Texas - Baylor game February 29 Waco

STOP IT!!! Mulkey is not a better coach than Geno. She's a very good motivator but when it comes to X's and O's she's nowhere near Geno.

 

Everything has been said, but I have to say my piece. Brooke is far and away our best player. Her floaters didn't go tonight, but she played great. If we had a couple more players like her, we would give Baylor a tough game every time. Ariel is really hurting our team by not learning how to not foul. It is very doable thing. You take fewer chances, you hold yourself back on low odds plays, you think "steal" less and "guard" more, you think about the overall picture (like staying in the game). Like others have said, I don't know what happens in practice, but there is no excuse for not giving Lashann more minutes. Her ability to pick pockets is uncanny. She was the bright spot in the few minutes she was in. Aston not taking timeouts to break momentum and refocus the players is a complete befuddlement to me.

Baylor brings their very best against us. I bet Wallace has never had a game like that before, just like Jones did last time. Karen has been a masterful recruiter, but Baylor has been even better (or gotten even luckier). Just one of those things. I don't know why someone would want to play for Kim Mulkey, but maybe that's just me. Babhorn brings good perspective. It took us a long time to break through against A&M, but once we did the had a lot of trouble beating us. I have faith that will happen with Baylor at some point.

 

Lauren Cox had better be pretty damned good if she expects to beat out Mompremier and Kalani Brown. I'm not sure she made the wisest choice. Wait till we get Sedona (if we do). She could be the best post of all. I in no way believe K. Mulkey is a better coach than Geno. A somewhat nastier one, I'll give you that.

 

Mulkey is a very good coach; and, has two national championships to back it up. She also has her flaws, and some of her most talented teams have underachieved in the NCAA tourney; that can be said for every coach, even the best ones like Geno and Pat.

As for the starting lineup, I wasn't happy about it. In the first matchup, we didn't start/play Brianna because of violation of team rules. Last night, Coach A chooses not to start Brianna (who is probably the best matchup defensively against Nina Davis based on strength and quickness), and instead we start Lang and Boyette. It's not as if I don't like seeing both of our posts on the floor at the same time during the game; but, to start them both is just guaranteeing that one of them is going to be pick up a foul in the first 3 minutes of the game.

Not having a true PF like Nneka really hurts our team and limits our options offensively when the Center is being double-teamed. Unfortunately, can't do anything about that this season.

Honestly, I did not expect us to have so much trouble guarding Kristi Wallace. Announcers kept talking about the shooting slump she had been in, but we let her get whatever shot she wanted last night, and she converted and didn't allow Alexis Jones being on the bench hurt Baylor overall in the first half; she picked up the slack. We didn't have anyone come off the bench and pick up the slack for any of our player who were struggling or in foul trouble.

As for the Big 12 tourney, I think we will have to face TCU on Saturday. They are the one team I don't like playing based on their style of play and being such a good three-point shooting team. Hoping the Frogs having to play on Friday night will be to our advantage.

 

I think Cox is going to play PF and share time with Nina Davis, or have Davis at SF. I know Baylor has been trying to play Nina on the wing this season, but we all know she does her best work around the basket. Bottom line is that we will have to contend with the Baylor frontcourt depth of Brown, Mompremier, Cox, and Davis next season.

 

Don't expect much different results until we have roster full of players talented enough to just roll the ball to and let them play.

 

While squatting on floor, she says "Be Careful What You Wish For"..twice...

 

Ball movement!! Ball movement!! Ball movement!! Until someone on the coaching staff embraces offense we are going to struggle. This one person show no longer works in WCBB. Somebody anybody get UCONN film and study, study, study their ball movement. Everybody is moving without the ball on offense. Watch them. They keep moving and passing until someone is open. Someone misses a defensive assignment and then they score.

 

I've said all year that even with the great success that the team has had that Coach Aston still needs to improve as a coach on the offensive end of the floor. In order to run an offense like UCONN you have to recruit players with really good offensive skill sets. Players at all five positions with very good basketball IQ that can shoot, pass, and dribble the basketball.

This team obviously doesn't have that at all five positions. The offense doesn't need to be like UCONN but it certainly needs to improve. The recruiting class for next year brings some of those offensive skills to the team. But Coach Aston and her staff still need to recruit consistent perimeter 3 point shooters and guards that can create their own shot off the dribble consistently.

 

If it was easy to run the offense UConn runs (successfully), then everyone would be doing it. Whether it's the offense, the players, and/or the coaches, only UConn has it all.

Honestly, UConn and Notre Dame are the only teams I've seen which don't seem to ever struggle on offense or go on long scoreless streaks. South Carolina and Baylor have their moments of futility, especially USC which has great size and athleticism, but is not an offensive juggernaut.

We are going to be seeded in a regional with one of those four teams. Obviously, no one wants to be in UConn's region. Of the other three teams, you would have to pick your poison. I would have to go with South Carolina, despite their great size (especially at PF where it would be very difficult for us to match up with Asjia Wilson); but, their lack of offensive fluidity makes me think they could be the weakest of the top four national seeds.

