Texas @ TCU

[WCBBNUT]

For the record, yesterday was one of the very few times I created the game thread. And, we lost. So, I'm not doing it again!

Haha. Well now I’m not sure I want to either!

 

[WCBBNUT]

I don’t see that. I think they’ll play better but I don’t see any way that they can beat UCONN.

I have a dream. Nobody pinch me.

 

[WCBBNUT]

When OU, OSU and KSU played us strong, I was able to come on here and post that in fact we had beaten very good teams that could have easily been losses. I never gave TCU a second thought. It is just so frustrating to know that we lost to a team that’s only claim to being slightly good is that they beat us. I’ll continue to hope that we can win out all the way, but this loss to TCU indicates we are much more vulnerable than I would have ever imagined. We should not have lost that game. And with that, I am done talking about TCU.

Let’s go Horns. Beat the hell out of Kansas!

 

[RBarabino]

For those who keep spouting off that "we have 10 All-Americans", that was high school. Of those players, Littleton, Boothe, and Patterson aren't playing much. Holmes basically not in the flow of the game after not being part of the team for 7 months. Jordan Hosey was probably overrated and is a tweener in our offense. Jatarie is playing her first season at Texas, and had not played much in games the last 3 seasons. Sug is barely starting to get back to her old self after a freshman season where she played tentatively while coming back from an ACL in high school.

So, that leaves 3 players in Ariel, Brooke, and Lashann who are more often than not playing at a high level this season.

When people mention that we have 10 All-Americans from high school, they are expressing their disappointment in our record versus the talent we have on our team.

I highly doubt Coale, Mulkey, Auriemma, Conradt, Fennelly, Carey, etc. would accept losing to a team like TCU with 10 AAs.

So lets review:
-Littleton, Boothe, and Patterson not playing? Coach's decision.
-Holmes not in the flow? She barely gets minutes. How do you get in the flow without receiving minutes? Practice and reps only help so much.
-Hosey overrated? Maybe offensively, but Aston can't decide if she wants her to play the 4 or the 3. Remember, Hosey was originally a wing player, but Aston needed help in the post in 2015-2016.
-Sug has been in peak condition since the summer. No excuses for her.
-White is still learning, but she practiced with the team last year and knows the plays.

Basically, we need to stop making excuses for Aston and this team. Plenty of teams are doing more with less. Remember the 2003 team? They had no business being in the Final Four if you looked at that roster. Conradt got every ounce of talent and commitment out of those kids. As did Aston.

Aston is still transitioning from being an assistant coach to a head coach...and it shows.

 

[Run Pincher]

This team is just flat out dumb. How do you foul with 1 sec on the clock before half when the other player is at the opposite end of the court from their basket? I learned in grade school you don’t even get near them in that situation.

Joyner has 3 stupid turnovers in 10 min. We have players come off the bench with no athleticism that think they can come in and do what LaShann does. Even TCU has bigs that can shoot and make a move to the basket. We have bigs that can dribble the ball off their foot, walk with the ball, stand in the zone for 3 sec and throw the ball to the other team. I never thought I would miss Kelsey so much and I can’t wait for Sedona and Charlie. Like someone else said, I would have liked to see Olamide. At least she as the athleticism to guard athletic bigs. They also don’t seem to be getting any coaching, or they’re ignoring the coaching they’re getting.

I don’t know what the issue is with Reelah, but it doesn’t surprise me given how demanding Karen is. She is overweight and out of shape and doesn’t appear to have the discipline to do anything about it. She didn’t even attempt to guard anyone in the KSU game. With her on defense against TCU it would have been 4 on 5 and they would have scored 100. 78 is plenty of points. Offense was not the problem and Rellah would have only magnified that. TCU may have had an abnormal night from 3, but we sure didn’t guard it very well. I thought I was going back in time and watching a GG coached team.

 

[DINO22]

Karen Aston coaching, remind me of Jody.
Man to Man and that's it.
Please listen to your Asst.Coach's.
I am for sure they have plenty ideal's.
But it's your way or the highway.

 

[kurupt]

When people mention that we have 10 All-Americans from high school, they are expressing their disappointment in our record versus the talent we have on our team.

I highly doubt Coale, Mulkey, Auriemma, Conradt, Fennelly, Carey, etc. would accept losing to a team like TCU with 10 AAs.

So lets review:
-Littleton, Boothe, and Patterson not playing? Coach's decision.
-Holmes not in the flow? She barely gets minutes. How do you get in the flow without receiving minutes? Practice and reps only help so much.
-Hosey overrated? Maybe offensively, but Aston can't decide if she wants her to play the 4 or the 3. Remember, Hosey was originally a wing player, but Aston needed help in the post in 2015-2016.
-Sug has been in peak condition since the summer. No excuses for her.
-White is still learning, but she practiced with the team last year and knows the plays.

