SL Xpress
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Texas Softball Recruiting and Portal Thread
SL Xpress replied to BurntOrange&White's topic in UT Sports
Pennies on the dollar. The biggest NIL payday in that portal class was Kaitlyn Hord, who was paid about $100,000 for a year at Nebraska. We lost that one after having her on campus. Skinner and Fleck were the big names brought in, and neither of them were paid above the low tens of thousands of dollars. Both of them are hustlers who leveraged a lot of their own NIL deals. Fleck runs a series of libero camps she tours nationwide with. Caffey was done dirty by Nebraska, but was paid bare minimum NIL dollars by Texas (which is still more than anyone in the country that year outside of Nebraska). Akana wanted a scholarship and John Cook said no, while Texas said yes. Bergmark was hardly a high dollar transfer. Both her and Ewert simply wanted to go somewhere to compete at the highest level. Your post insinuates Texas volleyball paid top dollar for that championship, when nothing could be further from the truth. They had a bunch of unhappy people transfer out, including Cabello and Williams to NC State, Fields to USC, Iosia to Michigan State, and Peterson to play her Covid year with her sister and her head coach Mom at Northern Iowa. It LOOKS like an NIL extravaganza, but it was more about timing and no one else having any NIL resources devoted to volleyball. Even now Texas is ahead of the curve versus everyone other than Nebraska, who has lapped the field with their NIL riches in volleyball. I know this is the softball thread, but I didn't want to let that throwaway comment pass without a response. -
Invariably Texas stacks up well in recruiting year after year with pretty much anyone. I'd say the three recruiting superpowers in years past were Stanford, Nebraska, and Texas. Stanford is often hard to gauge because they can't/won't accept commitments until admissions says they're accepted to the school, which doesn't happen until late in the process. It's also tough to be completely clear on if they lost a recruit because of academics or something else. In the past, though, if they wanted a player and the player could qualify academically, they pretty much got them. Not sure how true that's been over the last two recruiting cycles, so we'll see what happens in the future. Nebraska and Texas are 1A and 1B in that order. Nebraska tends to make their choices quickly. They rarely extend their recruiting efforts past the summer. If a player wants to wait and take visits, often they'll just go on to their next target, which puts a lot of pressure on kids if they do get an offer. For about 3 years there they didn't really lose any recruiting battles. Ayden Ames switching to Texas was one of the first ones in three years they lost on. Last year they beat Texas on Campbell Flynn, but Texas beat them on Macari Spears and Taylor Harvey, although Nebraska was pretty much on the outside for both of those players, even though both of them visited the Nebraska campus. Taylor Harvey was even there for their big record setting volleyball match in the football stadium. Outside of that there's another tier of recruiting, probably led by Wisconsin. Wisconsin doesn't really beat Texas or Nebraska for recruits, but they rarely lose to anyone else. Pitt arguably has the best class this cycle, and they're certainly part of that 2nd tier. Louisville is recruiting better than they have in the past, and their past recruiting led to a couple of Final Fours and the championship match appearance against Texas. Minnesota used to put together highly rated classes but have fallen off the pace a bit. USC has a really good class. If you're not Nebraska, it's pretty tough to beat Texas on the recruiting trail right now. Macari Spears and Abby Vander Wal could make a case for the #1 player in the country. They're both left pins. Henley Anderson this year is in that same kind of category. Taylor Harvey was the highest rated middle in her class (although I wish we'd been able to grab Favor Anyanwu - she's going to be a beast of a middle for the Trojans). Genevieve Harris is widely regarded as the best setting in her class. Texas had several good liberos at their elite camp this year, and chose to offer Cugino among them, so whether she ends up being the best or not, they're getting their first choice. It's tough to find issues with Texas volleyball recruiting right now. We're pretty much the 800lb gorilla in that arena. And now the NCAA is going to add 6 more scholarships to the roster, going from 12 to 18 (which makes me very happy - no more 2+2 and 1+3 deals for players to walk on in the hopes of being offered a scholarship later down the track). There are no guarantees regarding future success, and it will be tough to replicate back to back championships, but they're well positioned to be Final Four threats for the foreseeable future, that's for sure.
