[WBB fan]

Postgame press conference

https://youtu.be/HO2wG5wEa_U

Thanks for posting

[WBB fan]

Postgame press conference

https://youtu.be/HO2wG5wEa_U

Thanks for posting

[81alum]

Postgame press conference

https://youtu.be/HO2wG5wEa_U

That was one of the most optimistic--almost giddy--pressers I have seen Tara give.  About Betts: "I should have put her in sooner."  Also noteworthy are the reductions in turnovers this year.  Tara confirmed this is her deepest team, making practices highly competitive.

Think about that for a minute.  Our 2nd string might be able to win the Pac 12, the third string would win a lot of games.  When we divy up our players to practice against each other, they are facing some of the toughest competition they will see all year--outside of November 20th and possibly a couple of other games.

[81alum]

Postgame press conference

https://youtu.be/HO2wG5wEa_U

That was one of the most optimistic--almost giddy--pressers I have seen Tara give.  About Betts: "I should have put her in sooner."  Also noteworthy are the reductions in turnovers this year.  Tara confirmed this is her deepest team, making practices highly competitive.

Think about that for a minute.  Our 2nd string might be able to win the Pac 12, the third string would win a lot of games.  When we divy up our players to practice against each other, they are facing some of the toughest competition they will see all year--outside of November 20th and possibly a couple of other games.

[steinerwj]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

[steinerwj]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

[MV72018]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

All well and good, BUT this Juggernaut-like squad has yet to demonstrate that it has the ability to break South Carolina's intense all-court press and on-ball pressure. Everything up until the SC game will be walks in the park against marshmallow competition. Who will bring the ball up against SC and can the team effectively combat the switching double-team and the all-court press without committing many forced turnovers leading to baskets in the other direction? We shall soon see.

[MV72018]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

All well and good, BUT this Juggernaut-like squad has yet to demonstrate that it has the ability to break South Carolina's intense all-court press and on-ball pressure. Everything up until the SC game will be walks in the park against marshmallow competition. Who will bring the ball up against SC and can the team effectively combat the switching double-team and the all-court press without committing many forced turnovers leading to baskets in the other direction? We shall soon see.

[OCcardinal]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

All well and good, BUT this Juggernaut-like squad has yet to demonstrate that it has the ability to break South Carolina's intense all-court press and on-ball pressure. Everything up until the SC game will be walks in the park against marshmallow competition. Who will bring the ball up against SC and can the team effectively combat the switching double-team and the all-court press without committing many forced turnovers leading to baskets in the other direction? We shall soon see.

Not "everything" will be a walk in the park. They face pretty good defenses in practices. :)  Also, while the team had 20 turnovers in the last battle against SC, Jones only had 2.  I suspect Tara has already pegged Jones as the one to bring the ball up vs SC.  That's why she's giving her so much time at the 1.

[OCcardinal]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

All well and good, BUT this Juggernaut-like squad has yet to demonstrate that it has the ability to break South Carolina's intense all-court press and on-ball pressure. Everything up until the SC game will be walks in the park against marshmallow competition. Who will bring the ball up against SC and can the team effectively combat the switching double-team and the all-court press without committing many forced turnovers leading to baskets in the other direction? We shall soon see.

Not "everything" will be a walk in the park. They face pretty good defenses in practices. :)  Also, while the team had 20 turnovers in the last battle against SC, Jones only had 2.  I suspect Tara has already pegged Jones as the one to bring the ball up vs SC.  That's why she's giving her so much time at the 1.

[stopandpop]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

All well and good, BUT this Juggernaut-like squad has yet to demonstrate that it has the ability to break South Carolina's intense all-court press and on-ball pressure. Everything up until the SC game will be walks in the park against marshmallow competition. Who will bring the ball up against SC and can the team effectively combat the switching double-team and the all-court press without committing many forced turnovers leading to baskets in the other direction? We shall soon see.

