[BosCard]

I saw Harriell twice in HS    Loved her game.    Never saw her play point however.

How many of our guards have played point competitively in the past?  After all, we are going to need more than ONE point guard.

Emma-Nnopu doubtful ?
Lepolo YES
Nivar "combo-guard" ?
Bosgana doubtful ?
Papadaki ?
Jones  YES
Green ?
Harriel ?
Jump doubtful ?

Williams came in as a combo-guard, so we can hope that Nivar is the next Williams.

While we are on the subject, when was the last time a freshman played point guard?  Was that Candice Wiggins? (EDIT: Sniezek started 9 games as a freshman, but I am looking for the last time a freshman became a regular starting point guard.  Lili Thompson had more assists that year.)

I think we will see a lot of Jones at point, especially early in the year, while other points come along.  I find it hard to believe that Nivar or Lepolo can be starting at point anytime soon--Tara puts so much weight on experience and on learning our system.   That would demand an enormous basketball brain and nerves of steel that few freshmen will have.  If we played a loosey-goosey style and improvisational offense, then that would be something else.  But Tara's offenses, with Princeton elements, demand discipline.  On the other hand, in the Princeton about four players can set up the plays, and the role of point to initiate the offense is reduced. 

The main problem then remains ball handling against the press, and the Princeton doesn't help that one little bit.  In fact, the Princeton thrives on lots of time to keep the players in motion until the defense makes a mistake, and the longer it takes to bring the ball up court the less time for running the offense.  Opponents have already figured that out and they press us to consume clock as much as to force turnovers.  So the Princeton really demands a solid, quick, and reliable method for bringing the ball up court.  Remember, when the Princeton was first developed there was no shot clock, and thus the shot clock limits its effectiveness.  The defense only has to survive a couple of plays without making a mistake, instead of motion ad infinitum.  Bring the ball up slowly and there is only time for 1 or 2 options instead of 3 or 4, and that dramatically limits it.  So maybe it is time to ditch the Princeton, go back to the triangle or something else that more prominently features our plethora of great "bigs".

If Jones does play a lot of point and we go with a "big" lineup, I keep thinking that maybe Tara will try out a different kind of defense designed to make us less vulnerable to slashers.  Could this be the year of the zone?

I just get the feeling that change is in the air, whether offensive or defensive.  Hard to see us running everything the same as we did last year with such different personnel this year.

Nivar was primarily used as a PG on the U18 national team.  My guess is that Nivar or Lepolo back up Jones OR play with Jones to help bring up the ball but Jones primarily initiates the offense in the half court.

[BosCard]

I saw Harriell twice in HS    Loved her game.    Never saw her play point however.

How many of our guards have played point competitively in the past?  After all, we are going to need more than ONE point guard.

Emma-Nnopu doubtful ?
Lepolo YES
Nivar "combo-guard" ?
Bosgana doubtful ?
Papadaki ?
Jones  YES
Green ?
Harriel ?
Jump doubtful ?

Williams came in as a combo-guard, so we can hope that Nivar is the next Williams.

While we are on the subject, when was the last time a freshman played point guard?  Was that Candice Wiggins? (EDIT: Sniezek started 9 games as a freshman, but I am looking for the last time a freshman became a regular starting point guard.  Lili Thompson had more assists that year.)

I think we will see a lot of Jones at point, especially early in the year, while other points come along.  I find it hard to believe that Nivar or Lepolo can be starting at point anytime soon--Tara puts so much weight on experience and on learning our system.   That would demand an enormous basketball brain and nerves of steel that few freshmen will have.  If we played a loosey-goosey style and improvisational offense, then that would be something else.  But Tara's offenses, with Princeton elements, demand discipline.  On the other hand, in the Princeton about four players can set up the plays, and the role of point to initiate the offense is reduced. 

The main problem then remains ball handling against the press, and the Princeton doesn't help that one little bit.  In fact, the Princeton thrives on lots of time to keep the players in motion until the defense makes a mistake, and the longer it takes to bring the ball up court the less time for running the offense.  Opponents have already figured that out and they press us to consume clock as much as to force turnovers.  So the Princeton really demands a solid, quick, and reliable method for bringing the ball up court.  Remember, when the Princeton was first developed there was no shot clock, and thus the shot clock limits its effectiveness.  The defense only has to survive a couple of plays without making a mistake, instead of motion ad infinitum.  Bring the ball up slowly and there is only time for 1 or 2 options instead of 3 or 4, and that dramatically limits it.  So maybe it is time to ditch the Princeton, go back to the triangle or something else that more prominently features our plethora of great "bigs".

If Jones does play a lot of point and we go with a "big" lineup, I keep thinking that maybe Tara will try out a different kind of defense designed to make us less vulnerable to slashers.  Could this be the year of the zone?

I just get the feeling that change is in the air, whether offensive or defensive.  Hard to see us running everything the same as we did last year with such different personnel this year.

Nivar was primarily used as a PG on the U18 national team.  My guess is that Nivar or Lepolo back up Jones OR play with Jones to help bring up the ball but Jones primarily initiates the offense in the half court.