Basically, we need to stop making excuses for Aston and this team. Plenty of teams are doing more with less. Remember the 2003 team? They had no business being in the Final Four if you looked at that roster. Conradt got every ounce of talent and commitment out of those kids. As did Aston.

Aston is still transitioning from being an assistant coach to a head coach...and it shows.

Yet you make an excuse for Coach Aston by mentioning that she’s still transitioning from being an assistant coach to head coach. She’s been a head coach for over ten years now. Every head coach has their strengths and weaknesses and it’s up to the head coach to improve on their weaknesses or hire an assistant coach that can help improve the team in those areas.

 

[RBarabino]

Yet you make an excuse for Coach Aston by mentioning that she’s still transitioning from being an assistant coach to head coach. She’s been a head coach for over ten years now. Every head coach as their strengths and weaknesses and it’s up to the head coach to improve on their weaknesses or hire an assistant coach that can help improve the team in those areas.

Am I making an excuse or pointing out a fact?

Simply put, no. Aston is not a great head coach.
We know that. Other teams know that.

My biggest problem is, she has the same problems she had last year....and the year before....and the year before.

 

[RBarabino]

Karen Aston coaching, remind me of Jody.
Man to Man and that's it.
Please listen to your Asst.Coach's.
I am for sure they have plenty ideal's.
But it's your way or the highway.

Man to man doesn't bother me too much. Most athletic and talented teams play man to man. However, I recall during the OSU game where Aston was mic'd and she just told players, "Go under the screen or over it or switch, just get to your assignment."

That bothered me because as a coach you specify what your players should do versus a screen depending on the team and/or player.

For instance, you don't go under a screen if Diana Taurasi has the ball.

My biggest question is this: How do we still not know how to score against a zone?

 

[kurupt]

Am I making an excuse or pointing out a fact?

Simply put, no. Aston is not a great head coach.
We know that. Other teams know that.

My biggest problem is, she has the same problems she had last year....and the year before....and the year before.

It’s not a fact when that person has been a head coach for over ten years. That’s not what I would call transitioning into. And as Run Pincher said, the issue wasn’t offensively. TCU shot 58% from the field. The offense against the zone does remain a problem but you’re not going to win most games when you allow a team to shoot 58% from the field.

 

[LutherIsMyDog]

I know this question has been asked ad nauseam but if a zone defense is so effective in slowing down our offense, why don't we ever run a zone defense to slow down or throw-off other teams' offense? I realize none of us have the answer but as a fan, it is frustrating that we don't have that option in our arsenal.

 

[RBarabino]

It’s not a fact when that person has been a head coach for over ten years. That’s not what I would call transitioning into. And as Run Pincher said, the issue wasn’t offensively. TCU shot 58% from the field. The offense against the zone does remain a problem but you’re not going to win most games when you allow a team to shoot 58% from the field.

Re-read my post. I am not looking at "transitioning" in terms of years, but in skill. If you want to keep arguing against a strawman, go ahead, but I won't continue with you.

TCU shot 58%. We shot 41%. See how many games you win shooting 41% and your starting C going 2 for 12 on the floor.

A zone defense, especially with a team that barely even practices it, wouldn't have won us the game. Remember, we get a lot points from transition. A zone cuts that down considerably.

 

[RBarabino]

I know this question has been asked ad nauseam but if a zone defense is so effective in slowing down our offense, why don't we ever run a zone defense to slow down or throw-off other teams' offense? I realize none of us have the answer but as a fan, it is frustrating that we don't have that option in our arsenal.

A zone defense is usually played to stop a fast, high scoring team. Typically, teams with less talent and athletic ability play zone.

I suspect the reason why we don't play zone is for two reasons:
1. Zone makes you vulnerable when it comes to rebounding.
2. A zone limits transition points which is a big part of our offense.

If we play zone, that means a lot more half court offensive sets.

 

[kurupt]

Re-read my post. I am not looking at "transitioning" in terms of years, but in skill. If you want to keep arguing against a strawman, go ahead, but I won't continue with you.

TCU shot 58%. We shot 41%. See how many games you win shooting 41% and your starting C going 2 for 12 on the floor.

A zone defense, especially with a team that barely even practices it, wouldn't have won us the game. Remember, we get a lot points from transition. A zone cuts that down considerably.

We’ve won numerous games this year shooting around that percentage. Again, Coach Aston no doubt needs to do a better job offensively which is something we say every year. But shooting 41% and scoring almost 80 points is plenty to win.

 

[brnkj]

My biggest problem is, she has the same problems she had last year....and the year before....and the year before.

Yes!

 

[brnkj]

Man to man doesn't bother me too much. Most athletic and talented teams play man to man. However, I recall during the OSU game where Aston was mic'd and she just told players, "Go under the screen or over it or switch, just get to your assignment."

That bothered me because as a coach you specify what your players should do versus a screen depending on the team and/or player.

For instance, you don't go under a screen if Diana Taurasi has the ball.

