12-05-2016, 08:03 AM
Great job summing up the season in stats, so far, Farm!Â
Tempie noted at yesterday's chalk talk that Carrington was injured over the summer and Brewer was away playing for her national team, so Fingall got a three month head start adjusting to the Stanford system. Not sure exactly what that means given that there are no official practices, but I presume that the other players who are on campus must teach each other. In any case, that is probably why Nadia is integrating a little faster into the system.
That note about Tara's talk with the Davis coach about why Davis has abandoned the Princeton offense is instructive in another way--it seems that while Tara does not run the Princeton, she does run a system that takes longer for players to learn than some others. That was true of our abandoned triangle too--not sure why it is true now, but it appears to be. It ties in with how much our players improve, and how much Tara leans on seniors. Taylor Greenfield became a star player only at the very end of her senior year. Bonnie didn't start a game until her junior year. Kayla, Jayne, and Chiney started from the beginning of their careers--but were shadows of their future selves. Nneka did not start until half way through the season largely due to constant foul problems. Amber did not start until half way through her freshman season either. Sara James played very sparingly before starting in her junior year. Ruef did not start a game until her redshirt senior year.Â
This is, I think, one of the differences between Stanford WBB and some other teams. Certain other teams attract great physical talent that plays well in relatively simple systems and takes less preparation. Tara runs sophisticated offenses and defenses that leverage one of the advantages that we have--high intelligence and discipline. Unfortunately, it takes time--sometimes years--for her players to learn the system well enough to internalize it in muscle memory. Tempie talks about frosh being "a step or two slow" since they are pausing to think a bit too much. Those who don't get started until November have an even greater disadvantage.Â
Someone like Karlie, who was not a physically gifted as some other players, nevertheless has become a crucial contributor because she knows Tara's systems better than anyone else on the court, and can play four positions and know exactly what to do in any situation.
It is frustrating that it takes such a long time to integrate our frosh--and we will no doubt feel the same way next year with another outstanding group coming in. But I think it is also what has made Stanford so competitive over the years despite the severe limitations on our admissions.
Tempie noted at yesterday's chalk talk that Carrington was injured over the summer and Brewer was away playing for her national team, so Fingall got a three month head start adjusting to the Stanford system. Not sure exactly what that means given that there are no official practices, but I presume that the other players who are on campus must teach each other. In any case, that is probably why Nadia is integrating a little faster into the system.
That note about Tara's talk with the Davis coach about why Davis has abandoned the Princeton offense is instructive in another way--it seems that while Tara does not run the Princeton, she does run a system that takes longer for players to learn than some others. That was true of our abandoned triangle too--not sure why it is true now, but it appears to be. It ties in with how much our players improve, and how much Tara leans on seniors. Taylor Greenfield became a star player only at the very end of her senior year. Bonnie didn't start a game until her junior year. Kayla, Jayne, and Chiney started from the beginning of their careers--but were shadows of their future selves. Nneka did not start until half way through the season largely due to constant foul problems. Amber did not start until half way through her freshman season either. Sara James played very sparingly before starting in her junior year. Ruef did not start a game until her redshirt senior year.Â
This is, I think, one of the differences between Stanford WBB and some other teams. Certain other teams attract great physical talent that plays well in relatively simple systems and takes less preparation. Tara runs sophisticated offenses and defenses that leverage one of the advantages that we have--high intelligence and discipline. Unfortunately, it takes time--sometimes years--for her players to learn the system well enough to internalize it in muscle memory. Tempie talks about frosh being "a step or two slow" since they are pausing to think a bit too much. Those who don't get started until November have an even greater disadvantage.Â
Someone like Karlie, who was not a physically gifted as some other players, nevertheless has become a crucial contributor because she knows Tara's systems better than anyone else on the court, and can play four positions and know exactly what to do in any situation.
It is frustrating that it takes such a long time to integrate our frosh--and we will no doubt feel the same way next year with another outstanding group coming in. But I think it is also what has made Stanford so competitive over the years despite the severe limitations on our admissions.