Beachfront Property in Idaho

[WCBBNUT]

Some fans are fed up with the current program. Understandable. Losing sucks. But one fan in particular has a penchant for posting the same thing over and over and over as if that is the only thought that exists within their tiny brain. Here is why that is so short-sided and why I am glad it will have no influence over the future of the program.

(Note: you want influence? better write a huge check)

In Goestenkors' first five years at Duke she missed the tournament twice, didn't get past the second round in the next three years and went 31 and 39 in conference play. At Texas, during her first four years, she has made the tournament each year but with only one win and is 32-32 in conference play.

FIRE HER? Had Duke used that kind of emotionally charge but strategically flawed analysis they would have missed out on the stuff that made them a powerhouse...

In her NEXT 10 years with Duke, Gail Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen appearances every year, seven Elite Eight appearances, four Final Four appearances, and two appearances in the NCAA Championship game. During her tenure, her teams won five ACC tournament championships and eight ACC regular season titles. Goestenkors holds the ACC record for fewest games required to achieve 300 wins (387 games). She received recognition as the ACC Coach of the Year a record 7 times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007). In the 2001-02 season, Goestenkors led the Blue Devils to the first undefeated regular season in ACC women's basketball history — a feat she would repeat two other times during her tenure at Duke (2003, 2007).

When Texas got to Gail, it was not a question of IF she would finally get an NC, it was a question of when. When Gail arrived at Texas we had missed the tournament in the previous two seasons.

It took her 5 years to get it right in the ACC conference. I suspect it might take a year or two longer to get it right in the BIG 12 - hence the seven-year contract.

A seven-year contract at a million dollars a year. It was a bargain. Still is.

If I were a betting man - and I am - my money is on Gail. And when I say "my money" rest assued a lot of it has gone to UT and I know about what I speak.

Why continue with senseless posts about the death of the program? The ones where we root for the other team are particularly inspiring. It just shows how uninformed some are and why the program rarely turns to obscure fans for advice on picking coaches.

We are playing some of the best baskeball we have played in years,. More sophisticated. More exciting. It's just a matter of time folks and I am in this for the long haul.

I am investing in beachfront property in Idaho. Anyone with me?

 

[Statalyzer]

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[Seattle4UT]

Sunshine pumping at its finest....

 

[WCBBNUT]

Hey Stat. Always good to read your posts...

In repsonse...

You don't make alll decisions by what is happening on the court. You make most of them by what is happening off the court.

At the end of 5 years, Duke knew what they had in their coach. Trust me. My mother-in-law got her medical degree there. She was part of the group that wanted Duke to increase it's profile in women's athletics.

I remain a fan of a woman who took the chance Gail took by coming here. She was set. She took a chance on us. I now will take a chance on her.

From Duke's own website while Gail was there: In her 14 years at Duke University, Gail Goestenkors helped lead the Blue Devils from relative obscurity to national prominence. ...Goestenkors has raised the level of the women’s basketball program at Duke to new heights. Today, because of Coach G, Duke is mentioned in the same breath with the other elite programs in women’s college basketball.

Duke tried way harder to keep G when we came knocking than the press let on.

And as far as best basketball in years, I am talking about the the entirety of our play since G has arrived. We are much more sophisticated in the way we approach the game and adjust to our opponents. It just doesn't appear that way if you simply look at the W/L column. We constantly switch-up both our offensive and defensive games. We had gotten pretty one dimensional under Jody's final few years. She was/is a great coach (and a friend) but Gail is much more prepared for the current game and the current type of players in the game. It will come. It will come.

Gail's biggest mistake since arriving was not anticipating how much comeptition Texas has to recruit top players. Lots of competition. She has corrected that.

My money is on Gail and I am pretty good at beating the odds.

Just my opinion. Beachfront property in Idaho is a good investment right now.

Behind the scenes, the party has just begun. Cheers!

 

[WCBBNUT]

Some fans are fed up with the current program. Understandable. Losing sucks.

 

[TempestHorn]

Well Nut, you bring new meaning to sometimes you feel like a nut and sometimes you don't. You had me feeling like you were NOT a nut for most of your post and then you post this gem....

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[overseasbbfan1]

Great comments, WCBBNUT! And can I just add that all of the Sweet 16, Elite 8 (more than double anyone else in our league), Final Four and Championship game appearances exceed - on all counts - that of any of her Big12 counterparts. In fact, her numbers exceed that of any other coach in the country during that same 10-year timeframe, excluding a couple of folks some on this board might have heard of - Pat Summitt and Geno A. She also reached 400 wins faster than any coach in NCAA history, a pretty remarkable acheivement when you consider all of the great coaches our game has seen the past 30 + years.

