A PREVIEW OF THE PAC12 TEAMS THAT WILL CHALLENGE THE CARDINAL - STARTING WITH THE OREGON DUCKS

The Ducks are coming and going like crazy. I really don't know what's going on in Eugene. I think of Kelly Graves as one of the best coaches in the country, and he seems like a great guy, as well. So what's up? Taylor Mikesell left and went to Ohio State. Taylor Chavez left for Arizona. Jaz Shelley went to Nebraska. Angela Dugalic left for UCLA. 

Must be a playing time problem. Angela and the others must figure they'll get more playing time for the Bruins. Etc. Etc.

I was stunned by Oregon's poor play against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. After good games against South Dakota and Georgia they played a total clunker against the Louisville Cardinals and ended up losing by 18. They scored 14 points in the first half! Dana Evans (Louisville's All American guard) had more than that by herself.    

So, what about Oregon's next season?

First off, they get their excellent point guard back. Te-Hina Paopao will play for the USA Under 19 team this summer in Hungary after recovering from a knee injury that kept her out most of last season. She was named to the All PAC12 team as a freshman. And next year she'll make a huge difference and emerge as a star player in our conference.

Sedona Prince will play for the USA AmeriCup Team this summer in Puerto Rico and will return a better player from the experience. She'll anchor the Ducks in the paint as one of the nation's best go-to post players next season. 

Nyara Sabally will play in Germany this summer and come back to Eugene ready to play some inspired basketball for the Ducks.

Chanaya Pinto has enrolled at Oregon after graduating from Northwest Florida State College where she was a starter for two years, including the 2021 National Junior College Champions. She was second team Juco All American and will help the Ducks.

Endiya Rogers, an All-PAC12 player, has decided to transfer as a junior from USC to Oregon. She'll make a huge difference. 

Shannon Dufficy is a 6'-2" forward grad transfer from Missou.

Taylor Hosendove is a 6'-1" guard grad transfer from Georgia State.

Ahlise Hurst is a 5'-9" guard grad transfer from New Mexico. 

Phillipina Kyei is a 6'-8" incoming freshman recruit from Calgary, Alberta Canada. She's originally from Gyana and just started playing basketball three years ago. We'll see what she can do for the Ducks.

Taylor Bigby is a 6'-1" freshman recruit from Las Vegas.  

The returning sophomores:

Kylee Watson 6'-4" Forward

Maddie Scherr 5'-11" Guard

Sydney Parrish 6'-2" Guard

Those that read this blog know that I've predicted that Oregon would have a great year and end up losing to Stanford in the National Championship game next April. That was before I knew that four of their better players were transferring. Are there strong players in the Portal planning to join up? At this point I'm left in a quandary - wondering if the Ducks can get their "quact" together. I think this starting lineup will give anyone a hell of a contest next season:

Te-Hina Paopao 5'-9" Point Guard

Endiya Rogers 5'-7" Shooting Guard

Sydney Parrish 6'-2" Guard

Nyara Sabally 6'-5" Forward

Sedona Prince 6'-7" Center  

 

NEWS FLASH!!

 WHAT FANTASTIC NEWS!!

Anna and Alyssa are coming back!! Both are taking advantage of the NCAA's decision to offer seniors an additional year of eligibility, because of the messed up Covid season they just went through. 

If you were listening during the 2020/2021 season, the Stanford coaches and players were continually commenting about how much help, support, and leadership Alyssa Jerome gave the younger players every day. 

After winning the MVP award for the Tournament, the first thing Haley told the interviewer was how Alyssa put her arm around her before the fourth quarter of the championship game and told her, "This is your time. You can be the MVP. Go out there and win it."

Alyssa dispensed so much selfless maturity and wisdom from the first practice in October to the last quarter in San Antonio, it's impossible to overestimate her benefit to the team next season. Our four new freshmen will have our favorite Canadian there like a coach/player/friend who knows the ropes and wants to help you - and you're eighteen and can use a lot of help.

And Anna. Number 3 is quiet and quick - reticent to shoot and she "loves to play defense." And Oh, I left out tough and determined - great handle, almost no turnovers, terrific passer, surprising rebounder, and when she does shoot, she scores. It's impossible to put a value on Anna Wilson. She's invaluable. Add her to any practice and the defensive intensity increases automatically.  

Let the numbers speak. Against UCLA Charlisse Leger-Walker had 28 points, at Oregon State she had 22 points, and against Anna Wilson she had 6. Everywhere Charlisse wanted to go - Number 3 was already there. 

When Anna and Alyssa decided to return for another year, Stanford instantly got tougher, grittier and a whole lot closer. I couldn't be more thrilled and grateful to have these two very different, but equally important additions to our roster next season.

GO STANFORD!! LET'S GO BACK TO BACK!!   

ONCE AGAIN THE PAC12 PLAYERS AND STANFORD PLAYERS IN PARTICULAR WERE EGREGIOUSLY IGNORED IN THE END OF SEASON AWARDS

I've watched the  semi-final game against South Carolina a number of times on YouTube. It was one of the hardest fought games of the post-season - men or women - well officiated, well coached, and well played. The effort expended by each team was prodigious, and they were so evenly matched you felt throughout that it would come down to the last few seconds.

