Wednesday, March 25, 2020

2021 MAY WELL BE THE STANFORD CARDINAL'S YEAR!!

Getting over the cancellation of the NCAA tournament this year has been hard. The PAC12 was primed to win the whole shabang for the first time since Stanford won in 1992. Sabrina was ready to be crowned the MVP, go #1 in the WNBA draft, and continue from there building her legend. 

Now we all need to get over the 2020 March Madness that was stolen from us and move on to the 2020/2021 season. I know it's way too early, but let's indulge ourselves and start thinking about next season. I, for one, have been looking every day for news, or hints, or clues that DiJonai and/or Anna have been granted another year of eligibility. How long will we be left to wonder? They could help our team so much. (Unfortunately last night I googled the Transfer Portal website and saw that DiJonai has entered the portal and will probably bestow her considerable talents on some other team for her final year of eligibility as a grad student - a la Marta Sniezek.)

Cameron Brink and Jana Van Gytenbeek were both recently named McDonald's All American high school seniors. Jana broke the Colorado assist record that had stood for 24 years. Cameron was named the Gatorade player of the year for the second time in the state of Oregon and Jana for this season in Colorado. They both have an impressive work ethic, but time will tell how much they can help the Cardinal in their freshman season. Emma Nnopu, the third member of our freshman class, sounds like a ferocious defensive presence and a highly athletic offensive work-in- progress. 

How much better will our four sophomores be next season? Wow! Fun to think about. Will Hannah develop a ball fake, and a dribble move to a consistent jump shot? Will Fran come back with a right and left-handed jump hook shot? And a consistent mid-range jumper? I think Haley and Ashten will continue to improve and be fully ready for Division One defenses and starting roles.

Will Lacie's offense become as effective as her defense? What new offensive moves will Lexie develop? How much will Jenna improve in this off-season?

And our seniors - Kiana, Maya, Alyssa, and Estella - this could be their year. If they're willing to take up the mantle and lead this team to the top, they could wind up in the Alamodome in San Antonio next April holding up the national championship trophy in Kiana's home town. How sweet would that be?! I'll be there for sure. It's my home town, as well. 

For the heck of it, I've projected a ten player rotation with two players listed for each of the five positions. Let me know with your comments where you feel I'm off base:

Maya Dodson/Fran Belibi          14 points (average)
Kiana Williams/Anna Wilson     18
Haley Jones/Lacie Hull               16
Lexie Hull/Hannah Jump            20
Ashten Prechtel/Alyssa Jerome  14
Average Total Scoring                82 points

Obviously this rotation assumes DiJonai  won't receive another year of eligibility.
Jenna, Cameron, Jana, and Emma would compete for playing time in this rotation.

The following is a link to ESPN's Way Too Early Top 25:      

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/story/_/id/28944536/south-carolina-tops-women-college-basketball-way-too-early-top-25-2020-21


  

Monday, March 2, 2020

ON THE ROAD TO MANDALAY . . .WHERE THE STANFORD CARDINAL PLAY!!! YOU'VE GOT TO BE THERE!!!

The PAC12 Women's Tournament starts on Thursday in the Mandalay Bay Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Stanford will be the Three Seed and we play our first game Friday night at 8:30 PM.
Click on bracket to enlarge
Did you see Fran play down in Tempe yesterday? WOW!! That's what I'm talking about!! It's tournament time people!! I know we've got two starters and twenty points sitting on the bench in street clothes, but you've got to love the realization of our unrecognized potential! Man alive!

We'll run right smack into the Oregon State Beavers, on Friday at 8:30 PM, assuming they beat the 11th seeded Washington State.  Talk about starting off with a bang. Welcome to the PAC12! Our opening game will be against the No #17 team in the nation! Maybe this one will be the Ashten Prechtel show! 

And don't you love our defensive intensity! We're in almost every game because our defense regularly shaves twenty points off the other team's score. I'm predicting we'll hold Slocum and Pivec down to under forty points with another massive effort by the twins and Kiana with help from our bigs near the rim - and after a huge battle, we'll likely move on to play UCLA, the No #9 team in the nation on Saturday. What a conference! 

And after UCLA we get Oregon. It's going to be a blast . . .ON THE ROAD TO MANDALAY!!         

THIS IS A BIG WEEKEND!

  On Friday we get USC and Sunday UCLA.  The Trojans are ranked #15. They brought in five strong players through the Transfer Portal and lan...