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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 4580396, member: 12088"] I go back and forth on this one. Are we better than the team that entered the tournament with Dorka healthy? I'm not sure. Paige was back, held together with duct tape and baling wire, but with that indomitable will to win. Azzi was beginning to feel her talents, but also with some residual self-doubt. Caroline was still a bit gimpy from her hip. Aaliyah had just begun to find herself after a swoon that included a ton of missed layups. Christyn was her usual self -- an awesome ball handler and finisher, but also a streaky shooter. Liv was her usual self, an awesome defender and high-post passer, an uneven scorer but utterly reliable. Dorka was just beginning to find her place on the team, next to Liv and Aaliyah. She'd stepped up in the last few weeks of the season and thrown herself at each victory with energy and enthusiasm, the way she does every game now. And Evina -- I can never forget her, always in the background, ready to make a decisive play, a steal and runout, or three perimeter daggers in a row against Stanford, the emotional foundation of the team, the one who'd steady the team right after Paige went down. That team had heart, and a lot of emotional baggage. Fortunately, most of that baggage was full of the will to win. They thumped Indiana, defying all the pundits who said they'd lose to the newcomers. They gutted out an incredible win against NC St, one which the Wolfpack may not have recovered from even now. And they dominated Stanford -- some last minute jitters let Stanford back into the game, but it wasn't really that close. Two images from the closing minutes of that game: 1) Geno yelling for a timeout that the refs didn't hear, then saying "Never mind" when Evina found Aaliyah for a breakaway layup a second later, 2) Azzi sinking free throws in the closing seconds, cool as a cucumber, who else would you want at the line in such a situation? Today's team is better in a few respects. A healthy Dorka, and a resurgent Aaliyah, both peaking at the right moment. An indomitable shooter and much improved defender in Lou. Aubrey -- wow did we miss her last year! For all her flaws as a ball handler, she is such an awesome defender, rebounder, slasher, and finisher on the break. She does magic on the court. Remember those two steals she took the length of the court against NC St [B]in a row[/B]? If anything showed them they weren't ready for primetime against the huskies, it was that moment. And, of course, Nika, the mighty mite who aimed our firepower at whoever was unlucky enough to get in her crosshairs. Our powder got a little damp late in the season, but it seems to be dry again just in time. And Ayanna, not yet fully ready to exert all her powers, but still a fierce rebounder and defender when needed. And of course, the return of Azzi and Caroline is full of the promise of greatness. Neither one has shown that greatness quite yet, but if they do over the next few games, look out! So, yes, we may be even better than last year's team, even without Paige, if.... Azzi and Caroline are ready to light it up with Lou. But I still admire the trio we lost last season, Christyn and Liv, and most of all Evina. [/QUOTE]

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