Texas vs UConn in the Elite Eight

I think Joyner Holmes will play more at 5 position than we think.

 

Very proud of the team....not just in this game, but all season. Playing UConn on their home court and making them sink 60% of their 3 pointers to win was a great accomplishment.

The future is SO BRIGHT for UT.....can hardly wait for next season!

 

Holmes is the BEST athlete at 6'3" that I have ever seen come out of high school....speed, ball handling, explosive, etc. But i just don't see her at the 5.

 

Well I can't speak to Khalean, but when you make SEVEN 3 pointers in one game, and 4 in the next, I think you are a very good 3 point shooter (Audrey Anne). I believe she shot close to 50% on the year from 3 point land...AND....is a very good passer. We are going to SPREAD THE FLOOR which will open things up for Higgs, Atkins, Brooke and Holmes to take people off the bounce. It will be a totally different offensive team next year.

 

I don't see us having a solid 5 player next year. Again, the offense has to change. If the coaches can devise a plan for the players we have, that will be huge!

 

Rexy,
Well, that is a shock that a player we saw so little of in games this year ended up being on the All-Tourney Team at the Elite Eight. She certainly must have gotten better quickly. Maybe Coach will let her in more next year.

 

I would have to think, based on our results this year, and making the Elite Eight, and playing as competitively against UCONN as anyone in the country has been able to do, and winning the most games of any season for the past 28 years, that the Coach, and staff, did everything about as right as they possibly could have. Including how they brought certain players along over the course of the season. Perhaps the reason Lashann had such a great tournament is precisely because of the way the staff handled her development. I have no idea, but after the season we just experienced, the last thing I'm gong to do is question any decisions made by the coaches, in particular when it comes to playing time. And no question, Lashann is going to see all the action she can handle next season, and then some!

 

Some added support last night from Yale women's team. A few need to work on their Hook 'em:

 

Great effort last night, proud of the team the the season they had, looking forward to next year and hopefully going farther in the tournament.

 

I am so incredibly proud of this team. To stay within striking distance of Uconn for the majority of the game says a lot about the teams willingness to battle and compete!!! Really proud of coach for getting the girls bought in to the system and gameplan. Next year we're going to be a problem for A LOT of teams!

Between Ariel, Lashann and Joyner, you're talking about 3 probably starters that can take you off the bounce. We're going to be a matchup nightmare.

Excited for next season

 

Fair point....but the truth is we will never know. I suspect Karen would admit, in her heart of hearts, that if she had to do it over, she would have used Lashann (and Jordan) a little more in that conference stretch where they never saw the floor for meaningful minutes.

Would it have made a difference in the late season losses to OU and Baylor? We will never know, and it is the only thing about this past season that bugged me. But I'm nitpicking and it is much more satisfying to look ahead and be thankful for a great season by a great team.

 

Boola, Boola!

 

You know Yale is sick of hearing Uconn this and Uconn that!

 

It wasn't a shock to me (I know you were being sarcastic - I think), but I was being very "catty" with my post (meow). I know she played out of control sometimes, I know she didn't always understand the offense - but I feel like she didn't get a good chance to learn during conference season. I just feel there is tremendous potential and it was not nurtured well this year. But then I am just an armchair coach - and so what do I know. But I think it is quite telling that when given a reasonable chance - against a phenomenal team - she landed herself on the All-Tourney team!

 

And perhaps it was good coaching that got here there, just maybe

 

Yes, of course! But there is always room for improvement.

 

I have refrained from posting immediately after the loss because I didn't want to provide an emotional response. I have since watched the game over and I have pulled together my assessment.

First, this was a terrific year 31-5, Big 12 runner up and an Elite 8!

This is not a Coach A bashing, I just do not know how you get to the biggest game of the year and not have a solid zone defense in your toolkit. I think everyone knew going into the game that our post players (Imani and Kelsey) did not match up well with Stewart and Tuck. To start the game in a man-to-man was concerning. We eventually went into a zone defense (2-3) but it appeared our players in particular Empress, Higgs, Brianna, Imani and Kelsey had never played zone before. Those players were all over the place with no area responsibility. I don't claim to know everything but I know in a zone defense you play the ball not a man. We gave up easy basket in the zone because our players look like they were not prepared. I am still convinced a good zone will slow UConn's offense up, it will not stop it but it can slow it down.

Imani did not have a good game but we had to see that coming giving she hasn't played well in big games (Baylor and UConn caliber of competition). She has been more effective away from the box but we kept trying to post her up. Imani doesn't have good post footwork, she turned the ball over 5 times. She looked scared or intimated. UConn can do that to most! If we could have received some production from our post players, we really had a chance to win this game.

I have said this all year, we can not play in big game with out Celina on the floor. UConn's lead went from 5 to almost 15 when Coach A took Celina out the game. Celina controlled the tempo of the game and made sure that the team was getting good shots off. She finished with 7 assists to 1 turnover. That's impressive against UConn! I noticed that Geno did not take his point guard off the floor. You just can't do that in big games!

