Although I hesitate to take part in a discussion like this--especially here--maybe another way to frame the issue is to ask: if I were a member of the Oregon staff who would I "trade" for whom (as a starter) in order to make the team stronger? So, yes, this is about positions, and it's also about what a player brings to the table for Oregon at this point in her career--not upside, not who will be the better player a year or two from now (or maybe even now), and certainly not about recruiting rankings, which really don't work very well for this Oregon team, and which UCONN, in any case, will always win hands down.
So, given that, I'd trade Erin Boley for Meg in a heartbeat, but after? Christyn may be a better guard than Moore in some (many?) respects, but she is clearly not Moore's equal defensively and mostly adds (imo) something that is already one of Oregon's strengths rather than, as Moore does, expands the team's capabilities. So I'd pass on that one. And, whatever the thinking of the USA team staff, it's difficult for me to see Liv as a more important contributor than Hebard, who has been extraordinarily (and consistently) productive for some three years now, including the game against that US team in November. Again, that doesn't mean that Liv doesn't have a higher upside than Hebard--I believe that's obvious--nor does it mean that down the road her accomplishments won't be superior, but, as good as she is, especially defensively, I don't think that Oregon would be a better team right now with her in the starting lineup instead of Ruthy.
As for Makurat, good coaches recognize good talent. (UCONN also beat out Oregon for Nika Muhl.)
