[martyup]

More turnovers in this game.  We scored 13 in the 1st Q.

---

With 8 minutes to play in the 2nd Q, we trail 16-14 and have 8 9 turnovers.

[martyup]

More turnovers in this game.  We scored 13 in the 1st Q.

---

With 8 minutes to play in the 2nd Q, we trail 16-14 and have 8 9 turnovers.

[BostonCard]

A bit better now; 54-42 late in the third.

BC

[BostonCard]

A bit better now; 54-42 late in the third.

BC

[martyup]

We got the lead back before the halftime break.  At the end of the 3rd Q we have a 12 point lead.  We now have 14 turnovers.

[martyup]

We got the lead back before the halftime break.  At the end of the 3rd Q we have a 12 point lead.  We now have 14 turnovers.

[TonyLima]

We got the lead back before the halftime break.  At the end of the 3rd Q we have a 12 point lead.  We now have 14 turnovers.

Not any more. Now +6.

[TonyLima]

We got the lead back before the halftime break.  At the end of the 3rd Q we have a 12 point lead.  We now have 14 turnovers.

Not any more. Now +6.

[martyup]

We are trying to 'coug it

[martyup]

We are trying to 'coug it

[TonyLima]

We are trying to 'coug it

Shay to the rescue. Maybe. Why is Alex shooting 3s?

[TonyLima]

We are trying to 'coug it

Shay to the rescue. Maybe. Why is Alex shooting 3s?

[martyup]

In the 4th Q we have 8 turnovers and 6 points.

[martyup]

In the 4th Q we have 8 turnovers and 6 points.

[TonyLima]

Stanford being fitted for necklaces -- chokers.

[TonyLima]

Stanford being fitted for necklaces -- chokers.

[martyup]

Davis has shot zero free throws. But, they have made 12 threes against us.

---

The announcer says "Great effort by UC Davis."  I have a feeling we are going to hear that about our opponents in a lot of games this season.  We just don't have "ballers" that can dribble, drive, and make shots.  Swain is the closest we have. The high turn overs is a reflection of poor ball handling and poor passing. Alex loses possessions under the basket when she is challenged and gets out-toughed.

---

We win 67-60.

---

Tuhy is a solid player.  Her +/- of 11 led our team today.  She had 9 points, was 2-4 from downtown, snagged 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.

[martyup]

Davis has shot zero free throws. But, they have made 12 threes against us.

---

The announcer says "Great effort by UC Davis."  I have a feeling we are going to hear that about our opponents in a lot of games this season.  We just don't have "ballers" that can dribble, drive, and make shots.  Swain is the closest we have. The high turn overs is a reflection of poor ball handling and poor passing. Alex loses possessions under the basket when she is challenged and gets out-toughed.

---

We win 67-60.

---

Tuhy is a solid player.  Her +/- of 11 led our team today.  She had 9 points, was 2-4 from downtown, snagged 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.

[JohnR34231]

Davis has shot zero free throws.  But, they have made 12 threes against us.

---

The announcer says "Great effort by UC Davis."  I have a feeling we are going to hear that about our opponents in a lot of games this season.  We just don't have "ballers" that can dribble, drive, and make shots.  Swain is the closest we have.  The high turn overs is a reflection of poor ball handling and poor passing.  Alex loses possessions under the basket when she is challenged and gets out-toughed.

---

We win 67-60.

---

Tuhy is a solid player.  Her +/- of 11 led our team today.  She had 9 points, was 2-4 from downtown, snagged 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.

When we struggle against teams like UC Davis I can't help think about what it is going to be like when we play teams like Duke and Notre Dame.
A little scary.

[JohnR34231]

Davis has shot zero free throws.  But, they have made 12 threes against us.

---

The announcer says "Great effort by UC Davis."  I have a feeling we are going to hear that about our opponents in a lot of games this season.  We just don't have "ballers" that can dribble, drive, and make shots.  Swain is the closest we have.  The high turn overs is a reflection of poor ball handling and poor passing.  Alex loses possessions under the basket when she is challenged and gets out-toughed.

---

We win 67-60.

---

Tuhy is a solid player.  Her +/- of 11 led our team today.  She had 9 points, was 2-4 from downtown, snagged 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block.

When we struggle against teams like UC Davis I can't help think about what it is going to be like when we play teams like Duke and Notre Dame.
A little scary.

[martyup]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

[martyup]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

[TonyLima]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

[TonyLima]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

[stopandpop]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

[stopandpop]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

[TonyLima]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

[TonyLima]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

[stopandpop]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

[stopandpop]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

[Mudhead]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

It’s possible that Alex wants to develop her outside game for the next level. In this world of transfer portal and given history of apparently unhappy transfers, coaches would feel compelled to honor that request.  Just a guess on my part . I do t think, though, that you can assume players are used like the coach wants to use them in this modern era. It’s a new world.

[Mudhead]

Alex should dominate in these type of games.  Her stats aren't terrible, except for the 4 turnovers.

Swain scored a career high 26 points.  She is our MVP by far.

