(12-13-2020, 10:13 PM)81alum Wrote: So many distractions--the team hasn't been home in weeks, the focus on Tara, lots of very young players who are probably homesick by now. And despite it all we steamroll another Pac 12 team. Cal is in such a weak position it is impossible to say this means anything more than another milestone win. But there are a few takeaways:
Jump is shooting well in her usual miss 2 -- make 5 kind of pattern. Given how much she has improved other parts of her game, and how "off" our other guards are with their shooting, I think she may see more minutes.
Lexie and Williams were collectively 7-23, and 1-9 from three. Our two most potent offensive threats from last year need to get their offense going again.
Cal clamped down on the inside game in the second half. Belibi was 7-11 in the first half and 0-2 in the second. Brink was 5-6 in the first and 0-1 in the second.
Prechtel is not getting a lot of minutes--just 10, and she was 1-7. Brink had 25. Tara is giving the frosh some time in the easy games to see what they can do. I am still forming opinions about Brink's defense vs. Prechtel's--anyone have an opinion about their relative advantages on D?
Belibi is a different player this year, as is Jump. And her dunk is only a part of it. Her spin moves around the basket forced Cal to change its whole defensive scheme.
Jones is amazingly accurate in the midrange.
Cal finished with 33 turnovers and 33 missed shots, making only 10 shots for the game. Yes they were overmatched, but we need to credit our defense too.
I don't think I have seen a game when we had 22 steals before.
We had 19 assists. Cal had 7.
This game felt very much like an exhibition.
BUT it certainly marked an amazing achievement by Tara, tying Pat at 1098 wins. And Fran's dunk. Has a Stanford woman dunked in a game before? Nicole Powell?
1. I have little doubt that in the 2H Tara gave the team the Coach Norman Dale (Gene Hackman in Hoosiers) directive about passing the ball at least 4 times on O before hoisting a shot. If you noticed, the team passed up several good, open looks early in possessions for a later-in-the-shot-clock-and-not-necessarily-better shot. Doubt anyone will cop to it, but that was my distinct impression - and I don't mind her not running up the score against a clearly overmatched Cal side.
2. Am concerned that Prechtel will transfer after this season. She is a complete stud, objectively, but right now is getting fourth post player rotation minutes (if you include Jones as a "big") behind Belibi and Brink and Jones. I'm not saying Brink doesn't deserve her minutes (though I doubt whether some aspects of her game will translate against good opponents - at least early in her career); I am saying that Prechtel looks to have a confidence issue going, and confidence (more often than not) is directly tied to PT. But she could play 35 minutes/game at most other colleges. Also, in Covid remote-school world, the attraction of Stanford (heck, any college) and the overall school experience which many of us loved has to be diminished. I know it's ridiculously premature to send this one up the flagpole, but the thought crossed my mind while watching tonight's game.
3. Not sure why people are concerned with Lexie's scoring. Wasn't she averaging double-digits coming into tonight's game? And she's a rebounding machine and a darn good defender. Kiana has been off her O game, for sure, but she is the last person on the roster I'm worried about. I look at it as unrealized upside for a team that is already blowing out opponents.
4. Belibi really has improved her game - ball handling and moves around the bucket are nice.
5. Good for Jump for re-forming her fitness while maintaining the sweet stroke.
6. This team is exceptionally deep and fun to watch.
P.S. The Race to the Summit thing is a bit overblown, given that the real race is between Tara and Geno and it will play out for years to come.