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Post by bucky415 on Jun 7, 2015 0:06:56 GMT -5
It is hard to call a program that makes the Final Four nearly every year seemingly underachieving, and they did win a title. I would actually call them one of the shining stars of the Texas athletic department, which has actually been underachieving pretty badly given its resources, in my opinion. Funny from the school that only has 28 national titles (25 of which came in boxing, cross country and ice hockey). You probably shouldn't talk about "underachieving", just a thought. When did I bring up Wisconsin? Their athletic department was awful for half a century, and it has done most of what it has accomplished in the last 20 years or so. I do hope that Wisconsin overcomes its underdog image that its fans in other sports especially love so much and try to be big time in ways other than soaking their fans for money, but I wasn't discussing Wisconsin here. I was discussing Texas. They are a flagship university in a big state with a ton of talent, have their own television network, and have tons of resources. Given those advantages, they should expect to be among the nation's top athletic departments, if not the top one. Does anyone not think they were the driving vote in not completely blowing up the conference landscape in college sports a couple of years ago? I don't. The volleyball program is at the level I would expect, but it doesn't have a lot of company at this point. The football and men's basketball programs fired coaches recently, and the women's basketball program improved last season but lost an NCAA tournament game to UConn by 51 points. That kind of puts any NCAA "failures" in volleyball in perspective, I would think. Since they are an attractive place, they will attract talented coaches and will have an opportunity to be more successful throughout the department, but right now, I would be disappointed with the department if I were a Texas fan. Wisconsin needs to get its men's hockey program sorted out after an awful year, and the coaching turnover in football is troubling, but I don't think the department is doing badly overall, given what it has to work with. Texas just has more advantages, and that hasn't led to the across the board success it could have in recent years. That doesn't apply to volleyball. I am really glad the Badgers were able to outplay Texas on one night, but the Longhorns are at a higher level as a program. I hope Wisconsin can narrow that gap and beat them should they play again, but the objective truth is that Elliott has made Texas an elite program in volleyball. The dominance of Penn State has maybe obscured that a bit, but Texas has had a great run. I don't see them going away, especially with Nwanebu, even if they have some significant questions coming into the season.
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Post by bucky415 on Jun 7, 2015 0:08:43 GMT -5
And, to be clear, I think both Charlie Strong and Shaka Smart are good coaches who could turn things around in Austin and get them to where they want to be.
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Post by diggerdive on Jun 7, 2015 0:11:14 GMT -5
Watching Nwanebu play in the finals as a freshman against BYU - wow - no fear, power mixed with some smart decisions. Texas is going to be fun to watch this year.
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Post by volleyguy on Jun 7, 2015 1:23:23 GMT -5
All of a sudden, it's as if someone opened a day care center in the middle of this thread.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 7, 2015 1:41:53 GMT -5
Texas best talent in the last 10 years but they have to be able to do one thing better! PASSING! 1.5 things better...pass and set. Oh, and Chloe will likely be the only setter. Not sure how that will work given she's 5'6" on a good day. Well, considering that her height has literally nothing to do with her ability to set the ball and run an offense, it probably works pretty well. I can think of a dozen things I'd be more worried about.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jun 7, 2015 5:00:33 GMT -5
1.5 things better...pass and set. Oh, and Chloe will likely be the only setter. Not sure how that will work given she's 5'6" on a good day. All these bitter Wisconsin Badger fans just because Ebony didn't want to go eat cheese; I guess it might be understandable if your program had been at all relevant in the last decade prior to the last 2 seasons . . . Not sure where you're getting "all." Am I bummed we didn't get Ebony? Sure thing. But I didn't really ever think we would, especially given all the non-volleyball factors that factored into her decision. I'm with bucky415 in agreeing that a program could do a heck of a lot worse than Texas VB's record of conference championships and Final Four appearances. Don't know enough about any of their other sports to comment. Also, to whoever said that Collins was one of the first setters to commit in 2013, doing so in 8th grade, and Texas should have waited to evaluate the other, including Carlini: Carlini also committed in 8th grade.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jun 7, 2015 8:42:17 GMT -5
1.5 things better...pass and set. Oh, and Chloe will likely be the only setter. Not sure how that will work given she's 5'6" on a good day. Well, considering that her height has literally nothing to do with her ability to set the ball and run an offense, it probably works pretty well. I can think of a dozen things I'd be more worried about. It affects her ability to play the position in division 1. She cannot block at the elite level and will be used. So rather than 1.5, we'll make it a round 2.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jun 7, 2015 8:45:24 GMT -5
1.5 things better...pass and set. Oh, and Chloe will likely be the only setter. Not sure how that will work given she's 5'6" on a good day. All these bitter Wisconsin Badger fans just because Ebony didn't want to go eat cheese; I guess it might be understandable if your program had been at all relevant in the last decade prior to the last 2 seasons . . . I have season tickets to Texas VB. I am a WI fan first, TX second. However, I can objectively evaluate talent, I think. I don't think Chloe is as good as others on this board. Don't care to argue any more about it. We'll see if she can keep it together for a full match without going on a walkabout mentally. We'll see if she can block. To be discussed when TX plays better competition.
