WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season

WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - Printable Version

+- The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board)
+-- Forum: C-House! (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: The CardBoard (https://thecardboard.org/board/forum-5.html)
+--- Thread: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season (/thread-22105.html)

Pages: 1 2

Baez87 - Baez87 - 07-23-2021

I put together the accompanying matrix to correlate the SWBB players with the available minutes played each game at each position. It is not a prediction of how I think that playing time will be allocated this season. It’s much too early for that. It's more to illustrate the difficulty in managing playing time in a season. If this array show nothing else, it demonstrates the challenge that Tara and her staff will have in developing and evaluating an effective player rotation this year. Of course, a depth chart changes as the season progresses from the preseason to the beginning of conference play, to the midseason, and during the tournament. The matrix below represents one rough guess for the PRESEASON allocation of minutes.
In assigning minutes, I took into consideration the player's value to the team to determine how much of the two hundred game minutes to allocate to each player, and then to adjust the position player's allocation in keeping with the 40 minute limit per position. The playing time is based on the assumption that the coaches need to have time to evaluate new players, develop veteran players, and assess team-chemistry.
The resulting matrix illustrates the challenges of managing a team that has an embarrassment of riches and a seventeen-player rotation. Of course the actual minutes a player gets will be determined in the moment by Tara wherein intuition, game situations, and player development comes into play.

Correlation of position, players, and minutes in the preseason:
POINT GUARDS — Jana/Jenna/Jordan — 17+13+10=40
SHOOTING GUARDS — Anna/Lacie/Jzaniya — 17+17+6=40
WINGS — Lexie/Hannah/Elena/Aggie — 17+14+6+3=40
FORWARDS — Haley/Fran/Brooke/Alyssa — 17+12+7+4=40
POST — Cam/Ashten/Kiki — 17+14+9=40

All this could come dissolve quickly if Anna becomes the point guard, Lacie or Hannah find their way onto the starting five, one of the freshmen makes a Cam-like run as a starter, or Tara alters the traditional positions in the coming season.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - 81alum - 07-23-2021

Thank you Judy for a great article!

Some of the comments above appear to have ignored what was actually written in the article. The two big takeaways are:

Quote:"Finding someone to fill her spot at point guard is the team’s biggest question mark for now, Kate said. Possible replacements are sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek, sixth-year guard Anna Wilson and graduate transfer guard Jordan Hamilton."

and

Quote:"Redshirt junior guard Jenna Brown hasn’t been cleared to practice while recovering from a knee injury that kept her out all of last season, but “she’s making a lot of progress,” Kate said."

With regard to point guard, there is no way to know how genuine the competition is between Van Gytenbeek, Wilson, and Hamilton. My guess is the coaches are genuinely undecided and are waiting to see how they do in practice and early season playing time. Each of them will bring certain advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps we will see more of Wilson and Hamilton early and more of Gytenbeek later in the season? So we don't yet know who the starting point guard will be, but we do know--according to Kate--that it won't be anyone other than those three. Jones was not mentioned in the point guard context. And it shows that Wilson is indeed in the mix, something we speculated about but did not really know.

I was disappointed to learn that Jenna is STILL out. That is a very, very long time for her, and one wonders how strong she will be when she does come back.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - BillBradley - 07-23-2021

Quote:"Finding someone to fill her spot at point guard is the team’s biggest question mark for now, Kate said. Possible replacements are sophomore guard Jana Van Gytenbeek, sixth-year guard Anna Wilson and graduate transfer guard Jordan Hamilton."

With regard to point guard, there is no way to know how genuine the competition is between Van Gytenbeek, Wilson, and Hamilton. My guess is the coaches are genuinely undecided and are waiting to see how they do in practice and early season playing time. Each of them will bring certain advantages and disadvantages. Perhaps we will see more of Wilson and Hamilton early and more of Gytenbeek later in the season? So we don't yet know who the starting point guard will be, but we do know--according to Kate--that it won't be anyone other than those three. Jones was not mentioned in the point guard context. And it shows that Wilson is indeed in the mix, something we speculated about but did not really know.

