Improvement needed

[champion110]

It seems that we have been right on the verge of being a great bball team this year. No blow outs and only one game that we were out of (until we made a great run at the end of the game).

Dawg80 is right about playing for the full 40 minutes. We play in streaks and that doesn't cut it against a better WAC this year. All but 2 teams in the WAC have the ability to come back even if they are down by 20 to us. FFA is right about turnovers. That is something that we CAN learn, though, and need to really practice against aggressive press - foul and hit in practice, because that is what happened last night.

Intesity is what Spoon coaches and it works. We are in much better shape than we were at this time last year - Of Course! However, a turnaround doesn't happen in the flash of an eye or a half season. Spoon and Park know what they are doing, but the players have to step up.

Johnson stepped up last night and, if you watched, Dowdell stepped up as well (she was hacked, held, and fouled all night long - anyone can shut down a strong player when they do that - yet she still got her double-double).

The key is for our guards to be real threats from the outside. Zone works on us, because other teams know that we are going inside first. They dare us to take those outside shots. Got to hit those shots.

I hope that we have/will recruit a pure shooter on the outside. We need that consistency.

Ross ate our lunch, of course Pringle guarding her was called for every foul possible - 3 of them were NOT possible fouls.

The end has not happened and I know that some are so angry that they are saying it has. We are 2 games behind Fresno. We play them at Tech and that could bring us within one game of them, if we win out. Fresno will falter down the stretch on an away game in addition to, hopefully, ours.

Besides, the ONLY thing that matters is the WAC tournament. The WAC regular season champ gets a nice trophy that means nothing. We have to concentrate on the next game - one game at a time. Keep fighting and hope that Spoon and Park can get this team developed into a well oiled machine.

We won't see a 1990's Tech team for a while, so those expecting that are delusional. We have a long way to go. However, getting back the the NCAA's is not beyond our reach. It will take giving it all we have and leaving it all on the floor. We didn't do that last night or at several other games this year (MState, USU, and even some of the wins that we let the other team get back in the game).

Improve outside shooting and intensity - those are the goals. Spoon can only do so much. The players have to step up and do it now. They have the tools to win the WAC and WAC tournament. Reel off a good win streak until the tournament and we get a good seed.

I am still angry about the refs last night. I will repeat that it was not only the fouls called, but mostly the fouls NOT called. Dowdell should be pissed as Hell this morning and I hope she uses that for the rest of the season. If I had been her last night, I would have recieved a technical more than once due to the no-calls.

However, we need to use that anger and go forward. Take no one for granted and fight till that final buzzer sounds. No let up! I predict that we defeat Fresno at Tech and don't lose another WAC game this year.

Our girls will use this and go forward with a chip on their shoulders. The Beast will be unleashed!

[dawg80]

Maybe getting a collective chip on their shoulders will help motivate this team. I know Spoon is intense and has tried to instill that into the players. But, obviously, the players have not adopted it to its fullest....yet.

I'm sure it is doubly....triplely.....fustrating for Spoon. I know it's hard for her to relate to players operating at 90% or something. She was an all-out, 110% type player. A real Pete Rose!

No doubt...Spoon will recruit players that share her intensity.

Love Spoon! and Love dem Techsters!

[BS1994TECH]

I disagree this team is not talented enough to turn the chip on their shoulder to wins.

[longtimetechsterfan]

spoon sounds really frustrated with this team even in wins. they certainly don't have the intangibles that they had the last 11 games of last season. our guard play is killing us and so is our defense. they're just hard to watch. they play too frenetic. it's like our players (except for dowdell and johnson most nights) are in over their heads.

[champion110]

I disagree this team is not talented enough to turn the chip on their shoulder to wins.

I certainly think they are talented enough. Just need more intensity. Plus, we need refs that will call something when Dowdell is getting mugged on every play.

[cranberry]

I just don't get it......we've got "players of the year" and "players of the state" here at Tech and yet we play like rec ball sometimes. The turnovers are most troubling, then the defense is just plain weak. I've been saying for awhile that Tech needs shooters, but none have surfaced. That's the only way the inside will be opened up. Not sure if Long recruited any, but the ones here now are not producing. Hopefully (and surely) Spoon will rectify the situation. Hang in there, Techster fans!!

[Russdawg]

I just don't get it......we've got "players of the year" and "players of the state" here at Tech and yet we play like rec ball sometimes. The turnovers are most troubling, then the defense is just plain weak. I've been saying for awhile that Tech needs shooters, but none have surfaced. That's the only way the inside will be opened up. Not sure if Long recruited any, but the ones here now are not producing. Hopefully (and surely) Spoon will rectify the situation. Hang in there, Techster fans!!

You read my mind on a lot of this, Cranberry.

Hard to understand our lack of consistency this year. We've got athletes and talent, we've got outstanding, experienced coaches (especially Spoon and Park), but the fire and desire I love in the Techster program has been spotty. It's got to be so hard on Spoon.

We've certainly improved. As a fan I've gone from thinking when driving to the games "God don't let us lose another" to honestly expecting us to win them all at home. We've gone from getting embarrassed and killed by Fresno to the point we should beat them. But we're also showing a lot of the turnovers and inconsistent defense especially. Give me this year's team with Spoon's mentality and we'd have lost maybe one, at Waco. This mentality can be enhanced and inspired by our coaches, but the players have to bring it, too.