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Post by bball on Jun 7, 2015 8:51:23 GMT -5
Because of the Texas record (weak Big 12 conference), they always get a HIGH, easy-advantaged, seed. And they face weak competition in their breeze brackets each year. If Texas had to play Penn State or Florida, or Illinois in the elite 8, I doubt they would have made the final 4 the past few years. Thank goodness they need to play American University each year to grant them a walk-through. Put them in the Big 10, they'd have 5 more loses on their record and would end up being a top 8 seed. My goodness, OU beat them last year>>>> Can't wait For Texas to get their a***** whooped in 2015. Texas University RUINED the Big 12 conference and split it all up with their greed. Love seeing them choke it out. Maybe they do lose 4-5 more matches in the Big, but while that may impact your seed some, it impacts your readiness even more. You could easily argue Texas being in a tougher conference would help them win titles. It would def get them much more ready and equipped for the big tourney. I don't think other programs in the big 12 expose them enough in some areas to make the needed changes or adjustments to aid them farther in the tourney. I feel nebraska beat Washington last year in the tourney due to there testing in the big 10. They were ready. Lots of those big 10 teams do well in the tourney. They all fine tune each other. Look always at Florida? Ughhhhhh.
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Post by sunsuphornsup on Jun 7, 2015 10:10:54 GMT -5
All these bitter Wisconsin Badger fans just because Ebony didn't want to go eat cheese; I guess it might be understandable if your program had been at all relevant in the last decade prior to the last 2 seasons . . . I have season tickets to Texas VB. I am a WI fan first, TX second. However, I can objectively evaluate talent, I think. I don't think Chloe is as good as others on this board. Don't care to argue any more about it. We'll see if she can keep it together for a full match without going on a walkabout mentally. We'll see if she can block. To be discussed when TX plays better competition. I agree with this assesment. I think she has the tools to be a really good setter, not withstanding height (whatever your beliefs about how that affects her ability to be good). But there are a few times where she seems to suffer from lapses of judgement and may lose focus. I'd like to see her take ownership of the setter position if Texas does choose to go in a 5-1.
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swiss
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Post by swiss on Jun 7, 2015 12:26:21 GMT -5
Maybe they do lose 4-5 more matches in the Big, but while that may impact your seed some, it impacts your readiness even more. You could easily argue Texas being in a tougher conference would help them win titles. It would def get them much more ready and equipped for the big tourney. I don't think other programs in the big 12 expose them enough in some areas to make the needed changes or adjustments to aid them farther in the tourney. I feel nebraska beat Washington last year in the tourney due to there testing in the big 10. They were ready. Lots of those big 10 teams do well in the tourney. They all fine tune each other. Look always at Florida? Ughhhhhh. Your logic doesn't make much sense, seeing how we've beaten Nebraska in the tournament everytime we have played them in recent years. Also you brought up Florida again, the team you said we would have lost to had we played them. When it comes the setting, i'm not concerned at all, we don't need a superwomen just a good solid setter, which is exactly what Chloe is. It's like being a point guard in basketball, it doesn't matter how good the point guard is, if they don't have the players around them who can put the ball in the basket. The good news is with the addition of Ebony, we have quite a few players who can put the ball in the basket.
