some info on the exhibition

We got next! Let's PLAY BALL!!!

I know it's only an exhibition but I'm sooo excited about this season. This is the only time I wish I lived in Austin so I could support my Longhorns!! I'm calling it now. We will be the sleeper team that will surprise many teams. This is the beginning of our cinderella story. It will be ugly out the gate but we will be consistent come division time and by NCAA tourny watch out, here we come!!!

WCBB ROCKS!!!! HOOK'EM HORNS!!!
 
Yes, Ronisha did play very well.
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According to Gametracker, only 9 players played, and one of them was Cassie, who I though barely returned to practice.

So, Shanice is hurt, and Brewer can't play 'til mid-December.

I didn't see Moore, Bass, and Fontenette listed as having played.
 
We got liftoff! Horns were on the floor against St. Eds last night. It was great to see Cokie back on the floor and to see the four frosh playing for the first time. The game was ragged at times, but, imo, this is going to be a very good team.

Coach G started a tall lineup, with Ashley, Cokie, and Anne Marie inside and Yvonne and Chassidy in the backcourt. Subs began coming in after about five minutes. Our inside game is going to be very strong this season. Our posts accounted for 41 of the team’s 53 rebounds. And Ashley continued show off her shot blocking ability, rejecting three. She and Nneka had the two most memorable blocks although Nneka was called for a foul. Ashley, Nneka, Ann Marie & Ronisha all had at least one block. Ronisha ended up with a double double with 13 pts and 10 rebs. Ashley had 14 rebs to go with 8 pts. As expected, Cokie’s strong moves inside resulted in her going to the FT line the most of any Horn. She got 10 FT attempts and made 5. She will need to get better than her first year of just over 60% from the FT line to really benefit from how many opportunities she will be getting there.

As previously noted, Ashleigh, Tiffany and Chelsea didn’t play. Don’t know why but it was mentioned that was due to some minor issues. Hopefully, they will be ready for Stanford. Horns will need their length and experience against the Cardinal.

I was impressed with the physical development of the players. Looks like they have really put in the time to get better. Chassidy looks faster and quicker. Her stroke may even be better than last season. Her passing was also on display. Sometimes, one gets so caught in her ability to score that her passing is overlooked. She played point for several minutes and her passing is outstanding. She led the team in scoring with 19 pts and in assists with 6 while also grabbing seven rebs. She will be the primary scorer for Texas although there will be plenty of help. Nine players saw the floor against St. Eds. Chassidy had 15 FG attempts. Four others had between 10 and 12 FG attempts. That’s very good balance and will keep opponents from focusing on just one scorer when so many can hit.

While I expect Cassie to be the starting PG sometime this season, Yvonne did a very good job at the point. It wouldn’t surprise me to see that she will be difficult to dislodge from the starting rotation. She did an excellent job shooting (6-12), distributing (4 assists) and playing defense (5 steals).

Ronisha and Nneka are going to be very strong inside on both ends. There is no let down in intensity and pressure when they are in the game. All four frosh got plenty of playing time and all four scored, were active on the boards, passing to the open player and grabbing steals. Lots of energy from the four. Brady had a poor shooting game, going 0-6, but I expect her to settle down and start hitting some of those open 3s she got. Except for Chassidy, every Horn that tried a 3 last night failed to connect. Certainly shots that will need to be going down in the Stanford game. The promising thing was the 3s were taken in the flow of the game and they were open looks. When even Yvonne, who hit over 43% of her 3s last season, goes 0-3, it’s just one of those games where the 3pt shooting has gone south. Like the other frosh, Brady was involved in the game, doing all those things that don’t’ show up on the stat line and the ones that do (pts, rebs, assists, steals, etc.). Can’t wait for her to hit her first 3.

It was probably due to the short roster but the frosh played a lot, two/three/four at a time. We got two solid wings in Brady and Ronisha, a strong post in Nneka, and an outstanding PG in Cassie. They are all going to impact the game in different ways. I think Brady will surprise with her outside shooting and Ronisha is much better than I had expected.

