exhibition post game story

[BabHorn]

texassports.com post game story

They got this up quick, including box score and some quotes from Coach Aston. Sweet.

The effort by all was impressive. They dominated inside and in rebounding as they should have. Everyone played double digit minutes except Nadia Taylor but she scored two FGs in her four minutes. The team seemed very much into the game on both ends. I was able to hear several players talking to each other about what was going on defensively.

They still have some things to work on before St. Johns. But it was a good start. Looks like we will be able to go 10 deep for now with no dropoff in intensity. Add the three that sat out this game and we will really have depth available for a change. Gonna be a very interesting season. I would expect the team to keep improving from game to game as they become more familiar with each other in game situations. Some of those TOs will be eliminated as they play together in games.

Ten days to season tipoff! The game is at 2:30 PM CST so it's in the middle of my work day. I can feel a mini vacation coming on.

 

[jusme828]

Agree with your post, BabHorn. Definitely hope to see everyone get more comfortable with each other, and not commit so many to's.

My favorite thing was seeing the offensive plays spread out more. At least it gives the posts room to make a move to the basket. Loved the post play from Cokie and Nneka. And, Imani is going to be a rebound queen!

 

[scottyhorn]

Thank you tor the update Babhorn I raelly appreciate it since I was not able to attend the game. I am really looking forward to the 2012-2013 season and I noticed Baylor is #1 in the preseason rankings

 

[hornsgeek]

We've got a lot of raw talent, and I was pleased with the energy throughout the game from all the players. The good news is that they are now past their first game jitters. I assume that's what was going on with Imani's point total.

Add some discipline on passing and running set plays and we'll be a force to reckon with.

 

[LLHFan]

Good first effort. Really liked the way they shared the ball. The number of assists is sure to go up.

 

[Moooooo]

Who were the starters?

I saw Celina Rodrigo with 8 defensive rebounds by earlin in the 2nd half; was that lots of hustle on her part?

Anyone know the injury status on Chelsea, Ronisha, and Kayla?

 

[outlookdude]

That may be the first game I have seen where the winning team had more turnovers than the losing team had rebounds. Really strange stat. On one hand IW had no chance from the start. On the other…well, it got pretty ugly at times. I didn’t see anything that I found overly concerning. I also still really don’t know what to expect from this team.

I didn’t see a lot of consistency. But, I think that is to be expected at this point with a young team and a group (players and coaches) that mostly have not played together. We should see a sharp learning curve with this team heading toward conference play. I don’t know if we will have many definitive answers before then.

In general I liked the energy and effort that I saw. I thought the posts were much more active than we have seen in a long time. We looked like a team that should rebound better than in past years. Cokie and Nneka both played with a lot of energy and confidence. Cokie seems quicker and appeared to move better than she has at any time at Texas. It’s difficult to take much from a game against IW, they really had no way to match up down low. But, for what is worth, I thought both looked very good.

Empress flashed some moments on both sides of the ball that made me think she will be very good. I thought she was much better late in the game finding her shot. That could be important for a team that seemed offensively challenged. One of the problems we have fought for years are long scoring droughts. It concerns me to have seen the same thing happen against IW. I really believe a lot of that was first game jitters and a young team. But, I just can’t quite get the image of dropped passes and missed layups out of my head. I think we’ll be OK, but with our history it may take me a while to really believe.

One player who could help with that is Imani. She has the size and length to be a rebounding machine. She should find herself with a ton of opportunities to make easy baskets around the rim. That was the case last night. Unfortunately last night she missed almost all of those shots. It looked like she was trying a little too hard and a little over-eager to make that first basket. Later in the game she did make a couple and looked much more under control in the process. But, I also think it is fair to say that her offensive skills are a work in progress. She has the opportunity to be very good. The questions are about how fast she can get there.

Lest I forget, Chassidy is still good, and can still shoot. I don’t want to take her for granted, she was the best player on the court. There were faster, quicker, taller, and more athletic players. But, right now Chassidy is getting more from her athletic talent than anyone else.

I thought GiGi really struggled early in the game. But, like some of the others she seemed to find her stride in the second half and make some positive contributions. Again I’m hoping this was just a first game – young team issue. This will not be a group that can afford slow starts against better competition.