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

It’s possible that Alex wants to develop her outside game for the next level. In this world of transfer portal and given history of apparently unhappy transfers, coaches would feel compelled to honor that request.  Just a guess on my part . I do t think, though, that you can assume players are used like the coach wants to use them in this modern era. It’s a new world.

[BostonCard]

Certainly on a global level, the coaching has been bad to awful, so you might start with priors that any player underpermance is due to poor coaching.

However, it is also very difficult to know what is going on behind the scenes with a specific player or situation, and I think we sometimes get way ahead of ourselves in terms of speculation.  Lots of alternative theories, including:

• Day to day variability in games
  
• Nagging low level injury
  
• Player herself/skill issue
  

Take for example former Florida Gator Oliver Rioux.  At 7’9” (not a typo) you would think he would simply dominate anywhere he played.  Last season, he averaged 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds per game in 1.5 minutes per game for Florida.  Was it the coaching?  In his first game after transferring to UCI, he scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds, so you might think so, but then in his second against SJSU, he only had 7 points.  He’s a junior, so TBD whether he will reach his potential, but this is certainly not the trajectory that he or Florida expected of him when he was first signed.

On the other hand, we all know what happened when Lauren Betts went from Stanford to UCLA, but even then, the issue was more off the field than on (though still, coaching was a big contributor).

We’ll eventually figure out the story, but I would caution against assuming that just because a player is very tall, she should automatically dominate.  I always remember 6’7” Chandra Benton from the late 90’s.  You can’t teach height, but unfortunately, height alone is not enough to be a dominant women’s basketball player.

BC

[BostonCard]

Certainly on a global level, the coaching has been bad to awful, so you might start with priors that any player underpermance is due to poor coaching.

However, it is also very difficult to know what is going on behind the scenes with a specific player or situation, and I think we sometimes get way ahead of ourselves in terms of speculation.  Lots of alternative theories, including:

• Day to day variability in games
  
• Nagging low level injury
  
• Player herself/skill issue
  

Take for example former Florida Gator Oliver Rioux.  At 7’9” (not a typo) you would think he would simply dominate anywhere he played.  Last season, he averaged 0.6 points and 0.5 rebounds per game in 1.5 minutes per game for Florida.  Was it the coaching?  In his first game after transferring to UCI, he scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds, so you might think so, but then in his second against SJSU, he only had 7 points.  He’s a junior, so TBD whether he will reach his potential, but this is certainly not the trajectory that he or Florida expected of him when he was first signed.

On the other hand, we all know what happened when Lauren Betts went from Stanford to UCLA, but even then, the issue was more off the field than on (though still, coaching was a big contributor).

We’ll eventually figure out the story, but I would caution against assuming that just because a player is very tall, she should automatically dominate.  I always remember 6’7” Chandra Benton from the late 90’s.  You can’t teach height, but unfortunately, height alone is not enough to be a dominant women’s basketball player.

BC

[TonyLima]

I had no idea what I was setting off. Thanks for a terrific, informative discussion!

[TonyLima]

I had no idea what I was setting off. Thanks for a terrific, informative discussion!

[liveoak]

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

It’s possible that Alex wants to develop her outside game for the next level. In this world of transfer portal and given history of apparently unhappy transfers, coaches would feel compelled to honor that request.  Just a guess on my part . I do t think, though, that you can assume players are used like the coach wants to use them in this modern era. It’s a new world.

I think that some people believe Alex is the reincarnation of Jayne Appel and expect her to play on the low block. I personally see her as a much more mobile center - someone who can step out and hit threes and work in a mobile offense. Kennedy Umeh is much more of a low-block center and I would like to see her develop those skills...and I'm a little surprised they haven't been developed. I could see Umeh at the 5 and Eschmeyer at the 4 - this could be a good combination. 

I agree that Eschmeyer seemed less aggressive and didn't seem to want to play inside - she got blocked early and that may have been a factor. Paye may have also used offensive schemes that don't put her on the low block.  I did notice that when Umeh was in, the offense was changed so that she posted up down low - I don't think that Umeh fits well into the Princeton offense that Stanford runs.

[liveoak]

Agree about Swain. Ijiowye (sp) shows flashes but inconsistent. Alex plays like she doesn’t want to be 6’5”.

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

It’s possible that Alex wants to develop her outside game for the next level. In this world of transfer portal and given history of apparently unhappy transfers, coaches would feel compelled to honor that request.  Just a guess on my part . I do t think, though, that you can assume players are used like the coach wants to use them in this modern era. It’s a new world.

I think that some people believe Alex is the reincarnation of Jayne Appel and expect her to play on the low block. I personally see her as a much more mobile center - someone who can step out and hit threes and work in a mobile offense. Kennedy Umeh is much more of a low-block center and I would like to see her develop those skills...and I'm a little surprised they haven't been developed. I could see Umeh at the 5 and Eschmeyer at the 4 - this could be a good combination. 

