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Post by ricke71 on Dec 20, 2022 13:38:50 GMT -8
Observations on the team after Hawaii:
I think most impartial basketball scouts, after watching the first 11 games of this season, would come to these general observations about this year’s team.
1. The team is, by almost every measure, slow. Very slow. The only exception is Bendu, and her speed is not effectively utilized. The team is slow on defense, slow on offense.
2. The team has not one single player who qualifies as a good shooter – with the exception of Talia.
3. The team has one tenacious defender.
4. The team is glaringly weak in its perimeter defense.
5. The team is pretty solid when it comes to defensive rebounding.
6. Mit is a significant defensive presence in the paint. Elsewhere not so much.
7. Beers is an impressive hustle-and-produce player in the low post.
8. Talia is the star of the team, and whoever is 2nd is a considerable distance behind. Essentially, we have a team with one really good player, whereas the good teams of the past had 2 or 3, sometimes 4, really good players.
9. At this stage of the season the Beavs are an 8th or 9th place team in the Pac.
10. If Gardiner proves to be a genuine impact player, and Rueck successfully goes to a forward-power oriented game, he has a chance to get his team to a 6th place finish. Odds not very good.
11. This is the weakest team Rueck has fielded in the past 8 or 9 years.
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HOWEVER: Since being a fan brings with it the curse of eternal hopefulness, and irrational belief in the improbable, I’ll conclude with a dash of optimism: IF the Beavs can somehow beat USC & UCLA in Gill in 2 weeks it may give them a magical pivot into Conference play. So, right now, that’s what I’m hoping for. Magic. Really, magic. I'm truly hoping for it.
As a student of the game, however, it’s hard for me to turn a blind eye to the Scouting Reports. Sadly, they don’t believe in magic. 🏀
GO BEAVS!!
"IF the Beavs....can somehow beat USC & UCLA in Gill in 2 weeks...." At this early juncture USC is in 8th (as per RPI) in the PAC12 - with a 9-2 record, but with a SOS of 213. OSU sadly has the worst RPI in the PAC - aka, LAST PLACE. Beavs SOS is 202. I think that beating USC at Gill is pretty much a must if the season is going to 'go anywhere'. Beating UCLA on January 1, rather that being a "magical pivot", would be a monstrous upset. |
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Post by rmancarl on Dec 20, 2022 14:16:21 GMT -8
Sometimes you just have to accept that a team is not ready yet. I don't care what you say about this team (too slow, poor shooting, coaching philosophy, etc) the reality is that this is a young, but talented team.
A few names from 2012/2013...Weisner, Hunter, Hamblin, Siegner, Scott Rueck. Does anyone remember how good those players were? They won 10 games. 10! They were 4-14 in conference. They lost one game that year to Michigan State 49-35. Yep, 35 points. Can you imagen this board after a game like that? 2013/2014-- Still Weisner, Hunter, Hamblin, Siegner, Rueck, with (of course) some additions they went 24-11, 13-5 in conference.....and we know how the next few years went.
The future of this team is talented Freshman and Sophomores. I don't know how good some of these freshman will become, but I think the core of Talia, Raegan, and Timea combined with Jelena, AJ, the other freshman, and the new players brought in for next season will make for a good team next year. I think the current team will probably win more than that 2012/2013 team did, and next year may not win as many as 2013/2014, but you will see a marked improvement in games won.
Obviously, the transfer portal and injuries could derail all that I just said, which is exactly what has happened the last few seasons. The trajectory of this team has gone the wrong direction for several years now, and injuries to players like Aquino, Tudor, Brown, Jones, Corosdale, as well as transfers out of the program like Solcum, Goforth, Brown, Jones, etc have had a huge impact. A couple years back we were salivating at the possibility of having Goodman return for a 5th season, along with Goforth and Talia and they would have formed one of the best backcourts in the country, but Goforth transferred, and Aleah decided not to stay. Although I don't blame the coaches for the unfortunate injuries, I do believe the coaching staff has been way to timid in adding players, and that has left them short on talent during the recent downturn.
I think we would find it an interesting game if Weisner, Hamblin, Hunter etc, were facing Talia, Timea, Raegan, Jelena, AJ, etc. It takes patience, but give them time to mature and you have the makings of a good team the next 2-3 years. All the more reason this staff needs to work hard at creating that culture players want to be a part of, much like the football team has done. It's not as easy as it once was, but it may very well be the key to whether this board is full of negative or positive post this time next year.
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Post by lotrader on Dec 20, 2022 15:46:03 GMT -8
Agree rmancarl. We need to give the young ones playing time now, especially the 5 freshmen. I can foresee Adlee dropping multiple 3-pointers in a game if given the minutes to learn when to pull the trigger. Adlee has a quick trigger which excites me about her potential in the Rueck offense. I believe in the freshmen, and can live with a rebuilding year. I think next year could be very good if we don't lose any of the young ones to portal, injury, etc. |
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Post by jdogge on Dec 20, 2022 15:54:02 GMT -8
I don't hear anyone stating Rueck should be fired. Some years you have a "rebuilding" season. That is this season. Some could argue that it is still early enough in the season to turn things around and get invited to the big dance. As was pointed out we can't start off the PAC-12 0-3. Given the makeup of this squad, I want to see the coaching staff place their emphasis on developing our young players, and get them game experience now, not later. All 5 freshmen should be getting loads of playing time. "I don't hear anyone stating Rueck should be fired." Not yet. But, the salami brigade will start that soon. They have the expertise of bacteria and the patience of a pit bull puppy. |
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Post by avidbeaver on Dec 20, 2022 16:08:51 GMT -8
Rueck doesn't seem to want to change his coaching philosophy. He needs to adapt to todays style of play. If he doesn't, there may be changes in the roster again. The transfer portal makes it a lot easier to move around.
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