I agree. In fact, the primary post players for BU didn’t even play on Thursday. It is way too early for any anointing. What we have before us is mere glimpses and players don’t always develop in a smooth line. We have some reasons to expect great things from Jana and Sarah, but no certainty.
The USF bigs will pose a better challenge, though they are not all that big: 6’3” 6’2” and 6’1”. On the whole, they are better rebounders and scorers than we’ve seen so far. But at bottom, this is likely to feel like another tuneup game.
The UNC Bigs will pose an even better challenge. Gakdeng and Utsby are experienced, and Thomas and Toomey are very promising first year posts. Altogether this group is bigger and more experienced than Jana and Sarah and even Ice. If our bigs dominate UNC, I think it may be safe to do at least a little anointing.
As a side note, I’d say this OOC schedule has been quite clever. It should allow Geno to bring his posts along gradually. This is strikingly different compared to last season, when he had Aaliyah Ice and Ayanna, or the previous season with Aaliyah Dorka and Ayanna. External events derailed those teams, of course, but the OOC schedule was rather stiffer from the start for each of them.
This season, the most serious games come in December against Louisville ND ISU and USC. This stretch is the main event until the Tennessee and SC games in February. I’m curious to see how Jana Sarah and Ice do against Olivia Cochrane, against Kate Koval, and against Audi Crooks, and ultimately against Rayah Marshall and Kiki Iriafen.
We may not win all the games in this stretch, even if our bigs acquit themselves well. But Geno will know exactly what he has by the end of December. Then the conference schedule begins and so does the honing process. I find myself more engaged in this season than any since Stewie’s freshman year, and that’s setting the bar pretty high.
