Up in the Air: Tech hopes to answer questions
By Travis Cram l Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Games seem to go smoother with Murphree on the court.
Texas Tech vs Houston women's basketballMallard Sunday, November 09, 2008. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Tech is 6-1 with Murphree, who is averaging 12.1 points per game and had a career-high 22 against Arkansas.
Consistency says everything about senior Dominic Seals.
Seals has scored in double digits in 12 of Tech’s 13 games and has five double-doubles.
Mallard will play a key role for Tech in Big 12 play.
The 6-foot-3 freshman gives Tech more depth at forward and averaged 12.5 points in the last four games.
Many questions were surrounding Texas Tech as the team finished its second season under head coach Kristy Curry last year.
The squad finished one game above .500 and went 1-1 in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
The questions still surround the Lady Raiders as they begin Big 12 Conference play Saturday against No. 8 Texas. Curry is 41-36 overall and 10-22 in Big 12 play with the Lady Raiders, and now the chance of possibly playing the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament on their home court looms in the distance.
So, is this team ready for the Big 12 and maybe a shot at a berth in the NCAA Tournament in March?
Texas Tech vs. Prairie View A&M during the first half of Thursday night's game at United Spirit Arena.Coach CurryThursday, December 18, 2008. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
To me, it’s a lot like my major during my freshman year of college – undecided.
The Lady Raiders sit at 9-4 and have some good momentum heading into Saturday’s bout with the Longhorns. They’ve proven what Curry has preached, as far as being a different team from last year, by not folding in home games when they get down by a lot – early or late.
The last two wins over UCLA and Arkansas give the Lady Raiders four straight wins heading into conference play for the first time under Curry. Tech lost its non-conference finale each the last two seasons and limped into the Big 12.
The team also looks to be a little more battle-tested after playing two teams that made the NCAA Tournament last season. Tech lost both (against California and New Mexico) but has not had the advantage of facing a top-25 team at home – yet.
The Lady Raiders will see at least seven over the next two months.
I think a lot of what went into the Lady Raiders’ scheduling this season had to do with preparation. They faced better teams in the Paradise Jam tournament than they did last year at the Central Florida tourney.
Assistant coach Kelly Curry told me an 8-8 record in conference play is a good watermark – but not a goal, necessarily – for teams in the Big 12.
“I just don’t think (the selection committee) could turn down a team that goes 8-8 in this conference,” he said.
Texas Tech vs Houston women's basketballMurphreeSunday, November 09, 2008. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
One non-conference game remaining against Savannah State (Feb. 2) could easily be one more win for the Lady Raiders, leaving them with an 18-12 record should they hit the .500 mark in conference play.
But you can’t just expect to win all your home games in a conference like this, where playing a top-25 team will come each week for the rest of the season. Only Tech, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska have not been ranked in a top-25 poll this season. Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Baylor and Texas remain in the top 12 of both The Associated Press poll and USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll.
This team has a better chance this season because of the talent emerging with freshman Kierra Mallard and the improvement by senior point guard Maria Moore.
Mallard has been in double figures the last four games and Moore – who took the most criticism for sloppy play last year – is finding more ways to keep the ball and the game in Tech’s hands.
Texas Tech's Dominic Seals (41) rebounds over Prairie View A&M's Gaati Werema (20) and Twila Stokes (10) during the first half of Thursday night's game at United Spirit Arena.Thursday, December 18, 2008. (Geoffrey McAllister/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal)
Mix their recent success with the scoring consistency of Dominic Seals (13.5 points per game) and Jordan Murphree (12.1), and anything less than at least a WNIT berth for this team might be considered a lost season.
But success will have to come on the road, and thus far the road has not been kind. Tech had its worst shooting performance (28 percent) at New Mexico and had only one player in double figures. It was the only game this season in which Seals failed to put up double digits.
While this might sound like coach-speak, this game against Texas sets a lot of things in motion, either forward or backward. Two straight road games follow against No. 3 Texas A&M and Kansas – which could be a sleeper team – before getting back home to face No. 20 Kansas State and No. 6 Baylor.
Yes, this conference is that good.
Really, it’s a lot like what we saw with the Big 12 South Division in football this season – minus the dumb tie-breaking rules.
This sport has a way of deciding a true conference champion, but only time will tell if Tech has a chance to be in the mix.
Cram Session by Travis Cram
travis.cram@lubbockonline.com l 766-8736
jeff.walker@lubbockonline.com l 766-8735
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I only give them 4 wins. Think murphrey is great, but they are not that great. I hope you go to the games and watch maria moore commit turnover after turnover. I have no idea why she even got to be on the team. We need Marsha Sharp back. Christy Curry your days are number quit squeaking on the sidelines and do some coaching.
