Understatement of the Year, by Karen Aston

[noirwestern]

Regarding your point in green, I think I know just such a team and Tennessee will be traveling north to South Bend on January 18th to play the Irish.

Agree with you that with some quick ball reversal and/or passes into the elbow/top of the key, there could be some massive "field of opportunities," so to speak. Luckily, the high post in ND's motion offense is set right there and Kat Westbeld and-- increasingly -- Jessica Shepard hang out there to then look down low, shoot it or continue the passing to the next open slot.

I'd like to make a suggestion here - would it be possible to issue contacts or glasses to your players that magically turn those hideous orange uniforms white or a lovely shade of dark blue so you can ramp it up and play them the way you always seem to get your feces together in time to play us? Just sayin'.

 

[noirwestern]

I had the same reaction. Didn't she see Russell with her peripheral vision? Atkins is a heck of a player, but I'm a little worried about her. She basically concussed herself last year vs UConn and last night vs TN. The way she plays, maybe she should wear a helmut

I got slammed for not going along with the illegal screen for suggesting that Atkins was at fault but in the replay I still see her flinching right before impact. I think she saw her and considering the poorly thought out or poorly executed game plan might have been trying to get a foul called on tennessee - just in the worst possible way to execute that.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Texas coach Karen Aston criticized her team's shot selection and credited Tennessee's hustle. She said after the game that "we didn't look very well coached, and that bothers me."
Texas vs. Tennessee - Game Recap - December 10, 2017 - ESPN

Gee whiz, really?

Texas is a program I'd consider myself a "secondary fan" of, and I've generally been optimistic about the program's upward trajectory since Karen Aston took over from Gail Goestenkors.

But today's game has really raised serious questions, in my mind, about the ability of its coaching staff to translate talented recruits into results.

People on this board often take shots at Mulkey's coaching ability, but Baylor at this point looks infinitely better coached than Texas.

Aston is a terrible coach and knows nothing of public relations. Doesn't she know the coach is never responsible for any loss? The only thing the coach is responsible for is WINS. Coaches don't play games --college students do. She is supposed to tell the public how bad each player had been, how they had their heads left in Texas . She needs a very large bus to throw them all under--there is a school that is conducted regularly in the mid atlantic area for coaches who accept the blame for losses..

 

[DefenseBB]

...What's changed is a (the?) key component of that team -- Joyner Holmes -- is still on suspension. Joyner certainly could'be been used in the paint yesterday. Texas simply didn't have enough horses to keep up there.

I am not so sure of that as Holmes, while extremely athletic, also has the basketball logic of dribbling full court to take on 3 defenders and try to score instead of passing. That has been the mantra of this team-one on one, dribble, dribble dribble-shot usually with Brook bailing them out in crunch time. Shots not falling is one thing, stupid fouls is something completely else. That was the tell tail sign for me on the poor coaching of both teams. You don't see SC, MSU or ND doing that.

 

[DefenseBB]

I got slammed for not going along with the illegal screen for suggesting that Atkins was at fault but in the replay I still see her flinching right before impact. I think she saw her and considering the poorly thought out or poorly executed game plan might have been trying to get a foul called on tennessee - just in the worst possible way to execute that.

On the private messaging section, send me your email and I will email you the recording of the game I have so you can "re-see" the illegal pick. Even if Atkins saw Russell (which she did), she did expect to have her sideswipe her like that when she was running full bore. I will not call Russell a dirty player as I don't believe she is, I do however think that was a dirty play.

 

[Plebe]

On the private messaging section, send me your email and I will email you the recording of the game I have so you can "re-see" the illegal pick. Even if Atkins saw Russell (which she did), she did expect to have her sideswipe her like that when she was running full bore. I will not call Russell a dirty player as I don't believe she is, I do however think that was a dirty play.

It may be a bit much to call it a "dirty" play, but it was clearly an illegal screen. Russell was jogging and then stops and sticks her rear out just as Atkins arrives at her. This was not incidental contact. Russell was clearly trying to screen for the ball-handler. I can't tell whether Atkins sees Russell in advance or not, but even if she did, it's not a bad idea to allow the contact to happen if you think the opponent will be called for the illegal screen. The refs just missed this one.

 

[DefenseBB]

..Friday night was like watching a ballet, terrific execution by well groomed women . But the contrast goes further. Every UCONN player looked put together, uniform and hair, etc.

You must not have watched the last 5 minutes of the UConn game as our subs looked and played awful. The minor exception might have been Batouly but other than that our Soph's and Freshman did not give a good showing...

 

[DefenseBB]

Sorry, not me.

Are you nuts? Walter Alston was a great coach and a Hall of Famer! On the other hand, Karen Aston is a pretty good coach who has made Texas relevant again. She is a tad weak on the offensive side of the ball but that can be addressed by either hiring a coach with those skills or watching copious amounts of the Lady Huskies...

