[81alum]

I don't believe that Brink is playing the 3.  Tara seems to be playing two bigs at a time, one at the 4 and one at the 5.  How many line-ups have we seen with three bigs together and one at the 3?  Almost zero.  Brink at the 3 was mentioned as something they try in practice sometimes.  She is in a different position in that she is more at the 4 than the 5, where she was last year.  That is to make room for Iriafen and soon for Betts.  I read a lot that people on here wanted to see more of Iriafen.  Well, yes or no?  More Irafen and Brink sometimes plays the 4 or less Irafen and Brink sticks to the 5?

I think Jones will end up playing pretty much liked last season with a bit more pg sprinkled in.  She will grab rebounds and go.  She will occasionally bring the ball up and start the offense.  She will also play the wing a lot when Lepolo or Nivar or Harriel run the point.  Last season she brought the ball up fairly often.  She definitely lead the break often.  She has not had a sea change in her role.  She has always been a creative passer.  She was our leading assist player last year wasn't she (I did not double check)?  I'd prefer her to play off the ball from the start of games but I do no think playing point guard a little should mess up her game.  She was 3-11 against Pacific I think, but I don't think she was taking shots she doesn't usually take or did not usually take last season.  Maybe she takes a few more threes.  But we want that, because it helps her game if she is a threat from three.  It is good for her and good for the team.  I'm not at all arguing that she should be our main point guard.  I don't want that.  I just no longer see it as a big negative if she plays there sometimes or plays there with certain match-ups.

To further support your point--the Princeton on offense and our constant switching on defense both scramble the positions on a regular basis.  If this is a "Warriors" style offense then everyone winds up playing everywhere once the flow of the game takes over.  There was a time when that would have been impossible, but Tara has recruited players who all can move and who most all can shoot from a variety of positions.  Jump can drive, Iriafen is a pretty good jump shooter, etc.  The simple structures (5-4-3-2-1, zone vs matchup vs. man, etc.) that we have become accustomed to may all be getting more fuzzy in modern basketball.

That said, Brink and Jones have not been playing all that well in their limited minutes.  I'm less concerned about Jones since, as I have said, she always always always rises to the occasion--or sinks to the occasion as it were.  Brink I am a little more troubled by.  It would be nice to see her have an outstanding game tomorrow to give her some encouragement and momentum.

[81alum]

I don't believe that Brink is playing the 3.  Tara seems to be playing two bigs at a time, one at the 4 and one at the 5.  How many line-ups have we seen with three bigs together and one at the 3?  Almost zero.  Brink at the 3 was mentioned as something they try in practice sometimes.  She is in a different position in that she is more at the 4 than the 5, where she was last year.  That is to make room for Iriafen and soon for Betts.  I read a lot that people on here wanted to see more of Iriafen.  Well, yes or no?  More Irafen and Brink sometimes plays the 4 or less Irafen and Brink sticks to the 5?

I think Jones will end up playing pretty much liked last season with a bit more pg sprinkled in.  She will grab rebounds and go.  She will occasionally bring the ball up and start the offense.  She will also play the wing a lot when Lepolo or Nivar or Harriel run the point.  Last season she brought the ball up fairly often.  She definitely lead the break often.  She has not had a sea change in her role.  She has always been a creative passer.  She was our leading assist player last year wasn't she (I did not double check)?  I'd prefer her to play off the ball from the start of games but I do no think playing point guard a little should mess up her game.  She was 3-11 against Pacific I think, but I don't think she was taking shots she doesn't usually take or did not usually take last season.  Maybe she takes a few more threes.  But we want that, because it helps her game if she is a threat from three.  It is good for her and good for the team.  I'm not at all arguing that she should be our main point guard.  I don't want that.  I just no longer see it as a big negative if she plays there sometimes or plays there with certain match-ups.

To further support your point--the Princeton on offense and our constant switching on defense both scramble the positions on a regular basis.  If this is a "Warriors" style offense then everyone winds up playing everywhere once the flow of the game takes over.  There was a time when that would have been impossible, but Tara has recruited players who all can move and who most all can shoot from a variety of positions.  Jump can drive, Iriafen is a pretty good jump shooter, etc.  The simple structures (5-4-3-2-1, zone vs matchup vs. man, etc.) that we have become accustomed to may all be getting more fuzzy in modern basketball.

That said, Brink and Jones have not been playing all that well in their limited minutes.  I'm less concerned about Jones since, as I have said, she always always always rises to the occasion--or sinks to the occasion as it were.  Brink I am a little more troubled by.  It would be nice to see her have an outstanding game tomorrow to give her some encouragement and momentum.