The women from Austin, Texas are off to a fast start this year. Read how coach Karen Aston has her team executing at a high level. Photo cred – University of Texas Athletics
Be prepared to see “Hook-em Horns” a lot more in the future of women’s basketball.
Texas Women’s Basketball is organizing a revolution this season. Even before Christmas has arrived, coach Karen Aston and her team have defeated two perennial powers in Stanford and Tennessee. This success is not on accident as Aston’s staff has recruited very well. They landed the No. 3 recruiting class in 2014 and currently have a top ten class in the class of 2015 as ranked by ProspectsNation.com.
However, any coach will tell you that it takes more than talent to win big games. It takes execution and on-court chemistry to compete for Final Four births each year. A great example of this high level execution can be seen at the end of regulation in their November 20th match-up versus Stanford, who was the top ranked team in the nation at that time. After securing a rebound off of a missed free throw, point guard Celina Rodrigo had the presence of mind to sprint the ball across half court and then call timeout with :07.9 seconds left. This small detail enabled coach Aston to draw up a sideline out of bounds play, which would give her team a chance at a quality shot.
CoachHemi.com MEMBERS can view the play that the Longhorns ran out of the timeout below.
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THE PLAY BREAKDOWN:
1. The Longhorns set up in a box set where they ran their point guard, Rodrigo, off of a down screen to the get the ball in. They also cleared out the backside guard to the ball side, which would prove to be important in the execution of this set.
2. The inbounder Empress Davenport then ran off of two elbow screens to receive a pass on the wing. As that happens, the ball side post then runs off of a flare screen from the other post to clear the right side of the floor.
3. Davenport executes a great jab and go drive on the right wing to score in the paint. She attacks the defender’s momentum and drives past her as the defender lunged at her after the jab.
The Longhorns went on to win in overtime, but it took terrific execution for this to be possible. Download the PDF of the sideline out of bounds play below:
Jonathan Hemingway is the owner of Coach Hemingway Basketball, Inc. He has worked within the basketball community since 1995 as a coach, camp director and journalist. He works as the assistant director of scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com and the OTRHoopsReport.com.Reach him via email at JonathanHemingway@PeachStateBasketball.com
