12-02-2022, 01:07 AM
I'm surprised at the amount of teeth gnashing going on so don't want to contribute to it. But, there's not been a lot of discussion here about the rotation and figuring out the second unit. If anyone subscribes to the Athletic, there's been quite a few articles discussing the Warriors and their problems getting the second unit to, well, not suck. Curry is having to play 34+ minutes a game, and the +/- for the bench is dreadful. For Stanford, with a pretty new starting five, the pre-conference season is all about figuring out combinations, substitution patterns, and who plays well together. Coach Tara doesn't have Kerr's problem. Her second unit would probably win most of the conference games and make it to the the tournament. The problem she has is figuring out what to do for the 6-7 games in the season when they play a physically talented team that forces the rotation to shrink.
I honestly don't care if the team didn't smush Santa Clara, or gave up too many points to Hawaii, or that Jones looks like she's on autopilot right now in some of the games where the other team is going to struggle to score 45 points. I care about the staff getting the time to see what's going to work when the going gets substantially tougher and they're playing a South Carolina/UConn/Louisville, or maybe UCLA/Oregon/Arizona. The Warriors know that losing to Dallas in November doesn't mean bleep as long as they're ready to roll in the spring. (Obviously, for them, if they don't get the second unit stabilized, they're in big trouble.)
Worrying about whether this team is ready for a National Championship is a counterproductive narrative in November/December when we have two players who are new to the starting lineup (Iriafen and Lepolo) and one (Jump) who started early last year but then came out of the starting lineup in the 2nd half of the season.
We know a few things from Coach Tara's history, and we already know a bunch of stuff that we didn't know in October:
1) We know that if you can't play defense you don't get on the floor. We also know that unless you are the team's primary or secondary options, you don't get to turn the ball over a lot. Coach Tara wants kids on the floor who are prepared to play. We've seen for decades that if you miss a defensive assignment, turn the ball over, or stupidly foul, you are on the express lane to the bench. Players who create their own shots get more leeway on the turnovers, but we've seen from the post-game pressers that Coach Tara still isn't happy about the turnovers from creative players.
2) Lepolo compares pretty favorably to our history of freshman point guards. Having watched nearly the entire history of Stanford point guards, I have basically no heartburn about Lepolo. Personally, I think she's got great upside, and in the history of the program, we've maybe had 2-3 PG's with her handle, passing ability, and ability to run the break. I'm a fan. She's got her spots, can pull up, drive and it's not like she isn't taking a few 3's.
Check out the historical Freshman year PG stats (Some of these players didn't really play enough to say that they were playing PG, and I included a couple of players like Pohlen who didn't play PG as a freshman but switched later out of necessity.) Ros, Susan King, and Lindy were sometimes only ostensibly PG's. I omitted players who had a cup of coffee freshman year particularly if they never ended up playing meaningful PG minutes.
Jennifer Azzi (86-87): 27 starts, 31.9 mpg, 9.1 ppg, pre 3-pt line, 100 rebounds, 165 assists to 106 turnovers and 46 steals.
Molly Goodenbour (89-90): no starts, 8.2 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 10 3-pt FG, 19 rebounds, 28 assists to 29 turnovers, and 10 steals.
Kate Paye (91-92): 1 start, 8.9 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 2 3-pt FG, 40 rebounds, 23 assists to 29 turnovers, and 14 steals.
Jamilla Wideman (93-94): 29 starts, 27 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 9 3-pt FG, 86 rebounds, 134 assists to 74 turnovers and 49 steals.
Milena Flores (96-97): 2 starts, 13.8 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 5 3-pt FG, 29 rebounds, 48 assists to 22 turnovers and 12 steals.
Susan King (00-01): (injury year?) 9 starts, 31.6 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 11 3-pt FG, 25 rebounds, 46 assists to 19 turnovers and 10 steals IN 9 GAMES
Kelley Suminski (01-02): 27 starts, 24.4 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 38 3-pt FG, 69 rebounds, 93 assists to 62 turnovers and 21 steals.
Clare Bodensteiner (03-04): 0 starts, 5.4 mpg, 1.6 ppg, 2 3-pt FG, 11 rebounds, 10 assists to 12 turnovers and 3 steals.
Candice Wiggins (04-05): 34 starts, 26.9 mpg, 17.5 ppg, 36 3-pt FG, 188 rebounds, 99 assists to 103 turnovers and 85 steals. Obviously, not always PG.
