(03-25-2019 05:50 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 08:07 PM)Rocket_Fanatic Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 07:05 PM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

Would someone please explain why three of our biggest players almost never play?

Swedish Lady: not D1 talent
Beacham: flashes of talent but still very raw, which isn’t good because this is her 3rd year of college b-ball
Lance: probably not D1 talent

This explains Cullop’s recruiting woes

Beacham did not "hardly ever play". She got a lot of critical minutes late in the season, and from my view she improved a lot from start-of-season to end in her court presence and defense. Maybe she didn't get as many minutes as some would have liked, but that would have meant less minutes for McIntyre which would not have been a good trade-off. Remember, most MAC teams play 4 guards, (or 3 guards and a wing/stretch-4) with only 1 true post player. If UT plays a second big, she has to be able to roam out on D and the best option for that kind of player was St-Fort, even though she isn't that tall.

Beacham will bring a different skill set than McIntyre next year, as she has the hops to go over defenders, (while McIntyre preferred to go around) and can step out and hit the 10-12 foot jumper. Offense will maybe look a little different because of that.

Lance is certainly a project. In the few minutes she played, she looks to be all kinds of athletic, but might not hold up to a stiff breeze. I'm thinking she needs a summer in the weight room before we see how she might develop. Like T.C-H, I think she might more naturally be a wing, or at best a stretch-4.

But then again, what do I know.

I don't see Beacham as a post player. IMO she is a power forward. She can score facing the basket, has a nice looking jump shot and an assortment of other moves that would pose a problem for defenders.

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

I loved that team. They were so much fun to watch. If Naama ever considers getting into coaching after her professional playing days are over, I want her here back in Toledo.

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

That's not right. The starters in 2010-11 were Shafir (5'7"), Andola Dortch (5'7"), Jessica Williams (5'8"), Lecretia Smith (5'9"), and Melissa Goodall (6'2"), so that team was shorter than this year's team. We were slightly taller during the NIT run because Smith was injured and was replaced in the starting lineup by Yolanda Richardson (6'2"). USC's guards were around 6'0", if I recall correctly.

It is somewhat interesting (to me) to compare, statistically, this year's team to the beloved 2010-11 team. The comparison is a bit surprising.

Scoring offense/defense was not that much difference although the nod goes to the championship team (+1.8 offense and -1.4 defense).

But if you breakdown individual statistics, this season's team shot better overall (+1.3%), shot better from 3 (+1.4%), shot better from the line (+0.9%), had more rebounds (+0.4), more assists (+2.1) and fewer turnovers (-2.1). The statistics where the 10-11 team shined were 3 point attempts (+3.6), free throw attempts (+2.9) and most importantly turnovers forced (+5.2). That last one is IMO the killer that separated that team from this year's. What is it they say, defense wins championships?

Oh and by the way, height-wise (weighted by minuted played) the two teams were essentially identical. 5'9.6" this year to 5'9.7" in 10-11.

(03-27-2019 02:37 PM)Dwight Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

That's not right. The starters in 2010-11 were Shafir (5'7"), Andola Dortch (5'7"), Jessica Williams (5'8"), Lecretia Smith (5'9"), and Melissa Goodall (6'2"), so that team was shorter than this year's team. We were slightly taller during the NIT run because Smith was injured and was replaced in the starting lineup by Yolanda Richardson (6'2"). USC's guards were around 6'0", if I recall correctly.

Shafir was the shortest of the starters along with
Dortch. The heights of the guards,forwards,centers,
I was referring to the whole roster .
Guards:
Reed-Lewis 5'4"
Dortch 5'7"
Shafir 5'7"
Williams 5'8"
Clark 5'10"
Ingersol 5'10"
McCormick 5'10"
Linn 5'11"
Forwards:
Smith 5'10"
Sonka 6'0"
Carson 6'1"
Lee 6'2"
Goodall 6'2"
Jones 6'2"
Centers:
Richardson 6'2"
Baumgartner 6'3"

(03-27-2019 07:50 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 02:37 PM)Dwight Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

That's not right. The starters in 2010-11 were Shafir (5'7"), Andola Dortch (5'7"), Jessica Williams (5'8"), Lecretia Smith (5'9"), and Melissa Goodall (6'2"), so that team was shorter than this year's team. We were slightly taller during the NIT run because Smith was injured and was replaced in the starting lineup by Yolanda Richardson (6'2"). USC's guards were around 6'0", if I recall correctly.

Shafir was the shortest of the starters along with
Dortch. The heights of the guards,forwards,centers,
I was referring to the whole roster .
Guards:
Reed-Lewis 5'4"
Dortch 5'7"
Shafir 5'7"
Williams 5'8"
Clark 5'10"
Ingersol 5'10"
McCormick 5'10"
Linn 5'11"
Forwards:
Smith 5'10"
Sonka 6'0"
Carson 6'1"
Lee 6'2"
Goodall 6'2"
Jones 6'2"
Centers:
Richardson 6'2"
Baumgartner 6'3"

We're definitely off on a tangent here, but Baumgartner (6'3") and Jones (6'2") red-shirted that year after transferring to the Rockets. Clark (5'10") played sparingly in three games before leaving the team. Lee (6'2"), Sonka (6'0"), and Carson (6'1") each played less than 50 minutes the entire season. So I will agree with you that the roster as a whole was taller, but the players on the court were not. And Lecretia Smith was listed at 5'9" on the UT athletics web site. (Granted, she played a lot taller than her height, but I guess that's the point.)