Agree re. South Carolina.  The intense pressure we'll see from the Gamecocks will push our Princeton offense farther from the basket and beyond the 3-point line as they did twice in the past.  Back door plays will work sometimes, but we need to surprise Dawn Staley's team with tweaks in our offense; things they are not expecting.  We're too predictable.

My observations on our 3 guards (so far)- Agnes is clearly the best defender, but she remains limited offensively.  Talana is clearly the best ball handler and I would trust her to bring the ball up against pressure.  She is also the best assist-maker of the three and her ability to score is ahead of Agnes. She is a decent defender, but not in the class of Agness.  Indya has shown more scoring potential than Agnes and Talana and she can handle the ball, but defensively she is vulnerable to getting screened and letting her defender go by her.

At this point, I'd be in favor of starting Talana who would relieve Haley of bringing the ball up and allowing her to play more at the wing where she is more dominant.

[stopandpop]

The second and third string would be a juggernaut the the CSUN world. At the start of the fourth quarter, Tara subbed out the entire lineup with the second string and none off the starters played from there out. They outscored CSUN 32-9. Green and Papadaki got a solid four minutes of play.

All well and good, BUT this Juggernaut-like squad has yet to demonstrate that it has the ability to break South Carolina's intense all-court press and on-ball pressure. Everything up until the SC game will be walks in the park against marshmallow competition. Who will bring the ball up against SC and can the team effectively combat the switching double-team and the all-court press without committing many forced turnovers leading to baskets in the other direction? We shall soon see.

Agree re. South Carolina.  The intense pressure we'll see from the Gamecocks will push our Princeton offense farther from the basket and beyond the 3-point line as they did twice in the past.  Back door plays will work sometimes, but we need to surprise Dawn Staley's team with tweaks in our offense; things they are not expecting.  We're too predictable.

My observations on our 3 guards (so far)- Agnes is clearly the best defender, but she remains limited offensively.  Talana is clearly the best ball handler and I would trust her to bring the ball up against pressure.  She is also the best assist-maker of the three and her ability to score is ahead of Agnes. She is a decent defender, but not in the class of Agness.  Indya has shown more scoring potential than Agnes and Talana and she can handle the ball, but defensively she is vulnerable to getting screened and letting her defender go by her.

At this point, I'd be in favor of starting Talana who would relieve Haley of bringing the ball up and allowing her to play more at the wing where she is more dominant.

[mbdude]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

[mbdude]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

[81alum]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

I think all of those things plus Tara has several times described her defense in glowing terms.  She also has a significantly longer wingspan than Lepolo and possibly Nivar.  But from the time she was announced as coming to Stanford Tara has praised her defense. 

"Every team needs what she does," VanDerveer commented. "Agnes plays defense and she rebounds and she'll come in with extensive national team experience. She's very aggressive, has a high motor and will fit our system very well."

https://gostanford.com/news/2019/11/13/w...nford.aspx

I also recall at past chalk talks various coaches comparing her to our better defensive specialists in the past.

I miss chalk talks.

[81alum]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

I think all of those things plus Tara has several times described her defense in glowing terms.  She also has a significantly longer wingspan than Lepolo and possibly Nivar.  But from the time she was announced as coming to Stanford Tara has praised her defense. 

"Every team needs what she does," VanDerveer commented. "Agnes plays defense and she rebounds and she'll come in with extensive national team experience. She's very aggressive, has a high motor and will fit our system very well."

https://gostanford.com/news/2019/11/13/w...nford.aspx

I also recall at past chalk talks various coaches comparing her to our better defensive specialists in the past.

I miss chalk talks.

[qwerty49]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

I think both of the above, especially the footwork.  And she is long, which helps a lot.  She's obviously got a quickness to her game that we don't readily see in others, and that seems to translate to ballhawking skills.

Having said that, she did get juked at least once that I can recall, but she recovered nicely.

But comparing defenders is a bit apples and oranges. Cam is easily the best shotblocker. Haley is omni-present and aggressive, but IMHO this sometimes translates into a silly foul. Agnes has by far the quickest feet and is best equipped to harass someone fullcourt.