I really can’t get across how impressed I was with the players on the court. I was optimistic going in, given what I had seen from the frosh in the summer camps I had seen them in and knowing the veterans. The frosh are outstanding. Ronisha was the main surprise to me because I hadn’t been sure what to expect from her. Our returners looked to have really worked hard to improve and that is visible in their play. And the team plays well together, good communication goes on during the game, the bench was very supportive. I got a good feeling about this team.

Don’t forget that the first open practice is next Sunday, Nov. 6, at 3 pm at the FEC. Come by and watch and support the team.

Also, don’t forget what TempestHorn posted earlier about the WBB being at tonight’s VB early (7:15pm) for autographs. Here’s his post:
In reply to:
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So, does Ronisha appear to be a legit 6'1? I thought she would play inside, but your report made it seem like she played on the wing/perimeter.
 
Bab you give great analysis and I always enjoy reading anything that you post. I too would like to offer my analysis of the exibition. At times I had to force myself not to look at the game through a coaches eyes and remain an objective fan. But as a coach the first things that I noticed was the lack of dominance in the rebounding margin. St. Ed's tallest players were both listed at 6'0. I fully expected to dominate in the area. I was impressed by our second chance points, and we had many many good defensive posessions. We will have to do a better job of finishing them off with that defensive rebound. The passing was better than I expected and I really enjoyed how they team looked up the floor on every posession. If we can rebound better I think this will be a very exciting and impressive team. As a coach I always hate playing those first 5-10 games of the season because you have to work out all of the jitters and kinks before you truly hit your stride so I did my best to try and look past that last night as well. I also noticed that the game tends to slow down a bit with Cassie. But with the slower pace the offense also looked to run a bit smoother. Looking forward to the Stanford game and how our young kids will respond to that type of enviroment. I also want to take the time to recognize the outstanding job that St. Ed's did last night of not being affected by the athmosphere, they played a heck of a game and they were quite impressive to me for many reasons. For all the nay-sayers who werent at the game but looked at the box score and faulted Texas should instead choose to credit St. Ed's and recognize that the womens game is fast approcahing the parody of mens basketball. Glad I went, it opended my eyes to a lot of things and reaffirmed some of the expectations I have for this years team.
 
Those three were out for three different reasons. Nothing serious, or mysterious.

Clearly I think it makes a difference when you take three key players out the rotation. But, I expected more consistency. I was impressed with St Ed’s. It seemed that UT knew they could turn it on and run away at any time, but didn’t maintain that intensity all of the time. St Ed’s took advantage of those opportunities.

I didn’t see anyone who played that doesn’t have the ability to contribute this season. None of the freshmen really looked like they were comfortable playing at D1 speed. But, they certainly looked capable. I think this team will be much better by the time conference starts than on the 11th for Stanford. But, that has always been my expectation.

It’s going to be a little strange having a strong inside game. It’s been a while since we have seen that.

There are plenty of shooters.

Chassidy looks slimmer, but stronger. I agree that her shoot looks quicker and smoother.

Ronisha was the most pleasant surprise for me.

Really, the only thing that bothered me was some periods were it seemed the intensity and focus was just not there. Some of these young players are going to have to get knocked down before we get to see how they will react. If they respond well to that experience this team has a chance to be very good. Like always, they’ll have to work for it. But, the pieces and the physical talent seem to be in place. I’m still optimistic.
 
Depsite overcast skies in Seattle - the city that needs a lot of Starbucks to get through sunshine-less days - I am once again excited about the season at hand. Go Horns.
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Ronisha is listed as a 6-1 F. When she signed, she said that she expected to play SG. While she played inside some last night against St. Eds, she has good enough ball handling skills and shot to play the wing. With Anne Marie, Cokie, Ashley and Nneka playing inside, I look for Ronisha to play more outside to help provide more height on the perimeter although she looks to be a true combo forward.
 
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