[MV72018]

The freshmen (assuming they come back) will have had a year to develop.  I think at least some of what looked like bad coaching was simply freshmen inexperience.  I hope they will be back next year to test the hypothesis.

BC

You probably noticed that Duke men's basketball is a good bet to win the NCAA championship. Their starting lineup has 3 freshman. Besides their obvious talent, having watched them crush Stanford at Maples, I can say that the way they played, on both O and D, reflected having learned a heck of a lot, e.g., about cutting on O and switching on D, from the Duke coaching staff. Presumably you're not claiming that your hypothesis holds only for women's teams. Great coaching makes a big difference for frosh of both genders.

[MV72018]

The freshmen (assuming they come back) will have had a year to develop.  I think at least some of what looked like bad coaching was simply freshmen inexperience.  I hope they will be back next year to test the hypothesis.

BC

You probably noticed that Duke men's basketball is a good bet to win the NCAA championship. Their starting lineup has 3 freshman. Besides their obvious talent, having watched them crush Stanford at Maples, I can say that the way they played, on both O and D, reflected having learned a heck of a lot, e.g., about cutting on O and switching on D, from the Duke coaching staff. Presumably you're not claiming that your hypothesis holds only for women's teams. Great coaching makes a big difference for frosh of both genders.