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Is this the Sweet 16/Elite 8 WBB team we've been waiting for?

N

NYCy

Member
Feb 15, 2010
310
12
18
Brooklyn, NY
I've been pondering the Twister Sisters lately and it's hard to get too excited about pummeling a vastly inferior and overmatched Drake team (up by 40 at halftime? c'mon folks). Yes Prins is playing the best of her life (big congrats to her). Pop is All American. Moody is All Conference. The freshmen recruits are very athletic and fearless shooters. Defense is the best in the conference, lock down. It's ALL good, but of course against inferior competition.

BUT here is my #1 reason why I think this team will end our three year draught in Sweet 16/Elite 8 appearances: scoring consistency. We've all griped about teams in years past that could go five minutes without scoring a basket. Things got ugly and people were afraid to shoot. Now I feel like the offense is WAY more fluid. The 3s are being shot no hesitation when there is a second of daylight. The scrappy athletic guards are getting us some freebie buckets. Prins is strong inside. Hallie is fluid inside/outside threat and tough match up. It feels like we have more SHOOTERS than in years past. More firepower. And in BF's offensive scheme that spells trouble for opponents.

So excited to beat Iowa this week!
 
I think it is still way too early to tell what kind of team we have. I gripe about it every year - our schedule is horrible! Last I saw, wasn't it ranked somewhere around 300? What is the best team that we have played so far? We play Iowa and then a bunch of nobody's until Big 12 time.
 
Beat Iowa in their house where they will probably be giving away tickets to fill the place, then we can talk. This really is Bluder's Super Bowl. There is probably no one she wants to beat more than Bill Fennelly.
 
It is early to tell how this team will do overall, but it's certainly true that there are more good shooters than recent years. If someone is having an off day shooting, someone else is there to come in and make some shots. Plus, as noted, there is greater diversity in the shots, which will help open up the offense and hence improve shooting as well.
 
Regarding schedule, even if top-ranked opponents are scheduled, it does not guarantee anything. Look at ISU volleyball, they scheduled Illinois thinking it would help RPI, and Illinois didn't even make the tourney. Their early season losses put them in a hole with respect to RPI (plus one bad loss, and who knows whether that was affected by the good losses). The Big 12 season and big wins helped restore their RPI. So... whether it helps the team depends entirely on the situation. For ISU wbb, with the ball-handlers on this team being young, it' s okay to play some teams that give us a chance to build some chemistry and excel in other areas. I'd say the coaches picked some good teams to challenge us in specific areas to learn from (e.g., turnovers), while still giving us a chance to get some non-conference wins. Early losses could erode confidence, create added pressure, and put the team in a hole it cannot recover from in the Big 12. Sure, it would be fun and beneficial to schedule another top opponent or two during break, but the reality is that's difficult to do.
 
We are athletic....A Bill Fennelly team is finally athletic. This is scary. He has all the pieces in place already but now has the athleticism to go with it. Should be a special year.
 
I think this is a very promising team. I haven't been anywhere close to this optimistic since Allison Lacey graduated. I do agree that it is early, and injuries could easily hurt our chances. I would be surprised without injuries, if we don't do very well. These guards they picked up were perfect for ISU offense and Brynn Williamson is playing better this year than I thought that she would play as a senior. I am very encouraged.
 
mitten1975 said:
I think this is a very promising team. I haven't been anywhere close to this optimistic since Allison Lacey graduated. I do agree that it is early, and injuries could easily hurt our chances. I would be surprised without injuries, if we don't do very well. These guards they picked up were perfect for ISU offense and Brynn Williamson is playing better this year than I thought that she would play as a senior. I am very encouraged.
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You and NYCy said what I have wanted to say but held off. Back at the start of 2011 I stated I couldn't wait for the 2012 season as I figured it would be a good one.

Iowa will be a test we pass. Season-long if we play as we can, barring injury, we could go a long ways. I predict we will be in the top 10 during this season.
 
