WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - Printable Version

WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - Printable Version

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WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 81alum - 04-01-2019

OK, we lose Alanna Smith and Shannon Coffee. We don't know about Marta but we won't have an extra scholarship, so I presume so.

We gain Haley Jones who I presume will start right away. The speculation is that she will play point guard, giving Kiana a chance to move back to the 2. It will be interesting to see if Jenna Brown develops over the summer into a first string point guard, since that might change the equation.

With the Hulls, Carrington, and incoming Hannah jump, and improved Anna Wilson, we will have a plethora of options at the 2-3 and possibly 4, where Carrington has sometimes played.

The biggest question marks have to do with the bigs. Who do we have with offensive potential?

Nadia Fingall is coming off of an ACL is supposedly in on track to be ready for her senior season. But when she was healthy, she was inconsistent on offense. Can she improve her offense while rehabbing and come back for an even better senior year?

At the beginning of this year I said that we would go as far as Maya Dodson could take us. She has always had enormous potential and if she had become an offensive star this year I think we would have gone further. I know she was injured, and we all suspect that she was not at her best down the stretch. But she consistently missed lots of layups in her career so far--many wildly. She is behind Erica McCall's development at this stage of her career, and without a gigantic improvement over the summer I have my doubts.

Ashton Prechtel will be a freshman. Kaylee Johnson played as a freshman and rebounded spectacularly. I could see her get some time if her defensive presence is good and she rebounds well. But I doubt that a freshman center is going to be able to become an offensive powerhouse without a lot more experience.

Fran Belibi is an exciting player. I'm not sure where she will play. She is fairly new to basketball and I imagine it will take her a season or two to develop her offense at the college level.

Alyssa Jerome started a number of games after Nadia and Maya went out. Over the weeks, however, it has become clear that Tara thought that Shannon was the better option to Alyssa in most situations.

Dodson, Fingall, Jerome, Prectel, Belibi--who will get the most time? A total mystery to me.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - chimera - 04-01-2019

I think you nailed it. We should have multiple great options at guard and wing if everyone is healthy, but the inside game has a lot up in the air. We fans generally hope for much more than we actually get out of freshman, even those who turn out to be great players. Seems to me that happens more often for posts than any other position, even point guard. I think next year we go as far as our inside game allows us to go. I also like to keep in mind how much players can improve. Smith improved mightily over her career, even from junior to senior year. Carrington made a big jump also and could improve even more. Williams is better and has more room to grow. Both Hulls got great experience and again, could add a lot more in terms of offense and tightening up their already good defense. Brown is still a mystery. She did not have the year most of us hoped for, but that doesn't mean she won't improve a lot going into next year. Jerome had her moments and gotta think has more she could give also. And Wilson was just starting to come into a role that suited her toward the end of the year. If she stays healthy, how good could she be?

The posts are the biggest question marks. We have rarely had a post as versatile as Smith, so we are a bit spoiled by that. But she only became that great her last year, really. So who steps up big next year????

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - TheFarm07 - 04-01-2019

(04-01-2019, 09:21 PM)81alum Wrote: We gain Haley Jones who I presume will start right away. The speculation is that she will play point guard, giving Kiana a chance to move back to the 2. It will be interesting to see if Jenna Brown develops over the summer into a first string point guard, since that might change the equation.

With the Hulls, Carrington, and incoming Hannah jump, and improved Anna Wilson, we will have a plethora of options at the 2-3 and possibly 4, where Carrington has sometimes played.

The biggest question marks have to do with the bigs. Who do we have with offensive potential?

Nadia Fingall is coming off of an ACL is supposedly in on track to be ready for her senior season. But when she was healthy, she was inconsistent on offense. Can she improve her offense while rehabbing and come back for an even better senior year?

At the beginning of this year I said that we would go as far as Maya Dodson could take us. She has always had enormous potential and if she had become an offensive star this year I think we would have gone further. I know she was injured, and we all suspect that she was not at her best down the stretch. But she consistently missed lots of layups in her career so far--many wildly. She is behind Erica McCall's development at this stage of her career, and without a gigantic improvement over the summer I have my doubts.

Ashton Prechtel will be a freshman. Kaylee Johnson played as a freshman and rebounded spectacularly. I could see her get some time if her defensive presence is good and she rebounds well. But I doubt that a freshman center is going to be able to become an offensive powerhouse without a lot more experience.

Fran Belibi is an exciting player. I'm not sure where she will play. She is fairly new to basketball and I imagine it will take her a season or two to develop her offense at the college level.

