Texas at Texas Tech 01/17/21

It’s clear that we’ve regressed offensively. That had me thinking just how good B12 coaching is vs that of the SEC. Vic was able to out X & O just about everyone in the SEC except Dawn Staley. So far not the case in this league.

When teams take away CC we have no secondary offensive plan. And when you run into nights like this where we can’t hit the broadside of a barn, we lose.

I expect 3 maybe 4 more B12 losses. I look forward to next season when we have an infusion of offensive talent.

 

This is embarrassing. First a blowout loss to west virginia now a horrible loss to an awful tech team. Refs were bad in this game but we were worse. Zone offense is just terrible and has been all season. We have got to be better against zone to win in the big 12 and we are not right now.

 

The problem too is we’re not utilizing players consistently. Charli had a lot more variety in her play against Kansas. Why not today? What happened to the Ebo-Collier tandem?

Almost nothing to like from this game.

Well maybe nothing.

I agree that we need leadership and I would like to look to Lambert more. We can have this “defense first mentality” all we want. The bottom line is teams are beating us in man coverage too easily.

I don’t know why we aren’t able to get (or maybe we have it and they’re not empowered to do it) a strong drive option that can finish or dish.

We are incomplete. Maybe we can hold off until next year but frankly I don’t think Aston would’ve done any worse. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about Vic, but I’m just not seeing it.

 

Just when you think we couldn't play any worse, but good game plan by Krista and sound execution by her players. She definitely won the coaching battle. Our lack of depth with offensive skills hurt us again. I think @kurupt and I saw this coming.

The SEC and Big 12 are different conferences. SEC teams rely heavily on athleticism. When you can match that athleticism with some good coaching, then you win. The Big 12 however has about three athletic teams, and the less athletic teams play smart, are fundamentally sound, shoot the ball well, and are very well coached. Coach Vic is going to have to tweak his coaching philosophy to respect those facts.

Again.. glad this basically equates to a "test run" season for us. I can't think of one thing that I saw from us in this game that was encouraging.

 

Texas needs to go back to the lineup that started the first half when Lambert was out. She is a good player but when she starts Texas does not play well at all. Her on ball defense is okay at best but her help defense is terrible and she does not box out well.

Collier simply has to be better. I think at this point we all see she is not ready for the wnba. She really needs to work on finishing at the basket & to STOP DRIBBLING ON AN OFFENSIVE REBOUND!!! I bet Texas regrets letting Benzan & palmer go because Texas has no real shooter on the team.

I will say Vic is a great coach and I definitely see what he is trying to do but for some reason it's not clicking and that is what he is trying to figure out. We just have to be better that's all it comes down to. Our fastbreak has completely disappeared as time has gone on. Warren is a huge bright spot and if anyone deserves 40 minutes a game it's her

 

Vic has to hope that the perimeter players coming in next year can shoot the ball consistently like they have in high school and juco, because until that happens this team/program will continue to see zones and struggle. (Sound familiar?)

 

I agree with all except the part about Lambert. Her assist to turnover ratio going ino the game was like 4.6 to 1. That's who you want handling the ball. Chevalier needs more minutes though. We have NO rim protector aside from Gaston and she's a freshman. I don't understand why she barely played today. Something IS NOT right... we don't have the same energy that we had earlier. The chemistry just isn't there for some reason.

 

Lambert can definitely handle the ball but she doesn't provide a spark and she kills them on the defensive end. Texas needs to focus an entire practice on rotation and help defense because Texas cannot keep giving up open layups.

 

Lack of rim protector allowing layups. Lambert stays the PG if I'm a coach that doesn't want turnovers. Turnovers from the PG position can be especially damaging because typically those are live ball turnovers that lead to buckets by the other team.

 

The irony is that I think Vic has to be able to do what fans were asking with Aston. Like not being so stubborn and rigid in his approach. I know (just like with Aston) he doesn't like to play a zone and wants to play an aggressive man to man defense, but just like with many past Texas teams they don't have the overall athleticism and discipline on the perimeter to play that way right now. Nor do they have a rim protector that can cover up the fact that they allow too much dribble penetration. Vic needs to get a zone and a less aggressive man defense that he can use with this team. I also haven't been impressed with Vic's man offense thus far but it doesn't really matter what he does against the zone because they don't have consistent perimeter jump shooters.

 

You don't like his man offense?? His man offense is great. Every team who has played us man has not stopped us yet. It's more flow and movement in his man offense than his zone. Texas Guards are at our best when we play against man. It for sure opens up Collier.

 

It's dribble drive correct?

 

Yes it's mainly a dribble drive offense with sets involved. The sets are incorporated within the dribble drive but the overall concept is dribble drive with slice cuts which are very effective in that kind of offense

 

Ooof!

That's about all I can add. Anything else would be piling on.

 

The stats are almost even, but shooting 33% just won’t cut it. I felt like there were a lot of open shots that were not taken while trying to get the ball in to a blanketed Collier. They weren’t even contemplating taking those shots. Perhaps giving a green light and hitting some outside shots will give Collier some room to breathe and do her thing as opposed to sticking with the single strategy method.

*edit to say I know I’m not saying anything new here but my gut kept telling me the entire game they were passing up shots way more than usual. Maybe my imagination. I can’t bring myself to watch again I’d rather have a root canal.

