Spokane Regional

For what it’s worth, Ebo only missed 2 shots and only had 2 TO. Obviously I would like that second one to be zero. But she did have 8 rebounds and was 3-4 from the line.

 

It was just our 2nd game of the season. I would hope we have improved since then. If we haven't than what the hell are we paying Vic for? Filling in the dearth of chicken-fried witticisms since Mack Brown left?

 

One is a pretty much “for sure”…she’s in a 5 year program..one is pretty much GONE, 3rd is a “maybe”….

 

Rori was outside circle…crappy call…

 

And how does it affect playing time of our 4 recruits if any or all return.
Sammie and Ndjacalenga are the most ready to battle for playing time IMO. Will Hunter, Kobe and Femme return And can't forget the possibility of Jackson.
Off season is going to be interesting.

 

If you’re talking Rickea she’s committed to Tennessee

 

Which Jackson? Rickea announced she's going to Tennessee.

 

Shouldn’t be surprised that Elena is still tracking this team…

 

Bummer on Jackson.
Any opinion on the first statement? Looking for a badketballers perspective on the impact of our sr's return or not to our roster.
Thanks

 

That's awesome.

 

I don’t know that’s WAY more Crystal ball work than I’m capable of with so many unknowns.

 

The way you worded your response sounds like you have inside information. Is this true or are you speculating as to their decisions? I hope it’s the former.

 

Really good win against a quality team. Credit to Vic and the players. I wish that this was the first time that they were going to be playing Stanford.

Stanford will not only be motivated to get back to the Final 4 but also to avenge the loss from earlier in the year. Which diminishes the impact of Texas being able to play the underdog role. And because of that, I think that they're going to have to play their best game of the season on both ends.

Stanford's length and size, especially on the wing and post bothered Texas the first game and I think it will this time.

If you gave each D1 Coach the same equal talent, I would pick Vic over any coach in the country. IMO this Texas team, although young and talented in some areas has somewhat overachieved.

But with Tara getting a second look, and Stanford figuring out its PG situation I think that they're going to be tough to handle.

 

Starts at the 11:20 mark

 

I think Vic will do a good job instilling the fact that Texas is indeed the underdog here. He’s already pointed out several times the lack of national coverage Texas has received. To watch ESPN before the Ohio St game started you’d never know it was about to start they were so busy talking about all the other games. Not to mention afterwards there was not that much coverage and I saw all the highlights of the second round over and over except for Texas. It’s been pretty blatant in my opinion.

And yes, everyone assumes Texas was a fluke beating Stanford earlier although they beat them quite handily if you actually saw the game.

As if they really need underdog status when Vic has them understanding having Texas across their chests is all the incentive an opposing teams needs to be very motivated to win.

 

I know Vic can wax eloquent about most nearly everything in his PC's, but I have to say this one was special. He gave insights and thoughts about his players that were truly from the heart. He's a great coach, and also a really good guy. I wish them good fortune tomorrow.

 

Could someone call Vic and let him know that I really need this win? Thanks.

 

Sammie Wagner is class of 2023; so, the upcoming decision of the 5th year seniors for 2022-23 doesn't impact her directly.

 

Don’t know their names and I’m too lazy to look it up but Stanford seemed to really play through one player - their star.
I like our chances. Was thinking last night how much depth we have.
Rori getting that that early foul trouble was not the norm. I bet she comes out tomorrow night on a mission and I’ll be there for every second of it

 

I remember when the bracket was released, and thought it was odd that the #10 seed in our bracket was and SEC team; P5 conference teams aren't typically that low. But, it made sense based on Arkansas' record.

While I didn't think they'd be able to beat #7 Utah, I looked at the other regions' #10 seeds and saw South Dakota, Creighton, and Florida. With Florida, I thought they'd get a #6 or #7 seed, but I guess the season-ending injury of their leading scorer late in the season is something the committee took into consideration.

