OU @ Texas

Someone please explain to me why people keep asking "Why didn't X play much" or "Why did Y get pulled after only 2 minutes?"

Vic is SO TRANSPARENT. He practices what he preaches....defense. Possibly, some fans do not enjoy watching the game from a critical perspective. Perhaps only a made 3-pointer gets their attention, I don't know. But Vic clearly values a player's ability to execute stout defense over any amount of scoring she may provide if that scoring brings poor defense along with it.

It's a formula that got him to the top of the coaching profession and he believes it will get Texas back to the Final 4 in time. Don't expect it to change.

If you want court time, play defense. You have a responsibility to know who you guard and how aggressively you guard. Blow that responsibility or otherwise give subpar effort, and he has somebody else who will get your minutes. Oh yes, also learn the plays.

One technique folks can use is to record the game. Then when player X gets pulled prematurely, rewind 2 minutes and invariably you will see player X blow an assignment or otherwise get lazy on a play. That is a certain recipe for a free ticket back to the bench. Try this and you will see how transparent Coach is.

Lastly, some players get it and some never will. I believe freshmen role players like Aaliyah and Latasha know their minutes will improve as their defense and conditioning improves. I think Aliyah is a non-freshman who also gets it. I do not consider smart players like them to be portal risks because they know Texas has a winning formula. They can see what Shay has accomplished by simply buying into the system. With others...only time will tell.

 

She dropped an f bomb to get the technical. It was easy to see on TV.

 

Just watched the game again. Lauren, Audrey and JAT had great games, but what stood out to me was Shae. Vic gave her a lot of minutes and she performed. She was a bit tentative at times, to be expected, but I think she will be a major contributor next year. As someone mentioned earlier, she is a great example of patience and learning.

 

I loved how Shay (btw, it's Shay) picked up the loose ball in the 3rd Qtr and raced down the court for the layup. Clearly the fastest player on the court, possibly in the B12.

What Shay does not possess is quickness. Most people probably appreciate the difference between speed and quickness, but just to be clear:
Quickness is the athlete’s instant reaction and movement time when faced with an external stimuli. Speed is generally viewed as a less stimuli-driven skill. In this case Shay did not need to react to a stimulus in order to take a direct path to the basket. She just needed to outrun everyone while dribbling. Impressive.

Quickness is best demonstrated by Rori guarding her opponent. Some of these opponents are pretty clever with the dribble or with their first step and Rori is constantly reacting to their moves (the stimuli) to stay in front of them. What UT player, current or former, has done it better?

It's a testament to Shay's willingness to give maximum effort that keeps her on the court. Shay will often get beat by her opponent's superior quickness, but she stays with the play and frequently recovers the defensive advantage.

 

Pretty good assessment IMO. I think once Shay masters the angles of on-ball defending you will see less of her getting beat off the dribble. She's been playing well this season... glad to see her hard work pay off. The quickness that Rori displays is not real common and it's fun to watch.

 

It's almost TJ Ford-like.

 

Lashann Higgs had a combination of speed and quickness. She was so skilled at anticipating passes from opposing players, stealing the ball and taking it down the court for a lay-up.

I like Karen Aston but it irks me that Lashann was underutilized and never saw her full potential on the 40 Acres. I would have loved to have seen what Lashann could have done under a coach like Vic. It is no surprise to me that she is seeing so much success in the overseas league. Lashann will always be one of my favorite TxWBB players.

 

Lashann was one of my favorites also. She had "it." I think Vic would have pulled his hair out with Lashann for her first year or so to get her to understand that she would be more effective with a pullup jumper than trying to take everything to the basket.

Lashann also had the quickness to become a good defender in time. You're right, Vic could have brought that out in her. It's very rare to see a freshman like Rori bringing that agility out of HS.

 

The “problem” was not with the clock, it was the referees with masks on, who kept inadvertently blowing their whistles…so the clock kept being stopped because of that..