[81alum]

Each summer, Tara reviews the team and the year ahead.  Last year, you may recall, she was very optimistic--but we got the first hints that all was not perfect when the Italy trip resulted in more losses than usual.  This year, this is what she says:

https://247sports.com/college/stanford/A...119404015/

She is not as optimistic as she was a year ago--probably because she got burned.  Looking back, the stats reflect a very mediocre season by our usual standards, with three point shooting, free throws, and defense all falling way off compared with the prior years.  Tara is clearly still irked by our poor performance against Louisville.  She is sending a message to the players that

“What I see with our team right now, is we have 15 players. You can only play five at a time. So someone is going to figure out ‘I want to be out there and I’m going to work extra hard in the summer and figure out."

One would think that Smith, Carrington, and Williams will get a lot of time.  But who else?  I somewhat doubt that seniors Romano, Sniezek, and Coffee or junior Fingall are going to surprise us with their summer improvement.  But any of Anna Wilson, Maya Dodson, Alyssa Jerome or Estella Moschkau could come back different players than we have seen before.  With Anna's injuries, she and the rest were basically freshmen last year and Tara has always noted that the biggest improvements come between sophomore and freshmen years.  The season, frankly, may depend a great deal on how far Maya Dodson comes.  She has such impressive talent but was so raw last year.

Then the incoming freshmen could compete--the Hulls and Jenna Brown have a lot of experience.  Williams played her way into a starting role last year, and I could see the same for Lexie and/or Jenna. 

No hints in that article, however, about what kind of offense we will run, or if there will be any changes.  Frankly, we suffered a decline in both offense and defense last year, so there is a lot to work on.  That and shooting free throws.

[81alum]

Each summer, Tara reviews the team and the year ahead.  Last year, you may recall, she was very optimistic--but we got the first hints that all was not perfect when the Italy trip resulted in more losses than usual.  This year, this is what she says:

https://247sports.com/college/stanford/A...119404015/

She is not as optimistic as she was a year ago--probably because she got burned.  Looking back, the stats reflect a very mediocre season by our usual standards, with three point shooting, free throws, and defense all falling way off compared with the prior years.  Tara is clearly still irked by our poor performance against Louisville.  She is sending a message to the players that

“What I see with our team right now, is we have 15 players. You can only play five at a time. So someone is going to figure out ‘I want to be out there and I’m going to work extra hard in the summer and figure out."

One would think that Smith, Carrington, and Williams will get a lot of time.  But who else?  I somewhat doubt that seniors Romano, Sniezek, and Coffee or junior Fingall are going to surprise us with their summer improvement.  But any of Anna Wilson, Maya Dodson, Alyssa Jerome or Estella Moschkau could come back different players than we have seen before.  With Anna's injuries, she and the rest were basically freshmen last year and Tara has always noted that the biggest improvements come between sophomore and freshmen years.  The season, frankly, may depend a great deal on how far Maya Dodson comes.  She has such impressive talent but was so raw last year.

Then the incoming freshmen could compete--the Hulls and Jenna Brown have a lot of experience.  Williams played her way into a starting role last year, and I could see the same for Lexie and/or Jenna. 

No hints in that article, however, about what kind of offense we will run, or if there will be any changes.  Frankly, we suffered a decline in both offense and defense last year, so there is a lot to work on.  That and shooting free throws.

[BobK]

Most pleasant surprises thus far Brown and Jerome.  
Great interview with Dodson also on the bootleg

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Even better interview with Smith

[BobK]

Most pleasant surprises thus far Brown and Jerome.  
Great interview with Dodson also on the bootleg

---

Even better interview with Smith

[CompSci87]

Most pleasant surprises thus far Brown and Jerome.  
Great interview with Dodson also on the bootleg

---

Even better interview with Smith

I found the Smith interview on 247sports; it's free: https://247sports.com/college/stanford/A...-119416864

Not sure where the Dodson article is. If it's not behind the paywall, can someone post a link? (Just a personal choice, but $10/month for what the Bootleg currently offers doesn't seem worthwhile to me. Not that it's really a ton of money. I was also put off by the tactic borrowed from the old AOL: you can only cancel by telephone.)

There's also a free Tara and Dodson story on Rivals. It has some of the same quotes as the 247sports story that 81alum linked:

https://stanford.rivals.com/news/q-a-wit...aya-dodson

[CompSci87]

Most pleasant surprises thus far Brown and Jerome.  
Great interview with Dodson also on the bootleg

---

Even better interview with Smith

I found the Smith interview on 247sports; it's free: https://247sports.com/college/stanford/A...-119416864

Not sure where the Dodson article is. If it's not behind the paywall, can someone post a link? (Just a personal choice, but $10/month for what the Bootleg currently offers doesn't seem worthwhile to me. Not that it's really a ton of money. I was also put off by the tactic borrowed from the old AOL: you can only cancel by telephone.)

