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WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - 81alum - 10-26-2024

I will attend today's annual open scrimmage and will report back with whatever impressions I can glean.  Having a look at the transfers and freshmen is always interesting.  I'll also be interested in whether Tara is present or whether her strategy this year will be to give Kate her space.

That said, I keep waiting for my enthusiasm for college sports, and WBB in particular, to return.  So far, it feels pretty tepid.  But I have my tickets and my loyalty, and will attend this year and hope for the best.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - Card10Fan - 10-26-2024

(10-26-2024, 07:44 AM)81alum Wrote:  I will attend today's annual open scrimmage and will report back with whatever impressions I can glean.  Having a look at the transfers and freshmen is always interesting.  I'll also be interested in whether Tara is present or whether her strategy this year will be to give Kate her space.

That said, I keep waiting for my enthusiasm for college sports, and WBB in particular, to return.  So far, it feels pretty tepid.  But I have my tickets and my loyalty, and will attend this year and hope for the best.

Looking forward to the report! It doesn't feel like it's time for basketball season to be starting. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised with this year's team of newcomers and young players.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - BobK - 10-26-2024

Great you are going 81. Looking forward to your report.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - SkiBum80 - 10-26-2024

Likewise looking forward your notes 81.
I too am hopeful for this new team.
Not a lot expected of them and I think they could, if pull together well, surprise some folks.
In particular, while losing 2 all time great bigs, I think our guard play wasn’t all that great last year and could be better this year

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - crackpot - 10-26-2024

Looking forward to your report. Heading out to the football game soon. If traffic and parking allow, we'll stop by, but I couldn't get my kid up in time to attend both.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - Lorcan - 10-26-2024

I, too, look forward to any tidbits of information you're willing to share with a fan from afar! 

I think as we get to know this team and watch them grow, we'll be back to enjoying Stanford basketball - and hopefully enjoying whatever journey they take us on as a clear underdog this year.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - CompSci87 - 10-26-2024

I'm not quite mobile enough to make it yet (close, though), so I'm looking forward to your report too.

spike - Spike - 10-26-2024

Lowering your expectations is painful

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - 81alum - 10-26-2024

Please bear all the normal caveats in mind:  it is very difficult to judge player development from a single scrimmage.  Every year I attend one of these I get a few fleeting impressions.  It was at this event two years ago that I first saw Kiki hitting mid range jumpers, but it took her a full year before those became such an important part of her game.  So impressions are just that: impressions only.

First, three players were suited up and exercising on bikes and other low impact activities on the side:  Lepolo, who is doubtless coming back from her knee surgery, but also freshmen Shay Ijiwoye and Harper Peterson.  So we did not get a look to see if Lepolo shows signs of improvement, nor if Shay is a ready-to-play guard, nor if Peterson can give us some depth inside.  Seeing those three in action will have to wait.  Betty Anne did note that all were expected back in the near future.  Whatever that may mean.

Second, the teams were rounded out by the male practice players but also coach Erika McCall and alum Hannah Jump.  It was fun to see Bird and Jump playing, scoring, etc. and to hear Betty Anne's trademark "Jump for Threeeeeee!"  Also in the house was pro scout and alum Charli Turner Thorne.  I do not believe Tara was present, although it was mentioned that we should be present when the floor is dedicated to her--I think they said November 10.

Third, at this stage, clearly the defense is further along than the offense.  The first practice quarter was pretty ugly.  Unlike previous years, the referees were not outsiders but were Tempe and Jeanette, and they let a LOT go.  After the first quarter the defense was less intense and there was more scoring--that to me is not a good sign.  Lots of teams have great defense for a quarter, but sustaining it over four quarters is the ticket to success.

Of the returning players I did not notice any particular changes--but I was not studying them nearly as much as I was watching the newcomers.  Demetre played very well as did Nunu Agara--but they have always seemed to play well.  I expect those two are foundational for this year's team.  Bosgana seemed like the normal Bosgana--some pretty plays both inside and outside but not a consistent scoring threat.  Ogden is an enormous talent, but she seems to get flustered at times when driving to the basket--the same thing happened once today.  I still feel that she could blossom into a starter much as Iriafen did over time.  Clardy did what Clardy did last year--good defense, drove basket to basket, but I don't think I saw her make a jump shot.  She did take one, though, which seemed almost unusual from past experience--so maybe she is working on expanding her range.