I think that might be a misread. I don't think Coach Kate said one of those three would start at point. Probably not the place or time for the assistant coach to be saying something like that. Rather, I think Judy Richter mentioned the other three players after the "Kate said", simply calling out the 3 players on next year's squad who are true point guards. Not entirely sure though.

Baez87 - Baez87 - 07-23-2021

Thanks, 81. With Kate saying that Anna might get the call for PG and Jenna still not cleared to play, I have changed my preseason position-player-minutes chart as such:
POINT GUARDS — Anna/Jordan/Jana — 17+13+10=40
SHOOTING/DEFENSIVE GUARDS — Lexie/Brooke/Jzaniya/Jenna — 17+10+10+3=40
WINGS — Lacie/Hannah/Elena — 17+15+8=40
FORWARDS — Haley/Fran/Alyssa/Aggie — 17+13+7+3=40
POST — Cam/Ashten/Kiki — 17+13+10=40

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - 81alum - 07-23-2021

(07-23-2021, 08:49 PM)BillBradley Wrote: I think that might be a misread. I don't think Coach Kate said one of those three would start at point. Probably not the place or time for the assistant coach to be saying something like that. Rather, I think Judy Richter mentioned the other three players after the "Kate said", simply calling out the 3 players on next year's squad who are true point guards. Not entirely sure though.

Well, let's just ask Judy. Judy, were you offering your own analysis there or did Kate mention those three names when discussing the point guard position?

(07-23-2021, 08:57 PM)Baez87 Wrote: Thanks, 81. With Kate saying that Anna might get the call for PG and Jenna still not cleared to play, I have changed my preseason position-player-minutes chart as such:
POINT GUARDS — Anna/Jordan/Jana — 17+13+10=40
SHOOTING/DEFENSIVE GUARDS — Lexie/Brooke/Jzaniya/Jenna — 17+10+10+3=40
WINGS — Lacie/Hannah/Elena — 17+15+8=40
FORWARDS — Haley/Fran/Alyssa/Aggie — 17+13+7+3=40
POST — Cam/Ashten/Kiki — 17+13+10=40

Interesting analysis. I also like to speculate about how Tara will put the jigsaw puzzle together. However, I have found that Tara looks at 1-5 much more flexibly than we fans usually do. It is as if she looks for the five best players she has, then figures out a way to play them regardless. And she also makes big situational changes. For example, against UCLA she reached the point where she played 4 smalls for defense. Furthermore, in this system almost every player can and will play more than a single position, and a few may play 3 positions.

Here are my top questions about next year's team:

1. Is Belibi poised for a much better junior year? She faded somewhat in the second half of the season. It was as if she had a minor injury or a dip in confidence that was holding her back. I believe she has more undeveloped potential given that she was late to basketball and was quite unpolished coming into Stanford.

2. Will Brink get her fouling under control? If she does, she could soak up most of the 5 position's playing time, since she already has shown her offense to be superb.

3. How will the point guard situation be resolved? Clearly the point guard position is as people have described and up-in-the-air. If Wilson can get her offense going more consistently, then she may be the favorite. But could she play point guard at one end and have the energy for the same defensive tendency at the other? I have a hunch that Tara will often want her to shut down the opponents rather than handle the ball so much.

4. How quickly will the incoming class be able to contribute? Is there a chance one of them could start? My instincts tell me that several of them will make an impact in their first year on the Farm. Bosgana could be an unheralded star, Iriafan and Demeter also look superb.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - acerep - 07-25-2021

(07-23-2021, 10:25 PM)81alum Wrote:
(07-23-2021, 08:49 PM)BillBradley Wrote: I think that might be a misread. I don't think Coach Kate said one of those three would start at point. Probably not the place or time for the assistant coach to be saying something like that. Rather, I think Judy Richter mentioned the other three players after the "Kate said", simply calling out the 3 players on next year's squad who are true point guards. Not entirely sure though.

Well, let's just ask Judy. Judy, were you offering your own analysis there or did Kate mention those three names when discussing the point guard position?