So, in my (uneducated) head, it seemed like we may have drawn the toughest #10 seed. Obviously, I could not have been more wrong based on the damage South Dakota and Creighton have applied in the tourney. After last weekend, I was for sure glad it was Arkansas in our region

 

What GREAT representatives of Texas those players are

 

I believe Stanford is taller at every starting position. Cameron Brink is so different (physique and skill-wise) from Gaston and Moore; that's a matchup I'm thinking could be key based on who defends who better.

Their tallest player, 6'5 Ashton Prechtel seems to do nothing but launch 3-pointers. In our first game, she rarely played in the paint. Her minutes have really decreased, but when she's in the game, Ebo is gonna have to step out and defend her; I'd like to us put in Lattimore any time Prechtel enters the game and have her be the defender outside the 3 point line.

 

Former…info on 2 of 3 pretty solid…

 

A few comments. First…the broken plays that OSU hit the threes on almost caused my wife to conk me on the head. Second…..all the fouls on Harmon were correct, although a couple were flukey. The second foul on the drive to the basket….no question at all….it was correct. Third….the two missed free throws late by Moore were almost a killer. Fourth…..the two made free throws late by Ebo were almost as crucial as Harmon’s. Fifth…..OSU coach did not complain about Moore’s block….it was a good block but I’m with Mooo that in many circumstances like that, they call a foul cause it was quick and kinda unexpected. Sixth…..the OSU coach was professional and complimentary of Texas….calling us a great, great team. Seventh…..we’re playing with house money now. Stanford is ….and should be….the heavy favorite, but don’t count this team out. TEXAS FIGHT!

 

We are for sure playing with house money.

Obviously, we felt the pressure (not just from OSU's press) last night, especially the freshmen.

Tomorrow, all the pressure should be on Stanford as the #1 seed and defending national champions. Pat Summitt used to say that the regional final (Elite 8) game was more pressure than the Final Four, and national championship game. Jody's teams in the late 80's definitely succumbed to some of that pressure as the higher seed a few times.

 

I think we all have been holding our breath this last 15-20 games…..hoping Harmon wouldn’t get in foul trouble or hurt. Most didn’t give Horns a favorite’s chance if that happened. What JAT did in second quarter offensively was simply amazing. Even more amazing was she moved to guarding Shelton (pt guard)…. and I was feeling better about her defense than I was with Harmon. So…..we survived that one-off game for Harmon. Most teams don’t survive an Elite 8 game when similar happens. I don’t think Harmon will have two games like that in a row. Stanford doesn’t have a similar point guard that might get her in foul trouble. Yes I realize most of her fouls were not in guarding the point guard but my case is still valid. I’m looking for a big bounce back game from Harmon. I think Stanford knows not to give Matharu space now. That should open up space for Harmon and Taylor in the mid-range middle. OSU was extremely soft in that area and JAT and Harmon late made em pay. Stanford won’t be soft in the middle but with Matharu demanding attention on the wing, there will be some room in the middle….especially for Harmon and her pull-up jumper. I’m feeling better about this game minute by minute. HOOK ‘EM!

 

I am not. Color me hopeful, but far, far from confident.

 

Stanford PC. It starts around the 13:00 mark.

 

"Oh, you should listen to Vic's opening statements."

Well played....and so true.

 

From The Athletic:

A few hours before tipoff every game day this season, Texas freshman Rori Harmon settled into her favorite five minutes of the day.

She turned her phone to silent, and for the few minutes before she fell asleep for her pre-game nap, Harmon found her quiet. With no distractions, no noise, she thought only of potential.

“Even before I close my eyes and go to sleep, I actually just kind of get to think about the whole game and how I want it to go,” Harmon says. “I can just think about all the possibilities within the game.”

Entering the season, Harmon imagined the possibilities of what her freshman year could be like, what her potential might be, but even with her lofty goals, it was hard to see this: a Big 12 championship, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, a berth in the Elite Eight against the reigning national champions.

“I don’t want to say I wasn’t expecting it,” Harmon says, “but it definitely came around quick.”