[qwerty49]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

I think both of the above, especially the footwork.  And she is long, which helps a lot.  She's obviously got a quickness to her game that we don't readily see in others, and that seems to translate to ballhawking skills.

Having said that, she did get juked at least once that I can recall, but she recovered nicely.

But comparing defenders is a bit apples and oranges. Cam is easily the best shotblocker. Haley is omni-present and aggressive, but IMHO this sometimes translates into a silly foul. Agnes has by far the quickest feet and is best equipped to harass someone fullcourt.

[CompSci87]

In some games last year (I don't remember if SoCar was one), I got the feeling that it was part of the opponent's defensive game plan to force Haley to bring the ball up. They would frequently tightly pressure Lacey or Anna when they were bringing it up but back off when Haley had it.

I don't think this was because they thought Haley had such a great handle that pressuring her would be pointless. It may have been more to force her to work harder and reduce opportunities for her to get open by moving without the ball. I'm only guessing on the reason, of course.

[CompSci87]

In some games last year (I don't remember if SoCar was one), I got the feeling that it was part of the opponent's defensive game plan to force Haley to bring the ball up. They would frequently tightly pressure Lacey or Anna when they were bringing it up but back off when Haley had it.

I don't think this was because they thought Haley had such a great handle that pressuring her would be pointless. It may have been more to force her to work harder and reduce opportunities for her to get open by moving without the ball. I'm only guessing on the reason, of course.

[OCcardinal]

Did we notice the line up the last 2:51 of the first half? Our 4 current highest ESPNW-rated recruits, plus the talented frosh PG Lepolo.
1 Lepolo (ranking: 71)
2 Demetre (11)
3 Jones (1)
4 Brink (3)
5 Betts (1)
- Stanford went on a 9-0 run, a pace of 120+ points per 40 minutes
- 3 blocks (2 by Betts, 1 by Brink), a pace of 40+ blocks per 40 minutes 
- 2 fouls drawn, none committed
- Demetre 1-2 (both 3 pointers)
- Betts 1-2 (made a layup, missed a turnaround jumper that Brink cleaned up)
- Brink 1-1 (the second chance layup)
- Jones 0-0 (made 2 free throws)
- Stanford 3 for 5 (60% total, 50% on 3s)
- 1 assist (Jones, on Betts' layup)
- 1 steal (Brink, at the very end)
- CSUN had 2 turnovers (one lostball, one offensive foul)
- CSUN 0-6 on shots (including the 3 blocked shots) in 8 possessions
- CSUN 3 rebounds (1 on a blocked shot out of bounds)
- Stanford 5 rebounds (1 team, 3 Brink, 1 Betts)

[OCcardinal]

Did we notice the line up the last 2:51 of the first half? Our 4 current highest ESPNW-rated recruits, plus the talented frosh PG Lepolo.
1 Lepolo (ranking: 71)
2 Demetre (11)
3 Jones (1)
4 Brink (3)
5 Betts (1)
- Stanford went on a 9-0 run, a pace of 120+ points per 40 minutes
- 3 blocks (2 by Betts, 1 by Brink), a pace of 40+ blocks per 40 minutes 
- 2 fouls drawn, none committed
- Demetre 1-2 (both 3 pointers)
- Betts 1-2 (made a layup, missed a turnaround jumper that Brink cleaned up)
- Brink 1-1 (the second chance layup)
- Jones 0-0 (made 2 free throws)
- Stanford 3 for 5 (60% total, 50% on 3s)
- 1 assist (Jones, on Betts' layup)
- 1 steal (Brink, at the very end)
- CSUN had 2 turnovers (one lostball, one offensive foul)
- CSUN 0-6 on shots (including the 3 blocked shots) in 8 possessions
- CSUN 3 rebounds (1 on a blocked shot out of bounds)
- Stanford 5 rebounds (1 team, 3 Brink, 1 Betts)

[jonnyss]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

i don't. agnes is indeed more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; she is high energy; she is also super fast in straight-line speed. but i don't see her getting more steals or blocks or rebounds - link ; and she is vulnerable to over-committing, ending up out of position. talana seems to me quite reliable on defense.

