(11-25-2019 07:00 PM)Dwight Wrote:  I agree with much of what you say, northcoast, but I have a slightly different take on a couple of things. Yes, the Rockets graduated a ton last year, and most of us predicted that this would be a tough year. The problem is that we weren't that great last year, either. If the up year for the program is a 12-6 conference finish, that's not very satisfying. And since Naama graduated, 12-6 has been as good as it gets. Forget conference championship. We haven't even sniffed the top of the conference for a number of years now.

Secondly, while I also have been impressed by some things that Morgan-Elliott has done, five rebounds (total!) in four games is a big problem.

Given the loss of McIntyre and Boyd and the influx of five freshmen and a graduate transfer it would seem that senior leadership would be critical especially early in the season. I was at the Notre Dame game sitting behind the bench and Cullop ripped into Rokannen like I've not seen before. And in my opinion Rokannen has not played well in the first four games. And she benched Santucci and Beacham against Memphis for the final minutes. IMO Santucci played poorly against Notre Dame and Memphis. I see her as largely responsible for many of the 30 second violations recently. So I don't see this team improving until these two seniors are able to raise their games to a level we all know they are capable of.

(11-25-2019 07:00 PM)Dwight Wrote:  I agree with much of what you say, northcoast, but I have a slightly different take on a couple of things. Yes, the Rockets graduated a ton last year, and most of us predicted that this would be a tough year. The problem is that we weren't that great last year, either. If the up year for the program is a 12-6 conference finish, that's not very satisfying. And since Naama graduated, 12-6 has been as good as it gets. Forget conference championship. We haven't even sniffed the top of the conference for a number of years now.

Secondly, while I also have been impressed by some things that Morgan-Elliott has done, five rebounds (total!) in four games is a big problem.

I hear you. I'm disappointed in the records too. But for whatever reason, I still enjoy watching her teams more than most any other sports team I have followed.

(11-25-2019 05:13 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  One thing to keep in mind is that UT graduated 3100 points, almost 2000 rebounds and 650 assists. That's a lot to replace in the best of circumstances.

With 4 true freshman getting almost 1/3 of the minutes, a new grad transfer and most every other player in at least a slightly different role, it's not surprising to me that it may take a while for things to gel. The newcomers (and some veterans) did struggle on defense in this game. But turnovers were way down, which was good. I for one am willing to give them the rest of the OOC schedule to get their legs and learn how to play with each other as a team before making too many judgements - good or bad. There may be some more lousy performances as we go forward, but hopefully the trend will be on the upswing. We will see.

I was just looking at the brief highlight video posted on twitter, and it looked like Black had a black eye (well being named Black, she has two, but one looked like it took some forceful contact.) Did she start out the game that way?

I have to say I've been surprised by he play of Morgan-Elliott. She seemed to be by far the least heralded of the freshmen, but seems to be fitting in nicely. She appears to be that kind of gritty 4 that Cullop has employed like Lecretia Smith or Sarah St-Fort, but has the advantage of being able to step out and hit a three once in a while.

I go back to the multiple years of poor recruiting and transfers. Yes it happens in all sports, but we are playing all these freshmen and a transfer, because it seems like we've had whole classes vaporize. The depth and quality athletes that should have materialized after the WNIT and NCAA berth just haven't panned out.

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