The thing that drew me most to the UConn women was not the winning but the beauty of their execution. Many times Auriemma stated that their goal was not winning but perfection. I buy into that.
There are trade-offs with most things, that includes roster size. Of course there are many factors to consider that make any comparison complicated but a large roster size is not a pure positive as many are assuming. A large, diverse roster size provides more strategies to win, overcoming problems like foul trouble, injuries or opponents that present diverse problems. However, a smaller roster provides a greater possibility for good chemistry and more repetitions per player. Chemistry and repetitions are necessary ingredients for chasing perfection.
Notre Dame won a recent championship despite being plagued with injuries. They had two “chemistry magnets” in Westbeld and Shepherd and a very small roster that received abundant repetitions practicing together over the course of the year. Many on the BY grudgingly praised the Domers for playing a style much like our Huskies. We did not similarly praise SC or Baylor.
Adding DJ at this point increases the ways by which we might win a championship, but decreases the flawlessness of that pursuit. Transfers have less time to be nurtured into the team style and chemistry. I cannot think of a transfer that has helped our chemistry in the past, though I would say that happened with Shepherd and Notre Dame. Fortunately we already have “chemistry magnets” in Bueckers and Westbrook. Perhaps more are on the way. Will that be enough to play the beautiful basketball of the small Notre Dame roster or many of our past teams? Only time will tell.
www.ctpost.com