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Bubba
Grow a brain
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It amazes me what people like Bubba say. With fans like that, who needs enemies? Most don’t remember this but even Marsha Sharp went through some rough years before she brought this program to the elite status for a long time. Christy has been here for only two years. She is now in her third year.
Give Christy time to bring in four years of recruits, then everyone can come back and evaluate the job our coach is doing. I’m not ready to give up on her, especially after what she walked in on when she took the job.
This team isn’t going to be one of the top teams this year but they might surprise everyone this year and possibly slip into the NCAA Tournament if they continue to improve. The Big 12 is the hardest conference in the nation but you have to take it one game at a time.
Good luck Lady Raiders!
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lol ya’ll took that all wron. we have good players. go to the games. i go and i see undisciplined players. they are good but need coaching. danny there is only two recruits i believe from marsha sharp those being murphrey and henderson. i just think we need a better coach. maria moore constantly tries to do everything and ends up hurting the team. when she does actually play like there is four other players she is very good , but too often she acts like she is the only one and commits turnover after turnover. we all make msitakes its at the consistent level she does it at and curry’s stubborness not to take her out of the game. to me thats bad coaching. im a tech fan just calling it how i see i may be wrong. a true fan will give a honest opinion a crappy fan will sugar coat it and be happy with sucking it up.
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To me it’s obvious that the best coach in the group is not Curry but Brock. Just look at his record and how he handles players during games. Maybe Curry should take a leave of absence and start an around-the-world cruise (and take Ruffin with her).
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well i dunno about ruffin you have to remember its his first position of that magnitude. curry on the other hand is trying to dig herself out of a hole with maria moore. when a player has as nearly many turnovers as points there is a problem. probably over exagerated that but you get the point. without maria moore your players are more rested because they don’t have to try to catch up with a player that maria moore threw the ball away to.
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Good update, Travis. It appears the lady Raiders are improving. Let’s hope it is enough for the tough conference schedule ahead. For sure, they need to take care of the home court, then try to pull out a win or two on the road, never an easy thing to do when the conference has so many good teams. Although there are dissatisfied fans, even with a winning team, there are many of us who still love our Lady Raiders and hope for the best, not expect the worst. Hang tough you women of the red and black. WRECK ‘EM!
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I think if Curry does not have a good season this year she needs to be shown the door. I don’t know how much Tech is paying her but I bet it is too much
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When I read this article it sounded like an early apologia for what is going to be yet another lackluster season. Do we really need Kelly Curry to tell us how hard a conference this is and how difficult it is to win games? You can bet that Baylor, UT, and OU talk about winning. Even last year Coach G. was telling the girls to think of championships, not just the Big 12, but the NCAA!!!
Marsha Sharp DID have a few rough years, because TTU ladies basketball was really just getting started. The difference is that Curry came into a national program, an elite program, and it has just spiraled out of control. If the last two years is a result of Sharp’s recruiting and lack of basketball acumen, then someone should kick her off the gravy train at TTU, revoke her TTU sainthood, and rewrite her coaching resume. I’ll admit that it seemed the last tw o years of her coaching that she was not up to snuff–some of the fire was missing. That being said, Curry has consistently had to talk about the team’s immaturity, lack of experience, lack of preparedness, etc. These are coaching problems, not player problems. The UCLA win is the first glimmer of hope that I’ve seen. Two years ago I thought she should have benched Moore, who threw the ball away more than any collegiate player I’ve ever seen. Maybe both of them are finally growing into their positions. Curry had better turn this sinking ship around, because the fans are not only falling out of love, we’re falling out of like.
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You Sharp lovers are such blowhards. Exactly the kind of fans we do NOT need, yet we have way too many of.
Fact: Curry is a better coach than Sharp ever dreamed of being.
The kids love her. They respect her. And they play hard for her.
Fact: The reason Curry was forced to recruit JUCO’s like Moore — is that Sharp had become a highly ineffective recruiter. She left the cupboards bare for her successor.
As the 3 and 4 year lettermen begin to mature, you will see a dramatic difference in results.
But something almost everyone misses in this argument is how incredibly tough the Big 12 is — NOW. Texas has perhaps the best coach in the country. OU, Okie State, Baylor, and A&M all have coaches that other teams would die for. Curry is part of that group as well. No other division on any league has as many top-notch coaches as does Big 12 South.
Bottom line: However many conference games Curry can win this year, subtract 4 from that to get an idea of how many games Sharp could win, with her sub par recruits and sub par, high school style coaching.
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