Player Management 2017-18

It's hard to get a good pic of everyone, but I think that one nailed it.

 

Bit of fun with George Washington, Jordan, Lashann and Rellah. It’s a good thing they’re getting a college education and can play basketball because a future in music is probably iffy at best.

 

Will be there, but not many coherent thoughts to share. I can blather though.

 

Be the first time I get to see this season's team in action!

 

I'll be in attendance.

 

Wish I Cold be there Zig. I’m still out of town! Have fun. I’m betting it will be pretty feisty knowing the competitiveness of this group!

 

Is the team scrimmaging another team in Colorado? I recall the team going to Arizona State last year or the year before for a scrimmage:

 

Yes. This was another announcement Karen made at the Potluck. Unfortunately, it is a closed event, she can not name the team, but they will be a challenging opponent; which is what we need.

We should assign this one to Hornfans' vast investigative staff. Surely, someone from a Top 25 program has a similar tweet.

 

Challenging opponent? Just speculation but Colorado would seem like a convenient midpoint for Texas vs Stanford (not on the nonconf schedule).

 

Or UCLA. But DFW, you need to do the research, not speculate like I am!

 

If it's one of these, they're better at keeping a secret, nothing from Stanford, UCLA, USC, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington or Cal on Twitter about travel to Colorado.

 

Impressive! Keep it up! Btw, Washington is on our schedule.

 

So now the rest of us know...slow roller.

 

Amazing. I honestly did not know. Your Stanford guess made me think of UCLA. It made sense, having just beaten them in March. Thanks for bird-dogging this.

 

March 2016

 

I think this will be the most intellectually fascinating season of U.T. women's basketball we have ever experienced. The sheer ability and depth of personnel, the variety of gifted players that can combine on the court, the potential for brilliance versus the possibility of disappointment, the complexity of managing so much talent, the challenge of creating winning chemistry, and the question of how far the final product can go...It's exciting. I can't stop theorizing about it. This will probably be the best shooting team in Texas history, including the national champions of the 80's, but three of the best shooters are freshmen. Will they come along fast enough? We will need them to reach the top. With so many potential stars competing for playing time, can we develop the chemistry to go to the Final Four? Will we beat Baylor? How will we stack up against what is going to be one of the greatest UConn teams of all time? Are we over-rating ourselves? How high, exactly, is our potential, and will we achieve it? Karen Aston was a great coach of over-achieving teams without a star. Will she be a truly great coach, at the topmost level, while coaching one of the greatest aggregations of talent in women's basketball? That's the last, hardest hurdle. Is the talent as good as we think it is? Can the coaching staff meld them into champions? It's exciting to think about.

 

Great questions, all.

Just like last year, it all looked good....on paper. Then the reality of that brutal early schedule gradually kicked in, with the senior-night, home loss to Iowa State shining the spotlight on our weaknesses.

We seem to have fewer weaknesses this time around....on paper.

 

It's certainly a different type of pressure that a coach experiences when they have a team loaded with talent. The degree of talent will be ratcheted up even more next year when the 2018 class arrives. Hopefully some of the current Juniors and Sophomores will be ready to fill the void of leadership that Brooke and Ariel will leave once they graduate. As Dr D described in his/her post, a lack of talent will not be the reason for not achieving success. Coaching, chemistry and leadership will be the factors for success.

 

This is a very good sign for Ariel - playing great D but without the fouls.

 

It seems almost too good to be true, not seeing Ariel go out after the first few minutes with 2 fouls. She has been fantastic so far this year.