Texas @ Baylor - 1/25/18

[easttexastrash]

I switched over to this from the ND game and just saw a fourth quarter that was an exercise in finishing the game.

Along the lines of your comment, could the animosity you mention be the reason Kim kept her big three (Brown-Cox-Wallace) in the game for so long? Or is this modus operandi?
From a practical standpoint, I'd think one would want to avoid any end-of-game injuries. I know Baylor does not have an army on the bench, but struck me as time to take pedal off the metal.

Well, UT pressed until the last few seconds of the game. Let's ask Aston why she did that.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Big P---Nice post. We post some semi-negative things about Mulkey, but I doubt many think she isn't a good coach. She definitely is a good recruiter.
Uconn isn't very effective against more than one big, Geno has masked that weakness, but it remains so. With Azura on the floor Uconn is a much better than good team. Azura, is learning to be a post--she is a super talent, but she is Uconn's only true BIG. Nothing on the bench to replace or relieve her
It is not that Geno didn't spend many months, maybe years, trying to recruit two 3 or more bigs--they just were not matches for Uconn. So--I can't blame Geno, some do, for this lack--recruiting is the biggest crap shoot this side of Vegas. The odd makers only look at who is coaching Uconn and the odds go, usually, towards Uconn.==However I'd trade those odds for at least 2 capable bigs over 6 ft 4 inches.

The other side of that coin is that thankfully Uconn may not meet TX or Baylor until the NCAA's and maybe not then. Nearly everyone else Uconn has played and defeated, yes there are exceptions, but I like Uconn's chances.

I agree wholeheartedly about the significantly added dimension that Z brings to our favorite team. But, unlike the Baylor bigs, she, irrespective of her height, is not a banger...she’s got unusual finesse skills for anyone 6’6”, but just isn’t built to mix it up with the likes of a Kalani Brown. I like UConn’s chances too, but am always fearful of situations that demand a hot performance from the perimeter. I do think that would be the case in this potential matchup.
As for Kim, I dunno, she makes it so easy to be a target for mockery we sometimes forget that she really can coach, not just recruit. The two Geno-inspired barometers I use in evaluating these coaches are, a: how their teams play defense, and b:, how players develop under their tutelage. I think she passes those tests pretty well!

 

[eebmg]

I don't disagree with your reasoning---that all makes sense to me.
Batouly--do you think she is ready to play in big time Div 1 games at this point??
Irwin--I see her much differently than you in many ways. In any time less than crunch or in a back and forth, win or lose game--I'd rather have her on the bench. When the game is not on the line she could provide good relief moments for Napheesa and Gabby. We have not seen Irwin in any game of any significance since she arrived (that I can remember), do you think Geno would use her against Baylor, Tx, or Mss St ? This is not to disagree with your and my belief Uconn needs real help against big teams. I just dont know where that help may come from.

Not sure what Batouly can give us but from her freshman highlight bio, she did seem to play well against SC so she should be able to handle the "big" games. In my view, just about all the bench players do not really bring something that the starters cant do better (Z and MW aside) but Batouly is a mystery. On the other hand, if she was as disruptive and physical as my imagination believes, I would think that would show up very clearly in practice so maybe I am into wishful thinking too much.

2015-16 AS A FRESHMAN
Posted 14 points against South Carolina on Feb. 4 for a new career high and fell just short of a double-double after leading the team with nine rebounds ... Second on the team in blocks, with 30, and led team in blocks during SEC play with 15 ... Scored 10 points against No. 15/15 Arizona State on Nov. 15, 2015, including six-straight points in the second half to help kickstart the team's comeback ... Had a career game in rebounding against No. 2/2 South Carolina on Jan. 14, leading the team on the glass with 10 rebounds and was just shy of a double-double with seven points ... Racked up 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting against Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament along with two blocks ... Field goal percentage of 49.3% is good for the seventh-best by a freshman in program history ... Is sixth on UK's freshman top-10 for blocks, with 30, and tied for the ninth-most freshman rebounds, with 142.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I agree wholeheartedly about the significantly added dimension that Z brings to our favorite team. But, unlike the Baylor bigs, she, irrespective of her height, is not a banger...she’s got unusual finesse skills for anyone 6’6”, but just isn’t built to mix it up with the likes of a Kalani Brown. I like UConn’s chances too, but am always fearful of situations that demand a hot performance from the perimeter. I do think that would be the case in this potential matchup.
As for Kim, I dunno, she makes it so easy to be a target for mockery we sometimes forget that she really can coach, not just recruit. The two Geno-inspired barometers I use in evaluating these coaches are, a: how their teams play defense, and b:, how players develop under their tutelage. I think she passes those tests pretty well!

