Speaking of freshmen..

[noirwestern]

Not too shabby after graduating seven seniors.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Oregon was impressive last night vs Mich St.
They rotate in a lot of players into their lineup, many freshmen.
Sabrina Ionescu is the real deal too. She will only get better.
Hebard has helped with the graduation of Alleyne.
Very solid Pac12 team.

 

[noirwestern]

They're going to need to hire a specialist to help Ionescu with her shyness.

 

[jonson]

I was at the game last night and at one point the Ducks led by over 40. Because most folks here were just hoping the Ducks would keep things close (as was I), the outcome, and even more how they dominated, was a something of a surprise. (It's difficult for me to believe that the Spartans really deserved to be ranked--I think they're also projected to come in third in the Big 10--but . . . .)

The Oregon team is very young--only one senior and one junior start and there are no others in the regular rotation. If things keep progressing in the right direction (Kelly Graves proved at Gonzaga that he is a very good coach), they will be a tough out by the end of this year and a very good team next year.

Ionescu is the real deal. And she's not just a scorer: she's tough mentally and physically, rebounds very well, and is an excellent passer (the team had 23 assists last night). She also plays with an intensity that would fit right in at UCONN. Ruthie Hebard (a 6'4" post) completely outplayed Taya Reimer (who transferred to MSU from Notre Dame), as did (for a shorter time) another freshman post: Mallory McGwire (niece of Mark). The second or third most heralded of the recruits (Sierra Campisano) has just returned from surgery but has looked solid in limited minutes, and another freshman (Morgan Yaeger, a guard from Australia) has also performed very well and has (I think) a great deal of potential. Another of the recruits (Jayde Woods) plays good defense but can't shoot, while the tallest of the group (Lydia Giomi,who is 6' 6") runs very well, has some skills, but needs to be much stronger. There were at least 2 freshman on the floor throughout the game and often 3 or even 4. (The team starts two freshman, two sophomores, and a senior, with one of the sophomores coming off for Hebard after a short stint to open games.)

I'm originally from Connecticut and have been a Husky fan since the first national championship team. But I only began attending WBB games with my daughters after we moved to Eugene, and it's nice to have the prospect of a decent team here after a drought for most of this century.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Glad to have them keeping momentum going. The more the merrier.