[pefloresjr]

Well at least the homerism is back in action. The idea that either of these pickups is better than Somfai is pretty funny, but I understand the value of motivated reasoning on a fan board. To the extent MAS seems worse than de Vries, one might ask why MAS was more successful on an equivalent stage to Stanford (the Big Ten) as a freshman than she was two years later as a junior with us. I suspect the honest answer is lack of player development and X's and O's. Will be very interesting to see how the half of last year's team that fled develops next year compared to our lot. If they aren't announcing any changes to the coaching roster, there is no rational reason to think things are going to be different next season.

I only saw a few games on TV but IMHO, MAS consistently seemed a half step too slow on both O and D. I’m not sure how much of a difference player development would have made in her case.

perhaps you didn't watch the wbit quinnipiac game? to my eyes it was the only game in which kate gave mas the green light to drive, and the results were eye-opening: 10 points on 100% shooting and 9 rebounds in 16 minutes play. suddenly she wasn't hesitant (slow) at all. i suspect the coaches had shackles on mas for her tenure at stanford. one of several problems with having a coaching staff of mostly ex-stanford players might be, do the coaches have experience with any style of play other than tara-light?
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Sorry, but that doesn't match the reality I saw through the season.  MAS had plenty of chances to drive in other games but wasn't able to successfully finish the plays when she did.  I see no evidence that Coach Paye is responsible by putting shackles on her in other games.  What is more likely is that MAS, like the team, played much better against weaker competition but wasn't able to do so against higher level teams with more athletic players.  I'm not saying the coaching doesn't have plenty of issues, but attributing every single issue to coaching, as opposed to many other considerations, like skill and athleticism, just doesn't add up.  

Cheers,
Pete F.

[pefloresjr]

Well at least the homerism is back in action. The idea that either of these pickups is better than Somfai is pretty funny, but I understand the value of motivated reasoning on a fan board. To the extent MAS seems worse than de Vries, one might ask why MAS was more successful on an equivalent stage to Stanford (the Big Ten) as a freshman than she was two years later as a junior with us. I suspect the honest answer is lack of player development and X's and O's. Will be very interesting to see how the half of last year's team that fled develops next year compared to our lot. If they aren't announcing any changes to the coaching roster, there is no rational reason to think things are going to be different next season.

I only saw a few games on TV but IMHO, MAS consistently seemed a half step too slow on both O and D. I’m not sure how much of a difference player development would have made in her case.

perhaps you didn't watch the wbit quinnipiac game? to my eyes it was the only game in which kate gave mas the green light to drive, and the results were eye-opening: 10 points on 100% shooting and 9 rebounds in 16 minutes play. suddenly she wasn't hesitant (slow) at all. i suspect the coaches had shackles on mas for her tenure at stanford. one of several problems with having a coaching staff of mostly ex-stanford players might be, do the coaches have experience with any style of play other than tara-light?
-

Sorry, but that doesn't match the reality I saw through the season.  MAS had plenty of chances to drive in other games but wasn't able to successfully finish the plays when she did.  I see no evidence that Coach Paye is responsible by putting shackles on her in other games.  What is more likely is that MAS, like the team, played much better against weaker competition but wasn't able to do so against higher level teams with more athletic players.  I'm not saying the coaching doesn't have plenty of issues, but attributing every single issue to coaching, as opposed to many other considerations, like skill and athleticism, just doesn't add up.  

Cheers,
Pete F.