I should be clear for those who did not see the game – the start was actually pretty good. Texas ran out to a thirteen to nothing lead inside the first four minutes. It was when subs started to come into the game that it seemed they started to struggle and then never really found their rhythm again until several minutes into the second half. At halftime the lead was only 16, so for the majority of the first half IW played Texas almost even. Offensively they didn’t seem to be on the same page, missed easy shots, and made some poor decisions with the ball. Defensively they committed some pretty silly fouls. Mostly there was a long stretch when they couldn’t seem to get out of their own way. It wasn’t like IW ever took a lead. But, Texas did let a team lacking D1 players hang around for a while. This looked like a team that really needed that exhibition game, and it appeared that a lot of the issues were addressed before the game was over. And, in the end it wasn’t close. But, it did provide some coaching opportunities.

It always amazes me how much the loss of one player can make a difference. In this case I thought having Chelsea available would have made a huge difference in an otherwise almost completely new rotation of guards. Hopefully she, Ro and Kayla can get back on the court soon.

I don’t know how much playing time Nadia is going to see. She only got 4 minutes against IW. But, you can see that she has been a D1 athlete for 4 years. And, she was ready when she got her opportunity. In those four minutes she put up four points, an assist, a steal, and a rebound. In several ways she represented what I liked best in that game. It wasn’t just the energy. It was the enthusiasm. The team appeared to be excited to play the game, and seemed excited for each other when someone made a play. The bench was more vocal and into the game. If they can maintain those things throughout the season they should be fine.

So…cautiously optimistic? I think that is where I am at this point. I see a ton of potential. I see enough physical talent to compete with anyone. There is a lot of missing D1 experience, a lot of team chemistry to develop, and a lot of refining that raw talent with solid coaching and good old hard work before this is a finished product. I’m optimistic that they can accomplish a lot in the next couple of months, and I think they should be fun to watch in the interim.

Moo – Celina, Empress, Chassidy, Nneka, and Cokie started. I have no idea how Celina ended up with all those rebounds. I never noticed until I looked at the box. But, give a true freshman guard credit for starting and not doing anything to make me notice. That is a positive.

 

[DINO22]

I see a team with some energy! And that it excites me! Tons of potential talent. I look forward to a good season!
Great Job Cokie running the floor.Great spin moves! GiGi is going to be good for Texas.Empress will be a lockdown defender! Fussell look like she has improved on some things too! Nneka good job! Can't wait to see what R.Majors will do under Aston. I was impress with her play last year. Along with C.Bass and K.Brewer.

 

[AustinBoston]

Boy, IW couldn’t throw it in the ocean standing on the beach. Nine, count ‘em, nine field goals including 2-21 3-pointers.

Some of what’s below is similar to what Outlookdude posted above. I also realize this is the first game against a DII school that isn’t very tall.

What I liked:
Cokie did well offensively.
Nneka had some nice moves around the basket that I didn’t see much last year.
Chassidy was Chassidy.
Celina had a decent game with four assists and eight boards, all defensive.
Overall shooting was good, 50.8%, especially inside the 3-point arc.
Good free-throw shooting, 11-14, 78.6%.
GiGi had a good all-round game. It’ll be interesting to see what her role is.
Anne Marie had an interesting line: 8 points and 5 rebounds in just 12 minutes.
Imani’s rebounding, especially on the offensive end.

What I didn’t like:
Nneka had 4 fouls in 18 minutes.
Celina didn’t take a shot. I like the PG to drive to the basket, shoot short jumpers, etc. to open the floor for the others.
In a non-starter role, Ashley was 0-2 and no assists in 21 minutes.
Overall 3-point shooting was poor, 2-12.
Imani’s shooting, as Outlookdude said, her offense is a work in progress, but I think there’s a lot of potential.
There were too many shoots taken by IW that were not as contested as they should have been. Their pitiful shooting was not just because of UT’s stifling defense.
Too many fouls from not being in proper position (which is how many/most fouls happen).

Overall, it was good to see the new people and see what improvements have been made by the returnees. There’s some potential on this team, the question is how will it develop?

BTW, does anyone know what the status of Chelsea. Ronisha, and Kayla? Are they injured?

 

[BabHorn]

Don't know the playing status of Ronisha, Kayla or Chelsea. But all three were at the game, dressed in street clothes. They were part of the lineup after the game as the team introduced themselves to the fans. Hopefully, they will be back soon.