I just watched Iowa v Indiana! Insane. We need bigger girls

The one downside to Leilani coming back next year is that I think it is time to try to turn Jayda into a scoring point guard. This could increase her chances of playing professionally, and would keep us from having two small guards on the court at the same time. But probably won't be happening now.

cal83dls79 said:

---

I just watched Iowa v Indiana! Insane. We need bigger girls

---

and yeah not wasting the talents of an elite generational talent +1 athletic post that has not been developed in berkeley

charmin starting posts that routinely get out rebounded by double digits every single game that also allow a dozen plus uncontested layups point blank at the rim is a clear sign of poor coaching

"we need bigger girls"...there is absolutely zero chance that there's any post that with the insane ability to dunk a basketball like michelle will be recruited anytime soon by this staff

zero

cal83dls79 said:

---

I just watched Iowa v Indiana! Insane. We need bigger girls

---

So did I--impressive game, impressive players and coaches. (And South Carolina wasn't bad, either...)

Shocky1 said:

---

cal83dls79 said:

---

I just watched Iowa v Indiana! Insane. We need bigger girls

---

and yeah not wasting the talents of an elite generational talent +1 athletic post that has not been developed in berkeley

charmin starting posts that routinely get out rebounded by double digits every single game that also allow a dozen plus uncontested layups point blank at the rim is a clear sign of poor coaching

"we need bigger girls"...there is absolutely zero chance that there's any post that with the insane ability to dunk a basketball like michelle will be recruited anytime soon by this staff

zero

---

they were all bigger

I had this same thought after last season. Jayda needs more time at the one, but on the other hand I also wanted Leilani to come back.

I do think it's difficult to have Jayda run point full time, simply because she is already asked to do so much.

Jayda has a shot at the W. Hopefully she continues to work on defense and shooting efficiency.

I.E.Bear said:

---

I had this same thought after last season. Jayda needs more time at the one, but on the other hand I also wanted Leilani to come back.

I do think it's difficult to have Jayda run point full time, simply because she is already asked to do so much.

Jayda has a shot at the W. Hopefully she continues to work on defense and shooting efficiency.

---

I don't see any sense in doing the same thing over and over again without winning results. Maybe Leilani can go back to a 20 minute per game back-up role. And Curry can't simply add to what she already does. It will have to be something entirely different, perhaps like what Charise Osborne does at UCLA.

I agree with Stu. Stanford won the national championship with small guards. And Arizona had the smallest guard in the league who led the league in scoring and steals. Was defensive player of the year. It's the guys who back you up who matter. You take Stanford's front court and they will make anyone look better.

wvitbear said:

---

I agree with Stu. Stanford won the national championship with small guards. And Arizona had the smallest guard in the league who led the league in scoring and steals. Was defensive player of the year. It's the guys who back you up who matter. You take Stanford's front court and they will make anyone look better.

---

Certainly, the front court needs to be PAC12 size. But there is also a difference between small guards and tiny guards. One reason we give up so many three-pointers.

if you watched yesterday's MBB game vs WSU you saw two different teams

1 WSU team had 6-11 rim protector, rebounder, scorer, and the other WSU team did not (because he was on the bench)

They were two very different teams on offense, and two very different teams defensively.

The team with Gueye beat Cal.
The team without Gueye lost to Cal

Defensive strategy looks so much different when you have a rim protector and rebounder

The biggest issue with this year's Cal team was not offense. It was defensive and rebounding.

Also, when a team rebounds well, your offense looks A LOT better because of putbacks and shots against a scrambling defense

Yes, our guards are smaller, but what hurt us more was our bigs are smaller

Get two legit skilled bigs and suddenly the coach will look like a genious

That is easier said, than done, but it wasn't that long ago that we signed four 4/5 star bigs in one class

I still think it applies to both front court and the backcourt. None of the Iowa or Indiana posts are over 6"3. But they have a number of guards who are 6 feet and taller. The smallest player in the combined rotation was 5'9" and everyone else was at least 5'11". That is why these two teams looked remarkably tall on the court. But if either Ari MacDonald or Anna Wilson are available, sign them up ( again, if you 5'9, you are small. If you are 5'6 or less, you are tiny).

annarborbear said:

---

I still think it applies to both front court and the backcourt. None of the Iowa or Indiana posts are over 6"3. But they have a number of guards who are 6 feet and taller. The smallest player in the combined rotation was 5'9" and everyone else was at least 5'11". That is why these two teams looked remarkably tall on the court. But if either Ari MacDonald or Anna Wilson are available, sign them up ( again, if you 5'9, you are small. If you are 5'6 or less, you are tiny).

---

no doubt ...

bigger/longer athletic guards that can shoot and drive are better than smaller athletic guards that can shoot and drive

I was surprised when we played USC that they were substantially bigger at every position, but our guards were better

annarborbear said:

---

I still think it applies to both front court and the backcourt. None of the Iowa or Indiana posts are over 6"3. But they have a number of guards who are 6 feet and taller. The smallest player in the combined rotation was 5'9" and everyone else was at least 5'11". That is why these two teams looked remarkably tall on the court. But if either Ari MacDonald or Anna Wilson are available, sign them up ( again, if you 5'9, you are small. If you are 5'6 or less, you are tiny).

---

And MacDonald can rebound (as can Curry); they track the ball and know where to go.

HoopDreams said:

---

annarborbear said:

---

I still think it applies to both front court and the backcourt. None of the Iowa or Indiana posts are over 6"3. But they have a number of guards who are 6 feet and taller. The smallest player in the combined rotation was 5'9" and everyone else was at least 5'11". That is why these two teams looked remarkably tall on the court. But if either Ari MacDonald or Anna Wilson are available, sign them up ( again, if you 5'9, you are small. If you are 5'6 or less, you are tiny).

---

no doubt ...

bigger/longer athletic guards that can shoot and drive are better than smaller athletic guards that can shoot and drive

I was surprised when we played USC that they were substantially bigger at every position, but our guards were better

---

USC was going to rebuild with highly ranked freshman guard Ayishia Gayles, but then she was injured in that terrible shooting incident. So they then had to go with two transfers - very small guard Kayla Williams from UC Irvine and the much-traveled Destiny Littleton. Much credit to Lindsay for winning with the guards she had available this year. Look for them to attract better transfers for next year to play with JuJu Watkins.

Did y'all watch the game?
Completely missing the post. Bigs with guard bigs

Ari was smaller than our guards. Try 5'5" tall or maybe 5'4" tall. Our guards are not close to the other teams three point shooters. That is the problem.

wvitbear said:

---

Ari was smaller than our guards. Try 5'5" tall or maybe 5'4" tall. Our guards are not close to the other teams three point shooters. That is the problem.

---

If all tiny guards were as good as Ari McDonald, we wouldn't be having this discussion. And Leilani cannot be taller than 5'3", no matter what the listing says.

When the two played against each other LeLani was taller than McDonald. Three point shooting is not the problem with small guards. It is posting up and you need help from your bigs.

With ELS out and Onyiah reverting to bad habits and quick fouls - there are no posts. Longarita has the height but rarely sets up down low - and Heide, well she had some good minutes against Colorado, but does not otherwise see the Court.

What do we know about ELS's health, if anything?

The problem with small guards is defense, but Leilani is a scrappy fundamental guard that gets steals

Heidi doesn't get PT because she's rarely healthy

When she plays she can't run very fast, which is the main reason she doesn't play

Too bad because she can score, rebound and defend depending on matchups

A healthy Heidi would have helped us

How many scholarships are going to people who haven't played much at all for various reasons?

Good report Stu.

After our two blowout losses and giving up 196 points in those two games, our final NCAA NET ranking has dropped to #80. But no need to try anything different next year.