Did Pac-12 Tournament Early Exit Help or Hurt Us?

I think it helped as far as rest. Which helped vs Sisters of the Poor & Tn. The book was already out on us. We are who we thought we were. Pressure with quickness at the point & collapse on Marie. Louisville was not quite as good pressuring the point as Jordin Canada. But effective. What they did better than anyone was collapse on Marie. She had something like 6 TO's in the first half. Survivable...if we are hitting the 3 ball. We weren't.

It was a long shot anyway. Louisville was good

Henry S - - you nailed it....

You've been reading my mind again.......please cut it out!    

That is really what was cool for me about this season:

We *were* no where near an Elite 8 team in November.
An Elite 8 team would have had North Dakota for breakfast and taken down one if not both of Notre Dame and Duke.

We became an Elite 8 program as players grew into their roles. 
Marie hit a level these last few weeks that I don't think anyone saw coming. We will fondly be recalling those Dirk Nowitzki (announcer compared to Jack Sikma, but in deference to the youth on this board, let's go with Dirk) step back fades for years to come. And the WNBA will hopefully learn to appreciate them soon.
I am really encouraged by Taya's steadiness. I really think there is greatness lurking there. She didn't drive as much as I would like, but she was never rattled, and she started being a consistent 7-9 ppg / 7-9 boards as a freshman......
Kat going off for 34 against uo also harkens to better things ahead. She needs to be set up for her outside shot, though the dribble drive is starting to be a weapon......and DS should be able to set her up plenty.....especially if there is dangerous tall timber inside for defenders to also worry about DS setting up.
I also think Aleah getting so much experience this season will pay huge dividends downstream. She learns very, very quickly - I marvel at some of the in-game adjustments she was making as the season went on. I am surmising Destiny is rubbing off on her.
I will admit to being a bit mystified by Mik - I think being the primary ball handler took an immense toll on her - notice her not finishing on some easy shots and being short on shots late (even FTs). I suspect she could be much more productive if we off load her ball handling responsibilities. When I recall she won the national 3 point shooting contest (and tied the male contestant), I posit she was in somewhat of a season-long shooting slump, likely brought on by playing out of position.
KTMac needs to just decide she is going to be a 10ppg, 6 reb, 6 assist sort of player, because she has all the makings of being one. She (and Mik) are also very cerebral, and while that reduced the TOs late in the season, it also resulted in them holding the ball (KT even got at least 2 5-second calls in the last game). The PG needs to be instinctive, and unhesitatingly recognize the play or entry pass a millisecond before it develops. DS will give us that.
Kalmer mystifies me - I kept projecting she was going to explode, but we never got that break out game. Clock is ticking on her career.....
Janessa and Maddie are also big question marks for me - I do think Maddie could master the midrange jumper and be a contributor, especially since she is a good changeup to TC.

I think Joanna makes the "Kolbie jump" next season. Can't coach 6'8", she now knows what the Pac-12 requires, a year of coaching, etc, etc - but basically I think she will get the minutes (especially early in the season) and we will acquire the ability to get her the ball in scoring position. Almost all of the entry passes to Marie this year were bounce or direct, with lobs headed to the basket working if she was fronted and no backside D (and because our 4 was often playing outside, other teams would double or cheat down). Jo was open a lot for the lob, but our dribble drivers did not have the vision to see it (or they were use to playing a different style with Marie). I suspect with the tall timber coming in, we will entry pass up high a lot more next season - so Joanna will get her numbers. I really like her intensity, makes me think she will work very hard in the offseason to get better, and she knows what she needs to do now.

Just the team we have coming back is likely a top-half Pac-12 team. AA, PM and JS will help decide how high in the top half we land.
OK, regardless of what you think of my writeup, I just talked myself into getting season tickets :-).

Go Beavers!

Perhaps wishful thinking on my part, but I think Joanne could be capable of 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block per game.....
Would that be a "Kolbie leap"? 
Dunno. I do have to agree with jefframp that putting the ball on the floor (or even bringing it down) is fraught with danger in her case. She will have to get the ball in scoring position. 

We will be a 4-6 in the Pac-12 sort of team unless PM or AA is starting in the middle by end of year, but I still think JG gets to 6/5/1. Just by virtue of the minutes she will log.

Go Beavers!