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SL Xpress
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Recruiting - 2020
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Everything posted by SL Xpress
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Right there with you.
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Nebraska hates us with a passion that's a little startling if you're not aware of it. It's not Aggie obsession, because that's a whole different level than anything else in college rivalries. But it's really really high. It's not volleyball specific, either, although that's where most of it gets centered. Wisconsin is their arch rival in the Big 10 and they're hoping the Badgers drill us a new one later today. It's passed down generationally, too. Also, to remind everyone, while they don't hate A&M, they sure hate Trev Alberts, who left them high and dry, threw shade at them as an athletic department as he was leaving, and now A&M is in the college football playoffs, while Nebraska has only recently elevated themselves above moribund mediocrity. It's going to hurt worse than usual if A&M wins.
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He's basically the same age as Sean Miller. Both born in 1968. He's going to at least coach a few years in the new building, if not longer. I'd say 10 years minimum. More depending on his makeup.
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I really like Morrison. He always projects a lot of respect for the Texas program in ways that feel genuine, when some other coaches make it seem like they're just using coach speak.
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It's funny. I remember being terrified as Nebraska crushed us and everyone else by signing practically the entire national team several years ago. We couldn't win any of our recruiting battles against them. That's when we brought in Byrd, Helmers, Tomkinson. Our first choices were taken before the process even really started. Then portal/NIL/Covid year happened and we were able to build an all star team while Nebraska was stuck with mostly high school players. They were crushed in the championship by the Texas freight train in 2023, lost to Penn State in a 5 set nailbiter in 2024, and now they're back badder than ever this year. And next year they'll be loaded for bear as well. But it all started with recruiting dominance. That's the thing about this sport. You have to win your recruiting battles, either for high school players or the portal. Preferably both. Stanford is a shadow of their previous glory because they're not getting the top 5 talent any more, and they can't accept transfers. You don't have a legitimate shot at the championship if you're anywhere outside the top 3 seed line, and really the #1 seeds have such a competitive advantage, you're sledding uphill even as a #2 or #3 a la Texas in 2023. It's possible, obviously, but man is it difficult. The truth is that was an underachieving team early in the season that finally found their rhythm. Skinner became peak Skinner, and the serving was out of this world. This is not a sport to be big fans of the underdog, because your hopes and dreams will be crushed. It is a sport where if someone is willing to spend some extra money - a la SMU - it's still at a point where the numbers aren't insane. I believe Kennedy Martin made about $300k this year at Penn State, and that was by far the most of anyone. Nebraska's entire roster is around $1m. That's not including legitimate commercial local endorsements, which they get a bunch. I don't know what Texas is at. Somewhere a little less. Texas players get some good local endorsement opportunities as well, which is a big part of what Elliott tries to sell. But you got to get the premium players. Get a top seed. And then see where it goes. Nebraska just went on a tear there for a couple of years. It's not like they're doing poorly now in recruiting, but they're not lapping the field any more. Texas has won some battles. Most famously Ames, but Harvey, Spears, Anderson all were top Nebraska targets. They just lost the Puerto Rican phenom Champions to Wisconsin in a rare recruiting defeat to the Badgers. After next year their talent level should be a little closer to the field. Still absurd, but not over the top better than everyone else. The good thing is they lost the last two years, so their dominance is already constrained no matter how well they do this year and next. I don't know. Maybe they lose this year, too. I just don't see it.
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Yeah, but I consider Babcock extra.
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I feel like Nebraska is going to destroy everyone. Babcock is special, though. We'll see.
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It would help Stafford with her NPOY campaign if Pitt were to lose this match. That said, I do not believe they're going to lose this match. I'm assuming Kentucky's two head to head wins will help Hudson over Stafford if (when) Texas wins tomorrow. Just like it did for conference awards. Also, it's an elimination contest for Stafford/Colyer. I truly feel like we can beat Kentucky. Just need to get there. No "it's so hard to beat a good team 3 times" bullshit. I just think we can beat them. I feel like we're all living in Nebraska's world this volleyball season.
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Texas/Wisconsin is probably the biggest premier matchup you could draw up in terms of television ratings that doesn't involve Nebraska. And Nebraska would dwarf that matchup in numbers even if the roles were reversed and Texas/Wisconsin was on ABC with Nebraska on ESPN. The television ratings they pull are astronomical. I believe every person living in Nebraska, everyone who has ever lived in Nebraska, and every person whose parents or grandparents went to Nebraska shifted their identity at some point from the moribund football program to volleyball. Which still only equals about a million people, but they all turn on the TV set when the Cornhuskers play. It appears it's pretty certain we're playing them next year. I'm curious what the venue ends up being.
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They're a complete team. About the only weakness is that their right side isn't dominant. But they have the best middle blocking, most diverse attack, two good to great pins, a really good back row defense, an outstanding setter, and they're one of the best serving teams in the country.
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Yeah, I wasn't arguing about the call. My bad I didn't make that clear. I was just clarifying the rule change.
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Or when Nebraska visited Rec Hall in Happy Valley. Frankly, this is how Nebraska has treated almost everyone. They look so much better than everyone else. Morrison is going to have to bring out a measuring tape and help the Aggie players figure out the dimensions of the court and the height of the net.
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Nebraska is 88-0-1 against Kansas volleyball. The Jayhawks have literally never beaten them. 25-12, 25-11. The Cornhuskers are cornholing KUs.
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The only time a double contact costs a point is if it's on the contact that sends it over the net. The idea being there's no advantage if the double contact is on the first or second hit on the attacking team's side of the net.
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I don't know exactly how to compare, but I think it would be worse to have a family member on a team that the fan base thinks isn't performing up to their standard. I'll always remember in the 90s on the GoBig12 board John Mackovic's son posted regularly. He attended UT of course, so there was an affiliation beyond his Dad being the head coach, but obviously that's where his loyalties were. I told him pretty early on I wasn't sure that was the best place for him to participate. When things got ugly and he was constantly trying to defend his Dad, it was extraordinarily awkward. But yeah, I wouldn't want to read about all the sexual activities an anonymous person would like to carry out with a family member. Especially a daughter. Nieces, too. On some level, I don't even like them having boyfriends. I'm constantly wondering at what point am I going to have to murder them for not treating my daughter/niece right.
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Second to last time in Gregory, assuming we beat Indiana. I'll miss her as much as any player we've had in volleyball. Among any player we've had at UT. She's been such a joy. I don't know if everyone saw the senior day recordings Texas posted, but Emma's dad couldn't have been more complimentary and more grateful for the experience his daughter had. You could just clip his comments and send it to the parents of every recruit and we might not miss on another recruiting battle. Not that we miss on all that many as it is.
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I said someone who knows something about volleyball. Kidding! Kidding!
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Press conference prior to the Indiana match. I have to say other than Elliott putting the NCAA on blast for their decisions regarding the replay cameras and the news that there's a soft expectation for 2029 for the new volleyball arena, this was an awful press conference. Thomas Jones, bless his heart, asked every question. No one there knew anything about the Indiana team. Torrey Stafford wasn't asked a question, really. You'd never know she's a leading candidate for National Player of the Year based on that press conference. The media coverage this program receives is such a disappointment. Someday I hope we get someone who actually knows something about volleyball who regularly covers the team. Texas Volleyball NCAA Regional Semifinal Press Conference | Dec. 11, 2025
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I don't think the SEC was particularly impressive outside of the top 3 teams. In some ways it was downright awful. But I'm so glad we're not in the Big 12 any more. ASU was their flag bearer, and they might as well have been playing in a mid major conference. Fitting they lost to Creighton - who is a solid team, for sure. That match against Kentucky in the SEC championship game might have been the best volleyball match I've seen all year. I know we lost, but we were challenged, and I feel like we came out better for it. Same with Kentucky.
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To me it's a don't hate the playa, hate the game. We're like Chik-fil-a. We didn't invent the portal process. We invented winning national championships with it.
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Could this be the craziest coaching carousel of all time?
SL Xpress replied to GreenspointTexas's topic in Football
I know it's already been said, but it's worth repeating. Yes, this is the craziest coaching carousel of all time. -
What's crazy to me is how high and mighty Nebraska fans get about not relying on the portal. Not only do they have Landfair, who they swooped in at the last minute to outbid Wisconsin, but they also have Baylor's Sczech, who they brought in to be a potential starter on the right side but is a luxury coming off the bench for the Cornhuskers. Also, like Texas, Nebraska tends to have their first pick among high school players, so they don't have to rely on the portal the way programs like SMU and ASU do. I've posted it before, but Texas is about to have a former player be a 1st team All American for the fourth year in a row. Two years with Fields, one year with Parra, and now Carlson. The truth is every top program other than Stanford relies on the portal to some degree. You'd be idiotic in running a program if you didn't.
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I think it's more than that. One of the best documentaries on any subject I've ever watched is Heart of the Game (2005). It follows the single season of an elite high school girls basketball program and all their highs and lows. I can't recommend it enough, regardless of your interest in women's basketball. It's just great storytelling. In there, the head coach talks about how women are naturally averse to physical contact. Boys grow up naturally roughhousing. They thrive on physical contact for the most part. But for girls it's not generally in their nature. So the first practices he literally just has them back to back, physically contacting each other to get more accustomed to it. I think that's part of the huge draw for volleyball over other team sports for women. It still demands a high degree of physicality. The same aspects that are demanded of an elite basketball player are demanded in volleyball. Height. Ability to jump. Twitchiness. The ability to move quickly across the floor. There's plenty of competitiveness. But there's not the constant need for physical contact that basketball demands. No one says this, but when these young girls play both sports and so often naturally gravitate towards volleyball as the sport they prefer, it's my opinion this is a lot of what's going on. I also feel like indoor volleyball tends to attract a higher percentage of girls more in touch with their femininity, whereas sports like basketball and softball (especially mashers) seem to attract more women who are comfortable with more masculine traits. But that's only an opinion. It also wouldn't be clear how much of that is wiring, and how much is socialization, just like all human traits. The other astounding thing to me is how strong the gay community is in volleyball. I never would have even thought about it except for my interactions on volleytalk. I don't know this for a fact, but it seems obvious to me men's volleyball is more open to the community than say, football or basketball are. All of this can get kind of touchy in ways I don't intend for it to. They're just my observations. Doesn't mean they're correct.
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It's HenryJames. Probably the most clever poster on this entire message board. You guys are acting like he didn't know exactly what he posted.
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When I think of Indiana, I think of their emphasis on aggressive serving. and the entirely unsuccessful campaign a bunch of posters on volleytalk mounted to get Steve Aird fired for being abusive to his players (allegedly). They don't even have a traditional libero, after losing Gary to Texas. Their back row defense is incredibly sus, although they do pretty well in blocks per set at 2.45. The #2 v #3 matches should be compelling. That's what I'm most excited about. I seriously doubt we see any upsets of #1 seeds in this round. Next round, sure. There's just such a big gap between about the 10th seed to the 12 through 16 spots (well, USC is knocked out, so substitute Cal Poly in there).
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