One word that doomed us early and late: rebounding. Their second-chance opportunities on the offensive glass were just ridiculous.
While the officiating has been awful, very disappointed in Charli’s effiort. She’s intimidated against Baylor and it shows..... Literally seems as if she doesn’t care... For the most part, she just doesn’t show up against the better players or teams!!! That’s TWO games we played better without her on the floor...
Charli's already moved on. When the big games came along, she didn't show up. It seems that other great players are multi-talented and Charli's just not.
I'm proud of the fight that the TEAM showed today. Tired legs, no depth, no-show from Collier again... against their size, talent, and depth... all factors that said we shouldn't have even been competitive. Yet we were within a few points of them in the fourth quarter. Again... very proud today and feeling good about the seasons that are ahead of us.
Yes there is.....AND.....I’m sorry, but it doesn’t speak well of her heart, commitment or passion for our program, her teammates, or our coaches.....
I'm honestly not even mad about this game. This team has showed tremendous fight in these last few games. I honestly thought Baylor was going to start beating us by 25+ but we end up cutting it to 5. If Vic can compete with an experienced team like Baylor now, then imagine what this team can do when we add the pieces and talent to go along with this system and coaching. This team showed that life without Charli will be just fine. Time to gear up for the tournament and continue this level of play.
I'm not going to give espn more of my $, but from the score it at least looks like Texas fought hard. Just getting it within 4 with a couple of minutes left is pretty damn good considering the talent difference. I'm proud of this team, almost all of them.
The male announcer had Baylor going to the championship with 8 minutes left in the game!!! Baylor much? Terrible
I get that Charil hasn't played well against Baylor. But, without her being part of our team this season, we are not an NCAA team. I guess it's hard for some fans to be grateful and appreciative for all that she has done (as she easily could have been at UConn instead of changing her mind and coming to Texas), and just easier to bash her for a handful of games. She will be a great pro when she plays PF next to a true Center and zone defenses aren't allowed.
Not at all. She won't be "The" big dog wherever she goes. And she will be playing forward not center. This is a team wide issue. The talent level is glaring. Can't fix that till the off season and recruiting. I wasn't expecting the god awful shooting and unforced errors. The D is right on and is predicated on making shots which we can't consistently.
I agree the talent level is not there.....BUT... you are now seeing the coaching staff’s impact on development, and we absolutely played better the last two games without Charli on the floor. TRULY GREAT players bring it in the big games.... I’m sorry, but she didn’t show up today, nor did I see any passion or heart from her. Baylor is in her head....
I don’t think anyone can definitively say that we would not be an NCAA team without her. I’m very appreciative of having her, but when you see a lackluster effort and literally no passion or fire, it’s not attractive. Nothing you say changes what everybody saw today!!!
I first played organized basketball when Lyndon was POTUS. Since then I have played, coached and watched a lot of ball (actually winning championships at every level, tho some of the "watching" ones are in dispute). However I have never seen a team, any level, any gender, get out rebounded by 22 and get back into a game (within 4 points), and essentially have it turn into a FT contest in the final minutes like this game did. I think most everyone is in agreement that Vic was the right hire at the right time, despite my great admiration for KA and what she did here. But the game today showed what a team, with it's best player, errrrr not at her best (let's just leave it there, thank her for what she has done in the past for the program and wish her the best at the next level), can do, when they lay it all out there against a great team, (that is starting to show some cracks, and for us old timers who lived through both Jody and Marsh Sharp's glory days and slip, there is nothing as pitiful as a dynasty in decline, which makes me look so forward to the next decade of Baylor Ball, because the Sea Hag is going to go down that same road), and showed they can compete with HEART against any team in America. I mean seriously, 22 rebounds?? And the game was still competitive??!!? WTF!! As someone who did coach briefly, the first stat I look at is Rebounds (Off & Def) and Assists. If you did your job there, everything else probably took care of itself. In his latter years John Wooden stopped going to the Men's games at UCLA, but seldom missed one of the Women's games. When asked why, his answer, as always, was short and concise; "the Women play the game that I played and coached. They understand that the game is won and lost below the rim. Not above it". Sorry for the long winded rant. I'm still trying to get over the 50-28 rebound difference and a game that got down to 4 points. And I don't want to sound like an aggy with some moral win bs. We lost. Again to that dreadful woman. But I see a light! Enjoy the rest of the Tournaments everyone. And Hook Em!
And, that's fine. And nothing you say today changes what we've seen in Charli the majority of the season. And, I'm pretty certain without Collier, in addition to all the games missed by our other frontcourt players in Ebo, Coleman, and Gaston we'd not be an NCAA team. Charli was directly responsible for many of the games we won this season; we don't win them without her.
And what you don’t understand is I wasn’t talking about the “majority of the season” She’s a very skilled and talented player. However, for whatever reason, Baylor is in her head and her EFFORT today was not inspiring in the least..... .
I hope you're right because IF the Dallas Wings select her and IF they keep her, then that's my team so of course I will be rooting for her success just as I have the past three years. Not sure how Dallas will utilize her anywhere other than center with Sabally on the team. We'll see...
“Seeing” passion or heart is subjective. She doesn’t play well again Baylor and they know exactly how to defend her. However I can’t presume to say whether she was passionate or her heart was in it. She’s a hell of a player and I’m glad she’s a Longhorn.
Almost everyone on this site has been a huge supporter of Collier the whole time she's been at Texas... I know I have. But I also know what I saw today, and it was about actions on the sidelines moreso than her lack of production on the court. Why wouldn't you stay engaged and get up like the rest of your team on the sidelines and support those who have been supporting you all season? Sorry...that reeks of selfishness.
Again, I was speaking to effort and passion and it wasn’t there. That is my subjective opinion. I also saw what brnkj saw on the sidelines..... I’m happy to have her as well, but it doesn’t change what most saw today...
You also stated "but it doesn’t speak well of her heart, commitment or passion for our program, her teammates, or our coaches..... ". Is that about 2 games against Baylor or all season?
It’s about what I saw on the sidelines today as well as her uninspired effort in this big game.... We got DESTROYED on the glass by 22..... EFFORT...EFFORT....EFFORT... You saw that passion, heart and effort out of Baylor as well as our other players....
You win some. You lose some. My hope is that Charli does what Imani did a few years back when we made our Elite 8 run. Imani decided we weren’t going to go out without a fight and she told the team to join her. It was fun to watch.
I am just agreeing with a lot of what has been said. Vic made the right move in putting Charli back on the bench in the second half. I saw what brnkj and others saw on the sidelines. I think she was probably embarrassed because she was the #1 pick and her limitations are really exposed when she is playing against Smith and Egbo. She is a very good player and we probably wouldn't have made the NCAA playoffs without her, but I am not looking for her to be a star in the WNBA unless she improves a lot, which hopefully she will. She will be going up against players as good as and better than Smith and Egbo every night. At first I was down when I heard she was leaving, but I now feel fine about it. Our team came to life when she was out. I don't blame her for that, but I just think it's the dynamics when one player gets all the hype and other players kind of defer to her, either consciously or unconsciously. We'll have a lot of good players next year. Chevalier is going to be amazing. Joanne and Celeste are steady and reliable forces. I thought Ebo was a great presence inside today, considering what she was up against. Warren's tough play has a huge impact. And with all the new people, there's a lot to look forward to.
