Texas vs Arkansas: Big 12/SEC WBB Challenge

[overseasbbfan1]

Great win. And Ariel is back !! 10-0 - phenomenal result considering the opponents we've faced thus far. Keep it up, Horns!

 

[WorsterMan]

Congrats Lady Horns!

 

[TagHorns]

Although I am relieved we won....that performance was embarrassing! We had a few bright lights as Brianna seemed to be our best post and Higgs showed some fire off the bench. She is very athletic but it's obvious she looks lost on the offense. Maybe they have her doing what she wants out there! She definitely has the quick eye and fast off the foot to anticipate passes for the steal. Just need her to finish. She at least made us look somewhat alive. Brooke didn't show up, but that is rare for us. Celina got better through the night and gave us some VERY needed points at the end. So glad to see Ariel back in, but it is going to take her some time to get the flow back. Why in the heck did we not see Tasia at all on the floor? She has shown some fight off the bench in a few games and if no one else was hitting anything why not give her a shot? She has been healthy, no injuries and been at every practice......If you give her a scholarship, she should at least have a shot to prove herself in a sloppy game like that! Kelsi looked timid and can't use the hurt hand as an excuse. It is not her shooting hand. I've said it before but this team NEEDS some spunk! Yes we won......yes we are undefeated.....but we get the most boring wins and look as to be asleep constantly. How far will that get you??? There's no excitement as there was last year. No excuses for it being early! These teams watching us play (Big 12 teams and beyond) have all the confidence they can beat us because we are beating ourselves most of the game and looking very sloppy. Arkansas looked okay, but mostly are not a threat. We skimmed by with another win, but our play has got to be better. I'm beginning to think the offense Aston runs is weak. Or we just don't know how to execute. It's just very aggravating when you know what these girls can do. Texas does NOT "settle". It should not be in our vocabulary! To get beyond the Sweet 16 and surpass last years goal, we HAVE to be better!

 

[rattfatt]

Although I am reliin my ved we won....that performance was embarrassing! We had a few bright lights as Brianna seemed to be our best post and Higgs showed some fire off the bench. She is very athletic but it's obvious she looks lost on the offense. Maybe they have her doing what she wants out there! She definitely has the quick eye and fast off the foot to anticipate passes for the steal. Just need her to finish. She at least made us look somewhat alive. Brooke didn't show up, but that is rare for us. Celina got better through the night and gave us some VERY needed points at the end. So glad to see Ariel back in, but it is going to take her some time to get the flow back. Why in the heck did we not see Tasia at all on the floor? She has shown some fight off the bench in a few games and if no one else was hitting anything why not give her a shot? She has been healthy, no injuries and been at every practice......If you give her a scholarship, she should at least have a shot to prove herself in a sloppy game like that! Kelsi looked timid and can't use the hurt hand as an excuse. It is not her shooting hand. I've said it before but this team NEEDS some spunk! Yes we won......yes we are undefeated.....but we get the most boring wins and look as to be asleep constantly. How far will that get you??? There's no excitement as there was last year. No excuses for it being early! These teams watching us play (Big 12 teams and beyond) have all the confidence they can beat us because we are beating ourselves most of the game and looking very sloppy. Arkansas looked okay, but mostly are not a threat. We skimmed by with another win, but our play has got to be better. I'm beginning to think the offense Aston runs is weak. Or we just don't know how to execute. It's just very aggravating when you know what these girls can do. Texas does NOT "settle". It should not be in our vocabulary! To get beyond the Sweet 16 and surpass last years goal, we HAVE to be better!

I think you're watching totally different games than I'm watching because in my opinion Tasia hasn't done anything to warrant playing time. Kelsey Lang has always been a player who is timid and does not like physical contact. What I would like to see from her is if she's not shooting the ball well is to do the little things. She's 6'5, she needs to be getting 6 to 7 rebounds a game, block a couple of shots and be a good rim protector and get to the free throw line 3 or 4 times a game. This team doesn't need to be worried about what the (Big 12 and beyond) or anyone else has to say. They need to be focused on themselves and trying to be a better team, especially on the the offensive end of the court.

 

[Gabe0920]

Even though the game wasn't the prettiest to watch, what we have to remember is how hard it is to play a tough preseason schedule/go to class/ and be UNDEFEATED!!!! WAY TO GO LONGHORNS! It is not an easy task and I am so impressed by Coach A and her team. Jelling much better this year at this time than they were last year. Excited to see what the year has in store. Congrats Coach A, one more game to go perfect this preseason for 2 seasons in a row. Not an easy feat. Love watching Ariel get back in that lineup!!

 

[MudHorn]

@Gabe0920 Welcome to Hornfans!

 

[Statalyzer]

Kelsey Lang reminds me a more athletic version of Kaylee Carey so far.

 

[DFW_Horn]

Kelsey Lang reminds me a more athletic version of Kaylee Carey so far.

Kelsey this season has reminded me of a golfer with a case of the yips, misses a few easy putts (lay ups) and then lets it affect their entire game and aggressiveness. I had hoped she would play out of it before conference play started but that countdown clock is almost at zero.

 

[Rexy]

It appears that Kelsey has lost her "turn and shoot" confidence. Hope it returns.

 

[DINO22]

I agree with Taghorns.
There were some good things done in the game.
But I feel Tasia should have played too.
B.Sanders played.
Yea we look better then last year team.
But to get to the Elite 8.
We got to learn to put teams away.
And we are not doing a good job of that.
Too much standing on Offense, when Arkansas went to a zone.

