The CardBoard
WBB: Tara's optimism - 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: Tara's optimism (/thread-14691.html)


WBB: Tara's optimism - 81alum - 10-27-2017

I seem to remember Tara usually being circumspect.  But the quotes in this piece seem off-the-charts optimistic.

https://stanford.rivals.com/news/vanderveer-freshmen-share-thoughts-on-offseason-progress

She indicates massive improvement in the sophomore class, and especially with Nadia Fingall.  DiJonai has apparently become a phenomenal three point shooter, hitting 7 in a recent scrimmage. 

And the freshman class is going to play more than most freshman do.  Estella is now shooting the trey well--"one of the best on the team."  Do we have another potential Bonnie in the making?  Jerome is learning the 3-4 as we expected, meaning she will probably be Alanna's understudy.  Kianna is pushing Marta and Anna at point guard.

And the new offense is being called the "Warriorization" of the team.  Versatile bigs, better outside shooting, faster ball movement.  I hope it works!

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - Hurlburt88 - 10-27-2017

Excited for the season!    Hope to catch a game in person

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - 2006alum - 10-27-2017

Really encouraging to hear, because I do remember in past years Tara being cagier about her optimism. Between all our new ready-to-play personnel, the growth of the Sophomores, and our intense OOC schedule, the first half dozen games of this season should be really interesting.

BTW- The Preseason Coaches' Poll came out and Stanford was picked 9th. Six PAC-12 teams in the Top 25: (7) UCLA, (9) Stanford, (11) Oregon, (17) Oregon State, 25 (California), and (25) Washington. The conference has come a long way from the days of Stanford and the 9 dwarves. (Ok, that's a little extreme, but you know what I mean.)

Washington's position is bizarre, because they were picked to finish dead last, 12th, in the PAC-12 Preseason Poll. So apparently coaches in the rest of the country have a lot more faith in the new coach than the Pac-12 coaches do. It does make one wonder how much attention people pay to other conferences - is it possible some aren't aware of the drastic change in personnel in Seattle?

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - BobK - 10-27-2017

The Washington ranking is beyond strange.    Btw Washington lost another potential starter yesterday, Gigi Garcia

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - 81alum - 10-27-2017

(10-27-2017, 06:26 PM)BobK link Wrote:The Washington ranking is beyond strange.    Btw Washington lost another potential starter yesterday, Gigi Garcia
Yes, I was just thinking that.  Do you suppose people meant to vote for WSU?  Or did they somehow forget that Plum graduated?

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - TheFarm07 - 10-28-2017

(10-27-2017, 09:52 PM)81alum link Wrote:[quote author=BobK link=topic=17803.msg208774#msg208774 date=1509154000]
The Washington ranking is beyond strange.    Btw Washington lost another potential starter yesterday, Gigi Garcia
Yes, I was just thinking that.  Do you suppose people meant to vote for WSU?  Or did they somehow forget that Plum graduated?
[/quote]

That is truly bizarre. I am still half convinced it's a typo and it should be Washington State there, not Washington. Plum was the #1 draft pick, so it wasn't like she quietly graduated. Neighbors left and Osahor also graduated. They are rebuilding with a new coach (maybe that's why they are very, very optimistic about the Dawgs?)

(10-27-2017, 05:33 AM)81alum link Wrote:I seem to remember Tara usually being circumspect.  But the quotes in this piece seem off-the-charts optimistic.

https://stanford.rivals.com/news/vanderveer-freshmen-share-thoughts-on-offseason-progress

She indicates massive improvement in the sophomore class, and especially with Nadia Fingall.  DiJonai has apparently become a phenomenal three point shooter, hitting 7 in a recent scrimmage. 

And the freshman class is going to play more than most freshman do.  Estella is now shooting the trey well--"one of the best on the team."  Do we have another potential Bonnie in the making?  Jerome is learning the 3-4 as we expected, meaning she will probably be Alanna's understudy.  Kianna is pushing Marta and Anna at point guard.

And the new offense is being called the "Warriorization" of the team.  Versatile bigs, better outside shooting, faster ball movement.  I hope it works!

Agreed. Tara is usually more restrained and always mentioning a potential improvement for the team and though I am very sure she has plenty on her list to work the team on, her comments I am hoping will translate in a less bumpy road that what we have feared with a fearsome non-conference schedule.

Perhaps this optimism at the team gelling quickly and the high talent level is why she scheduled UConn, Ohio State (possibly twice), Baylor and Tennessee. The games in Italy have no bearing on our NCAA record, so it was a good time to try out new schemes or plays or put players in new situations in a live ball situation without lasting consequences. Of course, this is all speculation.