In spite of their effort to be even-handed, the ESPN coverage was slanted toward the East Coast team. It's a  regional bias pervasive throughout the national sports media - sort of like Texans cheering for Texas teams in bowl games. New York media types can't help preferring eastern teams - especially when they're playing teams from thousands of miles away with players they're much less familiar with.  

Rebecca Lobo was almost worshipful of Aliyah Boston's offense and defense, when to me it looked like Stanford's post players were every bit as effective and kept Boston pretty much in check throughout. When you look at all the All American teams, Aliyah's name is at the top, and she was expected by many to be named the national player of the year. Neither Haley Jones nor Lexie Hull were named to any All American teams - not even third string or honorable mention - nor were they finalists for the Wooden Award (Paige Bueckers won it) or for the Wade Trophy (NaLyssa Smith won it.) (Really?) 

As I see it, Stanford will have to kick the door in and force the eastern writers, analysts, and commentators to recognize the greatness of our players. When you have six or seven great scorers on your team and you play in the toughest conference in the nation, your numbers don't look like Paige's or NaLyssa's. Next year we need to win the NCAA Tournament again - and again in 2023. Then, the voters and selectors will be forced to give our great players the awards and the acclaim they deserve.             

ANOTHER NEWS FLASH!!

FANTASTIC NEWS!!! 

Jordan Hamilton is coming to Stanford! She'll be a grad transfer from Northwestern where she played almost all of both their games in the NCAA Tournament last month. They beat Central Florida in the first round and then led Louisville most of the way before losing to them late in the second round. You can see her in action on YouTube. 

She's a 5'-8" guard who can shoot and handle the ball. But most important, she's a battle-hardened, mature player who played a critical role in Northwestern's rise to the top of the Big 10 and their first national ranking in years. In the 2019/2020 season they won the Big 10 championship for the first time in thirty years and Jordan played a key role. She's solid, smart, and skilled.

We gain an experienced ball-handler, excellent passer, and fine shooter with a high basketball IQ. I still have painful memories of losing in the Final Four in 2011 to Texas A&M because our ball handling wasn't strong enough. A&M's press was so quick and deadly, led by Sydney Carter and Sydney Colson, that none of our guards even wanted to handle the ball against them. Jeanette Pohlen had been called upon to take on the point guard position, although she'd rarely played that position in high school or club teams. She did a great job for most of that season,  but had a very hard time with Vic Schaefer's press in the semi-final game against A&M. 

Vic was Gary Blair's defensive coordinator for that team and they went on to beat Notre Dame and won the national championship. Vic moved on to Mississippi State the next year as head coach - and took them to the Final Four and recently moved on to Texas. Each of those teams was successful because of Vic's rapacious defensive schemes. Last month Texas made it to the Elite Eight by derailing Maryland's offensive juggernaut with their aggressive, pressing, over-playing defense. 

Next season we play Texas in December and we'll need great ball-handling and passing at every position on the floor and every substitute that enters the game - or the Longhorns will steal us blind.  Haley's ball-handling will have to be as terrific as her passing next season for our team to get back to the Final Four. And Haley's, Lexie's, and Anna's backups - Lacie, Jenna, Jana, Jzaniya, and Jordan will have to become terrific ball-handlers. 

Welcome to Stanford Jordan Hamilton!!

LET'S GO BACK TO BACK!!!   

ARE YOU READY FOR WHAT'S COMING NEXT SEASON? IT'S GOING TO BE A RIDE LIKE NONE EVER!

Do you find yourself thinking about this team we're so excited about? Glowing as you review crucial moments in the NCAA Tournament? Haley coming through, again? Lexie stealing and keying another fast break? Kiana seeing the shot clock hit "2" and letting fly with a 26' swish? Cameron catching a rebound in one hand up near the rim and banking it in off the backboard in one motion? Ashton calmly hitting another three?

I'm convinced that the eastern sportswriters still feel sure that having two PAC12 teams battling for the championship was a total aberration. And having their AP Player of the Year get smoked by the PAC12 Player of the Year in the semi-final must have been because Paige had an off night. Before the tournament next year, all the national players of the year will once again come from within a couple of hundred miles of the eastern coastline, and the brilliance of the western players will once again be a total shock to the eastern writers in next year's NCAA Tournament. 

How could they be so dense, you might ask? For decades the best players of the nation crowded into the schools near the New York City home of the nation's sportswriters. So, there was little motivation for the writers to watch games not involving UConn, Maryland, Louisville, Notre Dame, Kentucky, Tennessee - and more recently Baylor and South Carolina. So, those are the games ESPN always covers, and they're almost all in the same time zone as NYC. The sportswriters hear rumors of teams thousands of miles away that play games that start at 11PM their time, but who cares enough to stay up?