My biggest question is this: How do we still not know how to score against a zone?

I love an aggressive, overplaying, eat-the-shirt-off-your-back man-to-man defense. However if you're going to play it against well-coached and even HALFWAY talented teams, you'd better have the athletes to do so at EVERY position. Our problem is that our posts are big and strong but lack the necessary quickness to protect the rim when a perimeter defender gets beat... and that HAPPENS frequently when you overplay. It's the risk associated with that defensive philosophy. My complaint is there's no variety in our strategy which gives the opponent very little to think about other than the original game plan. Basically we have created a situation where a one-size-fits-all template can be used effectively against us -- on BOTH ends of the freaking floor!

 

[DINO22]

UConn message board, is eating K. Aston up.

 

[BBV_Horn]

Was it just me or did Brooke pass up a lot of shot attempts tonight? She seemed to have some open looks and passed it off to another player. IMO she didn't play her typical style game.

Her confidence is shot..not sure why..very sad..

 

[BBV_Horn]

That is the pattern I am concerned about. My other main point is that this team needs to get Joyner Holmes back in the starting lineup. She is the player that is a match up nightmare. Our opponents have to collapse on her with leaves a wide open 3 after the kick out. That aspect has been missing this year. That is why Brittany has a low percentage on her threes. If they don't collapse Holmes scores inside because no one has a player that matches up one on one.

We have to get her back in the line up or we will not go far. I think this is realistic, not just negative. I could be wrong, I am a lot.

Joyner NOT ready for starting position yet..just NOT...she'll get there, but it's not for at least a month,,,imho

 

[Moooooo]

A zone defense is usually played to stop a fast, high scoring team. Typically, teams with less talent and athletic ability play zone.

I suspect the reason why we don't play zone is for two reasons:
1. Zone makes you vulnerable when it comes to rebounding.
2. A zone limits transition points which is a big part of our offense.

If we play zone, that means a lot more half court offensive sets.

I would have thought a zone was used to play against teams with very good post players who want to score plenty of their points from the paint, and don't have consistent perimeter shooters.

I'm not sure what kind of defense we played last night. If it was zone, I could understand why TCU's 3-point shooters were wide open most of the night, especially on their last 3-point shot; all our players were defending inside the paint.

We don't play zone defense because most of our opponents seem to love to spread the floor on offense (OU, TCU, ISU, KSU) and have very capable perimeter shooters.

 

[HornView]

I’m well aware it shouldn’t have come to this, but am I the only one perturbed with the (convenient) clock issue(s) at the very end of the game? It not only gave TCU tons of time to draw up plays, but the long pauses gave them a big rest (negating a usual Texas advantage wearing teams out at the end).

 

[RBarabino]

We’ve won numerous games this year shooting around that percentage. Again, Coach Aston no doubt needs to do a better job offensively which is something we say every year. But shooting 41% and scoring almost 80 points is plenty to win.

Against who?

We can’t shoot 41% and score about 80 points and expect to win against UCONN and Baylor. If we can't do that against TCU, what makes you think we can do that against elite teams?

Yes. Our defense needs a lot of work. However, so does our offense.

 

[RBarabino]

I would have thought a zone was used to play against teams with very good post players who want to score plenty of their points from the paint, and don't have consistent perimeter shooters.

I'm not sure what kind of defense we played last night. If it was zone, I could understand why TCU's 3-point shooters were wide open most of the night, especially on their last 3-point shot; all our players were defending inside the paint.

We don't play zone defense because most of our opponents seem to love to spread the floor on offense (OU, TCU, ISU, KSU) and have very capable perimeter shooters.

Typically, when a team has an elite post player, you have a player sag or double them when they get the ball in the post. Additionally, you would have the post defender front them so it makes it harder for players to pass into the post.

Teams like OU, TCU, ISU, and KSU slow down games with their zone defense because they don't have the athleticism and talent to compete playing man on man. Remember how Villanova used to give UCONN fits in the past? It was because they slowed the game down with their zone and eliminated fast break points.

 

[old65horn]

Joyner NOT ready for starting position yet..just NOT...she'll get there, but it's not for at least a month,,,imho

I totally agree that she is not now. I do not see her time on the court gradually increasing which IMHO should be. We need her on the court preforming like she did last year.

I am afraid we will see a lot of transfers the way things are going. Hope I am wrong. I know DKR said the easiest thing to do is gamble with other peoples money which is what I am doing. I have never coached any games past 12 year olds.

 

[brnkj]

I totally agree that she is not now. I do not see her time on the court gradually increasing which IMHO should be. We need her on the court preforming like she did last year.

I am afraid we will see a lot of transfers the way things are going. Hope I am wrong. I know DKR said the easiest thing to do is gamble with other peoples money which is what I am doing. I have never coached any games past 12 year olds.

We share some of the same concerns...

 

[BBV_Horn]

She will be fine by Big 12 Tourney...not going anywhere!!