SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COMING SEASON. LIKE YOU, I'M HAVING A HARD TIME WAITING!!

Looking at the players in the first practice video you can see their total dedication - in their keen vibrancy and lean fitness. They've obviously put in the hundreds of hours of work in the off-season to validate their status this season as title contenders. I remember Jana Van Gytenbeek saying in a letter that she was determined to arrive in Palo Alto in the best physical condition of her life, ready to contribute however she can to the success of this team. Watching the video of their first practice, I saw that level of preparation exhibited all over the floor.      

I was so disappointed to hear that Jenna will miss this season with a knee injury. Had a feeling this was going to be a breakthrough season for her. Hope she makes a complete comeback. We'll need her next season after Kiana moves on. And speaking of complete recoveries, I couldn't be more thrilled to have Haley back - more fit than ever.

Listening to Tara talk about this remarkable player who can play every position, makes me wonder if she'll move Miss Jones to point guard and Kiana to shooting guard? Haley's height, length, strength and vision enable her to get the ball to cutters and post players like no point guard I've seen at Stanford. And moving Kiana to the key shooting guard position makes perfect sense to me. Anyway, it's fun to think about such possibilities.  

Hannah's new level of fitness makes her look inches taller. I barely recognized her in the practice video. Can't wait to see if Lacie's work on her mid-range jumper and three point shot makes her as dangerous on offense as she's always been on defense. Ashten looks stronger, as well - and with Maya's departure, Miss Prechtel's role has likely changed considerably.   

Fran seems like a fearsome jack-in-the-box - ready to blast off at any moment. What is her vertical anyway? I'll never forget her outjumping Sylvia Fowles and getting the tip to start the game against the USA team last season. Not only does this jack-in-the-box have a dangerously compressed spring, she has one of the longest and quickest first steps in collegiate basketball, when she decides to drive from the high post. 

And what about Lexie? You almost tend to take her for granted. By the end of this season, though, the wbb sports writers will finally realize that there is no more complete player in the nation. I predict that she'll make the All Tournament Team in San Antonio among a number of major awards.

Anna's solid maturity and fearlessness will help anchor this young group and she'll contribute importantly at both ends of the floor.

And Kiana. I never got to see Jennifer Azzi play in college, but to my mind Kiana Williams has gifts that defy athletic description and make her the MVP of all the guards I've seen play at Stanford. Besides, she skips back to the huddles with a big grin on her face. One in a thousand players can play this game and never hurry - can hit the crucial basket almost without doubt - and make everything look easy and natural.  

And speaking of Kiana's Alamo City - I had a dream the other night. I know that none of us put much stock in dreams, but in this dream the Final Four ended up, after two weeks of titanic battles and great upsets, being Stanford, Arizona, Oregon, and South Carolina. In the semis, Stanford takes out the Wildcats and South Carolina struggles mightily in overcoming the Ducks. Unfortunately, my dream was interrupted by my iphone alarm during the introduction of players for the National Championship game and I'll have to wait until the first week of April to see how the dream ends.

You never know. Dreams sometimes come true. 

GO CARDINAL!!!  

FALL IS IN THE AIR! FOOTBALL IS HAPPENING! EVEN IN THE PAC12! AND THERE'S A LOT OF DRIBBLING GOING ON IN THE WINGS!!

The Stanford women's basketball coaching staff was recently advised by the NCAA that they could start regular practices on October 14th and their season on November 25th. All of this needs to work within the Santa Clara County Covid19 regulations - so the Stanford Athletic Department is working with them to get their blessing.

But isn't it exciting! Players going through drills and actually playing basketball -- this month!! 

The season is about a month shorter than usual, so the NCAA will allow 23 regular season games and one pre-season tournament with up to four games. They recommend that teams play four non-conference games. In previous seasons we've played a couple of exhibition games, ten or eleven non-conference games, and a pre-season tournament prior to the New Year.  

So you can imagine the flurry of activity as the wbb staff scrambles to arrange a schedule and all the logistics involved in a few weeks - that usually takes several months.  

ESPN's Charlie Creme has revised his pre-season rankings, but still puts Stanford behind the Gamecocks at # 2 in the nation. He wonders how much improvement we'll see from Ashten and Fran, and projects that if they blossom as expected, Stanford will be playing with a full house. The three of a kind would be our guards Kiana, Haley, and Lexie to go along with the above mentioned pair of bigs. 

As mentioned in another space in this FBC website, Maya Dodson has decided not to play this season. She will be missed.

His #3, #4, and #5 have changed. With the addition of DiJonai, Baylor moved up to #3. UConn is #4. And Louisville is #5. Mississippi State, which was #3 before Vic Schaefer moved to Texas, is now #6.

I think if Charlie spent the next month in Tucson he would put Arizona (#8) in the top five. UCLA (#9), Oregon (#10) and Oregon State (#15) would all move up in his rankings if he actually knew how powerful this conference will be this year. In his Bracketology update he increases the PAC12 to seven teams in the tournament for the first time. On the cusp he mentions Colorado as a possible eighth team. I think the Buffs will be tougher than ever this year.

The Final Four is in San Antonio next year - that's Kiana's hometown (and mine.) Wouldn't that be fun - havin it out in the shadow of the Alamo!! I'll be there! How about you?

GO CARDINAL!!