Texas at Baylor

There is no rhyme or reason to our substitutions. Just point at someone and stick them in. What exactly is the strategy? #ridiculous
 
Rotate. Take a shot. Rotate. Take a shot. Rotate. Take a shot. Rotate. Take a shot.
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second time that Krystle has had her pocket picked by a player coming from behind. While she has to be aware of that, teammates need to let her know as well.
 
75-58 Baylor. Horns drop to 3-3 in league play. Baylor moves back into a tie with OU at the top of the standings at 6-0.
 
I guess Atkins isn't really available other than for a couple of minutes here and there. There's no explaining her lack of playing time otherwise. She played great the 2 or 3 minutes she was in. Imani, please figure out when you have to hold back. Depressing night.
 
Obviously, losing Nneka to injury is much more dire to me than one loss. Not sure what to think as she didn't come back to the bench with ice wrapped on her knee; I'd love to believe that is a good sign, but I'm no doctor.

I've been saying for a couple of years now that we have not recruited the Power Forward position very well; we just don't have any other player who come in and spell Nneka adequately. Even next season, it was going to be very tough to make up for her production in so many ways.

Glad to see Kelsey return to her old self again; she was just great tonight.

Our point guard by committee has not been very effective in Big 12 play; other than Brooke, the others just aren't good at scoring and drawing fouls.

Really would like to see Nekia get some more shots beyond the arc; but, she is being asked to spell Nneka on the inside and post up.

Brady was a no-show tonight as far as offense; see that way too often in the big games.

Ariel just doesn't seem comfortable; missing all that practice time has reverted her back to pre-season type comfort level with her teammates on the court.

Fingers crossed for Nneka; she's been a warrior throughout her career, and I certainly hope this wasn't her last game in a Texas uniform.
 
crap. Crap. CRap. CRAp. CRAP!

Now I know what it feels like to be an Aggie football fan.

Ok. Payback time this Sunday against Iowa State. Defend your home floor Horns.
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It's sad that 5 games into the conference schedule, the Texas Longhorn's drive towards a conference championship is over. It's time to replace Empress and Brady in the lineup with Brooke and Ariel to get them floor experience to prepare them for a run next year at the conference crown.

How is it that both Empress and Brady are juniors and have not developed a reliable outside game is negligent. Right now Empress is a one dimensional slasher who at 5'7" cannot hit the simple 15 foot jumper on a pick and roll/pick and pop situation. Both game winners versus Stanford and Texas A&M were on slashing drives. Opponents know to sag off of her and force her to shoot outside. But in those situation, Davenport's like deer in headlight.

Brady is also unreliable and inconsistent in her outside shooting. But more troubling is her forced 3's even when they're not falling and her poor decisions that leads to turnovers. Time to replace them with Brooke and Ariel.
 
During halftime interview Mulkey took the time to comment on Nneka and wish her well. It was not an interview question. It was the first thing she said. And this is the first time I have had anything nice to say about Mulkey. It's nice to know there is a heart under all the bad make-up and sequins.
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I just looked at the box score. Wow, Imani fouled out in 7 minutes on the floor. In those 7 minutes, she had a huge impact on the game. Just from a purely statistical point of view, she should never go for a steal, not often for a block unless it's a dead cinch, and not for rebounds that just aren't there. She would still get called for plenty of fouls anyway, just from being big, but maybe she could stay in at least half a game that way. I'd rather see her in the game and sacrifice whatever steals or blocks she might get. She (and everyone else on the team) needs to work on impulse control. I know it's difficult to play hard and go for things, yet know when the best bet is to hold back.
 
Ariel played 14 minutes, not exactly what you would call a minute or two.

Imani played 7 seven minutes, grabbed five rebounds, scored 8 pts and committed five fouls. She is going to have to play smarter going forth. Kelsey learned that she needs to be on the floor, Imani needs to do the same. Re Nekia, earlier in the season, she was spelling Nneka and still managing to pop out and sink the three. Not sure why she is not pulling the trigger when open.

I know Davis is a mismatch for pretty much anyone except Nneka but I wonder why we didn't see Diani for at least a few minutes at the PF, especially when Davis was out. She is the only other PF on the squad aside from Nekia.

If Nneka is out for any length of time, we need someone besides Sara to step up or we go back to being really thin in the post.
 
You're right. Atkins played more than I realized. Wonder why I barely noticed. I don't think she touched the ball that much, but her defense looked solid to me. Not that she could have gotten it off tonight, but I wonder what happened to her floater that was so impressive in the McDonald's AA game last year.
 
Nneka made it public that it is an ACL tear. I'm so sad for her. It has been such a pleasure to watch her play her passion and mature into such a great team leader. She is a program changer for us. I have no doubt the team will step up and continue to play hard and play well.
 
