Maybe we're just getting the "wrong" AA/AAU players. UConn, ND, Duke et al don't seem to have a problem with the ones they recruit. I suspect part of the problem is that the talent pool in WBB is still fairly shallow and there is a vast gap between the top ten players or so and the next 15-20.

59bear;842279240 said:

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Maybe we're just getting the "wrong" AA/AAU players. UConn, ND, Duke et al don't seem to have a problem with the ones they recruit. I suspect part of the problem is that the talent pool in WBB is still fairly shallow and there is a vast gap between the top ten players or so and the next 15-20.

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Good point. As one example, Gabby Green is fundamentally sound. She also has tremendous size, speed and athleticism, and has been a member of a US national team. As other examples, Layshia and Amber Orange are fundamentally sound. So a lot does depend on coaching and coachability. But at the highest levels of college women's basketball, you also do need to bring a high level of athleticism to the table.

BleacherBear;842278639 said:

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If you do not attend games anymore, and do not observe player-coach interactions, how do you know what's going on?

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Well, I attended every WBB home game for 16 years and excluding a couple of games missed due to surgery, that streak would have gone back a few more years. So I bring a lot more past knowledge than just about anyone else on this board. I still watch the games on TV and still talk with fans who do attend all the games and the chalk talks. They are also longtime followers of this program, they are not Pollyannas, they don't believe the BS and the cliches, they read between the lines, and they watch the pregame and sideline interaction. (Sometimes I tell them what to look for and to report back.) Collectively that gives me plenty of current information (though my friends too confess to being blindsided by Hind's departure).

You might also look back at the threads when Joanne left and we were looking for a new coach. While everyone else was wandering around in the dark, I gave everyone a lot of specific info about Gottlieb's performance at UCSB based on actually watching a lot of the Gaucho games. This wasn't just a win-loss report that's typically found on this board, but a report on her interactions with her assistants, her gametime coaching style and ability, what I saw as far as player effort, and a complete report on the players who left the program and why and any mitigating circumstances. Those fans who fawn over Gottlieb and hang on her every word now may feel like they know her, but I still know more based on watching her evolve (and in some respects NOT evolve) from an assistant to a head coach at UCSB to a head coach here. Seeing the ways in which a person has NOT matured can give you some great clues as to her persistent blind spots, problems that have a very real impact on how she runs her team both on and off the court.

Quote:

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I don't think many people on this board are basing our impressions of the program based on a Pollyanna view of the program, or have swallowed the Kool Aid wholeheartedly. Many of us have a positive impression of things (mostly) because we actually attend games, can watch these interactions, work on campus so see the kids/staff/coaches informally, and/or actually KNOW some of the players and their families. It's certainly not all unicorns and rainbows, but it says something good about the program that teammates hang out together, in various combos and all together of their volition, and that they all attended the recent We A.R.E. Pride event (along with all of the coaches and many current and former support staff).

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That all sounds like Pollyanna to me. The fact that you know some of the players and families means little as far as understanding the team-wide dynamic (and in fact may distort your perspective in favor of certain viewpoints). I don't want to search thru your posting history, but I distinctly recall that your LIMITED interaction with SOME players and families led you to an incorrect assessment of what was going on in Gottlieb's first season. You implied that everyone was happy when in fact it was very clear that at least two players were extremely unhappy at the time (not necessarily the ones who later left). This unhappiness was evident in a very public way at one of the home games. How did you miss that if you are a keen observer of the interactions at the games? I have to think it was because you saw what you wanted to see, and because they were not the players with whom you conversed (at least not in any meaningful way).

Quote:

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Also, Wayne, what exactly is "worrisome" about all of our recent transfers? 2 followed Coach G to Santa Barbara (one of whom would never have seen the court in 4 years at Cal); 1 left to become a hairdresser (which would have happened no matter where she went); 1 left to seek greener pastures at Kentucky (and is still friends with many of her teammates and coaches and came to graduation last year); and the 3 are a little more mysterious. Not a one of them would I necessarily want to have back here--their departures gave other players chances (Fu, younger post players) to grow and shine and become key cogs in the Final Four run. How are any of these transfers different from why other people leave other schools?

