Just got back from the game. The chalk talk was interesting, a lot of conversation about the Florida State game. A few tidbits:
1) The team got back Saturday morning and immediately practiced. There was not much time to prepare, and the team needed to rest.
2) Albany was the school where Tara played basketball her freshman year. She transferred to Indiana to be part of a bigger basketball program.
3) While Tara was at Albany, for a few months her roommate was Ros Gold-Onwude's mother.
4) Kate said that Duke and Florida State have some of the best guards in the country, and weathering those storms will help prepare us for what is to come.
5) More than one question about the officiating. Kate had this to say "It is a thankless job. They care about basketball. They are nice people." She also answered a question to the effect that they do scout the refs and let the team know in advance if any refs have particular tendencies.
6) Kate is very pleased with the freshmen, and with Iriafen's improvement. But "there is no substitute for experience." She thinks the freshmen will be fully integrated into the system by the end of the year, but we haven't seen their best, yet. As Kate talked about Iriafen, I could not help but think about the subtext around Betts. Some players need time to develop. Most players.
Now, as for the game, it was nice to have the band and a somewhat festive atmosphere. Albany runs a half court offense by design, unlike FSU, so we weren't going to score 100 points. It just slows the game down. My takeaways from the game:
A) Jump is getting her shot back on track, and her emotion showed when she drained those two treys in a row.
B) Brink was brink, although she missed another free throw. We may just have to settle for 90% instead of perfection.
C) Iriafen is wracking up the fouls, too. Second game with 4 fouls for her.
D) Agara is showing some freshman-itus. 2/9 and some shots she forced up in traffic. But nice to see that toughness inside.
E) Ogden is quietly coming into her own.
F) I continue to raise my hopes about Harriel. I remember a player last year mentioning that Harriel was the best three point shooter on the team. I sort of laughed it off, what with Jump et. al. But perhaps she is. She was 2/3 today and both swished all net. She also had 2 assists and 0 turnovers in 10 minutes.
G) What a gorgeous no-look assist by Papadaki to Ogden with two minutes left. Such a pretty play!
1) The team got back Saturday morning and immediately practiced. There was not much time to prepare, and the team needed to rest.
2) Albany was the school where Tara played basketball her freshman year. She transferred to Indiana to be part of a bigger basketball program.
3) While Tara was at Albany, for a few months her roommate was Ros Gold-Onwude's mother.
4) Kate said that Duke and Florida State have some of the best guards in the country, and weathering those storms will help prepare us for what is to come.
5) More than one question about the officiating. Kate had this to say "It is a thankless job. They care about basketball. They are nice people." She also answered a question to the effect that they do scout the refs and let the team know in advance if any refs have particular tendencies.
6) Kate is very pleased with the freshmen, and with Iriafen's improvement. But "there is no substitute for experience." She thinks the freshmen will be fully integrated into the system by the end of the year, but we haven't seen their best, yet. As Kate talked about Iriafen, I could not help but think about the subtext around Betts. Some players need time to develop. Most players.
Now, as for the game, it was nice to have the band and a somewhat festive atmosphere. Albany runs a half court offense by design, unlike FSU, so we weren't going to score 100 points. It just slows the game down. My takeaways from the game:
A) Jump is getting her shot back on track, and her emotion showed when she drained those two treys in a row.
B) Brink was brink, although she missed another free throw. We may just have to settle for 90% instead of perfection.
C) Iriafen is wracking up the fouls, too. Second game with 4 fouls for her.
D) Agara is showing some freshman-itus. 2/9 and some shots she forced up in traffic. But nice to see that toughness inside.
E) Ogden is quietly coming into her own.
F) I continue to raise my hopes about Harriel. I remember a player last year mentioning that Harriel was the best three point shooter on the team. I sort of laughed it off, what with Jump et. al. But perhaps she is. She was 2/3 today and both swished all net. She also had 2 assists and 0 turnovers in 10 minutes.
G) What a gorgeous no-look assist by Papadaki to Ogden with two minutes left. Such a pretty play!