Post by 411500 on Dec 23, 2017 14:39:36 GMT -8
Pre-Season Over— Now What?
The Lady Beavs wrapped up their 11-game pre-season schedule with a 9-2 record and are now bracing themselves for an 18-game conference slugfest that begins in Corvallis with the Washington schools and ends in the desert with the Arizona schools.
What’s in store is anyone’s guess.
During pre-season the Beavs won all nine games when favored and lost both games when underdogs. They played well in a close home loss to Notre Dame, and not so well in a road loss to Duke. They crushed several weaker teams (Savannah State, Utah Valley) but toughened up against better teams, especially North Dakota and UC Davis.
The PAC might not be as strong as predicted this season, but it is still plenty strong. Oregon, UCLA, Cal, Arizona State, Stanford or Oregon State could win the Conference, but the smart money is on UCLA and Oregon. When March rolls around, with teams bruised and battered, any of these six teams could win the Pac-12 Tourney in Seattle.
Coach Rueck is recognized as one of Americas best coaches with a reputation for developing talent and cultivating character. His players love him, his peers admire him, and his opponents fear him. Nobody wants to square up against him or his teams. This means the Beavs will always be in the championship picture.
So, as the conference begins what do the Beavs have going for them?
First, perhaps foremost, they have two of the toughest, most talented players in the Conference in Marie Gulich and Mik Pivec. Both will be PAC-12 All Stars if they avoid injury. Every conference contender must have at least two elite, premiere players if they hope to win it all - with Pivec and Gulich the Beavs got ‘em. Good start.
Also, the Beavs boast a couple of top flight perimeter players in Katie Mac & Kat Tudor. Both have length (6’2”, 6’) athleticism, good passing skills, and both hit the three with abandon.
Freshman Taya Corosdale has recently become a starter and she shows great promise. Her game has not arrived – yet; but it’s coming. In March she could be a difference maker for this team.
The Beaver bench is likely the best in the PAC. Taylor Kalmer, Aleah Goodman, and Joanna Grymek, have all played well this season when they were called on. Kalmer can score, Grymek is a 6’8” project, and some say Goodman looks like a star in the making.
And, of course, the Beavs have Coach Rueck. Himself.
This is the year Coach Rueck hopes to turn copper into gold. He doesn’t have a 14-carat cast to work with, but he has two or three who could be golden. Beaver Nation believes this is the season Rueck proves he has the Midas touch. Crashing the Final Four with three future WNBA players (as he did in 2016) is not miracle worker stuff. Guiding this year’s young, glitz free team to a PAC-12 championship is.
Let the games begin. UW comes to Gill Dec. 29. GO BEAVS !!!
The Lady Beavs wrapped up their 11-game pre-season schedule with a 9-2 record and are now bracing themselves for an 18-game conference slugfest that begins in Corvallis with the Washington schools and ends in the desert with the Arizona schools.
What’s in store is anyone’s guess.
During pre-season the Beavs won all nine games when favored and lost both games when underdogs. They played well in a close home loss to Notre Dame, and not so well in a road loss to Duke. They crushed several weaker teams (Savannah State, Utah Valley) but toughened up against better teams, especially North Dakota and UC Davis.
The PAC might not be as strong as predicted this season, but it is still plenty strong. Oregon, UCLA, Cal, Arizona State, Stanford or Oregon State could win the Conference, but the smart money is on UCLA and Oregon. When March rolls around, with teams bruised and battered, any of these six teams could win the Pac-12 Tourney in Seattle.
Coach Rueck is recognized as one of Americas best coaches with a reputation for developing talent and cultivating character. His players love him, his peers admire him, and his opponents fear him. Nobody wants to square up against him or his teams. This means the Beavs will always be in the championship picture.
So, as the conference begins what do the Beavs have going for them?
First, perhaps foremost, they have two of the toughest, most talented players in the Conference in Marie Gulich and Mik Pivec. Both will be PAC-12 All Stars if they avoid injury. Every conference contender must have at least two elite, premiere players if they hope to win it all - with Pivec and Gulich the Beavs got ‘em. Good start.
Also, the Beavs boast a couple of top flight perimeter players in Katie Mac & Kat Tudor. Both have length (6’2”, 6’) athleticism, good passing skills, and both hit the three with abandon.
Freshman Taya Corosdale has recently become a starter and she shows great promise. Her game has not arrived – yet; but it’s coming. In March she could be a difference maker for this team.
The Beaver bench is likely the best in the PAC. Taylor Kalmer, Aleah Goodman, and Joanna Grymek, have all played well this season when they were called on. Kalmer can score, Grymek is a 6’8” project, and some say Goodman looks like a star in the making.
And, of course, the Beavs have Coach Rueck. Himself.
This is the year Coach Rueck hopes to turn copper into gold. He doesn’t have a 14-carat cast to work with, but he has two or three who could be golden. Beaver Nation believes this is the season Rueck proves he has the Midas touch. Crashing the Final Four with three future WNBA players (as he did in 2016) is not miracle worker stuff. Guiding this year’s young, glitz free team to a PAC-12 championship is.
Let the games begin. UW comes to Gill Dec. 29. GO BEAVS !!!
