TexasSports preview We need to play smart against the Wildcats. I hope the ladies have worked on the mistakes from the other night and come out strong this weekend. Go 'Horns! Beat Kansas State!
YEAH--it's Alumni day! Maybe Jamie Carey will come down from the stands to play PG for us. I hope Jody will be visible on this day when all of HER players are being recognized.
omg. both the men and women have incredible pre-conference runs and then lose when conference starts. Men are 0-1 and women are 0-2.
These guys need to learn that you need to bring your "A" game for 40 min., not 20, like we did.... I hope we can get it back together soon!!!! (Like, by Wed.!!!!)
It ain't the coaching . . . and I am starting to think that it wasn't the coaching the last two years either. I know the team has and continues to have injuries, but there is almost no mental toughness on this team. I will continue to cheer for them - which is all one can do, but realistically I think it unlikely that Texas will be a contender for another few years - until the spectacular bust that was the no. 1 ranked recruiting class of 2005 graduates. When the game is on the line: Lindsay gets a deer in the headlights look, Edub and Carla make bad decisions, Aubry Cook fouls. While there is no shortage of talent, there is not one clutch player, and I am not sure that that can be taught. I hope I am wrong, but at this point I think we are in for another long, depressing season.
I'm not depressed in the least and this, for me, is not a depressing season in the least. We are a team in transition. This team is so very different from the teams of the past few years. Sure I would love to win every game, who wouldn't. But this transition to Coach G's system will take time. She is very good at taking players and devising a system to fit their skills. I think she, and any coach for that matter, will do better with players that she recruited for specific reasons. I'm only one voice of many, but I am so grateful for this coaching staff on our bench. I know they are in an elite class and our program is in great hands. The future is very bright - even the future season of 2008, no matter what happens. Right now we are laying the ground work for next week, next month, next year. There is no change in the twinkling of the eye, unfortunately. I have to remind myself to take a breath and let this team be - I think about what they've been through, injuries, coaching changes, offensive changes, defensive changes. Goodness - it makes my head spin! Of course, this is just my tired old $0.02 worth! Nonetheless......HOOK'EM!
Thanks, Rexy. I need to reconnect with my optimism. That was a frustrating heartbreaker of a game to lose. There were so many opportunities to win it, and the team never gave up or lost heart, so I shall follow suit.
Gosh - I guess I have a little different take on this after watching NB yesterday and seeing the scores around the Big 12. I think Ashley has improved leaps and bounds from her FR and SO year, and the future (the remaining season and next year) is definitely her friend. The Big 12 is a tough conference . . . there are several teams that will be in the hunt in March if they don't get too banged up during the season. The team has to grasp that you can never, never, never count K State, Iowa State, A & M, OK or Baylor out, no matter how big a lead you may have. Never. I think the coaching staff will make that clear . . . Then there are the usual under the radar teams - NB, OSU, Tech, etc. CO took ISU to double overtime and lost at home . . . it's going to be rough and tumble all season, I think. By the way -- Fred Aplin is an assistant coach at Washington if you are getting the UW v USC game, it's nice to see him again.
I appreciate your comments, TxTreeFan. It isn't the coaching and it wasn't the coaching the last two years either. It never seemed accurate or fair to me when the problems were all laid at Jody's doorstep. Coach G and Jody are both incredible coaches. I must say, so are Deb Patterson and Kamie Ethridge. It's befuddling. Ashley played a great game, but compared to most really good teams, we are obviously weak in the post. It was really disturbing to see our awful defense on their many drives (or "dribble drives" as the term now seems to be.) It is such fundamental basketball to learn to stay between your player and the basket, unless you can truly depend on the help defense. It really hurts to see our player either blown by or just running along side the driver. The play is lost by then. The K State players and/or coaches were brilliant in exploiting this weakness, once they discovered it. I worry about our team getting down on themselves, like they seemed to last year. I know they're demoralized to have these 2 losses, but we are bound to have nights when things go our way. We'll have some outstanding wins in conference play. It's true, we have a bunch of super good players, but not that incredible player who can lead a team game after game.
I also think that it hasn't been the coaching. I really think Our problem is that we really don't have a consistant outside threat. We really miss Erika. Notice how the season turned last year when we lost her outside shooting.