[jonnyss]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

i don't. agnes is indeed more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; she is high energy; she is also super fast in straight-line speed. but i don't see her getting more steals or blocks or rebounds - link ; and she is vulnerable to over-committing, ending up out of position. talana seems to me quite reliable on defense.

[81alum]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

i don't. agnes is indeed more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; she is high energy; she is also super fast in straight-line speed. but i don't see her getting more steals or blocks or rebounds - link ; and she is vulnerable to over-committing, ending up out of position. talana seems to me quite reliable on defense.

The coaches have notes in numerous chalk-talks (in the good ol days when we had such things) that defense is something that can be taught and that it often took a year or more to really perfect it in a player.  So all Stanford players have a tendency to improve dramatically on defense over the years.  Emma-Nnopu is a junior, so you would expect her to be about a good as she is going to be on defense.  Lepolo and Nivar are only getting started.  Watch them carefully against any elite, quick guards we come up against and see how they do.  I imagine that all three of them will have a turn guarding Anaya James (#3) tomorrow.  Let's see which of the three does the best job.

[81alum]

Why do people think Agnes is our best defender? because she is more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; because she moves her feet? other? just curious

i don't. agnes is indeed more visible harassing the opponent's point guard; she is high energy; she is also super fast in straight-line speed. but i don't see her getting more steals or blocks or rebounds - link ; and she is vulnerable to over-committing, ending up out of position. talana seems to me quite reliable on defense.

The coaches have notes in numerous chalk-talks (in the good ol days when we had such things) that defense is something that can be taught and that it often took a year or more to really perfect it in a player.  So all Stanford players have a tendency to improve dramatically on defense over the years.  Emma-Nnopu is a junior, so you would expect her to be about a good as she is going to be on defense.  Lepolo and Nivar are only getting started.  Watch them carefully against any elite, quick guards we come up against and see how they do.  I imagine that all three of them will have a turn guarding Anaya James (#3) tomorrow.  Let's see which of the three does the best job.

[Hulk01]

1. Am I alone in wishing that basketball rosters listed wing span?  Curious about the wing spans of Brink, Bosagana, and Emma-Nnopu.  
 

2. Brink is at least 6'5.5," yes?

[Hulk01]

1. Am I alone in wishing that basketball rosters listed wing span?  Curious about the wing spans of Brink, Bosagana, and Emma-Nnopu.  
 

2. Brink is at least 6'5.5," yes?

[81alum]

1. Am I alone in wishing that basketball rosters listed wing span?  Curious about the wing spans of Brink, Bosagana, and Emma-Nnopu.  
 

2. Brink is at least 6'5.5," yes?

That would be interesting, but I have never known college teams to give that data.  As Leonardo suggests, wingspan and height are usually about the same, but among basketball players wingspan usually exceeds height by at least a couple of inches, and sometimes considerably more.  What I don't know is whether the ratios for men and women on height:wingspan are the same.

A fan can eyeball wingspan to a degree based a bit on how lanky a player's arms look, but height is the best measurable predictor of wingspan we have access to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_...iatour.jpg

[81alum]

1. Am I alone in wishing that basketball rosters listed wing span?  Curious about the wing spans of Brink, Bosagana, and Emma-Nnopu.  
 

2. Brink is at least 6'5.5," yes?

That would be interesting, but I have never known college teams to give that data.  As Leonardo suggests, wingspan and height are usually about the same, but among basketball players wingspan usually exceeds height by at least a couple of inches, and sometimes considerably more.  What I don't know is whether the ratios for men and women on height:wingspan are the same.

