[TheFarm07]

I think both defenders and critics of Lepolo should be even-handed in their praise and criticism of her.

She runs our offense well (needed when our offense becomes disjointed as it did against UC Davis), is a good passer, is a decent defender, is capable of shooting an open 3 and has the willingness to drive.

However, when she is defended, she doesn't have the ability to create her own shot off the bounce and a taller & competent defender can easily negate her drives. She is very reluctant to take midrange jumpers as well.

While I trust her to have the ball when ball security is paramount, she would not be anywhere at the top of the list to be taking the last shot for our team (unless she is wide open for a 3)

---

I agree on all the comments about concerns re Lepolo's contributions, but I also suspect that one reason her playing time is way down is that Kate has her on limited minutes, for injury recovery.

What is the PG situation going to be next year? You’ll have Lepolo back again, Clardy, Ijiwoye as a sophomore, and a new freshman in Swain who’s the top point guard in her class. Swain, Clardy, Ijiwoye all have a higher ceiling than Lepolo IMO. It wouldn’t surprise me if Talana is not a starter next year.

I concur with BillBradley's take on the realistic expectation for this team for this season,
especially after what we witnessed in their first 4 games:
"Ranked 15th to 25th during the season, 4th in the ACC, and a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament..."

I think next season will be the resumption of Stanford's re-emergence back to its dominant norm. 
Incoming elte 5-star recruits PG SWAIN and F SOMFAI are the future stars who will lead the Cardinal,
joining forces with juniors-by-then F AGARA, W OGDEN and SG CLARDY 
as the most likely Top 5 players during the next two seasons ('25-'26 and '26-'27 seasons)

I agree those are realistic expectations for the season. We are certainly nowhere near title contention or even winning the conference this year. Our goal should be to demonstrate consistency and show improvement. Kate has already done a tremendous job with the first recruiting class to sign under her tenure. This hopefully bodes well for the future and can be used to attract elite recruits in the Class of '26 and later on.

If a Woliczko or Abii can be gotten, we can potentially be serious contenders or even among the favorites in the '26-'27 season again.

[TheFarm07]

I think both defenders and critics of Lepolo should be even-handed in their praise and criticism of her.

She runs our offense well (needed when our offense becomes disjointed as it did against UC Davis), is a good passer, is a decent defender, is capable of shooting an open 3 and has the willingness to drive.

However, when she is defended, she doesn't have the ability to create her own shot off the bounce and a taller & competent defender can easily negate her drives. She is very reluctant to take midrange jumpers as well.

While I trust her to have the ball when ball security is paramount, she would not be anywhere at the top of the list to be taking the last shot for our team (unless she is wide open for a 3)

---

I agree on all the comments about concerns re Lepolo's contributions, but I also suspect that one reason her playing time is way down is that Kate has her on limited minutes, for injury recovery.

What is the PG situation going to be next year? You’ll have Lepolo back again, Clardy, Ijiwoye as a sophomore, and a new freshman in Swain who’s the top point guard in her class. Swain, Clardy, Ijiwoye all have a higher ceiling than Lepolo IMO. It wouldn’t surprise me if Talana is not a starter next year.

I concur with BillBradley's take on the realistic expectation for this team for this season,
especially after what we witnessed in their first 4 games:
"Ranked 15th to 25th during the season, 4th in the ACC, and a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament..."

I think next season will be the resumption of Stanford's re-emergence back to its dominant norm. 
Incoming elte 5-star recruits PG SWAIN and F SOMFAI are the future stars who will lead the Cardinal,
joining forces with juniors-by-then F AGARA, W OGDEN and SG CLARDY 
as the most likely Top 5 players during the next two seasons ('25-'26 and '26-'27 seasons)

I agree those are realistic expectations for the season. We are certainly nowhere near title contention or even winning the conference this year. Our goal should be to demonstrate consistency and show improvement. Kate has already done a tremendous job with the first recruiting class to sign under her tenure. This hopefully bodes well for the future and can be used to attract elite recruits in the Class of '26 and later on.

