[81alum]

We speculated earlier on this board what the two coaches would do to make adjustments after the first game.  Whatever Gottlieb did worked much better than whatever Tara did.  Stanford's offense looked very stagnant, and its defense suffered significant breakdowns in a dissappointing loss at home, on ESPN2, to the more aggressive team.

As with Connecticut, the game started out well enough.  We led 8-1 and visions of a blowout were dancing in our heads.  Amber made a three point jumper, which was very welcome and boded well for the game.

But at the end of the first half the Bea.rs led by 8.  We had turned the ball over 10 times to their 2.  It was a struggle to get the ball inside to Chiney at all.  The best looking plays came on Amber's pick and rolls--she got open several times for midrange jumpers.  We did shoot significantly better than the Bea.rs in the first half--but that was partly because they would sometimes get 2 or 3 offensive rebounds in a row before finally sinking a basket.

The game was not out of reach at half time, and I had some hopes that Tara and her staff would figure out what to say to the team to correct our mistakes.  In the second half we did do a better job with rebounds, so that the rebound disparity was not as horrendous as it looked like it would become--they had 37 to our 34, and they had 17 Oboards to our 11.  But the offense continued to look bad.  We were outscored in the first half 39-31 and outscored in the second half 28-24.  C.al's second half offense was reduced solely because Mikala Lyles hit all 4 of her three point shots in the first half.

Over and over again Amber would have the ball somewhere on the three point line, dribbling it, apparently waiting for one of her teammates to do something.  And no one would move or get open.  The seconds ticked away, even when we were behind by 16 points, and Amber would still be dribbling in place.  It looked almost as if we were trying to run out the clock on ourselves.  Stanford fans were yelling "dont dribble!" and "do something!"  If this was a "motion" offense then it was a dud.  Not only did we have no motion, we had no passing.  There were only 5 assists for the entire game.

Tara spoke to the press and mentioned that we lacked aggressiveness on offense and on our d-boards.  And Tara was oh-so-right.  When C.al was clogging the paint and preventing Chiney from getting that many good looks, it did leave Toni and Joslyn and Taylor open for threes--although they closely guarded Bonnie who never took a three point shot.  But in the second half they seemed intimidated to take an open three--passing the ball off even with only a second or two on the shot clock.  We had several such violations.

On defense we had more lapses than we did last time out.  First of all, Lyles came in for the Bear.s and hit 4/6 three point shots, and we did not guard her at first.  They made 38% of their three point shots, we made 17%, and that is enough to explain the difference in outcomes.  It was, unfortunately, exactly as I feared going into this game--our inability to make threes into a credible threat is suffocating Chiney's offense. 

Second, we did guard Clarenden to prevent her from taking threes, but she frequently drove from the three point line at the top of the key straight up the middle for short jumpers and floaters in the paint.  Our defense was weak against her penetration up the middle--especially in the second half.

Chiney was 7/13 for 18 points and 8 rebounds.  Amber looked good offensively in the first half but vanished in the second, finishing with 9 points and 1 assist.  Toni finished with 12 points on 4/11 shooting.  Joslyn made only 4 points and no one else had more than 2.  It was a predictable, unaesthetic, stagnant, losing offensive performance, and a subpar defensive one.

As Stanford fans I think we need to reappraise what we expect out of this team.  The Baylor game gave our players a lift that allowed them to go on and play with great self-confidence, perhaps playing beyond their natural gifts.  The Connecticut game looks to me as having had weakened their self-confidence and made them timid when playing against good talent.  I think it is time to start playing Tess regularly in the rotation with Ruef and and Tinkle, giving her some experience, since neither of the seniors has become a credible offensive threat lately.  Sara James played early in the first half and was our most aggressive spark on offense.  She was pulled after she got a little too aggressive and went out of control.  I'd rather have seen that than the stagnation that happened when she was out.  We need to run plays to actually get Bonnie open and build her confidence.  She made 13/15 threes in practice from all over the court, and never took a shot during the game.

