Game One in Austin: Texas vs Baylor

[HookedorNot]

They still need to work on their ball screen defense. The game against baylor wasn't the first time that they struggled defending it. Dean from tech also had a big game using ball screens.

I agree that our ball screen defense is suspect. To defend a ball screen you have to active post players that step out and hedge or at least slowdown the ball handler and that is something that we do not have. Our post players like to hang back to protect the basket, which forces our guards to get hung out to dry on ball screens. We have been okay all year with soft hedges but really got exposed Sunday because Baylor's Jones was knocking down shots, it exposed that weakness in our defense. I guess you have to pick your poison. I thought we should have adjusted and had the guards go under the screens because she wasn't hitting 3 balls. She is killing us with the mid-range.

 

[LonghornCatholic]

Baylor is good. Very good. Very Very good.
But continue the severe scolding

 

[HornView]

First off I'm extremely thankful I waited a few days to decompress and watch the game twice before commenting. We should all do that sometimes, it makes reactions much more insightful.

I recognize that not many if any of the other posters actually played/coached basketball as I have (not that it makes my OPINIONS any more valid). But what it does do is allow me to notice some nuances of the game. So I'll respond so some of the great, and some of the ridiculous things I saw in the game and read on the board.

1. I noticed quite a few posters saying "we should've done more on Jones". We did!! We hedged, chased, and trapped her coming off of ball screens. None of it worked. Not a coaching error, just a great player doing what great players do.

2. A lot of unwarranted gloom and doom in the post. We're still tied for 1st in the conference. And if things hold, we'll play for all the marbles in Waco. Not much more you can ask for.

3. Karen showed me a lot yesterday. Her ability to adapt late in the game and motivate (not many coaches in America can get their team to stay focused and continue to compete when down 19). And she showed that fire that I had so desperately wanted out of her. She should've been T'd up on at least 2 different occasions and I would've been completely ok with it.

4. The officiating was the worst if seen in ANY game this year. I thought it was particularly bad in person, but watching it on tv and it was absolutely abysmal. Not sure I would have been able to stay composed enough not to get thrown out.

5. B Taylor is essential to the team. Being down a started hurt everything, the bench, the rotations, the flow , EVERYTHING. So when we travel to Waco I assume I'll be just as, if not more optimistic because I expect us to grow in certain areas.

6. We're still fighting with the turnover bug in crucial games. That has to get better.

7. Please remember we were in a 6 point game with BU after being down a starter, having one of their players go for 29 and another go for 24 as well as going to the FT line 27 times only missing one. Those things considered, it would be pretty damn hard for them to replicate that even in Waco.

All things considered im not upset that we lost, just hate to give away a game we could've had. Regroup and move on so this 1 doesn't become 2 or 3. Especially traveling to TCU and with OU coming to town Saturday. Both teams are capable of beating people on any given night.

Agree with your assessment. I would add BU's offensive boards were another killer that I'm convinced don't happen with Brianna Taylor on the floor.

I look forward to the rematch.

 

[56 Bells]

All this arguing over one loss??? Really??? As disappointed as all of us fans were over this loss, can you even imagine how disappointed the players and coaches are? Coach Aston and staff have worked so hard to get us to this point....large crowd, marquee matchup with Baylor, etc. Do you honestly think they are not disappointed in their own performances? Why the finger-pointing at this point? Why the criticism of our bench and starters. Do you think these players and coaching staff don't know where they fell short? If any of you arguing and finger pointing were ever athletes, you would know how the sting of a loss like this burns through you and into the pit of your stomach. They don't need your uninformed opinions to make them feel bad. If I could point to one thing that I feel impacted this game (other than the turnovers and free throw discrepancy), it would have to be missing the fight, hustle, quickness and ferocity of Brianna Taylor. She does all the little things that don't always show up. We held them to under 40% from the field, shot better than they did, outrebounded them by 1. They shot I believe 10 more free throws, and Jones was on fire, then Davis got going. I've been a fan for over 20 years, making a 400 mile roundtrip trek from Dallas to Austin for almost every home game, even in the bad years. And while it was very disappointing to lose to Mulkey & company, those of us who have continued to support this program through the down years are ELATED with this new era in Texas Womens' Basketball that Coach Aston and staff have brought us!!!!! If you are a true fan of this program, shut this negative crap down, get off your ____, and bring some positive energy to these young ladies against TCU. I'll most definitely be there!!!!!

