Does coach G have what it takes?

N

NorthCoastHorn

500+ Posts
Serious question for those who are informed and MUCH closer to Austin and the program than I will be for some time.

What has kept us from competing with the nation's elite, four years after Coach G was hired?

Do you think we will get there with her at the helm?

Hook'em

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Welcome Northcoast. The answer to your questions is a resounding "Yes!" This subject has been addressed extensively on other threads but perhaps you missed those; I'll do my best to recap.

As you are probably aware the squad's starting post was lost to injury prior to the start of the season, so the year wasn't what many of us had hoped for at the outset. Nonetheless we won 19 games and made the NCAA tournament, and next season looks very promising. Cokie will be back, along with this year's great freshman class, and we have four great recruits plus a transfer coming in also. The roster will be at 14 and the squad should have quality and depth at every position.

Look at what Blair and A&M accomplished this season. It's the first Final Four for the Ags and it took Gary eight years to get the team there. He was 73-50 during his first four seasons and didn't make the NCAA tournament until year three; GG's record her first four seasons was 83-49 and she made the tournament every one of those years. And look at what Coale has done at OU, and she was 53-63 her first four seasons and didn't make the tournament at all her first three years!. We've got some great programs in the Big12 but it took time for them to get there. We have one of the best coaches in the country so look for her to do the same things here that she did at Duke - she didn't reach the Elite Eight until year six, and her first Final Four and title game came in year seven. But once there she never looked back, with 10 consecutive Sweet 16s, 7 Elite 8s, 4 Final 4s and 2 championship game appearances!

I hope the above answers your question. The future promises to be very exciting so stop by more often! Hook 'em.
 
You can see from the two responses that not everyone agrees. Personally I think almost certainly. I will be surprised if time proves otherwise, but I leave the almost because there is still a lot to prove on the court.

Some people think absolutely not, some think maybe, and some believe absolutely yes.

The people who think not point to what they perceive as recruiting failures, not fitting into the Texas culture, and a conferenceNCAA record that is nothing to brag about. They say four years is enough to see results, and that if we haven’t seen them by now it just isn’t going to happen. I don’t agree with all of that, but I think it is a fair summary of the negative comments.

The people who say yes point to back-to-back highly ranked recruiting classes, the injury to Cokie Reed, a 2010-11 team that was half freshmen, and GG track record from the past.

There is more on both sides, but that covers most of it. I tend to lean much more toward the second group, both because of the things mentioned above and what I have seen with my eyes. I have seen Texas WBB go up and down a few times, and this looks (to me) like a team on the rise.

What pretty much everyone seems to agree about is that 2011-12 is a very, very important season for Texas and GG. Maybe you can watch it on the Texas sports network.
 
The reality is no one knows. As mentioned previously, there are posters on this board who think she needs to go and others who think success is right around the corner. I think everyone who posts here, regardless of whether they're labeled as "haters" or "sunshine pumpers," wants to see Coach Goestenkors succeed. And a lot of people think next year is a make or break season for her. Certainly there will be no more excuses. She'll have all of her own recruits and she gets Cokie back. In my opinion (which isn't worth much) the honeymoon is over.

Chip Brown on 104.9 reported a few weeks ago that his insiders tell him Gail has another year to prove she's worth the $1 million UT is paying her. If we're mediocre (or worse) next year, she won't survive.

Watching the game last night was inspiring. Two great teams and two great coaches playing in front of a packed arena for a chance to go to the Final Four. That's where I hope Texas is soon. And I hope Coach G. gets them there. If she can't, Texas can afford to pay someone who will.
 
The answer is "YES"....she "has what it takes"....but as has been posted, she underestimated how tough recruiting would be, and some question her Asst. Coach choices; ie: no one was "Texas Connected" .....But despite that, I am one who thinks next year we will do very well....if we don't, I'll be ready to say "maybe she doesn't"...

In reply to:
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As previously mentioned, Outlookdude nailed it. Imo, while I think mistakes have happened and that last season was not what we expected at the end of the 2009-10 season. Still, it's hard, at least for me, not to see the improvement. As with anything, improvement usually comes with ups and downs, not in a straight line upward. The movement upward is consistent despite what some consider a sharp dip last year.

Coach G hasn't forgotten how to coach or recruit. It is tougher here in the Big 12 with at least four well established programs to catch up to. But she is getting there. Last season's dip does not negate the fact that the first three years showed a steady upward swing. What bothers detractors is that Texas has only one win in the NCAAs. And probably the 0-for against A&M.
 
Chip is clueless when it comes to women's basketball. He had the nerve on his YNN Sports TV segment to say that Texas didn't "deserve" to be in the NCAA tourney; of course, he never bothered to substantiate his "opinion" with regards to the RPI or SOS. He never bothered to discuss which team he believe "deserved" to get in that didnt' get in.

He even had the nerve to say that Texas got in based solely on its name and the name of our head coach; if that was the case, Jody's last two teams would have made the tourney.
 
Which one? Are you thinking Mickie DeMoss? She replaced Clarissa, but she left last year to go back to Tenn....her replacement is Ron Huey, who now works w/ Posts (like Clarissa did)...I think he has improved the post play a LOT...



