It just about is.
I'm just about positive RU is going dancing and will be supporting Stringer's return 100%
But a little part of me has questioned the seemingly poor offensive production under CVS and wonder, in today's basketball world,
if she can make next year's roster into an offensive threat to go with the good D that's her trademark.
Because, if RU doesn't get an NCAA Tourney invite: it will be the offense that kept the invite from coming.
I understand the team had injury problems that caused a lack of depth and I might not be right ignoring that in my evaluation, but feel I must stick to the make dance or retire
when evaluating whether CVS deserves another year.
I really want CVS back and going to the dance will, in my mind, be the qualifying factor.
Shhhhhhhhhh! Don't give the committee a bogus reason to exclude us from the tourney.
Seriously, there is NO reason for us not to be selected. Our offense relatively has not been that bad this year....last year also , for that matter. Remember just a few years back, the fiddling around with the ball on the perimeter for the whole shot clock and then a desperation heave as the clock expired....Or even worse, pass it around until we turn it over w/o getting a shot. That was when our offense was extremely frustrating. Now they are looking to get a shot. They are passing with a purpose, not just to run the clock down.
Nowadays, It seems like every women's game I watch, teams have dry spells on "O" that last 4 and 5 minutes. Even the top ranked teams. Saw it happen a few times yesterday. Our offense is fine unless we go up against teams with taller, superior interior players.
The concern I have is the length of time that it takes the players to get comfortable with the offense. It takes them about 2 years to run it without thinking. That's why we often fall apart when Jordan has to come out early due to fouls. The starters know the offense. Nobody else is really comfortable with all the different sets. Tiya, Maori, and even Zippy .....That shouldn't be. KK was so robotic for her first 3 yrs. This is the first year that she has just played instinctively in the offense. I agree, that must improve.
Get some basic sets that cater to Maori, Zippy, and Morris' strengths so they can come into the game and contribute in year 1 and 2. If Johnson ( a 30ppg scorer) comes in and can't contribute next year, I will be the first to say that something is wrong on the coaching level. Zippy has not progressed. She could use a package that features her, to boost her confidence and get her going. Morris,...same thing.
All that said, we need more skilled offensive players to be that offensive juggernaut youre looking for. With what we have now (Rella centric), the coaching staff have done well this year, whether the committee appreciates it or not. Think about freshman like A.Boston, Rickea Jackson, Owusu, Tia Cooke, Correa@ StJohns. If we stack our roster with those types along side our developing, scrappy players, we'll be in the mix for a national title.
