[81alum]

Also, a question. Why is it posited in several posts that Kiki must play the 5? I think she could well develop into an excellent rebounding 4. She has a very polished 8-10 ft jumper and will only get better and expand the distance. Meanwhile, she will continue the great offensive moves under the basket, and will rebound plenty enuf to feature this terrific skill.

This is what I thought after watching our first open practice and exhibition, since Iriafen was hitting so many mid range jumpers.  And Brink was shooting the ball very well from three at the beginning of the year--so it initially looked like those two could start and they each could play the 4 or the 5 interchangeably.

Our offense seemed to struggle a bit when both were in the game.  They played Iriafen at the 5 and Brink at the high post (4) for a while and Brink was also not at her best.  Then, at a chalk talk, one of the assistant coaches (I no longer remember which one) said they were experimenting with different offensive combinations of players and specifically noted that Brink and Iriafen did best at the 5, so they might not play together as much in the future.  I remember thinking this was an uncommonly specific and interesting comment. 

I think the Belibi/Prechtel combination may also have been mentioned as a combo that worked, given that Belibi was the better inside presence and Prechtel the better outside shooter.  But these comments were in the context of a time somewhat earlier in the year when the coaches were trying to figure out combinations, and pointing out to us fans that these decisions were never about the merits of a single player but more about how that player's strengths complemented the strengths of other players.

[81alum]

Also, a question. Why is it posited in several posts that Kiki must play the 5? I think she could well develop into an excellent rebounding 4. She has a very polished 8-10 ft jumper and will only get better and expand the distance. Meanwhile, she will continue the great offensive moves under the basket, and will rebound plenty enuf to feature this terrific skill.

This is what I thought after watching our first open practice and exhibition, since Iriafen was hitting so many mid range jumpers.  And Brink was shooting the ball very well from three at the beginning of the year--so it initially looked like those two could start and they each could play the 4 or the 5 interchangeably.

Our offense seemed to struggle a bit when both were in the game.  They played Iriafen at the 5 and Brink at the high post (4) for a while and Brink was also not at her best.  Then, at a chalk talk, one of the assistant coaches (I no longer remember which one) said they were experimenting with different offensive combinations of players and specifically noted that Brink and Iriafen did best at the 5, so they might not play together as much in the future.  I remember thinking this was an uncommonly specific and interesting comment. 

I think the Belibi/Prechtel combination may also have been mentioned as a combo that worked, given that Belibi was the better inside presence and Prechtel the better outside shooter.  But these comments were in the context of a time somewhat earlier in the year when the coaches were trying to figure out combinations, and pointing out to us fans that these decisions were never about the merits of a single player but more about how that player's strengths complemented the strengths of other players.