There's also a free Tara and Dodson story on Rivals. It has some of the same quotes as the 247sports story that 81alum linked:

https://stanford.rivals.com/news/q-a-wit...aya-dodson

[BosCard]

Good to hear about Jerome's improvement.  For those who have seen practices, is she playing the 3 or 4?  On the Canadian national team she seemed to be more of a wing player and so improvement as a wing for the Cardinal would probably mean improved ball handling to drive and improved 3 point shooting.  If she is playing the 4, then improvement would be more like an improved jumper from the high post and improved rebounding (something this team definitely needs).

[BosCard]

Good to hear about Jerome's improvement.  For those who have seen practices, is she playing the 3 or 4?  On the Canadian national team she seemed to be more of a wing player and so improvement as a wing for the Cardinal would probably mean improved ball handling to drive and improved 3 point shooting.  If she is playing the 4, then improvement would be more like an improved jumper from the high post and improved rebounding (something this team definitely needs).

[Jskass]

Good to hear about Jerome's improvement.  For those who have seen practices, is she playing the 3 or 4?  On the Canadian national team she seemed to be more of a wing player and so improvement as a wing for the Cardinal would probably mean improved ball handling to drive and improved 3 point shooting.  If she is playing the 4, then improvement would be more like an improved jumper from the high post and improved rebounding (something this team definitely needs).

Article says the 4.

[Jskass]

Good to hear about Jerome's improvement.  For those who have seen practices, is she playing the 3 or 4?  On the Canadian national team she seemed to be more of a wing player and so improvement as a wing for the Cardinal would probably mean improved ball handling to drive and improved 3 point shooting.  If she is playing the 4, then improvement would be more like an improved jumper from the high post and improved rebounding (something this team definitely needs).

Article says the 4.

[81alum]

Good to hear about Jerome's improvement.  For those who have seen practices, is she playing the 3 or 4?  On the Canadian national team she seemed to be more of a wing player and so improvement as a wing for the Cardinal would probably mean improved ball handling to drive and improved 3 point shooting.  If she is playing the 4, then improvement would be more like an improved jumper from the high post and improved rebounding (something this team definitely needs).

Article says the 4.

It says they are trying her out more at the 4, but that doesn't mean she won't also compete at the three.   At the three she will be up against Lexie or a third guard setup.  At the 4 she will be in competition with Fingall and Dodson for the 4.  Tara repeatedly said last year that she needs to get more time for Jerome.  This may be a sign that Tara is more confident in the 3 position than the 4 position. 

She also remarks that she wants Alanna shooting from outside more and guarding guards.    If she is shooting from outside, who will be our offensive rebounder-in-chief?  Dodson was our least productive rebounder from among the bigs last year, and our overall rebounding was not good.  With Kaylee gone we need vastly improved rebounding from Dodson. The good news: while Dodson was not very good at defensive rebounding, she was actually quite good with offensive rebounds last year.

[81alum]

Good to hear about Jerome's improvement.  For those who have seen practices, is she playing the 3 or 4?  On the Canadian national team she seemed to be more of a wing player and so improvement as a wing for the Cardinal would probably mean improved ball handling to drive and improved 3 point shooting.  If she is playing the 4, then improvement would be more like an improved jumper from the high post and improved rebounding (something this team definitely needs).

Article says the 4.

It says they are trying her out more at the 4, but that doesn't mean she won't also compete at the three.   At the three she will be up against Lexie or a third guard setup.  At the 4 she will be in competition with Fingall and Dodson for the 4.  Tara repeatedly said last year that she needs to get more time for Jerome.  This may be a sign that Tara is more confident in the 3 position than the 4 position. 

She also remarks that she wants Alanna shooting from outside more and guarding guards.    If she is shooting from outside, who will be our offensive rebounder-in-chief?  Dodson was our least productive rebounder from among the bigs last year, and our overall rebounding was not good.  With Kaylee gone we need vastly improved rebounding from Dodson. The good news: while Dodson was not very good at defensive rebounding, she was actually quite good with offensive rebounds last year.

