Ice Ice Brady

[oldude]

I don’t see Ayanna playing the 3 this season. She’s not a good enough shooter and she’s too good as a rebounder to mover her out to the wing. Serah could conceivably play the 3 but why would anyone want her to? Obviously, on offense any or all of them could conceivably set up away from the basket. But on defense it’s a very different story.

The natural defensive 3s I see are Blanca Carol Morgan and maybe Sarah. But putting Sarah out there would only make sense in a very big lineup. Would you have Sarah defend the perimeter unless Jana and Serah or Ice or Ayanna weren’t also on the floor? What would be the point? I mean, try to picture a lineup with Sarah at the 3 and Morgan and Carol or Blanca at the 4 and 5. They might end up defending the low post through switches. But would you really station them there?

I’m really curious to see what roster experiments Geno will try this season. Might he go superbig at times, maybe have Jana Serah and Sarah on the floor together? We know he’s comfortable going with a small lineup, maybe with Sarah Blanca Ash Azzi KK or Kayleigh. But how big will he go?

We know Sarah and Serah give him impressive defense and offense inside the arc and even in the low post. And Sarah gives him a great perimeter shooter. I suspect this will mean he’ll want to have one or the other of them on the floor at all times starting in February. And he’ll also want both of them playing together for long stretches. This is easy to picture if they get ~30mins that partially overlap. But things are rarely that simple.

While Geno can go BIG, small and everything in between, I have tried to imagine opponents where Geno might use a big lineup that would include say, Jana, Serah & Sarah. UCLA, TX & SC might be options. But none of those matchups would occur before the postseason. So Geno really wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to try out that lineup against any opponent that could matchup with it.

But I do remember, years ago, attending a conference tournament game in Albany, where Geno rolled out Steph, Stewie, Kiah Stokes, Tuck and KML. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who the opponent was. Stewie brought the ball up and the other team couldn’t buy a rebound.

 

[Bone Dog]

While Geno can go BIG, small and everything in between, I have tried to imagine opponents where Geno might use a big lineup that would include say, Jana, Serah & Sarah. UCLA, TX & SC might be options. But none of those matchups would occur before the postseason. So Geno really wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to try out that lineup against any opponent that could matchup with it.

But I do remember, years ago, attending a conference tournament game in Albany, where Geno rolled out Steph, Stewie, Kiah Stokes, Tuck and KML. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who the opponent was. Stewie brought the ball up and the other team couldn’t buy a rebound.

The problem with superbig lineups is that they tend to be slower overall. Geno hasn’t had super speedy players since MoJeff and Crystal, though KK is close. But overall, his lineups have been quicker than opponents because they make decisions more quickly. Their switches and screens are crisp. And they tend to have excellent stamina. Even with Ice and Jana on the floor last season, the team was quicker than most opponents and thus became especially pronounced in the tournament. In other words, it’s not just about foot speed. They practically ran UCLA off the court. South Carolina too, and they have a lot of athletes. The only team that was able to stay competitive in the tournament was USC, but it was a struggle for them.

The problem for all the new players — the freshmen, the ones returning from injury and the transfers — is learning to play at this speed all the time. Ice has a significant advantage in already having experienced this game pace. Jana too. The other bigs will have to get up to speed. Mental speed. As Yogi said, 50 percent of the game is all mental.