(03-27-2019 08:18 PM)Dwight Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 07:50 PM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 02:37 PM)Dwight Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

That's not right. The starters in 2010-11 were Shafir (5'7"), Andola Dortch (5'7"), Jessica Williams (5'8"), Lecretia Smith (5'9"), and Melissa Goodall (6'2"), so that team was shorter than this year's team. We were slightly taller during the NIT run because Smith was injured and was replaced in the starting lineup by Yolanda Richardson (6'2"). USC's guards were around 6'0", if I recall correctly.

Shafir was the shortest of the starters along with
Dortch. The heights of the guards,forwards,centers,
I was referring to the whole roster .
Guards:
Reed-Lewis 5'4"
Dortch 5'7"
Shafir 5'7"
Williams 5'8"
Clark 5'10"
Ingersol 5'10"
McCormick 5'10"
Linn 5'11"
Forwards:
Smith 5'10"
Sonka 6'0"
Carson 6'1"
Lee 6'2"
Goodall 6'2"
Jones 6'2"
Centers:
Richardson 6'2"
Baumgartner 6'3"

We're definitely off on a tangent here, but Baumgartner (6'3") and Jones (6'2") red-shirted that year after transferring to the Rockets. Clark (5'10") played sparingly in three games before leaving the team. Lee (6'2"), Sonka (6'0"), and Carson (6'1") each played less than 50 minutes the entire season. So I will agree with you that the roster as a whole was taller, but the players on the court were not. And Lecretia Smith was listed at 5'9" on the UT athletics web site. (Granted, she played a lot taller than her height, but I guess that's the point.)

We are off on a tangent most likely because those were happier days. IMO the magic of that team was a consistently high level of defensive play not matched by any other UT team I can recall. And a lack of consistently high level defensive play and turnovers are what doomed this year's team.

(03-27-2019 01:19 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

I loved that team. They were so much fun to watch. If Naama ever considers getting into coaching after her professional playing days are over, I want her here back in Toledo.

Getting Naama was a total fluke. UT coaches never saw her in person and offered a scholarship based on tape. It was basically a shot in the dark.

Poor recruiting is killing this team. I have hope that the incoming class will turn things around.

I stand corrected, but there was an inside presence. I guess overall, I just don't see how an effective defense or offense will be run in the near future.

(03-28-2019 09:45 AM)DetroitRocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 01:19 PM)inductchuck16 Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:49 AM)Boca Rocket Wrote:  

(03-27-2019 11:23 AM)Toledo Football 1st Wrote:  

(03-24-2019 04:16 PM)falconplucker Wrote:  This was going to be difficult game for Toledo to win any way you cut it. Toledo only had 1 player with any size, meanwhile Northwestern had 3. I have a feeling their backup was having a career day/easy time down low. Northwestern did a great job of defending inside and putting pressure on the Toledo ball handlers. The better team did win. That being said, Toledo does not appear to have ball handlers in the area code of an Andola Dortch or Naama Shafir. I didn't see anyone athletically capable of taking the ball down the lane, and again, there doesn't seem to be any depth down low. What do the future recruits look like?

I don't believe size is as big a factor in women's as it is men's. When we won the championship several years back USC had a lot of size, but it didn't matter. They were slower and less agile. We out-hustled and out-played them and won. Of course, Naama dropping 40 helped--all 5'7" of her.

The 2010-11 Lady Rockets were taller than this year's team.
Naama was the shortest starter. The Guards were in the 5'10-11" range and Centers/Forwards 6'2-3".
Thought they were also more fundamentally sound.

I loved that team. They were so much fun to watch. If Naama ever considers getting into coaching after her professional playing days are over, I want her here back in Toledo.

Getting Naama was a total fluke. UT coaches never saw her in person and offered a scholarship based on tape. It was basically a shot in the dark.

Poor recruiting is killing this team. I have hope that the incoming class will turn things around.

The best that incoming classes look is now. Things can only go downhill from the positive spin and high expectations before the recruits take the floor on a college team.

The Northwestern team that beat Toledo is playing in the WNIT Championship today at 3:00 p.m. at Arizona on the CBS Sports Network.

(04-06-2019 01:29 PM)RocketBBallFan Wrote:  The Northwestern team that beat Toledo is playing in the WNIT Championship today at 3:00 p.m. at Arizona on the CBS Sports Network.

And a different team that beat Toledo is playing in that other championship.

Arizona beat Northwestern in the NIT Championship. Making it to the championship game is still a good accomplishment for a team that some on this message board said was not a good team after Toledo lost to them.

(04-06-2019 05:30 PM)RocketBBallFan Wrote:  Arizona beat Northwestern in the NIT Championship. Making it to the championship game is still a good accomplishment for a team that some on this message board said was not a good team after Toledo lost to them.

Northwestern's RPI was 117 with a couple of games above 500 going into the WNIT. That would seem to put them at the bottom of the top third of division I teams. Did that make them a good team? Anyway more important is that they played very poorly for nearly three quarters of the game against Toledo and were able to come back and win the game easily which is certainly in part due to poor play by the rockets at the end of the game.

Just finished watching Notre Dame and their opponents play in final two NCAA tourney games. Its a pleasure to see players perform at such a high level, with potent offensive efforts in part a result of execution on high risk and accurate ball movement .. and doing that without turning over the basketball. Final four teams averaged less than 10 turnovers/game even when they were up against very good defenses.