Drake

[yote18]

Dec 7, 2022 10:26:16 GMT -6 soofooyote said:

One last comment on this topic before I move on....If you take any team in the country, remove their entire coaching staff, 8 of their 9 best players, and then send them out on the court, what would your reasonable expectations be? This team has been dealt a nearly unrecoverable hand, but they are still out there playing. Let's give them a little grace...but we're going to need a lot of Grace if we're going to win!

Agree. Be reasonable given the circumstances just do not lower the bar. Seasons like these can be amazing learning and growth opportunities but can also snowball into other things, think NDSU circa 2008-2019. So be reasonable but also don’t stick you head in the sand, make sure we keep the bar high so it stays high. I think we’ll be fine though…. As long as we play some defense.

[kiyoat]

Dec 7, 2022 10:26:16 GMT -6 soofooyote said:

One last comment on this topic before I move on....If you take any team in the country, remove their entire coaching staff, 8 of their 9 best players, and then send them out on the court, what would your reasonable expectations be? This team has been dealt a nearly unrecoverable hand, but they are still out there playing. Let's give them a little grace...but we're going to need a lot of Grace if we're going to win!

At first, I was thinking this was a bit of hyperbole... but really, you could almost say 9 of 10, if we are to believe that Bergstrom was slated to start, as some with inside info on here has said.

Sjerven ---graduated
Lamb------graduated
Korngable-graduated

Watson----transferred
Krull-------transferred

Larkins

Peplowski--injured
Mazurek---injured
Bergstrom-injured
Grange----injured

[90yote]

Dec 7, 2022 10:50:37 GMT -6 kiyoat said:

Dec 7, 2022 10:26:16 GMT -6 soofooyote said:

One last comment on this topic before I move on....If you take any team in the country, remove their entire coaching staff, 8 of their 9 best players, and then send them out on the court, what would your reasonable expectations be? This team has been dealt a nearly unrecoverable hand, but they are still out there playing. Let's give them a little grace...but we're going to need a lot of Grace if we're going to win!

At first, I was thinking this was a bit of hyperbole... but really, you could almost say 9 of 10, if we are to believe that Bergstrom was slated to start, as some with inside info on here has said.

Sjerven ---graduated
Lamb------graduated
Korngable-graduated

Watson----transferred
Krull-------transferred

Larkins

Peplowski--injured
Mazurek---injured
Bergstrom-injured
Grange----injured

Yes, they basically lost all 5 starters plus at least three "replacements" that were at the least expected to provide significant minutes.

[90yote]

I'll admit to have been a bit too optimistic coming into the season. I knew first place in the Summit was out of the question, but felt they could still finish 2nd. Hard to see that happening now. I think the Bergstrom and Grange injuries were just the last straws.

Just a couple comments about some of the other responses. It's not just that these players haven't played with each other. They haven't played! With NAA out last night, there was nobody on the roster who has played one year of college while averaging 20 minutes a game. Nobody. Zero. I can't imagine there are too many other D-1 schools who are in that situation. I can't stress this enough how big a disadvantage that is when playing experienced teams.

Regarding defense, certainly there are effort concerns and a lack of help defense, but as someone else alluded to, they aren't very athletic. Outside of Larkins they are quite slow. And not very big. So they have problems defending the post, and they can't have great ball pressure to make post entries more difficult because they have problems guarding the perimeter, and they don't have a rim protector. It was a vicious cycle last night.

I feel bad for Kayla and the staff, along with the players. Things have really snowballed on them. Hopefully they can right themselves a bit in their next few home games. Kayla said on the post-game that one of their issues offensively is confidence. One thing I did like was in the 2nd half, Carson (who has REALLY struggled with her shot) seemed to say "screw it", and just took shots when they were available and made a couple threes. There is playing time available. They need a few players to seize roles and they can go from there.

[kiyoat]

Postgame:

Players 7:45-11:00
Coach 13:00-19:45

[yotenation]

Next two games before conference season starts are a chance to gain a little confidence by raising the level of play. There are issues that they can't control (size, athleticism, injuries) but they can control the energy and effort they bring to the table. I want to see this team to rise to the challenge and put together a a couple of gritty, hard-nosed performances. When things start to spiral, find a way to change the momentum.

[MD]

Dec 7, 2022 10:50:37 GMT -6 kiyoat said:

Dec 7, 2022 10:26:16 GMT -6 soofooyote said:

One last comment on this topic before I move on....If you take any team in the country, remove their entire coaching staff, 8 of their 9 best players, and then send them out on the court, what would your reasonable expectations be? This team has been dealt a nearly unrecoverable hand, but they are still out there playing. Let's give them a little grace...but we're going to need a lot of Grace if we're going to win!

At first, I was thinking this was a bit of hyperbole... but really, you could almost say 9 of 10, if we are to believe that Bergstrom was slated to start, as some with inside info on here has said.

Sjerven ---graduated
Lamb------graduated
Korngable-graduated

Watson----transferred
Krull-------transferred

Larkins

Peplowski--injured
Mazurek---injured
Bergstrom-injured
Grange----injured

This. And I believe you have to also factor in our HC has never been one before. There has to be a learning curve there as well. "The biggest move in sports is the 18 inches from the assistant chair to the HC chair."

[yotenation]

This has to be a challenging year for a first time head coach like Karius. Fan base that is used to recent success and has expectations for more. A roster with really limited experience. Key injuries.

I like Karius and have high hopes that she will prove to be a good hire. But man, what a difficult baptism for her.