Do you think Haley will primarily play the 1? I know her HS coach says she can play all 5 positions and is a "positionless" player, but watching her videos, I was envisioning her at the 3, given her size and versatility at shooting the ball, but also being capable in the paint. I am not sure if the one would be the most effective position for her, but I am not exactly a coaching expertise.

With Maya's athleticism, it's been very frustrating to watch so many missed layups. Even in tonight's game, there were definitely a few points left out on the court with her missed shots around the basket. I always thought she had higher upside than Erica McCall, but you're definitely right, that she is behind Erica in developing her offensive game.

Even before her injury, I didn't see Nadia as a back-to-the-basket, post up player, but as someone who could effectively help us with zone defenses by shooting the elbow jumper and providing interior defense, but not your prototypical paint player, as far as I can remember.

Fran Belibi has been getting a lot of attention for her dunks, and although they are great to watch, the much more impactful part of her game will be the rebounds and offensive moves. As Tara commented when asked about Fran's dunks, was whether she can translate that ability to jump into consistently snagging rebounds. I hope she will be able to develop a consistent offensive game sooner than later.

You're definitely right, 81, we look pretty set 1-3 with multiple options between Williams, Wilson, Carrington, the Hull twins, Jones and Jump providing Tara many opportunities to mix and match depending on the situation. However, our 4-5 positions with Alanna's and Shannon's graduations, the uncertainty of Nadia's recovery from injury and Maya's further improvement are the biggest questions heading into next season.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - qwerty49 - 04-01-2019

Let me add a thought or two -- consider the net impact of Smith leaving.

We will miss Smith's production, which was considerable in terms of scoring, rebounding and blocks. Where are 19.4 more points per game coming from? Maybe a little bit from some combination of the Hulls, Williams, Carrington and....Jones? Fingall? Wilson? A vastly improved Dodson? The other frosh? Hard to say.

How about Smith's 8+ rebounds per game? Neither Dodson, a healthy Fingall, nor Coffee was as good a rebounder as Carrington. On a pre game basis, Carrington plus either Hull outrebounded the combo of Fingall and Dodson. Carrington plus both Hulls outrebounded the total of Fingall, Dodson, Coffee and Jerome. My point here is that Carrington is IMHO a better rebounder than any of our non-Smith posts and I wonder if we may be better served going "small" next year with Carrington at the 4 and a rotation at the 5. As others have pointed out, we look pretty deep at 1-2-3.

I think Williams is doing just fine at PG. It's great to have a PG who can, and will, shoot. If Brown develops, fine. If not, we wait for van Gytenbeek.

I am glad to see Lexie Hull start shooting. She finished at 38% from outside the arc. If she's really at that level, we will have filled one hole in our outside shooting. Lacie kind of disappeared these last couple of weeks as far as offensive production.

Dodson is an enigma to me. Very athletic but at times seems downright clumsy. Has played very tough at times but has also been pushed around a bit.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 81alum - 04-01-2019

One way to think about this years' players is to compare them with others at a similar stage in their career.

For example, the Hulls are both well ahead of where McPhee was after her freshman year.

McPhee averaged 10 minutes and 3.5 ppg her first year.
Lexie averaged 20 minutes and 5.6 ppg.
Lacey averaged 25 minutes and 4.8 ppg.

Now lets compare where Maya Dodson is compared with sophomore Erica McCall.
Sophomore Erica McCall averaged 17 minutes, 5.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and shot .517
Sophomore Dodson averaged 21 minutes, 7 points, 4.5 rebounds and shot .491

Here are a few more data points for comparison:

Sophomore Fingall averaged 12 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and shot .419
Sophomore Nneka averaged 30.4 minutes, 18.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and shot .598
Junior Erica McCall averaged 31 minutes, 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and shot .509
Junior Fingall averaged 20 minutes, 8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and shot .500. This was before her injury

Actually, Dodson does not look too bad compared with sophomore McCall. But I remember thinking McCall was not developing well her sophomore year and wondering and waiting....and hoping she would improve. We will have to see whether Dodson can do what McCall did moving from her sophomore to her junior year. A lot of that was just featuring McCall for many more minutes and giving her lots of experience. With Smith and Coffee gone Dodson will get that chance.

I think that Dodson might well be in a position to make a great leap forward, particularly if she gets lots of playing time in the preseason games to build her confidence. I have a harder time thinking Fingall will do that, coming off an injury and with only one year more to go.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - BosCard - 04-01-2019

(04-01-2019, 10:28 PM)81alum Wrote: One way to think about this years' players is to compare them with others at a similar stage in their career.