I'm so sad for her. I'm sure our disappoint pales in comparison to what she's feeling. She's a warrior. Perhaps the silver lining is the rest of the team will step it up and realize they can't rely on Nneka to single-handedly take control of a game. Every time Nneka has been knocked to the floor the season I've winced -- knowing what a horrific blow it would be to lose her. Now that it has happened I'm just sort of numb. Who on this team can bring the killer instinct Nneka brought every second she was on the floor? We shall see.
 
Sorry to hear that Nneka's injury turned out to be her ACL. She has been a leader for this team. Hoping that she can inspire the team to go out and play as hard as she has. Take care, Nneka.
 
man, I hope the team doesn't the attitude that the season is over and the rest of the games not worth playing.

Nneka is a huge loss but I am sure she would be the first to remind the team that they need to regroup and play on.

Some players will need to step up. Replacing Nneka's scoring is not a big problem. The real problem is replacing her ability to dominate in rebounding. I have not seen anyone that can match her "want to" in rebounding. That will need to be replaced by committee.

The rest of the season began today at practice. More than ever, the team will need the fans to rally behind them.
 
Agree Babhorn. There is plenty to play for THIS YEAR, such as a top 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and the chance to host games in the first 2 rounds of the tournament. Lets hope the team rallies for themselves and for Nneka, practicing and playing with focus and energy.
 
Losing Nneka is the worst news! Prayers for her and her family! Also for her teammates. She is a great one! She will dominate surgery and rehab and be stronger than ever for the next level!
 
In response to (Loyallonghorn's statement below):
"It's sad that 5 games into the conference schedule, the Texas Longhorn's drive towards a conference championship is over. It's time to replace Empress and Brady in the lineup with Brooke and Ariel to get them floor experience to prepare them for a run next year at the conference crown.

How is it that both Empress and Brady are juniors and have not developed a reliable outside game is negligent. Right now Empress is a one dimensional slasher who at 5'7" cannot hit the simple 15 foot jumper on a pick and roll/pick and pop situation. Both game winners versus Stanford and Texas A&M were on slashing drives. Opponents know to sag off of her and force her to shoot outside. But in those situation, Davenport's like deer in headlight.

Brady is also unreliable and inconsistent in her outside shooting. But more troubling is her forced 3's even when they're not falling and her poor decisions that leads to turnovers. Time to replace them with Brooke and Ariel."
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I have gotten on here from time to time to watch the banter of some of you and collect information, that may or may not be accurate from the outside looking in. This really baffles me as to how a team that is ranked (yes they are falling but are still ranked) has some of the sorriest fan support out there. There are some great fans as per reading some of these posts, but the gloom and doom from some of you is sickening.

Some “Loyallonghorn” you are (in regards to post above). Sounds more like a parent trying to justify her freshman daughter more playing time. If the coach thinks they are ready I’m pretty sure she would have them in. You might want to look at the stats on Texassports.com. There are areas of improvement to all the players. To call out Empress and Brady, after having probably the worst game I’ve seen them play is justifiable. It happens to all players, Pro and otherwise. They do however add in other areas to help this team. Brady is 4th in the league on steals, Empress is our clutch player and is 8th in the league on Assists. But to say Brooke and Ariel are more consistent and need to be on the floor more is a joke. Do you not look at the stats? Brooke had one game where she hit 5 3’s and that is it. Sure a 3 here and there in a few other games, but she was 0-4 on 3’s in the Southern game; 1-4 on 3’s in the Northwestern game; 1-6 on 3’s in the ISU game (1for 8 overall in that game); 0-7 on 3’s IN THE OU GAME (1 for 11 OVERALL IN THAT GAME). She is literally 3 for 17 (before this game) from the 3- 17.6%. You might say she is (so you say) “INCONSISTANT” and “UNRELIABLE”. She is well known for “jacking” up some desperate 3’s. Her turnover rate is right on up there also. There are several other players who have hit 3’s here and there also. Krystal is a strong 3 pt. shooter and Celina is when she shoots. Hell, Nekia is at 50% 3 for 6 (before the game tonight) You want to say Empress and Brady are forcing 3’s? There is a reason they are second guessing themselves. When you take instincts away this is the result.

Yes Brooke got to the free throw line, what, 4 times at Baylor? Hit 2 3’s……but had several turnovers/fouls on which they scored from. She had some good points but there several games where she did nothing.

I have been to many practices and Brooke is over her head in the Big 12. Yes she hustles, but she has yet to run a play that she as point guard should be calling. She calls a play but runs a totally different play than what she called. I’m not talking options either. She is constantly looking lost and no where near ready to run or lead her team to run an offense. She looks more spastic than anything.

As far as Ariel…..the potential is there, but the fast pace game in the Big 12 is stifling to her. You can see it all over her face. She will get there, no doubt, but game time will help. Most likely will be next year when she has matured and saturated this fast pace Big 12 game. She is smart, it will happen.

