01-09-2020, 02:10 PM
As outstanding as Tara is, she probably draws upon a class of ideas that, over the years, she has shared with Stanford players & coaches. When we play against teams that have coaches that trained at Tara U, I worry that they can anticipate and counter some of that Tara "magic".
However, if somehow the ability of Tara to reconfigure the play during the game is neutralized, the skill of the players becomes even more important for the outcome. I feel that we have the most skilled team (in total, but not yet the most skilled best player) since the mid 1990s. Our recent set of players seem to have no gaping hole that is an obvious place for an opponent to attack. Perhaps we are not yet as good as we want and need to be.
I haven't seen Cal play this year so I can't properly judge them. I am not certain the Stanford WBB team has the "Beat Cal" attitude the team probably felt when Cal was at its best some years back. Stanford may feel a sense that Cal is just another team they need to beat, while Cal may have the "Here's our chance to beat our big sister and prove we are a threat."
To me, that makes these trap games, particularly if we win handily on Friday, and aren't as sharp on Sunday.
But, if the recent batch of players are available, I suspect Stanford's skill should win both, but we may be tried.
(Last week, we had a small crowd on Friday, but a good crowd on Sunday. I hope Stanford turns out a good crowd for the Cal game on Friday. Maybe we can get a good crowd of Stanford fans on Sunday at Cal.)
However, if somehow the ability of Tara to reconfigure the play during the game is neutralized, the skill of the players becomes even more important for the outcome. I feel that we have the most skilled team (in total, but not yet the most skilled best player) since the mid 1990s. Our recent set of players seem to have no gaping hole that is an obvious place for an opponent to attack. Perhaps we are not yet as good as we want and need to be.
I haven't seen Cal play this year so I can't properly judge them. I am not certain the Stanford WBB team has the "Beat Cal" attitude the team probably felt when Cal was at its best some years back. Stanford may feel a sense that Cal is just another team they need to beat, while Cal may have the "Here's our chance to beat our big sister and prove we are a threat."
To me, that makes these trap games, particularly if we win handily on Friday, and aren't as sharp on Sunday.
But, if the recent batch of players are available, I suspect Stanford's skill should win both, but we may be tried.
(Last week, we had a small crowd on Friday, but a good crowd on Sunday. I hope Stanford turns out a good crowd for the Cal game on Friday. Maybe we can get a good crowd of Stanford fans on Sunday at Cal.)