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Wow, I expect that type of summary from others but not you. I'm really disappointed in you. I'm not going to thoroughly describe every circumstance and incident, but can you not see that the key to characterizing player departures is to think back to what happened BEFORE they left? Was there something troubling about the circumstances that led them to believe they had to leave the program, sometimes in mid-semester? If you are a dedicated and knowledgeable fan, I would have believed that you gave each departure a good amount of thought when it happened, but from that summary it seems like you didn't.

But OK, I'll give you some clues to think about. I do remember (but of course do not thoroughly understand) the circumstances of every transfer or early departure from Cal WBB since 1990, and follow many other WBB programs, so I have a good frame of reference for what constitutes a somewhat normal vs. a troubling pattern of departures. Pooh-poohing two departures just because they ended up at UCSB is totally ridiculous. Do you not remember all the bad signs from that 2008-09 season, team divisions at a very personal level that you could see right on the court during gametime? Problems that got worse and worse as the season progressed? Problems that Joanne either ignored or couldn't handle? If you say you're close to some players, then conversations with certain players would have hinted rather openly at the problems. I don't expect people to remember as many details as I do, but that was one long unhappy season for Kelsey Adrian (and anyone who tries to pass it off on the shoulder injury or her stats is just flat-out unobservant). Her later comments after leaving confirmed that and thankfully (for her, not us) she escaped from Cal. Angelei Aguirre is the transfer that troubled me the most, not necessarily for her treatment during the season (she seemed largely ignored) but for what happened afterwards. BleacherBear, if you don't remember or never knew (and if you ignored my hint that I posted way back when) you can still find half the story on the internet. You have to put two-and-two together (and not be a Pollyanna) to figure out the other half. Casey Morris' departure made me sad but was at least more in keeping with a "normal" transfer, and if you know the local players and families I'm sure you've heard the stories (both during her one season and afterwards).

Similarly, you said you knew DeNesha Stallworth's family so you've heard enough of that story. To be honest, I never really felt like you understood how she stood with her teammates at the time, but if everything is happy now then great.

Dismissing Brenna Heater's departure with the hairdresser comment is really beneath you. Again, think back BEFORE her departure - as a keen observer, did you not see there was something wrong with the way she was being treated (and again, don't look at stats - I'm not talking about playing time). You can find hints of the story on the internet but understand that it was much more troubling to watch it unfold as it happened vs. scanning and dismissing it many weeks or months after the fact. And as with Hind, a mid-semester departure is not a normal departure at all.

How on earth you can say Lindsay Sherbert's transfer was mysterious is beyond me. The unobservant have to rely on stats and insults, but if you really attended the games and watched the interaction, how could you say it was mysterious? Think back to the Triple Threat open practice of 11/19/11 (if you attended) and the home game of 11/20/11 (and the incident which made me think that Gottlieb was on her way to losing not just Sherbert but another player who did in fact stay to graduation). Things got even worse, but to Gottlieb's credit she did try briefly and half-heartedly to salvage the situation. To Sherbert's greater credit, she endured the whole awful season and finished the academic year, making Academic All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. Thank goodness she didn't try to endure more and I'm delighted to see her now playing for a system that suits her (and with teammates who respect her).

I'll admit I don't know why Erika Johnson left but at least I'm in good company because our coaching staff apparently didn't know either. A troubling sign of total non-communication by our staff.

Sorry if I come across harshly, but that speaks more to my expectations based on your past contributions to this board. I hope you post more often, because even though I don't read this board regularly any more, it would still be comforting to know that you're trying to add your thoughtfulness to this public face of the program.

I'll admit, I missed most of that drama and intrigue. Guess I was too busy watching the great Final Four year and seeing all of our seniors graduate.

59bear;842279240 said:

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Maybe we're just getting the "wrong" AA/AAU players. UConn, ND, Duke et al don't seem to have a problem with the ones they recruit.