For example, the Hulls are both well ahead of where McPhee was after her freshman year.

McPhee averaged 10 minutes and 3.5 ppg her first year.
Lexie averaged 20 minutes and 5.6 ppg.
Lacey averaged 25 minutes and 4.8 ppg.

Now lets compare where Maya Dodson is compared with sophomore Erica McCall.
Sophomore Erica McCall averaged 17 minutes, 5.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and shot .517
Sophomore Dodson averaged 21 minutes, 7 points, 4.5 rebounds and shot .491

Here are a few more data points for comparison:

Sophomore Fingall averaged 12 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and shot .419
Sophomore Nneka averaged 30.4 minutes, 18.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and shot .598
Junior Erica McCall averaged 31 minutes, 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and shot .509
Junior Fingall averaged 20 minutes, 8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and shot .500. This was before her injury

Actually, Dodson does not look too bad compared with sophomore McCall. But I remember thinking McCall was not developing well her sophomore year and wondering and waiting....and hoping she would improve. We will have to see whether Dodson can do what McCall did moving from her sophomore to her junior year. A lot of that was just featuring McCall for many more minutes and giving her lots of experience. With Smith and Coffee gone Dodson will get that chance.

I think that Dodson might well be in a position to make a great leap forward, particularly if she gets lots of playing time in the preseason games to build her confidence. I have a harder time thinking Fingall will do that, coming off an injury and with only one year more to go.

I think the two post positions are wide open and any of the following players could claim them:

Veterans - Dodson, Fingall, Jerome
Belibi - because of her rebounding and quickness/length defending guards
Prechtel - because she is a good shooter and can shoot the elbow jumper
Jones - because she is versatile enough to play the four and has a very good post up game for her size

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 81alum - 04-01-2019

(04-01-2019, 10:39 PM)BosCard Wrote: I think the two post positions are wide open and any of the following players could claim them:
Veterans - Dodson, Fingall, Jerome

Belibi - because of her rebounding and quickness/length defending guards

Prechtel - because she is a good shooter and can shoot the elbow jumper

Jones - because she is versatile enough to play the four and has a very good post up game for her size

I suspect you are right about the 4. In the Princeton 1-4 are always shuffling anyway.

For the 5 on offense I think Prechtel might fit the bill rather well. Prechtel was praised by Tara for her overall game, particularly her passing. At 6'5" and fairly agile, she might be quite good in the Princeton at the elbow delivering the ball. That is the one stationary player and having someone tall enough to pass over the heads of opponents is a really good feature, not to mention the ability to shoot from the elbow if left unguarded.

This year in HS she averaged 23 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 blocks per game. It might take time for her to adjust, but she is going to be a lot more versatile than Coffee.

The question is what would she do on defense? If she rebounds well, she might get time just to do that, as Kaylee Johnson did.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - PVTree - 04-01-2019

Looking at it in terms of losing players, we lose only 1 starter, Smith. A hu-ge loss, of course, but plug in the #1 recruit and the natural improvement from all 4 other starters that comes with experience, and, to me, it means a better starting 5 from this year.

Now, if any of the 4 starters gets surpassed by another player, than the starting 5 will be even more formidable. I think that the starting 5 by the start of conference season will be:

-Williams
-Carrington
-Hull
-Jones
-Belibi

Potential starters:
-Hull
-Dodson
-Fingall
-Prechtel

Specialists:
-Wilson (defense)
-Brown (ball handler)
-Jump (3 point shooter)
-Jerome (big who plays outside paint)

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - BosCard - 04-01-2019

(04-01-2019, 10:28 PM)81alum Wrote: One way to think about this years' players is to compare them with others at a similar stage in their career.

For example, the Hulls are both well ahead of where McPhee was after her freshman year.

McPhee averaged 10 minutes and 3.5 ppg her first year.
Lexie averaged 20 minutes and 5.6 ppg.
Lacey averaged 25 minutes and 4.8 ppg.

