The past few games, minus a few quality quarters against Nebraska and Purdue, have been mediocre at best for the RU team. When they deliver a true stinker (and the Michigan State game was an unqualified, uninspired stinker) folks often fall back on favorite tropes about CVS/the team that sometimes have truth, but mostly don't. Some of the most frequently cited:
1. Freshmen don't see playing time for CVS. (This is simply not true, and one only has to look at the PT both Noga and Zippy got last year to prove it. Or, for that matter, Tyler Scaife, Michelle Campbell, Tasha Pointer, Matee Ajaon, Davalyn Cunningham, Chelsea Newton, the list goes on. Freshmen take time to adjust and learn a system, that happens at every school).
2. Freshmen do well at every other place but RU. (See the list above, but also happy to provide many examples of highly ranked players at other schools who either never pan out, or take a year or two to fulfill their potential. My current favorite is Megan Walker for UConn, ranked #1 out of HS. Folks recently said that if Davenport went to UConn she'd be freshmen of the year. Well Walker as rookie only averaged 5ppg and 3rpb.)
3. CVS does not recruit 3-pt shooters (Noga is a shooter. Arella is a shooter. Alexis Morris is a shooter. So was April Sykes, Cappie Pondexter, Mauri Horton, the list goes on. There are, in fact, TWO people on the team right now shooting 40% from 3-pt range--Arella and Mael).
4. CVS can't coach offense (well, the offense has rarely been a thing of beauty, and she's always prided herself on being a defensive first coach. I think "can't" is too strong, but it's hard to argue with the team's struggles).
Now moving on to what is ailing this year's team, which I think is actually fairly different from what would ail last year's team (or the one before it). I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts too.
First off, every single starter I think is better, sometimes significantly so, than last year (and in KK's case, two years ago). Arella is now a legitimate B10 POY candidate, Mack has blossomed into an energetic, double digit scoring starter, KK is steady and has improved her shooting, Mael is a steady presence in the lineup, and Jordan has transformed herself into a real post threat, when not in foul trouble).
On the other side, the bench has regressed. Both Noga and Zippy have been plagued by injuries, and when on court, dont' seem as fearless as last year. Alexis Morris still hasn't broken out for reasons I can't understand. Maori has not adjusted as one would have hoped in her first year. Singleton actually has given some good minutes, but she's not ready to be relied upon in big games. Maddox and Migliore are now used sparingly.
Beyond that, some of the main struggles I see, would love to hear other thoughts:
1. The team can get into habit of watching Arella go one on one.
2. Inconsistent showings by everyone, but especially if you're not named Arella, KK, TMack.
3. Lack of killer instinct, consistent high level of play. Mich St game they just looked slow.
4. Rebounding is not a strength, even with Arella and Mack being very good rebounders for their size.
5. Only one true post threat in Jordan, often in foul trouble.
6. Defense has often only been meh, rarely great or suffocating.
7. With CVS unwilling to play bench, the 55 becomes less effective and less useful.
8. 3-pt shooting has been cold as of late, and can often be ugly--team is easy to zone. I'd like to see Arella and Mael take more 3s, Mack take less.
9. Was the soft OOC schedule not the proper way to prep the team? Hard to know in hindsight, but they've seemed unable to adjust as well as in previous years to B10 play.
1. Freshmen don't see playing time for CVS. (This is simply not true, and one only has to look at the PT both Noga and Zippy got last year to prove it. Or, for that matter, Tyler Scaife, Michelle Campbell, Tasha Pointer, Matee Ajaon, Davalyn Cunningham, Chelsea Newton, the list goes on. Freshmen take time to adjust and learn a system, that happens at every school).
2. Freshmen do well at every other place but RU. (See the list above, but also happy to provide many examples of highly ranked players at other schools who either never pan out, or take a year or two to fulfill their potential. My current favorite is Megan Walker for UConn, ranked #1 out of HS. Folks recently said that if Davenport went to UConn she'd be freshmen of the year. Well Walker as rookie only averaged 5ppg and 3rpb.)
3. CVS does not recruit 3-pt shooters (Noga is a shooter. Arella is a shooter. Alexis Morris is a shooter. So was April Sykes, Cappie Pondexter, Mauri Horton, the list goes on. There are, in fact, TWO people on the team right now shooting 40% from 3-pt range--Arella and Mael).
4. CVS can't coach offense (well, the offense has rarely been a thing of beauty, and she's always prided herself on being a defensive first coach. I think "can't" is too strong, but it's hard to argue with the team's struggles).
Now moving on to what is ailing this year's team, which I think is actually fairly different from what would ail last year's team (or the one before it). I'd love to hear everyone else's thoughts too.
First off, every single starter I think is better, sometimes significantly so, than last year (and in KK's case, two years ago). Arella is now a legitimate B10 POY candidate, Mack has blossomed into an energetic, double digit scoring starter, KK is steady and has improved her shooting, Mael is a steady presence in the lineup, and Jordan has transformed herself into a real post threat, when not in foul trouble).
On the other side, the bench has regressed. Both Noga and Zippy have been plagued by injuries, and when on court, dont' seem as fearless as last year. Alexis Morris still hasn't broken out for reasons I can't understand. Maori has not adjusted as one would have hoped in her first year. Singleton actually has given some good minutes, but she's not ready to be relied upon in big games. Maddox and Migliore are now used sparingly.
Beyond that, some of the main struggles I see, would love to hear other thoughts:
1. The team can get into habit of watching Arella go one on one.
2. Inconsistent showings by everyone, but especially if you're not named Arella, KK, TMack.
3. Lack of killer instinct, consistent high level of play. Mich St game they just looked slow.
4. Rebounding is not a strength, even with Arella and Mack being very good rebounders for their size.
5. Only one true post threat in Jordan, often in foul trouble.
6. Defense has often only been meh, rarely great or suffocating.
7. With CVS unwilling to play bench, the 55 becomes less effective and less useful.
8. 3-pt shooting has been cold as of late, and can often be ugly--team is easy to zone. I'd like to see Arella and Mael take more 3s, Mack take less.
9. Was the soft OOC schedule not the proper way to prep the team? Hard to know in hindsight, but they've seemed unable to adjust as well as in previous years to B10 play.