Pop is our best player but finally Prins is showing the kind of play we hoped to get for four years, and Brynn's play on both ends of the floor has got me very excited.
 
cydney said:
Regarding schedule, even if top-ranked opponents are scheduled, it does not guarantee anything. Look at ISU volleyball, they scheduled Illinois thinking it would help RPI, and Illinois didn't even make the tourney. Their early season losses put them in a hole with respect to RPI (plus one bad loss, and who knows whether that was affected by the good losses). The Big 12 season and big wins helped restore their RPI. So... whether it helps the team depends entirely on the situation. For ISU wbb, with the ball-handlers on this team being young, it' s okay to play some teams that give us a chance to build some chemistry and excel in other areas. I'd say the coaches picked some good teams to challenge us in specific areas to learn from (e.g., turnovers), while still giving us a chance to get some non-conference wins. Early losses could erode confidence, create added pressure, and put the team in a hole it cannot recover from in the Big 12. Sure, it would be fun and beneficial to schedule another top opponent or two during break, but the reality is that's difficult to do.
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Sorry cydney, but I think you missed the point on CJL's thinking on the schedule. Yes, she was after RPI, but more critically, she knew she had a good team, and to help make them better, wanted to put them up against top competition right from the beginning. And it worked. Jitters hurt them big time last week, but they were able to compose and work through it. Chalk another one up for CJL.
 
The schedule serves a purpose when you are a team like Iowa State. It is a time for developing young players and building team cohesiveness. If we were a team loaded for bear like a few years ago, we wold play the Stanford's (like we did then) to test our mettle. That would do nothing for this team.
 
psyclone51 said:
Sorry cydney, but I think you missed the point on CJL's thinking on the schedule. Yes, she was after RPI, but more critically, she knew she had a good team, and to help make them better, wanted to put them up against top competition right from the beginning.
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I agree with this, except I am not sure yet to say that it worked. We didn't lose that much from last years team but for some reason we had trouble getting a team together working early in the season, I believe partly because Hockaday was having leg problems, and the freshmen were still freshmen. We will see how the whole thing works out when they play their next match. I am sure this next match will decide for CJL whether her schedule was a success or not so successful. That has been her goal all along, to get by that next match. You can tell that in everything she says.
 
Cautiously optomistic like everyone else I want to see how we play at Iowa who has good guards and a strong post. Although I don't think Iowas dribble drive will be as effective on moody brynn or emiah. We will need to reign in turnovers too though., but if they start hitting threes could be a long night. Bet we have/an amazing scout for the game and plenty of prep. Lets end the tradition of losing there.

Lets not overlook a quality win over Illinois - great coach and some high top talent on the roster that Law recruite that he inherited.

I personally think this could be the be the roster to put us back in the top 10.
 
Like NYCy, I'm hopeful that we have the pieces that could come together to make a run in the tourney. It seems so, but, as noted, time will tell.
 
acoustimac said:
The schedule serves a purpose when you are a team like Iowa State. It is a time for developing young players and building team cohesiveness. If we were a team loaded for bear like a few years ago, we wold play the Stanford's (like we did then) to test our mettle. That would do nothing for this team.
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This is the point I wanted to make. There is a strategy to scheduling that may not always be apparent to fans. I mentioned ISU vball not to criticize or start talking volleyball, but to show that scheduling is complicated, with a lot at stake with RPI, player/team development, fan support, etc. The reality is that without RPI, the rest could be meaningless. Even with experienced players back, once you throw new freshmen into the mix, who need to adjust to college life and college ball, and the potential for various other issues that affect depth on any given day (illness, injury), you may never quite know what you will put on the court. That goes for volleyball or basketball. CJL masterminded some great strategies and has proven All Americans that helped the team survive its early schedule.
 
Another thing to consider in scheduling is the strength of the conference. With the unbelievable strength of B12 WBB (and 18 game schedule) you need to schedule some wins during the non-conference. I do not think that B12 VB has nearly the depth (plus play 2 less games) as WBB so CJL scheduled more difficultly than WBB because there were more wins in the conference season because the lower 3 or 4 teams were pretty much guaranteed wins so that was 6-8 conference wins.
 
acoustimac said:
The schedule serves a purpose when you are a team like Iowa State. It is a time for developing young players and building team cohesiveness. If we were a team loaded for bear like a few years ago, we wold play the Stanford's (like we did then) to test our mettle. That would do nothing for this team.
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I am not saying schedule ALL tough opponents. Seriously though, our schedule is ranked down around 300. In the non-con, outside of the pre-scheduled Iowa game, who else do we play that even has a pulse? Why not schedule some other BCS schools - Maybe not a Stanford from the PAC 12 but how about a Washington/Washington State/Oregon/Oregon State. I would take any of those schools over Western Illinois/North Dakota/Fairfield/East Tennessee State. Just please!! Someone with a pulse!!
 
I'm a little ashamed to admit that I have been following the WBB team less and less every year since I graduated in '09. If this thread is legit though, I might have to make an effort to keep up with the team this year. Very exciting!
 
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