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WBB: Stanford 101 - ASU 69 - 81alum - 12-27-2022

Preview:

ASU has seen better days.  With the retirement of Charlie Turner Thorne they lost the second most experienced coach in the Pac 12, and with the rise of cross state rival Arizona under Adia Barnes they have lost the Arizona spotlight, and perhaps some recruiting pull.   The days when ASU was the team that perennially challenged Stanford, and Arizona was the conference doormat, are now long gone.  It remains to be seen whether the reverse has now become true.

This year ASU is coached by Natasha Adair, who (see if this sounds familiar to Stanford football fans) announced at her introductory press conference that she would "lead with love."  It seems like lots of coaches are jumping on the Frederic Luskin bandwagon that Tara may have started.  See this:
https://www.si.com/college/2022/11/18/stanford-womens-basketball-haley-jones-happiness-professor

Adair is an experienced coach (30 years!) who was recently coach-of-the-year for the Colonial Athletic Association after taking Delaware to the NCAAs.  In her last of 5 years for the Blue Hens she led them to a 24-5 mark.  You may remember the Blue Hens as the team that benefited from Elena Della Don's return home from UConn, although that was before Adair's time at Deleware. 

This year ASU is 7-4 so far and has not played anyone ranked.  They have their first Pac 12 game against Arizona on Thursday before coming north to play us on Saturday, so they won't have a long turnaround to get ready.  Massey has ASU at 81, NET at 120--with the 63rd strongest strength of schedule.

ASU was devastated by the transfer of Jade Loville to rival Arizona.  Loville is brilliant and was ASU's leading scorer.  Taya Hanson also transferred--to Oregon.  The stars weren't going to stick around for a rebuilding year but jumped to stronger programs.  As Bobk's excellent summary makes clear, there were only 5 returning players after all the graduations and transfers out are accounted for.  Adair did bring an excellent junior point guard with her from Delaware, so there is that.

So what players should fans keep their eyes on?  There are 3 offensive stars.

The first is that point guard, #3 5'5" junior guard Tyi Skinner.  She is averaging 21 points, is hitting 37% from three point range, and leads the team in steals and assists.  However, she actually has more turnovers than assists--not sure what to make of that.

The second is ASU's one returning starter from CTT days, #2 5'9" junior guard Jaddan Simmons.    She is averaging 14ppg and has nearly as many assists as Skinner, but not as high a percent of three point makes, nor as many attempts.

Third is 6'2" junior guard #12 Treasure Hunt.  She averages 12 ppg but shoots only 31%, and has gone 7/42 from three point range.

ASU has some height.  They start a 6'4" grad transfer center and their leading rebounder is a 6'3" redshirt freshman.  Neither is scoring in bunches, but they contribute to a team that seems balanced on paper.

As with Cal, the main focus will need to be on shutting down the opponents short and speedy guards, who do the bulk of scoring for them.  But inside, this might be the kind of game we could see Betts do quite well in, matched up against a conventional center.  At this point I haven't yet watched any ASU games, will update here after they play Arizona on Thursday, but at this point I don't know what kind of defense they play.

Happy Stanford WBB New Year!

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - BobK - 12-27-2022

Another great summary thank you 81

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - JohnR34231 - 12-27-2022

(12-27-2022, 05:12 AM)81alum Wrote:  Preview:

ASU has seen better days.  With the retirement of Charlie Turner Thorne they lost the second most experienced coach in the Pac 12, and with the rise of cross state rival Arizona under Adia Barnes they have lost the Arizona spotlight, and perhaps some recruiting pull.   The days when ASU was the team that perennially challenged Stanford, and Arizona was the conference doormat, are now long gone.  It remains to be seen whether the reverse has now become true.

