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Post by grayman on Apr 27, 2023 20:49:42 GMT -8
It will definitely be interesting to see how Rueck distributes playing time next season.
IMO the Beavers have four players that need to stay on the court for significant minutes in order for the team to have the best shot at winning on a consistent basis:
Beers, TVO, Gardiner and Blacklock.
Beers and TVO are pretty much givens.
Gardiner needs to make some strides in the offseason but it's obvious that her upside is high.
Blacklock showed it during the final part of the season. She played more during the last six games and was productive. She played 27 minutes vs. UW and had 12 points with two assists. Then she had her one down game with 6 points in 16 minutes vs. WSU.
She had 14 points with two rebounds, two steals and was 4-5 from 3 in 22 minutes against ASU; had 22 points (4-9 3s) and five rebounds in 30 minutes against Arizona; then 15 points (3-6 3s), six rebounds and two steals in 27 minutes vs. USC and 12 points and 3 rebounds in 34 minutes against Colorado.
Assuming that the point will be run by one of the freshmen or possibly Martha, where does that leave the others? Marotte will no doubt get some time but I don't really see much left after that...
Thoughts?
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Post by beaverfever148 on Apr 27, 2023 21:21:30 GMT -8
Completely agree with your assessment.
Shalexxus should get time at the 4, especially with a year in our system under her belt. As of right now, we’re pretty thin in the frontcourt so we’ll need her experience. Wasn’t she in the starting lineup for the majority of this last season?
Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the freshman point guards emerge and get lots of minutes. After that it’s just a guessing game IMO.
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Post by beaverwbb fan on Apr 28, 2023 8:51:29 GMT -8
Improved defense will be important.
Defensive chemistry takes time to develop, so hopefully returning a lot of key players will be beneficial.
I know we didn’t bring in any game changers, but developing the returners and continuing the chemistry is just as important IMO.
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Post by hoopheritic on Apr 28, 2023 8:59:36 GMT -8
If I was in charge of the 5 players on the most minutes (Starters?) right now it would be: Reagan, Martha, Talia, AJ, Timea. I see no indication that the '23s could be a primary ball handler at the Pac12 level in short order. Most games last year there was almost always 1 or 2 players coming off the bench who played more minutes than 1 or 2 starters. Generally any time Jelena or Shalexxus started someone off the bench got more minutes.
I'm not as high on Blacklock as her performance late in the season could have been correlated to her not factoring in team's scouting. This is the Jeremy Lin effect. It's hard to say. Her speed/quickness is not great, fine, but not great. Obviously the stroke is there.
I expect Shalexxus to be on less minutes next season as the '22 class gains more minutes. She filled a need in terms of experience last season but pretty much every returning player in the 5'10" to 6'2" range is better than her in every way and now have the experience.
Timea was pretty bad on defense this last season so needs some growth there. But I still think she is a core player.
Last year a lot of us said AJ's growth would be a key to success. She started off strong then her confidence seemed to collapse when Bendu came into the lineup. Then she got hurt and that seemed to slow her down. She came on strong in the last part of the season, especially on defense. I still think the team's season will be dependent on how much she can improve.
Reagan is still the best post in her class in the country. If she levels up her passing game, especially from the elbows she will be Jokic level scary.
Talia is an enigma to me. She can put up numbers but not in a way that makes the team better and she's an easy scout if you have a couple quick guards who can ice her off ball screens. And she is slow. I don't think a team with her as the first or second scoring option can make a conference run.
The transfers are warm bodies.
The '23 class is really hard to gage until we see them in a college game.
Martha's development will be key to the teams success and proving the ability of the staff to develop players. The portal pickups lead me to believe the staff believes in the current roster and Martha. The shot and vision are elite but the speed and physicality need to catch up. European guards are raised in a very cerebral, high IQ, ecosystem so they are extremely skilled but aren't used to the American game.
Lily, hopefully she gains some strength, weight, and lateral quickness as we will need some minutes from her. I think it takes her another year to get there.
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Post by lotrader on Apr 28, 2023 9:51:08 GMT -8
hoopheritic, I hope you are correct that OSU staff has confidence in Martha to run the team. Having seen both Kennedie and Donovyn play twice in the past 2 months, they are both great athletes, and should see some playing time next season at PG. Both have great court vision and are great at pushing the ball with their eyes forward. I think Timea's progress is key for next season. I also think we need to see Lily come back much stronger and quicker. A quicker/stronger Lily can be a force given her height. I'm stoked about next season. I like our players and their chemistry. GO BEAVS!
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Post by beaveragain on Apr 28, 2023 13:01:57 GMT -8
I think Timea's defense one on one was fine. Her problem is that she didn't seem to know how to play the zone, and Rueck had them playing a lot of zone. Off season she takes care of that and gets in better game shape she will be awesome.
Lily started off last season better in pretty much all phases of the game than Adlee. By the end of the season it was reversed. Lily at the end of the season was pretty much the same as at the beginning. While Adlee had regained the aggression of her high school days. Lets hope Lily puts on some muscle and is more willing to mix it up.
Right now I'd say the season will largely depend on health and how Marth does. If Martha is able to shoot a little better and play better defense then this will be a very good team.
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