Now lets compare where Maya Dodson is compared with sophomore Erica McCall.
Sophomore Erica McCall averaged 17 minutes, 5.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and shot .517
Sophomore Dodson averaged 21 minutes, 7 points, 4.5 rebounds and shot .491

Here are a few more data points for comparison:

Sophomore Fingall averaged 12 minutes, 3.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, and shot .419
Sophomore Nneka averaged 30.4 minutes, 18.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and shot .598
Junior Erica McCall averaged 31 minutes, 14.9 points, 9.4 rebounds and shot .509
Junior Fingall averaged 20 minutes, 8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and shot .500. This was before her injury

Actually, Dodson does not look too bad compared with sophomore McCall. But I remember thinking McCall was not developing well her sophomore year and wondering and waiting....and hoping she would improve. We will have to see whether Dodson can do what McCall did moving from her sophomore to her junior year. A lot of that was just featuring McCall for many more minutes and giving her lots of experience. With Smith and Coffee gone Dodson will get that chance.

I think that Dodson might well be in a position to make a great leap forward, particularly if she gets lots of playing time in the preseason games to build her confidence. I have a harder time thinking Fingall will do that, coming off an injury and with only one year more to go.

I like what you did with the comparisons. I think Lexie has the potential to be like McPhee but with a better 3-point shot.

Freshman McPhee - 9.9 mins, 3.5 points, 6 of 31 from three (19%), 2.3 rebounds
Freshman Lexie - 20.2 mins, 5.6 points, 26 of 68 from three (38%), 4.7 rebounds

And the hope for Lacie is that she turns into another Karlie Samuelson

Freshman Karlie - 15.5 mins, 5.1 points, 32 of 92 from three (35%), 13 steals total
Freshman Lacie - 25.1 mins, 4.8 points, 35 of 106 from three (32%), 53 steals total

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - Phogge - 04-01-2019

Watched tonight, thing that stands out is that they have to get more athletic up front. Way too many inside shots in the second half. Not very impressed with Hull. Need’s to get a lot stronger. I love Williams. Got to penetrate more next year.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - TheFarm07 - 04-02-2019

(04-01-2019, 11:44 PM)Phogge Wrote: Watched tonight, thing that stands out is that they have to get more athletic up front. Way too many inside shots in the second half. Not very impressed with Hull. Need’s to get a lot stronger. I love Williams. Got to penetrate more next year.

I would like to see our guards/wings add a few more percentage points to their shooting percentages and go through fewer cold spells like we saw this season. Driving to the basket and finishing off some more shots, whether to the basket directly or stopping for a short jumper would be awesome to see as well.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - Spike - 04-02-2019

The key next year will be the development of the Hull sisters.
They made so many exceptional hustle plays that we forget how disappointing they were on offense.
Drive into the key and predictably pass outside.
NEVER (almost) went to the hoop and thus never required defensive help.
And their occasional inside shooting was almost as wild as Maya's.
Very disappointing to me.

If they can successfully penetrate to the basket next year, it's a whole different ball game.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 2006alum - 04-02-2019

(04-02-2019, 07:23 AM)Spike Wrote: The key next year will be the development of the Hull sisters.
They made so many exceptional hustle plays that we forget how disappointing they were on offense.
Drive into the key and predictably pass outside.
NEVER (almost) went to the hoop and thus never required defensive help.
And their occasional inside shooting was almost as wild as Maya's.
Very disappointing to me.

If they can successfully penetrate to the basket next year, it's a whole different ball game.

I'll have more thoughts later, but for now, I'd direct you to this highlights video from the week Lexie was named PAC-12 Freshman of the Week: PAC-12 Frosh of the Week

Lexie does have some nice moves inside and does go to the hoop. Maybe not as often as we'd like, but with Smith, Williams, and Carrington on the floor, she's at best our fourth best option to go inside and draw defenders. Why would Tara use her that way unless the play developed such that it was the open shot? (And she did it at least once successfully last night vs. Notre Dame, if I recall.) I also feel like the stress fracture really stunted her development - she never quite seemed as explosive after she came back. And despite that, she shot the ball at .398 FG% coming off the bench, with better 3PT% (.382) than Williams (.367), whom I think we think of as a sharpshooter. I think that's pretty great offensive production for freshman playing through a chronic stress injury.

Also, remember that Lexie was recruited as a SG and Lacie as a Wing. I'm not sure either was expected to be an off-the-dribble, penetrate-to-the-basket type of player. Here's their recruiting summaries:

Lexie:

Quote:Consistent back court production, manufactures, delivers off the bounce in mid-range game; executes in half-court game; plays both ends of the floor; teammate; an elite prospect in the class of 2018.