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I think the ones UConn, ND, and Duke recruits are players we would recruit too if they were interested in Cal. Were any of current players recruited by these 3 schools. I thought perhaps Hartman might have but not sure if true or not.

annarborbear;842279454 said:

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I'll admit, I missed most of that drama and intrigue. Guess I was too busy watching the great Final Four year and seeing all of our seniors graduate.

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Well, BleacherBear asked about the 7 departures prior to Hind, so of course my narrative involved things that happened in the 2008-09 thru 2011-12 seasons. The Final Four season wasn't until 2012-13, so I'm not sure how you could say that you were too busy watching something that hadn't happened yet as an excuse for missing those incidents.

Anyway, I'm glad you admit to not being aware of what was going on behind the scenes. That type of insight certainly isn't a necessary part of the fan experience, and frankly can be an impediment to fully enjoying the games. I accept the fact that we have different attitudes about departed players and that's fine. Enjoy the rest of the season.

bearchamp;842278764 said:

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I spoke to Hind as she was in line at the airport to go home. She said she enjoyed her time at Cal, but "she had to go home" ...

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That was an interesting phrase to use. Too bad she didn't elaborate.

After Hind's departure, I looked at the remainder of the schedule for her [URL="http://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Belgium/BBC_Sint_Katelijne_Waver/8185?Women=1&Women=1"][COLOR="Blue"]Belgian SKW club team[/COLOR][/URL] and noticed that they were approaching an important stretch. Her team was 4th in a 12-team league, and 3 of their next 4 games (of the 6 remaining) were against the teams ahead of them. And it just so happened that the timing of Hind's departure from Cal got her home in time to join the team for this crucial stretch.

I'm NOT suggesting Hind abandoned Cal just to help her club team. But IF she had already decided (for whatever reason) that Cal was not the right situation for her, and that her future was actually in the Belgian club system, then this was a somewhat "logical" time to leave. Maybe the timing was even worked out ahead of time between Hind and Cal. (It IS interesting that she stayed for the Stanford games.) Regardless of the reasons behind the timing, I'm disappointed that she didn't finish the full year at Cal (especially since she had done so well academically in her first semester).

Anyway, Hind scored 14 points yesterday in [URL="http://www.lavenir.net/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20140209_00430919"][COLOR="Blue"]her first game back[/COLOR][/URL] in SKW's road loss to the first-place team.

WayneBear;842280566 said:

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Well, BleacherBear asked about the 7 departures prior to Hind, so of course my narrative involved things that happened in the 2008-09 thru 2011-12 seasons. The Final Four season wasn't until 2012-13, so I'm not sure how you could say that you were too busy watching something that hadn't happened yet as an excuse for missing those incidents.

Anyway, I'm glad you admit to not being aware of what was going on behind the scenes. That type of insight certainly isn't a necessary part of the fan experience, and frankly can be an impediment to fully enjoying the games. I accept the fact that we have different attitudes about departed players and that's fine. Enjoy the rest of the season.

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Thanks. Sorry to give you a hard time also. I know you are a major fan. I do prefer to concentrate on those who choose to stay. I think our coaches do have a very good overall selection and retention record. But we are not going to be a good fit for every player out there. No team is.

WayneBear;842280573 said:

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That was an interesting phrase to use. Too bad she didn't elaborate.

After Hind's departure, I looked at the remainder of the schedule for her [URL="http://basketball.eurobasket.com/team/Belgium/BBC_Sint_Katelijne_Waver/8185?Women=1&Women=1"][COLOR="Blue"]Belgian SKW club team[/COLOR][/URL] and noticed that they were approaching an important stretch. Her team was 4th in a 12-team league, and 3 of their next 4 games (of the 6 remaining) were against the teams ahead of them. And it just so happened that the timing of Hind's departure from Cal got her home in time to join the team for this crucial stretch.

I'm NOT suggesting Hind abandoned Cal just to help her club team. But IF she had already decided (for whatever reason) that Cal was not the right situation for her, and that her future was actually in the Belgian club system, then this was a somewhat "logical" time to leave. Maybe the timing was even worked out ahead of time between Hind and Cal. (It IS interesting that she stayed for the Stanford games.) Regardless of the reasons behind the timing, I'm disappointed that she didn't finish the full year at Cal (especially since she had done so well academically in her first semester).

