03-05-2012, 12:13 AM
A couple of comments:
- A LOT of high dribble weave by Stanford tonight, pulling everyone away from the basket and trying to generate an angle to the basket for a cutter. Seemed to work well, as it also didn't allow the defense to really set. Although Berkeley didn't play a lot of really packed in zone tonight that I could see (as others have noted, especially after Toni and Bonnie started to light them up from outside). Much less static triangle.
- A couple of interesting press breaks against K.al's attempted 2-2-1 trap. By far the most interesting: Chiney, Nneka and Jos in the backcourt bringing the ball up, able to pass over the top of any attempted trap. When they crossed the timeline, at least on one possession they found Toni in the right corner, and she took it to the rim, eventually dishing to a cutting Nneka (may have been Chiney) for the finish. More generally, much more attacking the basket out of the press break. Of course, the 2-2-1 leaves only one person under the basket to defend, but still, it was nice to see the press get punished when broken, and that really kept da Bares from generating any momentum out of it.
Oh, and Nneka's steal at midcourt and 3/4 of the court drive for the layup was a thing of beauty.
You know, at this point, I think Stanford will receive a #1 seed as long as they make the Pac-12 finals. First game against the winner of Washington/Oregon on Thursday, I believe. One note: why not delay the women's tournament an extra day? The selection show is not until Monday, which means that the Pac-12 final could easily be on Sunday. Play the two semifinals around the men's final, or before or after the men's final. All of the games on Wednesday and Thursday will conflict with men's games, and on Friday both semis are played during the workday, so that the men's tourney can play the primetime spots at night. A one day offset would deal with a lot of those issues, I think.
VG
P.S. One more interesting thought: at this point, I think UConn is actually the most likely #1 seed to drop, if they lose another one to Notre Dame, behind Maryland.Â
- A LOT of high dribble weave by Stanford tonight, pulling everyone away from the basket and trying to generate an angle to the basket for a cutter. Seemed to work well, as it also didn't allow the defense to really set. Although Berkeley didn't play a lot of really packed in zone tonight that I could see (as others have noted, especially after Toni and Bonnie started to light them up from outside). Much less static triangle.
- A couple of interesting press breaks against K.al's attempted 2-2-1 trap. By far the most interesting: Chiney, Nneka and Jos in the backcourt bringing the ball up, able to pass over the top of any attempted trap. When they crossed the timeline, at least on one possession they found Toni in the right corner, and she took it to the rim, eventually dishing to a cutting Nneka (may have been Chiney) for the finish. More generally, much more attacking the basket out of the press break. Of course, the 2-2-1 leaves only one person under the basket to defend, but still, it was nice to see the press get punished when broken, and that really kept da Bares from generating any momentum out of it.
Oh, and Nneka's steal at midcourt and 3/4 of the court drive for the layup was a thing of beauty.
You know, at this point, I think Stanford will receive a #1 seed as long as they make the Pac-12 finals. First game against the winner of Washington/Oregon on Thursday, I believe. One note: why not delay the women's tournament an extra day? The selection show is not until Monday, which means that the Pac-12 final could easily be on Sunday. Play the two semifinals around the men's final, or before or after the men's final. All of the games on Wednesday and Thursday will conflict with men's games, and on Friday both semis are played during the workday, so that the men's tourney can play the primetime spots at night. A one day offset would deal with a lot of those issues, I think.
VG
P.S. One more interesting thought: at this point, I think UConn is actually the most likely #1 seed to drop, if they lose another one to Notre Dame, behind Maryland.Â