2021-2022 Season

Not disputing our #25 ranking, but just looking at the Top 25 and "others" there are quite a few surprises for me.
South Carolina No. 1 in Women's AP Preseason Top 25

 

And Texas #5 in men's poll. Could this be 2005 all over again?

Probably too soon, but I can dream.

 

Based on that poll, Texas should be at least 15-18. There are not 24 teams in that poll who are better than Texas. Don't wanna show jinx anything but our talent will speak for itself

 

100%. First, Amsal needs to improve his writing skills. Good thing it's only a student paper. Second, agree, Amsal doesn't know much about Texas WBB. He should have interviewed anyone of us!

 

I'm watching the Big12WBB media day and at 23 minutes, ESPN flashes TexasWBB non-conference schedule including the broadcast information. Stanford on ABC/ESPN, Tennessee on ESPN, Texas A&M on SECN, Arizona on ESPN2. All the rest are on LHN. The only exception is Princeton, which is such an underrated match-up because Princeton has been good in women's basketball.

 

Player interviews that includes Audrey Warren.

 

Somewhat surprised Arizona is not ranked higher. Don't they have all their starters returning?

 

Answer: Aari McDonald is gone.

 

You’ve got to love this guy! He sure has me excited about this upcoming season and the dynamite team he has put together.

 

I agree! Ebo, Joanne - yes definitely. Then the big 3 recruits. What about Audrey? Ashley? Has Rori been ordained as our starting point guard? Granted, I have not attended any practices, nor does Vic consult me at all, but we have some good upperclassmen. BTW, anybody know what percentage of incoming freshmen start for top 25 teams? In football it's pretty low, but maybe it's different in women's basketball? Is Rori a transcendant talent?

 

I have a great deal of confidence that Vic will put the right players on the floor at the right times, and their places in the rotation will definitely have to be earned.

 

Texas women's basketball: Schaefer enters season as hungry as first (hookem.com)

 

IMO the main questions for this team are:

.Where will they get their post scoring from to replace Charlie?

. Can they replace Celeste's production, especially on the defensive end and with rebounding?

.Will they have the consistent outside shooting that they didn't have last year?

 

I'm not all that bothered by barely being ranked in the AP pre-season poll. Our team lost almost 60% of its scoring from last season, including 3 starters. I'm sure the voters had a hard time getting past that stat.

Having 7 newcomers joining the team, 4 of whom are true freshmen, and that's a lot of inexperience and unfamiliarity with our program and Division I basketball. We'll need many of them to live up to their hype.

Assuming everyone stays healthy, my minimum expectation for our team is a Sweet 16 appearance; hopefully, that also includes a Top 16 national seed and the opportunity to host a sub-regional and close out the Erwin Center on a winning note.

 

The more I've thought about it, I agree with 4 of your 5. I think DeYona gets the nod at the 4 initially.

 

What a players Coach! Every recruit in world would have to just love this guy!!

 

Getting back to my previous question. Ashley is the "incumbent", or at least the heir apparent to PG. Yet I see a lot of sentiment toward Rori as the starter. How common is it for an incoming freshman, even one as talented as Rori, to be named season opening starter for a top 20 team? Ashley was great last year, especially at the end of the season.

 

Chevalier did amazing things for Texas in the tournament. Her defense, hustle, and ability to take charges is what makes her special. Vic has said multiple times here and at mississippi state he likes a score first point guard which is Rori Harmon. Don't get me wrong, if Chevalier has improved her shot and ability to score then she will most likely get the nod but I just personally think Rori will start. Not only can Rori score but her passing ability is one of a kind. Her biggest thing will be limiting turnovers and that will come as she becomes more comfortable. I honestly think both players will be much needed and get significant minutes between the two of them.

 

I agree with you wholeheartedly. I still hope Ashley will start at the beginning of the season, at least. I think she deserves it and Rori needs to get her feet wet first.

 

We're not in practice every day, that's where starting positions are earned. You can rest assured that's how Vic makes his decisions. Like @Jacob Johnson said, I expect both Harmon and Chevalier to play significant roles at the PG position. To take that even further, I expect the same dynamic at all other positions as well. Lots of talent, though mostly inexperienced, on this team. I can't wait to see us on the floor next month! It should be a lot of fun to watch how we develop over the course of the season.

 

Ha! We'll see about that projected #9 seed...
NCAA Women's Bracketology - 2022 women's college basketball projections

 

At the moment, I'm not really concerned with who is the starting PG at the beginning of the season, and/or who gets the most minutes. My concern is how young and inexperienced we are at the PG position; probably the most youthful of all our positions as we only have Chevalier's one season of collegiate experience, and no upperclassmen PG's (which is why I was hoping we would have landed a grad-transfer PG).

Regardless, we have two, undersized (but extremely quick) and young PG's to lead the team this coming season. And, they appear to be the only 2 we'll have for the following season, as well. So, one of them will be on the floor at all times; don't see us having both of them on the court at the same time (other than potentially late in the game when we are behind and pressing full court, or when we are protecting a lead and need their speed, ball-handling, and free-throw shooting skills).

I do think Chevalier had a very good freshman season. Vic commented so many times how she surprised him with all she brought to the table. I'm expecting her to have an even better season now that she's been able to work in Vic's system for over a year, and work with Deanna. Rori hasn't had all that "time"; but, she did just have a summer at Texas that Chevalier didn't get (due to pandemic) in 2020. Hopefully, Rori is a fast learner. Based on our depth at PG, Rori should be the freshman who gets the most minutes per game.

I do understand that perhaps Kyndall and Matharu could help provide some minutes at PG, as could Joanne. But, I think that will be in situations where Rori and Ashley are in foul trouble, or perhaps just not playing well.

 

Seems like other folks like to fill up the preseason with conjecture and speculation, also. Ain't it fun?!

 

Anyone going to the Orange-White scrimmage on Sunday? I'll be there. I can't wait to see what the team looks like in person.

 

Anyone going please give us a full report!

 

I suck at writing about game observations. However, I'll do my best to describe the high lights of the scrimmage. I lack the ability to understand the offensive and defensive sets and the technical skills of players. With that said, I do know who and what exceeds my expectations or conversely, those things that need work.

So, I'll keep it simple. Hopefully, there will be others who will provide their observations that will make up for what I lack.

 

How do they decide who is Orange and who is White. Is the intent to make it evenly balanced or is it more an indicator of who the starters could be?

 

Typically even balanced. Coaches will even switch players to the other team if the teams are out of balance.

 

Can someone there please tell us what the teams are looking like and if anyone is not playing?