Sad way to end the season, but what a season it was. This was definitely one of the best Rocket teams ever. 58 wins in 2 seasons, 2 regular season champs, 1 tourney champ, 2 top 20 wins. Very proud of this team, and these coaches.

I just hope we can keep Cullop for another year.

(03-20-2023 06:53 PM)bcunn3128 Wrote:  

(03-20-2023 06:46 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  Great Season! Another 29 wins and a trip to the NCAAs. Toledo is lucky to have Tricia Cullop. Women's college basketball has many levels, and Tennessee is just a completely different one.

Hey, went 2-2 against teams in the top 20. I’ll take that!

If Q & Wiard come back, I think the Lady Rockets will be in a better position than our men’s team to make the Big Dance next year. Hannah will be back, Cook may improve, the Kansas transfer might provide a Jansen-like spark off the bench, and I’m betting at least 1 of the true freshmen will contribute. If we can find a 6’1” or 6’2” forward in the portal who has just a bit of athleticism (like Day at BG), that would be ideal.

Yep...we need to find a piece in the key to make noise in March. This team as constructed will be fine in the MAC if everyone comes back...here's hoping Cullop sticks around, but I wouldn't be surprised if she looks elsewhere knowing this is probably the ceiling here sadly.

Not really surprising with how this played out. Tennessee is closer to a 2 seed than a 4 with how they’ve played the last couple months. Their only recent losses are to South Carolina. And they were competitive at times with them. No shame in this loss.

Its a shame it had to end this way but it was never going to be a good night against Tennessee. They were operating at a disadvantage in size, talent and athleticism. If they played 10 times we would lose every one. All of the teams in the top 4 or 5 seeds have much bigger players on the rosters. We can't complete consistently with that kind of size while starting four players no taller than 5-10. And the problem is every big 6-2 or larger goes to a top program if they have significant potential.

We need to focus on the great season with winning the tough MAC League Championship as well as the tournament. And following that with a great game and victory against Iowa State which was the Big 12 champion. And 29 wins back to back! I already can't wait to see what next year's version with be in a run to a threepeat!

At the post-game, Q was pretty emotional, but said definitively that she is definitely coming back. I wonder if that would stay true if Cullop were to leave?

Cullop confirmed the Michigan game at Savage next year, and the Duke game at Cameron, and also said there will be some new names we haven't played before and some that the fans will appreciate. Will be interesting to see who those are.

She also said that it is gonna be tough to replace Jansen because of her two-way play as a scoring threat who can play defense and then said if there are any players in the portal who think they can do both of those they should give her a call.

If the lady Rockets want to return to the tourney next year, it is imperative that TC gets 1 or 2 players in the 6-1/6-2 range that are athletic, can run the floor and do not miss 3 straight putbacks from close in range…
Guard play is great with Q and S. Wiard, and always a constant hustle effort by Sammi M, but with the exception of Nan Garcia and her outside shooting, the front court for this lady Rocket team definitely needs to be upgraded … Just like on the men’s side, one or two dominant bigs would make a difference going up against the Tennessee’s of the world…
Regardless, an excellent season for the ladies and coach TC !!
- Congratulations, and some nice memories !!

(03-20-2023 08:15 PM)FMRocket Wrote:  If the lady Rockets want to return to the tourney next year, it is imperative that TC gets 1 or 2 players in the 6-1/6-2 range that are athletic, can run the floor and do not miss 3 straight putbacks from close in range…
Guard play is great with Q and S. Wiard, and always a constant hustle effort by Sammi M, but with the exception of Nan Garcia and her outside shooting, the front court for this lady Rocket team definitely needs to be upgraded … Just like on the men’s side, one or two dominant bigs would make a difference going up against the Tennessee’s of the world…
Regardless, an excellent season for the ladies and coach TC !!
- Congratulations, and some nice memories !!

FMRocket, you’ll get attacked for pointing out the obvious

Great season. Possibly best ever. Proud of the team and coaching staff. Assuming we keep Q, we need a replacement for Jansen and an athletic, quick big. That’s it. We’ll have depth and talent next year. The goal should be Sweet 16! It was a fun trip to Knoxville!!

If I was a 6’2”, athletic young post (as opposed to a 5’10”, unathletic old man with shaky knees) playing behind a better player at a Big10, ACC or SEC school Toledo might look pretty good to me. Don’t need to be the star, just rebound,play D and get some garbage buckets. Running the floor and the ability to step outside and hit the odd J would be gravy. If we get someone like that, Garcia could move to her more natural position on a wing and Hanna and Cook would be able subs.

Oh, and damn you, FM, for stating the obvious!

(03-20-2023 11:50 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  If I was a 6’2”, athletic young post (as opposed to a 5’10”, unathletic old man with shaky knees) playing behind a better player at a Big10, ACC or SEC school Toledo might look pretty good to me. Don’t need to be the star, just rebound,play D and get some garbage buckets. Running the floor and the ability to step outside and hit the odd J would be gravy. If we get someone like that, Garcia could move to her more natural position on a wing and Hanna and Cook would be able subs.

Oh, and damn you, FM, for stating the obvious!

Garcia moving to the four makes sense to me, but I don't think it makes sense to Cullop. She likes to switch all picks involving the one through four positions, which means you often will see Sammi end up guarding the opposing team's point guard. Garcia can't do that. Garcia could have backed up at the four last year, when Noveroske was healthy, but it didn't happen. Brewer could have backed up at the four this year, but it didn't happen (except against Michigan).

As reported on a separate thread, Cullop denies interviewing at Pitt and said that she expects to be back. This year was not necessarily the Rockets' ceiling. Next year easily could be better, though Jansen will be super tough to replace.

I have assumed that sorting through the transfer portal is an easier task than evaluating and recruiting high school players. UT coaches certainly did well two years ago when getting Garcia and Jansen but they mainly whiffed on Brewer and King. Cullop has also stated previously that she is somewhat reluctant to bring in these players because they may disrupt the team dynamic. I agree completely with other posters that if the rockets want to take the next step they need at least one and maybe two six foot players who can play effectively close to the basket and as a bonus hit the odd 3 pointer (a al Allison Day). The problem is that would consign Mikonowicz and Garcia to extended minutes on the bench and Cook would be down at the end of the bench. Not sure how that would play with the returning players.

(03-21-2023 05:00 AM)Lester Wrote:  

(03-20-2023 11:50 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  If I was a 6’2”, athletic young post (as opposed to a 5’10”, unathletic old man with shaky knees) playing behind a better player at a Big10, ACC or SEC school Toledo might look pretty good to me. Don’t need to be the star, just rebound,play D and get some garbage buckets. Running the floor and the ability to step outside and hit the odd J would be gravy. If we get someone like that, Garcia could move to her more natural position on a wing and Hanna and Cook would be able subs.

Oh, and damn you, FM, for stating the obvious!

Garcia moving to the four makes sense to me, but I don't think it makes sense to Cullop. She likes to switch all picks involving the one through four positions, which means you often will see Sammi end up guarding the opposing team's point guard. Garcia can't do that. Garcia could have backed up at the four last year, when Noveroske was healthy, but it didn't happen. Brewer could have backed up at the four this year, but it didn't happen (except against Michigan).

As reported on a separate thread, Cullop denies interviewing at Pitt and said that she expects to be back. This year was not necessarily the Rockets' ceiling. Next year easily could be better, though Jansen will be super tough to replace.

Yep. If UT can find an upgrade in the portal at any position, not just the 4/5, that would be great, but I took exception to the idea that Cook is just not a good enough player for UT to win, literally just a week after she made the all-MAC tourney team and thoroughly outplayed Day in the final - the type of player some think we should replace Cook with. She improved a lot since the 1st BG game.

Cook has had her issues this year - the biggest of which is fouling too much and thus not being able to stay on the court. Interesting advanced stat is that Cook is the #2 player on the Rockets in Efficiency per 40 minutes played. And she's in the top 15 players in the MAC on that stat.

And Cullop has been quoted - on film - saying she thinks Cook has the potential to make the all-MAC defensive team by her senior year.

Is she the best big in the MAC, no not at all, but she was part of what got the team to 29-5 on the season, and without her performance in the finals, UT might not even even get to play in the NCAA. That's all.

We are positioned to be very good again, and it shouldn't be that hard for Tricia to be able to pick from a decent pool of forwards to add to the roster. Toledo is an attractive destination. I'd like to see us draw 4.5k a game and be in the dance once again in 2024.

The ceiling is probably elite 8 for a type of team like us and around 20th in the nation in the polls. Reaching the national Quarterfinals is all matchup dependant though. We will never be a top 4 seed. UT just has to get lucky and just play in a region a bit closer like Ann Arbor, Columbus, or South Bend where our crowd won't be dwarfed by the largest in the country.

I presume we won't gain any votes in the AP with the score we had, and ISU will probably still be ahead of us. At the very least we know we were a top 32 team of 300. That's outstanding! Very proud to be a rocket!

(03-21-2023 07:42 AM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 05:00 AM)Lester Wrote:  

(03-20-2023 11:50 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  If I was a 6’2”, athletic young post (as opposed to a 5’10”, unathletic old man with shaky knees) playing behind a better player at a Big10, ACC or SEC school Toledo might look pretty good to me. Don’t need to be the star, just rebound,play D and get some garbage buckets. Running the floor and the ability to step outside and hit the odd J would be gravy. If we get someone like that, Garcia could move to her more natural position on a wing and Hanna and Cook would be able subs.

Oh, and damn you, FM, for stating the obvious!

Garcia moving to the four makes sense to me, but I don't think it makes sense to Cullop. She likes to switch all picks involving the one through four positions, which means you often will see Sammi end up guarding the opposing team's point guard. Garcia can't do that. Garcia could have backed up at the four last year, when Noveroske was healthy, but it didn't happen. Brewer could have backed up at the four this year, but it didn't happen (except against Michigan).

As reported on a separate thread, Cullop denies interviewing at Pitt and said that she expects to be back. This year was not necessarily the Rockets' ceiling. Next year easily could be better, though Jansen will be super tough to replace.

Yep. If UT can find an upgrade in the portal at any position, not just the 4/5, that would be great, but I took exception to the idea that Cook is just not a good enough player for UT to win, literally just a week after she made the all-MAC tourney team and thoroughly outplayed Day in the final - the type of player some think we should replace Cook with. She improved a lot since the 1st BG game.

Cook has had her issues this year - the biggest of which is fouling too much and thus not being able to stay on the court. Interesting advanced stat is that Cook is the #2 player on the Rockets in Efficiency per 40 minutes played. And she's in the top 15 players in the MAC on that stat.

And Cullop has been quoted - on film - saying she thinks Cook has the potential to make the all-MAC defensive team by her senior year.

Is she the best big in the MAC, no not at all, but she was part of what got the team to 29-5 on the season, and without her performance in the finals, UT might not even even get to play in the NCAA. That's all.

She did have an outstanding game in the finals but she had way to many really poor games across the season. And its not just her proclivity to foul. Many of those fouls are a consequence of not being able to stay with the opposing post due to more limited mobility. She also misses way too many two footers to be considered a good college center. She has a nice touch on her short jump shots but rarely takes it and she has a good percentage on her free throws but rarely is fouled because she is rarely in the center of the offense. I think she appears to be an excellent teammate but is the weak link in the lineup on most nights. And I have seen little or no improvement over her freshman year.

(03-21-2023 04:00 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 07:42 AM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 05:00 AM)Lester Wrote:  

(03-20-2023 11:50 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  If I was a 6’2”, athletic young post (as opposed to a 5’10”, unathletic old man with shaky knees) playing behind a better player at a Big10, ACC or SEC school Toledo might look pretty good to me. Don’t need to be the star, just rebound,play D and get some garbage buckets. Running the floor and the ability to step outside and hit the odd J would be gravy. If we get someone like that, Garcia could move to her more natural position on a wing and Hanna and Cook would be able subs.

Oh, and damn you, FM, for stating the obvious!

Garcia moving to the four makes sense to me, but I don't think it makes sense to Cullop. She likes to switch all picks involving the one through four positions, which means you often will see Sammi end up guarding the opposing team's point guard. Garcia can't do that. Garcia could have backed up at the four last year, when Noveroske was healthy, but it didn't happen. Brewer could have backed up at the four this year, but it didn't happen (except against Michigan).

As reported on a separate thread, Cullop denies interviewing at Pitt and said that she expects to be back. This year was not necessarily the Rockets' ceiling. Next year easily could be better, though Jansen will be super tough to replace.

Yep. If UT can find an upgrade in the portal at any position, not just the 4/5, that would be great, but I took exception to the idea that Cook is just not a good enough player for UT to win, literally just a week after she made the all-MAC tourney team and thoroughly outplayed Day in the final - the type of player some think we should replace Cook with. She improved a lot since the 1st BG game.

Cook has had her issues this year - the biggest of which is fouling too much and thus not being able to stay on the court. Interesting advanced stat is that Cook is the #2 player on the Rockets in Efficiency per 40 minutes played. And she's in the top 15 players in the MAC on that stat.

And Cullop has been quoted - on film - saying she thinks Cook has the potential to make the all-MAC defensive team by her senior year.

Is she the best big in the MAC, no not at all, but she was part of what got the team to 29-5 on the season, and without her performance in the finals, UT might not even even get to play in the NCAA. That's all.

She did have an outstanding game in the finals but she had way to many really poor games across the season. And its not just her proclivity to foul. Many of those fouls are a consequence of not being able to stay with the opposing post due to more limited mobility. She also misses way too many two footers to be considered a good college center. She has a nice touch on her short jump shots but rarely takes it and she has a good percentage on her free throws but rarely is fouled because she is rarely in the center of the offense. I think she appears to be an excellent teammate but is the weak link in the lineup on most nights. And I have seen little or no improvement over her freshman year.

So just a couple other tidbits. Cook's 57% FG% is 2nd best in the MAC for players who played at least 300 minutes this year. Her 18 points per 40 minutes played is 2nd best on the Rockets behind only Q. So she seemed to shoot well enough and does get the ball and scores when she is in the game, which was not a lot (15 minutes per, but that's more than Hannah played last year). Again, yes, she had issues this year, in a few games especially, was definitely inconsistent game-to-game, and doesn't look smooth playing her game, but her stats indicate a better overall performance than it may have seemed.

Again, I'm not trying to argue that she's a star and that there are not better players out there, just that she was a positive contributor to a 29 win team.

I love Jessica Cook's game. She is a determined and aggressive player. She is on the verge of being a good defensive player. That is, she plays good defense when she doesn't foul, but she fouls too much. I loved the way she ripped the ball out of the Iowa center's hands on a couple of occasions. Statistics prove that Cook is an effective and efficient offensive player. The one-two punch of Cook and Garcia was quite effective, as they bring different attributes to the table. Interestingly, the Rockets performed quite well after losing Lonasia Brewer's minutes.

I don't think we've seen the best of Jessica Cook yet. The difficulty will be finding sufficient minutes for all three of our centers next year. Against Duke and Michigan, Garcia will play some power forward, perhaps.

(03-21-2023 04:47 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 04:00 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 07:42 AM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 05:00 AM)Lester Wrote:  

(03-20-2023 11:50 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  If I was a 6’2”, athletic young post (as opposed to a 5’10”, unathletic old man with shaky knees) playing behind a better player at a Big10, ACC or SEC school Toledo might look pretty good to me. Don’t need to be the star, just rebound,play D and get some garbage buckets. Running the floor and the ability to step outside and hit the odd J would be gravy. If we get someone like that, Garcia could move to her more natural position on a wing and Hanna and Cook would be able subs.

Oh, and damn you, FM, for stating the obvious!

Garcia moving to the four makes sense to me, but I don't think it makes sense to Cullop. She likes to switch all picks involving the one through four positions, which means you often will see Sammi end up guarding the opposing team's point guard. Garcia can't do that. Garcia could have backed up at the four last year, when Noveroske was healthy, but it didn't happen. Brewer could have backed up at the four this year, but it didn't happen (except against Michigan).

As reported on a separate thread, Cullop denies interviewing at Pitt and said that she expects to be back. This year was not necessarily the Rockets' ceiling. Next year easily could be better, though Jansen will be super tough to replace.

Yep. If UT can find an upgrade in the portal at any position, not just the 4/5, that would be great, but I took exception to the idea that Cook is just not a good enough player for UT to win, literally just a week after she made the all-MAC tourney team and thoroughly outplayed Day in the final - the type of player some think we should replace Cook with. She improved a lot since the 1st BG game.

Cook has had her issues this year - the biggest of which is fouling too much and thus not being able to stay on the court. Interesting advanced stat is that Cook is the #2 player on the Rockets in Efficiency per 40 minutes played. And she's in the top 15 players in the MAC on that stat.

And Cullop has been quoted - on film - saying she thinks Cook has the potential to make the all-MAC defensive team by her senior year.

Is she the best big in the MAC, no not at all, but she was part of what got the team to 29-5 on the season, and without her performance in the finals, UT might not even even get to play in the NCAA. That's all.

She did have an outstanding game in the finals but she had way to many really poor games across the season. And its not just her proclivity to foul. Many of those fouls are a consequence of not being able to stay with the opposing post due to more limited mobility. She also misses way too many two footers to be considered a good college center. She has a nice touch on her short jump shots but rarely takes it and she has a good percentage on her free throws but rarely is fouled because she is rarely in the center of the offense. I think she appears to be an excellent teammate but is the weak link in the lineup on most nights. And I have seen little or no improvement over her freshman year.

So just a couple other tidbits. Cook's 57% FG% is 2nd best in the MAC for players who played at least 300 minutes this year. Her 18 points per 40 minutes played is 2nd best on the Rockets behind only Q. So she seemed to shoot well enough and does get the ball and scores when she is in the game, which was not a lot (15 minutes per, but that's more than Hannah played last year). Again, yes, she had issues this year, in a few games especially, was definitely inconsistent game-to-game, and doesn't look smooth playing her game, but her stats indicate a better overall performance than it may have seemed.

Again, I'm not trying to argue that she's a star and that there are not better players out there, just that she was a positive contributor to a 29 win team.

You obviously see more in Cook's game than I do. She indeed had a great game for her when they played BGSU. While you saw her as outplaying Day what I saw was an even match. Day had 18 points and 8 rebounds while Cook had 16 points and 7 rebounds. What was great to me was that she neutralized the effect of Day on the game unlike Day's dominance of UT in game 1. You also point out her selection to the all tournament team. Its great for Jessica to get some recognition but I am not sure what the basis was for her selection. Certainly she was a major factor in game 3 but she did not contribute much in the first two games. I would have selected Jansen who scored 11, 17, and 11 for a 12.8 points/game while shooting 65% (on 13/20 field goals), 50% (on 5/10 3 point shots), and 85% (on 6/7 free throws). She was money off the bench which extended to 17 points in the Iowa State game. I don't disagree that Cook was a part of the 29 wins but I do suggest that given all of the discussion on the board of even higher expectations for next year I don't see dramatic improvement for the team unless they upgrade the post position. There is obviously a reason she is only playing 15 minutes a game even though she is the only legitimate post player on the team.

(03-21-2023 06:53 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 04:47 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 04:00 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 07:42 AM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 05:00 AM)Lester Wrote:  Garcia moving to the four makes sense to me, but I don't think it makes sense to Cullop. She likes to switch all picks involving the one through four positions, which means you often will see Sammi end up guarding the opposing team's point guard. Garcia can't do that. Garcia could have backed up at the four last year, when Noveroske was healthy, but it didn't happen. Brewer could have backed up at the four this year, but it didn't happen (except against Michigan).

As reported on a separate thread, Cullop denies interviewing at Pitt and said that she expects to be back. This year was not necessarily the Rockets' ceiling. Next year easily could be better, though Jansen will be super tough to replace.

Yep. If UT can find an upgrade in the portal at any position, not just the 4/5, that would be great, but I took exception to the idea that Cook is just not a good enough player for UT to win, literally just a week after she made the all-MAC tourney team and thoroughly outplayed Day in the final - the type of player some think we should replace Cook with. She improved a lot since the 1st BG game.