 

I still have to remind myself that this is a young team and at this point I really don't have expectations due to it being his first year and I think things could be a lot worse than what they are. If we place top 3 in the big 12 I will be pleased and if we win a tournament game then my expectations would have been succeeded. I'm just going to support my horns with no expectations to save myself the stress

 

Kurupt is right. Vic has essentially the same philosophy that Karen and Jody both had, and may well be just as rigid. We aren't athletic enough to get much in transition and our one on one defense isn't very good for the most part. People don't move their feet and the offensive player goes right around them. But tonight the offense was the bigger problem. The guards looked tentative, like they didn't want to shoot. Charli couldn't hit anything when she did get the ball. I love Warren's spunk, but she is not tall enough to play under the basket. Don't know why we saw so little of Ebo and no Gaston as all. It was bad. I guess we have to look on this for it is, a rebuilding year. Making them take five seconds with our full court press was cool. That's about the only thing I saw that looked good tonight.

 

A couple of years ago I suggested that we should take a hard look at Krista Gerlich. I’m thrilled we have Vic, but our days of easily beating Tech are gone. They have a good one in Gerlich. New coach vs new coach, she is one up on Vic. Her in-game adjustments were pretty stellar.

 

I'm pretty sure Vic knew coming in he would have to recruit some shooters. The fact is when Karens' recruiting started to suffer she was missing out on all the shooters. Texas just doesn't have them. Yes, sometimes they get on a hot streak, but sometimes they go cold. That's reality with athletes who aren't great shooters.

Vivian Gray is a basketball player. Charli Collier is an athlete. Keven Durant was a basketball player. Damion James was an athlete. Damn, I'll be glad when Texas doesn't have to face Vivian Gray anymore.

 

Noooo, I don't want a rigid coach! I want a coach that makes changes game to game and situation to situation. AND, coaches to his team's strengths, not to some rigid SEC ideal. This is the BIG 12, Vic!

 

This is my school, my team no matter what. I dont like it when we lose reguardless the reason. I cant wait till Coach Vic gets the players he and his team have and will recruit. We obviously need help in a few areas but thats no ones fault, especially these ladies. I feel bad for the ladies cause I know they feel worse than all of us when they dont win. I supported Coach Karen and I will support Coach Vic and his vision for this team/program. Longhorn Nation Forever!

 

After listening to Vic's post game conference you really start to understand that everything we say and notice in this forum Vic already teaches. Help side defense, turnovers, shooting etc.. they are working on it. Texas shot 10% from the field in the 3rd quarter which is pretty bad. Collier & Vic both said the team did not come out ready to play. In fact the players told vic that they took Tech lightly and were not ready to play so after hearing everything you really can't say much about Vic. It ultimately comes down to being mentally tough and we were not whatsoever.

 

Yeah, don’t get me wrong. A few things go differently and this game does too. Charli hits just a little bit more in the 3Q (heck even those three FTs) the game shakes out very differently. Celeste doesn’t pick up foul 5, Charli not getting her 2nd so quickly, Audrey finishing just once more, and the match isn’t the same.

But the problem is, those things are going to happen. It’s about a response. It’s good to hear the players take some responsibility, but why was that their mentality anyway? Who’s stepping up in leadership?

There are some X’s O’s (especially on our man defense and running a more threatening offense) sure. But there’s gotta be some heart too.

 

Coach Vic's post game presser.

 

If the offense and defense does not improve, I think we have to get used to the idea of not making the tourney this year. I do not like it. There must have been someone on the bench who could hit a basket.

 

After CDC's survey that found out we are the top rival for every school in the Big 12, I don't think we should ever let another athlete get away with the comment "I took a Big 12 opponent lightly". When the OU football coach called us Texcuses 20 years ago, it fit and it still fits to this day. Make all the excuses you want, the Tech coach was in her first year same as Vic and I'd argue inherited a cupboard way more bare than ours. She got the W.

 

Completely agree and Vic said that there was no leadership at all in that game. He talked alot about leadership alot in his press conference and said that he relied on his point guards to step up but did not. Him and the coaching staff will now take the leadership role until someone steps up. Vic can only do so much but it's up to the team to want to play and show up ready to play. Not take opponents lightly which comes down to the mentally strong aspect that we lacked in that game. If we want to win in the big 12 our mentality has got to change. I hope that is the focal point in the next two days of practice if we want to turn these past two weeks around

 

If it’s not the coache’s responsibility to motivate his team and develop a leader then I don’t know what is. Not taking an opponent seriously is never an acceptable excuse. Never. Gerlich is in her first season rebuilding a program that had fallen way farther than we ever had. Sunday I was a bit numb about it. I have to admit today I’m somewhat disgusted. Did we learn nothing from the West Virginia game? SMH

 

Vic is motivating his team and you can see it on the sidelines. I think he means in game leadership and I'm going to use one of his examples.... Texas was in a huddle with two point guards on the floor and coming out of the huddle they still didn't know who they were guarding which led to an easy bucket. That type of leadership should be there for anyone and that is the problem because it's lacking.

 

I liked his candor in the post game presser. I mean, yeah, definitely wondering why some of the things are happening.

It was interesting to be reminded that we don’t have a captain. I appreciate this isn’t a label that’s thrown around. But I do wonder why it hasn’t “lit a fire” under someone.

I also agree that it’s troubling that this happened so quickly after West Virginia. Maybe that game hurt our spirit more than anything. Get it together girls!