2023-2024 Season

Nobody wants to the 8/9 seed opposite #1 South Carolina; but, that's where we are despite a #4 NET ranking. Not enough Top 10-15 wins, IMO, due to a pretty weak non-conference schedule.

 
Top 16:

1. South Carolina
2. Stanford
3. Ohio St
4. Colorado
5. Iowa
6. North Carolina St
7. UCLA
8. Texas
9. USC
10. Virginia Tech
11. Oregon St
12. UConn
13. Kansas St
14. LSU
15. Indiana
16. Louisville
 
A lot of basketball left to play before the ultimate seeding. It’s fun to speculate who is ranked where but at this point that’s all it is: speculation.
 
hornsup1986 said:
A lot of basketball left to play before the ultimate seeding. It’s fun to speculate who is ranked where but at this point that’s all it is: speculation.
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Of course. But, it provides clues as to what this particular committee is valuing when assigning the seeds. Texas' NET ranking of #4 means the committee found reasons why not to award us a Top 4 national seed.
 
Looks like #7 UCLA and #8 Texas switched places in the bracket placement in order to avoid same conference teams meeting in a Sweet 16 matchup of 2-seed UCLA versus #3-seed Oregon State.

I wouldn't mind another crack at Stanford.

 
And Taylor Jones competing against her old team, Oregon State. But that'll definitely give'em a home court in Portland.

At #12, Connecticut is the weakest 3-seed, they should be sent to Portland. But we know $$$ matters to the NCAA.
 
Moooooo said:
Of course. But, it provides clues as to what this particular committee is valuing when assigning the seeds. Texas' NET ranking of #4 means the committee found reasons why not to award us a Top 4 national seed.
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You pontificated the reason for Texas’ ranking was due to a poor out of conference schedule. Texas’ ranking may have more to do with their being tied for second in the conference than their schedule. Or it could be because Rori is out. Who knows. Your guess is as good as mine. That’s what it is at this point: a guess.
 
hornsup1986 said:
You pontificated the reason for Texas’ ranking was due to a poor out of conference schedule. Texas’ ranking may have more to do with their being tied for second in the conference than their schedule. Or it could be because Rori is out. Who knows. Your guess is as good as mine. That’s what it is at this point: a guess.
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Yes, just guesses.

Never heard a committee placing teams in an early reveal dependent on where they rank in their conference rankings. OU not even in the Top 16 despite having a 2 game lead over Texas and Kansas State. What matters is overall body of work.
 
Moooooo said:
Yes, just guesses.

Never heard a committee placing teams in an early reveal dependent on where they rank in their conference rankings. OU not even in the Top 16 despite having a 2 game lead over Texas and Kansas State. What matters is overall body of work.
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As you said yourself, at this juncture who knows. It’s all conjecture.
 
Moooooo said:
I'm sure the remaining Big 12 coaches will want to give Texas a "send off" to the SEC by honoring any of our players with awards.

Texas volleyball was awarded 2 players on the Big 12 conference first team; the same number as Houston. Somehow BYU managed 3 first-teamers; same for Kansas along with Coach of the Year for finishing 3 full games behind 1st place Texas.

2023 All-Big 12 Volleyball Awards Revealed - Big 12 Conference (big12sports.com)
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Thanks...now I'm pissed off all over again :facepalm:.
Oh well just another reason to watch Championship game again...lol
 
Enjoyed hearing Coach speak and answer questions at the WBB Luncheon yesterday. You may not be surprised that my question asked about the incoming class and Justice Carlton's amazing rehab.

Incoming Class
Coach addressed how important it is for a program to bring in difference makers with all-around, excellent skill sets and stack them on top of current difference makers. This is what it takes to build a national championship team and Texas is on track to achieve that status. I'm paraphrasing, but the current roster is composed of hard-working, dedicated players, but only a few true difference-makers like Rori and Book. The 2024 class has 3 difference makers.
  • Bryanna Preston: Don't be fooled by her rank, which is laughable. Bryanna is another Rori Harmon at PG
  • Jordan Lee: a true guard at 6 feet and fast. We'll enjoy watching her play
  • Justice Carlton: Loves contact. When she drives to the basket, she is not looking to go around you, she looks to go through you. A true 4, but with good mid- and long-range. Her rehab has been incredible. Vic had a player at MSU that had a similar quick, full recovery. It is all about the skill of the rehab team and the dedication of the athlete to the rehab. See Rori below.
Returning Seniors
For the first time heard by these ears, Vic explicitly said that Khadija Faye, Taylor Jones, DeYona Gaston and Shay Holle are all eligible to return. He addressed Taylor's unused Covid year and her previous redshirt year at Oregon State.

Portal In/Out
We are probably done with 2024 recruiting, except for what is not known. How many roster players who are not getting extended court time are illegally being influenced by opposing teams with NIL offers they can not fulfil? (Also, see Hadi below.) Texas will be monitoring the portal accordingly if a roster spot becomes available.

Rori Status and Medical Redshirt
Rori is 1 game over the limit. Texas will appeal and apply for the medical red-shirt. Based on minutes played, she is under the limit if translated to full games. Does the NCAA want Rori to grace the WNBA or the NCAA for another year based on a technicality? The NCAA recently granted eligibility to a football player from the class of 2016 for his 9th year!

Similar to Justice Carlton, the progress Rori has made just 4 weeks after surgery is incredible. This is documented on InstaGram.

Khadija Faye
No injury, requested time away from the team to deal with personal issues. We can only speculate if Hadi will successfully deal with this and return next year.
 
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Zig72 said:
Khadija Faye
No injury, requested time away from the team to deal with personal issues. We can only speculate if Hadi will successfully deal with this and return next year.
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Thanks for the tidbits!

