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
I'm no expert but i'll take a stab anyway. I agree Maya/ Fran- Maya is athletic and will be a great defender assuming she is healthy and in shape. She can develop a baby hook to go along with her layups/put backs. Fran's going to dunk it in her sophomore season. She can improve her D just by going straight up and not sweeping down with her arms.
ReplyDeleteIf Haley is back in full force then Kiana with Haley assisting at the point. Kiana is awesome and she needs to keep doing what she did at the latter part of the season. She is tough and SMOOTH. They can compliment each other. Will be interesting to see if Haley develops some 3 ball action as well in her Sophomore season. Jenna will be good back up. Jenna is strong, but needs to work on consistently hitting a few shots.
I think Lexie/ Cameron. Cameron is 6'5" but, as she says, she can pay all 5 positions. She can also help out the bigs. Cameron is slim but seems tough from the videos you all shared. Hannah was discovered this year and it will be harder for her to get loose for open 3's. If she can develop some moves to to create an open shot then she could be a threat.
If Dijonai is back in her previous form she can really help the team with her passion, energy, effort. She is strong, tough and gritty. Good D and knows how to score.
Hoefully Anna will get another year. I think she will be at her peak next year if she get's a chance. She can shoot the three( take a few more shots) and great D.
Ashten/ Alyssa- I'll go with this. Ashten will get stronger, this will help her D on the stouter teasm. She is a superb shooter, especially for her height. She can just keep shooting like she did. I think Alyssa regressed a bit this year. Don't know her well, but it seemed to be maybe some confidence issues. I believe she will rise up again in this her senior season. It will help that she's not doing heavy competition this summer.
I don't know Emma, but I think she will be a good defensive player. The other freshman will get a chance to show their stuff. We don't wish for injuries but you never know what may happen. I'm excited to get started( doing my fan thing)
Regarding the coaches- we still have a great crew. They did an excellent job considering the casualties we had.
I'm with you it would be great to be in the final 4 in Kiana's hometown that would be storybook. Hope to see you there. Terri R.
Thank you Terri. I agree completely and would love to meet you in the Alamodome.
DeleteAllow me to be a Devil's advocate, while cautiously optimistic. Who am I to argue with a Hall of Fame coach, except to say more teams (especially physical teams), figured out the Princeton offense and put extreme pressure on the Cardinal guards, namely because Stanford did not have a strong inside/outside game.
ReplyDeleteMaya and Fran were limited offensively, but for different reasons. Maya must develop a more diverse post game. She was totally un-guarded when she had the ball at the top of the key and hardly ever drove to the hoop or took a mid-range shot. Fran was very undersized when she went against bigger, more physical posts. Would like to see her get the ball on the side and learn how to drive to the basket.
Ashten will certainly get stronger, and will be the difference maker IF she gets minutes and more touches down low, but that means there have to be variations in the Princeton offense.
Now for the positives- If Haley comes back 100% recovered, she will become an offensive nightmare for almost any opponent because she is the one player who can break down a zone defense. Kianna and Lexi will become more consistent. With weight room development in the early Fall, Cameron should get meaningful minutes. Ideally, I see her as a stretch-4 with unlimited potential.
The key to 2020-2021, however, is Ashten and putting a wrinkle in the Princeton offense.
Thank you Stephen. I always appreciate your thoughtful insights. Fran could be a major X factor next season. Right-handed and left-handed jump hooks (like Nneka) and mid-range jumpshots (like Kayla) would make her a terrific weapon. Same with Ashten. And if Maya decided to become an offensive player for her senior season and came back bristling with weapons and confidence - we'd pack the house every game and have thousands of Cardinal fans in San Antonio next April to cheer Tara and her third championship.
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