JJ Hones (06-07): 20 starts, 24.3 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 14 3-pt FG, 41 rebounds, 90 assists to 32 turnovers, and 28 steals.
Ros Gold-Onwude (07-08): 33 starts, 21.8 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 34 3-pt FG, 98 rebounds, 85 assists to 76 turnovers, and 29 steals - not always playing PG.
Jeanette Pohlen (07-08): 0 starts, 19.3 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 18 3-pt FG, 113 rebounds, 76 assists to 57 turnovers, and 26 steals - not playing PG this year.
Lindy La Rocque (08-09): 1 start, 10.9 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 37 3-pt FG, 26 rebounds, 39 assists to 20 turnovers, and 18 steals - not really a PG.
Toni Kokenis (10-11): 2 starts, 17.0 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 17 3-pt FG, 53 rebounds, 44 assists to 43 turnovers, and 30 steals - more of a shooting 2.
Amber Orange (11-12): 23 starts, 19.7 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 3 3-pt FG, 99 rebounds, 112 assists to 57 turnovers, and 40 steals.
Briana Roberson (13-14): 1 start, 6.6 mpg, 1.6 ppg, 3 3-pt FG, 13 rebounds, 9 assists to 12 turnovers, and 3 steals. Not much playing PG if any that year.
Marta Sniezek (15-16): 9 starts, 18.7 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 4 3-pt FG, 56 rebounds, 109 assists to 63 turnovers and 21 steals.
Anna Wilson (16-17): 0 starts, 8.0 mpg, 2.8 ppg, 4 3-pt FG, 6 rebounds, 5 assists to 7 turnovers, and 3 steals.
Kiana Williams (17-18): 26 starts, 25.7 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 71 3-pt FG, 58 rebounds, 67 assists to 40 turnovers and 30 steals. Sniezek was mostly playing PG this year.
Jana Van Gytenbeek (20-21) 0 starts, 8.4 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 13 3-pt FG, 8 rebounds, 32 assists to 14 turnovers and 8 steals.
Talana Lepolo through 10 games: 7 starts, 26.2 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 3 3-pt FG, 20 rebounds, 57 assists to 21 turnovers and 10 steals.
Honestly, this looks pretty darn good to me, particularly since that we spent the entire off-season worrying about Jones having to bring the ball up this year. It seems obvious to me that one measure of Lepolo's success is that South Carolina didn't make any concerted effort to full court press - something that I'm fairly convinced would have happened if Jones actually had to play PG.
I honestly don't care if the team didn't smush Santa Clara, or gave up too many points to Hawaii, or that Jones looks like she's on autopilot right now in some of the games where the other team is going to struggle to score 45 points. I care about the staff getting the time to see what's going to work when the going gets substantially tougher and they're playing a South Carolina/UConn/Louisville, or maybe UCLA/Oregon/Arizona. The Warriors know that losing to Dallas in November doesn't mean bleep as long as they're ready to roll in the spring. (Obviously, for them, if they don't get the second unit stabilized, they're in big trouble.)
Worrying about whether this team is ready for a National Championship is a counterproductive narrative in November/December when we have two players who are new to the starting lineup (Iriafen and Lepolo) and one (Jump) who started early last year but then came out of the starting lineup in the 2nd half of the season.
We know a few things from Coach Tara's history, and we already know a bunch of stuff that we didn't know in October:
1) We know that if you can't play defense you don't get on the floor. We also know that unless you are the team's primary or secondary options, you don't get to turn the ball over a lot. Coach Tara wants kids on the floor who are prepared to play. We've seen for decades that if you miss a defensive assignment, turn the ball over, or stupidly foul, you are on the express lane to the bench. Players who create their own shots get more leeway on the turnovers, but we've seen from the post-game pressers that Coach Tara still isn't happy about the turnovers from creative players.
2) Lepolo compares pretty favorably to our history of freshman point guards. Having watched nearly the entire history of Stanford point guards, I have basically no heartburn about Lepolo. Personally, I think she's got great upside, and in the history of the program, we've maybe had 2-3 PG's with her handle, passing ability, and ability to run the break. I'm a fan. She's got her spots, can pull up, drive and it's not like she isn't taking a few 3's.
Check out the historical Freshman year PG stats (Some of these players didn't really play enough to say that they were playing PG, and I included a couple of players like Pohlen who didn't play PG as a freshman but switched later out of necessity.) Ros, Susan King, and Lindy were sometimes only ostensibly PG's. I omitted players who had a cup of coffee freshman year particularly if they never ended up playing meaningful PG minutes.