Perhaps I should say something about the officiating.  Those of you who watched it on TV may have seen this better than I could in the stands, but it seemed to many of us that the level of officiating was very poor.  In the first half three Ca.l players hacked Amber's arms as she went in for a drive and no foul was called.  Fouls were called that were not there, and muggings happened with no call--which seemed to push Chiney out of her rhythm.  After UConn, I am sure the scouting report was to push Chiney around until the refs get used to seeing it.  The Bear.s did this in the last game too, as UConn did, and some refs allow it.

The atmosphere of the game seemed much less supportive than you would think from a near-sellout.  I think UConn and this game succeeded in suppressing fan enthusiasm.  In fact, I do not remember a single Stanford play that really brought the crowd spontaneously to its feet, although I jumped up once on a nice pass under the basket to Chiney.  There were a lot of C.al fans there, and I had the misfortune of sitting next to their biggest block.  Oskie came over to visit them and decided to pick on me as the most obvious Stanford red fan in the vicinity.  I reluctantly shook his hand, out of deference to my mother a C.al alum.  I do come from a mixed family. 

Unfortunately, as I was sitting at the game I began to feel symptoms of what seems to be the flu.  I'm home and miserable, but I won't go so far as to say that it was the game that made me sick.  That was probably my son, who brought it home from school a couple of days ago. :(  However, I did have the consolation of knowing that I probably gave Oskie the flu.

[81alum]

We speculated earlier on this board what the two coaches would do to make adjustments after the first game.  Whatever Gottlieb did worked much better than whatever Tara did.  Stanford's offense looked very stagnant, and its defense suffered significant breakdowns in a dissappointing loss at home, on ESPN2, to the more aggressive team.

As with Connecticut, the game started out well enough.  We led 8-1 and visions of a blowout were dancing in our heads.  Amber made a three point jumper, which was very welcome and boded well for the game.

But at the end of the first half the Bea.rs led by 8.  We had turned the ball over 10 times to their 2.  It was a struggle to get the ball inside to Chiney at all.  The best looking plays came on Amber's pick and rolls--she got open several times for midrange jumpers.  We did shoot significantly better than the Bea.rs in the first half--but that was partly because they would sometimes get 2 or 3 offensive rebounds in a row before finally sinking a basket.

The game was not out of reach at half time, and I had some hopes that Tara and her staff would figure out what to say to the team to correct our mistakes.  In the second half we did do a better job with rebounds, so that the rebound disparity was not as horrendous as it looked like it would become--they had 37 to our 34, and they had 17 Oboards to our 11.  But the offense continued to look bad.  We were outscored in the first half 39-31 and outscored in the second half 28-24.  C.al's second half offense was reduced solely because Mikala Lyles hit all 4 of her three point shots in the first half.

Over and over again Amber would have the ball somewhere on the three point line, dribbling it, apparently waiting for one of her teammates to do something.  And no one would move or get open.  The seconds ticked away, even when we were behind by 16 points, and Amber would still be dribbling in place.  It looked almost as if we were trying to run out the clock on ourselves.  Stanford fans were yelling "dont dribble!" and "do something!"  If this was a "motion" offense then it was a dud.  Not only did we have no motion, we had no passing.  There were only 5 assists for the entire game.

Tara spoke to the press and mentioned that we lacked aggressiveness on offense and on our d-boards.  And Tara was oh-so-right.  When C.al was clogging the paint and preventing Chiney from getting that many good looks, it did leave Toni and Joslyn and Taylor open for threes--although they closely guarded Bonnie who never took a three point shot.  But in the second half they seemed intimidated to take an open three--passing the ball off even with only a second or two on the shot clock.  We had several such violations.

On defense we had more lapses than we did last time out.  First of all, Lyles came in for the Bear.s and hit 4/6 three point shots, and we did not guard her at first.  They made 38% of their three point shots, we made 17%, and that is enough to explain the difference in outcomes.  It was, unfortunately, exactly as I feared going into this game--our inability to make threes into a credible threat is suffocating Chiney's offense. 