Your first paragraph is exactly as I see Azura. I've asked in previous post about her going head to head with Ms St McGowans--she may get pushed around, then too fouls in that match up. Could be the same with Baylor. The real negative for Uconn in a Baylor /Uconn match up is the lack (again) of depth in bigs.

Your second paragraph---Yes she makes it easy to be a target--some coaches do that to draw the herds of reporters away from her team and keep them focused, Geno has done that. Like her or hate her she is all you say and maybe more. She has passion for her team, her school, her town and maybe state--much like Geno. They just do things differently.

 

[HopJim]

If TX plays as well as they played against UConn they may keep it within single digits but that is a big if. TX is not consistent and Baylor generally has their number. Baylor wins by 15 imho. Whatever people think about their weak OOC schedule, Baylor is FF level.

You were well informed.

 

[HopJim]

Baylor has been up in McCarty's and Atkins' shorts all night. Everything they have done has been rushed and challenged. I am really proud of the Baylor guards, especially Wallace. She is the Energizer bunny.

Cox took a lot of grief last season for not living up to her number 1 ranking coming out of high school. She and Holmes have certainly taken different paths.

Baylor doing much better job than UConn playing defense against capable, quick guards. Even against middle of the road teams, a UConn weakness is controlling the pick and roll from top of the key.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Not sure what Batouly can give us but from her freshman highlight bio, she did seem to play well against SC so she should be able to handle the "big" games. In my view, just about all the bench players do not really bring something that the starters cant do better (Z and MW aside) but Batouly is a mystery. On the other hand, if she was as disruptive and physical as my imagination believes, I would think that would show up very clearly in practice so maybe I am into wishful thinking too much.

2015-16 AS A FRESHMAN
Posted 14 points against South Carolina on Feb. 4 for a new career high and fell just short of a double-double after leading the team with nine rebounds ... Second on the team in blocks, with 30, and led team in blocks during SEC play with 15 ... Scored 10 points against No. 15/15 Arizona State on Nov. 15, 2015, including six-straight points in the second half to help kickstart the team's comeback ... Had a career game in rebounding against No. 2/2 South Carolina on Jan. 14, leading the team on the glass with 10 rebounds and was just shy of a double-double with seven points ... Racked up 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting against Florida in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament along with two blocks ... Field goal percentage of 49.3% is good for the seventh-best by a freshman in program history ... Is sixth on UK's freshman top-10 for blocks, with 30, and tied for the ninth-most freshman rebounds, with 142.

First paragraph--we agree totally.
Paragraph 2--thanks, I had little info prior to her arriving at Uconn. I knew Geno knew or saw something he wanted from her--he really isn't a big fan of transferring. So apparently she has GAME.

I'm not in anyway --anti-Batouly!! I know Uconn needs a BIG to help the limitation in Bigs.

 

[HopJim]

Not sure if it was Baylor playing great, or Texas not playing very well at all... but this was not the same Texas group that played UConn a few weeks ago. They looked confused, hurried, unable to shoot from outside, and unable to compete under the basket. Baylor consistently out hustled Texas all night. During a time out Coach Aston asked her Team "Are you afraid of them?" "Because you all look like you are playing scared."

I am not aware of any other college team with two very capable and very physical bigs. Strong on both offense and defense. Suspect Texas and most teams, including UConn, practice against much different conditions.

 

[eebmg]

You were well informed.

