TX adds another

[Vowelguy]

Bret McCormick ‏@ASGR1995
Texas signs #3 JC Gintare Mazionyte 6-3 PF from Weatherford College. She hails from Lithuania.

 

[EricLA]

Good for Texas. nice get to go along with Stafford in the post. i wonder if Tennessee looked at that kid - they certainly needed post help and as the #3 juco player, she has to be better than the kid they got (Phillips?)...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Bret McCormick ‏@ASGR1995
Texas signs #3 JC Gintare Mazionyte 6-3 PF from Weatherford College. She hails from Lithuania.

Easy for you to say!

 

[John Glass]

What has been the problem at Texas the last few years ? does the new coach have enough talent to quickly turn things around ?

 

[alexrgct]

Easy for you to say!

Although not easy to say, she is fairly easy on the eyes:

Apparently, she is called "Gigi" in casual conversations.

 

[alexrgct]

What has been the problem at Texas the last few years ? does the new coach have enough talent to quickly turn things around ?

The last few? Texas really hasn't been very good since 1990. There was a few year period in the early 2000s where Texas enjoyed a bit of a resurgence, culminating in a Final Four run in 2003 where they Horns could have easily beaten DT and UConn. However, the best player on that team, Jamie Carey, pretty much fell into Jody's lap. Other than that, there was a pretty big stretch of mediocrity in Austin that started with Jody Conradt and continued on with Coach G. Some reasons:

• Jody was overrated as a coach. Great gal, definitely a trailblazer and all of that, but the fact remains that Texas had the opportunity to play in 28 NCAA tourneys during Jody's tenure (had the opportunity to, mind you, not actually did appear in all 28), and made all of three Final Fours during that stretch. In Jody's heyday in the 1980s, Texas had four #1 seeds and three #2s, and only made two F4s. By contrast, Pat Summit's Lady Vols had three #1s, two #2s, two #3s, and a #4, and made it to six F4s. In short, Jody was more the beneficiary of superior talent than she was a great coach who got her teams to play their best ball when it counted. And she stayed around for about 15 years too long.
• Ironically, Sheryl Swoopes was rumored to be the first player to have underscored the contrast between the liberalism of Austin/UT/the WCBB program and the social conservatism of Texas. Texas has always had to deal with homophobia and the perception that the program is too lesbian-friendly. Swoopes was rumored to have transfered out for this reason, a decision which really sent Texas on a downward spriral. Between the homophobia costing Texas recruits (something that post-Jody hires haven't overcome, at least not yet) and superior recruits not being developed (note Texas had the #1 recruiting class in 2005 and didly squat with it), the talent hasn't been what it could be.
• Coach G did not do a great job endearing herself to the Texas high school and AAU coaches. She has a stiff Midwestern style, which is in very stark contrast to Sherri, Gary, and Kim. Additionally, she did not understand the importance of having quality assistants with Texas ties.
• Texas has also been absolutely plagued by injuries over the past few years.

Texas has a decent amount of talent on the roster next season IF everyone can stay healthy and if they do, that could actually help Karen Aston get off on the right foot relative to Texas's last season. However, Coach G seemed to have turned things at least somewhat around at Texas in her first season (went from not making the tourney at all in Jody's last two seasons to making the second round in G's first year), only to have things go downhill after that. So we'll just have to see. If Cokie Reed can stay healthy and Imani Stafford can contribute early and often, that's a pretty damn imposing frontcourt. And if their guards can stay healthy, you suddenly have a pretty solid team. Meanwhile, Texas hired an AAU coach as an assistant who has strong ties to Brianna Turner, so if Texas manages to land BT as a result, they become instantly relevant again.

I do not think Aston is the best Texas could do, and am on record that Illinois, Auburn, and Michigan all made better offseason hires as far as I'm concerned. However, Texas is trying their version of country fried coach with a pedigree that harkens back to the (wildly overrated) glory days of Jody Conradt. We shall see what transpires.

 

[John Glass]

I have followed WBB for around 6 years

 

[easttexastrash]

Although not easy to say, she is fairly easy on the eyes:

Apparently, she is called "Gigi" in casual conversations.

Texas had a GG to replace.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I have followed WBB for around 6 years

I think Alex--our resident Longhorn--has addressed your question.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Although not easy to say, she is fairly easy on the eyes:

Apparently, she is called "Gigi" in casual conversations.

How does Lithuanian sound with a Texas accent?

 

[easttexastrash]

Can you really call a coach with 900 wins "wildly" overrated?

 

[alexrgct]

Can you really call a coach with 900 wins "wildly" overrated?

Yes. Empirically I did.

Her record from 1991 on was appalling, and her tournament results when she had a distinct talent advantage weren't what they should have been. Winning a bunch of games simply means you coached for a really long time, in part because no one had the cajones to make you leave.

 

[easttexastrash]

IMO, JC's record in those years had more to do with the inability to recruit than it did the ability to coach. She was fortunate enough to have Jamie Carey fall into her lap in 2002 and subsequently went to the Final Four. It's easier to look like a good coach when you have the top talent on your team. Having the DTs, Maya Moores, Holdsclaws, BGs, Candace Parkers of the world make you look pretty darn smart.

Maybe I have a soft sport for JC because she was a Baylor girl. Not many people realize that she averaged 20 points a game while playing at Baylor.