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Post by txvbcoach on Jun 7, 2015 12:31:21 GMT -5
All these bitter Wisconsin Badger fans just because Ebony didn't want to go eat cheese; I guess it might be understandable if your program had been at all relevant in the last decade prior to the last 2 seasons . . . I have season tickets to Texas VB. I am a WI fan first, TX second. However, I can objectively evaluate talent, I think. I don't think Chloe is as good as others on this board. Don't care to argue any more about it. We'll see if she can keep it together for a full match without going on a walkabout mentally. We'll see if she can block. To be discussed when TX plays better competition. I find it funny that in one breath you can say that you can objectively evaluate talent on the Texas roster (providing no credentials with which to do so other than attending vb games) and then in the other breath saying that you're a wisconsin fan first and foremost. That would make you objective and credentialed how? I've seen Chloe for years and have coached for more years than Buckysport has sat on his arse watching games and I wouldn't even say I could objectively evaluate talent if I wasn't in the gym running the athlete through drills and watching tape.
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Post by bballnut90 on Jun 7, 2015 12:56:54 GMT -5
Collins can be a very good setter, I think any consistency issues will disappear when she moves to a 5-1. Playing in all 6 rotations will help her get into a rhythm rather than going 3 and out. In theory a 6-2 is better because you have more options, but if you look at college volleyball over the last 20-25 years, the only teams that have won titles with a successful 6-2 are 2002 USC and 1994 Stanford..and 1994 Stanford's setters also hit front row. I'd like to see Texas switch to a 5-1, as I think it will make them a better team.
Also, I don't buy the short setter argument for a minute. Lindsey Berg was in multiple Olympics running a 5-1 and she is all of 5-8 or 5-9. Carp set PSU to a title in 2010 and teams weren't able to punish PSU for her smaller block. Misty May was all of 5-9, as was Bonnie Bremner. Robyn Lewis was all of 5-9 or 5-10 playing on bad knees and set Stanford to a title. Taller setters have their advantages, but in Collins you have an extremely athletic smaller setter who can pound on 2 as a lefty. And when she blocks, she'll have 2 outstanding blocking middles helping to close the seam so hitters most likely will not get a ton of 1 on 1 chances.
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Post by elevationvb on Jun 7, 2015 13:07:30 GMT -5
Maybe they do lose 4-5 more matches in the Big, but while that may impact your seed some, it impacts your readiness even more. You could easily argue Texas being in a tougher conference would help them win titles. It would def get them much more ready and equipped for the big tourney. I don't think other programs in the big 12 expose them enough in some areas to make the needed changes or adjustments to aid them farther in the tourney. I feel nebraska beat Washington last year in the tourney due to there testing in the big 10. They were ready. Lots of those big 10 teams do well in the tourney. They all fine tune each other. Look always at Florida? Ughhhhhh. Hmmm. Some might argue that injuries were a factor in that match, not the Big 10 schedule.
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Post by elevationvb on Jun 7, 2015 13:12:18 GMT -5
Collins can be a very good setter, I think any consistency issues will disappear when she moves to a 5-1. Playing in all 6 rotations will help her get into a rhythm rather than going 3 and out. In theory a 6-2 is better because you have more options, but if you look at college volleyball over the last 20-25 years, the only teams that have won titles with a successful 6-2 are 2002 USC and 1994 Stanford..and 1994 Stanford's setters also hit front row. I'd like to see Texas switch to a 5-1, as I think it will make them a better team. Also, I don't buy the short setter argument for a minute. Lindsey Berg was in multiple Olympics running a 5-1 and she is all of 5-8 or 5-9. Carp set PSU to a title in 2010 and teams weren't able to punish PSU for her smaller block. Misty May was all of 5-9, as was Bonnie Bremner. Robyn Lewis was all of 5-9 or 5-10 playing on bad knees and set Stanford to a title. Taller setters have their advantages, but in Collins you have an extremely athletic smaller setter who can pound on 2 as a lefty. And when she blocks, she'll have 2 outstanding blocking middles helping to close the seam so hitters most likely will not get a ton of 1 on 1 chances. Enough with the Carpenter argument. Rose thought so much of her as the team's setter that he immediately replaced her the following season and reduced her DS role even further her senior season. He understood her "setting" the team to a championship was more to do with the rest of the team.
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