[BobK]

After reading all the stories and yes some behind a paywall and talking to those who interview:
Dodson and Fingall at the 5 
Smith and Jerome at the 4 

Still a long ways until game one and this has been week one of the summer so we shall see

[BobK]

After reading all the stories and yes some behind a paywall and talking to those who interview:
Dodson and Fingall at the 5 
Smith and Jerome at the 4 

Still a long ways until game one and this has been week one of the summer so we shall see

[81alum]

After reading all the stories and yes some behind a paywall and talking to those who interview:
Dodson and Fingall at the 5 
Smith and Jerome at the 4 

Still a long ways until game one and this has been week one of the summer so we shall see

That makes sense.  Jerome subbed in for Smith when Smith got in foul trouble last year.  Smith's long range shot began to heat up at the end of the season.  Tara says she wants Alanna shooting more from outside.  And Dodson says she is working on her moves around the basket.  All of those pieces fit the puzzle. 

So much depends on Dodson.  On offense, can she develop some touch and score inside, especially off of offensive rebounds?  Can she learn to box out on the defensive end and secure rebounds--a weakness last year?

For the three, a lot depends on the defensive ability of the Hulls.  On offense, Lexie could probably start at the 3 now.  Is there a better alternative?  Do we play Carrington at the 3?

I see Williams handling the 2 guard slot more than point guard, so on offense she can concentrate more on her shooting.  Brown apparently is already a capable point guard and then there is Sniezek.

Guessing who will win the competitions over the summer is hazardous.  Either of these seems plausible, and I confess that someone like Moschkau could come out of nowhere and be the next Karlie.  She is more of a guard than a wing, one of the assistant coaches told us last year, so does she compete for the 3 or the 2?  I also don't quite know what to expect of Lacie yet.  I'm assuming Lexie competes for the 3.

5 Dodson/Fingall
4 Smith/Jerome
3 Hull/Carrington or Carrington/Hull
2 Williams/Wilson
1 Brown/Sniezek

That is really young, with only 5 prior years of college experience between the 5 starters.  I bet early in the season we will see:


5 Fingall/Dodson
4 Smith/Jerome
3 Carrington/Hull
2 Williams/Wilson
1 Sniezek/Brown

That will have 11 seasons of prior experience between the starting 5.

It does look like the 5 and 4 are simpler given what we know, but the 1-2-3 have many possibilities and are deeply affected by how quickly the frosh develop.

[81alum]

After reading all the stories and yes some behind a paywall and talking to those who interview:
Dodson and Fingall at the 5 
Smith and Jerome at the 4 

Still a long ways until game one and this has been week one of the summer so we shall see

That makes sense.  Jerome subbed in for Smith when Smith got in foul trouble last year.  Smith's long range shot began to heat up at the end of the season.  Tara says she wants Alanna shooting more from outside.  And Dodson says she is working on her moves around the basket.  All of those pieces fit the puzzle. 

So much depends on Dodson.  On offense, can she develop some touch and score inside, especially off of offensive rebounds?  Can she learn to box out on the defensive end and secure rebounds--a weakness last year?

For the three, a lot depends on the defensive ability of the Hulls.  On offense, Lexie could probably start at the 3 now.  Is there a better alternative?  Do we play Carrington at the 3?

I see Williams handling the 2 guard slot more than point guard, so on offense she can concentrate more on her shooting.  Brown apparently is already a capable point guard and then there is Sniezek.

Guessing who will win the competitions over the summer is hazardous.  Either of these seems plausible, and I confess that someone like Moschkau could come out of nowhere and be the next Karlie.  She is more of a guard than a wing, one of the assistant coaches told us last year, so does she compete for the 3 or the 2?  I also don't quite know what to expect of Lacie yet.  I'm assuming Lexie competes for the 3.

5 Dodson/Fingall
4 Smith/Jerome
3 Hull/Carrington or Carrington/Hull
2 Williams/Wilson
1 Brown/Sniezek

That is really young, with only 5 prior years of college experience between the 5 starters.  I bet early in the season we will see:


5 Fingall/Dodson
4 Smith/Jerome
3 Carrington/Hull
2 Williams/Wilson
1 Sniezek/Brown

That will have 11 seasons of prior experience between the starting 5.

It does look like the 5 and 4 are simpler given what we know, but the 1-2-3 have many possibilities and are deeply affected by how quickly the frosh develop.

[BobK]

I think your 2nd and last line up has far more chance than your first.    We would all love for a healthy Wilson who plays like the Ohio State game with 7 threes.  And her HS play which resulted in being a McD.

[BobK]

I think your 2nd and last line up has far more chance than your first.    We would all love for a healthy Wilson who plays like the Ohio State game with 7 threes.  And her HS play which resulted in being a McD.