Posts: 39
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Joined: Dec 2013
12-18-2013, 08:18 AM
(This post was last modified: 12-18-2013, 08:20 AM by
CapitolHillCard.)
Agreed. This was a dumb, lazy article. Not only is there the sample size problem that burger mentioned, the author does not even bother to make comparisons to previous Stanford teams or other PAC-12 teams over the same time period. Montgomery also has had some real injuries problems at Cal over the last couple of years -- but they have not stopped him from reaching the NCAAs.
Which leads us to the issue of results. The data here are pretty clear: Dawkins hasn't yet delivered, last year in particular.Â
Of the current injuries, Rosco Allen, Aaron Bright, and Andy Brown hurt us the most.Â
Allen is athletic, has good size, and showed real improvement this summer. I continue to think our best line up has him at the three, which would allow Huestis and Powell to move to the 4 and 5 respectively. Nastic has improved offensively, but doesn't rebound and is a defensive liability.
Bright is undersized and not that quick, which leads to defensive problems, but he can shoot (well, other than last year) and is the closest thing that this team has to an experienced point guard. In other words, Bright was a useful first guy off the bench and backcourt depth for a team that has none.Â
Andy Brown is the glue guy that all successful teams need. Just a heady player. You also had to root for him given how many times and how hard he tried to come back after injuries.
Sanders may contribute next year, but didn't do a whole lot last year so can't really know whether he would have contributed this year.Â
Gage and Verhoeven are on the mend, back with the team and useful reserves in the front court.
The next two games -- UCONN tonight and Michigan this weekend -- are brobdingnagian for this team. In its absurdly early bracketology column, ESPN has us currently as one of the first four teams out of the NCAAs. Without a win in the next two games, any chances of making the NCAAs will depend entirely on a very good conference record and the PAC12 is looking much tougher this year.