A fan can eyeball wingspan to a degree based a bit on how lanky a player's arms look, but height is the best measurable predictor of wingspan we have access to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_...iatour.jpg

[BobK]

Jayne Appel 7-0 wingspan. I’ll bet Brink is close to 6-9 or so same with Bosgana

[BobK]

Jayne Appel 7-0 wingspan. I’ll bet Brink is close to 6-9 or so same with Bosgana

[here4WBB]

1. Am I alone in wishing that basketball rosters listed wing span?  Curious about the wing spans of Brink, Bosagana, and Emma-Nnopu.  
 

2. Brink is at least 6'5.5," yes?

That would be interesting, but I have never known college teams to give that data.  As Leonardo suggests, wingspan and height are usually about the same, but among basketball players wingspan usually exceeds height by at least a couple of inches, and sometimes considerably more.  What I don't know is whether the ratios for men and women on height:wingspan are the same.




A fan can eyeball wingspan to a degree based a bit on how lanky a player's arms look, but height is the best measurable predictor of wingspan we have access to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_...iatour.jpg

The easy answer is that Brink is listed as 6'4" on the Stanford roster.

Wingspan is not so easy to find.  A quick search of Google didn't yield data for current players Brink, Bosgana or Nnopu.  Jayne Appel is 6'4" and her wingspan is listed as 84" inches in many articles; Britney Griner is 6'9' and has a reported wingspan of 74".  Fran Belibi is 6'1" and has a reported wingspan of 68".  (Reporting sources are various sports media and newspaper articles.). Vertical jump is another statistic reported for pro players - Fran has a vertical jump of 30".

[here4WBB]

1. Am I alone in wishing that basketball rosters listed wing span?  Curious about the wing spans of Brink, Bosagana, and Emma-Nnopu.  
 

2. Brink is at least 6'5.5," yes?

That would be interesting, but I have never known college teams to give that data.  As Leonardo suggests, wingspan and height are usually about the same, but among basketball players wingspan usually exceeds height by at least a couple of inches, and sometimes considerably more.  What I don't know is whether the ratios for men and women on height:wingspan are the same.




A fan can eyeball wingspan to a degree based a bit on how lanky a player's arms look, but height is the best measurable predictor of wingspan we have access to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitruvian_...iatour.jpg

The easy answer is that Brink is listed as 6'4" on the Stanford roster.

Wingspan is not so easy to find.  A quick search of Google didn't yield data for current players Brink, Bosgana or Nnopu.  Jayne Appel is 6'4" and her wingspan is listed as 84" inches in many articles; Britney Griner is 6'9' and has a reported wingspan of 74".  Fran Belibi is 6'1" and has a reported wingspan of 68".  (Reporting sources are various sports media and newspaper articles.). Vertical jump is another statistic reported for pro players - Fran has a vertical jump of 30".

[BobK]

Fran 68”? A typo :)

[BobK]

Fran 68”? A typo :)

[here4WBB]

Fran 68”?  A typo :)

LOL
sigh, this is what happens when I try to do quick research on google.  Another source has her wingspan listed as 6'5" or 77" total, which makes more sense in relation to her height.  (I guess.)

[here4WBB]

Fran 68”?  A typo :)

LOL
sigh, this is what happens when I try to do quick research on google.  Another source has her wingspan listed as 6'5" or 77" total, which makes more sense in relation to her height.  (I guess.)

[CompSci87]

Fran 68”?  A typo :)

LOL
sigh, this is what happens when I try to do quick research on google.  Another source has her wingspan listed as 6'5" or 77" total, which makes more sense in relation to her height.  (I guess.)

Griner looks like a typo too. 6'9" is 81", so her wingspan ought to be a lot more than 74". Maybe that should read 7'4", which is 88".

[CompSci87]

Fran 68”?  A typo :)

LOL
sigh, this is what happens when I try to do quick research on google.  Another source has her wingspan listed as 6'5" or 77" total, which makes more sense in relation to her height.  (I guess.)

Griner looks like a typo too. 6'9" is 81", so her wingspan ought to be a lot more than 74". Maybe that should read 7'4", which is 88".