And I also agree that we are a better team this year than last, regardless of what our final record is, or whether or not we make a post-season appearance. Inconsistent and riddled with injuries, yes, but better IMO. And as far as Gail's early years at Duke vs. her first five at Texas are concerned, not only is her performance here better, I would also aruge that the landscape and challenges she faced coming into the Big 12 were every bit as daunting, and likely moreso than she encountered early on at Duke. The foundations already in place with other programs were formidable. Nonetheless she is about to complete her fifth winning season, with four and possibly five post-season appearances, and at an average of more than 20 wins per season. We may not have achieved the success she, and others may have hoped for yet, but no question about it...we will. Funny that some, or one in particular doesn't think that injuries should be talked about, or matter, but most of us know otherwise. Even the national media has commented recently that the three top recruits signed by Gail the past several seasons have all suffered injuries (Reed, Moore and Peoples). And two have been out almost the entire season. Of course injuries matter. Look at Kansas, which was putting together a terrific season and at one point was in the top three in the league. They lost Davis and have now lost 4 of their last 5. If the slide continues and they lose their next two we could see them go from near the top of the standings to close to the cellar in the span of less than a month. Is bringing up Davis' injury an excuse? Of course not; it's simply stating the obvious to say her loss has resulted in the team's sudden downturn.

While I still hope for a strong finish this year, and expect improvement next season, I have said all along on this board that 2013-14 is going to be the season it all comes together for this team. And if I recall correctly it was in season 7 that GG took Duke to their first Final Four, and we all know what happend from that point forward with the program. We don't have any juniors on this sqaud, which means in 2013 we're going to have 11 upperclassmen. Imagine a roster that incudes six seniors: Fussell, Reed, Bass, Hartung, Brewer and Moore, juniors Enemkpali, Major and McCoy, and sophmores Stafford, Peoples, Sanders and Davenport. And our freshman class will consist of top recruits Terry and Adams. Or put another way, we'll have Reed, Stafford, Hartung and Adams in the post, Enemkpali, Major and Brewer at forward, and be eight deep at guard. I will say now that this is a championship caliber roster and will be able to compete with anyone in the country. I haven't included the Canadian twins because obviously their inclusion would put the roster at 17, and I've never quite figured out how they fit into the equation. There seemed to be some question for a while as to what class they would be a part of, although Hoopgurlz does list them with our 2013 recruits at this point. While I'm certain both can become valuable members of the team, I don't know how you alter such an impressive roster without lessening our chances for success. And obviously their inclusion would mean a couple of others not using their full eligibility, and given how important the 2013-14 season is, I don't think that's a risk worth taking. No doubt the coaches and staff will find a way to make it work, and it would be ideal if the twins jioned in 2014, when we have (at least) six openings. The point is the above roster is loaded with talent, experience, and depth at every position. There isn't a single weakness that I can see and I fully expect us to be among the best teams in the country in 2013-14. Change takes time, in particular when you consider injuries, the conference we're in, and state of the program when GG arrived. And I think many have acknowledged some early mistakes may have been made with respect to staffing, and understanding the recuiting landscape in Texas, but most also feel the University is as much to blame for those errors as GG. And it doesn't matter at this point; those issues have been successfully dealt with, and I think we're all focused on the future...not the past.

Winning is fun and losing isn't, but I think it's clear that GG still has the support of most fans, and in particular of those who follow the program the most closely. And more importantly she has the full support of the administration and athletic dept, and rightly so. We hired the best available coach in the country, and by some margin, and I am still thankful she agreed to leave Duke to run our program. We are lucky to have her.

 

[WCBBNUT]

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[TempestHorn]

WOW, just WOW. Stood and cheered more than any time in the past? I could literally vomit. You guys are way over the top with your feelings after one win. This season has been a train wreck with no signs of an offense through all but 3 games of it. You can continue to blame that on injuries and not having enough guards if that makes you sleep at night, but now saying you are seeing an improved basketball team shows Seattle isn't the only one shitting on every thread. This team is inconsistent and just a mess, I will not be surprised at all to see them follow up the OU win with a loss at Missouri.

And as I said I have supported many teams over the years at Texas that didn't win but I liked the direction the program was heading. I can not look at this program and say that and if you can you are basing that on wishes not facts. Next year we are going to be so young. Predicting we're going to be really good next year??? Don't think so, I will not fall for that.

 

[cynt]

A lot of great posts - I love reading both sides and listening to everyone's opinion.