Haha. The only negatives for Baylor ever brought up is the relatively weak OOC schedule. Fine for the selection committee but fan's should look at all the evidence.

Their only loss to UCLA at Pauley Pavillion was game 2 in the season without Cox. They pass the eye test. The Cox / Brown is the best post combination in WCBB and their team defense is elite. Oh yeah, they draw fouls. TX is up and down, I only wish I did not go by my gut more and say Baylor wins by 25.

 

[CocoHusky]

I agree wholeheartedly about the significantly added dimension that Z brings to our favorite team. But, unlike the Baylor bigs, she, irrespective of her height, is not a banger...she’s got unusual finesse skills for anyone 6’6”, but just isn’t built to mix it up with the likes of a Kalani Brown. I like UConn’s chances too, but am always fearful of situations that demand a hot performance from the perimeter. I do think that would be the case in this potential matchup.

Bingo! How quickly people forget. Natalie Butler played 21 quality minutes ( More than 1/2 the game) against Baylor last year. She scored 9 points and committed only 1 foul. Don't see anyone on the UCONN roster that can provide that type of play and UCONN will need it even more now that Miss Cox seems to have arrived to Co-star with Miss Brown.

 

[HopJim]

Big P---Nice post. We post some semi-negative things about Mulkey, but I doubt many think she isn't a good coach. She definitely is a good recruiter.
Uconn isn't very effective against more than one big, Geno has masked that weakness, but it remains so. With Azura on the floor Uconn is a much better than good team. Azura, is learning to be a post--she is a super talent, but she is Uconn's only true BIG. Nothing on the bench to replace or relieve her
It is not that Geno didn't spend many months, maybe years, trying to recruit two 3 or more bigs--they just were not matches for Uconn. So--I can't blame Geno, some do, for this lack--recruiting is the biggest crap shoot this side of Vegas. The odd makers only look at who is coaching Uconn and the odds go, usually, towards Uconn.==However I'd trade those odds for at least 2 capable bigs over 6 ft 4 inches.

The other side of that coin is that thankfully Uconn may not meet TX or Baylor until the NCAA's and maybe not then. Nearly everyone else Uconn has played and defeated, yes there are exceptions, but I like Uconn's chances.

Totally agree. Geno says you need to practice what you want to do in games, and UConn and most teams can't practice against a capable, physical 6'7" center and 6'4" forward who is beginning to play like Stewie.

 

[donalddoowop]

I had almost forgotten about her. Did she redshirt? I’m thinking that Jolmes would have been better off to redshirt no more than she is contributing. She’s running out of time.

How can a player be off for that long and not have improved her shot? Surely she had enough time to practice shooting.

I read an article that reported that she did not practice and worked a job. She may have had the time but used it for something else, evidently. Even if she had practiced, sitting out half a season hampers most players when they first get back into playing in games.

 

[Dillon77]

Well, UT pressed until the last few seconds of the game. Let's ask Aston why she did that.

We've had conversations on minutes played here by a team, most notably UConn and, to some degree, ND, and the reasons/rationale/strategy behind the numbers.

Was interested to see your view on the Baylor minutes, that's all.
So, I'll try to take the Mulkey-Aston-Coale triangle of animus out of the question.
To do so, I went to three recent wins against KSU (75-50), Kansas (83-48) and Iowa State (79-50). The mega-minutes by the big three -- particularly Brown -- is still there:

- Against KSU, Brown played 37 minutes and Cox 34.
- Against Iowa State, Brown 39, Cox 39 and Wallace 34
- Against Kansas, KB 36 minutes and KW 31 minutes.

Looking at the box scores (quarter by quarter), most of these games were pretty safely in hand.

So, I see those minutes and wonder the rationale behind them.
- Does Kim Mulkey believe in getting that machine well-oiled?
- Does she not believe her bench players can seal the deal?
- Lots of injuries that preclude her from doing so?

Once again, interested in your take. Thanks for consideration.

 

[donalddoowop]

I think a big push is needed by UConn to get Batouly into games where we can benefit from her physicality (If she is cleared of course). Maybe starting with SC. In the last game against Memphis, she looked really strong and physical. Like a bull in a china shop.

