The question next year will be the same one with which we began this year: Bigs. Coach Geno understood completely at the beginning of the season that Edwards and ONO just would not bring us a NC, when he pointed out that Dorka could be that key addition in the front court that could take us to the highest level. But Dorka was not there for the Final.
This year we lose ONO, but bring back Dorka. Dorka will undoubtedly play better than ONO, and give us a more dependable presence underneath. Indeed, it could be that with a better understanding of Coach Geno's system, she'll do vastly better than she did this year.
But we're not bringing in another Boston, or Cunane, or Brink or Betts. Ice and Ayanna are 6'2" and 6'3", which means they're not the size to go toe to toe with a great post. The question is whether they can help form a credible and physical ensemble cast for the front court. That's something we haven't had since 2015, when Breanna Stewart teamed up with Kiah Stokes and Morgan Tuck. The year before was the last time we had an unstoppable front court, adding Stephanie Dolson to Stewart and Stokes. We won the NC with HOF'er Breanna at the post. But since then, we've cobbled together a front court that just couldn't get us to the Promised Land. Napheesa was undersized for the position she was forced to play at UConn. And KLS was a tall guard who was forced to play under the basket on defense.
I hold out no hope that either DeBerry or Gabriel will step forward, or will be given the go-ahead to step forward next year. I think Coach Geno has made up his mind about their prospects, and he's not likely to all of a sudden have Gabriel as the first front court player off the bench. Nor will DeBerry likely turn into a bruising back-to-the-basket post player. Instead, she's likely to, ONO-like, keep heaving threes from beyond the arc. That's not what the team needs.
Unless a great post player decides to transfer in, we will be looking at yet another year of excellent guard play, but a questionable front court. And until those questions are answered, the odds-on favorites for the next NC will be South Carolina and Stanford.