Anyway, Hind scored 14 points yesterday in [URL="http://www.lavenir.net/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20140209_00430919"][COLOR="Blue"]her first game back[/COLOR][/URL] in SKW's road loss to the first-place team.

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was noticing the same thing this morning, that HBA was back and had played. plus she tweeted something last night about #gameday, I assumed it wasn't in regards to the Bears win in Pullman...(i also think her brother is somehow affiliated with coaching the SKA team, unless its another BA listed on their website)

regardless, best of luck to her and
GO BEARS!!!

I'm sure we would have taken any from their recruit lists and yes, that means they are getting the cream. If there are 25 AAs in any given year, probably no more than 5-8 are sure bets for stardom, another 8-10 likely quality college contributors and the balance undistinguished.

OBear073akaSMFan;842279551 said:

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I think the ones UConn, ND, and Duke recruits are players we would recruit too if they were interested in Cal. Were any of current players recruited by these 3 schools. I thought perhaps Hartman might have but not sure if true or not.

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There are a ton of unhappy campers in Durham, and McCallie is not very well liked. Looks like she's lost the team since Chelsea Gray got injured again. If Duke flames out early in the Dance would not be surprised to see her get canned. Boyle was once perceived as a replacement in waiting, but I don't think that's still the case. Gottlieb would be very high on their list to replace McCallie.

BearDevil;842280868 said:

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There are a ton of unhappy campers in Durham, and McCallie is not very well liked. Looks like she's lost the team since Chelsea Gray got injured again. If Duke flames out early in the Dance would not be surprised to see her get canned. [U]Boyle was once perceived as a replacement in waiting, but I don't think that's still the case. Gottlieb would be very high on their list to replace McCallie.[/U]

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Sounds like a statement of fact rather than opinion. Link please. Really interested in the part about Boyle and Gottlieb.

Definitely opinion/speculation, not fact, but based on discussions with Duke friends. McCallie's won five straight ACC titles, but never taken a team to the Final Four and alienated players, former players, and coaches. She's had some nasty Twitter meltdowns this season. Was sitting courtside at Haas this year and she tore into her team multiple times during timeouts even thought they were kicking the Bears' ass.

Gostenkors took her team to four F4s and her teams were very close. Boyle was part of that legacy having been a former Duke player and a G asst. Wouldn't necessarily say Boyle burned a bridge when she decided to stay at Cal rather than return to Duke, but she did come under greater scrutiny. Recruited well at Cal, but as this thread notes, there were some issues with player retention and she never took a team to the F4. Hasn't been lighting it up at UVa either.

If you're going to let a coach go partially for not making F4s, you're going to look for coaches who've reached F4s. Academic pedigree matters at Duke, and McCallie was interesting because she'd played at Northwestern. Lindsey's a Brown grad, she's taken a team to a F4, and her teams are pretty close. Sounds a lot like Gostenkors with an Ivy League pedigree rather than Saginaw State.

GOCAL73;842280879 said:

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Sounds like a statement of fact rather than opinion. Link please. Really interested in the part about Boyle and Gottlieb.

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It's a well-known fact that Boyle was offered the Duke job when Goestenkors left for Texas in '07. Duke postured a little bit by first saying that they wouldn't be able to match Texas's $1M offer, but ultimately they did, but Goestenkors left anyway. I'm not sure if Duke's offer to Boyle was $600k, but I believe that's what it took to keep her at Cal.

In retrospect, Boyle must really regret not taking the Duke job. I think she was a little naive about the region and thought she could make Cal THE West Coast program, or at least the UNC to Stanford's Duke. She didn't realize that a lot of SoCal recruits would have loved to have had good options in UCLA/USC but those programs were in such bad shape. Even if Boyle continued to elevate Cal, their budget was maxed out so she couldn't have gotten any more money.

