To say that Texas has a long way to go in the Gail Goestenkors era is an understatement.
No. 1 UConn made that clear. Texas could run their fast break style offense and trapping and pressing defense to perfection against a slow Big Ten team like Minnesota, but at this point they're simply not good enough to beat UConn at their own game.
Maybe in three or four years they will be. After all,prior to last night's game, Goestenkors was 2-2 against Connecticut and head coach Geno Auriemma while at Duke.
With more experience under her system, and more of her own recruits in, it won't be long before Texas can play with teams like Connecticut.
At this point, Texas can play with anybody with the exception of Connecticut and Tennessee. That's quite a big step from going 18-14 last year. The Longhorns had quality wins during the season over Baylor and Oklahoma while they were in the top ten.
It also shows there's a fine line between Tennessee and Connecticut and the rest of the league.
Texas got crushed 92-67 by Tennessee and never had a chance last night against the Huskies. But match themup against any other NCAA tournament team and see what happens.
The team finishing 22-13 in Goestenkors first season is encouraging. With the confidence gained from making the tournament this season, and the experience these young players have under their belt, there's no doubt they'll be back in the tournament next year and that they'll advance to the second round once again.
But it will still be three or four years before they can compete with the teams like UConn and Tennessee.
In order to beat teams with All-Americans like Maya Moore, Connecticut's freshman standout, you have to have All-American top-10 players yourself.
After the nosedive the team took in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons, Texas doesn't seem to appeal to the elite talent of the country quite yet, or even those in the state of Texas. Two of the top 10 basketball recruits on HoopGurlz.com are from Texas, yet Nneka Ogwumike is headed to Stanford and Brooklyn Pope is headed to Rutgers.
Goestenkors' 2008 recruiting class is pretty good, but nowhere near the talent level of the type of classes she had while at Duke. Ashley Gayle is a McDonald's All-American that can provide a solid backup to Ashley Lindsey at post. Yvonne Anderson, daughter of Missouri coach Mike Anderson, is a combo guard ranked as the seventh best guard in the country.
Perhaps by 2009 Texas will get in some more players that can match up to the type of talent Connecticut has.
Of course, it doesn't all boil down to talent. The talent gap between the two schools is not wide enough to result in a 34-point disparity, which Texas' largest loss in NCAA tournament history.
Texas also got outplayed from start to finish. There's not much more to elaborate on that though. The 89-55 loss speaks for itself.
There's no doubt Goestenkors will use this season-ending game to motivate the team all off-season.
This blowout may be the end of the season, but it's only
the beginning of the Gail Goestenkors era.
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