I was however pleasantly surprised by Stavi Papadaki.  She and Lauren Green were put on the "red" team along with McCall, Jump, and the male practice players.  She played point guard for the opposition, essentially.  And she played remarkably well against our first team.  She hit threes, drove successfully to the basket, and seemed to have more accuracy and speed than I remember.  The team was into her success.  I have no idea if this means she could play more minutes in regulation games, but it certainly made me smile.

But what you really want to know about are the transfers and the one freshman who played.  So here are my notes:

Kennedy Umeh (freshman).  At first I was unimpressed.  She is listed as 6'4" but was clearly shorter than Demetre who is 6'3", and she did not seem speedy.  She is, however, solidly built and will be a post that is much harder to push around in the paint than say Brink.  As she played I warmed up to her.  She has a solid longish mid range jumper, and on one occasion she passed beautifully out from under the basket.  She was active on defense--always critical for freshmen posts who want to play minutes, and she made her layups when she had the chance. 

Mary Ashley Stevenson (sophomore transfer).  She was Big 10 Freshman of the year last year at Purdue before transferring, so clearly we knew she had a strong skill set.  She is listed as 6'2" which--after being used to Brink and Iriafen--seemed quite short to me.  But she plays with confidence and is clearly far more experienced even than most of our own returning sophomores.  She had one nice basket where she shifted from her right to her left to get around a defender under the basket.  Her defense was quite active, and she runs the floor very hard. 

Tess Heal.  Heal is an Aussie junior who transferred from Santa Clara.  Last year she was 4th in the nation in made free throws--close behind players like Juju Watkins.  Today we learned why.  She loves to drive through traffic to the basket.  I saw her go left most often, and right once.  And yes she did pick up fouls when doing so, and completes her layups at a high rate.  She also sank a couple of treys.  Her release is somewhat slow and labored, as if she is shooting a mortar.  It is a high arcing shot but seems to be accurate.  It does, however, seem like the kind of shot that can be defended by a taller defender--except that then she can go around them.  As for her speed and ball handling--I can't judge yet, nor did I get enough of a look at her passing.  But she is certainly a point guard who can score from two levels--three if you count all the free throws.

I will resist speculating on what any of this means for the year.  Just need to see more.  But we have a few more data points.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - martyup - 10-26-2024

Thanks 81.  While watching our football team sh*t the bed against WF, I am looking forward to watching our WBB team.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - bl82 - 10-26-2024

(10-26-2024, 12:38 PM)81alum Wrote:  Please bear all the normal caveats in mind…

Great stuff, 81. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I hope this helped spike your enthusiasm a bit.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - WBB fan - 10-26-2024

Add my thanks to all the above. I was stuck at a football tailgate. Looking forward to the exhibition game on Wednesday. Feeling hopeful

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - petersalas - 10-26-2024

Thanks for the recap! I’m looking forward to seeing the team for myself soon. I’m also excited about the upcoming season. This is my favorite time of year. It may not be an easy season, but I know it’ll be a fun and memorable one!

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - 81alum - 10-27-2024

(10-26-2024, 02:38 PM)WBB fan Wrote:  Add my thanks to all the above. I was stuck at a football tailgate. Looking forward to the exhibition game on Wednesday. Feeling hopeful
Unfortunately for me, I have a work related event that conflicts with the exhibition, so I will miss it.  Perhaps you could provide a write up?

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - BobK - 10-27-2024

I’ll Link the FBC write here also

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - WBB fan - 10-27-2024

(10-27-2024, 07:29 AM)81alum Wrote:  
(10-26-2024, 02:38 PM)WBB fan Wrote:  Add my thanks to all the above. I was stuck at a football tailgate. Looking forward to the exhibition game on Wednesday. Feeling hopeful
Unfortunately for me, I have a work related event that conflicts with the exhibition, so I will miss it.  Perhaps you could provide a write up?

I can give it a try, but it won't be anywhere near as complete or as good as yours are!  And I hope that others will contribute their thoughts as well.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - Card10Fan - 10-27-2024

https://stanford.rivals.com/news/stanford-wbb-head-coach-kate-paye-looks-ahead-to-2024-25-season

A look ahead to the season.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - acerep - 10-27-2024

I've posted my report on the scrimmage to Richter Reports on the Fast Break Club site, www.stanfordfbc.org. Since I just posted it, the teaser hasn't been updated, but if you click on it, you'll see the new report.

RE: WBB: Cardinal and White Scrimmage - SkiBum80 - 10-27-2024

I think the key player to watch is Tess Heal.
Can she step in to be the dynamic all around guard we need & have lacked?
We kind of got away without that last year because our bigs were so good.
But we don’t have that luxury any more.