Second, we did guard Clarenden to prevent her from taking threes, but she frequently drove from the three point line at the top of the key straight up the middle for short jumpers and floaters in the paint.  Our defense was weak against her penetration up the middle--especially in the second half.

Chiney was 7/13 for 18 points and 8 rebounds.  Amber looked good offensively in the first half but vanished in the second, finishing with 9 points and 1 assist.  Toni finished with 12 points on 4/11 shooting.  Joslyn made only 4 points and no one else had more than 2.  It was a predictable, unaesthetic, stagnant, losing offensive performance, and a subpar defensive one.

As Stanford fans I think we need to reappraise what we expect out of this team.  The Baylor game gave our players a lift that allowed them to go on and play with great self-confidence, perhaps playing beyond their natural gifts.  The Connecticut game looks to me as having had weakened their self-confidence and made them timid when playing against good talent.  I think it is time to start playing Tess regularly in the rotation with Ruef and and Tinkle, giving her some experience, since neither of the seniors has become a credible offensive threat lately.  Sara James played early in the first half and was our most aggressive spark on offense.  She was pulled after she got a little too aggressive and went out of control.  I'd rather have seen that than the stagnation that happened when she was out.  We need to run plays to actually get Bonnie open and build her confidence.  She made 13/15 threes in practice from all over the court, and never took a shot during the game.

Perhaps I should say something about the officiating.  Those of you who watched it on TV may have seen this better than I could in the stands, but it seemed to many of us that the level of officiating was very poor.  In the first half three Ca.l players hacked Amber's arms as she went in for a drive and no foul was called.  Fouls were called that were not there, and muggings happened with no call--which seemed to push Chiney out of her rhythm.  After UConn, I am sure the scouting report was to push Chiney around until the refs get used to seeing it.  The Bear.s did this in the last game too, as UConn did, and some refs allow it.

The atmosphere of the game seemed much less supportive than you would think from a near-sellout.  I think UConn and this game succeeded in suppressing fan enthusiasm.  In fact, I do not remember a single Stanford play that really brought the crowd spontaneously to its feet, although I jumped up once on a nice pass under the basket to Chiney.  There were a lot of C.al fans there, and I had the misfortune of sitting next to their biggest block.  Oskie came over to visit them and decided to pick on me as the most obvious Stanford red fan in the vicinity.  I reluctantly shook his hand, out of deference to my mother a C.al alum.  I do come from a mixed family. 

Unfortunately, as I was sitting at the game I began to feel symptoms of what seems to be the flu.  I'm home and miserable, but I won't go so far as to say that it was the game that made me sick.  That was probably my son, who brought it home from school a couple of days ago. :(  However, I did have the consolation of knowing that I probably gave Oskie the flu.

[pepper1]

Good game summary, 81alum!  Cardinal were just outplayed today, especially in the first half on the offensive boards.  Bares were both much quicker, more aggressive and, yes, more athletic under the glass, with Cardinal players picking up many fouls as they clutched and grabbed.  The game might still have remained close if Lyles had not started hitting threes in the second part of the first half, with one of the uglier strokes I've seen ... still four of them went in.  If Bares can find anyone in their backcourt with a reasonable shooting touch (don't expect lightning to strike again for Lyles), they could be a legitimate Elite Eight or Final Four team.  With a comparable rebounding disparity in Tuesday's game, it is remarkable that the Cardinal won that game ... and a further indication of the Bares' shooting limitations.

In the meantime, Tara and her staff clearly need to find some more potent offensive reinforcements for Chiney.  As 81alum describes, Amber did a very good in the first half before looking confused & disappearing in the second.  I continue to hope that Jos will become the kind of scorer that she seemed to be early in the season and that we make better use of Toni's driving skills to break down man defenses like we saw today.  And seeing Brook in the stands made me fantasize about Mikela learning a hook shot, so she could be a two-way player.

