Cant_Be_Faded
01-24-2006, 02:23 PM
Small in stature, Abrams a big talent
At 5-feet-10-inches and 155 pounds, freshman guard A.J. Abrams rarely awes the opposition with his physical stature alone. But that's all right with the Round Rock rookie; he's got all the confidence in the world.
"One thing my dad always told me was have confidence in everything you do," Abrams said. "If you have that, everything will take care of itself."
Luckily for No. 5 Texas, that confidence has translated into a solid third backcourt option on a team with little depth. Call it a premonition, but Texas coach Rick Barnes saw Abrams' potential from the very beginning.
"I told a person before the season started that I really thought that before January first, A.J. Abrams would be a big part of our rotation," Barnes said. "So I'm not surprised."
Texas will look for continued productivity from Abrams this Saturday when they travel to Waco for their second conference road match of the season versus Baylor.
The Bears' are serving the first of a five-year probation for multiple NCAA rules infractions committed during the tenure of previous head coach Dave Bliss, in which they are banned from any non-conference games during the year.
Although Baylor has only played three games so far this season, all losses by a combined 69 points, the Longhorns know better than to overlook any Big 12 foe.
"Baylor's only played three games so far, but they're still a very capable team," Kenton Paulino said. "We're definitely not looking past them."
On Jan. 9 in Texas' first conference road match versus Iowa State, it was Abrams, coming off the bench, who led Texas with eight assists.
"I had a blast," Abrams said. "I came in, and it was everything I expected. The crowd was full, it was loud. I just went in there and did what I practiced on and helped them out."
With a game-high 20 points coming from six 3-pointers, Paulino was the recipient of several of Abrams' assists.
"A.J.'s come a long way since we started practice," Paulino said. "He's growing up fast, and that's something you have to do. Every day in practice, when we're out there during the game, I'm constantly talking to him and trying to help him."
Abrams credits the mentoring of Paulino and Daniel Gibson and says that things finally started slowing down for him over winter break.
"I think [it started to click for me] over the Christmas break," Abrams said. "It was just all basketball over Christmas break. I got a lot of time to spend in the gym, getting to know what I can and cannot do. I think just playing basketball and just getting accustomed to all the plays and everything really helped."
Abrams' hard work has paid huge dividends so far. Barnes cites earning his teammate's confidence as Abrams' biggest accomplishment to date.
But it's Abrams' own unflappable confidence that has him feeling like an elder statesman on the court - no matter what size.
However, when it comes to roaming the 40 Acres, he's just like every other wide-eyed freshman finding their way.
"I feel like I've been here eight years," Abrams said. "[But] I feel like a freshman in the classroom, and I don't know where I'm going on campus. Today I had to stop and get a map, cause I didn't know where I was going."
At 5-feet-10-inches and 155 pounds, freshman guard A.J. Abrams rarely awes the opposition with his physical stature alone. But that's all right with the Round Rock rookie; he's got all the confidence in the world.
"One thing my dad always told me was have confidence in everything you do," Abrams said. "If you have that, everything will take care of itself."
Luckily for No. 5 Texas, that confidence has translated into a solid third backcourt option on a team with little depth. Call it a premonition, but Texas coach Rick Barnes saw Abrams' potential from the very beginning.
"I told a person before the season started that I really thought that before January first, A.J. Abrams would be a big part of our rotation," Barnes said. "So I'm not surprised."
Texas will look for continued productivity from Abrams this Saturday when they travel to Waco for their second conference road match of the season versus Baylor.
The Bears' are serving the first of a five-year probation for multiple NCAA rules infractions committed during the tenure of previous head coach Dave Bliss, in which they are banned from any non-conference games during the year.
Although Baylor has only played three games so far this season, all losses by a combined 69 points, the Longhorns know better than to overlook any Big 12 foe.
"Baylor's only played three games so far, but they're still a very capable team," Kenton Paulino said. "We're definitely not looking past them."
On Jan. 9 in Texas' first conference road match versus Iowa State, it was Abrams, coming off the bench, who led Texas with eight assists.
"I had a blast," Abrams said. "I came in, and it was everything I expected. The crowd was full, it was loud. I just went in there and did what I practiced on and helped them out."
With a game-high 20 points coming from six 3-pointers, Paulino was the recipient of several of Abrams' assists.
"A.J.'s come a long way since we started practice," Paulino said. "He's growing up fast, and that's something you have to do. Every day in practice, when we're out there during the game, I'm constantly talking to him and trying to help him."
Abrams credits the mentoring of Paulino and Daniel Gibson and says that things finally started slowing down for him over winter break.
"I think [it started to click for me] over the Christmas break," Abrams said. "It was just all basketball over Christmas break. I got a lot of time to spend in the gym, getting to know what I can and cannot do. I think just playing basketball and just getting accustomed to all the plays and everything really helped."
Abrams' hard work has paid huge dividends so far. Barnes cites earning his teammate's confidence as Abrams' biggest accomplishment to date.
But it's Abrams' own unflappable confidence that has him feeling like an elder statesman on the court - no matter what size.
However, when it comes to roaming the 40 Acres, he's just like every other wide-eyed freshman finding their way.
"I feel like I've been here eight years," Abrams said. "[But] I feel like a freshman in the classroom, and I don't know where I'm going on campus. Today I had to stop and get a map, cause I didn't know where I was going."