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Texas Softball Recruiting and Portal Thread
SL Xpress replied to BurntOrange&White's topic in UT Sports
I think it's going to be exceptionally difficult without congressional action. And I don't foresee congressional action in the current political climate any time soon. There is no transparency, and no real mechanism or governing body that can provide it. Without transparency market forces can't really come to bear efficiently. There's also not the same kind of commercial incentives in college sports that exist in professional sports. I understand they're not exactly NOT present. Of course they are. But there are plenty of boosters willing to invest massive amounts of money to make sure their favorite alma mater is able to win championships without a monetary return that does not exist in the same way in commercial sports. I think we'll continue to see NIL payments explode, even with the settlement, until either the system collapses in some existential way, or congress steps in to provide a workable framework on some level. I don't think there are any other workable solutions. I think a student athlete union has hair all over it and is unworkable as well. That said, I hope Canady comes to Texas, is paid a fortune for it, and Texas continues to excel at collegiate sports because of a robust NIL system until it's finally changed. Don't hate the playa, hate the game. -
Hairline fracture plus soft tissue damage around her ankle. It's not clear yet when she'll return. I'm rooting for her to miss the Texas match. Or for Franklin to at least be rusty if she does return to the lineup. They have a true freshman setter starting for them, so at the very least the connection isn't going to be great there, even if she does play. They also face Louisville the week before, and then Stanford right after us.
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Texas Softball Recruiting and Portal Thread
SL Xpress replied to BurntOrange&White's topic in UT Sports
I'm going to be a little depressed if/when Canady heads to OU from a Texas fan perspective. In softball I'd feel a bit like Carthage going against Rome. I mean, if education was THAT important to her, she wouldn't have entered the portal from Stanford in the first place. -
Russia is rich with historical traditions. Like Potemkin villages, for example.
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Tomorrow is the first day players can commit. It looks like we're looking good with Genevieve Harris (setter) and Henley Anderson (outside hitter), who just attended the Elite Camp. I don't know if they'll be early commits or not, but maybe. Harris is out of North Carolina. Anderson is from Dripping Springs. Both of them are top 5 overall players in the country types.
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I guess what I don't understand is people bringing this kind of stuff up like it's somehow unusual. On a long enough timeline, this is normal human behavior. The amount of times societies with different races/cultures ended up with violence are too many to count. The amount of times societies with different cultures peaceably lived side by side into perpetuity without some serious assimilation, including interbreeding to the point distinctions were lost, are extremely rare. I'm not sure there is one. We're going to figure out ways to create us/them dynamics. That's what we do. It's an easy way to power for those who crave it. Find an "other" to point to, generate fear, envy, contemptuousness, what have you. There's always going to be an other. But things like race, language, religion are easy pickings. Especially race.
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Wait, what? I don't think any human beings have to teach other human beings to be mean. I don't think we have to teach human beings to be nice, either. What I do think can be done is to show other human beings the incentives of doing one or the other. Or both simultaneously, as the case may be.
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I guess maybe suicide is on a spectrum? Someone who puts a gun to their head and blows their brains out is on one side of the spectrum. Someone who only goes outside in a hazmat suit made up of bubble wrap would be on the other. I'd say the guy was hellbent on making a name for himself, had limited resources to do it, was running out of time and funds to make his dream a reality, and was willing to go through with risks other reasonable people would have balked at. He was also willing to take other people's money and put them at risk as well. Reading the article it becomes obvious everyone understood deep sea diving involved tremendous risks, and that things could go wrong for any of them. It wasn't the idea that people could possibly die while in a deep sea submersible vehicle that concerned them. They had already gotten past that objection a long time ago. Their concern was how Rush's negligence and hell bent attitude for realizing his vision was going to set back the industry when the inevitable occurred, and it was discovered how reckless he had been the whole time. I don't know that I would classify that as suicidal, in terms of seeking out his own preferred method of killing himself, as much as just a complete disregard for any risks he was taking because his identity was wholly connected with the success of his venture, and he didn't have the money to spend to make it safer. But again, I'd say these things are somewhat on a spectrum.
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If Mike White comes in second in softball every year for the next 10 years there will be plenty of people talking about how he's a failure as a coach. That's just how it is. Personally, I'm glad we have the guy. It used to drive me nuts with the amount of softball talent in this state and the amount of money they spend on the program we weren't any more competitive than we were under our previous coaches. Gasso is an all timer. She's extremely good at what she does. It sucks to lose to her team, but it's not some kind of personal failure on White or any of the Texas players that OU was much better. They didn't win four championships in a row by providential luck. They've been the equivalent of the Wooden UCLA teams. They've had the Eddie Reese of softball over there. I know it was only one person, but calling Elliott an also ran until he won the latest back to back trophies is pretty rich, too. I get it. If you don't win it all, but you're very successful, you're known as the coach/player who never won it all. Dean Smith was known that way until he broke through in '82. Michael Jordan had that reputation early on with the Bulls. Could score, but could never lead his team to a championship. Bobby Bowden and Tom Osborne both had that reputation before they broke through. If UT had fallen short against USC in 2005, his reputation as a head coach would be entirely different. I choose to see Mike White building an extremely successful program, that will continue to have a tough time against OU. Same thing with the women's basketball team with Staley at South Carolina and Voldemort over at LSU. But the series win was still a heck of an accomplishment against a program that has completely dominated us. Okay, we shit the bed in the championship series. The season still represents a step forward. Hopefully they can break through and win it all soon. Maybe next year!