If a Woliczko or Abii can be gotten, we can potentially be serious contenders or even among the favorites in the '26-'27 season again.

[JohnR34231]

UC Davis defense was definitely better than prior opponents. Disappointing to see us struggle against them, even though we have way more talent overall. We looked very formulaic and not very creative. I think the blowouts against WSU and Gonzaga were misleading. WSU is not very good this year. Gonzaga is way down without the Truongs, Maxwell, and Hollingsworth, and they were missing 3 players as well. Those were missed opportunities to "bet the Farm" (get it). 

Our perimeter players are great at catch-and-shoot 3's, but they need to be open. Last night, they weren't as open as the other games. Our guards are still very average at attacking. Lepolo is weak in this area, always has been. Harriel, Heal, and Clardy can get by their initial player, but then they struggle after that. Ogden and Bosgana are the most capable, but still have their moments. No one is really very good at drawing and kicking and we turn it over too much. Where that leaves us is in that same old spot of having to rely on a system to generate shots. We'll be successful against teams with lazy defenses, and there are many. But we will have many nights like the Davis game where it's a struggle. If any of the guards can improve enough to get us through those games, my money would be on Harriel and Ogden. Seems like KP sees it the same way. 

Last note...I know the numbers might not show it, but I'm concerned about our defense. The 3rd quarter against Davis was abysmal. No way should that team drop 26 points against us. We are just so slow at times and we aren't a strong rebounding team. It's been years since we didn't have big strong posts (Cam, Kiki, Fran, Ashten, Lauren, Alanna, etc. etc.) who are relentless on the boards. Agara is the closest we have. I've been so impressed by her, but she isn't like those other posts I listed. When we run into a team with a big strong post or two, it could be ugly.

Don't want to be too much of a Debbie Downer...I actually think it will be a fun year if expectations are in check given the amount of talent we have. Ranked 15th to 25th during the season, 4th in the ACC, and a 6 seed is where my head is at. Of course, always hoping/cheering for better!

If there is any doubt that Gonzaga is down right now, Kal just beat them by 21 points on their home floor last night (breaking a 37-game winning streak there).

[JohnR34231]

UC Davis defense was definitely better than prior opponents. Disappointing to see us struggle against them, even though we have way more talent overall. We looked very formulaic and not very creative. I think the blowouts against WSU and Gonzaga were misleading. WSU is not very good this year. Gonzaga is way down without the Truongs, Maxwell, and Hollingsworth, and they were missing 3 players as well. Those were missed opportunities to "bet the Farm" (get it). 

Our perimeter players are great at catch-and-shoot 3's, but they need to be open. Last night, they weren't as open as the other games. Our guards are still very average at attacking. Lepolo is weak in this area, always has been. Harriel, Heal, and Clardy can get by their initial player, but then they struggle after that. Ogden and Bosgana are the most capable, but still have their moments. No one is really very good at drawing and kicking and we turn it over too much. Where that leaves us is in that same old spot of having to rely on a system to generate shots. We'll be successful against teams with lazy defenses, and there are many. But we will have many nights like the Davis game where it's a struggle. If any of the guards can improve enough to get us through those games, my money would be on Harriel and Ogden. Seems like KP sees it the same way. 

Last note...I know the numbers might not show it, but I'm concerned about our defense. The 3rd quarter against Davis was abysmal. No way should that team drop 26 points against us. We are just so slow at times and we aren't a strong rebounding team. It's been years since we didn't have big strong posts (Cam, Kiki, Fran, Ashten, Lauren, Alanna, etc. etc.) who are relentless on the boards. Agara is the closest we have. I've been so impressed by her, but she isn't like those other posts I listed. When we run into a team with a big strong post or two, it could be ugly.

Don't want to be too much of a Debbie Downer...I actually think it will be a fun year if expectations are in check given the amount of talent we have. Ranked 15th to 25th during the season, 4th in the ACC, and a 6 seed is where my head is at. Of course, always hoping/cheering for better!

If there is any doubt that Gonzaga is down right now, Kal just beat them by 21 points on their home floor last night (breaking a 37-game winning streak there).