Big 12: Texas’ Damarcus Croaker Impresses In Latest Mixtape
By Cody Daniel
Everybody with a knowledgeable basketball mind knows that in order to be the best, you have to play with the best. In the case of Texas Longhorns’ guard Damarcus Croaker, he isn’t necessarily training with the absolute “best” but he is competing with those far beyond his skill level as an effort to improve during the offseason.
As seen in his latest appearance in a mixtape hosted by Home Team Hoops, Croaker is getting some quality scrimmage experience against some NBA veterans and high upside talents such as Marcin Gortat, Ben Gordon, Austin Rivers and Courtney Lee. But what’s best about Croaker getting this glimpse of experience against some professional talent is the way he seemed to feel confident in holding his own and even appearing to be excelling at times against NBA talent.
More from NBA
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- Constructing the NBA’s perfect all-under-25 starting five
As you can see in the highlight video, Croaker was able to defend a very quick and crafty Rivers pretty well, contesting Lee just about as well as someone of his size and experience could do against a professional, knocking down the 3 and even gliding through the lanes for rim-rattling slams, making some posters along the way.
So what do these glimpses of great plays mean for Croaker and Texas?
Well, the first thing that popped out to me was Croaker going above and beyond with his offseason training in hopes to improve and solidify a role within Rick Barnes’ loaded roster for the upcoming season. Even more impressive is he’s not just out working with other college guys looking to make a name for themselves, but rather, he’s looked out into the world of NBA players and it doesn’t get any better than that.
This, in turn, should result in a significant talent and confidence boost to his game for next season and confidence is something he certainly seemed to lack as a freshman.
As for what this means for Barnes and his Longhorns … this should definitely open the eyes of the Texas coach whose teams’ weaknesses are aggressive, confident scoring and an outside shooting touch. These are all things Croaker can provide if given the opportunity.
With Texas’ backup point guard and depth at the shooing guard being questions of concern for a team that is hoping to emerge as championship contenders, having a guy like the new and improved Croaker — whether starting or coming off the bench — could become a pivotal asset when faced against powerhouses like Kansas, Kentucky and even Oklahoma and Iowa State.
There’s still much to be shown from Croaker before Barnes would ever consider making him a key piece on the roster, but if the video he was featured in can tell us anything about his offseason progression, it’s that he’s gotten much better and feels he can compete against anyone. Don’t be surprised to see Croaker’s name as one people are starting to recognize once he gets his opportunity in 2014-15.