Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="oldhusky, post: 4391778, member: 9844"] I think comparing what is better or worse compared to last year's championship game is largely irrelevant. Being better if healthy this year than the team we put on the floor in the championship game is pretty much a given despite missing Paige. The team on the floor that night had one healthy big that was normally part of the rotation (Aaliyah). Dorka was injured in the elite 8 and Liv played with a groin injury. We even used Amari some, even though she was not trusted in meaning-full minutes until that game. Remember this is against the team with the best big in the country (Boston), probably the best backup C in the country, and the team that outrebounded their opponents by the biggest margin. Aaliyah and injured Liv, an untested Amari, and Evina playing small ball against the country's best bigs was a matchup we could never win upfront. Short of bad injuries to our bigs similar to what happened to our guards last year, we will have far more talented bodies to take on that challenge up front. We frankly didn't have a chance in that championship game if we knew in advance that Liv was injured and Azzi was sick. Dorka being out made us significant underdogs because we only used a three big rotation anyway, but an injured Liv was like pouring gasoline on the fire. In the backcourt not having Paige is obviously a big blow, but remember Paige wasn't fully recovered. What we had in the championship game was a far less than 100% Paige and a sick Azzi. Paige will be gone but Azzi presumably won't be sick, be healthier, and presumably make a significant sophomore jump, as should Caroline for that matter. In fact both Azzi and Caroline had better PER (player efficiency ratings) stats last year as freshmen than both Christyn and Evina. So it is not much of a question of if they can be better than their departed seniors, they were probably already better, and should be significantly better in subsequent years. The championship game was not a fair comparison. Of course we were not competitive given the circumstances,, how could we be? More troubling to me was the decisive SC victory in the Bahamas. Considering the seasons and both head to head matchups, I think we have to conclude that SC was the clearly better team, but we had legitimate excuses in the championship game. We need better play from our bigs and at least close the gap between the two teams upfront. With the addition of Ice and Ayanna, the return of Aubrey, a potential breakout from Amari, and an Aaliyah that may resemble her freshmen more than her sophomore year, there are plenty of candidates to provide that upgrade. In the backcourt we "could" be as good, even without Paige. Last year Paige and Azzi were both playing less than 100% and missed close to half the season. Paige hurts alot, but Azzi could play close to twice as many minutes total this season than last, play in a healthier state, and with a nice jump in effectiveness with one year of experience. Same point on healthier and improvement from Caroline. I say "could" because even with the addition of Inez we are vulnerable in the backcourt. As it is, either Inez or a PF playing SF (Aubrey or Ayanna) will probably be necessary for 5 or 6 minutes a game. With any injury to the main four guards, one of those players becomes at 15-20 minutes a game player and a big question mark. I think we have a ways to go to match SC upfront, but a big gap last year can be reduced to a minor one this year if a few people come thru. In the backcourt I think on paper we should be better even with Paige out, due to Azzi and Caroline improving from already good freshmen seasons, and the addition of a proven transfer in Lou, but we need to stay healthy there. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach