Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Bummer on the Left Coast
Rutgers 52, California 66.
Rutgers 47, Stanford 81.
The women Scarlet Knights had a humbling trip over the the weekend, losing badly to #7 Cal & taken apart at both ends of the court by #8 Stanford.
They dropped from #3 in the AP poll to #13. They're a still a top ten team in talent. Scoring over 80 points in their first two games may have lured them into believing they're now like UConn & Tennessee. But Coach Stringer has the defensive philosophy that it's the opposing team ought be worrying about how many points they can score against Rutgers. Rutgers went to the Regional Finals s last year with practically no bench, & there were a few us who thought they would have reached the Final Four via two of the other regions. This year they have a deep bench of talented freshman. But newbies may tend to assume the object is to come off the bench, score lots of points like they did in high school, & impress everyone. I've noticed over the years that Coach Stringer's highest post-game praise happens when her team holds some high-scoring juggernaut under 60 points & seals a four or five point win on a couple of timely free throws in the final minutes.
There are four Big East teams in the top 25, including #1 UConn, & two more simmering underneath. Of all the Big East teams, only Rutgers & Notre Dame challenged themselves early. Our gals have work to do.
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson
Rutgers 47, Stanford 81.
The women Scarlet Knights had a humbling trip over the the weekend, losing badly to #7 Cal & taken apart at both ends of the court by #8 Stanford.
They dropped from #3 in the AP poll to #13. They're a still a top ten team in talent. Scoring over 80 points in their first two games may have lured them into believing they're now like UConn & Tennessee. But Coach Stringer has the defensive philosophy that it's the opposing team ought be worrying about how many points they can score against Rutgers. Rutgers went to the Regional Finals s last year with practically no bench, & there were a few us who thought they would have reached the Final Four via two of the other regions. This year they have a deep bench of talented freshman. But newbies may tend to assume the object is to come off the bench, score lots of points like they did in high school, & impress everyone. I've noticed over the years that Coach Stringer's highest post-game praise happens when her team holds some high-scoring juggernaut under 60 points & seals a four or five point win on a couple of timely free throws in the final minutes.
There are four Big East teams in the top 25, including #1 UConn, & two more simmering underneath. Of all the Big East teams, only Rutgers & Notre Dame challenged themselves early. Our gals have work to do.
