I've said a few times and I reiterate once more
that Geno's recollection of last year's team is a bit rose colored.
One can recall:
Bria (at times) having trouble adjusting to her new back-court mate and figuring out her modified role.
Just as Ms. Moriah seems to be a suffering from exactly (or even more-so) of the same ailment this season.
K was out a great deal with a variety of ailments almost too painful to recall;
There was no Morgan (by this time).
The bench barely existed
And the two reserve guards wilted into un-usefulness upon K's return.
What was so wonderful about that.
Except of course that they won it all.
And Stef and Bria broke up as it all came to an end; surely in appreciation of the experience and opportunity
And Geno joined in on National TV.
Sorry to be playing scrooge at this time of the year
But the team at hand is immeasurably deeper and in my view more talented.
Whether they go all the way is a matter of conjecture which we will all observe with interest.
Well - last year's final four team vs. this years team:
Starters:
Dolson replaced by Tuck - love Tuck but as both an offensive threat and a defensive presence Dolson in the post is much superior and her leadership and emotional infectiousness was very important to the team (she also had four years of experience.)
Bria replaced by Nurse - love Nurse but I take a four year starter Bria over Kia any day and again senior leadership was big.
Moriah - Moriah a year older and maybe a little better
KML - KML a year older and healthy so far, but she was a monster by tournament time last year.
Stewart - Stewart a year older but to date not playing any better I think than last year.
Bench:
Kiah replaced by Kiah - pretty much a wash. She is providing pretty much the same thing she did last year though playing a few more minutes.
Chong replaced by Chong - pretty much the same, though I think struggling a bit with her offense this year in a way she didn't early last year.
Williams - new face with a lot of potential.
Courtney - ??? time will tell if she can get it back together this year.
So ... yeah, last year with Dolson and Bria both averaging 64.2 minutes a game starting and playing all 40 games being replaced almost exactly by the combination of Kia, Morgan, and Gabby's combined 65.8 minutes per game I can see why Geno thinks he was better off last year.
(And of course players grow in his estimation the less he actually sees of them on a daily basis!
)