(03-21-2023 07:45 PM)kazoorocket43 Wrote:  

(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:  

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

Interesting discussion. The reason I say Cook thoroughly outplayed Day in the final is that Day needed 6 more shots to get those points and was -12 for the game, while Cook was +17 in seven fewer minutes played. Also Cook had 4 blocks in that game.

Also interesting that you mentioned the NIU game, which was the 1st game Cook was back from her illness, did not start, and coach reported she had not practiced much at all in the week prior, and didn't get her game legs back for a couple more games. So, maybe if she was healthy that might have helped?

I don't watch women's basketball with the exception of watching highlights of the UT's women's games. But, I do care when they win or lose. One thing I do noticed, there is more parity in the men's games than there are in the women's game. I can named your elitist teams in women's basketball, the UConn's Tenn, ND, Stanford, SC, and some of the others who are always in the top10-15 teams very year in college basketball rankings. No MAC team will ever get beyond the sweet 16.

(03-22-2023 02:08 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I don't watch women's basketball with the exception of watching highlights of the UT's women's games. But, I do care when they win or lose. One thing I do noticed, there is more parity in the men's games than there are in the women's game. I can named your elitist teams in women's basketball, the UConn's Tenn, ND, Stanford, SC, and some of the others who are always in the top10-15 teams very year in college basketball rankings. No MAC team will ever get beyond the sweet 16.

For some time, now, MAC women's basketball has been better than MAC men's basketball. Twice in the last decade we have had two women's teams in the NCAA tournament, and it wasn't because of an upset in the tournament. One of those years, both Central Michigan and Buffalo made the Sweet 16. The men, even with four extra teams in the tournament, have not received an at-large bid in many years.

You are correct on the parity issue. There are a few women's teams that have consistently been at the top. And two #1 seeds failed to make the Sweet 16 on the women's side this year.

(03-22-2023 02:08 PM)Springboromark Wrote:  I don't watch women's basketball with the exception of watching highlights of the UT's women's games. But, I do care when they win or lose. One thing I do noticed, there is more parity in the men's games than there are in the women's game. I can named your elitist teams in women's basketball, the UConn's Tenn, ND, Stanford, SC, and some of the others who are always in the top10-15 teams very year in college basketball rankings. No MAC team will ever get beyond the sweet 16.

https://justwomenssports.com/reads/ncaa-...rs-upsets/

Yes it can happen and next season will be the highest probability of so. It's all matchup dependant.