[cardfan1996]

[quote="cardfan1996" pid='388965' dateline='1682368245']
Gottlieb is putting in the work to cut the rebuild of USC into a few years vs 5-10 years. If she lands Morrow, they are a Final Four team IMO

Wow, a Final Four team? Seems like a big stretch. Awful lot to ask of their freshmen.

It’s all speculation but I am very high on Morrow, specifically her ability to foul out your front court players. She was undersized and not even the UConn defense targeting her could stop her. She will be surrounded by 5* talent at USC. USC had all the defense in the world. They simply lacked offense and they just added Forbes, Padilla and Juju and others. Two experienced guards so not just throwing Juju who is a singular talent into the deep end of the ocean. If Morrow joins that front court, who do you double?

---

Getting a grad transfer from the Ivy League was probably our last best hope, but since that didn't happen we have to look forward.

I don't see Papadaki or Green contributing much in 2023-2024.  Harriel's status is a mystery to me.  Lepolo remains at point guard.  Has she worked on her offensive game?  We have no idea whether Fr. Chloe Claridy can be effective at the college level.  Perhaps, but I see Tara bringing her along slowly.  I think there is one player (depending on how she has improved in the off-season), who can have a real impact on the team and that is 6'2 Bosgana.  I've always liked her game.  She can drive, she's physical, she can shoot and defend.  The problem last season was inconsistent playing time.  I think Tara starts her as our shooting guard.

Jump, of course, starts at the wing, but I'm hoping 6'1 Fr. Courtney Ogden makes an immediate impact and forces Tara to play her more both at wing and forward.  Ogden may become that additional scorer we so desperately need and might force teams not to crowd the paint and double team Brink. 6'2 Fr. Nunu Agara is physical, but I think she might be more of a 'project' - coming off the bench for short minutes or playing in garbage time.

Demetre was very inconsistent last season (13.5 minutes/game and 3.9 points/game).  She had 3 games of 13, 17. and 15 points, but 10 games scoring 0 points.  She is a decent defender, but not much of a rebounder (1.7/game). She'll come off the bench and conceivably Ogden can leapfrog over her in terms of minutes.

That leaves Iriafen and Brink, both of whom will start.  I see 6'3 Iriafen expanding her game into more mid-range jumpers, which she has always been capable of doing.  Her 12.1 minutes/game will go up as will her scoring (6.7/game) and rebounding (3.8/game).  Iriafen will be a stud.
Then there's 6'5 Brink (yes, 6'5.  I heard seveeral PAC-12 and ESPN announcers comment on her height; no way she's 6'4, and I saw her stand next to Prechtel and she was at least as tall as Ashten.  In any event, we will have the pleasure of watching this elite player, consensus All-American, national defensive player of the year) in her final season.  If she continues to reduce her vulnerability to fouling, we will be in for a treat.  Brink will put the team on her back which I think will be good enough for 22 wins and finish in the top 4 of the PAC-12.  I see her averaging over 20 points a game, 11 rebounds/game and lead the country in blocks.  We will not see the likes of her in a Cardinal uniform for some time.

If we're going to go beyond that (host and win the 1st. two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and reach the Sweet 16), Brink and Iriafen need a decent freshman post to back them up.  I've given up hope on the portal, so the only other avenue I see is Tara recruiting a big from overseas.  

Is there any decent post left?  Is this in Tara's plans?  Or, are we stuck with the roster we have?  Very anxious!

Maybe Stanford can cobble something together but if Lepolo is your point guard, she has limited ability to improve in a matter of months in the ways she needs to IMO which means so does your team. The point guard position is the single most important position in the NCAA tournament. Go back the last 10 years or more, the only point guard in recent memory that led her team to a championship that may qualify as a “non-shooter” was the guard (now WNBA player) on that 2017 S.Carolina, and Lepolo is obviously far less skilled than her. We cannot collectively go through another season of Lepolo’s defender in Cam’s and Kiki’s lap. I should say as competitive as we all know Cam to be, Cam will get frustrated very quickly, and well, you will need a strong locker room to keep your kids together. You have to hope there is someone better coming in (freshies) or sitting over there on the bench idle (Bosgana). And that your coaches will recognize something or someone is not working. They weren’t able to do that this season. I need to be convinced that they learned from this disaster year because their “idea” of what a point guard should be needs updating.

