I don't go to games anymore (can't), but I wanted to say that looking at the stats from last season neither the offense nor the defense were up to snuff with the offense being about 3-6 points per game worse than typical for Stanford and the defense a whopping 10-15 points per game worse than usual. The defense was a much bigger problem than the offense last year. Given that defense should be easier to correct if the scheme is good and the players play with sufficient focus and intensity, my hope is that fixing the defense will make a big difference.
There was no reason for the team to be as poor defensively as they were last season. The may have lacked a rim protector once Brink graduated but Stanford has had consistently excellent defenses for decades with all kinds of rosters, and with plenty of players who were not individually fantastic defenders. Fix the defense and you go a long way to a lot more wins. If the defense is not much better this season that is on coaching (sorry, Kate). If Tara could manage very good to excellent defenses year after year, no reason Kate cannot do that same. I heard her mention defense a couple of times in the post-game presser so I assume she is well aware.
There was no reason for the team to be as poor defensively as they were last season. The may have lacked a rim protector once Brink graduated but Stanford has had consistently excellent defenses for decades with all kinds of rosters, and with plenty of players who were not individually fantastic defenders. Fix the defense and you go a long way to a lot more wins. If the defense is not much better this season that is on coaching (sorry, Kate). If Tara could manage very good to excellent defenses year after year, no reason Kate cannot do that same. I heard her mention defense a couple of times in the post-game presser so I assume she is well aware.