It's interesting that the national press is once again writing about a typical weekday game for the Horns. http://www.espn.com/ncw/recap?gameId=400994149 Explains something about the starting lineup, missing Jatarie and why Jada was in warmups. Now if we could only get "Kierra Lang" back in the rotation, we'd be set!
Wrong team (LaTech) but it's not like sloppy proof-reading in a WBB story is a rare occurrence. I liked that the minutes were so evenly distributed but the almost complete breakdown on both offense and defense once more than 2 starters are subbed out is becoming a little worrisome.
The offensive and defensive flow does get more herky-jerky when Brooke and Ariel are subbed out. We'll miss them next year for their on-court contributions of organizing the offensive and defensive systems. I'm hopeful by the end of the season that Lashawn, Sug and Joyner will start taking more of a leadership role on the court. I'm already seeing that with Lashawn. I'm slightly surprised about Jatarie not starting after banking 24pts against Washington. Aston seems adamant about awarding playing time to those players who put forth the effort in practice and follow the play book in games. The schedule is going to get more competitive over the next few weeks so our starters will log more minutes. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain the face paced intensity and defensive pressure throughout 4Q's if needed.
If you remember the less than stellar point guard play for a decade before McCarty, then get ready for a reminder. I used to get so anxious when our guards, but especially our points, headed on a fast break. It appeared that they were just trying to just get rid of it before they turned it over. Then a forced pass due to poor decision making caused it to happen. I have supreme comfort now with McCarty on the break. She is the epitome of a high IQ point guard with experience. I may live longer with her in charge. I don’t look forward to the anxiety coming back. Higgs and Sug are getting better but ?. I am trying to be patient with Patterson but her decision making is perplexing. McCarty’s play is what makes watching the Horns so pleasing. I will just try to enjoy the rest of the season and order a large bottle of anxiety pills for next year.
I agree with you Flash. Although Sug is getting more comfortable at the point, her style is different than Brooke's and the players have to adjust when Sug is running the point. Chaz is improving but she's just not there yet. IMO, Aston is still looking for that special point guard (like Brooke).
[QUOTE="LutherIsMyDog, post: 1549765, member: 135184" I'm slightly surprised about Jatarie not starting after banking 24pts against Washington. Aston seems adamant about awarding playing time to those players who put forth the effort in practice and follow the play book in games. [/QUOTE] Did you catch this in the article? In fairness, Aston benched starting center Jatarie White, a junior, at the beginning of each half against Tech. "Coach's decision," Aston said.
Racer I did read that article. I wasn't clear in my response that even with White contributing 24 points, she must not be practicing to Aston's standards or playing defense to Aston's standards for her to not start against La Tech.
Or, she missed study hall. I don't know. My non-obvious point is that it could be disciplinary and not performance related.
Yep, this should be a year to enjoy with the potential for the Horns to win the second national championship for Texas WBB. I am not worried about PG next year. We got two outstanding PGs in Alecia and Chasity. Are they different from Brooke? Yep, but they have their own strengths and have the luxury of learning from the Bun herself. Brooke got better with experience. So will Alecia and Chasity. What I am waiting for is for the frosh to settle in and start shooting like they are capable of. Effort on defense is expected in every game although efficiency on that side of the ball may not be that evident until next season.
I remember a couple of years ago when Coach A decided to "reward" several players who did well in practice by starting them in our first NCAA tourney game; it was a disaster. Yesterday, Nell and Alex Loeb commented toward the end of the LHN telecast that Jordan starting and Jatarie coming off the bench resulted in neither being comfortable in those roles. Jordan especially seemed to take two steps backwards, IMO, from how she had been playing this season. So, regardless of Coach A's decision and rationale, the outcome was unsuccessful individually for each of those players.
Hosey has improved and is better than I thought she could be as a freshman. However, starting puts her against the oppositions best players. She does better against the second tier players. This perhaps wasn’t the reason in the LT game but will be in future games. This start was an aberration and she should be back in a more comfortable role soon. She is a valuable player in her role.
http://www.hookemplus.com/story/no-2-texas-keeps-rolling-stomps-past-louisiana-tech-88-54/ Guess that close game versus LDU doesn't count as a test. And some nice stuff about Sug, including the following:
