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Jump absolutely has earned a starting spot.  Much of our success will depend on how good she can be on defense.  I am reminded a lot of Karlie's last year.  Tara said at the time that Karlie's BBIQ was so high that she became a good defender through anticipation and calculating the angles even though she was not as quick as a classic shut-down defender.  That has to be Jump's model to follow.

I also think that it is unlikely that we will be a great defensive team this year--the hope is we will at least be solid (especially inside and with blocks), but we have the potential to be a superb offensive team.  We may have to win more games simply by outscoring people, giving this year's team a different look than Stanford teams in the past.

Your second (excellent) paragraph reflects on the core issue for this 2022-2023 team.  I tend to subscribe to the theory that defense wins championships and our 2020-2021 championship team led by Kiana and Anna played and defended at the tip of the spear- the perimeter. They were disrupters. I agree that we have the potential to be a superb offensive team, but I'm not sure trying just to outscore the opponent takes us all the way.

There is the potential for us to become defensively sound should Jzaniya, Indya and/or Talana (who all seem to have quickness), become good defenders and play quality minutes.  And then there is Emma, our best perimeter and wing defender.  If her skills on offense have improved (even moderately), then Tara has the luxury of giving her significant minutes and Emma may become part of that defensive spear especially in crunch time.  We all recall when Tara put Emma in, not just during garbage time, but in situations where we needed an athletic 'stopper' against the opponents' top guards and she held her own.

What a fascinating season we may have here.

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Jump absolutely has earned a starting spot.  Much of our success will depend on how good she can be on defense.  I am reminded a lot of Karlie's last year.  Tara said at the time that Karlie's BBIQ was so high that she became a good defender through anticipation and calculating the angles even though she was not as quick as a classic shut-down defender.  That has to be Jump's model to follow.

I also think that it is unlikely that we will be a great defensive team this year--the hope is we will at least be solid (especially inside and with blocks), but we have the potential to be a superb offensive team.  We may have to win more games simply by outscoring people, giving this year's team a different look than Stanford teams in the past.

Your second (excellent) paragraph reflects on the core issue for this 2022-2023 team.  I tend to subscribe to the theory that defense wins championships and our 2020-2021 championship team led by Kiana and Anna played and defended at the tip of the spear- the perimeter. They were disrupters. I agree that we have the potential to be a superb offensive team, but I'm not sure trying just to outscore the opponent takes us all the way.

There is the potential for us to become defensively sound should Jzaniya, Indya and/or Talana (who all seem to have quickness), become good defenders and play quality minutes.  And then there is Emma, our best perimeter and wing defender.  If her skills on offense have improved (even moderately), then Tara has the luxury of giving her significant minutes and Emma may become part of that defensive spear especially in crunch time.  We all recall when Tara put Emma in, not just during garbage time, but in situations where we needed an athletic 'stopper' against the opponents' top guards and she held her own.

What a fascinating season we may have here.