[concordtom]

I have, admittedly, not followed the women's game for a month or so. Blame it on the losses in LA! But I have come back to find that Lindsay has replaced Foo at the 3 (wing small forward - 3 pt threat) in the starting lineup. This is interesting because Coach G had reversed Boyle's decision to start Lindsay ahead of Foo last season, but now Foo has lost out again to Lindsay.

Also, the rotation has tightened up with more concentrated minutes. Justine Hartman had been getting a relatively equal share of minutes in the post, but now just 3 are getting the bulk of the minutes: Gray, Brandon, and Caldwell.

Whereas we started the season hearing about (and seeing) paying 10-deep, this last tight contest vs ASU went down to pretty much just 7:
1- Boyd
2- Clarendon
3- Sherbert
4- Gray
5- Caldwell
6- Brandon (inside)
7- Pierre (ball control, guard defense)

on the outside-looking-in were Foo and Hartman, with Ericka Johnson having transferred and Cohen and Lyles hardy ever seeing minutes.

Looks like we need another guard, preferably someone who can shoot the 3! Who's on deck for next year? I can only find Mikayla Cowling for 2013, nothing for 2012...

[CalWBBFan]

Foo was injured, hence replaced. According to most of us who do follow the team, it seems Foo isn't totally back to full speed from the injury.

[wvitbear]

we don't have recruits for 2012. But 2013 and 2014 are banner years in Northern Cal. I think Cowling is a 2014 recruit. Watch for Gabby Green and Moore out of Salesian plus a host of others. All 2014.

[puget sound cal fan]

For the balance of this season, Gottlieb and her staff must find a way to improve their perimeter scoring to go very far in the conference or NCAA tournies. If opponents can pack the paint with impunity on the Bears' bigs, Cal's offense will struggle. Clarendon and Sherbert, particularly, need to find the range to create inside opportunities for the bigs and open lanes to the basket for everyone else. I expect Gottlieb and her staff have been working on perimeter shooting all season, but it's still a weak link.

[carmichaelbear]

The Bears have eleven scholarship players. Three are recovering from injuries right now. Cohen and Hartman both have gimpy knees which are not
likely to be fully healed until next season, and thus their playing time has been
affected due to the effects of the injuries on the quality of their play. Foo has had a recent ankle injury that seems to have affected her play also. The only player who is healthy who has not been utilized extensively is Lyles. She is more of a situational player who is not as talented as the rest of her teammates.
I would suspect that if the injuries were not an issue, the rotation would be ten deep. As it is, it was too deep for Erica Johnson, who bailed early and transferred to North Carolina.

[concordtom]

Originally Posted by carmichaelbear

The Bears have eleven scholarship players. Three are recovering from injuries right now. Cohen and Hartman both have gimpy knees which are not
likely to be fully healed until next season, and thus their playing time has been
affected due to the effects of the injuries on the quality of their play. Foo has had a recent ankle injury that seems to have affected her play also. The only player who is healthy who has not been utilized extensively is Lyles. She is more of a situational player who is not as talented as the rest of her teammates.
I would suspect that if the injuries were not an issue, the rotation would be ten deep. As it is, it was too deep for Erica Johnson, who bailed early and transferred to North Carolina.

Thanks for all that. I wasn't aware Foo had an ankle injury. I like to watch teams (of all types) early in the season, make a guesstimate as to how I think things will, or could, go thru the season, and then compare what actually happens to my guesstimate.

I expected at the beginning of the season that the rotation would tighten up and this post was a personal check-in on that thought. Not many teams actually play 10 deep - unless you are running a high tempo scheme like Paul Westhead's "shoot in 5 seconds offense" Loyola Marymount from 20 years ago, or Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell" with full court press the entire game. No, when it comes to tournament time, benches are usually 7 or 8 players deep. Monty will likely try to get by with only 5 or 6, a seemingly impossible task.

And so, my post was a nod to acknowledging that Foo had lost out to Lindsay and Hartman has been somewhat removed from the Bigs rotation, although your point about the injuries is duly noted. I am mostly surprised, however, that Pierre has been able to keep so many minutes, since she offers such a weak offensive threat for the other team. It's too bad she hasn't been able to develop a jumper because she provides so much in terms of quickness, defense, and ball handling.

This Bears team has such a high ceiling - not just next year, but this year. Someone else's point about the need for Lindsay, Clarendon, and Boyd (not to mention Pierre) to draw the defense out to the 3 pt line is the key!!

[3Cats4CAL]

Originally Posted by carmichaelbear

The Bears have eleven scholarship players. Three are recovering from injuries right now. Cohen and Hartman both have gimpy knees which are not
likely to be fully healed until next season, and thus their playing time has been
affected due to the effects of the injuries on the quality of their play. Foo has had a recent ankle injury that seems to have affected her play also. The only player who is healthy who has not been utilized extensively is Lyles. She is more of a situational player who is not as talented as the rest of her teammates.
I would suspect that if the injuries were not an issue, the rotation would be ten deep. As it is, it was too deep for Erica Johnson, who bailed early and transferred to North Carolina.

I just looked at North Carolina's roster and they have either 9 or 10 guards on their team,-so just how much time does EJ think she's going to get?

[Calfan06]

It's my understanding that Hartman played high school ball last year. So, I'm a little confused why people keep referring to her as injured. Hartman was an All American last season and had solid games against Sac State and Illinois. I think she's adjusting to college ball like the other freshmen and as a result will experience high's and low's, but she's looks healthy on the floor.

[wvitbear]

didn't play till the end of the high school year. From seeing her in high school, her lateral movement is not the same. It took Gray-Lawson a year to recover even as she played. There's playing and there's playing.

[E_CULB]

Originally Posted by wvitbear

didn't play till the end of the high school year. From seeing her in high school, her lateral movement is not the same. It took Gray-Lawson a year to recover even as she played. There's playing and there's playing.

I do believe she played from the start of last season but they limited her minutes because she was on the court at the TOC. And she played the McDonalds game if I'm not mistaken.

[CalWBBFan]

Re Justine from Hoopgurlz: "missed club season 2010 following knee surgery."

Also this, sounds like she had surgery mid-way through junior year?: "A recent decision to have surgery on Hartman's right knee will keep her out of action for some time. On Jan. 4, she had surgery to repair a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus. She began her post-surgery rehabilitation on Jan. 15.

"[The pain] just caught up," Hartman said of her lingering injury. "It was finally alright, I'm done."

The decision will cost her a chance to play in France with the USA U17 National Team this summer as she is targeting December for a full return to the court. In the long run it's good news for her future college team, as the injury is now repaired and the road to pain-free play is now being navigated."

So, it sounds as though she didn't play the entire season her senior year...if she followed her "rehab schedule."

As E_Culb says, her minutes were limited in any case. She was named a McD AA.

At any rate, returning to full strength after ACL does take a while and as I said, there's also the adjustment to college. I expect she will continue to get stronger through the end of the season and summer.

[stu]

Originally Posted by 3Cats4CAL

I just looked at North Carolina's roster and they have either 9 or 10 guards on their team,-so just how much time does EJ think she's going to get?

Another way to look at it is UNC has only four or five who are not guards, and two of those are seniors. However ESPN shows two 4-star forwards and one 4-star wing coming in 2012.

In the little I saw I thought Erika looked more like a forward with quickness than a guard with length -- I was disappointed she didn't get more time at forward.

In the long run, I suppose the position she plays matters less than how she develops. On teams the quality of Cal and UNC playing time is never guaranteed.