[teejers1]

I’m not sure you can blame the staff on that one. As a coach, I’d want to get Brink, a freshman, as many minutes as possible especially given that she’s prone to foul trouble. Extended minutes gives her more time to adjust to the college game and stop fouling in the important moments. Injuries happen, whether it’s to Brink or Brown, it’s jarring to see you blame “the staff” for the injury.

We will have to agree to disagree.  IMHO using the same logic it's just as important to get Prechtel more minutes to get her game going again.  And we all know play tends to get sloppy during garbage time.

It's pretty obvious to me that Brink, like Jones, is one of those cornerstone players we need to protect under those kinds of circumstances.

Leaving your top players in with under 5 min to go in a rout is, I daresay, a Geno move.

I'm with you, Q, in principle.  And I'm certainly with you in willingness to criticize coaching moves, which seems like a misdemeanor (at least) in these parts - which I really don't understand.  There is nothing inconsistent about acknowledging that Tara is a great coach whom Stanford is lucky to have AND that she makes mistakes from time to time (I happen to think her handling of Prechtel is one . . . but maybe it's all part of the plan . . . which I hope is not the case). 

But in defense of the staff on late-game substitutions, it is not clear cut when is the right time to bring in subs - or in what order.  A full line shift like hockey can be pretty disruptive to getting anything going; moreover (and I can say these even from coaching at WAY lower levels), coaches always have a "worst case scenario" in mind before they allow the bench to clear.  That's probably good, even if it means the benches clear a tad later than is likely comfortable to do so.  Up 25 with 5 minutes left is often insurmountable.  But with a good opponent, I can see the hesitancy.  Up 30 with 3 minutes left?  Well, that's more comfortable.  And I do agree that getting Brink minutes is good - if only to build up stamina - as she clearly is a key player on the squad.

Longwinded way of saying while I agree with you in principle, am less certain about the specifics of blaming the staff for the Brink injury.  It was not like she was in when we were up 20 with 30 seconds left.

[teejers1]

I’m not sure you can blame the staff on that one. As a coach, I’d want to get Brink, a freshman, as many minutes as possible especially given that she’s prone to foul trouble. Extended minutes gives her more time to adjust to the college game and stop fouling in the important moments. Injuries happen, whether it’s to Brink or Brown, it’s jarring to see you blame “the staff” for the injury.

We will have to agree to disagree.  IMHO using the same logic it's just as important to get Prechtel more minutes to get her game going again.  And we all know play tends to get sloppy during garbage time.

It's pretty obvious to me that Brink, like Jones, is one of those cornerstone players we need to protect under those kinds of circumstances.

Leaving your top players in with under 5 min to go in a rout is, I daresay, a Geno move.

I'm with you, Q, in principle.  And I'm certainly with you in willingness to criticize coaching moves, which seems like a misdemeanor (at least) in these parts - which I really don't understand.  There is nothing inconsistent about acknowledging that Tara is a great coach whom Stanford is lucky to have AND that she makes mistakes from time to time (I happen to think her handling of Prechtel is one . . . but maybe it's all part of the plan . . . which I hope is not the case). 

But in defense of the staff on late-game substitutions, it is not clear cut when is the right time to bring in subs - or in what order.  A full line shift like hockey can be pretty disruptive to getting anything going; moreover (and I can say these even from coaching at WAY lower levels), coaches always have a "worst case scenario" in mind before they allow the bench to clear.  That's probably good, even if it means the benches clear a tad later than is likely comfortable to do so.  Up 25 with 5 minutes left is often insurmountable.  But with a good opponent, I can see the hesitancy.  Up 30 with 3 minutes left?  Well, that's more comfortable.  And I do agree that getting Brink minutes is good - if only to build up stamina - as she clearly is a key player on the squad.

Longwinded way of saying while I agree with you in principle, am less certain about the specifics of blaming the staff for the Brink injury.  It was not like she was in when we were up 20 with 30 seconds left.