Krystal is by far the most over looked player at this point. She is underestimated and even though she turned the ball over carelessly at Baylor, that is going to happen when you handle the ball as much as she does. She needs to be shooting from the outside too, but it looks like they are being told to not shoot and they are all second guessing or scared if it doesn’t go in, out they come.

Kelsey- She has the potential also. “Kelsey to her old self again?” Uh, no. She had a few good shots with the help of the offense briefly, then back to not handling the ball well and turning the ball over, which lead to Baylor getting to the line several times. Imani is slowly getting back into rhythm. I have faith she will progress into what we need underneath. God help us after losing Nneka. Our posts are no where near where they need to be. Every play is to rotate and get them the ball, but when defense collapses on them it’s most likely a turnover or missed shot. So no need to only blame the guards for the shooting % thus far. If you take the outside game away, there is no inside game. Not without Nneka.

Prayers go to Nneka and her family. If Kim Mulkey would get her head out of her *** she might not have quoted some misinformation. Nneka is NOT a 5 year Senior (as per her quote). This is her 4th year at UT.

This loss is tallied up to be because of many things. Not on the shoulders of 1 or 2 individuals. When they can learn to play as a team and not listen to mommy and daddy pointing the finger at other players, then they will again start to come together again. But little Susie is getting her feelings hurt because she is not getting the recognition she was in high school or maybe she’s whining because she tweeked an ankle. Suck it up! This is the Big 12! These girls play hurt, sick, exhausted, underappreciated, sad, mad and everything else. Piss or get off the pot!!!!


And oh how nice it would be to have fans that back these girls and support them in the stands. Fans like that Baylor crowd! They came to support a team that played good and played as a team. Yes, most of them are classless (probably because they’re butt hurt that they have to live in Waco), but they are there for their team. We do have some better turnouts than the past few years, but Texas STUDENTS need to take note. THAT is how you cheer for a team!
 
Well that just sux. She has been such a warrior for this team. It will be very hard to replace her productivity on the floor. So sad...
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A very sad conclusion to Nneka's collegiate career. I'm not really concerned about the impact on the team, we're going to be just fine, but I feel terrible that Nneka's stellar senior season had to end this way. She has been such a tremendous asset to this program, and her performance this year had been all we'd hoped it would be. But I know we're going to see great things from her in the WNBA in the years ahead.

Of course we're a better team with Nneka, but IMO our biggest strength this season has been our depth. Even with the injuries, we were able to make it through a brutal pre-conference slate undefeated. I do think our injuries finally caught up with us a bit, especially in those first few conference losses. Imani was back, but still not at her best, and both Ariel and Brianna were sidelined. And Kelsey was just a few games away from having missed the Rice contest with a minor injury, so who knows what the lingering effects of that might have been. I think someone commented on another thread about Kelsey's play in those early games, but it seems pretty obvious this was a result of the recent injury. She looked better in the BU contest, going 6-6 from the field for 12 pts, 6 rbs, 2 assists and 2 steals.

You also have to consider who has been injured. Imani and Ariel were two of our three pre-season honorees, and Brianna was arguably our most improved player this season over last. Considering that both Ariel and Brianna were out in the losses to ISU and OU, and neither Imani or Kelsey at 100%, I don't think it's a big surprise we lost two tough games consecutively on the road. Disappointing, yes, but surprising...not so much. I also have a little different take on our injuries thus far. Prior to losing Nneka some had commented about our tough luck on the injury front, but I think up to that point we'd been pretty fortunate. Considering how many season-ending injuries we still see in the women's game, I thought it was fantastic that Imani, Ariel, Brianna and Kelsey were all back in the lineup. To have four players suffer injuries, with one requiring surgery, and to not lose a single one for the season; that doesn't happen very often. Of course losing Nneka is a big blow, but we still have 13 active players on the roster. If we can avoid any more injury issues, and those coming back continue to get stronger, I believe this team still has the talent and depth to do some great things this year. I believe Ariel is still in the process of regaining her confidence. I noticed in the Tech contest she missed her first shot, and then had some open looks later that she hesitated on, and didn't take. So I was happy to see her finally take another shot, and drain it later in the game.

IMO the most important thing to remember is that we were 12-6 at this same point last year. We are currently 14-3. Three losses vs. six at the same point in the season is a pretty huge difference. If we merely break even the rest of the way, and I think we'll do better than that, we would almost certainly match last year's seeding in post-season play. If we go just one better, which I think is likely, we're going to be a top 4 NCAA seed. With a minimum of 13 games remaining, and potentially more depending on our conference tourney results, I am very hopeful we're going to get that top 4 seed, and perhaps make it a step further and make the Sweet 16 this year. Of course it looked like we might be on track for even better than that given our unexpected success starting out the year, but given Nneka's injury, and those others that played a role in our early conference losses, I think we'd all be pretty happy with those results.
 
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