[BillBradley]

In the mean time, I hope BC and others are right that our reliance on the frosh explains some of our underperformance, coupled with the absence of Nunu and Talana. I did find it notable that Swain and Somfai are the first pair of Stanford freshmen to ever start 30+ games, and that the games they + Eschmeyer started together were only the third season in Stanford history where three freshmen were in the starting lineup. That does suggest a very raw team.

I completely agree that the "youth factor" needs to be taken into consideration when discussing KP's performance. My counterargument though, is that this excuse was already factored in to these expectations:
1) The preseason ACC rankings. Stanford was picked 6th heading into the season, knowing at that time that we would be playing freshman. We weren't picked 2nd or 3rd, we were picked 6th. The 6th place team ended with a record of 12-6. Stanford ended up tied for 11th with a record of 8-10. 
2) All the Vegas lines. Our last game vs. Miami we were 5 point favorites. In fact we were favored in many of the games down the stretch against teams like Miami, Ga Tech, Va Tech, and Va at home. The expert oddsmakers certainly know we played 3 freshmen when they set the opening lines. The lines also took into account injury, travel, home courts, crappy refs, and all the other excuses that are out there. 
3) Probably most of the posts in this thread who have graded Kate's performance poorly. Many of the posts, including mine, were "balanced". I felt like we could be a Top-25 team. Notre Dame, Va Tech, and Syracuse ended up in the 5th-7th positions at 12-6, and Notre Dame is in fact ranked #22. Those were not crazy wishes - they were grounded and took into account that we were a young team. Stanford ended up #44 in the NET.   

Stanford underperformed wayyy below expectations that already included the youth factor, so I personally don't think it's correct to then say "well, KP had to play those 3 frosh a lot, so...."

I also feel like it should be stated that these weren't just any frosh that played on any random team that can be cited. We have to take into account their own talent level and the talent of the others they are playing with (Nunu, Chloe, Courtney). For this team to finish where they did...please.

[BillBradley]

In the mean time, I hope BC and others are right that our reliance on the frosh explains some of our underperformance, coupled with the absence of Nunu and Talana. I did find it notable that Swain and Somfai are the first pair of Stanford freshmen to ever start 30+ games, and that the games they + Eschmeyer started together were only the third season in Stanford history where three freshmen were in the starting lineup. That does suggest a very raw team.

I completely agree that the "youth factor" needs to be taken into consideration when discussing KP's performance. My counterargument though, is that this excuse was already factored in to these expectations:
1) The preseason ACC rankings. Stanford was picked 6th heading into the season, knowing at that time that we would be playing freshman. We weren't picked 2nd or 3rd, we were picked 6th. The 6th place team ended with a record of 12-6. Stanford ended up tied for 11th with a record of 8-10. 
2) All the Vegas lines. Our last game vs. Miami we were 5 point favorites. In fact we were favored in many of the games down the stretch against teams like Miami, Ga Tech, Va Tech, and Va at home. The expert oddsmakers certainly know we played 3 freshmen when they set the opening lines. The lines also took into account injury, travel, home courts, crappy refs, and all the other excuses that are out there. 
3) Probably most of the posts in this thread who have graded Kate's performance poorly. Many of the posts, including mine, were "balanced". I felt like we could be a Top-25 team. Notre Dame, Va Tech, and Syracuse ended up in the 5th-7th positions at 12-6, and Notre Dame is in fact ranked #22. Those were not crazy wishes - they were grounded and took into account that we were a young team. Stanford ended up #44 in the NET.   

Stanford underperformed wayyy below expectations that already included the youth factor, so I personally don't think it's correct to then say "well, KP had to play those 3 frosh a lot, so...."

I also feel like it should be stated that these weren't just any frosh that played on any random team that can be cited. We have to take into account their own talent level and the talent of the others they are playing with (Nunu, Chloe, Courtney). For this team to finish where they did...please.