That might help in the board wars a little and protect our foul situation.

I wish they had the time to make it a priority to get her game ready. It would certainly help the interior defense and rebounding.

 

[Bigpetunia]

One other thing I like about Kim:
As folks here may have previously deduced, I ain’t no poulet de printemps! And, among other things that go along with that fact, I’ve been married, I think, since great lizards roamed the earth! One of the “secrets” to the longevity of that union is that my wife, whose interest in sports perpetually hovers between zero and miniscule, allows me space, generally, to indulge my passions (well, two “secrets,” actually...it’s the same with sailboats!). Interestingly, however, the one time she’ll actually sit with me and actually pay attention to a game I’m watching is any in which Kim is coaching. Of course, she’s only interested in what Kim’s wearing, with particular emphasis on the footwear, but hell, it’s something!

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Many of us here were big proponents of getting Lauren Cox to Storrs. Many of us here also knew early on it was never going to happen.

Well I wish you've would've told me so I hadn't spent so much time obsessing over the possibility!

 

[UConnCat]

Well I wish you've would've told me so I hadn't spent so much time obsessing over the possibility!

In fairness, I said the same thing about ONO and look how that turned out. I have since fired that source.

 

[Centerstream]

I read an article that reported that she did not practice and worked a job. She may have had the time but used it for something else, evidently. Even if she had practiced, sitting out half a season hampers most players when they first get back into playing in games.

The ESPN announcers mentioned her having a job during the semester as well.

 

[skilz]

We've had conversations on minutes played here by a team, most notably UConn and, to some degree, ND, and the reasons/rationale/strategy behind the numbers.

Was interested to see your view on the Baylor minutes, that's all.
So, I'll try to take the Mulkey-Aston-Coale triangle of animus out of the question.
To do so, I went to three recent wins against KSU (75-50), Kansas (83-48) and Iowa State (79-50). The mega-minutes by the big three -- particularly Brown -- is still there:

- Against KSU, Brown played 37 minutes and Cox 34.
- Against Iowa State, Brown 39, Cox 39 and Wallace 34
- Against Kansas, KB 36 minutes and KW 31 minutes.

Looking at the box scores (quarter by quarter), most of these games were pretty safely in hand.

So, I see those minutes and wonder the rationale behind them.
- Does Kim Mulkey believe in getting that machine well-oiled?
- Does she not believe her bench players can seal the deal?
- Lots of injuries that preclude her from doing so?

Once again, interested in your take. Thanks for consideration.

Is it possible that they are playing so many minutes to get in shape for March? Big girls need more game time than small, fast girls already filled with energy. Also Baylor has 9 players available, however, 2 are not ready to receive more minutes than what they are getting.

 

[DallasBUFan]

BU just has a lack of depth and experience. The 5 players on the bench are 4 freshman and 1 sophomore. I of the freshman tore her ACL against Kentucky. One of the freshmen Moon Ursin isn't playing at the level of Richards and Morris. Landrum has improved from freshman to sophomore year, but I think the other two freshman are stronger. No post reserves, they all start unless we put Chou or Richards as the small fwd. Cohen who starts at the 3 is the back up to Brown and Cox. So the team just lacks depth and experience.

Note if you watched BU vs OU last week Brown got in foul trouble and stayed in it most of the game. Kim forced her team to learn to play without her and learn that she isn't the only one can produce. A lot of fans were upset and said she didn't use Kalani's time well, but I like it. Kalani will get into foul trouble every so often and the team needs to learn what to do without her. Also, a reminder to Kalani to play cleaner defense.

 

[Shades]

Baylor, Texas Postgame Quotes

BAYLOR POSTGAME QUOTES

BU Head Coach Kim Mulkey
On Texas' competitiveness…
"I don't look at them. I'm watching green and gold out there. I'm watching everything we do defensively and everything we do offensively. I just thought our defense was pretty special again tonight. When you hold a team that's that talented to 31% from the field, it's because you're listening to the scouting report, helping your teammates, altering shots, keeping them in front of you on transition defense. It wasn't like what we did last year or what a lot of teams do against Texas. They get a lot of transition, run-out baskets. We gave up some, but we tried really hard to emphasize that in practice, and we tried really hard to keep them off the offensive boards. They got a lot there in the last 2-3 minutes of the game, but I thought, for the most part, we didn't let them kill us in those two areas."

