The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Washington
Men's Basketball preview: vs. Washington in Shanghai [Nov. 13, 2015]
11.12.2015 | Men's Basketball
Friday night's game marks debut of Shaka Smart era (9 p.m., CT, ESPN).
Complete Texas Game Notes
TV: ESPN | Online: WatchESPN
GameDay Quick Facts
• Television: The game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Roxy Bernstein (pxp) and Bill Walton (analyst) will call the action.
• Radio: The Longhorn IMG Radio Network broadcast every UT game on the statewide network. Craig Way (pxp) and Roger Wallace (analyst) will call the action for this game remotely. Check www.TexasSports.com for a listing of affiliates carrying the game.
• Series: Texas leads, 2-0. Last meeting: Texas 104-83 (Nov. 20, 1991; Austin).
• Friday's contest marks the third meeting between Texas and Washington on the hardcourt.
• Texas holds a 2-0 lead in the all-time series against Washington that dates back to the 1942-43 season.
• In the first meeting (March 26, 1943), UT recorded a 59-55 win in the 1943 NCAA Western Regional in Kansas City, Mo. At that time, the NCAA Tournament only featured an eight-team field, so the Texas-Washington game was essentially an NCAA quarterfinal matchup. With the win, UT technically advanced to its first Final Four before falling to Wyoming 58-54 two days later in Kansas City.
• In the most recent matchup (Nov. 20, 1991), Texas registered a 104-83 home victory in the Chase Preseason NIT First Round (season opener for both teams).
Notables
• The Smart Era Begins: Friday's contest marks the debut of head coach Shaka Smart at Texas. In six seasons at VCU, Smart led the Rams to a 163-56 (.744) mark and five NCAA tourney appearances, including a trip to the 2011 Final Four. VCU and Duke are the only programs in the country to have won at least 26 games in each of the past six years.
• Making History: Texas and Washington will play in the first regular season game (professional or collegiate) in China.
• For Openers: The Horns have won 13 straight season openers and have posted an overall mark of 90-19 (.824) in its previous 109 season-opening games.
• Depth and Experience: Texas returns four starters and 11 letterwinners from last year's team. The Horns return 70 percent of their scoring, 66 percent of their rebounding and 76 percent of their minutes played from the 2014-15 roster.
• Navy Seal Team Training
• After using Navy SEAL training for his final four years at VCU, Shaka Smart and strength/conditioning coach Daniel Roose brought the program to Texas.
• All players and members of the UT coaching and support staff took part in a three-day training session in late September.
• The goals of the training session were to improve communication, leadership and team-building.
• John McGuire, who spent 10 years as a Navy SEAL and the past 17 years organizing training sessions incorporating some of the same rugged regimens, led the training.
• To view an all-access look at the training provided by Longhorn Network, go to this video link: https://youtu.be/4jg8Nvm3lDo.
Five Core Values of Texas Basketball
Upon Smart's arrival at Texas, he laid out his five core values for the Texas Basketball program:
Appreciation: We see every opportunity as a gift.
Enthusiasm: We are passionate and excited about our process for success.
Competitiveness: We aggressively pursue excellence.
Teamship: We commit fully to aligning ourselves with the team.
Accountability: We are responsible for our team and ourselves.