And Boyle would have done a much better job at Duke. McCallie was (and perhaps still is) a poor recruiter and has admitted she dislikes recruiting. Plus, it was her first time at a program with national reach for recruiting and access to top shelf recruits. Her first class ('08) was terrible by Duke standards (two overrated top 25 players [one a carryover verbal from Goestenkors], a top 70, and a top 90, IIRC) and her '09 was even worse (a top 90, an unranked, and the French post who was pretty good). Boyle would have hit the ground running with recruiting.

Maybe Gottlieb was the hot name last year, but what a difference a year makes. I think Notre Dame's assistant Niele Ivey could get a prime HC job soon, or Penn State's HC (also from the ND lineage).

Had Boyle taken the Duke job, who knows, we might have had Nikki Caldwell…for a minute.

But Boyle isn't exactly in dire straights. She's supposedly getting $1M at UVA. She's recruited well but a post player has been elusive for her. And she just missed out on McD's AA post Dry finishing runner-up to Kentucky. She would have been the missing puzzle piece to a top 12-15 team.

I was surprised when Boyle passed on Duke. But, I would not be surprised if Lindsay passes on Duke. In fact, I would not be surprised if Lindsay stays here for decades. She impresses me as the kind of person who appreciates the unique quality of life the Bay Area offers. Plus she seems to be a builder. I think she wants to build the Cal WBB brand to the elite level and to do it her way. She's been pretty vocal about that goal. I'm sure she knows that is a long term commitment. Also, alums really like her and I believe they would step up to keep her here.

Then again, who knows?

Let's see how the recruiting goes for the upcoming year or two and then, maybe, we can talk about long term commitments from her AND the university. We literally have to have top ten class for 2015. The empty year, loss of Hind, lack of productivity of the transfers and the Class of Two (great though they are) leave us way undergunned in a rising Pac-12 where a great many of the other schools top players are freshman and sophomores, not to mention Close's #1 class.

The Duke situation is a little more complicated than it appears (there's a long thread on RebKell about it) ...

First, McCallie's contract runs through 2018 or something, and it's a big one. Most can't see buying it out, because ...

Second, Duke wins 20-25 games a year, is consistently ranked in the top five, has had no major scandals and ...

Third, who is Duke going to find who's better? Is Lindsay Gottlieb really a better coach than McCallie? It's not like Joanne Boyle arrived from Cal and made Virginia into a national power.

Fourth, I would say the majority opinion is that McCallie is a great recruiter who doesn't get the most out the talent she assembles. But then again, simply measuring success by Final Four trips and national championships is a limited way of looking at things. Graduation rates, perception of the program off the court, etc., matter a great deal.

Finally, though Lindsay has done a fine job, I think the jury is still out on whether she can recruit and motivate her own talent. I think she will, but there's still no shooter on the roster, and though Green and Cowling are immensely talented, they do have some things to work to be impact players in the Pac-12.

I would say the jury is still out on whether Lindsay can improve the players she recruits. Boyd's lack of discipline and the lack of teamwork on offense are symptoms of coaching weakness.

bearchamp;842281152 said:

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I would say the jury is still out on whether Lindsay can improve the players she recruits. Boyd's lack of discipline and the lack of teamwork on offense are symptoms of coaching weakness.

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The way I see it Brittany B has improved tremendously over the last 3 years. I'd say the same of Reshanda, Afure, and Mikayla. Also the teamwork on offense looked pretty convincing against WSU last week.

The players our current coaches have recruited are still freshmen, so I think it's too early to reach any conclusions about their development.

I think Coach G's teams tend to look better later in the season. Perhaps that's a goal, and early season stutters are the price of long term progress.

bearchamp;842281152 said:

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I would say the jury is still out on whether Lindsay can improve the players she recruits. Boyd's lack of discipline and the lack of teamwork on offense are symptoms of coaching weakness.

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If you are telling me Brittany hasn't improved on her leadership and skills since her Freshman year than I am going to say you are high as a kite. I look at Brittany and Reshanda and see huge improvements from their Fr. year (when Lindsay took over) to now. Excited to see jumps like that in Jefflo, Range, and Waters game.