For better or worse, major adjustments/improvements will need to happen quickly with the SoCal Bares coming to Maples next Friday.  It will be a test to see whether the Cardinal are contenders or pretenders this year.  Stay tuned. 

[pepper1]

Good game summary, 81alum!  Cardinal were just outplayed today, especially in the first half on the offensive boards.  Bares were both much quicker, more aggressive and, yes, more athletic under the glass, with Cardinal players picking up many fouls as they clutched and grabbed.  The game might still have remained close if Lyles had not started hitting threes in the second part of the first half, with one of the uglier strokes I've seen ... still four of them went in.  If Bares can find anyone in their backcourt with a reasonable shooting touch (don't expect lightning to strike again for Lyles), they could be a legitimate Elite Eight or Final Four team.  With a comparable rebounding disparity in Tuesday's game, it is remarkable that the Cardinal won that game ... and a further indication of the Bares' shooting limitations.

In the meantime, Tara and her staff clearly need to find some more potent offensive reinforcements for Chiney.  As 81alum describes, Amber did a very good in the first half before looking confused & disappearing in the second.  I continue to hope that Jos will become the kind of scorer that she seemed to be early in the season and that we make better use of Toni's driving skills to break down man defenses like we saw today.  And seeing Brook in the stands made me fantasize about Mikela learning a hook shot, so she could be a two-way player.

For better or worse, major adjustments/improvements will need to happen quickly with the SoCal Bares coming to Maples next Friday.  It will be a test to see whether the Cardinal are contenders or pretenders this year.  Stay tuned. 

[Leftcoast]

At the season's outset I expected a jig-saw puzzle of a season with Tara trying to get as many mismatched pieces in place as possible before the Pac 12 and NCAA seasons arrived.  The Baylor and Tennessee wins let me hope for something else - more consistency, less drama - but UConn and now (ugh!) the Bea.rs have squelched that lovely mirage. 

I'm back to where I started - Tara will have her hands full this season.  But I still love watching this team play ball as they grow without Nneka.  I'm going to lower my outsized expectations and enjoy the ride.

[Leftcoast]

At the season's outset I expected a jig-saw puzzle of a season with Tara trying to get as many mismatched pieces in place as possible before the Pac 12 and NCAA seasons arrived.  The Baylor and Tennessee wins let me hope for something else - more consistency, less drama - but UConn and now (ugh!) the Bea.rs have squelched that lovely mirage. 

I'm back to where I started - Tara will have her hands full this season.  But I still love watching this team play ball as they grow without Nneka.  I'm going to lower my outsized expectations and enjoy the ride.

[SControl]

Definitely a tough game to swallow but although the game was an ugly one to take away from, there's some good to look forward to.

Not to make any excuses, but we have to remember just how good C.al is this year. They are no longer an unranked/inconsistent in-and-out of the top 25 team-- they are a possible elite 8 team. As for Stanford, we are still a team finding out identity without the #1 player of last season (I don't care about the POY award) and the gap in the PAC12 is closing. Games aren't going to be a breeze, and bad/off days can and will result in losses. It is still the middle of January and with these tough losses (UConn and C.al) Stanford will go back to the drawing board with plans to again, go as far as we can.

I didn't watch the entire game but here are some things that I took away from it:
-Jos played 35 minutes and only had 4 points. She needs to be way more aggressive and I hope Kal's bigs showed her that the hard way. She had such a confidence during the Baylor game and I would love to see that come back. It is her final season to do it in the collegiate level, not to mention up her stocks for the next level and continue to lead this team as our only "Senior".
-Like both the posts before mine also pointed out: Amber needs to think offense both halves. She was looking good for 20 minutes and I believe she can handle Boyd. She needs to play with urgency every.single.play.
-Our other BIGS: Mikaela: I like her. She is a brutal defender but playing only 8 minutes, that did not show her capabilities to match up against Cal's bigs.
Taylor and Bonnie: Yes, I consider both these ladies as "bigs". Both at 6'3 and 6'2/6'3 respectively, they need to use their size to their advantage like they use their ability to shoot when they are hot beyond the arc. Taylor's got a great build and she has way more potential with the ability to run the floor and shoot over defenders.
-I like Toni. I think she has the ability to take over a game with her speed and ability to shoot. This girl can play and she has the farm brains to do more.
-I've got my fingers crossed for James. She has shown some instances of brilliance on the floor recently. I've followed her since her time at Oak Ridge and I know she can also play.