(07-23-2021, 08:57 PM)Baez87 Wrote: Thanks, 81. With Kate saying that Anna might get the call for PG and Jenna still not cleared to play, I have changed my preseason position-player-minutes chart as such:
POINT GUARDS — Anna/Jordan/Jana — 17+13+10=40
SHOOTING/DEFENSIVE GUARDS — Lexie/Brooke/Jzaniya/Jenna — 17+10+10+3=40
WINGS — Lacie/Hannah/Elena — 17+15+8=40
FORWARDS — Haley/Fran/Alyssa/Aggie — 17+13+7+3=40
POST — Cam/Ashten/Kiki — 17+13+10=40
Interesting analysis. I also like to speculate about how Tara will put the jigsaw puzzle together. However, I have found that Tara looks at 1-5 much more flexibly than we fans usually do. It is as if she looks for the five best players she has, then figures out a way to play them regardless. And she also makes big situational changes. For example, against UCLA she reached the point where she played 4 smalls for defense. Furthermore, in this system almost every player can and will play more than a single position, and a few may play 3 positions.

Here are my top questions about next year's team:

1. Is Belibi poised for a much better junior year? She faded somewhat in the second half of the season. It was as if she had a minor injury or a dip in confidence that was holding her back. I believe she has more undeveloped potential given that she was late to basketball and was quite unpolished coming into Stanford.

2. Will Brink get her fouling under control? If she does, she could soak up most of the 5 position's playing time, since she already has shown her offense to be superb.

3. How will the point guard situation be resolved? Clearly the point guard position is as people have described and up-in-the-air. If Wilson can get her offense going more consistently, then she may be the favorite. But could she play point guard at one end and have the energy for the same defensive tendency at the other? I have a hunch that Tara will often want her to shut down the opponents rather than handle the ball so much.

4. How quickly will the incoming class be able to contribute? Is there a chance one of them could start? My instincts tell me that several of them will make an impact in their first year on the Farm. Bosgana could be an unheralded star, Iriafan and Demeter also look superb.

In regard to the point guard, Kate mentioned those three names as possibilities. There was no speculation on my part.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - 81alum - 07-25-2021

(07-25-2021, 04:44 PM)acerep Wrote: In regard to the point guard, Kate mentioned those three names as possibilities. There was no speculation on my part.

Thanks Judy, that is what I thought. You are too good a journalist otherwise! And the fact that she mentioned those three names gives us a lot of insight. Thanks for bringing us the essence of your interview with Kate.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - BillBradley - 07-28-2021

(07-25-2021, 05:13 PM)81alum Wrote:
(07-25-2021, 04:44 PM)acerep Wrote: In regard to the point guard, Kate mentioned those three names as possibilities. There was no speculation on my part.
Thanks Judy, that is what I thought. You are too good a journalist otherwise! And the fact that she mentioned those three names gives us a lot of insight. Thanks for bringing us the essence of your interview with Kate.

Yes, it does. Thanks for confirming!

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - Card10Fan - 07-28-2021

https://twitter.com/StanfordWBB/status/1420441376794103808

SCHEDULE UPDATE announced today:
3 games in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving.
Indiana
South Floria
Maryland

Wow, that is going to be TOUGH.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - TheFarm07 - 07-28-2021

(07-28-2021, 10:53 AM)Card10Fan Wrote: https://twitter.com/StanfordWBB/status/1420441376794103808

SCHEDULE UPDATE announced today:
3 games in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving.
Indiana
South Floria
Maryland

Wow, that is going to be TOUGH.

