Teams to root for in 2018 (to help Texas' SOS/RPI)

LutherIsMyDog said:
Good win for Georgia. Gabby Connally for Georgia is having a great freshman season. I noticed that she's from San Antonio. Does anyone recall if there was interest from Connally or Texas during her recruitment? Did she attend any of our camps?
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Not to stir the pot, but I remain amazed at all these freshmen dropping 20 and 30 points in big games against ranked teams including this one from Georgia going off on Aggy with 37 points and then that little one from Aggy that went off against South Carolina with 36 points and the list just goes on and on. Hell the freshman from Aggy scores 23 against TCU way back at the beginning of the season - an impact player from day 1. Yet, we have three of the best who combined for the season have only a handful of minutes and even less points in games against unranked teams.

I get that they are in line behind some really good veterans, but when they do get in, we don’t see them light up the court. Nothing like the two I mention above. Of course, there is Rellah who knocks down the most gorgeous three’s with ease but then immediately gets benched.

Sorry. Scratching my head.
 
Everyone is different. Coaches roll the dice when they have to, rarely when they don't. Look at Tennessee for example. They play their freshman big minutes in big games because they don't have a choice. Same with UGA. But look at Uconn on the other hand they have the #1 player coming out of HS and she rarely plays in minutes that matter. And we're somewhere in between those two programs
 
May be getting a little off topic for this thread. But I wonder, if Megan Walker had chosen Texas, would she be getting any more minutes than she has at UConn?
 
I doubt if she would. The whole subject is disturbing. I want our freshmen to get time, but, in big games, I also want our very best on the floor. We haven't seen our freshmen much. To me, Rellah has shown the most potential by far at this point. Chasity and Destiny probably also have great potential, but I haven't seen a lot from them in the few minutes they have been in. But is it fair to judge them with such limited minutes? We definitely fall in line with UConn on this. I have read on their board that it is hard for freshmen to get time there. Even Brianna Stewart evidently did not get that much time as a freshman.
 
http://www.nhregister.com/sports/article/Lack-of-depth-an-issue-facing-No-1-UConn-12505449.php
From a thread on the Boneyard.
I do believe Coach Aston also wants the frosh (and others) to prove in practice that they are ready to contribute in games.
“I don’t want to hear about how a kid looks against a really bad team in the last five minutes of a game,” Auriemma said Wednesday during a conference call. “That means nothing to me. I want to see how they look when we are practicing here against really good (practice) players.
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here's another article that includes some quotes left out of the one above. I especially like the following quote.
https://www.sny.tv/uconn/news/no-1-uconn-searching-for-strength-in-numbers/264859530
I want to see how they look when we are practicing here against really, really good players. Once that look starts to change, then I hope soon that our depth will change.

"That is the key to everything isn't it, being able to do it so that it is not a fluke? You saw the game at Texas. We had guys who were All-Americans look overwhelmed out there. We had guys that were first-team All-Americans that struggled. So, I'm going to put in guys that struggle in practice to get something right two days in a row? It just doesn't make any sense. I mean maybe other coaches do that, but that's not where I come from.
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jusme828 said:
May be getting a little off topic for this thread. But I wonder, if Megan Walker had chosen Texas, would she be getting any more minutes than she has at UConn?
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I certainly think she would. Think about how many minutes that Ariel, Brooke and Lashann log. Being able to sub for all 3 of them with Sug, Walker and any other combo would be a dream scenario. Not to mention if she would've grasped KA's scheme and concepts quicker that might make for a greater contribution as well.
 
LutherIsMyDog said:
Good win for Georgia. Gabby Connally for Georgia is having a great freshman season. I noticed that she's from San Antonio. Does anyone recall if there was interest from Connally or Texas during her recruitment? Did she attend any of our camps?
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During the recruitment of 2017 kids, her name was never mentioned with Texas. 2017 was the year of the point guard in Texas. Since we had signed Sutton in 2016, I didn't think we were going to take a PG in 2017; but, we were fortunate to get one of the best ones in Chazz. Stanford, A&M, Baylor, and Georgia were also fortunate to get an elite PG out of Texas.
 
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JoeDallas said:
Even Brianna Stewart evidently did not get that much time as a freshman.
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I agree with a lot of what you said, but definitely not your last sentence. Breanna Stewart may not have started every game her freshman season, and while she did struggle somewhat, she played a lot. She went on to be named the Final Four MVP and was the reason UConn won that national title that season.