The one thing that gives me hope is the game against A&M. IMHO the team took Coach G and the coach's game plan and followed it to the T and we won. If we played like that every night we wouldn't be in the situation that we're in now. Why don't we? So I question are all of the young ladies giving 100%, 100% of the time. Mind you this came after a blowup at the bench and a players only meeting. Now why did it take that to get the results we got at the A&M game? I always knew Gayle could be aggressive and shoot more and I've been on her case since she started playing as a freshman. We need POINTS and blocks. Why in that game did she play to her full potential? However, after a few games she went back to not shooting and not being aggressive. Is that Coach Gs fault? Or Gayle not playing 100%, 100% of the time? I'm not calling her out. You can question each player in the same way. I'm just pointing out is everyone playing 100%, 100% of the time? I know everyone has off games and I'm not talking about that I'm talking overall.

So let's talk about practice. If you practice each practice at the level you expect during the game 100% effort, both sides of the court then that's what you get on game day. I think this is where Geno has a lot of coaches beat. He expects and requires perfection 100% of the time in practice. Perfection is all that his team knows. So I think GG gets this and is requiring this too, hence a couple of players are not getting much playing time. I'm ok with that and the team having to grind it out w/ a short bench. It's frustrating and I don't like it but I get it and I understand what she's building and where she wants to take this program. This goes back to what I've been saying all along about Coach G she's had to change THE CULTURE at TX. I understand these are all of her recruits, I get that but if you're used to being the star and not putting in the work but playing because you're the best player in the school and you didn't have to work then welcome to Coach G's world. It's not happening. You work you play. PERIOD! No work no play.

I'm in it for the long haul. I haven't posted much this season because this team drives me crazy and then they do something brilliant. LOL!!

This Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde team is crazy enough to win it all in the Big 12 tourny and get a bid to the NCAAs. I know sounds far fetched but stranger things have happened (Delaware Blue Hens ranked #8.) If the team that played A&M or OU could sweep the tourny and build up their confidence in time for the NCAAs - We could be the Cinderella story making it to at least the sweet 16.

Will it happen probably not, but could it happen ABSOLUTELY!!!

 

[WCBBNUT]

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[outlookdude]

Put me in the camp that has seen some of the best play in years this season. I have also seen some bad enough to send me on a rare public rant. I said going into the season that what I wanted to see was consistency. That is what I haven’t seen and, I believe, is the cause of our frustration.

But, it gets to be difficult talking about causes. Why has this team not been more consistent? As usual I don’t think there is any single root cause.

I’m not screaming for a new coach. I agree that many programs change for the sake of change and never get anywhere. I don’t think it is time for a change now. But, even Coach G would tell you that she hasn’t proven anything yet. It’s hard to evaluate a season with this many injuries. I see progress at times, and lots of it, but it has to start producing more wins soon or this conversation will never go away. I think it will get better. But, the clock is clearly ticking.

Like I have said, I will support this team regardless of the coach. I appreciate the effort it takes to be a student athlete and I won’t quit on them. I certainly don’t want them to quit, so that seems the least I could do.

I don’t think we will see consistency until we also see consistent scoring inside. I think we rely too much on jump shots from our guards. Sometimes those fall, sometimes they don’t. We need posts who have a scoring mentality and guards who will go to the hole. Posts who work for position and guards who get them the ball at the right time, in the right place. It isn’t about any one player, or group. It takes a team. I’ve seen more effort toward that end lately. I’m hoping that it will become a habit.

On the subject of injuries and practicing at 100%....one of the issues that goes with having a short bench is the impact to practice. If you only have three guards who have to play pretty much the entire game you can’t really push them hard in practice every day. At some point you have to let them have some recovery time. Having four makes a huge difference both in the game and for how you can approach a practice.

I do agree about the culture. I think this is probably the biggest challenge any new coach was going to face. You don’t win just because you put on a Texas uniform. You have to work for it……AND, when things go wrong you have to maintain your confidence and keep fighting……sometimes it means that you have to remember to have fun and that what really matters is if you play to the best of your ability……..That’s all easy to type, and not so easy to actually do consistently.

You have to believe that you are going to win. That belief is contagious. But, when you have struggled to get over a hump for as long as this program has believing is difficult. (Fans know how hard it is to believe.) You have to believe, and when you fail still believe the next time out. That is an issue of culture. The best way to get there is with some success. When that doesn’t happen you just have to dig down deep inside yourself and find strength in knowing how hard you and your team have worked. Sometimes you just have to get mad. Sometimes remembering to have fun flips a switch. But, it is never easy to make that transition. It is even more difficult when you are a teenager trying to grow into adulthood.

What is important is that these young women learn the value and rewards of hard work, teamwork, and perseverance. It will bring them success in life. As a fan I want to see them experience success on the court…..right now.

So…

Hook’em
Texas Fight
Beat the hell out of Missouri!

 

[basketsofhorns]

Thanks for the reminders. I can't imagine suporting any other team in the country after 20 years in these stands, so I've got to look for the sunshine even when it rains. These are good words.