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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 4784602, member: 12088"] Nice analysis, [USER=267]@cferraro04[/USER]. They have a weak front line and depend on a strong but young set of guards to step up. A few details I might think about: [B]1[/B]. Hayes is a gritty player and a bit of a Swiss army knife type. She's an opportunistic scorer who rebounds well. A little like Aubrey, though not as athletic. She'll end up everywhere on the court. [B]2[/B]. Collins is a quick forward at 6'3", maybe quicker than Aaliyah, though not nearly as strong. She is capable of having a big game if she doesn't have to be the main scorer. She was able to do that occasionally at MD, where there were other options besides her. If NC St has other options, like James, Hayes and Rivers, Mimi could have a big game. [B]3[/B]. This could be a big season for Rivers, if James can continue to hit from the perimeter like she did against Charlotte. Saniyah has excellent skills, but needs someone else to take the pressure off her. Unfortunately, against Charlotte she took only 5 shots, made 2, and got the rest of her points at the free throw line. This isn't promising. [B]4[/B]. Baldwin seems to have been slowed by something -- injury, illness? -- from last season and I wonder if Wes can afford to give her 20 minutes against us and get so little production (0 pts, 5 rebounds, 2 TOs). Although, Cox, Collier, and Williamson didn't do much better against Charlotte. This seems like a substantial weakness for NC St. [B]5[/B]. Both teams have deep benches. It's only a question whether Wes will use his. Last season, he played 9 deep and we played 5. Tomorrow, I suspect well see Geno give 10 players double figure minutes. Against Charlotte, Wes played 10, but only got significant production from 7. I suspect today, he'll be hard pressed to go deeper than 7, or even 6. Since we aren't overmatched in size on the post, we don't have to make it a track meet -- though Geno probably will do some of that, maybe a lot. The more we run, the less Wes can use his bigs, who are on the slow side, whereas Geno can run with Aaliyah and Ice on the floor. But I think Aaliyah Aubrey and Ice will be able to operate in the paint in the half court set offense. Expect to see a lot of minutes with Collins or Cox trying to guard Aaliyah. If Paige and Azzi find the range, this game will not be close, maybe 102-70. If not, it will be up to Nika KK Aubrey Aaliyah Ice Qadence and Caroline to step up the stifling defense and the running game, and I'd expect a score like 94-66. I have confidence in either scenario. [/QUOTE]

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