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SL Xpress

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Everything posted by SL Xpress

  1. This doesn't feel like sharing. This feels like Swaim passing the ball out and never seeing it come back in. It's the first game. Not really complaining. He's just really good and he needs the opportunity to be a difference maker. Especially when this roster lacks them.
  2. With Smart and Terry 9 of the last 10 years it feels like a luxury. Penders' teams gave off the same vibe, too. It's nice to have a real coach in charge, regardless of what ends up transpiring. Other than being arrested for domestic violence. Almost regardless.
  3. It's like we're freezing Swaim out. He gives up the ball and it never goes back to him. His teammates aren't even looking for him. Of course, Pope hit a couple of nice 3s, so I'm happy about that. But we need to make sure we're giving the ball to our best player consistently.
  4. If I was sent to prison and my cellmate sodomized me, knowing it was probably going to happen wouldn't make it feel any better.
  5. Another phantom foul call in favor of Duke with no replay.
  6. I find myself thinking Swaim needs to be touching the ball every possession. At some point this season he's going to take over this team. He's clearly a much better player than anyone else.
  7. That was highly entertaining. Bad pass, but thank you.
  8. They're going to talk more about Kansas tonight than they do about Texas.
  9. 2024 .749 2023 .757 2022 .748 2021 .746 2019 .685 2018 .697 2017 .665 I'd say 75% free throw shooting as a team is pretty good.
  10. Yes. I agree. That was my first impression. My first impression was wrong.
  11. Anyone hear the story about Sean Miller as a free throw shooter?
  12. Last possession was a waste. But we're up at half. I'm going to love how they talk about all the things Duke did so well in the first half if the Blue Devils go in to the locker room down by one.
  13. I love Vokietaitas's physicality. I see a big skinny white kid, I get worries about how physical they're going to be. No worries with that kid. I see a future hated Texas player in our opponents' future. I understand there's some polish needed, but easier to coach polish than toughness. You either have it or you don't.
  14. It's ridiculous. We're the Washington Generals here.
  15. They did not want to call it.
  16. Forgetaboutit Jake. It's Duke.
  17. This isn't my first Duke basketball game I've ever watched, but it's still different when it's your team playing the foil for the game long recruiting pitch for the Blue Devils.
  18. No moral victories. For me at least. Whatever we look like, I hope we get a whole lot better.
  19. I just watched House of Dynamite. How big of an impact would you say your job potentially has?
  20. Well, they shouldn't have been. Nebraska has always looked like the best team in the country. Certainly since conference play started. The team has issues with middle blocking production, serving weak, and the setting is often sus. But we have excellent pin production from both OHes and the opposite. Both Stafford and Spears are back row options. Halter and Gary are an elite defensive duo when they're on, which is most of the time. Maybe it's youth. Mostly I think it's just a flawed team. I enjoy watching them anyway. It's been a fun year.
  21. This match is a perfect example of what I mean about a focus on serving errors focusing too much on the wrong thing. 5 service errors in a 3 set sweep. The bigger problem is they couldn't score when they needed to from the service line. In set two they had 3 separate set points that Kentucky killed with first ball side outs. In set 3 they did the same sort of thing alternating with Kentucky for late points. Constantly they attacked Deleye with the serve, and constantly she was dotting the setter with 3 option attacks. At one point in the 2nd set before the 10-1 run, Kentucky was converting sideouts at an 81.5% rate. Without any notable service errors. As it was, Kentucky ended with a 70% sideout. There are other issues with this team, but against Elite Eight and beyond type opponents, you simply must be able to consistently get the other team out of system. This Texas team has a lot of weak service rotations that put no pressure on the opponent. Really Halter and Stafford are the only consistent serving threats on the team. The announcer, Holly McPeak, kept calling for Texas to serve with more pace, but we haven't served with pace all year. We don't put servers at the line who can serve with pace. And then when we do put Harvey or Bunton back there for serving, they're terrible on defense. They look like fish out of water. Compare that with Kentucky. Their two pins, their setter, their libero and their DS all serve effectively. In the first set they were eating Halter up way worse than we were against Deleye, their OH. That's the game of volleyball right there. Whatever other issues we have, elite teams have to be able to consistently get their opponent out of system on the serve. Otherwise at the highest levels they're going to make you pay. And all you have to do to win the set is be the eensiest more effective from the service line than your opponent, then you win the set. Obviously there's way more to it than that, but that's the basic fundamental formula.
  22. Who was worrying about not being #1? Nebraska has been a juggernaut. On paper we don't come close to matching up. Nobody does. Good thing the matches aren't played on paper. This is the biggest match of the season. #2 versus #3. With Florida falling off, and A&M not quite there yet, these are the power daddies of the SEC. Texas won the head to head last year, but Kentucky won the conference. They have a freshman setter from Katy, TX, the "best left pin duo in the country" (we'll see about that), a 6'6 tree in the middle, and some great back court defense. They're one of the best serve receive teams in the country. Texas has their work cut out for them today. I'd love to come away with the victory in Gregory. Very much like what we'd see in a regional final/Elite Eight type match.
  23. I'm approaching this season much like I did Chris Beard year one. We had a competitive team most of the year, but the offense was like watching paint dry at times. But that wasn't the point. Beard wanted to win by winning the turnover battle, hitting a higher percentage of shots, and playing really tough half court defense. Year one was about creating that mentality, and then building on it in year two. Same thing here, except Miller's identity is more about playing with tempo, hitting open looks, especially 3s, and playing good enough on the defensive end. He wouldn't say it like that, but that's my view of him compared to guys like Barnes and Beard. I hope we make it to the tournament, but I don't need that as much as I need to see the team show improvement over the course of the year, and then Miller show he can upgrade the roster in different ways from year 1 to year 2. Not saying we'll have an Elite Eight type team next year, but I hope we'll be competing to get to the 2nd weekend. Which is still ambitious. I'm also hoping he can be effective at promoting the program, because we need that type of guy at Texas. Maybe we shouldn't, but we do. Funny when it was announced Texas was moving from the Big 12 to the SEC, I thought we'd be downgrading conferences in basketball. Nope. It's going to be as much of a grind as the Big 12 used to be. More high scoring offenses, though. One thing I get tired of, is hearing coaches say they're going to run it more, but they don't. That's not going to be a concern with Miller. He's going to want to play more uptempo than most coaches out there.
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