WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
81alum - 10-10-2017
We went from 12 years of the triangle to a motion offense to accommodate Amber and Lili, to a lot of pick and rolls, and it has continued to evolve. Now comes word that it will change again, but there is no hint what it is changing to:
Quote:Tara obviously knows what she is doing and has been doing it for a few years now, deadpanned senior Kaylee Johnson. I think it is a good idea because its a very different team. I dont know if we would win if we did the same things that we did last year. I think not trying to force us to be the same team as last year, force people into the same roles, this allows us to really optimize what we have and try to fit people into roles that will make them most successful. Were all learning different things, a newer system, and Im excited. I really like it and I think that were all committed to it and really invested to try to make this work. Im excited to see how much we have improved from the first few practices in the summer, to Italy to now. I think its looking promising.
https://stanford.rivals.com/news/cardinal-dive-into-practice-la-rocque-seniors-discuss-progress
So the question is...given our personnel, what kind of offense do you think Tara will design around this team? Alanna and Britt and DiJonai appear to be the three offensive centerpieces now--what system will get them the most opportunities?
For example, Britt is most effective as a slasher. She is going to need an offense that opens up lanes for her--that can kill the zone and prevent defenses from packing into the paint to deny her the ability to drive on the basket. How will Tara accomplish this? Even with Karlie we have seen that shooting treys is not a reliable way to unclog the paint, and the Italy results were not at all encouraging when it comes to three point shooting.
So what new offense will Tara dial up for this year? Will it be a radical change? In past years we have seen Tara throw in a little Princeton and--most radically--a 5 out motion offense--but only situationally for particular opponents.
This might help to explain the 1-4 Italy results--Tara may have been playing with a brand new system and figuring out how to build it around her talent. It is all hush-hush but I doubt that other teams had scouts following our team around Italy.
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
81alum - 10-10-2017
I just transcribed Tara off of this video, and you can read quite a bit between the lines:
"Obviously we have a very young new team but I am trying to look at what would be best for our team down the road this year, next year, the year after--and take advantage of the great players that we have. I know we want to play an up-tempo game, and every year we are trying to play a deep team, and this year could be..."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TV39IXvPE8Y
It sounds as if whatever new offense she is installing has an eye on developing the recent entering classes for a year or two into the future. So maybe she is building around them and we will see more youth this year than normal. I hate to call it a rebuilding year...but maybe it is.
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BobK - 10-10-2017
Only two Srs this year and Kaylee isn't or at least hasn't been an offensive threat.Â
Tara lives the Frosh. As we see from the quotes above.
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
81alum - 10-10-2017
(10-10-2017, 05:49 PM)BobK link Wrote:Only two Srs this year and Kaylee isn't or at least hasn't been an offensive threat.Â
Tara lives the Frosh. As we see from the quotes above.
So, Bob, what kind of offense will she use for this new group? Has to be one that is especially good for developing the frosh--Dodson, Moschkau, Williams and Jerome, while giving Smith, McPhee, and Carrington leading roles for now. Which frosh is good enough to build a team offense around? Does this mean she thinks she has a player that will start for four years?
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BobK - 10-10-2017
Hope we get an Open practice. If not see you November 4.Â
My guess lots of strong rebounding and running  Like the 90s
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BostonCard - 10-10-2017
Haven't we been trying to do more running for a few years now?
BC
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BobK - 10-10-2017
Some. BC. I'm think much more
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BostonCard - 10-10-2017
My sense (and I don't follow as closely as many) is that Tara planned to run more, but it just didn't work. I don't know why that was.
BC
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
UltimateCard - 10-10-2017
(10-10-2017, 07:39 PM)BobK link Wrote:My guess lots of strong rebounding and running  Like the 90s
The 90s would be good...especially '90 and '92! :P
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
triangle2 - 10-10-2017
(10-10-2017, 04:51 PM)81alum link Wrote:So the question is...given our personnel, what kind of offense do you think Tara will design around this team? Alanna and Britt and DiJonai appear to be the three offensive centerpieces now--what system will get them the most opportunities?
With a slasher and a great high post player who can receive the ball at the elbow, the old UCLA 1-4 high motion set seems promising...