The Brittany Boyd of the last five games is a completely different player than the one who arrived three years ago. It may have taken awhile, but she seems to have finally figured some things out. And in the meantime, she was evolved enough last year to help get us to the Final Four. I am sure Brittany's parents also had their hands full with her when she was growing up. Now she is really growing up, with some obvious help from her coaches. I would like to see us further tweak our offense. But this is certainly not an undisciplined team.

Except for a couple silly fouls, the WSU Boyd is a dream come true. Hope she keeps it going.

Why haven't Hartman and Cohen produced/performed up to expectations? Is it mainly due to injuries-how much fault lies w/ the coach?

3Cats4CAL;842281548 said:

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Why haven't Hartman and Cohen produced/performed up to expectations? Is it mainly due to injuries-how much fault lies w/ the coach?

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Injuries.Poor Hartman can barely jump. For her limitations I actually think she does a solid job.

Not sure why this negative thread is the only one alive after a road sweep and the potential to move into second place this week. Our focus needs to be elsewhere. Hope people make it out to Haas Friday.

CalFanatic;842281570 said:

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Injuries.Poor Hartman can barely jump. For her limitations I actually think she does a solid job.

Not sure why this negative thread is the only one alive after a road sweep and the potential to move into second place this week. Our focus needs to be elsewhere. Hope people make it out to Haas Friday.

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Are you saying that were she on the FB team she would be dispensed to the S & C coach immediately with agility training foremost? But then we don't say that too much about Title IX athletes, do we? Imagine a BB player who cannot get air? Quite a dilemma I would say.

OdontoBear66;842281579 said:

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Are you saying that were she on the FB team she would be dispensed to the S & C coach immediately with agility training foremost? But then we don't say that too much about Title IX athletes, do we? Imagine a BB player who cannot get air? Quite a dilemma I would say.

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Justine suffered a bad knee injury, and I doubt any amount of agility training could restore the joint 100%. If I'm wrong please let me know -- my own knees could use the help.

Sounds to me like the negativity is coming from the folks who don't care for BB too much which means you don't care for Cal Women's Basketball.

PlayerBear;842281612 said:

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Sounds to me like the negativity is coming from the folks who don't care for BB too much which means you don't care for Cal Women's Basketball.

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No, you miss the point entirely. Any day, any year you visit a FB board you can see discussions of S & C; players in need, coaches getting it done or not getting it done. In men's BB a certain player came in very overweight and looked to be a project. Many pounds came off in a very short time, and suddenly his long term prospects look very good.

What I am speaking of is a cloud of protectionism around some Title IX sports. You just don't go there, or comment about it as I did. Seems like certain things are sacred ground. BB is BB and yes, I understand the women's game is different but not 100% different. And BTW, 3/4 of the athlete's in our family's next generation are girls (to be women soon), so if anything I have a bias toward women's sports, but not to the point of excusing certain things because of the XX gene, yet realizing certain limits due to gender.

OdontoBear66;842281846 said:

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No, you miss the point entirely. Any day, any year you visit a FB board you can see discussions of S & C; players in need, coaches getting it done or not getting it done. In men's BB a certain player came in very overweight and looked to be a project. Many pounds came off in a very short time, and suddenly his long term prospects look very good.

What I am speaking of is a cloud of protectionism around some Title IX sports. You just don't go there, or comment about it as I did. Seems like certain things are sacred ground. BB is BB and yes, I understand the women's game is different but not 100% different. And BTW, 3/4 of the athlete's in our family's next generation are girls (to be women soon), so if anything I have a bias toward women's sports, but not to the point of excusing certain things because of the XX gene, yet realizing certain limits due to gender.

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In the real world this thread is not negative. It is a discussion with differing opinions and perspectives. Dare I call it diverse? Sometimes, like this one, a thread starts out as one thing then turns into another. Like this one. lots of interesting subjects in this one. Subjects that should generate healthy debate and good questions.

Once again, this is not a site sponsored by the Cal athletic department, Bear Backers, Triple Threat or any other propaganda machine that wants us to believe that all is milk and honey when it comes to Cal sports, including Cal WBB. Actually, when it comes to criticism this board is pretty tame compared to many others.

