Disappointing game again. Rebounding was the big problem in this game that sealed the deal, but even with that at times they play really well. When they ran their offense patiently, they often got layups, open jumpers or open threes. Didn't make many of them in the 1st half, but shot great at the end. But, can't seem to put that kind of play together for more than about half a game. Defense the same, great in the 1st half, and not great in the 2nd. Waiting for them to put a complete game together, as they show the potential to play with anyone in the league, but aren't following through on the potential yet.

Curry has been a pleasant surprise now that she has found her game legs. Seems to be the type of player Cullop likes like Cre Smith. Small, but can bang inside and has the post moves of a big player. If only she was 6' instead of 5'8. Still making freshman mistakes, but has a lot of potential to be that small 4 that Smith played.

(02-11-2021 10:59 AM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  I like and respect coach Cullop. But this year she has been moaning about the fact that she has to rely on freshmen and sophomore for 91% of the scoring. So why would that be the situation the team is in? Apparently there have been a couple of years of poor recruiting and/or player development. Davis is an excellent example. She seems to have all the physical assets to be successful at MAC level. And she has played meaningful minutes the last three years. She started 10 games last year and played 18 minutes/game. But her senior season has been a major disappointment. Shooting percentages are awful. She also has the third highest number of turnovers on the team while not playing nearly as many minutes as several other players. And the transfer of Beacham was IMO due to a lack of appreciation (reflected in minimal game minutes) for Beacham's unique skill set. She didn't become a starter (and was effective) until there was no other alternative. Then in the last 9 games she averaged nearly 15 pts/game and had two games of 20. Given that this is a throw away year for eligibility that's two years of Beacham lost to the team. So these issues are a consequence of coaches not getting it done. So stop the moaning. I am fairly sure none of the other coaches in the league care if Toledo has to rely on inexperience. I am confident that Coach Cullop and her staff will be able to improve competitiveness with the expanding list of young players who are showing progress this year. Keep doing whatever has resulted in the remarkable progress demonstrated by Wiard and Lockett from year 1 to year 2. Go rockets!

We can speculate on the reasons for Beacham's transfer but I don't think anyone on this board knows for sure. She graduated, so had every right to go somewhere else if she wants to. And, with the number of players from the MAC, Horizon and other leagues OSU gets to transfer, it would not surprise me if OSU is recruiting those players, (they are not supposed to) before the player announces an intent to transfer. I don't know, maybe it just happens that the buckeyes sit and wait patiently and hope for MAC-level players to decide to transfer so they can have more than 7 players on their roster, but there have been a lot of them and it does make me wonder. Carmen Grande for instance transferred to OSU, and it wasn't because she wasn't getting playing time. Same with Santoro from BG.

And of course Beacham played behind McIntyre for 2 years, and I think Cullop would have played Kaayla for 40 minutes a game if she could have, because she was that good. And we have no idea what practices were like with Beacham and whether she was doing the things the coaches were asking her to do or not.

This year's team was suppose to have Beacham, Black, and Carlsten-Handberg. With Black very capable of playing a solid stretch 4 that would have added much to the inside game. Still would like to know why Black left - maybe she was injured a lot worse than we know, but that's pure speculation. Also, it is unknown what benefit Bolser might have provided if she wasn't injured. Can't blame Cullop for that. Cullop has seemed to be snake-bit on injuries to bigs as we have discussed before.

So, here's an interesting stat, Lockett is averaging 19 points a game right now. Anyone recall the last player to average 19+ points per game for a season?

Wiard is averaging 14 points a game. Anyone recall the last season the Rockets had 2 players average 14+ points per game?

