in the NCAA Tournament, Texas doesn't routinely beat the teams it should beat, and almost never beats the teams it shouldn't beat.
And I know why.
Barnes has changed. He has gone away from what worked for him at George Mason (20-10 in 1988), Providence (108-76 from 1989-94) and Clemson (74-48 from 1995-98). For that matter, he has gone away from what worked for him when he first got to Texas.
What works for Barnes? Brutishness works. When he was at Providence and Clemson, his teams weren't as talented or skilled as the Big East or ACC elite, but they were physical. Providence had manglers Michael "The Animal" Smith and Marques Bragg. Clemson had Harold Jamison and Tom Wideman. Whether he recruited or inherited those players, Barnes got the most out of them.
In his early years at Texas, he maximized bruisers like Gabe Muoneke, James Thomas and Chris Mihm, but success on the court led to success in recruiting, and in 2002 T.J. Ford transformed Texas into something fast and daring. Since then, Barnes has recruited around that model, transition trumping defense and rebounding. It's a fun style to play and watch, and it works fine from November to February -- but it isn't reliable in March.
This Texas team was built around Durant and guard D.J. Augustin, the best freshman tandem in the country. It had loads of talent but didn't rebound or defend like a vintage Rick Barnes team, and didn't overachieve -- or even achieve -- like Barnes' teams of old.
No, this Texas team did what so many Texas teams have done under Barnes. It had a great season, went to the NCAA Tournament and got upset. And now Durant is gone from the NCAA Tournament, probably gone from the college game for good.
Texas will be back next year. With Durant or without him, Barnes is too good to let the Longhorns fall far.
But Barnes wasn't good enough to get Durant into the Sweet 16, denying all of us the chance to enjoy this once-in-a-forever college player a little bit more.
