Bench an issue for ISU women.

[mitten1975]

It looks to me that again the bench is an issue for this team. We have Kidd and Fallon, and hopefully another of the size players will develop as the season goes on. I was hoping earlier in the year that our bench would be better this year, but Maddy went down, and I don't see the others contributing much, unless either Jensen or Matlock develop. Injuries could be devastating. This does not seem to me to be as big a factor for the men's team. Any ideas why?

 

[ISUKyro]

The bench has never looked as good as it did when Flo was on it......

 

[acoustimac]

Based on spot play last year I think we have two guards that can fill in for a few minutes if we run into foul trouble. Both Arganbright and Hagedorn have shown that they can handle the ball. Prob not a scoring threat, but should be able to provide minutes with our other stars on the floor. The big diff this year is that we have multiple scoring threats from the 1-4 spots.

 

[StClone]

The bench has never looked as good as it did when Flo was on it......

She played for Baylor and would have started here.

 

[Dryburn]

I don't think it is as big of a problem this year as it may have been in past years.

I think Fallon will continue to contribute, Tenisha will be able to give a few minutes, and hopefully Jordan will keep shaking all the rust off and get better.

At guard, there appears to be plenty of depth. Past Kidd, there may not be a lot of high quality, but all of those ladies have shown some ability at ball-handling and shooting. I think where we have seen a problem is when they have all been in there together still against the other teams top players.

Major injuries could be a problem, but there are few teams where that does not apply. The men's team would have big problems too if a couple of the top 4 went down at the same time.

 

[mitten1975]

It is true, that if any of the main four players on the men's team would have an injury, that the men's team would be hurt, but I don't believe they would be hurt as much. Our women's team bench, although it isn't perhaps as big an issue as last year, is still an issue. I don't worry about the bench as it is so much as long as there are no injuries. I think we have a fairly capable bench to keep us competitive in games, but not in case of injury. There are probably many teams out there in a similar situation.

 

[Royalclone]

BF has almost never played more than eight players, in fact he'll never admit it, but I think he relishes playing just seven more than spot time. It seems he complains about a short bench every year. It does at least a couple things - 1. Gets the starters to get tough and in better shape thinking they have to carry a bigger load. 2. Keeps pressure on the non-starters to get better.

 

[mitten1975]

BF has almost never played more than eight players, in fact he'll never admit it, but I think he relishes playing just seven more than spot time. It seems he complains about a short bench every year. It does at least a couple things - 1. Gets the starters to get tough and in better shape thinking they have to carry a bigger load. 2. Keeps pressure on the non-starters to get better.

I agree, that is the way he normally approaches the season. It seems to work out for him, and I think he has trouble recruiting and keeping people for a bench as a result. That is a problem in many places, but some people work things differently to good success also. I think it bit us a little this year losing Maddy. Especially since she had shown good ability to contribute. I like having Matlock around. Hope she learns to shoot free throws.

 

[twistedredbird]

Depth will certainly not be a problem next year, at least in the guard court. We don't lose anyone and adda couple real gems. With losing Hal though, I am concerned about the post situation. Don't really know who will be able to start at the five.

 

[Royalclone]

Depth will certainly not be a problem next year, at least in the guard court. We don't lose anyone and adda couple real gems. With losing Hal though, I am concerned about the post situation. Don't really know who will be able to start at the five.

We'll be counting on the freshman bigs to contribute, kind of like Pop and Prins did as frosh. Maddie being out for the year may hurt more next year than this because her experience level will suffer especially in the Big 12. Hopefully Jensen can come along some the rest of this year.