Non-Lady Vol Basketball News 2024-25

[Max Roguespierre]

From the box score, it looks like Dorka Juhasz did not play tonight.

UConn shouldn't need Juhasz against a team with zero conference wins. Xavier is dreadful. For the Huskies to win by single digits over a team that bad is a clear sign that all is not well with Auriemma's team.

 

[River67]

 

[Amb3096]

He does this trick all the time. We all know damn well that they are gonna come out guns a blazing as soon as a "big name" team is in front of them. It's telling that they've looked like absolute garbage in the last two months....except against Tennessee and SC. It's almost like they're saving themselves...

 

[th2421]

 

[ncteacher88]

From the box score, it looks like Dorka Juhasz did not play tonight.

She turned an ankle the previous game and missed much of that one. Was not available today and was wearing a boot.

 

[Max Roguespierre]

Typical Schaefer. Great coach but his man management style is very last century. Finger pointing and public shaming this late in the season? Guess it could work... or not. I suspect that Texas will continue to lose talent to transfer-related attrition.

 

[Amb3096]

Typical Schaefer. Great coach but his man management style is very last century. Finger pointing and public shaming this late in the season? Guess it could work... or not. I suspect that Texas will continue to lose talent to transfer-related attrition.

It looks like Rori Harmon and Taylor Jones had plenty to say about their teammates. If they are speaking out publicly, then you know they gotta be pissed at their teammates. DeYonna Gaston in particular is like a box of chocolates: night after night, you have no idea what you're going to get from her.

My guess is that there are players who aren't cut out for a no bullsh*t coach (Vic and others), and the team is better off if they move on.

 

[Max Roguespierre]

It looks like Rori Harmon and Taylor Jones had plenty to say about their teammates. If they are speaking out publicly, then you know they gotta be pissed at their teammates. DeYonna Gaston in particular is like a box of chocolates: night after night, you have no idea what you're going to get from her.

My guess is that there are players who aren't cut out for a no bullsh*t coach (Vic and others), and the team is better off if they move on.

Gaston was injured early in the second half but came back even though she played the rest of the game with a limp. Gaston is normally the backup to Aaliyah Moore. Once Moore went down for the season Gaston stepped up. She is tied for second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points/game, is leading the team with 5.7 rebounds/game and is shooting 53.7% from the field. If you are going to pick on a player for not pulling her weight you might want to select a better target.

As I said, Schaefer is a fine coach with an excellent record. But his tough love style is out of date and doesn't play well in the age of player empowerment. With increased parity and lots of competitive programs in the women's game why would players (with choices) stay at Texas to be coached by a misanthropic dinosaur who has no qualms about throwing them under the proverbial bus?

 

[glv98]

Typical Schaefer. Great coach but his man management style is very last century. Finger pointing and public shaming this late in the season? Guess it could work... or not. I suspect that Texas will continue to lose talent to transfer-related attrition.

Sheesh, what an unholy mess. C'mon Vic! I don't see how public shaming helps at all. Do we need any of the shamed players who may be headed for the portal? Any speedy guards there?

Speaking of holy, RIckea Jackson saying a silent prayer of thanks that she didn't choose Texas and her old coach last spring.

 

[Rooster1]

That cancelled tournament was unfortunate for several teams and players. As a Maryland supporter, I felt cheated. The Terrapins were by no means favorites, having lost early in the season to South Carolina and NC State. But by tournament time Maryland was on a 17 game win streak having won the B1G and B1G Tournament with ease. That team had size, experience and depth with two extremely high ceiling freshmen starting to play major minutes. The Terps were expected to be the final 1 seed. I don't know how well they would have done against Oregon or in a rematch with South Carolina but they were playing extremely well. That was Maryland's best team since the one that got to the Final Four in 2015.

It was SC’s best team in awhile also, they were 32-1 and unanimous #1. Chances were pretty good for them to win the tourney.

 

[LV renaissance]

I have a habit of checking attendance of sports that I like, especially women's college basketball given that I have always wanted it to become more popular. I have noticed a trend that has seemed to be peaking this year. For years, only one or two schools would average near or above 10,000 fans (until recently typically the LVs were one of them) and a few more might draw that kind of crowd for a game or two. Now, several teams this year have drawn 10,000 plus crowds and/or sellout crowds including several all-time record crowds: Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana, Purdue (sellout of 14000+ for Indiana game despite being mediocre), South Carolina, Lady Vols, LSU, Texas, Arizona (just 132 people short for Stanford game), NC State (small arena but has had sellouts), Duke, Ole Miss (under 10,000 but all- time record crowd), Notre Dame, UCONN (including a sellout in Hartford), Maryland (sorry to rain on your parade Iowa coach Bluder ), Ohio State (ok, 45 short of 10,000 for Iowa game), and Utah (9611 for Stanford game for a team that historically draws horribly). As you can see, big time women's basketball draws well across many schools and all major conferences. This truly is a great development.