This year ASU is coached by Natasha Adair, who (see if this sounds familiar to Stanford football fans) announced at her introductory press conference that she would "lead with love."  It seems like lots of coaches are jumping on the Frederic Luskin bandwagon that Tara may have started.  See this:
https://www.si.com/college/2022/11/18/stanford-womens-basketball-haley-jones-happiness-professor

Adair is an experienced coach (30 years!) who was recently coach-of-the-year for the Colonial Athletic Association after taking Delaware to the NCAAs.  In her last of 5 years for the Blue Hens she led them to a 24-5 mark.  You may remember the Blue Hens as the team that benefited from Elena Della Don's return home from UConn, although that was before Adair's time at Deleware. 

This year ASU is 7-4 so far and has not played anyone ranked.  They have their first Pac 12 game against Arizona on Thursday before coming north to play us on Saturday, so they won't have a long turnaround to get ready.  Massey has ASU at 81, NET at 120--with the 63rd strongest strength of schedule.

ASU was devastated by the transfer of Jade Loville to rival Arizona.  Loville is brilliant and was ASU's leading scorer.  Taya Hanson also transferred--to Oregon.  The stars weren't going to stick around for a rebuilding year but jumped to stronger programs.  As Bobk's excellent summary makes clear, there were only 5 returning players after all the graduations and transfers out are accounted for.  Adair did bring an excellent junior point guard with her from Delaware, so there is that.

So what players should fans keep their eyes on?  There are 3 offensive stars.

The first is that point guard, #3 5'5" junior guard Tyi Skinner.  She is averaging 21 points, is hitting 37% from three point range, and leads the team in steals and assists.  However, she actually has more turnovers than assists--not sure what to make of that.

The second is ASU's one returning starter from CTT days, #2 5'9" junior guard Jaddan Simmons.    She is averaging 14ppg and has nearly as many assists as Skinner, but not as high a percent of three point makes, nor as many attempts.

Third is 6'2" junior guard #12 Treasure Hunt.  She averages 12 ppg but shoots only 31%, and has gone 7/42 from three point range.

ASU has some height.  They start a 6'4" grad transfer center and their leading rebounder is a 6'3" redshirt freshman.  Neither is scoring in bunches, but they contribute to a team that seems balanced on paper.

As with Cal, the main focus will need to be on shutting down the opponents short and speedy guards, who do the bulk of scoring for them.  But inside, this might be the kind of game we could see Betts do quite well in, matched up against a conventional center.  At this point I haven't yet watched any ASU games, will update here after they play Arizona on Thursday, but at this point I don't know what kind of defense they play.

Happy Stanford WBB New Year!

Treasure Hunt goes on my list for the all Pac-12 name team.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - WBB fan - 12-27-2022

Thanks for the great summary. Now I wish someone could tell me how we got pushed into scheduling a game in the evening on New Year's Eve. If it had been afternoon, maybe, but for me this is impossible. I have a decades long commitment for New Year's Eve. I guess I'll be watching the game by secret looks at my phone during the dinner I'm going to, one that is a tradition that extends back more than 30 years. I suspect that there are many others who will have similar conflicts, probably going to be really sparse attendance. I just wish I could be there! If anyone wants tickets, great seats, PM me. I have four available.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - 81alum - 12-27-2022

(12-27-2022, 10:31 AM)WBB fan Wrote:  Thanks for the great summary. Now I wish someone could tell me how we got pushed into scheduling a game in the evening on New Year's Eve. If it had been afternoon, maybe, but for me this is impossible. I have a decades long commitment for New Year's Eve. I guess I'll be watching the game by secret looks at my phone during the dinner I'm going to, one that is a tradition that extends back more than 30 years. I suspect that there are many others who will have similar conflicts, probably going to be really sparse attendance. I just wish I could be there! If anyone wants tickets, great seats, PM me. I have four available.
Yes its bad, but Cal plays Arizona beginning at 7pm, which is even worse.   Earlier in the day there is a full lineup coast-to-coast.

At first I thought the only reason for this timing must have been TV coverage of some sort, but that does not seem to be the case.  Our game appears to be on the Pac 12 regional networks--Bay Area and Arizona.  Cal will be on Pac 12 HD.