 

Quite honestly, you don't have to look OUT OF CONFERENCE to find outstanding offensive coaching minds. Take a look at Sherri Coale or Bill Fennelly and you'll see all you need. MOVEMENT. Deb Patterson was another great half court offensive genius. Generally, Fennelly and Patterson did not have the most talent, but created innovative motion offenses that got open looks. Sherri Coale does the same thing. There is no way Oklahoma is as talented as we are, yet they beat us. Right now, our best offensive players are Atkins and McCarty. I would certainly like to see us run more plays to put those two in better scoring position. If you look at our starting five, no offense meant against these players, but Empress, Celina and Brianna are basically non-factors at times on the offensive end. None of those players are CONSISTENT scorers. That certainly makes our team much easier to defend, even when Imani and Kelsey are playing well. They were slacking off Empress and Brianna and Celina last night and clogging up the passing lanes. And while I know Higgs can be a wild hair, THIS is where she could really help us because she has the ability to get to the rack on her own and break down the defense (not to mention her lightning quick hands on the defensive end). Considering our limitations with player personnel on the offensive end, I actually think Karen has done an outstanding job this year with what she has. I would, however, like to see more plays run for Ariel AND Brooke!!!!!

 

Every fan base is very critical of its own team. If you visit the OU board, you will see how unhappy most fans are with what Coach Coale has done there the last few years. Bottom line is that it takes coaches, players, and the right offensive to be successful.

 

Don't know why someone would want to play for Kim Mulkey.......ask them! Also...why wouldn't they want to play for Karen Aston.....

 

You ain't gettin' a putter from Texas anytime soon Mulkey

 

I, respectfully, disagree. Geno gets virtually any recruit he wants.....every other school in the country fights for who's left. Think what Mulkey could do with his talent base...wow....

Mulkey is the Bill Belichick of women's basketball. She gets 1 or 2 really good players, looks for talent she can coach-up, and she takes a 3-star team and turns it into a 5-star team every year.

fyi: I do, however, think Belichick has a much nicer personality.

 

She has 5 McDonald's all americans on the team right now. There are players on the bench that were heavily recruited. Brittney Griner and Odyssey Simms were also pretty good players don't you think. You're right, she's just like Belichick and any other coach that wins at a high level. They've all had plenty of talented players on their teams.

 

Not sure if you follow recruiting or not, but Mulkey gets plenty of highly ranked players. What she has benefitted most in is getting elite transfers: Destiny Williams, Brooklynn Pope, and Alexis Jones come to mind. For three few seasons, Baylor had Williams, Pope, Griner, and Odyssey Williams; yet, only one national title as upsets to A&M and Louisville in the tourney kept them from meeting expectations.

 

OK, I'll bite...

While I'm not sure I would consider these words, "Trash Talk", I'll accept that others might.

If the words (and the "hug" after the game) were so egregious, wouldn't there have been a response from Coach Aston, UT, and/or the Big 12? Did I just miss it?

 

What is it about TEXAS and offense ??? Football team, softball,baseball, basketball.....Nobody is good at scoring !!!!! Can't bat, can't shoot, can't put it in the end zone against quality teams........sheeesh....

 

Talking directly to the players on the other team while they are on the court is bad enough. Making fun of them because ,in an interview they said "we hope we meet Baylor in the tournament" is trash talking. Grabbing their head and whispering something in the ear of an opposing player that makes that player literally pull away in disgust - that should be a career-ending offense. These are students between the ages of 18 and 22ish. She is an adult educator paid to represent her school. Mulkey is trash.

 

Thanks for the response, but wouldn't there have been an official response for "grabbing their head" and "a career-ending offense"?

 

There should have been something done for that and none of us know why not. Also, trash talking opposing players on the court during a game must be ok, but not in my book.

 

Big 12 is too afraid of Mulkey. She brings prestige to the conference and sadly is what people think about when they consider the conference.

 

If she were a man, there would have been.

 

A conference containing Texas and OU as cornerstone members is cowed by a women's basketball coach at a school that used to be considered so insignificant, that it was in danger of being left out of the Big 12 twenty (+/-) years ago?

I cannot agree with that.

 

I follow recruiting very closely. And, as I stated, UConn gets the best of the best, yearly, and the rest are split among everyone else. (Exception was Greiner).....Given that A&M went on to win the National Title, I hardly consider that an upset.
Whether we like her or not, Mulkey is the "elite of the elite," as women's coaches in women's basketball go.
But, here's hoping we can have the opportunity to play Baylor again in the Big XII Tourney and, perhaps, upset them, as they will be looking forward to the NCAA's......and to beat-downs of us could make for an "upset-special."

 

Look at the last 8 years...compare Balylor's recruits and UConn's....Tell me Baylor had more top-notch recruits. She got Brittney Griner due to Texas-ties. UConn has 5 starters every year who are top-drawer...Baylor has, at most, 2....which is my point.
Whether we like her or not, she and Geno are the top two coaches in women's basketball.
I'm just hoping we get to meet them for a 3rd time in the Big XII tourney......after those 2 beat-downs, perhaps they will be looking past us, and we can sneak out a win, finally....against Baylor.
Of course, Mulkey letting her team "overlook" us is questionable, at best.
But, we can always hope.

 

Well wait now.....you said earlier that Mulkey was THE BEST coach in womens' basketball. Now you are backing off that and saying she is in the top 2. Which is it? I don't care what players Geno gets, he IS the BEST coach in the womens' game hands down. Muffet McGraw would come in 2nd place WAY ahead of Mulkey in my opinion. While I will not dispute that she is a good coach, we have SEVERAL in the Big 12 that are better than her hands down and get MORE out of players with LESS talent than anybody I know. I'm not sure what your "love affair" with Mulkey is, but your assumptions are terribly inaccurate!!!!!

 

The bottom line is that she's had plenty of talented players. And imo Mulkey's a very good motivator and does a good job of running an offense that fits her personnel. But imo she's not a great X&O's coach and Geno's a much better coach when it comes to offensive X&O's.

 

Spot on!