(02-11-2021 09:09 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  

(02-11-2021 10:59 AM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  I like and respect coach Cullop. But this year she has been moaning about the fact that she has to rely on freshmen and sophomore for 91% of the scoring. So why would that be the situation the team is in? Apparently there have been a couple of years of poor recruiting and/or player development. Davis is an excellent example. She seems to have all the physical assets to be successful at MAC level. And she has played meaningful minutes the last three years. She started 10 games last year and played 18 minutes/game. But her senior season has been a major disappointment. Shooting percentages are awful. She also has the third highest number of turnovers on the team while not playing nearly as many minutes as several other players. And the transfer of Beacham was IMO due to a lack of appreciation (reflected in minimal game minutes) for Beacham's unique skill set. She didn't become a starter (and was effective) until there was no other alternative. Then in the last 9 games she averaged nearly 15 pts/game and had two games of 20. Given that this is a throw away year for eligibility that's two years of Beacham lost to the team. So these issues are a consequence of coaches not getting it done. So stop the moaning. I am fairly sure none of the other coaches in the league care if Toledo has to rely on inexperience. I am confident that Coach Cullop and her staff will be able to improve competitiveness with the expanding list of young players who are showing progress this year. Keep doing whatever has resulted in the remarkable progress demonstrated by Wiard and Lockett from year 1 to year 2. Go rockets!

We can speculate on the reasons for Beacham's transfer but I don't think anyone on this board knows for sure. She graduated, so had every right to go somewhere else if she wants to. And, with the number of players from the MAC, Horizon and other leagues OSU gets to transfer, it would not surprise me if OSU is recruiting those players, (they are not supposed to) before the player announces an intent to transfer. I don't know, maybe it just happens that the buckeyes sit and wait patiently and hope for MAC-level players to decide to transfer so they can have more than 7 players on their roster, but there have been a lot of them and it does make me wonder. Carmen Grande for instance transferred to OSU, and it wasn't because she wasn't getting playing time. Same with Santoro from BG.

And of course Beacham played behind McIntyre for 2 years, and I think Cullop would have played Kaayla for 40 minutes a game if she could have, because she was that good. And we have no idea what practices were like with Beacham and whether she was doing the things the coaches were asking her to do or not.

This year's team was suppose to have Beacham, Black, and Carlsten-Handberg. With Black very capable of playing a solid stretch 4 that would have added much to the inside game. Still would like to know why Black left - maybe she was injured a lot worse than we know, but that's pure speculation. Also, it is unknown what benefit Bolser might have provided if she wasn't injured. Can't blame Cullop for that. Cullop has seemed to be snake-bit on injuries to bigs as we have discussed before.

I am not sure that sitting behind McIntyre is a sufficient reason for lack of Beacham's playing time. IMO she really isn't a really post player but a 4. She has a nice midrange jump shot and has mobility and quickness which could have been exploited in the game with McIntyre next to her. She was not a strong defensive player and I heard Cullop comment that if she used her as a 4 there would be defensive matchup problems. But of course as a 4 she would also create matchup problems for the opponent on the offensive end. But that was of course a coaches decision. The real kick in the head is after sitting for two years they bring in Whitaker and start her in front of Beacham in the post and also start freshman Morgan-Elliott at the 4. Whitaker was a better defender and rebounder but lacked the offensive potential of Beacham. Anyway Beacham sat some more.

Regarding injuries...all teams have injuries that's why they have a fifteen player roster. Buffalo, for example, lost Summer Hemphill last year and after only two games this year. Coaches can use injuries nearly every year if they are looking to rationalize lack of performance. Also I don't see how Carlsten-Handberg was going to make a difference. Black, on the other hand, was a real loss but IMO with no greater impact on overall team performance than the loss of Beacham.

(02-11-2021 09:26 PM)northcoastRocket Wrote:  So, here's an interesting stat, Lockett is averaging 19 points a game right now. Anyone recall the last player to average 19+ points per game for a season?

Wiard is averaging 14 points a game. Anyone recall the last season the Rockets had 2 players average 14+ points per game?

So, just to close this out, in case anyone was wondering, the last player to score more than 19 points per game for a season was Kim Knuth. Even Ehlen did not have a player do that after Knuth graduated. Tia Davis came close at 18.1 points per game. Given Lockett is only a sophomore, and teams have been scheming to stop her, that's pretty impressive.

And the last time there were 2 players averaging 14+ was 1996-97, Knuth's SO year, when Olson and Drake were SRs.

This year's team is actually scoring at very high levels for Cullop and Ehlen teams. Since 2000, only 2 UT teams scored more points per game than this year's team - the NCAA team of 2016-17 and the 2000-01 NCAA team. So, scoring, although inconsistent, has not really been the big issue this year. The biggest issue has been on defense. This is not a Cullop defense, and in fact they are giving up more points than any team since 1994-95, Fennely's last year. Many reasons for that - inexperience, height, and I still think scouting/scheme's also has played a role.