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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 4670790, member: 12088"] … [B]but since the thread presupposes everyone is healthy[/B] — check the thread title — all these reflections on injuries and recoveries are not to the point. The only relevant question is about replacing Dorka. We know we have scorers who can fill the hole left by Lou. Do we have a 5 to play effectively next to Aaliyah? I think there are two responses to this question. [B]First[/B], we have two (or three?) really promising but untested bigs and between them Geno should be able to cover the 5 for all those times when we want to run a double big lineup. [B]Second[/B], in some of our best games (like the ones against NC St, Iowa and Duke) Dorka was injured. The other half of the thread question is [B]how will we match up against LSU.[/B] Two halves to that question: front court and backcourt. If Morrow and Reese develop some chemistry (which many here are rightly dubious about) they will be formidable, maybe too much for Aaliyah alone. We know from the DePaul games last season that she can outplay Morrow. But we can’t expect her to outplay both Morrow and Reese. Who will step up to fill this gap? Can Ayanna matchup with Morrow? She’s plenty strong enough and can be relentless but is not nearly as skilled as Morrow. If she can at least keep Morrow from dominating the low post, I think Aaliyah is a good matchup against Reese. This is our answer even if Ice Jana and Amari contribute nothing. We may not win this half of the matchup, but we are likely to keep them close. And if one of our bigs can contribute something we are likely to do rather better. But on the backcourt side of the equation our answers are rather different. I don’t think any of us seriously thinks Paige Azzi Nika will not be able to win against Hailey Van Lith Poole Johnson. The most comparable games for thinking about this are the ones we played against Iowa Baylor and Indiana with Paige in the lineup. Baylor that year was similar to what LSU is likely to be. That game featured Richards Ursin and Carrington in the backcourt and it was a close call until Didi went down in the 3rd quarter. After that, it was clear they had no answer for Paige. She scored 28 and Christyn added 21. Our frontcourt was outplayed by Smith and Egbo, but that was freshman Aaliyah, and senior Aaliyah is likely to be a very different player. Is Reese a better front court player than a Alyssa Smith was? This year, Poole Johnson and Hailey Van Lith will be a smaller trio than Nika Paige and Azzi. How will they matchup? Can freshman Williams contribute anything? Can KK? Reese and Morrow will also be smaller across the front line than Aaliyah and whoever we pair her with. The Indiana game from two years ago might be instructive here too. That backcourt was very athletic, seasoned, and featured a very crafty scorer in Berger. They were no match for a Paige-led backcourt. Their frontcourt with Holmes and Gulbe is comparable to the challenges Reese and Morrow would pose. How would Aaliyah fare against Holmes this season? That may be as close a comparison — at least on the offensive side — as Aaliyah against Reese. And we haven’t considered what Aubrey and Caroline would add to this comparison. I don’t think LSU has anyone who can really matchup to either of them. So, what’s the strategy? Put Nika on Hailey Van Lith and let Azzi and Paige deal with Johnson and Poole. Aubrey might put in some time defending one of the guards, Williams for example, if she gets hot. On the other side, who guards Paige and Azzi? I don’t think Hailey Van Lith or Johnson can really matchup with either of them. Is it Poole? And if Caroline is on the perimeter, who guards her? Or Aubrey? Reese and Morrow may win the battle in the paint, but there’s too many other questions on their side for me to bet on them. [/QUOTE]

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