 

[billnaples]

There have been a plethora of Freshman that haven't attended Connecticut and have gone to schools that don't have 11 Nattys and whose coaches aren't in the HOF that have gone on to have very successful BB careers and some have even become HOF players themselves without the tutelage of Geno Auriemma or having matriculated at Connecticut. It isn't a necessity to go Connecticut to be a great player and every player, by Coach Auriemma's own admission, isn't the type of player he wants to coach. Every player that attends Connecticut isn't a great player, AA, or HOFer and that's fine. Some players don't want to play for name on the front of the jersey they want to play for the name on the back. I'm not making a judgement, I'm just being realistic.....

I think you missed my point. I did not intend to make a judgement of the many young women who commit to schools other than UConn every year. There are I believe 349 Division 1 Women's Basketball program and with each school offering just 2 scholarships some 700 ladies join programs every year, UConn gets from 1 to 4 o these. Not every one who joins UConn becomes an AA or has a pro career. Many do. My point was limited to the players who choose to TRANSFER from UConn for many reasons and whatever those reasons were was of no concern in my comment. I was merely making the point that whatever motivated those departures those players did not get to the level they may have been seeking by moving on to another coach or institution.

 

[hussybulldog]

I was merely making the point that whatever motivated those departures those players did not get to the level they may have been seeking by moving on to another coach or institution.

Had they stayed, would they have got to that level? Most likely not! They might have one or two more championship rings to which they prob think they do not contribute much to. So at least they can play more at a new school.

 

[msf22b]

Are you nuts? Walter Alston was a great coach and a Hall of Famer! On the other hand, Karen Aston is a pretty good coach who has made Texas relevant again. She is a tad weak on the offensive side of the ball but that can be addressed by either hiring a coach with those skills or watching copious amounts of the Lady Huskies...

Who is speaking of Walter Aston? Not me.

Point of Information: I, and many of our 'yard colleagues generally refrain from personal, gratuitous attacks...like "Are you nuts." except in the most extreme instances, for which my comment certainly did not qualify.

In fact, a common and recurring Boneyard item of discussion with regard all matters Texas woman's BB is whether or not Karen Aston is actually an effective on court and game day coach. There is general agreement that her recruiting prowess is excellent...but questions have been raised as to her actual game management.

The other day did little to assuage those critics who have doubted her abilities in this area.

The team's play reminded me of the semi-banned expression in which a not to be named Asian nation is appended to the phrase.......fire drill.

 

[UConnNick]

Yuck.... that sounds awful ... Im not much of a fan of Orange food .... dont even like Orange Juice



I dont need to watch the game to give you the answer to that question. Gimme TN all day long.

When Summitt was coaching, they served Creamsicles to the media at halftime in Thompson-Boling. No food represents that garish shade of orange better than a Creamsicle.

 

[UConnNick]

Texas = Overrated

No athletic dept. in the country does less with more money than the T sippers.

 

[eebmg]

When Summitt was coaching, they served Creamsicles to the media at halftime in Thompson-Boling. No food represents that garish shade of orange better than a Creamsicle.

Uurgh. Maybe TN is not so bad.

 

[triaddukefan]

Do you mean the green that the fans wear at home? If so, you won't get any argument from me on it...geesh. Maybe it's an electric shamrock green? And maybe it's power is subliminal because I didn't mean to pick one that got the readers' attention. Aw, maybe that's it

I'll have to dig around McGraw's Bench to see the history of that...we have a few season ticket-holders that can hopefully enlighten us.

They wear the same green at the ACC Tournament ..it was a shock to my eyes the first time I saw it in person in 2014. It's pretty bad.... but not quite as bad as that lighter shade of blue

 

[Dillon77]

Not to be offensive Dillon, but what is with that awful shade of green you guys have been using, similar to the font you chose. Couldn't you use shamrock green or Emerald Isle green, or even blue and gold?

Dogged: I've been operating under the assumption that you were talking about the fans' T-shirts that season ticket holders have been wearing. But looking at another comment, I now see you could be talking about the green trim that the Irish have on their white uniforms (they've primarily been wearing blue dark uniforms, with gold and white trim). Or on the green uniforms that the Irish were filmed wearing during promo videos.

In any case, I raised the subject of fans' T-Shirts, which season ticket holders have been able to purchase for years, to fellow denizens of McGraw's Bench. Three of my colleagues got back to me and here is the gist of the matter as to what that color is and why it was chosen.

Apparently, a former marketing director once told a focus group those shirts were chosen to be (and stay) lime green since that was Muffet's favorite color. The same color was continued to be used because it was fairly unique. Interestingly, said marketing director also told the group that other schools had asked if ND would continue using that color because they were considering it, too, but ND told them it would continue using it. And the fans have continued to wear it, en masse, as you noticed.

Now, if you're referring to the green that some players are seen wearing on promo videos or the trim on the white, that looks like another shade entirely. Maybe "dark lime green?"

Don't quite know. ND is not quite like Oregon or Maryland with different game, different uniform and/or color, but there does seem to be a variation on themes.

 

[dogged1]

When Summitt was coaching, they served Creamsicles to the media at halftime in Thompson-Boling. No food represents that garish shade of orange better than a Creamsicle.