[cardfan1996]

[quote="cardfan1996" pid='388965' dateline='1682368245']
Gottlieb is putting in the work to cut the rebuild of USC into a few years vs 5-10 years. If she lands Morrow, they are a Final Four team IMO

Wow, a Final Four team? Seems like a big stretch. Awful lot to ask of their freshmen.

It’s all speculation but I am very high on Morrow, specifically her ability to foul out your front court players. She was undersized and not even the UConn defense targeting her could stop her. She will be surrounded by 5* talent at USC. USC had all the defense in the world. They simply lacked offense and they just added Forbes, Padilla and Juju and others. Two experienced guards so not just throwing Juju who is a singular talent into the deep end of the ocean. If Morrow joins that front court, who do you double?

---

Getting a grad transfer from the Ivy League was probably our last best hope, but since that didn't happen we have to look forward.

I don't see Papadaki or Green contributing much in 2023-2024.  Harriel's status is a mystery to me.  Lepolo remains at point guard.  Has she worked on her offensive game?  We have no idea whether Fr. Chloe Claridy can be effective at the college level.  Perhaps, but I see Tara bringing her along slowly.  I think there is one player (depending on how she has improved in the off-season), who can have a real impact on the team and that is 6'2 Bosgana.  I've always liked her game.  She can drive, she's physical, she can shoot and defend.  The problem last season was inconsistent playing time.  I think Tara starts her as our shooting guard.

Jump, of course, starts at the wing, but I'm hoping 6'1 Fr. Courtney Ogden makes an immediate impact and forces Tara to play her more both at wing and forward.  Ogden may become that additional scorer we so desperately need and might force teams not to crowd the paint and double team Brink. 6'2 Fr. Nunu Agara is physical, but I think she might be more of a 'project' - coming off the bench for short minutes or playing in garbage time.

Demetre was very inconsistent last season (13.5 minutes/game and 3.9 points/game).  She had 3 games of 13, 17. and 15 points, but 10 games scoring 0 points.  She is a decent defender, but not much of a rebounder (1.7/game). She'll come off the bench and conceivably Ogden can leapfrog over her in terms of minutes.

That leaves Iriafen and Brink, both of whom will start.  I see 6'3 Iriafen expanding her game into more mid-range jumpers, which she has always been capable of doing.  Her 12.1 minutes/game will go up as will her scoring (6.7/game) and rebounding (3.8/game).  Iriafen will be a stud.
Then there's 6'5 Brink (yes, 6'5.  I heard seveeral PAC-12 and ESPN announcers comment on her height; no way she's 6'4, and I saw her stand next to Prechtel and she was at least as tall as Ashten.  In any event, we will have the pleasure of watching this elite player, consensus All-American, national defensive player of the year) in her final season.  If she continues to reduce her vulnerability to fouling, we will be in for a treat.  Brink will put the team on her back which I think will be good enough for 22 wins and finish in the top 4 of the PAC-12.  I see her averaging over 20 points a game, 11 rebounds/game and lead the country in blocks.  We will not see the likes of her in a Cardinal uniform for some time.

If we're going to go beyond that (host and win the 1st. two rounds of the NCAA Tournament and reach the Sweet 16), Brink and Iriafen need a decent freshman post to back them up.  I've given up hope on the portal, so the only other avenue I see is Tara recruiting a big from overseas.  

Is there any decent post left?  Is this in Tara's plans?  Or, are we stuck with the roster we have?  Very anxious!

Maybe Stanford can cobble something together but if Lepolo is your point guard, she has limited ability to improve in a matter of months in the ways she needs to IMO which means so does your team. The point guard position is the single most important position in the NCAA tournament. Go back the last 10 years or more, the only point guard in recent memory that led her team to a championship that may qualify as a “non-shooter” was the guard (now WNBA player) on that 2017 S.Carolina, and Lepolo is obviously far less skilled than her. We cannot collectively go through another season of Lepolo’s defender in Cam’s and Kiki’s lap. I should say as competitive as we all know Cam to be, Cam will get frustrated very quickly, and well, you will need a strong locker room to keep your kids together. You have to hope there is someone better coming in (freshies) or sitting over there on the bench idle (Bosgana). And that your coaches will recognize something or someone is not working. They weren’t able to do that this season. I need to be convinced that they learned from this disaster year because their “idea” of what a point guard should be needs updating.