My guess is that the real reason was to give the players a little more time off with their families after playing a game late in the week before Christmas, on Friday.  I think I heard at a chalk talk that they got 4 days with their families, which would probably put them back in Palo Alto tomorrow, Wednesday, giving them only a couple of days of practice before the game.  If our game against Cal had been earlier, then maybe this game could have been a day or two earlier too.

Here is a worry--I wonder if any of our players got stranded at home over the holiday.  Fortunately we are California-heavy with the roster, and I don't imagine that our international players tried to go home with only 4 days.  Colorado and North Carolina could be different stories, though.  Let's hope that our our whole team can be there for the game, given that Southwest is not rescheduling any of its myriad cancelled flights before December 31, and other carriers are scrambling too.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - Card10Fan - 12-27-2022

(12-27-2022, 10:31 AM)WBB fan Wrote:  Thanks for the great summary. Now I wish someone could tell me how we got pushed into scheduling a game in the evening on New Year's Eve. If it had been afternoon, maybe, but for me this is impossible. I have a decades long commitment for New Year's Eve. I guess I'll be watching the game by secret looks at my phone during the dinner I'm going to, one that is a tradition that extends back more than 30 years. I suspect that there are many others who will have similar conflicts, probably going to be really sparse attendance. I just wish I could be there! If anyone wants tickets, great seats, PM me. I have four available.

I agree. I think the dates and times for our first 3 conference home games are terrible. Dec 23 (noon start), New Years Eve (evening), and then vs Arizona (January 2. a Monday, start time at 11:30 am). Absolutely awful scheduling IMO. I made it to the 23rd game and will miss the next 2 as I expect many others will.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - M T - 12-27-2022

(12-27-2022, 10:52 AM)81alum Wrote:  If our game against Cal had been earlier, then maybe this game could have been a day or two earlier too.
There is a limit as to how tightly packed the games can be.  I admit MBB scheduled an easy OOC game for the Friday at the end of finals week, but WBB didn't have that luxury, playing South Carolina two days later, then Creighton, then Cal.   Dead week & finals week are a critical part of the schedule as long as we have student athletes.  Then comes the holiday break, which was shortened compared to most students.

My opinion is that the NCAA allows too many games to be scheduled, disrupting the school year more than really necessary.  The playing field needs to be level, and I would favor a NCAA-wide limit on the number of games to be less than it is now.

----
Oh wait, I was confused.  How silly of me, we know the games should be scheduled for the convenience of the fans.

----
As for return flights & the weather, I imagine teams like Stanford playing at home are in better shape than the traveling teams.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - CompSci87 - 12-27-2022

Jan 2 is a holiday for some this year because Jan 1 falls on a Sunday. So I'm still hoping for a good crowd then.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - BobK - 12-27-2022

Actually the coaches want only 18 league games in order to play the max 11 or 12 if in a tournament 29-30 games.
The coaches win

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - stopandpop - 12-27-2022

Even against ASU, one of the weaker teams in the PAC12, shouldn't there be an emphasis on 'continuous improvement'?  How do we maintain superior performance over 4 quarters; not just over one or two?  And how do we reduce our turnover rate?

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - 81alum - 12-27-2022

And remember we get Arizona 2 days later on Monday.   The game plans for both games are worked on in advance and the team practices some of what they need for each team in the week leading up.  So we not only need our players back to prepare for ASU, but to also get ready for Arizona, which will be a substantial test.  And, frankly, ASU does not look nearly as bad as I thought if would before I did my deep dive.  We can learn a lot about BOTH of our upcoming games by watching the ASU/Arizona game Thursday.

And that might be the answer to the scheduling question.  ASU is already playing on Thursday, so it is not as if their Saturday game could be moved back.
(12-27-2022, 12:19 PM)M T Wrote:  My opinion is that the NCAA allows too many games to be scheduled, disrupting the school year more than really necessary.  The playing field needs to be level, and I would favor a NCAA-wide limit on the number of games to be less than it is now.