Did you have to say that? I like Creamsicles. Now it's ruined, just ruined.

 

[dogged1]

Dogged: I've been operating under assumption that you were talking about the fans' T-shirts that season ticket holders have been wearing. But looking at another comment, I now see you could be talking about the green trim that the Irish have on their white uniforms (they've primarily been wearing blue dark uniforms, with gold and white trim). Or on the green uniforms that the Irish were filmed wearing during promo videos.

In any case, I raised the fans T-Shirts, which season ticket holders have been able to purchase for years. Three of my colleagues from McGraw's Bench got back to me and here is the gist of the matter as to what that color is and why it was chosen.

Apparently, a former marketing director once told a focus group those shirts were lime green since that was Muffet's favorite color.The same color was continued to be used because it was fairly unique.Interestingly, said marketing director also told the group that other schools had asked if ND would continue using that color because they were considering it, too, but ND told them it would continue using it. And the fans have.

Now, if you're referring to the green that some players are seen wearing on promo videos or the trim on the white, that looks like another shade entirely. Maybe "dark lime green?"

Don't quite know. ND is not quite like Oregon or Maryland with different game, different uniform and/or color, but there does seem to be a variation on themes.

You were right the first time, I was thinking about the fans T shirts, a kind of fluorescent lime green. I'm Irish (don't hold that against me Uconn fans) and I shudder every time I see it. I hadn't noticed the green trim on the uniforms.

Before I became a Uconn alum and fan ND was my favorite team. Not so much now (with age comes wisdom), but I still like it when the green is only used on special occasions.

 

[Plebe]

A bit of a follow-up on Texas's abysmal performance:

After today's less-than-impressive win over Northwestern State, coach Aston said she "believes her team has hit a bit of a lull -- and that Ariel Atkins is an exception" (Northwestern State vs. Texas - Game Recap - December 13, 2017 - ESPN).

Aston said the downturn began about week ago in practice and manifested during an 82-75 loss at then-No. 11 Tennessee on Sunday. That condition won't work with No. 12 Florida State coming to Austin on Sunday and Big 12 competition set to begin later in December.

"We've got to figure out how to flip the switch again and have a little more urgency," Aston said.

Atkins believes these things tend to happen in December while players are studying for and taking final exams. Younger players seem to be affected most, Atkins said.

"We're a young team, and unfortunately we don't know how to bounce back when something kind of hits us," Atkins said.​

I'm not sure I would describe a team as "young" when they start 3 seniors and 2 juniors, but whatever.

The more significant information in the ESPN write-up is that Brooke McCarty missed the game with a "lingering left hip injury" and is listed as day-to-day. McCarty is one player who must be healthy and on the court if Texas is to have a successful season, IMO.

 

[HuskyNan]

Dogged: I've been operating under the assumption that you were talking about the fans' T-shirts that season ticket holders have been wearing. But looking at another comment, I now see you could be talking about the green trim that the Irish have on their white uniforms (they've primarily been wearing blue dark uniforms, with gold and white trim). Or on the green uniforms that the Irish were filmed wearing during promo videos.

Maybe he's referring to the adidas camo uniforms select teams were wearing a few years ago. I think ND wore them in Hartford once. adidas Unveils New Uniform For Notre Dame Basketball Teams

The woman below is a model, not an ND player.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I think they work the bright lime green in UConn's last Big East Championship game

(edit) nah they were trimmed in the green

 

[Bgillon]

You must not have watched the last 5 minutes of the UConn game as our subs looked and played awful. The minor exception might have been Batouly but other than that our Soph's and Freshman did not give a good showing...

I watched the entire game but I didn't think I needed to post an "except" sentence also. Hopefully all UCONN fans knew the gist of my thoughts.

 

[Txhoopsalot]

Shoot. You guys aren't tired of picking on my Longhorns yet? Ariel is playing beautifully -- so much so that I can easily let go of an end of game dumb foul. W/o Ariel, the game would not have been close.

 

[Plebe]

Shoot. You guys aren't tired of picking on my Longhorns yet? Ariel is playing beautifully -- so much so that I can easily let go of an end of game dumb foul. W/o Ariel, the game would not have been close.

I want to be clear: I'm a Texas fan, and Ariel Atkins is one of my favorite players in the country. She's playing the best I've ever seen her play. I hope she has a great season and becomes an All-American, and I believe she is quite capable of doing so. And you're absolutely right: She was the one player who really showed up for Texas and singlehandedly kept them in the game.

But, as someone who I'm sure holds herself to high expectations, Ariel would likely be the first to admit that there's not much point in singlehandedly keeping your team close if you're gonna just give away the game with a dumb foul in the final minute.

When a team plays as poorly as Texas played in an ESPN-featured game, fans and pundits are gonna weigh in. Call it the price of visibility. Or cause and effect.

 

[triaddukefan]

Shoot. You guys aren't tired of picking on my Longhorns yet? Ariel is playing beautifully -- so much so that I can easily let go of an end of game dumb foul. W/o Ariel, the game would not have been close.

Nope, not yet. So just sit back and enjoy the ride as much as possible