duck58 wrote:The reason I think we should be favored in PAC next year is talent even if it is thought to be inexperienced by some. Prince has been with the team for a year, even though not playing. I believe she was a top 10 out of HS, higher than Ruthie. Nyara has been said to be at least as good if not better than Satou. Hope she can finally play. Graves says both will be future 1st round picks. Boley, who improved beyond a 3pt shooter, Chavez and Shelley all have experience. Giomi can back up Prince. If just 1 of 3 freshen guards and 1 of the 2 front players can contribute this team should be great. Shelley was a freshman last year. Hard to believe none of the 5* won't contribute.
Stanford returns two All-Pac-12 players, plus 2 All Freshmen team members plus Haley Jones the highest rated freshmen in the country last year who before her injury was on the way to the All freshmen team at minimum before she got hurt. 5 star Dotson only played like 10 games but was as strong a low post defender as Ruthie faced all year (forced her to unveil her secret 12 foot jumper in the CCG). They also have a few more 5 stars to back up those 6. They will be preseason Top 4 in the country and have a shot at being ranked number one with Harris at So Carolina graduating.
We love the potential of our unseen weapons but the people voting in the preseaon polls will go with the mix of game proven talent plus huge potential over just huge potential. Same with Arizona, All-Pac12 5 star Kate Reese to tag along with the returning Defensive player of the year and league scoring champion will put them near the top of the preseaon projections.
Agreed. We only have to heed what Graves said about this year's team, "We'll never see this again", and how much certainty we have in thinking this team would have won it all, to understand that a significant drop is unavoidable.
No Sabrina, no Satou, no Ruthie. As good as the Fab 5 will be, expecting them to just keep the run going isn't realistic.
Define significant? For arguments sake, Stanford and Arizona finish 1-2 with Oregon coming in 3rd. I'm guessing 3rd place keeps them in the top 8 or so. Is that a significant drop? 1 seed to a 2 seed? Not to me...
Regarding KG saying we "will never see this again", I think he is referring to having 3 of the top 5 players in the country more than anything. That is unreal. More telling regarding dropping, is KG has saying Oregon isn't going anywhere, betraying how confident he really is going into next year...
Stewart Mandel-"From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I much prefer to watch a good spread-rushing offense over a traditional Power-I offense, and Oregon's has been the most fun by far for the past several years. It's fast, its precise, and when Chip Kelly has the right quarterback (Dixon, Masoli) at the helm, the possibility of someone ripping off a 60-yard run exists on nearly every play."
duck58 wrote:The reason I think we should be favored in PAC next year is talent even if it is thought to be inexperienced by some. Prince has been with the team for a year, even though not playing. I believe she was a top 10 out of HS, higher than Ruthie. Nyara has been said to be at least as good if not better than Satou. Hope she can finally play. Graves says both will be future 1st round picks. Boley, who improved beyond a 3pt shooter, Chavez and Shelley all have experience. Giomi can back up Prince. If just 1 of 3 freshen guards and 1 of the 2 front players can contribute this team should be great. Shelley was a freshman last year. Hard to believe none of the 5* won't contribute.
Stanford returns two All-Pac-12 players, plus 2 All Freshmen team members plus Haley Jones the highest rated freshmen in the country last year who before her injury was on the way to the All freshmen team at minimum before she got hurt. 5 star Dotson only played like 10 games but was as strong a low post defender as Ruthie faced all year (forced her to unveil her secret 12 foot jumper in the CCG). They also have a few more 5 stars to back up those 6. They will be preseason Top 4 in the country and have a shot at being ranked number one with Harris at So Carolina graduating.
We love the potential of our unseen weapons but the people voting in the preseaon polls will go with the mix of game proven talent plus huge potential over just huge potential. Same with Arizona, All-Pac12 5 star Kate Reese to tag along with the returning Defensive player of the year and league scoring champion will put them near the top of the preseaon projections.
Agreed. We only have to heed what Graves said about this year's team, "We'll never see this again", and how much certainty we have in thinking this team would have won it all, to understand that a significant drop is unavoidable.
No Sabrina, no Satou, no Ruthie. As good as the Fab 5 will be, expecting them to just keep the run going isn't realistic.
Define significant? For arguments sake, Stanford and Arizona finish 1-2 with Oregon coming in 3rd. I'm guessing 3rd place keeps them in the top 8 or so. Is that a significant drop? 1 seed to a 2 seed? Not to me...
Regarding KG saying we "will never see this again", I think he is referring to having 3 of the top 5 players in the country more than anything. That is unreal. More telling regarding dropping, is KG has saying Oregon isn't going anywhere, betraying how confident he really is going into next year...
I base my optimism on Sedona and Kyara being as good as claimed. I felt Chavez played as well as Minyon and will improve next year. If that is the case, then the only drop off among starters would be Sabrina, which is a big one. But we could drop a lot and still be very good.
