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Texas Basketball: Everything culminating around Shaka Smart

By Andrew Miller

AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns talks with a official during the game with the Oklahoma Sooners at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS - JANUARY 19: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns talks with a official during the game with the Oklahoma Sooners at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 19: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns talks with a official during the game with the Oklahoma Sooners at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TEXAS – JANUARY 19: Head coach Shaka Smart of the Texas Longhorns talks with a official during the game with the Oklahoma Sooners at The Frank Erwin Center on January 19, 2019 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Covatta/Getty Images) /

Dialing up the pressure

Heading into this regular season, Smart had some pressure on him to get this Texas basketball program down the right path finally. Texas at least made the NCAA Tournament last season, but the expectation was higher than that with former five-star center recruit Mohamed Bamba in the mix.

The fact that Barnes is having so much success this season, and last year, with the Tennessee Volunteers is helping Smart out at all. Tennessee basketball was in much worse shape than Texas when Barnes departed and Smart hired. Things have reversed the course in the past few seasons which could prove Barnes wasn’t the issue.

A massive shake up needs to happen soon for the Horns to get on the right track. Whether that be with Smart, or with a different head coach, is beside the point. To pull a program like Texas that has so much potential and a strong record of tradition requires a capable coaching regime to take advantage of the vast array of resources available on the Forty Acres.

The outcry from social media and the local media covering the Horns is starting to boil over in regard to Smart’s hot seat. This basketball program does come with a certain standard of success and high expectations. The fans were also pretty patient with Smart. The results just haven’t been delivered on the court yet.

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