Jennifer Azzi (86-87): 27 starts, 31.9 mpg, 9.1 ppg, pre 3-pt line, 100 rebounds, 165 assists to 106 turnovers and 46 steals.
Molly Goodenbour (89-90): no starts, 8.2 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 10 3-pt FG, 19 rebounds, 28 assists to 29 turnovers, and 10 steals.
Kate Paye (91-92): 1 start, 8.9 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 2 3-pt FG, 40 rebounds, 23 assists to 29 turnovers, and 14 steals.
Jamilla Wideman (93-94): 29 starts, 27 mpg, 6.1 ppg, 9 3-pt FG, 86 rebounds, 134 assists to 74 turnovers and 49 steals.
Milena Flores (96-97): 2 starts, 13.8 mpg, 2.7 ppg, 5 3-pt FG, 29 rebounds, 48 assists to 22 turnovers and 12 steals.
Susan King (00-01): (injury year?) 9 starts, 31.6 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 11 3-pt FG, 25 rebounds, 46 assists to 19 turnovers and 10 steals IN 9 GAMES
Kelley Suminski (01-02): 27 starts, 24.4 mpg, 7.6 ppg, 38 3-pt FG, 69 rebounds, 93 assists to 62 turnovers and 21 steals.
Clare Bodensteiner (03-04): 0 starts, 5.4 mpg, 1.6 ppg, 2 3-pt FG, 11 rebounds, 10 assists to 12 turnovers and 3 steals.
Candice Wiggins (04-05): 34 starts, 26.9 mpg, 17.5 ppg, 36 3-pt FG, 188 rebounds, 99 assists to 103 turnovers and 85 steals. Obviously, not always PG.
JJ Hones (06-07): 20 starts, 24.3 mpg, 4.5 ppg, 14 3-pt FG, 41 rebounds, 90 assists to 32 turnovers, and 28 steals.
Ros Gold-Onwude (07-08): 33 starts, 21.8 mpg, 5.0 ppg, 34 3-pt FG, 98 rebounds, 85 assists to 76 turnovers, and 29 steals - not always playing PG.
Jeanette Pohlen (07-08): 0 starts, 19.3 mpg, 4.6 ppg, 18 3-pt FG, 113 rebounds, 76 assists to 57 turnovers, and 26 steals - not playing PG this year.
Lindy La Rocque (08-09): 1 start, 10.9 mpg, 3.5 ppg, 37 3-pt FG, 26 rebounds, 39 assists to 20 turnovers, and 18 steals - not really a PG.
Toni Kokenis (10-11): 2 starts, 17.0 mpg, 5.3 ppg, 17 3-pt FG, 53 rebounds, 44 assists to 43 turnovers, and 30 steals - more of a shooting 2.
Amber Orange (11-12): 23 starts, 19.7 mpg, 4.8 ppg, 3 3-pt FG, 99 rebounds, 112 assists to 57 turnovers, and 40 steals.
Briana Roberson (13-14): 1 start, 6.6 mpg, 1.6 ppg, 3 3-pt FG, 13 rebounds, 9 assists to 12 turnovers, and 3 steals. Not much playing PG if any that year.
Marta Sniezek (15-16): 9 starts, 18.7 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 4 3-pt FG, 56 rebounds, 109 assists to 63 turnovers and 21 steals.
Anna Wilson (16-17): 0 starts, 8.0 mpg, 2.8 ppg, 4 3-pt FG, 6 rebounds, 5 assists to 7 turnovers, and 3 steals.
Kiana Williams (17-18): 26 starts, 25.7 mpg, 10.4 ppg, 71 3-pt FG, 58 rebounds, 67 assists to 40 turnovers and 30 steals. Sniezek was mostly playing PG this year.
Jana Van Gytenbeek (20-21) 0 starts, 8.4 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 13 3-pt FG, 8 rebounds, 32 assists to 14 turnovers and 8 steals.
Talana Lepolo through 10 games: 7 starts, 26.2 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 3 3-pt FG, 20 rebounds, 57 assists to 21 turnovers and 10 steals.
Honestly, this looks pretty darn good to me, particularly since that we spent the entire off-season worrying about Jones having to bring the ball up this year. It seems obvious to me that one measure of Lepolo's success is that South Carolina didn't make any concerted effort to full court press - something that I'm fairly convinced would have happened if Jones actually had to play PG.