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Yeah, from everything I've heard, Chip is the last person in the world who should be commeting on women's basketball. Makes you wonder why he did, if in fact that's the case. It would be like Mechelle Voepel writing about Mack Brown, or the NFL - not an exact analogy but pretty close. You can bet whatever he heard from so-called 'insiders" is as far away from reality as it's possible to get. Like someone else said his comments are probably just bs and based on more bs from a few who don't like women's sports or women's bb in the first place.
 
Chip Brown probably knows as much about womens' basketball as anyone who posts here. His expertise (and sources) go beyond football. And Mooooo, based on the results of their NCAA performance, I'd say he was right.

Frankly it's rare to hear anything about the women's program on local radio. I hope the team becomes more relevant next year, starts winning more games and fans start returning to the Erwin Center to watch them.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who heard his comments. He wasn't being overly critical of Coach G. or the program, just realistic. He certainly wasn't calling for anyone's head. He essentially said (and I can't quote him because I was driving and listening to his commentary) she had another year to prove she's worth what UT is paying her.

I hope she is and I hope next year she proves it.
 
I certainly respect your opinion about Chip, but it is very different from mine.

I heard those comments, and they sounded very different to me. I have heard other comments and have yet to hear anything about WBB that lead me to believe he had any contacts with valuable information.

I listen to him on the radio, and read his stuff on Orangebloods about football and men’s basketball. He generally has good information, and decent analysis. I’m not a Chip Brown hater. But, I have never heard him say anything about WBB that wasn’t either obvious or off-base. Maybe it’s just that it isn’t his priority. Maybe I’m missing something. But, I have been far from impressed when he takes on that subject.

Still, I think we all agree in hoping that GG and this team do enough on the court to put all of this talk rest very soon.
 
Babhorn are you saying the team has been better than mediocre? If so we'll have to agree to disagree because we definitely define success much differently. And yes I'd argue that based on their record against ranked teams and their performance in the NCAA tournament, they didn't deserve to be there.
 
Honestly, I don't read Orangebloods because I've seen too many comments on other Hornfan forums stating most members there don't care much about, or think very highly of women's athletics. I won't pass judgement because, as I say, I'm not a member - but since I only have a passing interest in Longhorn football, and find women's athletics much more interesting and compelling, I'm guessing it's not the best place for me to spend my time.

To return to the original question, while there are differences of opinion, one thing seems clear. Those who support and follow the program the most closely, and are the most knowledgeable about the team and women's basketball in general, all seem to feel GG is on the right track, and has the program moving in the right direction. And the same is true for most women's bb commentators and writers as well. It also seems like the handful who don't like GG don't follow the program as closely, or even know very much about it in many instances. Either that or they have some other agenda...at least that's the impression I get from some of the comments that have been made on the forum. Again, that's just my opinion, but one I think is supported by the posts I'm referring to.

As far as the Tennessee sub-regional is concerned I think you would have to say the committee got it almost exactly right. The #'s 8 and 9 seeds all tied up with under 10 secs to go, with the #8 squad prevailing by a single basket. And that squad then plays a good game vs. host Tennessee before ultimately losing by single digits. I don't know how you can say the Horns didn't belong without saying the same about the other squads.

Like others, I'm looking ahead at this point and excited about next season! It should be a fun year - Hook 'em.
 
Overseas – Correct. If you don’t care about football, men’s basketball, or baseball you don’t need Orangebloods. It is about football first, and there is a large gap before you get to #2. On the other hand, it is a great site for football information and I love football too. There are some people who care about women’s basketball there. But, most of the thousands of posters are eager to tell you that they don’t care.
 
The way I define “mediocre” is poor or bad. In the past four years, I won’t rate the team as “mediocre.” Last season, I would say they were average. But not what I define as mediocre. texexted, you seem to think that is satisfying or sufficient for me . I doubt if that is satisfactory to any fan, much less the coaches and players. It certainly wasn't to me.

Where we do appear to differ, is that you seem to think the program has reached a plateau under Coach G while I think she continues to guide the program upwards, even though that upward arc is one that will have hills and valleys. Last season, given the injuries and six new players on the squad, was a pretty good job by the coaches, imo. They had a winning record and got into the NCAAs. The next step up is to start winning in the NCAAs.

I never expected instant success, given the caliber of coaches and the number of successful programs entrenched in the Big 12 when Coach G arrived. But I did expect and have seen, steady improvement in the quality of recruits coming in which will lead to more success on the court. In time, not instantly.

I don’t follow OB since they don’t seem to follow WBB. They do seem to do a good job on FB and MBB recruits. I’m not sure they really care enough about WBB to provide that same depth on coverage. If I found out that they did, I would subscribe to them as recruiting info is awfully hard to come by.
 
You need to open a dictionary and learn the definition of mediocre. And I've never once said the team has hit a plateau. What I said is the team has been mediocre/average. Try as you might to spin it any other way- you can't. So while we disagree and what has transpired the past four years we can agree that next year should be, and perhaps must be, the year.
 
babhorns glasses are so thick and orange that she needs a prescription change. Texas is irrelevant in WBB and Giestenkord is over her head. We are a laughing stock with the ROI from our million dollar coach. The results of the past 4 years speak for themselves. What a joke!
 
Yeah, one thing is for certain, the more seattle and texex post, the better it looks for GG
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Can you imagine someone reading a Babhorn or Outlook post, and then one from seattle....LOL if they aren't a GG believer yet they certainly will be after that happens!
 
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