puzzle of Lashann Higgs

The trajectory of Lashann's career so far at Texas is a strange story. Early in her freshman year she played many minutes in the Tennessee game and was the high point player, or at least near the high point. I think many people thought she was the difference in the game. Then she seemed to be downgraded and got relatively few minutes for most of the season. Though she made freshman mistakes, I think the consensus on this board was that she had an unusual amount of talent and would be a huge asset to the team for the next four years. Coach Aston seemed to rediscover her for the playoffs, especially the Elite Eight game with UConn, where she was co-high point, I believe, and had a number of steals from those elite UConn guards. She was on the all-tournament team of the Sweet Sixteen-Elite Eight weekend, no easy feat, especially for a freshman. She also had a great performance against Baylor in the Big 12 championship, despite limited minutes. I thought she had broken through and would be a starter this year, or at least a mainstay coming off the bench. Instead, so far, she seems to have been relegated back to second or third string status. I believe she actually got a start against Rio Grande Valley, but did not have a great game. Tonight against UTSA, she did not get into the game until 4:30 in the fourth quarter, I believe the last player off the bench.

What's up?....... Lashann is well into her second year, and is not getting enough minutes to have much of an impact on the game or to grow much as a player. I've read different speculations on this board. Some have said her defense is bad. Someone said she doesn't know what she is doing. I don't agree with those, but I don't know what to think. She appears to be in Aston's doghouse, like Rick Barnes usually had some players in the doghouse. (Remember Sheldon McClellan, who went on to have an outstanding year or two at Miami after he transferred?) I don't know enough to know why she is not pleasing Aston. She has some turnovers, but that shouldn't be it, since everyone on this team has turnovers. Ariel, for all her strengths, has always made a ton of turnovers. Is Lashann loafing? Doesn't appear to be in games, at least. I get the feeling she is usually being punished, or the coach is trying to teach her a lesson, or maybe there's some kind of power struggle between them, or who knows what. It must be an awkward dynamic with her father being one of the assistant coaches. We have a lot of other good guards and it is fun watching them develop, but it really disturbs me that Lashann's extra-special talent is not being utilized very much, and her confidence seems to be waning. Am I seeing this wrong somehow? I'

 

Computer screwed up. My post wasn't quite done. I do welcome others' thoughts about this. I'd hate to see Lashann go, but it would almost make sense to me, if she and Aston have some kind of issue, for her to transfer. I don't guess that would be possible with her dad being a coach. But I think there are many teams that would be more than thrilled to have her.

 

I've been wondering the same thing. I just have to guess she has a poor attitude during practice or something like that because from what I've seen she's done much better on defense this year and she's 10x the scorer Taylor of Foman will ever be.

I really hope things get straightened out because she can be invaluable to this team and I think is a key to how far we go in the playoffs.

 

I've been having the same questions. Last night, since Higgs was sitting on the bench during the 1&2 quarters, I assumed she was in the doghouse. When she sat through the entire 3Q and Aston had played the entire bench, except for Higgs, I assumed she might not be feeling well. When she finally stepped onto the court in the 4Q, I realized she must be in the penalty box and was held out of the game for punishment.

I agree with Joe Dallas, Higgs is a unique talent. She may be the best athlete on the team. We saw glimpses of her ability last year. This year, she is not thriving in Aston's system. IMO, she has stopped relying on her natural instincts and has started thinking too much about running the designated plays. She's best when she cuts and drives to the basket for a pull up jumper or a lay-up. Currently, I see her passing the ball around the perimeter and taking shots that don't fit her style/strengths. I think she's concerned about making mistakes and being pulled from the game. As stated above by JD, other players make mistakes and don't suffer the same consequences. So it has to be frustrating for any player to be on a short leash. In another system, under another coach, I think Higgs would thrive.

(I also think Hosey has regressed this year compared to her play last year.)

