THIS IS GETTING OLD

Hookemfrknhorns

< 25 Posts
In response to this statement from Loyallonghorn:
“This was a must win game if there were any at the conference level just to stop the nose dive.
It was nice to see Brooke getting the start over Empress who has yet to develop a mid-range jumper as she was 0-4 for zero points. At this point, Empress is just a defensive specialist.
It was also nice to see Ariel finally getting more minutes and she produced 8 points on 4-8 shooting, most of which were outside jumpers. But for unexplained reasons, Brady continues to play the super majority of minutes and adds nothing to the game on 1-5 shooting for 3 points. I'd like to see Brady's minutes be replaced by Ariel. "
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Reading the comments from Loyallonghorn are getting to be the same thing over and over. Empress and Brady out and Brooke and Ariel in. I believe the coach knows more about her team than you would like to think you do. Apparently you don’t look at stats. Possibly because your child is not getting as many minutes as you’d like.

Brooke and Ariel are FRESHMEN. Ariel is not 100% on health as of yet. Brooke is coming along, but she still has a long way to go as far as looking lost on the plays. Why would you throw up a very low percentage shot (3) in the last few seconds of the game when you’re only down by 1????? It’s easy….that wasn’t the play. After Empress didn’t have her shot and it was passed to Brooke…….DRIVE!!! We had plenty of time! As far as Empress’ skill level; There were a few games where Empress didn’t score in a game but her 2-4 points at the end WON us the game. I’d say that’s pretty skillful. Empress not being very skillful at a jumper, you say? Obviously you are new to watching this team. That is one of her best attributes. Yes, Brady was 1 for 5 /Brooke was 3 for 9. NEWSFLASH!!!! Brooke and Brady don’t play the same position; Ariel was needed at the 4 apparently in ISU game! People get in slumps….even Brooke…

***If you remember as per stats, she went 1 for 11 (0 for 7 on 3’s) against OU. She also has had several games where she had only 4 pts. Or less. (Tenn- 0 pts. Played 16 min.; Southern-4 pts. She played 19 min.; NW 3 pts. She played 21 min. and was 1 for 7 on shots 1 for 3 on 3’s.; McNeese-0 pts. Played 16 min. she was 0-5 on shots; ISU 3 pts. She was 1 for 8 on shots and 1 for 6 on 3’s and played 22 min.) Who is talking bad games now? It HAPPENS to them ALL! So you pull her for having those bad games? No, if she's doing something else that is productive you don't. My gosh! We could nit pick all night long! How about cheering on your team no matter who is in! They don’t miss on purpose! There are VERY few FRESHMAN PG’s that get to play in the Big 12, let alone play A LOT…., the best I’ve seen is OU’s Ortiz. There is no other FRESHMAN PG that can touch her skill level. It is what it is.


There is a LOT more to this game than 3’s and hitting EVERY shot. (Yes that is the ultimate but it doesn’t happen!) Look at Nneka for instance….she’s had several very low scoring games(6-8 is low for Nneka), but made up for it in other areas. Hello!!!! She was Big 12 leading rebounder! Some games she only had 2 pts. at half time. But she's AWESOME! Looks like we need Celina, Krystal and Nekia shooting more 3’s than anyone, but they don’t. It is looking more and more like they are being told NOT to shoot the 3. As a matter of fact, every one of them look hesitant to shoot at all. They are second guessing everything. Like robots....Like they’re afraid they will get benched. We are playing like; posts aren’t open….. keep running the shot clock down until they are open….then if they’re still not open, PANIC and shoot with 2 seconds left on the shot clock! Not the same team as the beginning of season or even last year for that matter.
>I’m relieved Imani is getting back into the swing of things. Wish Kelsi wouldn’t turn the ball over so much, but she is doing better than her past few games. I’d like to see Sara on the floor as she is giving our other posts a run for their money at practice. Tasia has been working hard as well and I like to see her play…..but I’m not the coach. Aston is well equipped to get the girls back on track without any help from fans or parents. As long as she, herself, doesn’t lose faith in them.


Ariel more playing time? The coach has her health and safety as a priority. As it should be. When she is better she will play more of course. SHE is an All-American in my book! She takes corrective criticism very well from her teammates and is willing to learn from them. Her skill level is there. She will eventually get more playing time as she gets well and will do great things for this team! Brooke’s eye rolling might be a problem. I've seen her do it at practices and on the bench. Practices are good to go to, to get a better outlook on the girls’ characters and who is doing what. But…….Looks like there is some division on this team. That won’t get you very far.

Complaining about your kid's playing time (because it’s obvious) won’t get you far either.

Hook 'Em Freakin' Horns - WIN/LOSE/OR DRAW!
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We are recruiting and playing like Conradt is coach. Not making a judgement, just an observation. We went back to the same well and we'll see if the water tastes any different this time around. Last time I had it, Kool-aid was mostly water. But it comes in so many flavors!
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I have to agree -- Brady needs fewer minutes and some of these freshman who can actually hit jumpers and three's need more. I love the fire Brady brings but IMO she's better of the bench. I'll quit complaining about Imani's lack of playing time but it's perplexing. If she were at Baylor she'd be an All-American. And a lot of people including myself have commented on the substitution strategy (or lack there of). I've yet to read one person explain it in a way that makes sense. In Today's column by Bohl's, Aston attempts to explain her substitutions but it didn't make any sense. I'm not a coach. I only "play one" when I'm watching Texas so I'll admit perhaps I'm too ignorant to understand but I'm open to trying.
 