Lacie:

Quote:Fundamental, versatile perimeter performer; drives, finishes plays in traffic; mid-range game threat moves to the arc; executes in half-court game; teammate. (Olson)

With all due respect, I think you're asking them to be players we didn't recruit them to be, and they were never sold as being. If you were disappointed, it is probably because you expect them to do things they weren't recruited to do, especially as freshmen.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 81alum - 04-02-2019

(04-02-2019, 08:00 AM)2006alum Wrote:
(04-02-2019, 07:23 AM)Spike Wrote: The key next year will be the development of the Hull sisters.
They made so many exceptional hustle plays that we forget how disappointing they were on offense.
Drive into the key and predictably pass outside.
NEVER (almost) went to the hoop and thus never required defensive help.
And their occasional inside shooting was almost as wild as Maya's.
Very disappointing to me.

If they can successfully penetrate to the basket next year, it's a whole different ball game.

I'll have more thoughts later, but for now, I'd direct you to this highlights video from the week Lexie was named PAC-12 Freshman of the Week: PAC-12 Frosh of the Week

Lexie does have some nice moves inside and does go to the hoop. Maybe not as often as we'd like, but with Smith, Williams, and Carrington on the floor, she's at best our fourth best option to go inside and draw defenders. Why would Tara use her that way unless the play developed such that it was the open shot? (And she did it at least once successfully last night vs. Notre Dame, if I recall.) I also feel like the stress fracture really stunted her development - she never quite seemed as explosive after she came back. And despite that, she shot the ball at .398 FG% coming off the bench, with better 3PT% (.382) than Williams (.367), whom I think we think of as a sharpshooter. I think that's pretty great offensive production for freshman playing through a chronic stress injury.

Also, remember that Lexie was recruited as a SG and Lacie as a Wing. I'm not sure either was expected to be an off-the-dribble, penetrate-to-the-basket type of player. Here's their recruiting summaries:

Lexie:

Quote:Consistent back court production, manufactures, delivers off the bounce in mid-range game; executes in half-court game; plays both ends of the floor; teammate; an elite prospect in the class of 2018.

Lacie:

Quote:Fundamental, versatile perimeter performer; drives, finishes plays in traffic; mid-range game threat moves to the arc; executes in half-court game; teammate. (Olson)

With all due respect, I think you're asking them to be players we didn't recruit them to be, and they were never sold as being. If you were disappointed, it is probably because you expect them to do things they weren't recruited to do, especially as freshmen.

Early in the season Lexie Hull was billed as the one with great moves to and around the basket and as the highlight reel shows, she looked a lot like McPhee. Lacie Hull was thought to be the better three point shooter and defender, although the three point shooting turned out to favor Lexie. But no one stays the same. Lexie Hull looked at first like she would be a four year starter and started the first two games of the season, scoring 11 and 17. In those games she was our best rebounder at 8 rpg. She was 5/8 from inside and 6/14 from beyond the arc. It looked like we had a freshman who was immediately stepping into the McPhee role and might even be better in some ways than the star we lost.

In her third game she scored only 4, and then we learned she was injured, and she missed the next 9 games. By the time she came back she was too far behind Lacie Hull defensively for Tara to throw her back into the starting lineup. For the season, Lexie Hull (.382) was a better three point shooter than Kiana Williams (.367) and second only to Alanna Smith (.397.) She was also by far our best free throw shooter (.864.) She also averaged twice as many rebounds as her sister. Lacie had a lot more steals and hustle plays, and while it is harder for a casual fan to judge defense, she probably was a better defender even before Lexie got hurt.

I think Lexie will become a much better player than McPhee, since she seems to me to have the three point shooting that McPhee was so inconsistent about, but she also has the inside moves that McPhee did not really start to show until her sophomore year. With a summer to get completely healthy and further absorb Tara's lessons, I expect to see Lexie Hull starting next year and becoming a major scoring threat.

If Maya Dodson can do an Erica McCall type sophomore-to-junior year transformation, then the best case scenario would be a starting lineup like this:

5 Dodson
4 Jones
3 Carrington
2 Lexie Hull
1 Kiana Williams
(with 1-4 almost interchangeable.)

Prechtel, Belibi and Jump all are likely to get significant minutes in the fall as Tara gauges how quickly they can develop. Lacie Hull could stay ahead of one of the 1-4, and Jenna Brown could also make a leap forward. I suspect that Fingall and Jerome and Brewer are now what they are going to be--I don't expect (but would be pleasantly surprised) if one of them broke out, and Fingall and/or Jerome could start some games if Dodson doesn't improve and Prechtel needs time to develop.