Regardless of Higgs' playing time, I've not been impressed by the quality of our team's play in the last two games. I realize it's challenging for our team to get motivated to play UTSA or UTRGV, but we played sloppy throughout the game, missing numerous gimme shots under the basket and had too many turnovers. These are the games when the team needs to be challenged to improve on the areas where they are the weakest (such as protecting the ball, free throw shooting and making layups and easy shots under the basket). I'm old school and I believe in order to play your best in the big games, you have to practice excellence in every game. I just haven't seen that in the last few games.

On a positive note, the future looks bright with Sutton, Underwood and Holmes.

 

I'm no expert about the game of basketball. Coach very recently was asked about Higgs and why she didn't play more. Her first comment was something to the effect that one has to understand that LaShann is an "open court" player. I'm not sure what that means unless it is my observation that she plays her own game as opposed to the team game. She's constantly trying to steal the ball and, if unsuccessful, she's out of place defensively and the rest of the team must assume the burden of defending her man. It's exciting when she is successful but it doesn't happen every time. LaShann wants to shoot the ball every trip down the floor and sometimes she has to realize that there are four other players on her team that might have a better shot if she would pass the ball and follow the called play. Coach did say her defensive skills were inconsistent as well. I agree she is fun to watch and hopefully can get her tendency to play her own game under control.

 

I can see some of that. She definitely is offensive minded, but I don't think she only thinks of her own shot when she gets the ball. I've seen her make some nice passes and assists this year in the few minutes we have seen her. I can think of times she had a decent shot, but dished it off to someone with a better one. I assumed Aston gave her the freedom to go for steals, since steals are a big part of a pressure defense and she does it so well, but maybe not. Thanks for passing on Aston's remarks.

 

We can speculate sure, but not knowing anything but what we see during games, it's just that...speculation. I'm pretty sure the coach wants what is best for the team without question, so I'll trust her and her staff to make those decisions. Foman had an amazing breakout game and maybe that's why Higgs didn't get in til late, who knows? Maybe Coach wanted to see how the offense is progressing without working on Higgs open court playing during a game? The curiosity is understandable.

 

Yeah, we've had a lot of this type of speculation before, and some of it seems off base, and some may not be. But there is a reason for everything, and our staff knows what's going on, and what's best (remember, her father is one of the coaches). And Lashann has certainly played this season, and sometimes seen significant minutes. And has looked good at times, and at others struggled a bit (as happens to everyone). She has always been one of my favorite players. But I think it's silly to jump on the board every time she doesn't see much action....as someone mentioned, it could be anything, including her not feeling well. Or if it was practice related, or a similar issue, we don't need to know that anyway. And I don't think comparing her to other players, or saying someone else is 10 X better, is appropriate. Tasia played great yesterday. As I commented on the board at the start of last season (2015-16), after attending the practice before the annual potluck, she was draining the most shots of anyone. From everywhere on the court, one after the other. I remember watching just her for a long time, to see if she missed even one. She didn't. So Coach's comment after last night's game that this is what they see from her in practice, but not always in games because she doesn't see enough time consistently, was spot on. And giving her that time, and allowing her to build confidence, was a good thing. And she is also a great defensive player, which we all recall from her time at Duncanville. With Lashann, I still think we're going to see great things from her this year, and she will probably be the difference in some contests. We've got a lot of talent, everyone is improving, and contributing at various times. I trust coach when she says everything they're doing right now is geared towards getting us ready for Big 12 play.

 

Overseas, yes, Tasia was something else. If she can shoot threes like that very often, she is going to help us a lot. There are those who think you should pretty much say only positive things on the board, and others who are more questioning and critical. I don't think either point of view is right or wrong. The variety makes it interesting. Maybe I know nothing about basketball, but I'm sure I will continue to "jump on the board" when I want to express an opinion about Lashann's minutes or anything else, even the coach. And I might not always sound like a cheerleader. Mostly, though, I like to be a cheerleader. I am excited for each of our players when they do well, but love them just as much when they don't.