On Kristy Wallace's performance…
"Well, it's Australia Day, tomorrow, right? Whatever the time zone is, it's Australia Day, so the Aussie did good. Kristy can score, but she's been such a great distributor for our team this year. She's got 6'7'' and 6'4" inside that are having great years, so she doesn't have to score. Tonight, she just had some openings and felt it. I ran a couple of quick hitters for her off the dribble, and Kristy did what Kristy is capable of doing night-in and night-out; she just doesn't have to do it all the time."

On if she was extra motivated to win tonight…
"I can't say I was more motivated, but I was more emotional. You're not supposed to bury your children, your grandchildren or your players. I've struggled with that tremendously the last six months. And I have to regroup and coach. It was good to see her former teammates here and former players as well; not just those who played with her, but those before her and after her. She touched so many lives. We had a lot going on tonight, and we had to focus on what we needed to do, which was win a basketball game. I think the coaching staff allowed me, on Sunday, to be with Chameka. They stayed in this office and broke down game film so that when we got back Monday, we were ready to go."

Junior Kalani Brown
On if she plays with an extra motivation against Texas…
"I just go out there and play. I love a good rivalry. Texas is a really good team, and they always bring that high intensity, and I love that about them, so we have to match it. They're just a high energy team, but today I think we came out really fast and matched it."

Senior Kristy Wallace
On if she was looking to attack tonight or took what the defense gave her…
"I'm always looking to score. I think these two inside bigs are two of the best bigs in the country, so I'm going to give them the ball and facilitate for them because that's my job. I didn't do a great job of that tonight, as I had a lot of turnovers, but it's great having these big bodies inside that are able to score. In the end, it's about winning, and we're really good at that."

TEXAS POSTGAME QUOTES

Texas Head Coach Karen Aston
On Kristy Wallace…
"I thought very early Kristy was really aggressive. We talked about her in transition in preparation, but I just didn't think that we were attentive to detail early in the game. She scored six or eight points in transition going downhill. I mean you could tell that was a plan of theirs definitely to try to push the ball, and we didn't do a good job of stopping the ball. We did some things that were a little uncharacteristic of our team early. Then she got rolling, and she had a great night. She was dictating this game from the jump."

On struggling offensively…
"I think it had a lot to do with their defense. I thought it was pretty good. I thought they were very in tune with each other and really in good position all night long. They were in the gaps really well. It definitely slowed down our penetration, and when that didn't happen we weren't patient enough to move to the next options of the offense. We got stagnant. They looked like they were really in tune to personal and all the things that you have to be defensively at this level.”

 

[Tenspro2002]

I know the transitive property doesn't apply in sports, but it doesn't inspire much confidence to see teams that we squeaked by (ND, Texas) get completely blown out by teams we're likely to face en route to the championship (Louisville, Baylor).

 

[Shades]

In the Mulkey era:
• Baylor is 524-96
• Baylor is 288-23 in home games and has won 76 of its last 77, including 13 in a row.
• Baylor is 469-26 when leading at half.
• Baylor is 111-28 in January games.
• Baylor is 494-21 when outshooting its opponent.
• Baylor is 449-41 when outrebounding its opponent.

 

[CocoHusky]

Well I wish you've would've told me so I hadn't spent so much time obsessing over the possibility!

In fairness, I said the same thing about ONO and look how that turned out. I have since fired that source.

I remember that very dark day very well. After reading your post I was so depressed I went ahead and scheduled the colonoscopy I had been putting off. Thank God, both turned out well.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Holmes-still to many brain cramps trying to lead a break and takin 3 pt shots? She’s not Z...

You are using Z's name and three-point shot in the same sentence. You really don't want to do that.