Had she not been given those minutes on the court throughout the season (despite some struggles), she would not have shined during the Final Four.
 
jusme828 said:
May be getting a little off topic for this thread. But I wonder, if Megan Walker had chosen Texas, would she be getting any more minutes than she has at UConn?
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During her recruitment, I thought we had more minutes available for Megan (than UConn) her freshman season due to the lack of elite depth we had at small forward. Had she come to Texas, she had a strong chance to start at SF and allow Ariel to remain at SG.

Luckily for us, Lashann worked hard this offseason and has proven worthy of a starting spot in the lineup. But, when Ariel goes out with foul trouble, we don't have anyone with her size and skills to step on the floor; Megan for sure could have been that player.
 
Thought I'd look up Stewart's freshman usage numbers:
  • Games: 36
  • Starts: 14 (She got some starts early in the year, came off the bench at 20+ minutes per game and then started from the last few games before the tournament through to the championship game)
  • Season Minutes/Game: 23.7
 
There are so many ways to look at the issues involving playing time for our young players, especially since our program is at a completely different level than it was 4 years ago. Things to think back about as our program has grown:

- Tasia Foman logged a lot of minutes her first 2.5 years at Texas; it wasn't always pretty, but Coach A didn't have much choice but to play in order to give the starting guards breathers

- Brianna Taylor started her last two seasons, and played a lot her first two years. She didn't bring much offensively, but did contribute on defense. Regardless, it was like playing 4-on-5 offense when she was on the floor. Coach A now as has 3 freshmen who she recruited for their ability to put the ball in the basket; but, she won't play them for not being up to par on defense (and maybe other reasons). Still, she was willing to accept Brianna's shortcomings on offense, but can't get past our freshmen's shortcoming on defense.

- To me, you sub player in and out (on offense and defense) based on the situation which arises during a game. I think Chasity's mid-range jumper could have really helped us at TCU. In other games, I think having more 3-point shooters on the floor (like any of our freshmen) could help spread the floor against zone defenses.

There are always going to be missed assignments on defense; even our veteran players make those mistakes; unfortunately, some even at critical times (like leaving TCU's and UConn's 3-point shooters wide open with the game (quarter) clock expiring.
 
Think it benefits us more if Tennessee wins at Notre Dame tonight. While it would be great to pass both of them come bracket time, it seems more realistic that we would only be able to pass one of them down the stretch.
 
It absolutely helps us more if Tenn wins. It boosts our SOS and RPI, if they lose those numbers go down.

That being said, is anyone else surprised with the resurgence of Tennessee? I always figured it was coming, wasnt sure if Holly would be the one to get them there but womens basketball is just better when they're good.
 
Why does he love Baylor so much? He calls their seed a "shocker". Really?? Did he call Maryland's seed a shocker last year???
 
jusme828 said:
Why does he love Baylor so much? He calls their seed a "shocker". Really?? Did he call Maryland's seed a shocker last year???
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He's just upset because he had them as a #1 seed and the committee has them as a #3 seed; he hates to be wrong, even at this early stage.
 
jusme828 said:
Why does he love Baylor so much? He calls their seed a "shocker". Really?? Did he call Maryland's seed a shocker last year???
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Because he likes arguing with himself. He admits it’s because of SOS and RPI and then admits that Baylor sucks at both. Hey Charlie - it’s a snapshot of right now. Chill.
 
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I find Charlie Creme's article really annoying. I agree with him that Baylor looks very good, but if the committee is not using enough "eye test," he appears to only be using his "eye test." To say in effect that the committee is wrong and that Baylor is basically better than Texas or South Carolina and probably than Notre Dame is going out on a big limb. He certainly sees himself as the all-knowing one.
 
Committee #9 South Carolina leading 59-48 at Kentucky of third quarter. Would be good for us if USC lost. Bad for Baylor if Kentucky loses as they'd drop to 9-11 for the season with very little chance to make the NCAA tourney.
 
Mississippi State at Tennessee later today. Similar to Tennessee at Notre Dame on Thursday, those three teams area all ahead of us in the rankings. Tennessee helps our SOS. But, with them losing at Notre Dame, another loss today could help us ranking-wise if we have any hope of overtaking them come seeding time.
 
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doesn't look like Tenn is going to pull this one out. down 43-26 in the 3rd with just under 8 minutes to go.
 
BabHorn said:
doesn't look like Tenn is going to pull this one out. down 43-26 in the 3rd with just under 8 minutes to go.
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Not sure if I watched the game through orange-tinted glasses but Victoria Viviens is their equivalent to Ariel. Viviens might be a little better offensively but Ariel is the better defender.
 
Florida State hanging tough with Louisville. Down by one with a minute and change in the 3rd. Should be a great 4th quarter!
 
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