I agree that Eschmeyer seemed less aggressive and didn't seem to want to play inside - she got blocked early and that may have been a factor. Paye may have also used offensive schemes that don't put her on the low block.  I did notice that when Umeh was in, the offense was changed so that she posted up down low - I don't think that Umeh fits well into the Princeton offense that Stanford runs.

[stopandpop]

Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

It’s possible that Alex wants to develop her outside game for the next level. In this world of transfer portal and given history of apparently unhappy transfers, coaches would feel compelled to honor that request.  Just a guess on my part . I do t think, though, that you can assume players are used like the coach wants to use them in this modern era. It’s a new world.

I think that some people believe Alex is the reincarnation of Jayne Appel and expect her to play on the low block. I personally see her as a much more mobile center - someone who can step out and hit threes and work in a mobile offense. Kennedy Umeh is much more of a low-block center and I would like to see her develop those skills...and I'm a little surprised they haven't been developed. I could see Umeh at the 5 and Eschmeyer at the 4 - this could be a good combination. 

I agree that Eschmeyer seemed less aggressive and didn't seem to want to play inside - she got blocked early and that may have been a factor. Paye may have also used offensive schemes that don't put her on the low block.  I did notice that when Umeh was in, the offense was changed so that she posted up down low - I don't think that Umeh fits well into the Princeton offense that Stanford runs.

Paye indeed has been using offensive schemes (for more than 2 years), that move the post player off the block.  This is why Stanford has been so easy to defend.  There is little or no space in the lanes for Stanford to drive the ball.  Sotolo would be scoring 10+ every game if there was space.  If you watch Swain, she has to be extremely creative to score in traffic.

I go back to last season and to the recent St. Mary's game when Eschmeyer scored 16.  The few times when Paye wanted Alex in the low block (and when she instructed her guards and wings to look for her, those driving lines were more open and you saw a balanced attack.  I am still not sure whether this is more about Alex or more about the coaching.   Whatever is going on must be fixed quickly or Stanford will be in for a very disappointing season.

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Agree about Alex.  I can't imagine that Paye is telling her to step outside and simply be a screener and facilitator.  Something has changed.  Watching her body language, she has either lost confidence in her inside game or doesn't want to 'bang' with the other 'Bigs', or perhaps a little of both.  In the St. Mary's game, Eschmeyer was consistently posting in the block, calling for the ball, and her teammates were finding her.  UC Davis is a notch or two better than St. Mary's, but this was a game Alex should have dominated.  Umeh can post, but she lacks the basic skill sets to score so at this point, Stanford has no inside game at all.

Right now, Stanford is an East-West team and Swain is their only true weapon (although a great one).  The Cardinal need Eschmeyer playing down low and being aggressive.  Still early in the season, but somebody on the staff needs to work with Alex- and soon or the Cardinal will lose a lot more games than they lost last season.

I’m more worried that Alex’s play might be caused by coaching.

You make a good point.  Alex played over 29 minutes.  Using your argument, if Paye wasn't happy with Alex's play, one would think she would have pulled and lectured her, but she kept her in for long stretches.  If your theory is right, that would be a brobdingnagian concern about how Alex is being coached and contrary to what Paye said about Alex during media day- "future All American and future WNBA player".  Why would you take a skilled, mobile 6'5 center and deliberately move her outside?  Just doesn't make sense.  I wonder if anyone on the Stanford coaching staff sees things differently than KP?

It’s possible that Alex wants to develop her outside game for the next level. In this world of transfer portal and given history of apparently unhappy transfers, coaches would feel compelled to honor that request.  Just a guess on my part . I do t think, though, that you can assume players are used like the coach wants to use them in this modern era. It’s a new world.

I think that some people believe Alex is the reincarnation of Jayne Appel and expect her to play on the low block. I personally see her as a much more mobile center - someone who can step out and hit threes and work in a mobile offense. Kennedy Umeh is much more of a low-block center and I would like to see her develop those skills...and I'm a little surprised they haven't been developed. I could see Umeh at the 5 and Eschmeyer at the 4 - this could be a good combination. 

I agree that Eschmeyer seemed less aggressive and didn't seem to want to play inside - she got blocked early and that may have been a factor. Paye may have also used offensive schemes that don't put her on the low block.  I did notice that when Umeh was in, the offense was changed so that she posted up down low - I don't think that Umeh fits well into the Princeton offense that Stanford runs.

Paye indeed has been using offensive schemes (for more than 2 years), that move the post player off the block.  This is why Stanford has been so easy to defend.  There is little or no space in the lanes for Stanford to drive the ball.  Sotolo would be scoring 10+ every game if there was space.  If you watch Swain, she has to be extremely creative to score in traffic.

I go back to last season and to the recent St. Mary's game when Eschmeyer scored 16.  The few times when Paye wanted Alex in the low block (and when she instructed her guards and wings to look for her, those driving lines were more open and you saw a balanced attack.  I am still not sure whether this is more about Alex or more about the coaching.   Whatever is going on must be fixed quickly or Stanford will be in for a very disappointing season.