Understanding that it is an exhibition game against a smaller team, a few takeaways for me.
- This is their best team at this stage of the season since 2015, the last time they went to Italy. I am sure this is related (they have been playing together longer than most November 1 teams), and that team went to the Final Four.
- Jones is the best freshman big I have seen here in 25 years (which is how long I have been watching). With hard work and coaching, she has no ceiling as a player.
- Brown looks like a great all-around player, especially as a passer. Her game has more finesse to it, and therefore I think there are many ways she can grow. Like Pivec, like Wiese, she seems perfectly comfortable being one of the best players on the court from day one. Its early, but she looks like a star to me.
- I noticed the other day that if Pivec were to match last season's rebound total she would pass Ruth Hamblin as the team's all-time leading rebounder. That is sort of ridiculous. I suspect the presence of Jones and Brown, both of whom should be playing 25+ minutes a game by mid-season, will keep her from leading the team in rebounds again. She might score more in that case.
- Pivec played point guard a lot, which surprised me. More than she did last year. Rueck knows a lot more about this than I do, but I like seeing her on the wing.
- I hope Corosdale is OK. It will be interesting to see how her playing time shakes out with the freshmen. Last year she got much better as a rebounder but had a tough year shooting. I hope the latter recovers, because there might be a lot of open shots out there now.
The rest of the team looks fine and ready to go. I mean, this was a Top 10 team that is being fortified by what I suspect we will two of their best players by January.