As a community supporting our ladies, let's look forward. Don't forget UConn and ND also had bad conference losses last season to unranked teams. It will be very hard for the other 10 teams to force another conference loss this season, so its Stanford's Pac12 title lose.

[SControl]

Definitely a tough game to swallow but although the game was an ugly one to take away from, there's some good to look forward to.

Not to make any excuses, but we have to remember just how good C.al is this year. They are no longer an unranked/inconsistent in-and-out of the top 25 team-- they are a possible elite 8 team. As for Stanford, we are still a team finding out identity without the #1 player of last season (I don't care about the POY award) and the gap in the PAC12 is closing. Games aren't going to be a breeze, and bad/off days can and will result in losses. It is still the middle of January and with these tough losses (UConn and C.al) Stanford will go back to the drawing board with plans to again, go as far as we can.

I didn't watch the entire game but here are some things that I took away from it:
-Jos played 35 minutes and only had 4 points. She needs to be way more aggressive and I hope Kal's bigs showed her that the hard way. She had such a confidence during the Baylor game and I would love to see that come back. It is her final season to do it in the collegiate level, not to mention up her stocks for the next level and continue to lead this team as our only "Senior".
-Like both the posts before mine also pointed out: Amber needs to think offense both halves. She was looking good for 20 minutes and I believe she can handle Boyd. She needs to play with urgency every.single.play.
-Our other BIGS: Mikaela: I like her. She is a brutal defender but playing only 8 minutes, that did not show her capabilities to match up against Cal's bigs.
Taylor and Bonnie: Yes, I consider both these ladies as "bigs". Both at 6'3 and 6'2/6'3 respectively, they need to use their size to their advantage like they use their ability to shoot when they are hot beyond the arc. Taylor's got a great build and she has way more potential with the ability to run the floor and shoot over defenders.
-I like Toni. I think she has the ability to take over a game with her speed and ability to shoot. This girl can play and she has the farm brains to do more.
-I've got my fingers crossed for James. She has shown some instances of brilliance on the floor recently. I've followed her since her time at Oak Ridge and I know she can also play.

As a community supporting our ladies, let's look forward. Don't forget UConn and ND also had bad conference losses last season to unranked teams. It will be very hard for the other 10 teams to force another conference loss this season, so its Stanford's Pac12 title lose.

[meos]

Commenting on this as a two game set, the first game showed many of the flaws leading to the Stan defeat. C.al in their defeat still won the boards (which is usually Stan's strength over the years). Both games were ref'd to allow very physical play, but Stan has to learn to bump and shove when that's what the refs are allowing. The first game Stan won on guts and more effort at the end (C.al panicked a little near the end of the 1st game). C.al's coach corrected that with consistent poise and effort (in the 2nd game), while maintaining the superiority on the boards and attacking/physical style. Once the blueprint is out on how to defeat a team, they can expect to see more attacking/physical play in the coming weeks.