 

[Dr. D]

There's a pattern that repeats itself frequently. We saw it against Tenn, Stanford, Mississippi State, and Arkansas. Texas plays well, builds and maintains an 8-10 point lead, but fails to put the other team away, then watches the lead erode and has to scrap and hang on to win. Last year we lost those games; this year we've won them; so that's a big improvement. But the underlying problem is the same: lack of sufficient offensive fire power. Eventually it catches up with you. The team is definitely better, but the future depends on more points.

 

[JoeDallas]

You're right, Dr. D, but how do we get that offensive power? I haven't looked at the stats, but Brooke appears to be our purest shooter. We still need a couple more great shooters. Kelsey's touch doesn't seem to be there like it was last year so far. What happened when Arkansas went to a zone gave me that same kind of sick feeling as last year when everyone in the Big 12 figured out to zone us up. I guess we didn't look quite as freaked out as last year, and did work the zone nicely a few times.

 

[rattfatt]

There's a pattern that repeats itself frequently. We saw it against Tenn, Stanford, Mississippi State, and Arkansas. Texas plays well, builds and maintains an 8-10 point lead, but fails to put the other team away, then watches the lead erode and has to scrap and hang on to win. Last year we lost those games; this year we've won them; so that's a big improvement. But the underlying problem is the same: lack of sufficient offensive fire power. Eventually it catches up with you. The team is definitely better, but the future depends on more points.

You're absolutely right. This team still lacks quality consistent 3 point jump shooting. And we will continue to see the teams in the conference play the same sagging zone that they play every year just like Arkansas did.

 

[Gabe0920]

I think you're watching totally different games than I am because in my opinion Tasia hasn't done anything to warrant playing time. Kelsey Lang has always been a player who is timid and doesn't like physical contact. What I would like to see from her is if she's not shooting the ball well is to do the little things. She's 6'5, she needs to be getting 6 to 7 rebounds a game, block a couple of shots and be a good rim protector and get to the free throw line 3 or 4 times a game. This team doesn't need to be worried about what the (Big 12 and beyond) or anyone else has to say. They need to be focused on themselves and trying to be a better team, especially on the the offensive end of the court.

There's a pattern that repeats itself frequently. We saw it against Tenn, Stanford, Mississippi State, and Arkansas. Texas plays well, builds and maintains an 8-10 point lead, but fails to put the other team away, then watches the lead erode and has to scrap and hang on to win. Last year we lost those games; this year we've won them; so that's a big improvement. But the underlying problem is the same: lack of sufficient offensive fire power. Eventually it catches up with you. The team is definitely better, but the future depends on more points.

When Ariel is ready it will draw much more attention to the guard play and provide offensive power. It takes years to build a championship quality team. I think people are forgetting that. This year is so much different because teams have to worry about outside shooting from McCarty and Rodrigo and others, where last year they were timid and waiting for Nneka to do it all in the preseason. When she got hurt, everyone panicked. I feel that if someone got hurt (God forbid) it wouldn't change the chemistry that much because the bench is strong. That is what is so impressive. Big 12 play is like another season, the girls will dig into another set of confidence when it starts. I can't wait to watch. Have some faith people. Lets stay positive and see how Aston and team can continue the undefeated roll they are on. Not every offensive possession will be pretty but at the end of the day when we are 1 point more than the other team, guess what----we are perfect! HOOK EM!!!

 

[rattfatt]

When Ariel is ready it will draw much more attention to the guard play and provide offensive power. It takes years to build a championship quality team. I think people are forgetting that. This year is so much different because teams have to worry about outside shooting from McCarty and Rodrigo and others, where last year they were timid and waiting for Nneka to do it all in the preseason. When she got hurt, everyone panicked. I feel that if someone got hurt (God forbid) it wouldn't change the chemistry that much because the bench is strong. That is what is so impressive. Big 12 play is like another season, the girls will dig into another set of confidence when it starts. I can't wait to watch. Have some faith people. Lets stay positive and see how Aston and team can continue the undefeated roll they are on. Not every offensive possession will be pretty but at the end of the day when we are 1 point more than the other team, guess what----we are perfect! HOOK EM!!!

Obviously winning and being undefeated is great. And it's also great that the players have made decent improvement on their 3 point shooting but nothing as really changed. The inability to shoot consistently from the 3 point line has been an issue since Coach Aston came to UT and that's not going to change this year. They just have to hope that when they do get into conference play and face zone after sagging zone, that they can find a way to win.

 

[Dr. D]

Dawn Staley wasn't being negative about her team when she said they had a national championship defense, but not a national championship offense. She was being honest. Its quite possible to think Texas is much better but still has shortcomings. We all believe Ariel Atkins can add more depth and ability to the offense. The question is how much? Last year she shot only 28% from beyond the arc. If she gets her three point shot above 33% this season, then her contribution will be exponentially greater. She's talented, so there's a good chance her shooting will improve, as Brook McCarty's has. Same with Higgs. If a light goes on in her head and her shooting becomes consistent, Higgs, too, will have a far greater impact. If Texas averages in the low sixties in the Big 12, like we did last year, then we will lose games---more games than if we score in the high 60's. That's just a fact. What, if anything, can be done about it is interesting. I think its more a matter of the limitations of our personnel. But I'm no expert. One could make the case that Aston has emphasized our inside out, take it to the rack offense precisely because of her player's shooting limitations. Others argue there are ways she could create more opportunities for the players who are shooting well, like McCarty. Would a certified genius like Gino Auriemma win a national championship with this Texas team? I don't think so. On the other hand, he might be able to get more intensity, more consistency, and better use of potential. I don't know. I think all of us do give Karen Aston a lot of credit. We were in the stagnant back eddies of basketball, going nowhere. Now we're somebody. We have the luxury arguing about what she should do to get us to an even higher level. That's not negative. That's fun.