I initially planned to post a message a couple of days after the NC State loss, but decided that in order to get some perspective on the season thus far, a larger sample of games was needed.
What have we seen thus far. A rout of a mediocre mid-major (Dayton), a bad loss to NC State, a solid victory at home over a good Maryland team, and workman like victory at Minnesota.
The loss to NC State was a bad one; lack of defense, weakness in rebounding, and poor shooting from long range. The team stormed back against Maryland to rectify the problems at the defensive end, but the Huskies barely out rebounded the Terrapins, and continued to be weak from 3-point range. Not an impressive victory over the Golden Gophers.
Here are my thoughts for the season thus far.
First and foremost, the injury bug has hit again. Jana El Afry who was anticipated to be a solid inside player is out for the season and Wednesday came the news that Azzi Fudd is out for the season. She has never been healthy except for a handful of games at the beginning of last season. It is hard to believe that she will ever be the player we all expected. Ayanna Patterson is yet to play and it appears that Caroline Ducharme is still far from 100%. She played only 11 minutes against Maryland, not much more against Minnesota, and is out for the games at Cayman Islands. Our anticipated depth is largely gone with the rotation reduced to 8 players (Edwards, Bueckers, Muhl, Griffin, Brady, Shade Samuels, and Arnold). Four of them are in their first year on the court. The season is young and who knows what is coming down the line. We all wince when Paige goes to the floor.
Second, Paige Bueckers is back and is as good, if not better, than as a freshman. The question is, will she hold up for the season?
Third, the Huskies lack size and strength down low. Edwards has been a rock, but El Afry is gone, and Ice Brady has not yet shown yet that she is ready for prime time. She will be needed against South Carolina and she has plenty of games to play before that time. Aubrey Griffin is a good rebounder and the guards get their share. This is, however, a relatively small team that will be challenged by bigger and stronger ones. Despite all the injuries, last year’s team had Dorka Juhasz who both an excellent rebounder and solid at the defensive end. The team will need some player who can approximate Juhasz in order to go far in the NCAA tournament.
Fourth, three-point shooting has been a disappointment thus far. Bueckers, Muhl, and Samuels have upheld their ends, and Ducharme seems like the shell of the player we saw during her freshman year before she got injured. Her health problems have not gone away. Most importantly, Fudd is gone.
Fifth, the freshman class has been good. Arnold, Samuels, and Shade have all played well. Red shirt freshman Brady is a work in progress. The team will need major contributions from all to have success this season.
Visions of an undefeated season have long since disappeared and one can easily see four-five losses before the tournament. As of November, the Huskies do not appear to be a Final Four team.