I'm hanging in strong as ever, not missing any home games, and know we got it in us to roll through the conference tournament and into the NCAA's.

[Iceman]

Maybe I'm delusional but, I thought we would dominate the WAC this year.

[champion110]

Maybe I'm delusional but, I thought we would dominate the WAC this year.

Most of us did...... Hopefully, we will respond and start playing our game now. It is our only hope.

Some credit does go to the WAC, though. We should be rolling, but it is a much improved conference. The numbers show it in OOC. We still should be rolling.

[ESPNGuy]

It seems that we have been right on the verge of being a great bball team this year. No blow outs and only one game that we were out of (until we made a great run at the end of the game).

Dawg80 is right about playing for the full 40 minutes. We play in streaks and that doesn't cut it against a better WAC this year. All but 2 teams in the WAC have the ability to come back even if they are down by 20 to us. FFA is right about turnovers. That is something that we CAN learn, though, and need to really practice against aggressive press - foul and hit in practice, because that is what happened last night.

Intesity is what Spoon coaches and it works. We are in much better shape than we were at this time last year - Of Course! However, a turnaround doesn't happen in the flash of an eye or a half season. Spoon and Park know what they are doing, but the players have to step up.

Johnson stepped up last night and, if you watched, Dowdell stepped up as well (she was hacked, held, and fouled all night long - anyone can shut down a strong player when they do that - yet she still got her double-double).

The key is for our guards to be real threats from the outside. Zone works on us, because other teams know that we are going inside first. They dare us to take those outside shots. Got to hit those shots.

I hope that we have/will recruit a pure shooter on the outside. We need that consistency.

Ross ate our lunch, of course Pringle guarding her was called for every foul possible - 3 of them were NOT possible fouls.

The end has not happened and I know that some are so angry that they are saying it has. We are 2 games behind Fresno. We play them at Tech and that could bring us within one game of them, if we win out. Fresno will falter down the stretch on an away game in addition to, hopefully, ours.

Besides, the ONLY thing that matters is the WAC tournament. The WAC regular season champ gets a nice trophy that means nothing. We have to concentrate on the next game - one game at a time. Keep fighting and hope that Spoon and Park can get this team developed into a well oiled machine.

We won't see a 1990's Tech team for a while, so those expecting that are delusional. We have a long way to go. However, getting back the the NCAA's is not beyond our reach. It will take giving it all we have and leaving it all on the floor. We didn't do that last night or at several other games this year (MState, USU, and even some of the wins that we let the other team get back in the game).

Improve outside shooting and intensity - those are the goals. Spoon can only do so much. The players have to step up and do it now. They have the tools to win the WAC and WAC tournament. Reel off a good win streak until the tournament and we get a good seed.

I am still angry about the refs last night. I will repeat that it was not only the fouls called, but mostly the fouls NOT called. Dowdell should be pissed as Hell this morning and I hope she uses that for the rest of the season. If I had been her last night, I would have recieved a technical more than once due to the no-calls.

However, we need to use that anger and go forward. Take no one for granted and fight till that final buzzer sounds. No let up! I predict that we defeat Fresno at Tech and don't lose another WAC game this year.

Our girls will use this and go forward with a chip on their shoulders. The Beast will be unleashed!

Wow...good post champion and you touched on every area. All is not lost but we do have some work to do. We do need that consistent outside threat though and I'm sure the coaches will address that in the upcoming recruiting classes. But time to get ready for the next game.

[LookingForResults]

You guys know women's basketball much better and follow it much closer than I, but I think this is just a mediocre team. They do not seem to have improved at all during the year, and actually appear to have regressed in more than one area. Most importantly, they do not, or can not, elevate their play in big games. I don't know about our actual team speed, but whether we are fast (and quick) or not, we play slow both offensively and defensively, i.e. our players are easily and often passed for dribble lay-ups and offensively there is little effective movement. Maybe I just don't understand the women's game, but if our two bigs aren't able to dominate, we just don't seem to have anything. If so, it's like I said, we're just mediocre.

[Iceman]

Most of us did...... Hopefully, we will respond and start playing our game now. It is our only hope.

Some credit does go to the WAC, though. We should be rolling, but it is a much improved conference. The numbers show it in OOC. We still should be rolling.

To bad the ref's haven't improved also. It seems to me that the ref's just keep getting crappier and crappier. (and that is the best choice and not my first choice of words for crappier)

[champion110]

To bad the ref's haven't improved also. It seems to me that the ref's just keep getting crappier and crappier. (and that is the best choice and not my first choice of words for crappier)

AMEN! I was thinking in the first half that if the refs are going to let Fresno play that physical, then we should play just as physical - the problem was that they didn't let US play physical - only Fresno.

[Iceman]

We had some refs one night that didn't call fowls on anybody hardly which was fine with me. But, when they call it different on one end, then it isn't worth a crap. Just be consistent, if your gonna call a strict game call it that way on both ends.

JMHO
Iceman

[BlindDog]

let's hope we don't have the same refs in Nevada!
That's one way to make sure our game is improved!