Well I for one am very impressed and encouraged

[RUgrad]

After weeks of negativity around here, much of it deserved, I am completely astounded and impressed by the ladies last two games. Granted these aren't the top teams in the Big Ten, but who cares we beat them. I want to give credit where credit is due, we look much much better. CVS seems to be coaching her socks off. Specifically:

- our defense is very good
- our shooting has dramatically improved, 48% all/41% 3 pts vs PSU, and 50% all/58% 3 pt vs Wisky)
- we are winning the turnover battle (19-12 vs PSU, 22-15 vs Wisky)
- and we are getting production from our very young centers.

Sure its Mich and Wisconsin, but those teams are much better than the teams we were losing to earlier in the season..

 

[rimsky]

I don't think CVS has been a big fan of the 3-pt shot, but there is no doubt that a 3-pointer ignites the team, the bench and the crowd. The ladies have been draining their share of 3-pointers so somebody has been emphasizing the 3-pt shot in practice (one of the assistant coaches?). Love their energy in the games versus Wisconsin and Penn State!

 

[RizwranII]

I don't think CVS has been a big fan of the 3-pt shot, but there is no doubt that a 3-pointer ignites the team, the bench and the crowd. The ladies have been draining their share of 3-pointers so somebody has been emphasizing the 3-pt shot in practice (one of the assistant coaches?). Love their energy in the games versus Wisconsin and Penn State!

The team looked so much better than the last time I saw them. They played so much more as a cohesive unit, with much better individual play too. Excellent ladies. Go RU. Go CVS!

 

[rutgerssax]

I don't think CVS has been a big fan of the 3-pt shot, but there is no doubt that a 3-pointer ignites the team, the bench and the crowd. The ladies have been draining their share of 3-pointers so somebody has been emphasizing the 3-pt shot in practice (one of the assistant coaches?). Love their energy in the games versus Wisconsin and Penn State!

I'd agree that C Viv doesn't actively go after 3 point shooting based on the post game presser above, but I'm enjoying it none the less. Wisconsin never respected the 3 point shooting ability of Rutgers the entire game and allowed alot of open shots. Late in the game when a player would go out to cover the 3, a quick inside pass would have the ball in the paint to Barber or one of the bigs.

 

[RUClassof67]

Love that both Coach and Shrita emphasized the "hours and hours and hours" they've been spending in the gym. A true CVS method.

 

[BeKnighted]

I'm sure others remember, as I do, the years when there's been a quantum leap in the team's performance after the holidays. (2007 comes to mind, in particular, but other times as well.) That's all from getting to spend a lot of time in practice, more than they can spend during the semester. It tells you something about this group that should be encouraging.

 

[dmd78]

I'm sure others remember, as I do, the years when there's been a quantum leap in the team's performance after the holidays. (2007 comes to mind, in particular, but other times as well.) That's all from getting to spend a lot of time in practice, more than they can spend during the semester. It tells you something about this group that should be encouraging.

I agree. I mentioned this (briefly) in a thread after the previous game, and it was mentioned several times during the game last night. It's especially important in a year where we have new assistant coaches (again) and LOTS of new players on the team. If you add in the unexpected loss of Tyler for the season, it explains why it's taken awhile for this team to come together. Remember that even the ineligible transfers are practicing. While it's great that they are learning the system, the sheer number of newcomers probably slowed down the early practices while they got up to speed.

Our 6 top scorers this season are averaging a combined 170+ minutes and 46 points this season. These players (including newcomer Barber) averaged a combined 60 minutes and 12 points last season. That's a huge collective jump in production.