I think I'm a bit more optimistic that the drop off won't be as significant as many think.
It's not like we have scrubs left in the team, or coming in. It should be pretty stacked. The starting 5 should be able to carry quite a bit of load and still contend.
Yes, none of the freshman coming in will be the caliber of Sabrina, or the Stanford players or Ari McDonald, but they should be decent. It's going to be like how Oregon State was able to fight for their championships without the big time recruits.
duck58 wrote:
I base my optimism on Sedona and Kyara being as good as claimed. I felt Chavez played as well as Minyon and will improve next year. If that is the case, then the only drop off among starters would be Sabrina, which is a big one. But we could drop a lot and still be very good.
Minyon Moore is a graduate transfer senior so she won't be on the roster in 2020-21.
duck58 wrote:
I base my optimism on Sedona and Kyara being as good as claimed. I felt Chavez played as well as Minyon and will improve next year. If that is the case, then the only drop off among starters would be Sabrina, which is a big one. But we could drop a lot and still be very good.
Minyon Moore is a graduate transfer senior so she won't be on the roster in 2020-21.
He's saying Chavez is as good as Moore, not that Moore will be there. I'm optimistic too. Here is why:
Hebard --> Prince *WNBA player according to KG
S.Sabally --> N.Sabally *WNBA player according to KG
Boley -- Boley *Best shooter in the country
Moore --> Chavez *Better shooter, finished games (not Moore), all-Pac-12 team?
Ionescue (GOAT) --> Shelly *Here is the drop-off. Better defender though!
The bench should be just as good, if not better (given the top recruiting class). With the all-timers out of the way, I think Boley has a crazy season, proving why she was ranked as high as Sabrina once upon a time.
Stewart Mandel-"From a purely aesthetic standpoint, I much prefer to watch a good spread-rushing offense over a traditional Power-I offense, and Oregon's has been the most fun by far for the past several years. It's fast, its precise, and when Chip Kelly has the right quarterback (Dixon, Masoli) at the helm, the possibility of someone ripping off a 60-yard run exists on nearly every play."
Don't get those of us saying we wont be the favorite wrong. We are excited and optimistic too. We are just pointing out that we wont be the preseason favorites. This is where we see Kelly Graves get to coach a few games as underdogs which hasn't happened a lot in the last couple of years.
It is the sport I am most looking forward to and it will be a different feeling watching. This year for most games it was like anything less than a blowout was a disappointment and a blowout was just "ok that was fun watching the plays but the outcome was never at issue". This coming year its more than just watching the plays and great shots. its who is going to win this game and i wont believe it took an act of god for them to lose. Its a year where you could finish fourth and say this was a good year or win it all and say this was the greatest year.
GrandpaDuck wrote:Don't get those of us saying we wont be the favorite wrong. We are excited and optimistic too. We are just pointing out that we wont be the preseason favorites. This is where we see Kelly Graves get to coach a few games as underdogs which hasn't happened a lot in the last couple of years.
It is the sport I am most looking forward to and it will be a different feeling watching. This year for most games it was like anything less than a blowout was a disappointment and a blowout was just "ok that was fun watching the plays but the outcome was never at issue". This coming year its more than just watching the plays and great shots. its who is going to win this game and i wont believe it took an act of god for them to lose. Its a year where you could finish fourth and say this was a good year or win it all and say this was the greatest year.
As you said, my sentiments exactly. I have no doubt that the Lady Ducks will continue to sell out MKA and draw huge numbers on TV; and as fun as it was to watch last season's team destroy the opposition, Graves relaxing on the sideline, his arms folded behind his head. The anticipation of watching next year's team having to really compete, against the rest of the best conference in the country, is unbelievably exciting.
duck58 wrote:The reason I think we should be favored in PAC next year is talent even if it is thought to be inexperienced by some. Prince has been with the team for a year, even though not playing. I believe she was a top 10 out of HS, higher than Ruthie. Nyara has been said to be at least as good if not better than Satou. Hope she can finally play. Graves says both will be future 1st round picks. Boley, who improved beyond a 3pt shooter, Chavez and Shelley all have experience. Giomi can back up Prince. If just 1 of 3 freshen guards and 1 of the 2 front players can contribute this team should be great. Shelley was a freshman last year. Hard to believe none of the 5* won't contribute.
Stanford returns two All-Pac-12 players, plus 2 All Freshmen team members plus Haley Jones the highest rated freshmen in the country last year who before her injury was on the way to the All freshmen team at minimum before she got hurt. 5 star Dotson only played like 10 games but was as strong a low post defender as Ruthie faced all year (forced her to unveil her secret 12 foot jumper in the CCG). They also have a few more 5 stars to back up those 6. They will be preseason Top 4 in the country and have a shot at being ranked number one with Harris at So Carolina graduating.