Wow, that is a tough tournament. We haven't played Maryland since Wiggins led us past them for our first Final Four in a while back in '08 and it looks like we haven't faced off against Indiana since 2001 and we've never had South Florida as an opponent. Good to see we have some new matchups.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - Card10Fan - 07-29-2021

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31184173/women-college-basketball-way-too-early-top-25-uconn-reigns-south-carolina-looms

In ESPN's too early top 25. We know we have games scheduled against:
#2 South Carolina
#5 Maryland
#7 Indiana
#10 Oregon
#15 Oregon State
#18 Tennessee
#19 South Floria
Not too mention, it's likely UCLA will be ranked, Arizona, Gonzaga, possibly Texas. That is one hell of a schedule
Also found it interesting, we are the ONLY team in the Bahamas playing 3 games in 3 days. Everyone else is playing two games only with a day off in between. So Maryland will have a day of rest and it will be our 3rd game in a row. Will put our depth to the test no doubt.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - BostonCard - 07-29-2021

That "way too early" top 25 is indeed way to early, since it claims we have to replace Wilson.

BC

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - Lorcan - 07-29-2021

It’s an old article from April 4, 2021 before we knew Anna Wilson was coming back. I’d also point out that Kim Mulkey is still positioned as the coach at Baylor.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - CompSci87 - 07-29-2021

(07-28-2021, 11:11 AM)TheFarm07 Wrote:
(07-28-2021, 10:53 AM)Card10Fan Wrote: https://twitter.com/StanfordWBB/status/1420441376794103808

SCHEDULE UPDATE announced today:
3 games in the Bahamas over Thanksgiving.
Indiana
South Floria
Maryland

Wow, that is going to be TOUGH.

Wow, that is a tough tournament. We haven't played Maryland since Wiggins led us past them for our first Final Four in a while back in '08 and it looks like we haven't faced off against Indiana since 2001 and we've never had South Florida as an opponent. Good to see we have some new matchups.

Only Stanford plays 3 games in this tournament!

[Tweet]https://twitter.com/BahaMarHoops/status/1420431730855526403?s=19[/tweet]

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - 2006alum - 07-29-2021

(07-29-2021, 07:32 AM)Card10Fan Wrote: https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/31184173/women-college-basketball-way-too-early-top-25-uconn-reigns-south-carolina-looms

In ESPN's too early top 25. We know we have games scheduled against:
#2 South Carolina
#5 Maryland
#7 Indiana
#10 Oregon
#15 Oregon State
#18 Tennessee
#19 South Floria
Not too mention, it's likely UCLA will be ranked, Arizona, Gonzaga, possibly Texas. That is one hell of a schedule
Also found it interesting, we are the ONLY team in the Bahamas playing 3 games in 3 days. Everyone else is playing two games only with a day off in between. So Maryland will have a day of rest and it will be our 3rd game in a row. Will put our depth to the test no doubt.

Great. We return a lot of talent and our bench is so deep, so Tara will have lots of opportunities to give different players looks and chances to go off in any given game. I'd always rather lose games in November than March, so this will be a great schedule.

And yes: I'd say UCLA will definitely be ranked after all they gained from the transfer portal. Both they and Oregon will look like entirely new teams this season given all the new faces.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - TheFarm07 - 07-29-2021

We will have certainly gone through the gauntlet which will show us what we will need to work on to make another deep run and have a good chance of successfully defending our national title (<-- never gets old saying that)

I wonder why we were the only team to play on all three days and the only game scheduled on Friday? I guess it's not a long trip for them, but is South Florida just going to the Bahamas to play us?

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - BostonCard - 07-29-2021

Weird schedule. Stanford plays three times and South Florida only plays once. A tournament with 7 teams and each playing twice would mean 7 games. I wonder if South Florida was meant to have also played Thursday (against Indiana) or Saturday (against Maryland), but wound up with a scheduling conflict so Stanford took its place?

BC

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - Card10Fan - 07-29-2021

https://twitter.com/usfwbb/status/1420430098482696200?s=21

South Florida is already in a tourney in the Bahamas. The same one UConn, South Carolina, Oregon are in. So looks like they are sticking around a few extra days to play one more game against us (4 total games) for them in the Bahamas.

RE: WBB Kate talks about the summer and optimism for the season - mbdude - 08-07-2021

Cameron Brink & Jana Van Gytenbeek Practice Footage - YouTube

video from 7/2020 - may have been posted before but does a good job of showing Jana's skill set