Next year's tournament in Minneapolis will force Charlie Creme and his cohorts to finally come to grips with the new reality - Stanford is the nation's preeminent women's college basketball program. They're  at the top of the PAC12, the most powerful women's conference in the nation. The fact that UConn runs up the score and pads their stats in every Big East game against the likes of Seton Hall and St. Johns - actually means very little. In late March 2022, the Huskies will again get soundly beaten by the PAC12 runner-up in the semi-final game of the Final Four - then the Ducks will play the Cardinal for the national championship a few days later.  

I'm sure you did as well, but I saw glimpses of real power in our team's play during the tournament. Power that I can't wait to watch become our team's normal "voltage" next season. Power that will send shockwaves through the women's college game for years to come.  

Haley's passing will become the norm for our team. The overall velocity and accuracy will increase as everyone gets on board. Over the off-season her "handle" will improve to match her passing and she'll become the best point-forward ever in the women's college game. Her three-point shot will become awesome.  

Lexie's, Lacie's, and Anna's defensive intensity will become the norm for our team. Their three-point shooting will lead Stanford to the top of that statistic across the nation (yes, Anna's going to hit three or four each game). And the Hull layups will become as certain as their free throws.

Cameron and Ashton will dominate the paint offensively and defensively. Their passing will continue to improve and their one dribble drives will become unstoppable. And both will join the barrage of between fifteen and twenty threes we hit every game.

Hannah Jump will become the best sixth player in the nation and her floater and jump shot will become as sure as her three-point shooting. When our team hits a lull, Hannah will jump in and immediately hit three threes and get us rolling again.

Fran will develop a jump hook that will enable her to use her vertical lift to score consistently over anyone Oregon or Oregon State can throw at her. She'll also get a consistent mid-range jump shot.

The magnificent seven on the bench will become a fantastic "X" factor. Who will demonstrate the kind of play that demands they get more playing time? I'll bet its Brooke Demetre. (6'-3" shooting sensation from Mater Dei in SoCal.) Who do you pick? Anyway, it will be a year like none ever before. And I can't wait!

GO CARDINAL!! 

Just for kicks I'll include a couple of paragraphs from my October 2020 blog looking forward to the 2021 NCAA Tournament. (What's that old saying about ". . . even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut."? 

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.

It ended pretty much the way I dreamed it.

A PREVIEW OF THE 2021/2022 SEASON FROM A WESTERN VIEWPOINT!!

THERE HE GOES AGAIN!!!

Charlie Creme, ESPN's Bracketologist supreme can't help himself. He just published his Way-Too-Early Top 25 Forecast for next season, and guess who's on top? It's so predictable. You're right, it's UConn. And runner-up? Yep, South Carolina.

Charlie, your problem is that you live on the wrong coast. And you have no idea how much better Haley, and Lexie, and Cameron, and Ashton, and Fran, and Hannah, and Lacie, and Jenna, and Jana, and Agnes are going to be when March 2022 rolls around. No idea how hard they're going to work between now and then. These aren't just smart athletes - they're dedicated champions. 

I know the Huskies and the Gamecocks have strong recruiting classes coming next season, but wait till you see Brooke Demetre and Elena Bosgana shoot threes. And Kiki Iriafen score and rebound in the paint. Plus you'll be jolted when you see Jzaniya Harriel handle the ball and shoot mid-range jumpers.  

People were amazed when we broke the record and hit 59 three-pointers in San Antonio. In next year's tournament we'll hit 72. The air raid is only going to get more intense. We're two mountain ranges removed from NYC, and we play when you're already in bed; but mark my words, Charlie - putting the Cardinal third in your Too-Early Forecast again this year just shows your east coast bias in spades. We're going to beat the Gamecocks and the Ducks (after the PAC12 Runner-ups knock off the Huskies again) in the fifth and sixth games of next year's tournament, and it'll be by double digits.

GO STANFORD!! BACK-TO-BACK CHAMPS!!   

 

LET'S WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TOMORROW!!!

Isn't it amazing that we have two PAC12 teams fighting it out in the National Championship game in 2021!! Our defense against Aari will have to be a whole lot better than it was against Zia Cooke. I think Zia was too big for Anna to guard effectively. And Aari is Anna's size. 

To get Tara her third National Championship tomorrow - we have to work hard and effectively on defense. I'll bet Tara is thinking about a Box And One zone. Anna on the speedster to limit her three-pointers and the other four to back up Anna when Aari is trying to get around her to the rim?  The four would form a two/two zone to control her drives in the paint, the Arizona paint players Rees and Ware, and the other players on the outside. How about Prechtel and Brink under the basket and Lexie and Haley at the free throw line extended.   

I think we have to wipe our previous games against the Wildcats from our minds and focus 1000% on this game tomorrow. Then, on offense how about pounding it in to our bigs til the cows come home. And when they pack it in to stop us, we hit fifteen threes. 

Geno called Arizona Gladys Knight and the Pips. If we keep Gladys under twenty I don't think the Pips can beat us. 

I'm like Tara. I'm super excited to win her a championship, but I'm awful sad to see this season come to an end. I love this team!

GO STANFORD!! ONE MORE TIME!!