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
2006alum - 10-11-2017
That makes a lot of sense to me. Even our top returning players - McPhee, Smith, and Carrington - are athletic, higher tempo, slash to the basket type players. From what I saw of the McDonald's game with Williams and Dodson, they are both pretty fast and athletic as well. This will be a very, very different team from the brainier, more technically sound teams we've had in the past (I'm thinking of players like Bonnie Samuelson, Amber Orrange, Jeanette Pohlen, etc.). I'm guessing sloppier games (i.e. more turnovers) and fewer assists, but also more O boards and hot streaks, which more or less maps onto what the box scores from the Italy games reflected. I would not be at all surprised if we win some games we probably should lose (i.e. Baylor, Uconn, Tennessee) and also lose some games we probably should win against the lower half of the Pac-12. It'll be a fun and interesting season to watch given the amount of talent at disposal.
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BobK - 10-11-2017
The Pac 12 Poll
http://www.gostanford.com/news/2017/10/11/womens-basketball-second-in-pac-12-poll.aspx
Stanford picked tied for second
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
2006alum - 10-11-2017
(10-11-2017, 08:17 AM)BobK link Wrote:The Pac 12 Poll
http://www.gostanford.com/news/2017/10/11/womens-basketball-second-in-pac-12-poll.aspx
Stanford picked tied for second
Seems about right, given all the changes. And Washington placing dead last at #12? Ouch. That does not suggest that Pac-12 coaches have much faith in the new coach...
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
81alum - 10-11-2017
(10-11-2017, 08:17 AM)BobK link Wrote:The Pac 12 Poll
http://www.gostanford.com/news/2017/10/11/womens-basketball-second-in-pac-12-poll.aspx
Stanford picked tied for second
I wonder if that poll under rates WSU. This is the year when I think they could beat us--for the first time. I hope it doesn't happen, but they had a ridiculous number of injuries last year and if everyone is healthy for them.....
Also, Oregon may very well perform better than UCLA, simply because it has much better coaching, although its talent is a little younger than UCLA's talent.
Washington dropped like a rock because they lost nearly all their key players and no one knows how the new coach will perform.
The good old days of Stanford treating the Pac 12 like a door mat, and us complaining that our league never gave us enough competition to get ready for the NCAAs, are emphatically over. After following Bob's run down of the competition, it sure seems like on a given day any one of six other Pac 12 teams could give us a very serious challenge--particularly with our level of inexperience.Â
I'm not sure if any other league in the country right now has this level of competition in WBB. Does the SEC have 7 quality teams? The ACC?
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BobK - 10-11-2017
https://mobile.twitter.com/stanfordwbbblog/status/918163069032943616
The leader
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BobK - 10-11-2017
More good news:
http://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/20992912/stanford-cardinal-coach-tara-vanderveer-receives-new-3-year-deal
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
81alum - 10-11-2017
Hip, Hip, Hoorah!
This is very, very, very good news. I have been deeply worried for the last couple of years that Tara might retire sooner rather than later. Pivec hinted strongly that this was a consideration for her when she chose OSU over us. I think our opponents have been exploiting the uncertainty in some recruiting battles.Â
And now we can put that to rest for a good while. She really is having a good time coaching, and with one of the best incoming classes in many years, she is going to have considerable talent to work with over the life of her new contract.
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again. the bigs -
mbdude - 10-18-2017
https://stanford.rivals.com/news/more-than-posts-stanford-s-system-is-big-on-versatility
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
81alum - 10-18-2017
That is a fascinating piece and gives us quite a few tantalizing hints....
"Positionless basketball" in which the bigs drag defenders out of the paint to open up space. This will work against man, but to make it work against zone the bigs have to hit treys, and that apparently has been a point of emphasis during the off season.
Fingall has focused on improving her shot. Good!
Coffee gets pretty high praise. Is it possible she will get a significant number of minutes?
We will at some point or another see Dodson dunk in a game.
Jerome seems to be learning the 4 and the 3 and could become Alanna's back up, by the sound of it.
Interesting stuff...watching Tara put together the jigsaw is half the fun of it, especially during this time of year!
Re: WBB: Our offense is changing, again -
BosCard - 10-18-2017
I really liked the "she can leap out of the gym" comment about Dodson. I thought one of our weaknesses last year was rebounding. We would play great defense, force the opponent into a bad shot and then given them a whole new shot clock because of an inability to secure the defensive rebound. On the offensive side, we had one of our best rebounders (McCall) taking a lot of shots vs say this year with McPhee, Carrington or Smith taking the initial shot and the uber-athletic Dodson hopefully there on the weak side for the offensive rebound and putback. One of the things that made Chiney O such a great player was her amazing offensive rebounding ability.