Just a little off topic here, did Baier receive a medical red shirt?
She is eligible and assume she and ISU applied for it but don't remember seeing anything official.
http://amestrib.com/quantum-sport/baier-eligible-medical-redshirt-ncaa-rules
Just a little off topic here, did Baier receive a medical red shirt?
IMHO, Cyclone Kool Aid is like fine single malt scotch in that you sip it, not guzzle it. Not trying to pee on your Cheerios here. I know from your posts you are an enthusiastic supporter and an extremely optimist fan. My take is a little more measured and objective after almost 20 years of following along. When ISU first emerged as a program to be noticed and had those Sweet 16 and Elite 8 runs I thought we could build on that and get the recruits that might put us over the top to become an elite program. Never happened and I think now that that lost opportunity is just that, lost. Even when you get to the mountain it can be a quick tumble down again (see Oklahoma). WBB isn't like MBB where there is enough talent to go around and mid majors can Final Four and dance with the blue bloods. The disparity between the elites and the rest of NCAA pack is huge.
I hope we can bounce back to being a true top 25 and build on that. Next years class looks to be a good start on getting our **** together recruiting (maybe two good classes in a row). Assuming no key player quits, we lose only one player but are going to rely heavily on two sophomores and a bunch of freshman. Our next year seniors (taking off the Cyclone tinted glasses) are average Big 12 talent and you can't expect them to suddenly be all Big 12 as seniors. If the freshman prove to be Big 12 ready and if we find a team leader and if no one quits we should be a better team next year and maybe build on that. Best case is that one of the freshman is a team heart and soul type leader and we have a .500+ Big 12.
Of course everything in my mini-ramble here is all just "on paper" speculation. If you want the simple summary than my answer is no, Bill Fennelly will never take us to a Final Four appearance.
If you look at DI attendance totals, average attendance per game is steadily declining and down about 10% from the 2008 peak...
http://www.ncaa.org/championships/statistics/womens-basketball-attendance
2007-2008: 1694
2008-2009: 1664
2009-2010: 1637
2010-2011: 1642
2011-2012: 1634
2012-2013: 1533
I don't know if this has anything do with the physical style of play, but for me personally, I really don't care much for the hack/grab/shove/armbar style that has permeated both the MBB and WBB games.
Who will be starting next year.
moody/buckley/johnson?
dont we have a couple studs coming in?
This is sobering, but pretty much dead on all the way through IMO.
The question arises as to why there is enough talent to "go around" to empower the non-blue bloods in MBB, but not in WBB. IMO, it's because the WBB game has been intentionally manipulated to be that way. The present physical style of play requires a certain kind of athleticism be successful, and the number of players who possess that type of athleticism is just very limited. Any team that can stockpile such players is set to dominate.
Who will be starting next year.
moody/buckley/johnson?
dont we have a couple studs coming in?
Volleyball is gaining in popularity and participation. Lots of anecdotal evidence that it is impacting the talent pool at the high school levels and subsequently at the college levels. The NCAA and HS “basketbrawl” version of hoops is not helping. Not every tall and athletic gal is going to opt for getting smacked around on a basketball court versus playing a fast paced sport where you don’t need to get beat up. With the rise of club volleyball going year round and overlapping seasons there isn’t much opportunity to play both, it’s either one or the other.
http://volleyblogseattle.blogspot.com/2013/06/ncaa-volleyball-rising-basketball.html
I think you may be on to something with the volleyball vs. basketball issue. One of next year's volleyball recruits, Alexis Conaway, a 6 ft. outside hitter, is also an outstanding basketball player who averaged slightly over 18 pts a game as a junior. Yet she will presumably play only v-ball at ISU. And I do agree with others that we need a deeper bench, and one that is actually "usable," but no doubt all coaches would want that kind of bench.
A good defense, to me, is one that tries to take the offensive team out of its game and disrupt their flow. Because ISU plays such a passive and timid defense, designed to stay out of foul trouble, many of our fans call out any team employing more aggressive defense than us as playing "thug ball." I love to watch intense and aggressive defense. There are certain teams that take it to the extreme - Duke, Louisville, Texas A&M, Maryland (with a former BF asst. as HC), and Kentucky. I can't think of another team I've seen that takes it to the edge like that - certainly not UConn.Volleyball is going to continue to grow. Rally scoring really makes it a much more fun and fast paced game.
Until thug ball is edited in WBB, I think the sport will continue to decline in popularity. As much of a fan of WBB I am, I don't enjoy watching it as much as I used to, when it was much more pure than the mens game.
A good defense, to me, is one that tries to take the offensive team out of its game and disrupt their flow. Because ISU plays such a passive and timid defense, designed to stay out of foul trouble, many of our fans call out any team employing more aggressive defense than us as playing "thug ball." I love to watch intense and aggressive defense. There are certain teams that take it to the extreme - Duke, Louisville, Texas A&M, Maryland (with a former BF asst. as HC), and Kentucky. I can't think of another team I've seen that takes it to the edge like that - certainly not UConn.
"Thug ball" is a term way overused on this board.
I think at least three of the five incoming freshmen have a chance to start - Durr, Fernstrom, and Ricketts (but no more than two of the three would be starting). Thomas and Bell theoretically could, but I think Bell's real opportunity is as a soph after Moody graduates. I really don't know much about Thomas, but she sounds like an Ellis type. All five freshmen could find themselves in the regular rotation.
I'm also very curious to see how Jensen does with a chance to actually have a real preseason.
as far as playing more players, I think he is locked into the 7-8 player rotation philosophy. Maybe if there are certain other players who can fill a role at a crucial time, they might get some minutes, but it's gonna come down to 7 or 8 tops getting the real court time.
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as far as playing more players, I think he is locked into the 7-8 player rotation philosophy. Maybe if there are certain other players who can fill a role at a crucial time, they might get some minutes, but it's gonna come down to 7 or 8 tops getting the real court time.