Frankly, I'm still amazed that Imani is playing at all this season given the surgery she had. I'm impressed with her running and jumping, but I would imagine that she isn't cleared to play full time. I wonder how many minutes Ariel and Bre are cleared to play. I heard that Empress suffered a torn labrum in the Baylor game. Man, that game cost us so much more than the L. I've heard she is going to play through it, but that seems like a major issue to me. That might limit her time too and no doubt affect her play.

So unfortunate to have so many injuries to so many valuable players!

I don't understand all the substitutions either, and I don't think they are all injury related. But there were a bunch of bad mistakes in the last minute of the ISU game that shouldn't happen as our young players gain more experience.
 
You could be right Hornsgeek, we shall see. We definitely need more Offense, but Defense against OU is a MUST! I like to see Nekia in but she has GOT to help her team on Defense. She seems to lag behind leaving her teammates 4 on 5 on the D. They've always got one player guarding two girls because she's not getting back. OU's PG is like no other Freshman I've ever seen. It will take Krystal's defense to stop her. She has inside and outside game and NEVER gives up! Hope it works out for the girls. They've got to get back on track!
 
It is what it is. Injuries have been a killer, but the vulnerability of an Aston coached offense to the zone was exposed by UCLA in Houston more than two years ago. If opponents take away the hi-lo, and fast break points, a TX offense struggles to score. Big 12 coaches know this. In Aston, TX has a superb recruiter, an excellent fundamentals defense coach, a good post coach, a very weak in game x's and o's coach, and a halfwit in a half court offense. The turnover problem persists even when the team can out-talent and out-athlete lesser competition because the passing lanes are entirely predictable, movement without the ball is not emphasized. I have seen maybe four pick and rolls in now nearly three years of watching nearly every game. We have guards who can penetrate/slash, but they really do. Even when they win, it is very boring basketball to watch, which is why attendance continues to decline.

I dunno why Aston does not recognize her strengths and weaknesses and hire someone who can install a motion offense, make in game adjustments, and help the team to move beyond 1980s/1990's women's basketball. The Jody Conradt/Pat Summitt era of WCBB is over. Defense/rebound/intensity will only get you so far. Elite teams are great on both sides of the ball. Unless TX recruits a star of the Taurasi/Parker order or a point guard who will ignore the coaching and actually run an offense, or Aston realizes that scoring points is as important as stopping the other team from scoring points, she will continue to do less with more and lose to smarter coaches with less talent. TN has the same problem in Holly Warlick.
 
Regarding the quote from Karen in the paper today: "We have some players who are limited from a minutes perspective, so the flow is difficult." It turns out that the minutes the players are allowed to play as they come off injuries is set rather rigidly and is not under Karen's control. I have been frustrated that players I thought we needed were not getting more minutes (Imani, Ariel). I had been assuming that, since they were back, they must be available to play as much as needed if they weren't in discomfort. Not so. I wish there were more transparency about the whole issue of injuries, but there seems to be this new paranoia about violating HIPPA laws.
 
I agree with BBV Horn. We got three, maybe four players limited in playing time as they continue to recover from injuries. Not only is Imani rounding into shape, so is Ariel whose ankle injury, which must have been pretty severe to keep her out several weeks. Neither was doing much, if any, conditioning work as they healed. Now they are playing themselves back into shape and that will take a bit more.

In reply to:


 
Have you actually looked at Brady? Offensively do you really think she has a bigger upside than Ariel, Brooke or Tasia? Bring in Brady from the bench and start the women who can actually generate offense. This team is floundering on offense. That's not going to change with this starting lineup. Four of five losses in past five games says it all.
 
No doubt we need Ariel and Bre ... whether starting or coming off the bench. Their offensive skills made a big difference in the out-of-conference play. The challenge is managing their time, since they are still limited due to their injuries. I don't think Ariel is back in full form yet, but she does help us out there. I would imagine Karen wants to use them as much as she possibly can. Do we use their time up early or pace them throughout the game so that they are available at the end if it is tight? I'm glad I don't have to make all those decisions.
 
Ditto Babhorn's post. I really do not want to tear down any player. We do have a saying at my house - BWB (better with Brady). I think this is more true with the unsettled pg position, the changing rotations (whatever the reason) and frequent youth on the court.
 
I've not seen anyone "tearing" down any players, just making observations. I've said before I love the energy/spark Brady brings off the bench. Right now we need points in the starting lineup and I think there are others that give us the possibility of more scoring. It's what we need right now. We will be there tonight cheering on the Horns. Beating the Land Thieves in any sport is always a delight. GO HORNS!
 
As Karen has said, "Brady brings an intangible called heart". While you can't put an exact value on heart, you can put a value on the 13 points she scored tonight against OU. And Arial wirh 23 was fan-effing-tastic. Brooke has speed and ball control and always seems to pull a 3 out of her a** when we need it most. I hate the revolving door we call a line-up, but I have to admit I would hate to be the one deciding who to go with.

Arial played most of th game. That is a very good sign as we have missed her dearly. Imani got more minutes this game too which is fantastic. I loved seeing her and Lang on the floor at the same time. The fact that we pulled this off without Nneka
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is encouraging. I would have loved a B12 title but all I really care about is a deep run in the big tourney. Plus, we get a do-over of sorts with the big 12 tourney. Plenty of opportunities to make up for those unwanted losses of late.
 
Above said troll - Spoken by a true loser that conference championships don't matter. And "she" claims to be a "coach".
 

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