 

[Rooster1]

I have a habit of checking attendance of sports that I like, especially women's college basketball given that I have always wanted it to become more popular. I have noticed a trend that has seemed to be peaking this year. For years, only one or two schools would average near or above 10,000 fans (until recently typically the LVs were one of them) and a few more might draw that kind of crowd for a game or two. Now, several teams this year have drawn 10,000 plus crowds and/or sellout crowds including several all-time record crowds: Iowa, Iowa State, Indiana, Purdue (sellout of 14000+ for Indiana game despite being mediocre), South Carolina, Lady Vols, LSU, Texas, Arizona (just 132 people short for Stanford game), NC State (small arena but has had sellouts), Duke, Ole Miss (under 10,000 but all- time record crowd), Notre Dame, UCONN (including a sellout in Hartford), Maryland (sorry to rain on your parade Iowa coach Bluder ), Ohio State (ok, 45 short of 10,000 for Iowa game), and Utah (9611 for Stanford game for a team that historically draws horribly). As you can see, big time women's basketball draws well across many schools and all major conferences. This truly is a great development.

Here here…

 

[Amb3096]

Gaston was injured early in the second half but came back even though she played the rest of the game with a limp. Gaston is normally the backup to Aaliyah Moore. Once Moore went down for the season Gaston stepped up. She is tied for second on the team in scoring at 12.2 points/game, is leading the team with 5.7 rebounds/game and is shooting 53.7% from the field. If you are going to pick on a player for not pulling her weight you might want to select a better target.

As I said, Schaefer is a fine coach with an excellent record. But his tough love style is out of date and doesn't play well in the age of player empowerment. With increased parity and lots of competitive programs in the women's game why would players (with choices) stay at Texas to be coached by a misanthropic dinosaur who has no qualms about throwing them under the proverbial bus?

Gaston has been a starter all season. She played alongside Moore in the starting lineup. Khadija Faye is the one who replaced Moore when she was injured. Didn't realize Gaston was playing injured last night. But I stand by my previous statement that she has been inconsistent this year in spite of being one of their leading scorers. She's had a lot of quiet games, but also a lot of big scoring games. With her size and skillset, she should be a scoring threat, especially since Faye is not.

Dawn Staley is a perfect example of a coach laying down the law for her team, and the players can take it or leave it. Not sure I agree with this concept of player empowerment. If players want to be the ones calling the shots, they can find a coach desperate enough to take them. The NBA (and now the WNBA) is pretty much unwatchable because of this. Vic's (or Dawn's...Kim's...Geno's...) style of coaching will be more successful than a coach that lets the players walk all over them...unless they are lucky to have a roster of All-American players that can coach themselves to a high level.

 

[Max Roguespierre]

Gaston has been a starter all season. She played alongside Moore in the starting lineup. Khadija Faye is the one who replaced Moore when she was injured. Didn't realize Gaston was playing injured last night. But I stand by my previous statement that she has been inconsistent this year in spite of being one of their leading scorers. She's had a lot of quiet games, but also a lot of big scoring games. With her size and skillset, she should be a scoring threat, especially since Faye is not.

Dawn Staley is a perfect example of a coach laying down the law for her team, and the players can take it or leave it. Not sure I agree with this concept of player empowerment. If players want to be the ones calling the shots, they can find a coach desperate enough to take them. The NBA (and now the WNBA) is pretty much unwatchable because of this. Vic's (or Dawn's...Kim's...Geno's...) style of coaching will be more successful than a coach that lets the players walk all over them...unless they are lucky to have a roster of All-American players that can coach themselves to a high level.

You are right, Gaston appears to have started every game (except for a 3 game stretch early in the season) for the Longhorns. While her game-to-game production is somewhat inconsistent it is up significantly from her first two seasons in every important category except free throw shooting. At 6'2" she is also undersized in the post. I think it's safe to say that she has overdelivered from whatever expectations Texas had of her going into the season.

As far as coaches and man management, Dawn Staley challenges her players but she does not publicly throw them under the bus. NIL and relaxed transfer rules have accelerated player movement and rapidly increased parity. Overt tyrannical coaching styles are unlikely to play as well as they did when players weren't looking to build their own brands and had fewer options for national prominence. Staley and Mulkey definitely understand the trends and have adjusted to it and are thriving. Notice for example how Mulkey has not publicly reined in Reese's showboating or self-promotion. And Flau'jae Johnson didn't have to choose between rapping and basketball. Auriemma also understands how the landscape is shifting and, while he likes to bemoan the changes, his approach has and continues to evolve. I am certain that Schaefer understands that his old style coaching and habit of spreading blame are unlikely to thrive in this new environment. Whether he can move with the times remains to be seen.

