[BillBradley]

I think it would be better next year if Stanford started out ranked somewhere between #12 and #20.  This year's expectations were unrealistically high.  That can lead to disappointment by fans if initial expectations don't get met.   I would rather see Stanford overachieve next year and gradually work its way up in the rankings.

I think that is plausible.  We probably won't be expected to win the Pac 12 next year.  Utah gets everyone back.  UCLA's #1 freshman class become sophomores and players like Rice really come into their own.  Who knows what anyone else will look like with the massive flood of transfers, but the odds are that some other team in the league will hit the transfer jackpot in the off season.  Washington will be better next year than the team that beat us this year.  etc. 

To keep expectations reasonable, we probably should try to schedule non conference games that are the same caliber as conference games.  Maybe we should put one of those frenetic defenses on our schedule early on.

I think we'll stay in the Top-10. Likely starting lineup of:
Kiki/Lauren - 5
Cam - 4 (with some movement out to the perimeter please!)
Demetre/Bosgana
Hannah
Lepolo/Nivar

That's a darn good lineup, led by the best player and shooter in the conference. And even though I love Haley and all she's done for the program, with this group it could be addition by subtraction. It's certainly a better perimeter shooting team. Throw in Ogden et al and we'll be 10 deep again.

I agree with your lineup except start Betts ahead of Kiki. 

One difficulty that Tara had this year and made the season so challenging was that she couldn't develop a dependable lineup i.e., we had lots of players deserving PT and who have had that PT on most other teams, but beyond Brink, Jones, and Jump, the other two positions were unsettled. Lepolo did fine for a frosh, but she was neither an experienced player nor the super type of frosh that was able to be a major contributor. 

My hope is that beyond Brink and Jump, three other players really step up to give us a strong starting five where all 5 are weapons. Despite our depth of potential talent, I think Tara should follow th e example of Geno Auriamma by having his best players getting the most time and subbing only as needed; blow outs by us, foul problems, injuries, giving starters a brief rest. I'm not a fan of wholesale substitutions, but rather fit in players off the bench to carry out sertsain roles. 

As for Jump, we really need to figure out ways to see that she gets more scoring opportunities. She needs to get touches much more often. What she does with the touches will be based on what the coaches can set up in terms of an offensive scheme that negates the face guard, blanket D approach this year. But Hannah also has do some effective off season work. I would really like to see her work on her ballhandling, and be good enough to drive past her defender almost at will. If she can penetrate from almost any location, it opens up possible layups, pull up jumpers, or passes to open teammates. That will make her undefendable and give her lots more open 3 pt looks. Yet, we also need to send greater and better penetration from the other guards/wings with Jump moving to open spots for kick outs. 

With the quality of our posts, improved guard/wing play will make our O unstoppable.

For sure, could be Betts instead of Kiki. My "/'s" were meant as it could be "one or the other".  I also think Nivar could start instead of Lepolo.

re: Jump...when surrounded by Kiki, Cam, Haley, and Talana, there wasn't a lot she or others could do to free her up against solid defensive teams. There's just no one else on the perimeter who is a threat, so everyone can focus on her. Plus, she always drew a quick guard from the other team. We need more shooters on the court with her, providing multiple options when the double teams come. Then all of a sudden it's not just "defend Hannah", it's "how do we cover all the shooters when we double inside?". I also think Cam has it in her to be a terrific 3 pt shooter.

Yes, some off-season improvement in dribble penetration would help Hannah's game. She also needs to improve her passing.

I'd also like to see Tara reduce the substitution churn after the preseason and focus in on a ~8 person rotation, but I doubt she ever will. She's always played 11+, even in the most important post-season games.

[BillBradley]

I think it would be better next year if Stanford started out ranked somewhere between #12 and #20.  This year's expectations were unrealistically high.  That can lead to disappointment by fans if initial expectations don't get met.   I would rather see Stanford overachieve next year and gradually work its way up in the rankings.

I think that is plausible.  We probably won't be expected to win the Pac 12 next year.  Utah gets everyone back.  UCLA's #1 freshman class become sophomores and players like Rice really come into their own.  Who knows what anyone else will look like with the massive flood of transfers, but the odds are that some other team in the league will hit the transfer jackpot in the off season.  Washington will be better next year than the team that beat us this year.  etc. 

To keep expectations reasonable, we probably should try to schedule non conference games that are the same caliber as conference games.  Maybe we should put one of those frenetic defenses on our schedule early on.

I think we'll stay in the Top-10. Likely starting lineup of:
Kiki/Lauren - 5
Cam - 4 (with some movement out to the perimeter please!)
Demetre/Bosgana
Hannah
Lepolo/Nivar

That's a darn good lineup, led by the best player and shooter in the conference. And even though I love Haley and all she's done for the program, with this group it could be addition by subtraction. It's certainly a better perimeter shooting team. Throw in Ogden et al and we'll be 10 deep again.

I agree with your lineup except start Betts ahead of Kiki. 

One difficulty that Tara had this year and made the season so challenging was that she couldn't develop a dependable lineup i.e., we had lots of players deserving PT and who have had that PT on most other teams, but beyond Brink, Jones, and Jump, the other two positions were unsettled. Lepolo did fine for a frosh, but she was neither an experienced player nor the super type of frosh that was able to be a major contributor. 

My hope is that beyond Brink and Jump, three other players really step up to give us a strong starting five where all 5 are weapons. Despite our depth of potential talent, I think Tara should follow th e example of Geno Auriamma by having his best players getting the most time and subbing only as needed; blow outs by us, foul problems, injuries, giving starters a brief rest. I'm not a fan of wholesale substitutions, but rather fit in players off the bench to carry out sertsain roles. 

As for Jump, we really need to figure out ways to see that she gets more scoring opportunities. She needs to get touches much more often. What she does with the touches will be based on what the coaches can set up in terms of an offensive scheme that negates the face guard, blanket D approach this year. But Hannah also has do some effective off season work. I would really like to see her work on her ballhandling, and be good enough to drive past her defender almost at will. If she can penetrate from almost any location, it opens up possible layups, pull up jumpers, or passes to open teammates. That will make her undefendable and give her lots more open 3 pt looks. Yet, we also need to send greater and better penetration from the other guards/wings with Jump moving to open spots for kick outs. 

With the quality of our posts, improved guard/wing play will make our O unstoppable.

For sure, could be Betts instead of Kiki. My "/'s" were meant as it could be "one or the other".  I also think Nivar could start instead of Lepolo.

re: Jump...when surrounded by Kiki, Cam, Haley, and Talana, there wasn't a lot she or others could do to free her up against solid defensive teams. There's just no one else on the perimeter who is a threat, so everyone can focus on her. Plus, she always drew a quick guard from the other team. We need more shooters on the court with her, providing multiple options when the double teams come. Then all of a sudden it's not just "defend Hannah", it's "how do we cover all the shooters when we double inside?". I also think Cam has it in her to be a terrific 3 pt shooter.

Yes, some off-season improvement in dribble penetration would help Hannah's game. She also needs to improve her passing.

I'd also like to see Tara reduce the substitution churn after the preseason and focus in on a ~8 person rotation, but I doubt she ever will. She's always played 11+, even in the most important post-season games.