Press conference:
https://gostanford.com/news/2025/02/2/st...rence-2225
It is worth listening to hear Kate's assessment. The general thrust is that "we are disappointed but are not discouraged." By that she means there is continuing to be major improvement from individual players, that we are improving and "we are right there." "We want to win. There are no moral victories, but we are making progress."
She pointed out that Bosgana had the task of guarding UNC's best three point shooter throughout the game and held her to just a single three point attempt. UNC had players "get hot" who do not normally shoot well, so shutting down their best shooter proved not to be enough.
She agreed with my earlier assessment that we were killed on the boards, but points out that the 4th quarter comeback was fueled by our team correcting that problem. Too bad it could not have started earlier.
She pointed out that the first quarter we had more turnovers than we had the rest of the game--we adjusted to the NC defense and took care of the ball better.
My observation: as a general rule, this kind of inconsistent play is a sign of inexperience. The team is really being led now by two sophomores as Bosgana and Demetre recede in importance--they may be seniors but they do not have the same experience levels as our seniors typically have, and their skillsets are more suited to role players than to starters. And Harriel, whether because of injury or coach's choice, has just disappeared lately.
So there is a lot more upside to our still developing younger players than to our graduating class, which has shown us all they have. Umeh, too, is doing well but is a freshman. We will get an enormous influx of talent next year--but they (of course) will all be freshmen. Even if Paye installs a simpler offense over the summer, I think we are probably looking at 2026-27 before we get back to dominant form. Any maybe we never will if our best player gets purchased away from us each year.
https://gostanford.com/news/2025/02/2/st...rence-2225
It is worth listening to hear Kate's assessment. The general thrust is that "we are disappointed but are not discouraged." By that she means there is continuing to be major improvement from individual players, that we are improving and "we are right there." "We want to win. There are no moral victories, but we are making progress."
She pointed out that Bosgana had the task of guarding UNC's best three point shooter throughout the game and held her to just a single three point attempt. UNC had players "get hot" who do not normally shoot well, so shutting down their best shooter proved not to be enough.
She agreed with my earlier assessment that we were killed on the boards, but points out that the 4th quarter comeback was fueled by our team correcting that problem. Too bad it could not have started earlier.
She pointed out that the first quarter we had more turnovers than we had the rest of the game--we adjusted to the NC defense and took care of the ball better.
My observation: as a general rule, this kind of inconsistent play is a sign of inexperience. The team is really being led now by two sophomores as Bosgana and Demetre recede in importance--they may be seniors but they do not have the same experience levels as our seniors typically have, and their skillsets are more suited to role players than to starters. And Harriel, whether because of injury or coach's choice, has just disappeared lately.
So there is a lot more upside to our still developing younger players than to our graduating class, which has shown us all they have. Umeh, too, is doing well but is a freshman. We will get an enormous influx of talent next year--but they (of course) will all be freshmen. Even if Paye installs a simpler offense over the summer, I think we are probably looking at 2026-27 before we get back to dominant form. Any maybe we never will if our best player gets purchased away from us each year.