TCU wants more energy, and sooner, to avoid slow Big 12 starts

Asked to identify the player who provides the most energy for his team, TCU basketball coach Trent Johnson nominated everyone.

“We need to have all energy guys,” he said after this week’s victory against Oklahoma State. “Everybody has a different level, different motor. For me, for us, everybody’s got to play harder. Got to grind it out more. That’s just the bottom line.”

Maybe energy level explains how TCU (11-13, 2-9 Big 12) can look poor for the first half of a game then rally to win it in the second half.

Oklahoma State was only the latest example. The Horned Frogs did the same in a come-from-behind victory against Tennessee in January.

The quality of competition could explain some of it. Teams such as Kansas can get an opponent down early.

But it also happened to the Frogs in games against inferior competition. Prairie View A&M limited TCU to 26 points in the first half of their game in December. Delaware State, winless at the time, did the same.

The Frogs have been held under 30 points in the first half 11 times this season, including five of the past six Big 12 games as the head to No. 10 West Virginia (19-5, 8-3) on Saturday.

“That’s really our problem in most games. We have a lack of energy, and we come out and we get down and then we’ve got to build uphill,” sophomore guard Chauncey Collins said. He had been asked about the spark provided by Chris Washburn’s dunk in the second half against Oklahoma State.

“Chris’ dunk was just like energy, like, this is us playing like we’ve got to continue playing with the mindset that we had,” Collins said.

West Virginia actually provides a chance for a fast start because of its pressure style, which can lead to transition baskets and a faster pace. TCU scored 47 points in the first half during the teams’ first meeting, Jan. 4 in Fort Worth. The Frogs led 47-45 at halftime but were outscored 50-40 in the second half.

The Frogs have talked about avoiding the slow starts.

“Everybody has to buy in, and we had a team meeting and just decided that everybody’s going to buy in,” Collins said after the Oklahoma State rally. “We’re all going to play to our best ability, have each other’s back, things that a team as brothers should have. After that, we came in at halftime, talked about it and said we’re just going to do it. And we came out, you saw the outcome.”

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 3:42 PM with the headline "TCU wants more energy, and sooner, to avoid slow Big 12 starts."