I think one reason that Tina is overlooked is there’s a myth floating around that she wasn’t “good” until her junior year. She won at least one National Freshman of the Year award and was an AP 3rd team All-American her sophomore year, so I don’t know why that’s a narrative.
Tina was "good" from the beginning. She was the NFOY, and Geno commented that he had forgotten how beneficial it was to get easy buckets. Tina also padded her rebound stats by missing layups.
In her sophomore year, she got outplayed in the NCAA tourney by Jayne Appel. Geno commented that "we don't have a post presence." Tina was playing well, but not great. Geno and CD talked to Tina, asking her if she wanted to be great. That pushed Tina to up her game the following season.
As a junior, Tina showed greater intensity and was looking improved. Against Stanford in the NCAA tourney, Tina held her own, which was a big step. Unlike the prior year, we beat the Cardinal. In the finals against Louisville, Tina was the key player. It took Maya over 20 minutes to find her shot and Renee about 30 minutes, but Tina got us a nice lead early on. Louisville had no answer for her.
As a senior, Tina was consistently great and won most of the NPOY awards (Maya won the Wade). CD had the brilliant idea to have Tina room with Maya. She was the #1 draft pick, as the Huskies went undefeated again.
Tina's career showed a steady progression in her play. Probably the biggest demonstrated leap was between her sophomore and junior seasons, as shown by her play against Stanford. In contrast, Maya and Paige were great as freshmen.
