[chimera]

Hard to think about next year right now but it will be another interesting puzzle for the coaches to sort out.  To the good, Alanna has become a key player and should only get better.  Kaylee was starting to find her offensive groove before she got hurt but never recovered it after coming back.  If Alanna can sort of take over the down low scoring we got from Bird, and all indications are she can, Kaylee doesn't need to score a ton, she just needs to be a good complimentary scorer and a key rebounder.  We can also hope and expect Nadia improves and adds to the post rotation.  She got enough time this year to know what she needs to do.  The wild card inside might be Dodson, who maybe can play the 4.  And will Shannon stay healthy and improve enough to get into the rotation?  Certainly possible.  We should be ok inside if everyone is healthy and the improvement trajectory is what we expect.

Outside, we will miss Karlie, probably more than anyone else because we do not seem to have another dead eye shooter like her.  Has to be done by committee because we need shooters.  We cannot space the floor well without them.  So who can shoot?  Brit struggled a lot with her three-point shot for much of the season but got it going later on.  She should be good for a few threes a game besides all her drives and pull ups.  Marta came on late too, getting much better at running the offense and mostly cutting down on TOs from too ambitious passing.  She does need to find a shot, not a lot but she needs to take two or three threes a game and make somewhere around a third to be a credible threat.  Tara seems to think she is a capable shooter, which means it is mental - getting confident and taking in rhythm shots.  Alanna can shoot threes.  Nadia is supposedly a decent shooter also.  DiJonai is a very intriguing player.  She could be fantastic.  She is very strong with the ball and can shoot and rebound.  She can be a bit of a wild card on court but experience should cure that and if and when it does, we could have a special player.  Not sure it will be next year but we can hope.  And what about Alexa, who looks like she can play a little, maybe not as the back-up pg, as she has been playing, but maybe an off guard.  She can shoot, is pretty quick, and maybe next year she gets more time.  Wild cards are Brewer (what is up with her status?), Wilson (how good is she when healthy?  Can she get and stay healthy?) and the freshmen.  Williams could get time if Wilson is not healthy. 

Anyway, back to this year, which I think I will remember very fondly as a fan.  Fun team to root for and they overachieved in my book.  I never thought we were a F4 team, not without a real go-to star player, and with our not always clicking offense, but they pulled it off with grit and teamwork. 

[chimera]

Hard to think about next year right now but it will be another interesting puzzle for the coaches to sort out.  To the good, Alanna has become a key player and should only get better.  Kaylee was starting to find her offensive groove before she got hurt but never recovered it after coming back.  If Alanna can sort of take over the down low scoring we got from Bird, and all indications are she can, Kaylee doesn't need to score a ton, she just needs to be a good complimentary scorer and a key rebounder.  We can also hope and expect Nadia improves and adds to the post rotation.  She got enough time this year to know what she needs to do.  The wild card inside might be Dodson, who maybe can play the 4.  And will Shannon stay healthy and improve enough to get into the rotation?  Certainly possible.  We should be ok inside if everyone is healthy and the improvement trajectory is what we expect.

Outside, we will miss Karlie, probably more than anyone else because we do not seem to have another dead eye shooter like her.  Has to be done by committee because we need shooters.  We cannot space the floor well without them.  So who can shoot?  Brit struggled a lot with her three-point shot for much of the season but got it going later on.  She should be good for a few threes a game besides all her drives and pull ups.  Marta came on late too, getting much better at running the offense and mostly cutting down on TOs from too ambitious passing.  She does need to find a shot, not a lot but she needs to take two or three threes a game and make somewhere around a third to be a credible threat.  Tara seems to think she is a capable shooter, which means it is mental - getting confident and taking in rhythm shots.  Alanna can shoot threes.  Nadia is supposedly a decent shooter also.  DiJonai is a very intriguing player.  She could be fantastic.  She is very strong with the ball and can shoot and rebound.  She can be a bit of a wild card on court but experience should cure that and if and when it does, we could have a special player.  Not sure it will be next year but we can hope.  And what about Alexa, who looks like she can play a little, maybe not as the back-up pg, as she has been playing, but maybe an off guard.  She can shoot, is pretty quick, and maybe next year she gets more time.  Wild cards are Brewer (what is up with her status?), Wilson (how good is she when healthy?  Can she get and stay healthy?) and the freshmen.  Williams could get time if Wilson is not healthy. 

Anyway, back to this year, which I think I will remember very fondly as a fan.  Fun team to root for and they overachieved in my book.  I never thought we were a F4 team, not without a real go-to star player, and with our not always clicking offense, but they pulled it off with grit and teamwork.