Cook has had her issues this year - the biggest of which is fouling too much and thus not being able to stay on the court. Interesting advanced stat is that Cook is the #2 player on the Rockets in Efficiency per 40 minutes played. And she's in the top 15 players in the MAC on that stat.

And Cullop has been quoted - on film - saying she thinks Cook has the potential to make the all-MAC defensive team by her senior year.

Is she the best big in the MAC, no not at all, but she was part of what got the team to 29-5 on the season, and without her performance in the finals, UT might not even even get to play in the NCAA. That's all.

She did have an outstanding game in the finals but she had way to many really poor games across the season. And its not just her proclivity to foul. Many of those fouls are a consequence of not being able to stay with the opposing post due to more limited mobility. She also misses way too many two footers to be considered a good college center. She has a nice touch on her short jump shots but rarely takes it and she has a good percentage on her free throws but rarely is fouled because she is rarely in the center of the offense. I think she appears to be an excellent teammate but is the weak link in the lineup on most nights. And I have seen little or no improvement over her freshman year.

So just a couple other tidbits. Cook's 57% FG% is 2nd best in the MAC for players who played at least 300 minutes this year. Her 18 points per 40 minutes played is 2nd best on the Rockets behind only Q. So she seemed to shoot well enough and does get the ball and scores when she is in the game, which was not a lot (15 minutes per, but that's more than Hannah played last year). Again, yes, she had issues this year, in a few games especially, was definitely inconsistent game-to-game, and doesn't look smooth playing her game, but her stats indicate a better overall performance than it may have seemed.

Again, I'm not trying to argue that she's a star and that there are not better players out there, just that she was a positive contributor to a 29 win team.

You obviously see more in Cook's game than I do. She indeed had a great game for her when they played BGSU. While you saw her as outplaying Day what I saw was an even match. Day had 18 points and 8 rebounds while Cook had 16 points and 7 rebounds. What was great to me was that she neutralized the effect of Day on the game unlike Day's dominance of UT in game 1. You also point out her selection to the all tournament team. Its great for Jessica to get some recognition but I am not sure what the basis was for her selection. Certainly she was a major factor in game 3 but she did not contribute much in the first two games. I would have selected Jansen who scored 11, 17, and 11 for a 12.8 points/game while shooting 65% (on 13/20 field goals), 50% (on 5/10 3 point shots), and 85% (on 6/7 free throws). She was money off the bench which extended to 17 points in the Iowa State game. I don't disagree that Cook was a part of the 29 wins but I do suggest that given all of the discussion on the board of even higher expectations for next year I don't see dramatic improvement for the team unless they upgrade the post position. There is obviously a reason she is only playing 15 minutes a game even though she is the only legitimate post player on the team.

Noveroske and Garcia are also legitimate post players. Garcia logged heavy minutes in the win against Michigan. She is a problem for opposing centers to defend. The upgrade next year is the return of Noveroske, plus hopefully the continued development of Garcia and Cook. We will be the strongest team in the conference at the center position. The only other team with a claim would be Ball State, with Kiefer, Rauch, and Richard, but I think our trio is better. (Of course, the portal could change all of that.)

(03-21-2023 07:32 PM)Lester Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 06:53 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 04:47 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-21-2023 04:00 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  [quote='northcoastRocket' pid='18858341' dateline='1679402542']

Yep. If UT can find an upgrade in the portal at any position, not just the 4/5, that would be great, but I took exception to the idea that Cook is just not a good enough player for UT to win, literally just a week after she made the all-MAC tourney team and thoroughly outplayed Day in the final - the type of player some think we should replace Cook with. She improved a lot since the 1st BG game.

Cook has had her issues this year - the biggest of which is fouling too much and thus not being able to stay on the court. Interesting advanced stat is that Cook is the #2 player on the Rockets in Efficiency per 40 minutes played. And she's in the top 15 players in the MAC on that stat.

And Cullop has been quoted - on film - saying she thinks Cook has the potential to make the all-MAC defensive team by her senior year.

Is she the best big in the MAC, no not at all, but she was part of what got the team to 29-5 on the season, and without her performance in the finals, UT might not even even get to play in the NCAA. That's all.