On the court, Harmon is the Longhorns’ first point of defensive attack, going 100 mph while maintaining the ability to change direction at the drop of a dime. She picks up opposing guards for the full 94 feet of the court, sometimes for 40 minutes in a game, with the explicit task of turning them from side to side as many times as possible. She forces veteran guards to use more dribbles than they’d like, surprisingly closing up passing lanes with her 5-foot-6 frame. And on the other end, she commands the Texas offense and creates for her teammates.

But what separates her from not only other point guards, but also other players across the country is her motor, according to coach Vic Schaefer. “She just has an unbelievable energy level and effort level that, let’s face it, even seniors don’t have,” he said. “If you’re playing with a person like that, with a player like that … you can’t help but look at her and go, ‘She’s playing pretty hard, I guess I’ll play hard too.’ I just think that’s infectious.’”

But away from the court, she’s not necessarily that non-stop motor player. She’s more like those five minutes before her pre-game naps — quiet, reticent, reserved. Schaefer says she’s not exactly a fast walker. Her dad, Rodney, says she’s the kind of person who prefers to sleep in (with the exception being when he’s up early making waffles, eggs and bacon for breakfast).

“She’s pretty quiet, honestly,” teammate Lauren Ebosaid. “She’s not as hype as you see her on the court.”

Earlier in the season, as the freshman began to dominate, her teammates gave her the nickname “Fetus,” because of her youth and relative small size. It didn’t bother her. She never saw her age or size as a disadvantage. In elementary school, she was the second-tallest girl in her class. But that quickly changed, and with it, Harmon learned the ways to turn her height (or lack thereof) into an advantage — how she could do things on the floor that taller players couldn’t do. And she has always played up in age groups during youth basketball.

The nickname? She embraced it.

“It’s almost like a compliment,” she says. “They must think I’m pretty cute.”

Before “Fetus” was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and before Texas became a team bound for the Elite Eight, there were several questions coming into the season about the Longhorns. They lost three starters from last season’s squad that went 21-10, including Charli Collier, the No. 1 WNBA Draft pick who led Texas in both points and rebounds.

There was a lot of production to replace, and a true freshman point guard is often a roller coaster ride that doesn’t exactly lead to steady results or a deep run in March.

But Schaefer had an idea that Harmon might be different. It came even before she dropped 21 points on Stanford, the Longhorns’ Elite Eight matchup, in the second game of the season.

He heavily recruited dozens (and seen hundreds, if not thousands) of points guards on the recruiting trail during his coaching career. He walked out of high school gyms thinking, that player can the score the ball, or that guard can see the floor well. Every time he saw Harmon, he walked out of the gym and thought, man, that kid plays her guts out.

And it’s exactly what she has done throughout the season for Texas.

Harmon says that the biggest part of her learning curve came on offense, just in understanding when and how Schaefer wanted the Longhorns to get shots. She needed to learn the difference between seeing an open teammate versus the right teammate depending on time on the shot clock, place on the floor, situation in the game.

She admits that lesson hit her the hardest during Texas’ three-game losing streak in January, when the Longhorns lost to Oklahoma and then twice to Baylor.

“You always learn the most going through your biggest adversities,” she said.

Since then, Texas has won 14 straight games, and Harmon has averaged 13 points, 6.5 assists and 2.7 steals. The Longhorns are one game away from making their fourth Final Four in program history and their first since 2003. Their opponent in the next game is familiar to them; there’s game tape from this season, and Harmon remembers that game well, even if it feels like a long time ago.

At some point in the midst of scoring 21 points, she looked up at the scoreboard and says she thought, “Wow, like, we are doing pretty good against the defending national champs.”

And on Sunday, when Harmon lays down for her pre-game nap before the Longhorns take the court against Stanford, she’ll be able to think of the possibilities for the rematch. In the quiet, she’ll have some time to imagine the potential of the game and its aftermath, the chance to cut down nets in Spokane and move on to Minneapolis. She’ll drift to sleep, and when she wakes, it will no longer be time for the stillness and the quiet.

Harmon’s motor will take over as she plays her guts out for a chance at the Final Four.