Brooke, Ariel and Higgs are dynamic scorers but you can't have them on the floor together, you have to have a PG on the floor. Brooke mindset is to find her teammates because she has been in a scoring mode all year.

I really like Higgs ability to score the ball but she is so confused on defense that she is a liability. I get why we couldn't get on the floor in conference play.

I think Hosey showed she can be the future 4 position, she held her own and was effective when in the game.

Not that it matters, I would have like to see Coach A get Brady on the floor for her final game. It would have been a nice send off.

 

Good points. I do agree with you that our zone could've been a lot better. I like Celina as a point guard but she gave the team no offensive production. If this team could score and was efficient at the other four positions it would make a lot more sense to keep Celina on the floor the entire time. Lashann was out of position and took a lot bad chances on defense but with a player like her you have to compromise.

Coach Aston will put up with Lashann not being very disciplined on defense because of what she brings on the offensive end of floor. UConn is going to score anyway, so you have to be able to do the same. If Lashann wasn't on the floor Texas would've gotten beat by more than 21 points. As Doris Burke said when Lashann was dropping buckets on UConn. In order to beat a team like UConn you have to have SHOT CREATORS.

 

I don't know what the actual numbers were, but it felt like we got outscored about 36-2 in the low post.

 

Points in the paint 32-28 UCONN

 

Sure but paint shots aren't all low post and post shots aren't all in the paint. Almost all our scoring came from 3 players who average 5'8", on outside shots and on drives to the rim.

Mostly she hasn't played in the games I've been able to watch, but from what I have seen, I agree. Very athletic, and much more polished/fluid in her movements than most athletic freshmen (who often take another year or two to get used to their own improvements in height, strength, and speed).

 

True but I think the biggest reason paint points were so close was the fast break differential. Texas 10, UCONN 2 (their lowest of the season).

 

Well we are going to have to play all the games next year without Celina - but I agree, someone has to run the point. Not sure who that will be though.

I just didn't see higgs being "so confused" on defense and yes, i rewatched the game too. In fact, I often saw her guarding the best guard on the other team and doing a danged good job. Is her defense perfect? Of course not, there's lots of room for improvement - but I do not see her as a defensive liability.

I think Brady's foot was really bothering her and that may be why she didn't play, although she could have played for 1 minute.

 

Well Brooke can certainly run the point, but I truly think Alecia Sutton (if not hurt) could very well have been playing that position. That girl is VERY VERY GOOD. Handles the ball like a yoyo, and passing skills off the chain. I think Lashann will handle it some next year. I also did not see Lashann as a defensive liability. To me, she played excellent defense.

 

i think you are right, both Brooke and LaShann are going to have to play the point till Aleshia can heal and get in college game shape both of which may not happen next year.

 

Folks are being overly pessimistic about ACL rehab. 6-9 months? No way, unless you're dogging it. Expect doctor clearance for Alecia to be scrimmaging with teammates this summer.

 

I'm not be pessimistic. I've just seen it take athletes VARYING lengths of time to fully recover. I surely hope you are correct. She is an incredible player!!!!!

 

Some of us can remember when an ACL tear was likely the end of an elite athlete's career. From the late 90s to the mid 2000s, it was an injury that someone could come back from in a year but wouldn't show the same explosiveness for another 9-12 months.

If she can come back on the same timeline as Jada (without setbacks) who tore her ACL at around the same time of year, she could start simple basketball drills in June and slowly elevate the complexity of movement through the summer. Jada was back at full speed around late August-early September (7-9 months after injury).

 

Of course, we do not have Alecia's medical records in front of us, but I am referring to rehab results from the fat part of the bell curve, where most young athletes land. Certainly, every patient is different and full recovery can take more or less time. Team doctors (and Karen) are not going to rush things.

That being said, if this unfortunate injury had to happen, it happened at a good time for Alecia. We should get to see her game at the first team scrimmage.

 

I'm going to have to retract some of my earlier suspicion/criticism of the way Higgs was brought along and pretty much whole-heartedly agree with this post. We lost only to UConn, Baylor, and one upset against OU. We beat every team we played from other conferences to include Elite 8 teams Stanford and Tennessee, and Sweet 16 Mississippi State. Be mindful that we did this with no true power forward and not much scoring from Celina and Empress. Not to take away from theirs or Briana's contributions because those kids gave us everything they had. But today's game, especially with the rules changes in how players are restricted to defend, requires you to have scoring threats at all five positions. I'd say the staff and players have done an excellent job, and realize that our three leaders (McCarty, Atkins, and Higgs) gave UCONN all they wanted - that's two sophomores and a freshman against a THE MOST DOMINANT TEAM EVER that has perhaps the top three picks in this year's WNBA draft. It's all good, folks... stayed tuned for more next year! \m/