 

[lvocd]

He does this trick all the time. We all know damn well that they are gonna come out guns a blazing as soon as a "big name" team is in front of them. It's telling that they've looked like absolute garbage in the last two months....except against Tennessee and SC. It's almost like they're saving themselves...

It's shocking how dumb his players must be to still be falling for that junior-high-level reverse-psychology tactic after he's used it for decades. lol

 

[Oldman70]

Look for Geno’s lastest post game on Twitter, he was putting players under the bus.

 

[glv98]

Not sure I agree with this concept of player empowerment. If players want to be the ones calling the shots, they can find a coach desperate enough to take them.

Wait, do we know that's what's going on at Texas? The players felt entitled to phone it in for a game that would have secured the league championship? BC Vic's an old fashioned tuff guy?

For me where it crosses the line is publically and player specifically calling out effort. Say my shot is lousy, say I'm slow and have bad breath, but don't say I'm dogging it out there and intentionally letting my teammates down. If that is the case, a much deeper internal dive into the situation would be alot more constructive. They didn't get here overnight.

It's interesting to me that RJ loved playing for Vic, yet had a harder time adjusting to Kellie. Maybe everything that happened in between.

 

[chuckiepoo]

It's shocking how dumb his players must be to still be falling for that junior-high-level reverse-psychology tactic after he's used it for decades. lol

Steady as she goes…

 

[Amb3096]

It's shocking how dumb his players must be to still be falling for that junior-high-level reverse-psychology tactic after he's used it for decades. lol

If it gets results, though...

 

[lvocd]

If it gets results, though...

True. And after I posted that I remembered that several of them aren't American citizens and are not as likely to be aware that he's pulled this same obvious stunt dozens of times over many years. They may have only heard this spiel two or three times and actually be what he himself said years ago about his players: eager to please the male figure in charge. I remember him reducing his players to just girls who want to please him many years ago, and it made a lasting impression. Ugh.

 

[Amb3096]

Wait, do we know that's what's going on at Texas? The players felt entitled to phone it in for a game that would have secured the league championship? BC Vic's an old fashioned tuff guy?

For me where it crosses the line is publically and player specifically calling out effort. Say my shot is lousy, say I'm slow and have bad breath, but don't say I'm dogging it out there and intentionally letting my teammates down. If that is the case, a much deeper internal dive into the situation would be alot more constructive. They didn't get here overnight.

It's interesting to me that RJ loved playing for Vic, yet had a harder time adjusting to Kellie. Maybe everything that happened in between.

I don't know if anything is going on at Texas. Rori Harmon and Taylor Jones were also the one who called out their teammates. Vic credited them and Shaylee Gonzales for being ready to play.

Rickea also had her issues with Vic. She was suspended at least 1x her freshman year, and was also pulled out of the starting lineup on more than one occasion. But the thing him and Kellie have in common is that they were the two coaches getting most out of her. She was out of position playing for Novak and the entire team was a hot mess under McCray.

 

[Amb3096]

True. And after I posted that I remembered that several of them aren't American citizens and are not as likely to be aware that he's pulled this same obvious stunt dozens of times over many years. They may have only heard this spiel two or three times and actually be what he himself said years ago about his players: eager to please the male figure in charge. I remember him reducing his players to just girls who want to please him many years ago, and it made a lasting impression. Ugh.

I know we're supposed to hate Geno, but I have yet to see one of his players call him out. They all speak highly of him. And he's coached some outstanding individuals over the course of his career. Oh, and Taurasi

 

[Ladyvolfan45]

I’m all for holding your own teammates accountable but doing so in front of the media going after her teammates is a bad look. That needs to be handled behind closed doors… That can’t be a healthy team environment

While Harmon is great, she got put in her place many many times last night…. Sometimes it’s best to stay quiet. I would characterize her D lazy at times vs Andrews

 

[lvocd]

I know we're supposed to hate Geno, but I have yet to see one of his players call him out. They all speak highly of him. And he's coached some outstanding individuals over the course of his career. Oh, and Taurasi

Oh, I am fully aware of that. His players love him, no doubt. And he may very well have evolved in the last 20 years to be less of a misogynist with a low opinion of the general emotional abilities of young women than he once was. I hope so.

 

[djtee]

Look for Geno’s lastest post game on Twitter, he was putting players under the bus.

Well he can't throw the bench players under the bus because they don`t play ?