We love the potential of our unseen weapons but the people voting in the preseaon polls will go with the mix of game proven talent plus huge potential over just huge potential. Same with Arizona, All-Pac12 5 star Kate Reese to tag along with the returning Defensive player of the year and league scoring champion will put them near the top of the preseaon projections.
Agreed. We only have to heed what Graves said about this year's team, "We'll never see this again", and how much certainty we have in thinking this team would have won it all, to understand that a significant drop is unavoidable.
No Sabrina, no Satou, no Ruthie. As good as the Fab 5 will be, expecting them to just keep the run going isn't realistic.
Define significant? For arguments sake, Stanford and Arizona finish 1-2 with Oregon coming in 3rd. I'm guessing 3rd place keeps them in the top 8 or so. Is that a significant drop? 1 seed to a 2 seed? Not to me...
Regarding KG saying we "will never see this again", I think he is referring to having 3 of the top 5 players in the country more than anything. That is unreal. More telling regarding dropping, is KG has saying Oregon isn't going anywhere, betraying how confident he really is going into next year...
I base my optimism on Sedona and Kyara being as good as claimed. I felt Chavez played as well as Minyon and will improve next year. If that is the case, then the only drop off among starters would be Sabrina, which is a big one. But we could drop a lot and still be very good.
\ Okay, we're really not so far apart in our thinking. Having the top 3 players in the country on one team is unreal and it follows that that team would be historically good. So, a significant drop from the team to a 2 seed is a precipitous drop, but as Graves said, wouldn't have the Ducks, "going anywhere".
Being fairly optimistic, but if also Osu was able to field a Final Four / P12 Champ caliber roster from their recruiting which didn't go off of numbers, I think this team would have a better fighting chance than people think. Hopefully.
I think the #1 thing that will determine the success, or lack of success, of the team next season is health. Injuries can derail any team, but there is more risk of injuries sabotaging this Oregon team since arguably the top 3 players all have injury issues. I include Chavez with Prince and Sabally Jr. since Chavez has missed games two years in a row with the same foot injury. They caught it early this past season so it didn't develop into a major issue, but will her body be able to hold up with the increased minutes and responsibilities she is going to have to shoulder next season? We have no idea how Prince and Sabally Jr. will hold up over the course of a season.
Another factor is the transfer the Ducks are hoping to add to the team. Until we know the caliber of player we bring in, we don't really know how good this team will be. There are going to be a lot more close games next season, so it won't take much to swing a significant number of games one way or the other.
Lastly, how long will it take for the team to adjust to a slightly different style of play? We aren't going to have a single player dominating the ball as much as Sabrina did. Graves has said it might be a more post oriented team next season....not just dumping the ball into the post, but giving the ball to Prince in the high post and having her facilitate some of the offense. She is apparently an excellent passer, so you could see her with the ball in the high post as she passes to players coming off screens, on backdoor cuts, more high/low action than last season, etc. The offense should be better towards the end of the season than the beginning as everyone adjusts. Prince and Sabally Jr. should be better players towards the end of the season than the beginning, as they adjust to not having played in actual games for so long. The freshmen that make their way into the rotation should be better players towards and end of the season than the beginning, as they adjust to the college game. Every team probably feels like they improve over the course of a season, but I think the growth of this Oregon team will be greater than most. Thus, I think the Ducks will be a more dangerous team when the tournaments roll around than their record may indicate......if they stay healthy.
gogreen55 that's my fear as well. season depends on health of several players. KG compares Prince to Bill Walton, who was probably the best passing center in basketball. His injury brought the Blazer's dream season to an end. He helped them win NC year before. As KG hinted, team's look may change and center on post.
duck58 wrote:gogreen55 that's my fear as well. season depends on health of several players. KG compares Prince to Bill Walton, who was probably the best passing center in basketball. His injury brought the Blazer's dream season to an end. He helped them win NC year before. As KG hinted, team's look may change and center on post.
Change of style is also relevant to the title of the thread. Our projected 3 smalls are deadly spot up 3 point shooters who are not all that great at creating their own shot. An inside out offense would be kind of essential for that lineup. Slocum creates her own shot and breaks down defenses with penetration so if she did come to Oregon (dont think she will) she would bring something our returners don't do. A bail out scorer at the end of the shot clock when the offense doesn't produce a good shot. A deadly penetrator to collapse the defense for our 3 point shooters.
Mattie Scheer is a slasher and could perhaps fill this role, but Slocum unquestionably can do it.
(Hey look at me, swinging a thread back to the title instead of away from it. Maybe I've turned a new leaf.)
Leaf? A lady I've known for years just walked into a house where some leaf was being smoked... Said it's the first time she has had fibromyalgia relief in years.
Oops! That was non sequitur.
Back to the subject!
Autzen Stadium... Where great teams go to die...Hard!