As for women D1 athletes stepping up to the level of training and commitment seen with many D1 male athletes, I agree. However, I don't see this as a universal problem with women's athletics. I look at the Cal swim team and the work and training our women put in is equal to or better than the men. I think the UConn WBB program pushes their women athletes as hard as most men's programs. I guess what I'm saying is the coaching staff has something to do with commitment to development and training, as does the individual player's drive and desire to excel in their sport.

One of my criticisms of Lindsay and her staff is the lack of development I see in her players. While we can point to Boyd and Gray being better players now than they were as freshmen, I'm not sure how much of that is a credit to the coaching staff rather than the natural maturation process over 2.5 collegiate seasons. When I see FT% improve, Foo assert herself consistently, the elimination of unforced turnovers, knowing what to do in pressure game situations, stuff like that, then I'll agree that our coaching staff is a good teaching and development staff.

As for Boyd, whatever she is doing to finally play to her vast potential, just keep doing it. She's had some other good outings lately, but that WSU performance was just fantastic. That's how All-Americans play, less the fouling out. If she continues to play like this, Cal has a legit shot of running the table these last 6 games. I think that would make for many more "happy" posts.

It's difficult to imagine the dramatic cultural change, and adjustments, foreign players must undergo coming to the US. The basketball is very different, as well. Erika Johnson was a potentially greater loss for the Bears than Hind, IMHO, but I haven't followed Johnson's exploits at Chapel Hill. I wish Hind the best of luck with her future--she demonstrated a high level of hoops skills while a Bear.

GOCAL73;842281927 said:

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As for Boyd ... If she continues to play like this, Cal has a legit shot of running the table these last 6 games.

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Why not run the table in these last 15 games?

puget sound cal fan;842281939 said:

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Erika Johnson was a potentially greater loss for the Bears than Hind, IMHO, but I haven't followed Johnson's exploits at Chapel Hill. I wish Hind the best of luck with her future--she demonstrated a high level of hoops skills while a Bear.

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I think we'll miss Hind more because we need a backup point and a perimeter scorer.

I was really disappointed when Erika left, but I'm afraid she might be one of those players with the game of a forward and the body of a guard. UNC has a lot of good players, so Erika is currently 11th on the team in minutes played. She's shooting .345, also 11th on the team, including just 1 of 7 on threes. However she's rebounding very well with 9.2 per 30 minutes played.

Altogether I think Courtney Range is playing better than Erika, and Courtney is a freshman with a much higher ceiling. Also I have high hopes for Mikayla Cowling next year.

I'm rooting for Erica to get her degree and to have a great time doing it.

P.S. We could have used Erika earlier this season when Gennifer was out and Kyra was ineligible. I think we would have won the GW game with Erika.

Justine was MVP of the Nike TOC her senior year, even after the first set of injuries. I can't find it, but there was a highlight reel of her for the McD's AA game announcement and it showed a whole different player. She was never a freak athlete but she is a shell of her former self. She used to have hops and mobility comparable to USC's Vaioletama and Haberts.

kat0189;842282015 said:

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Justine was MVP of the Nike TOC her senior year, even after the first set of injuries. I can't find it, but there was a highlight reel of her for the McD's AA game announcement and it showed a whole different player. She was never a freak athlete but she is a shell of her former self. She used to have hops and mobility comparable to USC's Vaioletama and Haberts.

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At the beginning , when she played her first few games at Cal, she was a little more agile and had pretty good touch from the foul line and in. Now she has no lift and her shots seem rushed and has very little trajectory.

kat0189;842282015 said:

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Justine was MVP of the Nike TOC her senior year, even after the first set of injuries. I can't find it, but there was a highlight reel of her for the McD's AA game announcement and it showed a whole different player. She was never a freak athlete but she is a shell of her former self. She used to have hops and mobility comparable to USC's Vaioletama and Haberts.

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I have just always assumed she was one of those highly rated HS players who achieved that against lesser competition. Have you seen films of her from those days against the likes of a Vaioletama or Haberts. Would be interesting, and certainly give credence to her injury restricting her upside, as opposed to speculation of same.