QUICK LADY RAIDER BASKETBALL RECAP AND THOUGHTS ON THE SEASON

Jump to Comments

Good morning West Texans and all you good, fine, friendly folks out there who wish you were. . .

 

THE END IS THE BEGINNING

 

With last night’s 81-74 loss to TCU in the 3^rd round of the WNIT the Texas Tech Lady Raiders can put this season of unrest to rest and get ready for 2008-2009. http://www.redraiders.com/stories/032708/wbb_032708003.shtml

That TCU was more than competitive shouldn’t have come as a shock to any Lady Raider fans, but I’m sure that it did. Many fans are suffering from long-term-memory-problems and aren’t living in the now but rather in the was. That, along with many other things may be changing though around the program as season turns to off-season.

 

I really consider next year to be year two in the rebuilding of the Lady Raiders since year one was played with such an odd confluence of players ill-suited but trying their best to adapt to a new Coach, new philosophies, and a new culture. And make no mistake, anytime a culture change takes place, and one was needed no doubt, it takes time to build those values into a community, team or group. This past year there was no doubt improvement in some areas and tantalizingly, frustrating almost-there improvement in others. We saw flashes of what could be at times only to be thwarted by the Lady Raiders own mistakes and generally at the worst possible time. Kristy Curry and her staff had to make a decision last year on how quickly they could infuse this program with talent that would have a chance to compete in a Big 12 that’s tougher to win in week in and week out than it’s ever been. Ideally you’d never like to have as many new faces, let alone transfers as Tech had, but last year’s class wasn’t ideal for a lot of reasons. It was practical and given the way the recruiting played out with a talented player deciding late that she couldn’t be a part of the program the Coaches made the correct decisions to give this team a fighting chance this year and next.

 

Of course there are no guarantees when you bring anyone in and some players adapted better and some didn’t. Some proved as the season went along that they’ll be forces to be reckoned with in the Big 12 next year and some will be fighting for jobs and playing time. That’s as it should be every year.

 

As Tech was putting up their most points in a first-half last night against TCU scoring 46 since playing Oral Roberts in December you got a glimpse of what could have been. The shooting of Maddy Brown and Keisha Walker, the spacing that allowed Stanecia Graham to work in space, get boards and score and the ability to run when needed and play half-court when needed. You saw Jordan Murphree at her best driving to the hoop and either scoring or getting fouled. You saw all of that without Dominic Seals even being on the floor. Oh the dreaded, “what could have been”, must now become the reality on a night in and night out basis next season.

 

THE LONG ROAD BACK

 

Now the challenge also becomes not just winning games but becoming a destination program for the top recruits in Texas and the nation as well. I mentioned the fans have a long-term memory problem earlier. By that I mean that it’s easy for the fans to think back to Tech’s last Big 12 Title in 2000 and think of it as yesterday. It’s easy to look up at all those banners at the United Spirit Arena and think that it wasn’t that long ago. In the eyes of recruits though, it is “long ago”.

 

To the average junior or sophomore in high school right now they have no memory of Tech winning a National Championship. They had just started school when Tech was winning the last of their conference championships in the SWC and Big 12. To the average 15-18 year-old, Baylor, Kansas State, and even A&M have been just as prominent in their minds as Texas Tech. That’s hard for fans to accept or realize but it’s the truth.

 

The same thing happens in football and it’s something that is problematic for fans of Notre Dame to fathom that to high school kids today Florida and Kansas State are just as relevant to them growing up now as Notre Dame or Nebraska football. The kids being recruited today have a much different frame of reference than the fans that follow once-proud programs.

 

That’s one reason why the WNIT was so important to this Texas Tech team, even if it was obvious that Tech fans won’t come out and support them if they’re not winning big and playing in the NCAA tournament. These players needed to be in any kind of post-season to learn what it’s like to play with one-and-done pressure at the college level. They needed to get those extra two-weeks of practice that all Lady Raider teams used to take for granted. This team needed to have some more opportunity for success and even to taste the sting of failure in order to move forward. There is now not a Lady Raider on the roster that’s won an NCAA tournament game in a Tech uniform. Think about that, that’s the first time that’s happened since 1992. That’s just part of the Culture that Coach Curry and her staff are trying to change.

 

With the right additions, continued improvement and a dedication to hard work that you really don’t see on all campuses (yes Virginia, even in the Big 12 some coaches work harder than others) I have no doubt that their will be improvement next year for Texas Tech. I have no doubt that the Lady Raiders will begin to recapture some of their swagger from the past and that this group will be looked upon as the seniors that re-established Texas Tech as a team to be delt with.

 

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the off-season growth of the team, watching the continued recruiting efforts of the coaches and getting ready for 08-09 with renewed optimism. Till then, I may read a book or go fishing. . .

 

We’ll have much more on the season in the coming days. . .

 

MORE LATER.

HYATT

7 Comments

Filed under Big 12, Big 12 Basketball, Big 12 Women's Basketball, Lady Raiders, Lubbock, Sports, Texas Tech, Texas Tech Sports, The Williams and Hyatt Show