In the Longhorns upset of No. 2 UCLA, Texas' Rick Barnes defied last year's critics, writes SI.com's Grant Wahl. The 'Bag's mom also checks in and more in this week's mailbag

• Texas' win at UCLA bumps up the 'Horns

The freshman matchup of Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo was one ugly showcase at the Jimmy V classic, writes SI.com's Luke Winn.

•	1st female head of a major conference quits
•	DAVIS: Legion considering returning to UK
•	Hansbrough, UNC smash Penn at Palestra
•	Late rally lifts Michigan State past Bradley
•	Record Chattanooga crowd can't stop UT
•	Ankle injury finishes Duke's Pocius' season
•	Lady Vols still No. 1, but it's not unanimous
•	Gordon injured, White steps up for Hoosiers
•	No. 4 Rutgers women rally past No. 3 Terps
•	Arkansas St.'s Banks arrested, suspended
•	More college basketball news

Coaches may leave, but Butler's tradition of success lives on year after year.

The Fighting Irish's Kyle McAlarney waited a long time to come to MSG.

Hasheem Thabeet's custom sneakers get caught in the latest style archive edition.

Leading by example

Texas' Barnes gets bad rap; experienced teams, more

Posted: Wednesday December 5, 2007 3:03PM; Updated: Wednesday December 5, 2007 3:03PM

Texas' Rick Barnes is one of the nation's most underappreciated coaches. This season the Longhorns have knocked off UCLA and Tennessee.

John Biever/SI

MAILBAG

Grant Wahl will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag.

Rick Barnes can coach.

There. We said it. The 'Bag has always believed this, and yet few coaches in the nation have taken a more public beating than Texas' Barnes has in the past year, mainly for what was perceived in some precincts as his team's inability to get the ball in the hands of Kevin Durant more often.

Implicit in that criticism was another indictment: that Longhorns point guard D.J. Augustin wasn't up to the task.

Well, now look: Durant may be gone, but Texas has pulled off the nation's most impressive pair of wins so far this season, knocking off two of the 'Bag's preseason Final Four picks: Tennessee (on a neutral court) and UCLA (in Pauley Pavilion).

Both times Augustin was the best player on the floor, combining timely scoring with near-flawless passing and the wisdom to know when to push the pace and when to slow it down. (Don't use Darren Collison's rustiness as an excuse for Augustin's poise.) And both times Barnes outcoached an accomplished counterpart: Tennessee's Bruce Pearl and UCLA's Ben Howland.

Barnes put on a coaching clinic Sunday. The Longhorns' 2-3 zone flummoxed a UCLA team that didn't have an Arron Afflalo-quality outside shooter to bust it open (Josh Shipp needs to be that guy). It was Barnes who managed his timeouts smartly, rather than Howland, who burned his last TO at the 2:23 mark and had Kevin Love watching on the bench over the final 2:12.

And whatever Barnes has done to increase the confidence of Connor Atchley and Damion James, it's clearly working. The Longhorns are indeed a better team this season, yet another lesson that talent doesn't always trump chemistry. If Texas can get past three more tough non-conference foes--Michigan State (on Dec. 22 in Auburn Hills, Mich.), Wisconsin and Saint Mary's -- it's entirely possible that Barnes' Bunch could take a spotless record into Big 12 play.

Then maybe some people will finally admit that the man can coach.

Onward ...

Of all the teams starting freshmen and sophomores that either do not have any senior leadership or very little of it, which one do you think has the best chance of making the Big Dance and going deep?
--Kim Griffis, Winter Park, Fla.

Good question, Kim. I'm going to take your question to ask about teams that are extremely inexperienced. Several Top 20 teams don't have any senior starters -- North Carolina, Texas, UCLA, Marquette and Louisville -- but you can have leadership without being a senior (consider Collison or Tyler Hansbrough).

To answer your question, though, I'd name two inexperienced teams that could potentially make a deep NCAA tourney run in March:

Florida: The Gators start two freshmen (Nick Calathes, Jai Lucas), two sophomores (Marreese Speights, Dan Werner) and one junior (Walter Hodge), and while they're still a work in progress (as we saw in that home loss to Florida State) you can be sure that Billy Donovan will have them prepared for the SEC season and beyond. Don't underestimate the experience that some of these guys got as role players during Final Four runs past.

USC: The Trojans start two freshmen (O.J. Mayo, Davon Jefferson) and three sophs (Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett, Dwight Lewis), and coach Tim Floyd may be right when he claims his guys have the biggest upside of any team in the country. Any team that can play ugly and still take Kansas and Memphis to the wire deserves respect, but when that team is this green it's even more impressive. Gibson has to learn how to be aggressive without getting into foul trouble, though. It's becoming a constant problem.

To take Kim's question one step further, the 'Bag checked out the starting lineups of all 44 teams that received votes in this week's AP poll. On the other end of the scale, the most experienced starting fives were:

Butler: The Bulldogs were the only team to boast five senior starters. Last weekend's come-from-behind win against Ohio State was only the latest proof that Butler is for real. If it can take care of business in the Horizon league (for a change), a run similar to St. Joseph's in 2002-03 is a real possibility. (Also, many thanks to reader Jon in Chicago, who responded to my lament about the lack of televised Butler games with a link to the Horizon League's own streaming-video Web site.)

Washington State: The Cougars start three seniors (Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver, Robbie Cowgill) and two juniors (Taylor Rochestie, Aron Baynes), one explanation for the poise Wazzu had in winning at Baylor last week. Wednesday's Inland Empire showdown at Gonzaga should be a great one (although the 'Bag remains steamed that he can't get ESPNU anywhere on Comcast and is fed up with both parties).

Georgetown: Even the Hoyas' lone underclassman starter (sophomore DaJuan Summers) is experienced, and it certainly helps to have three seniors (Roy Hibbert, Jonathan Wallace, Patrick Ewing Jr.) to shoulder the leadership load. Wednesday's virtual road game against Alabama should provide a bit of a test; a throwdown at Memphis on Dec. 22 will be even bigger.

Xavier: We already talked up the X last week. Three senior starters (Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell, Josh Duncan) will be a key for the Musketeers, who are coached by rising star Sean Miller. Wednesday's home game against Creighton pits the best of the Atlantic-10 against the best of the Missouri Valley.