We will see just two(!) weeks from now with our opener against the Buckeyes. Kelsey Mitchell will present us with a big test right off the bat.

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - 81alum - 10-28-2017

We will be able to see the exhibition against San Diego State UCSD just one week from today.  Normally you expect to see a lot of second and third string play in those kinds of games, but given that we don't really even know who the starters will be, I would think that Tara is going to give her starting lineup as much time together as possible to "jell" before being flung into the maelstrom at Ohio State 6 days later.  So the exhibition should give us a chance to see the new offense and some new players.

Should be a much more interesting exhibition than usual.

And yes, Kelsey Mitchell will tell us a lot about our team.  We are of course all fascinated by the new offense, but we don't really know who our lock-down defenders are going to be.  With Bri graduated, who will guard Mitchell and later on Jordin Canada etc.?  If Kiana Williams comes out and proves to be a lock-down defender as a freshman, then I think we are looking at a four year starter, since Tara always prioritizes perimeter defense.  But who knows?  Maybe Romano will turn out to be a terrific defender in her junior year.  I'm not sure if Carrington will have the speed for Mitchell but I could be wrong about that.  And there is Marta and Anna Wilson.  Marta has been a competent defender at times.  I don't think we have seen enough of Anna to know.  The question is...how will this young team defend the superstar perimeter players?  Tune in Friday Nov 10 to find out.

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - BobK - 10-28-2017

We play UCSD.  Lol
And yes you named what appears to be our top defender but I'll tell you at the chalk talk 😳
Don't forgot Jeanette's sister in law is also a star at Ohio State

A note on Washington. Gigi Garcia who would have started is out for the year.  I presume knee injuries that also cost her last season.



Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - 81alum - 10-28-2017

(10-28-2017, 09:37 AM)BobK link Wrote:We play UCSD.  Lol
And yes you named what appears to be our top defender but I'll tell you at the chalk talk 😳
Don't forgot Jeanette's sister in law is also a star at Ohio State

A note on Washington. Gigi Garcia who would have started is out for the year.  I presume knee injuries that also cost her last season.
Well, at least I got the San Diego part right!  And as for defense--no fair, since I named almost everyone! 

Say I got an invite to purchase a $20 ticket for a "behind the bench" talk after the exhibition.  Is this a one-off or did they decided to start selling tickets for all the behind-the-bench sessions? 

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - CompSci87 - 10-28-2017

Seems to be a one-off. I was puzzled by it myself. The email I got about it today says "A ticket is only required to partake in the refreshments."

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - BobK - 10-28-2017

It's $20 for food and drink.  Shrimp cheeses and a martini I'm sure.   

However thy made wvb chalk talks for season ticket holders only so stay tuned for more of this

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - TheFarm07 - 11-03-2017

(10-27-2017, 05:27 PM)2006alum link Wrote:Really encouraging to hear, because I do remember in past years Tara being cagier about her optimism. Between all our new ready-to-play personnel, the growth of the Sophomores, and our intense OOC schedule, the first half dozen games of this season should be really interesting.

BTW- The Preseason Coaches' Poll came out and Stanford was picked 9th. Six PAC-12 teams in the Top 25: (7) UCLA, (9) Stanford, (11) Oregon, (17) Oregon State, 25 (California), and (25) Washington. The conference has come a long way from the days of Stanford and the 9 dwarves. (Ok, that's a little extreme, but you know what I mean.)

Washington's position is bizarre, because they were picked to finish dead last, 12th, in the PAC-12 Preseason Poll. So apparently coaches in the rest of the country have a lot more faith in the new coach than the Pac-12 coaches do. It does make one wonder how much attention people pay to other conferences - is it possible some aren't aware of the drastic change in personnel in Seattle?

The AP poll came out and we are ranked #10.

UCLA tops the Pac-12 teams at #8, Oregon is right behind us at #11, Oregon State at #19 and Ca.l is #20. No weird UW ranking here.

UConn is #1, followed by Texas, Baylor, South Carolina and Ohio State. Texas certainly has a lot of talent, but it's slightly weird to see them ranked at #2 ahead of teams that have had more recent success at the top for the last few years like their Big 12 rival Baylor.

Re: WBB: Tara's optimism - 81alum - 11-03-2017

That seems fair as far as the relative rankings in the Pac 12 are concerned.  People can't really figure out UCLA vs. Oregon vs. Stanford so those three are practically tied.  But I think it would be a fair bet to expect that one or more Pac 12 teams will wind up doing better than some of the teams ranked 2-7--we just don't know which one yet.

There seems to be a lot of disagreement about Texas, ranked 2 on AP and 6 by the coaches. 

We play a lot of these teams, several of the early, so we will get a clear idea of where we stack up early.