Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
With 4.4 seconds remaining in the game on Sunday, the Texas Longhorns found themselves trailing the Connecticut Huskies by two points. Since their star point guard Isaiah Taylor wasn’t in uniform — he’s expected to miss up to six weeks with a broken wrist — they were without their best playmaker in a desperate time of need.
The only two players on the roster who are capable of creating their own shot in Taylor’s absense are Javan Felix and Jonathan Holmes. It was clear the ball was going to one of them, but the Huskies couldn’t do anything to stop it. Head coach Rick Barnes drew up a beautiful play, which saw Holmes pop to the corner for a wide open three. He had just enough daylight to get off a good look, and the Longhorns left the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion with their sixth win of the season.
Here’s a breakdown of that play.
Step One: The Set-Up
Felix and Holmes both set up in front of the ball, just on opposite sides of the court. Because Felix is a better three-point shooter — he shot 34.3 percent from the perimeter last season — his defender has to stay close to him. Holmes’ defender isn’t giving him any breathing room. The two other Longhorns park themselves on the left sideline facing the ball.
Step Two: The First Screen
Holmes moves forward ever so slightly and pauses. Myles Turner pops towards him and sets a brush screen. He then clears out to the paint, freeing up the baseline and drawing his man away from the play. (According to Holmes, a lob to Turner was the primary option on this play. Since that wasn’t available, they moved onto the next option, which was for Turner.)
While that’s going on, Felix begins to move towards to the ball to keep his defender honest.
Step Three: The Final Screen
With Turner no longer on the perimeter, Demarcus Holland sets the second screen on Holmes, forcing the Huskies to make a spit second decision on whether or not to switch. In this instance, they fail to communicate and get hung up. Holmes cuts towards the corner for a look at an uncontested three.
Step Four: The Shot
Because all but one of the Huskies are in no man’s land, Turner’s defender has to leave him to close out on Holmes. Subsequently, Turner is wide open for a quick look if Holmes opts to dish it off. He’s even free for a put-back if there’s a miss. None of that mattered, though, because Holmes had just enough daylight to get off a good look.
Holmes knocked it down, Texas won, and they remain undefeated on the season.
Here’s a video of the play.
The Longhorns certainly miss Taylor’s creativity and playmaking ability, but Holmes has already stepped up in a big way since the news broke out of his injury. He finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds in the finals of the 2K Classic against California, and he managed to come through in the clutch against the Huskies despite a rough shooting night overall.
They’ll certainly need more of that if they hope to stay afloat leading up to the Big 12 tournament.