I've thought this about football for a long time--ever since they started constantly expanding the number of games and the number of bowls.  I had not thought about this for basketball, but would favor a lower limit if it helped protect the student-athletes.

In Tara's first year, we played 28 games--all regular season games.  Last year, we played 28 games before the Pac-12 tournament.  Then the Pac 12 tournament added 3 games and the NCAAs added 5 games.  So all the "inflation" in number of games played has been through tournaments, and of course as the success of the team grows the number of games played also grows.

You may remember that Tara opposed the Pac 12 tournament--perhaps for the reasons you suggest, but it has now become a fixture.  The easiest way to reduce games played would be to go back to the prior model and eliminate conference tournaments.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - M T - 12-27-2022

(12-27-2022, 02:14 PM)81alum Wrote:  In Tara's first year, we played 28 games--all regular season games.  Last year, we played 28 games before the Pac-12 tournament. 
Actually, we played 30 games before the PAC-12 tournament last year (and this).

The 1985-1986 set of 28 games was Nov. 22 to March 8. 107 days. 12 day break Dec 21-Jan 1.  95/28 = 1 game every 3.4 days (excluding break)
The 2021-2022 set of 30 games was Nov. 11 to Feb. 28.  110 days. 14 day break Nov 28-Dec 11.   96/30 = 1 game every 3.2 days
The 2022-2023 set of 30 games is Nov. 7 to Feb. 25.     111 days. 13 day break Dec 5-Dec 17.  98/30 = 1 game every 3.3 days

The 1989-1990 team won the NCAA championship, playing 33 games (28 reg. season + 5 NCAA tourney).
If the 2022-2023 team were to win the PAC-12 and NCAA championship, they would play 39 games.

If teams had to reduce the number of games, I expect the conferences would choose to play fewer regular season games rather than losing the mainline injection of money from the conference tournament.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - acerep - 12-27-2022

According to what I heard at the Behind the Bench, Stavi and Elena were going to Sacramento to be with Stavi's parents. Agnes was going to LA to be with family.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - BobK - 12-27-2022

Then to South Lake Tahoe for Elena and Stavi

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - 81alum - 12-31-2022

Well, I will brave the weather and probably be one of the few at the game.  With 101 and University flooded (at least they were at one time today, not sure if they still are), approaches could be circuitous, fortunately I normally come to campus from the south.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - chimera - 12-31-2022

I decided not to drive down from San Francisco.  101 is flooded and I'm sure 280 will be a mess.  I'm not sure I've seen so much rain this hard for such a long stretch here in a long while.  It was cats and dogs for about 12 hours. Just now started to let up a bit but still raining.

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - 2006alum - 12-31-2022

(12-31-2022, 05:15 PM)chimera Wrote:  I decided not to drive down from San Francisco.  101 is flooded and I'm sure 280 will be a mess.  I'm not sure I've seen so much rain this hard for such a long stretch here in a long while.  It was cats and dogs for about 12 hours. Just now started to let up a bit but still raining.

Indeed, and same. SF is .1 inches away from setting the all-time record for rainiest day on record since tracking began in the mid-1800s...:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/NWSBayArea/status/1609337397157965824?s=20[/tweet]

Stay safe out there, y'all, and happy new year! May 2023 see the return of the Cup of Directors to its rightful place on the Farm. Oh, and a fourth championship for Tara wouldn't hurt, either. :)

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - martyup - 12-31-2022

Great start by Stanford. 22-5 with under 4 minutes remaining in the 1st.

[Image: giphy.gif]
26-13 at the end of one.

Zero fouls by Brink and Jump is 3-4 from three. Nice

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - BostonCard - 12-31-2022

Brink has 6 rebounds. In the quarter.

BC

RE: WBB: Stanford vs. Arizona State New Year's Eve 6pm - CompSci87 - 12-31-2022

Jump with 5 three-pointers already!