This was a hard loss to take for the girls, and for us fans in the BY too. It seems to have made us a bit snippy, and that's understandable. We can't take our frustration out on the team so we take it out on each other. So here's the simple truth. Maybe saying it will make folks feel better, though let's be sure to notice both sides of it.
1) as currently constituted, the Huskies are not a Final Four team, and maybe worse than that -- a lot of folks are eager to say this as if it would make them feel the better for it. Unfortunately, this doesn't do much for me. I will always do what it takes to see some bright side to the situation. I don't need to torture myself with gloomy predictions in the hope I'll feel better if the worst comes to pass. That doesn't work for me.
2) the Huskies will not remain in this condition all season. By February, the team will be much different. What will change?
First, Paige will get even better than she is now. The striking thing is that she's only beginning to recover the potential she had 2 years ago. Just let that sink in for a moment.
Second, we took a huge hit with Azzi's injury, and another one with Caroline's. This was 2/3 of the perimeter offense, and it evaporated almost overnight. The girls need to get over the shock of it, and I think us fans have underestimated the impact on the entire organization -- to lose two superstars within a few days. Even the coaches need a chance to get a breath of air. We are effectively back to where we were last season, with only one perimeter threat in Lou, only now our front court is thinner. Really, we are already more injured than we were last season, since we're also down Jana and Ayanna.
Third, Ayanna will return, though there's no guarantee she'll regain her potential soon. If she can come back and take her place as a muscular presence in the paint, it'll go along way to shoring up our front court woes.
Fourth, the freshmen will have to step up, and more than one of them will succeed. But they will need time to grow into the system. KK and Ashlynn seem to have a growing sense of their roles. On the other hand, Ice seems lost on offense and Qadence seems lost on defense. The good news is this will change, and conference play will work wonders on them.
Fifth, the Kansas game is the one that really matters this weekend. A lot of us felt very uncertain about the UCLA game, and the polls had already seemed to factor in the loss, a #8 vs a #2. But the Kansas game is the moment for the players and the coaches to remind themselves that they have a winning system and are going to build on what they already have.
Sixth, and this one is the most ambiguous, Amari played mid-game minutes. She didn't play very well, but she did a couple things the stat sheet didn't capture. She boxed out Betts a couple times. That's a beginning. And, in all fairness, she got thrown into a high-level game with little preparation. I wouldn't have expected more than that from her. The ambiguity is whether Geno will let her develop in game time, since he seems to think she's not earning it in practice. On this point, I think opinion in the BY is sharply divided.
I've only watched highlights so far and I'm not sure I have the hardihood to watch the whole game yet. But thanks again to
@MJL243 for making it possible once I work up the nerve. But what I did see confirms what I expected -- without a perimeter game, Aaliyah doesn't stand a chance against big front lines. If we have perimeter shooting, then she can operate in the paint free of double teams. Currently we don't have that luxury.
This is the great divide among teams: either you play
outside in or
inside out. We are not able to do either one at this moment. We can mask this to some extent by making each game a track meet, though this already assumes a perimeter game. But if Qadence and Ashlynn and Nika can hit 3s next to Paige against Kansas, we may see the path forward. Kansas has a few unconvincing wins and one very credible loss to VT. If that game was not a fluke, they'll be tough for us to beat, and it will be a valuable experience for everyone if we win.
[an update: VT is currently playing even with Tulane after the first half, a game they should win with a huge blowout if this were a normal season.]