I'm trying to figure out what goes in that"____" at the end of your post. Help!

 

[utfannforlife]

I agree that our ball screen defense is suspect. To defend a ball screen you have to active post players that step out and hedge or at least slowdown the ball handler and that is something that we do not have. Our post players like to hang back to protect the basket, which forces our guards to get hung out to dry on ball screens. We have been okay all year with soft hedges but really got exposed Sunday because Baylor's Jones was knocking down shots, it exposed that weakness in our defense. I guess you have to pick your poison. I thought we should have adjusted and had the guards go under the screens because she wasn't hitting 3 balls. She is killing us with the mid-range.

Contrary to popular belief, if the athletes you're playing against are good enough, there is no proper way to "defend" a ball screen. If you hedge or trap, they pass to the person who is popping out for the shot or rolling to the basket. Even if help comes, if the offensive team moves the ball fast enough there will always be an open shot. If the team is good there is just no way around it.

If you go under or chase, they get wide open shots.

If you switch you have Jones isolated vs one of our bigs, and that is going to be to her advantage just about every time. Forcing help to come, and leaving someone for a wide open shot.

If you look back at the game, you will notice that the coaching staff tried just about all of these things. BU's offense was just better than our defense on that day. But a large portion of that was Jones going for 29. Not sure thats something she can do again against our team.

 

[HookedorNot]

Contrary to popular belief, if the athletes you're playing against are good enough, there is no proper way to "defend" a ball screen. If you hedge or trap, they pass to the person who is popping out for the shot or rolling to the basket. Even if help comes, if the offensive team moves the ball fast enough there will always be an open shot. If the team is good there is just no way around it.

If you go under or chase, they get wide open shots.

If you switch you have Jones isolated vs one of our bigs, and that is going to be to her advantage just about every time. Forcing help to come, and leaving someone for a wide open shot.

If you look back at the game, you will notice that the coaching staff tried just about all of these things. BU's offense was just better than our defense on that day. But a large portion of that was Jones going for 29. Not sure thats something she can do again against our team.

Having coached for many years, it has always been my philosophy to NOT let one or two players beat us. We knew going into the game that Jones and Davis were the two scores on the team. Once Jones got going, we should have doubled her coming off of every ball screen to force the ball out of her hand. Defending a ball screen is easy to defend, you just have to have 5 players committed to defending the ball. Too many of our players were only focused on their player, not defending the ball. Or we could have gone to a zone to slow down the one on one action of Jones. We gave up 16 points to Jones in the 1st half, 13 points in the 2nd half but 6 came from the FT line. Our carelessness with the bball and quick shots put us behind, we gave up 18 points off of turnovers in the 1st half. That plays into the strength of Baylor.

Going zone in the 1st half could helped us with two things, it could have allowed our players to stay out of foul trouble and it could have changed the pace Baylor's offensive. Baylor had one consistent shooter (Wallace), everyone else was like 1-4 from behind the arch.

That's my Monday morning quarter back analysis! lol The next game will be different for sure because we learned from our mistakes.

 

[utfannforlife]

Having coached for many years, it has always been my philosophy to NOT let one or two players beat us. We knew going into the game that Jones and Davis were the two scores on the team. Once Jones got going, we should have doubled her coming off of every ball screen to force the ball out of her hand. Defending a ball screen is easy to defend, you just have to have 5 players committed to defending the ball. Too many of our players were only focused on their player, not defending the ball. Or we could have gone to a zone to slow down the one on one action of Jones. We gave up 16 points to Jones in the 1st half, 13 points in the 2nd half but 6 came from the FT line. Our carelessness with the bball and quick shots put us behind, we gave up 18 points off of turnovers in the 1st half. That plays into the strength of Baylor.

Going zone in the 1st half could helped us with two things, it could have allowed our players to stay out of foul trouble and it could have changed the pace Baylor's offensive. Baylor had one consistent shooter (Wallace), everyone else was like 1-4 from behind the arch.

That's my Monday morning quarter back analysis! lol The next game will be different for sure because we learned from our mistakes.

This just shows that coaching is not a exact science. There are many different ways to skin that cat.

When I was working on our offensive sets, I always instilled in my guards that no matter what the defenders do we have a wide open shot, it was just up to them to find it.

Outside of that, I agreed with much of your analysis.