She did have an outstanding game in the finals but she had way to many really poor games across the season. And its not just her proclivity to foul. Many of those fouls are a consequence of not being able to stay with the opposing post due to more limited mobility. She also misses way too many two footers to be considered a good college center. She has a nice touch on her short jump shots but rarely takes it and she has a good percentage on her free throws but rarely is fouled because she is rarely in the center of the offense. I think she appears to be an excellent teammate but is the weak link in the lineup on most nights. And I have seen little or no improvement over her freshman year.

So just a couple other tidbits. Cook's 57% FG% is 2nd best in the MAC for players who played at least 300 minutes this year. Her 18 points per 40 minutes played is 2nd best on the Rockets behind only Q. So she seemed to shoot well enough and does get the ball and scores when she is in the game, which was not a lot (15 minutes per, but that's more than Hannah played last year). Again, yes, she had issues this year, in a few games especially, was definitely inconsistent game-to-game, and doesn't look smooth playing her game, but her stats indicate a better overall performance than it may have seemed.

Again, I'm not trying to argue that she's a star and that there are not better players out there, just that she was a positive contributor to a 29 win team.

You obviously see more in Cook's game than I do. She indeed had a great game for her when they played BGSU. While you saw her as outplaying Day what I saw was an even match. Day had 18 points and 8 rebounds while Cook had 16 points and 7 rebounds. What was great to me was that she neutralized the effect of Day on the game unlike Day's dominance of UT in game 1. You also point out her selection to the all tournament team. Its great for Jessica to get some recognition but I am not sure what the basis was for her selection. Certainly she was a major factor in game 3 but she did not contribute much in the first two games. I would have selected Jansen who scored 11, 17, and 11 for a 12.8 points/game while shooting 65% (on 13/20 field goals), 50% (on 5/10 3 point shots), and 85% (on 6/7 free throws). She was money off the bench which extended to 17 points in the Iowa State game. I don't disagree that Cook was a part of the 29 wins but I do suggest that given all of the discussion on the board of even higher expectations for next year I don't see dramatic improvement for the team unless they upgrade the post position. There is obviously a reason she is only playing 15 minutes a game even though she is the only legitimate post player on the team.

Noveroske and Garcia are also legitimate post players. Garcia logged heavy minutes in the win against Michigan. She is a problem for opposing centers to defend. The upgrade next year is the return of Noveroske, plus hopefully the continued development of Garcia and Cook. We will be the strongest team in the conference at the center position. The only other team with a claim would be Ball State, with Kiefer, Rauch, and Richard, but I think our trio is better. (Of course, the portal could change all of that.)

My comment was intended that she was getting only 15 minutes a game this year when she was the only legitimate post player on the team. I think Garcia is playing out of her best position. If you go back over the season their is a very worrisome trend. Opposing post players have great days against Toledo. Bass had her two biggest games against us and it almost cost us the second Akron game. Davis did dominate Toledo an it did cost us that game. Kiefer had her best game of the season againt us. Day had her best game against us. And Tennessee beat us by nearly 50 points. I know Tennessee is a very good team but we should be able to keep the game closer than that. But we get killed on the boards. I think we need better post offense and defense. I am not sure that more of the same will change the current competitive dynamic.

Cook shoots at a high clip because it's all inside 3 feet. She could have shot 75% if she made all of the certain ones, plus some more closely guarded ones. I think the 20 foot J vs. BG was the first of that distance all season. We all went "no no no!!! Good shot..."

Everyone has worth on this squad, and TC designs it as so. She can exploit certain things in most game plans which benefit certain players over others. She at least gives the ladys a chance to prove it.

(03-21-2023 07:48 PM)UofToledoFans Wrote:  Cook shoots at a high clip because it's all inside 3 feet. She could have shot 75% if she made all of the certain ones, plus some more closely guarded ones. I think the 20 foot J vs. BG was the first of that distance all season. We all went "no no no!!! Good shot..."

Everyone has worth on this squad, and TC designs it as so. She can exploit certain things in most game plans which benefit certain players over others. She at least gives the ladys a chance to prove it.

And yet, she made a higher percentage than A'Jah Davis did.