My 2 cents, revolves around how to strategically maximize your best asset (Chiney) long-term, while encouraging much more from other players. Chiney is not Nneka or Appel. She is much more easily smothered in the post (Chiney is not a power player or a center); and its much easier to wear her out down there -- against good teams with a solid post presence.
Ruef and Jos should be forced to do those battles down there and free Chiney up to maximize her skillset from the foul line (setup point) on in. The caveat there is Chiney has a lot of work to do to become a player who is comfortable and effective working from the foul line. (BTW ... these are the skills she'll need as a pro player one day, so why not push her toward fully developing those skills now.) I tend to focus on the best player first, because they have the most upside and potential. I'd love to see Chiney develop her mid-range game. And play to her full height in the mid-range. Meaning, develop a full arms extended shot above her head, using mostly wrist (and a little lift from ankles/legs). She'd be unstoppable with that skillset. To play near the foul line (extended in a circle near the basket), she also needs to develop (much better ball control) short one-to-two dribble moves and be able to pop upright into her new full arms extented mid-range shot. Add in some fakes and pivot moves. These things would help with the stagnant offensive. Chiney needs to make herself into a more complete and potent weapon, away from the basket a bit.
Even a great rebounder can improve. One fundamental problem is to keep the ball high (shoulder level at least), gather and go up faster from that position. Too often Chiney brings the ball all the way down to her waist to gather for a put-back, and the C.al guards were all waiting for that.
Everyone else just needs to continue developing skills and agressiveness. They are all finding out who really wants to play when you're getting pushed, punched and shoved. The best counter is to get them on the scoreboard. Some players just shoot the ball when they could concentrate a little more and make it. All the shot clock violations, because no one wanted to break the offense early enough the take the shot -- a lack of responsibility. Well, the Southern California teams will give Stan an opportunity soon to but recent lessens learned into practice. Growing pains to be sure, and an opportunity to step it up before tournament time.

[meos]

Commenting on this as a two game set, the first game showed many of the flaws leading to the Stan defeat. C.al in their defeat still won the boards (which is usually Stan's strength over the years). Both games were ref'd to allow very physical play, but Stan has to learn to bump and shove when that's what the refs are allowing. The first game Stan won on guts and more effort at the end (C.al panicked a little near the end of the 1st game). C.al's coach corrected that with consistent poise and effort (in the 2nd game), while maintaining the superiority on the boards and attacking/physical style. Once the blueprint is out on how to defeat a team, they can expect to see more attacking/physical play in the coming weeks.

My 2 cents, revolves around how to strategically maximize your best asset (Chiney) long-term, while encouraging much more from other players. Chiney is not Nneka or Appel. She is much more easily smothered in the post (Chiney is not a power player or a center); and its much easier to wear her out down there -- against good teams with a solid post presence.
Ruef and Jos should be forced to do those battles down there and free Chiney up to maximize her skillset from the foul line (setup point) on in. The caveat there is Chiney has a lot of work to do to become a player who is comfortable and effective working from the foul line. (BTW ... these are the skills she'll need as a pro player one day, so why not push her toward fully developing those skills now.) I tend to focus on the best player first, because they have the most upside and potential. I'd love to see Chiney develop her mid-range game. And play to her full height in the mid-range. Meaning, develop a full arms extended shot above her head, using mostly wrist (and a little lift from ankles/legs). She'd be unstoppable with that skillset. To play near the foul line (extended in a circle near the basket), she also needs to develop (much better ball control) short one-to-two dribble moves and be able to pop upright into her new full arms extented mid-range shot. Add in some fakes and pivot moves. These things would help with the stagnant offensive. Chiney needs to make herself into a more complete and potent weapon, away from the basket a bit.
Even a great rebounder can improve. One fundamental problem is to keep the ball high (shoulder level at least), gather and go up faster from that position. Too often Chiney brings the ball all the way down to her waist to gather for a put-back, and the C.al guards were all waiting for that.
Everyone else just needs to continue developing skills and agressiveness. They are all finding out who really wants to play when you're getting pushed, punched and shoved. The best counter is to get them on the scoreboard. Some players just shoot the ball when they could concentrate a little more and make it. All the shot clock violations, because no one wanted to break the offense early enough the take the shot -- a lack of responsibility. Well, the Southern California teams will give Stan an opportunity soon to but recent lessens learned into practice. Growing pains to be sure, and an opportunity to step it up before tournament time.