Yeah, a very disappointing loss. I hated to see KSU drive by the Texas defender time and again, especially when it's Brittainey whom I consider one of our quickest players. Lots of good things, though. Ashley is learning not to jump at every head fake. Edub was okay after she went down and had to leave. The team kept scratching to pull out the win. They didn't but there sure was no quit in them. Ebay looked more comfortable running the team, much more assertive and aggressive. Carla looked much better although not 100% yet. Crystal makes the game look effortless. She still needs more time on the court to get her timing back. Some negatives. Our posts had trouble handing some of the passes, although they were probably not the best passes. The team needs to improve the 3shot defense. They lose the 3pt shooter too much today. ISU is coming to town and they will make KSU look like they are scared to take a 3. Carla not starting really hurts our rotation. You could tell that she wasn't on the same page with her teammates several times. Overall, a tough loss but being 0-2 is not the end of the season unless the team allows it to overwhelm them and they crash. A win Wednesay is very important. I still think they can finish at least 8-8. They should get better as Carla, Crystal, and Niqky spend more time in the rotation. It's hard to speak to mental toughness. All the players were willing to take the important show at a critical time. Maybe the mental toughness was their inability to make it. Yet these players came from programs where they were counted on to make the winning play and did so often. We are "weak" in the post in that the Horns are more dependent on quickness than on strenght and bulk. Still, Ashley's quickness allows her to compensate for her lack of bulk. Both Aubrey and Rachel will help as both are solid bodies. Aubrey did have some trouble handling some passes today. Both will have to demostrate that they can be effective in conference play. All in all, while I am disappointed in the loss, I liked the effort and hustle I saw. Betcha though the coaches will have a long laundry list of things they will want to go over with the players. The crowd was excellent and the B squad dancers showed up. Good entertainment.
i agree there is no clutch player on this team. I thought about this game today ... and i think it will be great for coach g to get her own type of players on the floor ... with the aggressiveness to drive or muscle in a shot and draw a foul ... i can't imagine coach summit of tennessee recruiting players without the mental toughness to handle adversity down the stretch ... i will continue to support this group and wish them the best ... but i think the mental toughness ... not just from one or two players ...has to be evaluated ... sorry to be negative ...
it not the coaching ... it's in the recruiting ... in addition to scouting for technical basketball skill, we also need to conduct personality assessments ... i cannot imagine a fiery coach summit at tennessee recruiting women who are meek and mild ... no matter how capable they are with the basketball. in that respect, i blame the previous regime ...
Recruit shooters! It is not uncommon for high school players to put up great numbers because they are better athletes than their opponents and therefore they have the ability to get to the basket and score within a few feet of the hoop. Then they get into college where there are many great athletes and they have to step farther away from the basket and the fact that they have not honed their shooting skills is magnified.
Both Coach G and Coach Conradt are elite coaches!! I was very disappointed to see her leave because of her legacy and what she is still capable of doing. Having Coach G is defintely just as exciting as seeing Conradt on the sidelines though. Think Conradt was in a difficult situation with injuries. Prior to 2005 (but can't date anything further than 2000), Conradt seemed to love recruiting players that have the scrappy, well-coached, & hard working mentality. I don't think she really recruited so much on players with upside until 2004/2005. Edwina Brown and Nina Norman were the first two top recruits that I thought were amazing in athletic ability who would be interesting to see the development due to their upside. TJ was already a star out of HS. I'm not sure if she began changing her recruiting targets toward more athletic players to keep up w/ likes of UCONN/Tenn. I think Conradt did a good job to bring in the 2005 class but when you look at that class, I would say Erika Arriaran, Carla Cortijo and Earnesia Williams are the 3 players that stand-out with that leadership mentality & swagger. Unfortunately all 3 were hit hard by injuries, and often times than not, huge injuries affect a player's mentality and confidence. From many reports from HS, those 3 players always stood out as the go-to player or team leader. It is just too unfortunate that our chips did not fall in our favor, cuz I really think without injuries, those 3 would be leading our team along with Brittainey Raven. Raven is going to be a star. She has a ton of talent, but it's her confidence that seems to be holding her back. I think we will see a different player in mid-conference season.
I'll say this just once; THE OFFICIATING FOR WOMEN IN THE BIG XII IS ROTTEN, IT SUCKS, AIN'T FOR SQUAT and is just poor and has been for years. There seems to be no concern by the conference big shots to correct the problem so, we just have to tolerate it or begin a letter campaign that includes fans from the other 11 schools and hope that letters help.