 

[jusme828]

Bohls writes that Brianna was indeed benched for an outburst during practice.

http://www.hookem.com/2016/01/20/bo...enues-last-year-why-wasnt-bottom-line-bigger/

 

[TagHorns]

Bohls writes that Brianna was indeed benched for an outburst during practice.

http://www.hookem.com/2016/01/20/bo...enues-last-year-why-wasnt-bottom-line-bigger/

I was there. It was ugly. Just hope that she saw she let her team down and learn from it. We need her.

 

[TagHorns]

She can't have it both ways. Don't complain about people pointing fingers at the bench an then turn right around and point fingers at Brooke, Celina, and the other paid for all americans. And also throw shade at Lashann.

The difference in my analogy and yours is you blame blindly and point fingers.....making excuses for some. I might blame (Brooke and others as you say) but also give her credit where and when it's due. I have not been prejudice towards any of the players. Bench and starters alike. If they're having a bad game I'm not shy about it. If they're having a good game yeehaw! Many on here do the same. My point is valid especially after watching tonight's game vs. TCU. Quite sloppy and embarrassing as a top 10 team. The bright spots were Imani and Ariel. I'd go as far to say Celina did a great job! Imani once again put the team on her back. Tonight's play will not get us to a Final Four......

 

[56 Bells]

The difference in my analogy and yours is you blame blindly and point fingers.....making excuses for some. I might blame (Brooke and others as you say) but also give her credit where and when it's due. I have not been prejudice towards any of the players. Bench and starters alike. If they're having a bad game I'm not shy about it. If they're having a good game yeehaw! Many on here do the same. My point is valid especially after watching tonight's game vs. TCU. Quite sloppy and embarrassing as a top 10 team. The bright spots were Imani and Ariel. I'd go as far to say Celina did a great job! Imani once again put the team on her back. Tonight's play will not get us to a Final Four......

It will get me to the Final Four----I just hope the team joins me....LOL~~~

 

[rattfatt]

The difference in my analogy and yours is you blame blindly and point fingers.....making excuses for some. I might blame (Brooke and others as you say) but also give her credit where and when it's due. I have not been prejudice towards any of the players. Bench and starters alike. If they're having a bad game I'm not shy about it. If they're having a good game yeehaw! Many on here do the same. My point is valid especially after watching tonight's game vs. TCU. Quite sloppy and embarrassing as a top 10 team. The bright spots were Imani and Ariel. I'd go as far to say Celina did a great job! Imani once again put the team on her back. Tonight's play will not get us to a Final Four......

Look mama, I don't have any problem with critiquing any player on this team. If I have the opinion that a player didn't play well and cost the team the game, I'll say it. I don't care if it's Tasia or Imani. And your point isn't valid because if it was Tasia wouldn't have played a whopping 1 minute in such a sloppy and embarrassing game as you said. Since you're obviously very sensitive when it comes to Tasia it might be a good idea if you didn't go on message boards. Just know, you can't cry and whine about people picking on Tasia and then you do the same thing with other players on the team. That's what we call being a HYPOCRITE!

 

[TagHorns]

Look mama, I don't have any problem with critiquing any player on this team. If I have the opinion that a player didn't play well and cost the team the game, I'll say it. I don't care if it's Tasia or Imani. And your point isn't valid because if it was Tasia wouldn't have played a whopping 1 minute in such a sloppy and embarrassing game as you said. Since you're obviously very sensitive when it comes to Tasia it might be a good idea if you didn't go on message boards. Just know, you can't cry and whine about people picking on Tasia and then you do the same thing with other players on the team. That's what we call being a HYPOCRITE!

Ummmmm, I think you're confusing me with the Tasia supporter in earlier thread. LOL

 

[rattfatt]

Ummmmm, I think you're confusing me with the Tasia supporter in earlier thread. LOL

Nope, that would be you!

 

[TagHorns]

Nobody cares if you have some kind of inside information. Stop blaming the coach and lookig for reasons as to why Tasia isn't starting or get more playing time. Let's do this, Texas is a top 6 team which team out of the other 5 would Tasia start on? Now, look at the top ten, top 15 etc. And tell me what team she would start on.

I believe it was you and "family fan" that got into the Tasia argument. (It was you and ff that went back and forth) I merely said she didn't do too shabby when first coming in off the bench. People aren't going to agree with what everybody says. Take it or leave it. That's what I choose to do. I will agree to disagree.