It is going to be highly competitive in practice and the early games for time.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 81alum - 04-02-2019

Jacob Rayburn is a terrific writer over at the Cardinal Sports Report and has an open piece worth reading:

https://stanford.rivals.com/news/cardinal-fall-in-face-of-nd-offense-but-the-future-is-exciting

Some very short comments from Tara and the players after the loss can be found here:

https://gostanford.com/documents/2019/4/1//37175.pdf
https://gostanford.com/documents/2019/4/1//NCAA_Locker_Room_Quotes_Stanford.pdf

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - GK3 - 04-02-2019

However the competition shakes out for the 1 through 4 I am ok with it. I thought the position we really suffered at last night was the 5. Neither Coffee or Dodson seemed willing to step in front of the driving ND player and take the charge. Coffee in particular simply backed off and gave up the layup. More than anything next year we need a physical, tough player at the 5. I don't think we need to expect significant scoring. We will have plenty of other players who can do that.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - qwerty49 - 04-02-2019

(04-02-2019, 02:13 PM)GK3 Wrote: However the competition shakes out for the 1 through 4 I am ok with it. I thought the position we really suffered at last night was the 5. Neither Coffee or Dodson seemed willing to step in front of the driving ND player and take the charge. Coffee in particular simply backed off and gave up the layup. More than anything next year we need a physical, tough player at the 5. I don't think we need to expect significant scoring. We will have plenty of other players who can do that.

Your observation is very astute. This year I thought Dodson was a net liability on offense — when you’re one of the tallest on the court and your layups are SHORT and don’t clear the rim, something is wrong. At the same time Coffee was frustrating to watch on defense —- boxing out well and holding position against bigs, but playing matador against driving guards.

Reading your post and others, I think 1-4 next year can be the equivalent of a 4-guard offense with a lot of options and scoring styles, and we just need to be at least 2-deep in enforcers at the 5.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - 2006alum - 04-02-2019

(04-02-2019, 02:36 PM)qwerty49 Wrote:
(04-02-2019, 02:13 PM)GK3 Wrote: However the competition shakes out for the 1 through 4 I am ok with it. I thought the position we really suffered at last night was the 5. Neither Coffee or Dodson seemed willing to step in front of the driving ND player and take the charge. Coffee in particular simply backed off and gave up the layup. More than anything next year we need a physical, tough player at the 5. I don't think we need to expect significant scoring. We will have plenty of other players who can do that.

Your observation is very astute. This year I thought Dodson was a net liability on offense — when you’re one of the tallest on the court and your layups are SHORT and don’t clear the rim, something is wrong. At the same time Coffee was frustrating to watch on defense —- boxing out well and holding position against bigs, but playing matador against driving guards.

Reading your post and others, I think 1-4 next year can be the equivalent of a 4-guard offense with a lot of options and scoring styles, and we just need to be at least 2-deep in enforcers at the 5.

Agree all around. Fingall was the compromise in the middle: better on offense than Dodson but better of defense than Coffee. Losing her really hurt us, and it was especially apparent last night.

One thing that's great about Belibi is that she's solid on both offense and defense - she blocks well, rebounds well, and drives to the basket well. She's only listed at 6'1", but she has a higher vertical leap than DeMarcus Cousins, and a greater wingspan than Steph Curry. She's also freakishly athletic, which I think will make her defend more like a 6'3" or 6'4" post player rather than a 6'1" forward. She'll need to work on boxing out, but I could see a universe where she defends mostly in the paint, especially if she can get help-side defense from Prechtel and eventually Brink.

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - BobK - 04-02-2019

Great posts thanks all

I watched the Hulls in 3 travel games. Lexie drove and drove and scored. She will get better at this with confidence at this level.

In 15 years of watching travel ball McPhee is the best I ever saw on the drive.

I expect to see both Hulls drive more and score.

31-5 is awesome The future so bright

RE: WBB: Thinking about 2019-2020 - TheFarm07 - 04-02-2019

(04-02-2019, 07:27 PM)BobK Wrote: Great posts thanks all

I watched the Hulls in 3 travel games. Lexie drove and drove and scored. She will get better at this with confidence at this level.

In 15 years of watching travel ball McPhee is the best I ever saw on the drive.

I expect to see both Hulls drive more and score.

31-5 is awesome The future so bright

I look forward to seeing them add that facet to their game. Having a year of collegiate experience under their belt and training in the offseason will hopefully make them more difficult to defend next year, so that defenders can't just cheat on defending the 3, but have to guard against the drive as well. It can also open the playbook as well, perhaps add those moves Young had against us last night