Balbay provides a 'Change of Pace'
Nov. 25, 2009
Thomas Dick, Texas Media Relations Many people roll their eyes when they hear coaches and players on the Texas Longhorns men's basketball team say, "Everyone on this team is good enough to be a starter." But it's a concept that in which the team believes. And nobody embraces the concept more than junior point guard Dogus Balbay. In the preseason, head coach Rick Barnes and Balbay had a discussion about the Turkey native's role for the 2009-10 campaign. "I let him know that if he cares a lot about things like being `the starter,' then he can be a starter," Barnes said. "But I told him we really like what he gives us off the bench. I told him we like the energy he brings, and we like the change of pace he provides." Being the team player he is, Balbay was quick to accept the role. "I told coach I was willing to do whatever he wanted me to do," Balbay said. "We have a lot of talented players on this team, and they are all capable of starting. That is a good thing, not a bad thing." In Tuesday's 78-62 win over Pittsburgh in the championship game of the O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic, Balbay played like a starter. Off the bench, he came close to recording a triple-double with 10 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in 28 minutes. Add to that a solid effort on the defensive side of the court in which he tallied two steals and disrupted Pitt's offensive flow, and you have a truly complete game by Balbay. The coaching staff was not surprised by his performance. "On most teams, Dogus would be a starter," assistant coach Russell Springmann said. "And in a lot of games he would get those Jason Kidd triple-doubles - 10 to 15 points, 10 rebounds, 10 or 11 assists. He is an aggressive player on both ends of the court."
With starter Varez Ward out due to a season-ending injury, Balbay, Avery Bradley and J'Covan Brown all logged season highs in minutes played against Pitt. It's a trend that should continue until Jai Lucas is eligible in mid- December. "I'm always prepared to play," Balbay said. "Deep down everybody would like to play 40 minutes. Everybody always wants to play every second of every game. But this is what's best for the team. And I think it is going to keep us fresh in March. I felt fresh every moment I was on the floor. I think the other guys did, too. " During the preseason, Barnes was inundated by the predictable question of distributing minutes among a team with so much talent. Balbay can answer that question for him. "With this team, when you go to the bench there is someone just as good as you going on the floor," Balbay said. "Your playing time depends on how hard you work and how smart you play." With that in mind, Balbay worked hard in the off-season to improve his jump shot so he could be a well-rounded offensive player. He has also improved his ball-handling in order to be a threat on the drive. Now Balbay has added another dimension to the Longhorns' offense. Numerous times this year with the court spread, Balbay seemingly has caught his opponent off-guard, blowing by his man off the dribble and knifing through the big men in the lane for a highlight-reel layup. Balbay gives much of the credit to his teammates for his scoring. "When you play with big guys inside like Dexter (Pittman) and Damion (James), many times all you have to do is beat your man and you can get an easy lay-up," Balbay said. "The other defenders don't want to leave Dexter and Damion to provide help. If they do help on defense, it leaves an easy scoring option for our big guys." The Longhorns' big men appreciate how he opens up the offense. "When Dogus has the ball, you always have to be ready because it can be coming to you at any moment," Pittman said. "When he comes in the lane, as soon as he sees your man leave you to help, he's going to get you the ball." That mindset has the Horns taking high percentage shots. Texas is shooting .546 from the field through four games. Balbay is leading the team with 5.0 assists per game and owns a 3.3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. They are numbers worthy of a starting role. A starting role that Balbay isn't chasing. |
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