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That will change next year.
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One thing I feel highly confident in saying. Whoever permanently replaces Putin is going to spend a lot of time tearing down his legacy in an effort to build their own. May not be whoever takes over directly after him if they're dependent on his legacy for their control. But if someone establishes their own loyal hierarchy, part of it is going to come from distinguishing themselves from Putin. Also, maybe Andrei Belousov can be their Robert McNamara.
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I'm a little late to the discussion, but James Patton was a defensive tackle for us for one of the unsung best defensive units in Texas football history. The defensive line in particular was fearsome. Patton and Tommy Jeter were the defensive tackles, and Shane Dronett and Bo Robinson were the defensive ends. Teams had such a difficult time moving the ball against that defense, but the offense was beyond putrid. Ended up with a losing season at 5-6 and McWilliams was fired at the end of the year. Patton was an awesome defensive tackle. He didn't play much in the NFL. Picked 55th overall. He had a hip injury that never really fully healed. As far as names for our Beach Volleyball complex, is we're thinking along the lines of Deathstar or Starkiller, I vote for calling it the Thanos Snap.
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"I been caught stealing, once, when I was five I enjoy stealing, it's just as simple as that Ah, well, it's just a simple fact When I want something, man I don't wanna pay for it Now I walk right through the door And I walk right through the door Hey, all right If I get by It's a-mine Mine, all mine Hey! Yeah, my girl, she's one too She gon' get her a skirt Stick it under her shirt She grabbed a razor for me And she did it, just like that When she wants something, man She don't wanna pay for it She walk right through the door Walk right through the door Hey, all right If I get by It's a-mine Mine, all mine Let's go"
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This is what pisses me off the most. There was a time the Ukrainians had the Russians on the defensive. Then the aid stopped, and it all became a series of depressing information, while in my community no one even thinks about the war in Ukraine any more, really. Then you look at the vote in both houses, where there's overwhelming bipartisan support for aid, but the minority has been able to dictate whether the bill even gets to the floor for months now. I like how the NY Post labeled the house representative Moscow Marjorie, because that's how it's felt to me, regardless of any other politics involved. And she's not the only one.
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If Beard takes Ole Miss to the Final Four, we'll see if he gets looked at or not the next time the Kentucky job comes open. Unless we're all assuming Mark Pope is just the man to right the ship. Of course, we're a long ways away from Ole Miss doing anything significant just yet. It's just not much of a prediction when Ole Miss didn't even make the tournament last year. Not much to go on. Miller in much the same situation.
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If Beard takes Ole Miss to the Final Four without melting down in some way he might get a different level of consideration. He's not going to get considered when Ole Miss didn't make the tournament. But the chances of Pope meeting the expectations of Kentucky fans feels pretty slender to me, so he'll get another shot at the job in due time.
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Jerritt Elliott's new contract. https://volleyballmag.com/texas-nebraska-volleyball-notes-041124/ Appropriately titled for a Longhorn Network show.
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I don't think he would. But I didn't think any of this would unfold. I'm just trying to play out the chaos in a way that most involves my various fan agendas.
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Looks that way. It's hilarious either way. I would have enjoyed rooting against Scott Drew at Kentucky, but I'll enjoy rooting against him at Baylor all the same.
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When Andy Enfield took the SMU job, I told all of you the only way this can go is that Scott Drew is going to end up at Kentucky. You laughed at me then, but who's laughing now? BTW, I'm rooting for Jerome Tang to take the Baylor job. Maybe Beard takes the KState job and then Ole Miss hires Gillespie. Why not?
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I thought that's the way it was going to be for the rest of my life for UT sports. Particularly football, men's basketball, and baseball. Narrator: It wasn't.
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Wetlich, too, for that matter. Wetlich was even worse than Smart. What a terrible time to be a Texas basketball fan.
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I will always be proud of UT for how patient the administration was with Shaka Smart. My sanity was a much lower priority, as it should be. All I could think about was how proud I was of everyone responsible for keeping him on, as I beat my head against a wall for 5 of those 6 years. I don't care who anyone cites, if Terry misses the tournament the next two years he shouldn't be the head coach at Texas any more.
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