Well, if his exact words about Faye were "personal issues" then that may or may not mean the same thing as when previously stated "illness".

Obviously, her well-being comes first. But, your last statement about "return next year" kind of implies that she's not returning this season? Please clarify your understanding of her immediate future (this season) at Texas.
 
He left the impression that nobody knows, including him. I'd be guessing and extrapolating from other similar situations, but it does not look promising.
 
I should have mentioned that Coach loves what Book brings to the team. We all feel the same, but the intriguing nugget was that he is more and more convinced that the ball needs to be in Book's hands more often.
 
WCBBNUT said:
Power ranking #5
Net Ranking #4
Seeding #8
W
T
F

it’s all so subjective
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Lots of basketball left to play before the NCAA tournament. We'll see how it all shakes out... We just have to take care of our business.
 
WCBBNUT said:
Power ranking #5
Net Ranking #4
Seeding #8
W
T
F

it’s all so subjective
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Not enough wins against highly thought of teams. Kind of what happened to LSU in the final seedings last season; their NET ranking was great due to blowing out so many weak non-conference opponents, but their actual resume' lacked quality wins.
 
Moooooo said:
Not enough wins against highly thought of teams. Kind of what happened to LSU in the final seedings last season; their NET ranking was great due to blowing out so many weak non-conference opponents, but their actual resume' lacked quality wins.
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The Net Ranking addresses that. It takes into account the quality of the win and the severity of the win/loss based on points, opponents and SOS. The Net Ranking should effectively be the best indicator of seeding. LSU proved that IMO.
 
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WCBBNUT said:
The Net Ranking addresses that. It takes into account the quality of the win and the severity of the win/loss based on points, opponents and SOS. The Net Ranking should effectively be the best indicator of seeding. LSU proved that IMO.
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Well, it's a different committee every year. I tend to believe that most of the time they use logic when assigning their seeds. If you want to believe that our two best wins being over the lowest #3 seed and a #4 seed equate to being a #1 national seed, that is your prerogative. Sometimes folks need to remove their burnt orange tinted glasses; in no way does our resume' suggest we should be higher than a #2 seed, especially when we lost 2 games at home to teams outside the Top 16.
 
Moooooo said:
Well, it's a different committee every year. I tend to believe that most of the time they use logic when assigning their seeds. If you want to believe that our two best wins being over the lowest #3 seed and a #4 seed equate to being a #1 national seed, that is your prerogative. Sometimes folks need to remove their burnt orange tinted glasses; in no way does our resume' suggest we should be higher than a #2 seed, especially when we lost 2 games at home to teams outside the Top 16.
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I love this team just like I loved all the other ones over the last 30+ years. The "opinion" polls may have us ranked at #5, but if I'm being honest there is no way in hell I believe we're the fifth best team in the country.

Because each game seems to be a struggle for us, I'm concerned about how we will finish the regular season and conference tournament. I'm hoping and praying we can somehow get to the Sweet 16 this season. People can call me negative all they want, but I feel I'm being realistic. It takes great guard play. We've got Booker but...
 
brnkj said:
I love this team just like I loved all the other ones over the last 30+ years. The "opinion" polls may have us ranked at #5, but if I'm being honest there is no way in hell I believe we're the fifth best team in the country.

Because each game seems to be a struggle for us, I'm concerned about how we will finish the regular season and conference tournament. I'm hoping and praying we can somehow get to the Sweet 16 this season. People can call me negative all they want, but I feel I'm being realistic. It takes great guard play. We've got Booker but...
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I agree 100%. I watch plenty of other teams, and I don't see the same fist pumping, chest bumping, yelling with your mouth open and breaking into a sweat nearly as much with Texas. So many important games to go and their fire just doesn't seem to be lighted. I cannot imagine why not when everything seems to be right within their grasps.
 
Moooooo said:
Well, it's a different committee every year. I tend to believe that most of the time they use logic when assigning their seeds. If you want to believe that our two best wins being over the lowest #3 seed and a #4 seed equate to being a #1 national seed, that is your prerogative. Sometimes folks need to remove their burnt orange tinted glasses; in no way does our resume' suggest we should be higher than a #2 seed, especially when we lost 2 games at home to teams outside the Top 16.
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Again, I’m simply saying that having one or two amazing wins vs 5 impressive wins is all accounted for in the Net Rankings. It factors in all the relevant factors - home/away, SOS, margin of win, quality of win/loss, etc. If you want to remove the subjectivity, you go with the math. Not saying that’s what the committee does. I’m saying that’s what they should do.

Have all the feels you want, that’s part of the fun of being a fan. It’s part of the misery too. But math is math.

We have the 5th best field goal percentage in the nation. 5th best rebound margin. Third best scoring margin. Tied for 6th in winning percentage. Number 4 in Net Rankings and 5 in Power Rankings. I don’t believe we are top 4 (yet), but we absolutely are hands down the best 2 seed in the game right now.
 
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Bucksgal said:
I agree 100%. I watch plenty of other teams, and I don't see the same fist pumping, chest bumping, yelling with your mouth open and breaking into a sweat nearly as much with Texas. So many important games to go and their fire just doesn't seem to be lighted. I cannot imagine why not when everything seems to be right within their grasps.
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That has to be organic not falesly generated. Something was mentioned about this early last year. And pointed out the we lost the heart and soul of this team when JAT and Warren left. A bit dramatic but you get my point.
There simply isn't anyone on the team with that visible outward display of emotion.

I recall during Vic's 1st season here that Ebo I believe blocked a shot and did a primal yell and threw her fist up. Later in the week during Vic's show they showed the highlite and he stated though he liked the block he wasn't a fan of her after play antics.
So are the players a reflection of the coach?
Curious if any one knows how his M. St. teams were.
 
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