Ladies Beat UTEP

[blueboro007]

Lady Raiders win 69-58. Kind of sloppy game and if we had hit free throws we would have won by 20+. UTEP is very athletic and have some shooters but we caused a ton of turnovers. Good win and a nice early season statement.

 

[Hop45]

I know Ebony is our main woman, but damn how good is Olivia Jones going to be! Always hustling, seems to always be in the right spot at the right time, great defense, steals and scores. She is special. Good, good win last night.

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

I was impressed with UTEP's athlete's. Even tho we won by not playing real well, would like up to be more athletic.

 

[MTFNBY5]

If we had their athletic ability, size, shooting skills, individual moves, ball handling skills, ability to stop and pop, jumping ability, etc., to go with our BkB IQ we would be a top 5 club. I would argue that UTEP had better athletes at every position including the bench.

We really must, if we want to move to the next level, find a way to recruit better athletes (and based on what I know I don't see them in next year's class).

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

Originally posted by MTFNBY5:
If we had their athletic ability, size, shooting skills, individual moves, ball handling skills, ability to stop and pop, jumping ability, etc., to go with our BkB IQ we would be a top 5 club. I would argue that UTEP had better athletes at every position including the bench.

We really must, if we want to move to the next level, find a way to recruit better athletes (and based on what I know I don't see them in next year's class).

Obviously, we have great coaching. As I watch the game I wondered why an athletic girl say would choose UTEP over MT? Then wondered does RI see the athleticism but thinks they can't play in his system?

I think our coaches are really good at getting the most out of our girls, but when I line up this team say to the teams 7 years ago, I think the teams in the early years were better.

 

[blueboro007]

I also wonder if opposing teams look at the girth of our girls and think they are not in shape and they will be able to run us to death. When you look at Keke, Dow, Caya, Oliva, Copney and JJ it seems CRI has a certain blue print he likes.

 

[MTLynn]

IMO, Stephany Smith recruited better players here than Rick Insell has partly because he didn't know how to recruit to Middle Tennessee. We he came in he put all of his effort into signing 5 star players and when they signed elsewhere he was left scrambling to sign 1 and 2 star players.

I do think Insell is a better coach than Smith but I don't think Insell is very good at evaluating 2 star talent. Stephany Smith built the program with 2 star players whereas Insell has maintained the program with lesser talent.

 

[MT Blue]

We do not have lesser players. These were not 1 and 2 star recruits. Almost every one were rated as mid to high 3 star athletes. Coach Insell changed to his system as soon as he got here and it made the players that were here better. He played to their strengths. However every recruit on this team and coming next year have all played in winning high school programs and at the highest level AAU teams in the country and have played against the toughest competition for the last 3-4 yrs before stepping foot on the MT campus. We were getting pushed around in the NCAA tourney when we had to go against the likes of Georgia and Michigan St. They have taller and heavier players than what we had. We have specifically recruited to the highest level we could but also with an attempt to get bigger and stronger. This was done specifically for the NCAA tourney. Yes, the press and 40 minutes of hell are fun to watch but when you reach the NCAA's and face a Big 10 or SEC or ACC team they will beat your press and slow the game down and ram it down your throat. We've seen it every year in the tourney. His recruiting has been by design. These girls are bigger and athletic. I believe some need to be in better shape but overall this team is built I make a run in the tourney if the seeding will let us!!!!

 

[weatim]

MT Blue, I agree totally. I loved the all the time press and shooting 3's for 40 minutes but in the NCAA tournament games, we were typically out-sized and faced teams which could handle our press at least fairly well. I believe the Lady Raiders are getting closer to the type of athletes who can have a much better chance against the big guys.

 

[MTLynn]

So... you don't think Stephany Smith had better players on the team her final year here than Insell has had over the past 5 years?

 

[MT Blue]

No I do not. Look up the stats both individually and for the team. Not to disrespect the previous players cause they were excellent as well, but how many 1,000 point scorers or All Americans or WNBA draft picks etc. Just doesn't measure up

 

[MTLynn]

The bottom line is that he hasn't recruited enough talent to get the team BACK to the success of the 2006-07 season.

 

[MT Blue]

I guess we must agree to disagree. The 2006-07 season was Insell's second year. Only 6 players were from Smith's recruiting while the other 6 were Insell recruits. We were playing in a much weaker Sun Belt. We went 18-0 in conference and 30-4 overall. The main reason for any success in the NCAA was the matchup with Gonzaga in the first round. Got beat by Marist in the second round. I don't call that a lot more success than any other season. It was all about match ups come NCAA tourney time. We matched up well with another mid major. We weren't playing Georgia at Auburn or. Michigan St in Lansing etc

 

[MTLynn]

Originally posted by MT Blue:
Only 6 players were from Smith's recruiting while the other 6 were Insell recruits. We were playing in a much weaker Sun Belt.

And he probably only played 6 players each game with 2-3 players averaging 38-40 minutes per game...

Seriously, the Lady Raiders peaked at number 16 in the 06-07 top 25 and, IIRC, were ranked most of the year. My point is that Insell hit a ceiling early on and has yet to break through because he hasn't recruited better.

That said, it appears that several of this years freshman are difference makers so hopefully he has finally learned how to recruit to Middle Tennessee.

 

[asuhatesme]

If you want to say that Insell's teams spit the bit come NCAA tourney time, I'll buy that, but as far as better teams and players it's not even a discussion. Rick lost 15 regular season conference games in eight years in the Sun Belt. Stephany lost more than that in just her last four. Stephany won 24 games twice. Rick AVERAGES right at 25 wins. Stephany never had a Top 25 team (Insell has had the team in the polls four times, about to be five). Smith never had a WNBA draft pick or an All American.

Expectations are set ridiculously high because Rick sets outrageous goals and that gets old, but to say Smith had better players or teams is just off the wall.

 

[MTLynn]

Stephany is a better evaluator of 2 star talent. Rick is a better coach. He took her players and went into the top 25. They fell out of the top 25 because of poor recruiting. Not poor coaching.

As far as scoring and All Americans are concerned - when you play a kid 40 minutes each game and feed them the ball continually then they are gonna get the numbers and the accolades.