02-05-2023, 04:23 PM
That was one bad loss that will mean no #1 seed. Give credit to UW, who played a great game. They made plenty of tough shots They also executed their offense better down the stretch and played smarter. We lost the game with poor rebounding, too many silly turnovers (trying to pass to a post with three defenders right there, stuff like that), dumb fouls late (both Brink and Demetre swiped at a UW rebounder who had a defensive board secured near our basket when there was no reason to swipe at the ball, which I think put UW on the line and did not make them run a play to score), and overall poor defensive play. UW had better schemes for their personnel than we did in this game.
It was great to see Demetre shoot that well, and it should have been a real positive, but when you blow a game like this, there are no positives. I can't disagree with the thought that Lepolo has hit a ceiling in conference play. She is not able to create offense for others, and yes, not able to get the ball inside as well as we need. Not turning the ball over and passing around the perimeter is not enough from our pg. We don't necessarily need a point guard who is a big scorer, but we do need one who can make the defense shift and create shots for others.
Rebounding was such a low point. We've been so good at that and suddenly so bad the past few games. We often had Jump and Demetre outside and Jones running the point, so Jones was not able to rebound like she can and like we need her to do if we go with the smaller line-up. If she is going to play the point, we need two bigs in there to rebound. I thought Belibi helped when she first came in (we came back from down 10), but not so much late with the line-ups that were out there with her. Did we play much of Brink and Iriafen together?
Where oh where was Bosgana? Seems like a game she could have really helped. She is much more a threat to drive than Jump or Demetre and can shoot outside. She can drive and dish. She makes stuff happen, which we needed late. She is a good defender with those long arms, could have helped there maybe too. Where was Betts? She played well against WSU, did not see the floor. These players can't be happy with how their playing time is doled out.
This sort of loss in early Jan can happen. By February, the team should be on an upswing and not play uninspired, not smart basketball. UW just played. They had more energy and hustle. We kept doubling off them only to see a quick pass to a cutter for a layup.
My overall take is the team is not where they need to be at this point in the season. I understand why Tara is using the bench like she has, trying to fit players in based on match ups and need, but it is not really working that well. Players must be struggling to understand why they play, why they don't, when they will play, etc. Hard to be consistently good when you play zero minutes one game or two minutes and 15 minutes the next. We now have the same problem as last year but worse - the two starting guards barely score and they are also not the defensive monsters we had last season. Kind of the worst of both worlds, if you will. I don't think there is a good answer at this point. How come we could not get the ball inside well enough even with two shooters on the floor at once for much of the game (Jump and Demetre)? That sure should have spaced the floor.
This is a very good team but not a #2 team and maybe not a top 5 team. The pieces just do not fit well enough and I think the coaches are still not really sure what to do with some players. Right now the team is the Jones/Brink show too much. If Jump is only getting off a few shots, do not play her 40 minutes. Get Bosgana out there or Nivar with fresh energy. If we are only playing one post, Jones can't be the 1, so play two posts. Why no high low Brink to Betts or Iriafen? Why not more drives from players like Nivar or Bosgana? This team confused me so much. I like the individual players. I don't think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and I don't think we are getting the maximum from too many players.
If I had to bet I would bet we lose another couple of games before the P-12 tournament. Lesson was not learned at USC, and adjustments were made but did not fix the fundamental problem - nice pieces but a flawed team with a muddled rotation that is not getting enough out of the talent at hand. that's my take and I'm sticking with it. A truly strong Stanford team does not lose to this UW team, even if UW played a whale of a game.
It was great to see Demetre shoot that well, and it should have been a real positive, but when you blow a game like this, there are no positives. I can't disagree with the thought that Lepolo has hit a ceiling in conference play. She is not able to create offense for others, and yes, not able to get the ball inside as well as we need. Not turning the ball over and passing around the perimeter is not enough from our pg. We don't necessarily need a point guard who is a big scorer, but we do need one who can make the defense shift and create shots for others.
Rebounding was such a low point. We've been so good at that and suddenly so bad the past few games. We often had Jump and Demetre outside and Jones running the point, so Jones was not able to rebound like she can and like we need her to do if we go with the smaller line-up. If she is going to play the point, we need two bigs in there to rebound. I thought Belibi helped when she first came in (we came back from down 10), but not so much late with the line-ups that were out there with her. Did we play much of Brink and Iriafen together?
Where oh where was Bosgana? Seems like a game she could have really helped. She is much more a threat to drive than Jump or Demetre and can shoot outside. She can drive and dish. She makes stuff happen, which we needed late. She is a good defender with those long arms, could have helped there maybe too. Where was Betts? She played well against WSU, did not see the floor. These players can't be happy with how their playing time is doled out.
This sort of loss in early Jan can happen. By February, the team should be on an upswing and not play uninspired, not smart basketball. UW just played. They had more energy and hustle. We kept doubling off them only to see a quick pass to a cutter for a layup.
My overall take is the team is not where they need to be at this point in the season. I understand why Tara is using the bench like she has, trying to fit players in based on match ups and need, but it is not really working that well. Players must be struggling to understand why they play, why they don't, when they will play, etc. Hard to be consistently good when you play zero minutes one game or two minutes and 15 minutes the next. We now have the same problem as last year but worse - the two starting guards barely score and they are also not the defensive monsters we had last season. Kind of the worst of both worlds, if you will. I don't think there is a good answer at this point. How come we could not get the ball inside well enough even with two shooters on the floor at once for much of the game (Jump and Demetre)? That sure should have spaced the floor.
This is a very good team but not a #2 team and maybe not a top 5 team. The pieces just do not fit well enough and I think the coaches are still not really sure what to do with some players. Right now the team is the Jones/Brink show too much. If Jump is only getting off a few shots, do not play her 40 minutes. Get Bosgana out there or Nivar with fresh energy. If we are only playing one post, Jones can't be the 1, so play two posts. Why no high low Brink to Betts or Iriafen? Why not more drives from players like Nivar or Bosgana? This team confused me so much. I like the individual players. I don't think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts and I don't think we are getting the maximum from too many players.
If I had to bet I would bet we lose another couple of games before the P-12 tournament. Lesson was not learned at USC, and adjustments were made but did not fix the fundamental problem - nice pieces but a flawed team with a muddled rotation that is not getting enough out of the talent at hand. that's my take and I'm sticking with it. A truly strong Stanford team does not lose to this UW team, even if UW played a whale of a game.