Roster as I know it now (by seniority):
[INDENT]PG: Thomas
SG:
W: Range, Cowling, Mosley, Brown
F: Waters, Davidson, Anigwe
C: Chen, West[/INDENT]

I suppose we could either devise an offense where we don't need a SG or develop Cowling, Mosley, and/or Brown at SG. But even if that works out what to do when Thomas is off the court? I remember Jefflo as a freshie playing PG one game (Washington?) when Boyd was out -- it was not pretty. So what are the alternatives?
[INDENT]Plan A: Ionescu changes her mind. Wouldn't be the first time.
Plan B: Cayton chooses Cal. Should get all the playing time she can handle.
Plan C: Anastasieska gets some kind of hardship waiver and can play immediately.
Plan D: Coach Kai's trip to Spain is no vacation. Comes home with a guard.
Plan E: Thomas plays 40 minutes every game. Pray for no injuries and no overtimes.[/INDENT]

Better ideas?

Mi'Cole Cayton could be an OK Pac-12 player as a freshman, but is not a point guard. And really, it would be asking a lot for her to step in and be a major contributor right away. She's a good player, but that's a big leap. An ideal situation for her would be to be the first guard off the bench behind at least one senior ... don't know if that option exists, though.

ClayK;842696123 said:

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Mi'Cole Cayton could be an OK Pac-12 player as a freshman, but is not a point guard. And really, it would be asking a lot for her to step in and be a major contributor right away. She's a good player, but that's a big leap. An ideal situation for her would be to be the first guard off the bench behind at least one senior ... don't know if that option exists, though.

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I don't quite agree with you Clay, don't think Micole is just OK. She may not be an AA, but she has played against most of the Cal rooster, has always held her own.
When you refer to her as being OK, what exactly are you referring to; skill level (fundamentals), athleticism, defense, shooting, etc?
I will agree, Micole is not a true pg, but IMO neither is GG. However when needed, Micole has and can run point. Fundamentally, I feel she, like ALL players (even professional), should continue to train to improve. She is one heck of an athlete, super quick (was one heck of a track star), and also has a motor that is crazy (ran cross country). Micole is relentless on D, a ball hawk, provides a lot of havoc with her long arms and intensity. She has no problem getting to the basket and has shot the 3 at a good percentage (35-40% during HS), something Cal definitely does not have right now.
But let's just play off your take on Micole, not all players walk on a college court ready to play at that level right away. IMO that's where the development piece comes in. If Micole, an OK player, does indeed decide to attend Cal, with her work ethic and willingness to get better, there is ample time for the staff to work with her in hopes of her being better prepared when the season starts.

I didn't say she was an OK player -- I said she could be an OK Pac-12 player as a freshman, which to me is a pretty big accomplishment. As a sophomore and beyond, she definitely could be more than OK, but I don't see her as one of those kids who arrives on a college campus and is immediately contending for all-league honors. Not a lot of freshmen are at the "OK" level in the Pac-12. This is not the Pac-12 of ten years ago, or even five years ago. Experience matters ...

Again, I'm not saying Cayton can't be all-league when she's a senior, but for her to play 32 effective minutes as a freshman is, I think, asking a lot.

stu;842696110 said:

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Roster as I know it now (by seniority):
[INDENT]PG: Thomas
SG:
W: Range, Cowling, Mosley, Brown
F: Waters, Davidson, Anigwe
C: Chen, West[/INDENT]

I suppose we could either devise an offense where we don't need a SG or develop Cowling, Mosley, and/or Brown at SG. But even if that works out what to do when Thomas is off the court? I remember Jefflo as a freshie playing PG one game (Washington?) when Boyd was out -- it was not pretty. So what are the alternatives?
[INDENT]Plan A: Ionescu changes her mind. Wouldn't be the first time.
Plan B: Cayton chooses Cal. Should get all the playing time she can handle.
Plan C: Anastasieska gets some kind of hardship waiver and can play immediately.
Plan D: Coach Kai's trip to Spain is no vacation. Comes home with a guard.
Plan E: Thomas plays 40 minutes every game. Pray for no injuries and no overtimes.[/INDENT]

Better ideas?

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Where's Gabby Green? EDIT: Nevermind, just saw the other thread. Wow

ClayK;842696197 said:

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I didn't say she was an OK player -- I said she could be an OK Pac-12 player as a freshman, which to me is a pretty big accomplishment. As a sophomore and beyond, she definitely could be more than OK, but I don't see her as one of those kids who arrives on a college campus and is immediately contending for all-league honors. Not a lot of freshmen are at the "OK" level in the Pac-12. This is not the Pac-12 of ten years ago, or even five years ago. Experience matters ...

Again, I'm not saying Cayton can't be all-league when she's a senior, but for her to play 32 effective minutes as a freshman is, I think, asking a lot.

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I respect your opinion Clay. OK or OK as a freshman in the Pac-12, I just don't think you're giving Micole enough credit. Besides Kristine, is there another current player who has made an immediate impact and/or was an immediate contender for all league honors?
Based on the current state of the team, the lack of players, specifically guards, I think Micole can definitely come in and make a difference.

ClayK;842696123 said:

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Mi'Cole Cayton could be an OK Pac-12 player as a freshman, but is not a point guard.

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I was hoping Cayton might be a better backup PG than anyone we have now. But I don't know, I haven't seen her play.

I remember quite a few years ago star PG Alexis Gray-Lawson suffered a season-ending knee injury. Freshie Natasha Vital stepped in at PG and played well enough to get us back to the NCAA tournament. Is that a valid comparison?

Quote:

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An ideal situation for her would be to be the first guard off the bench behind at least one senior ... don't know if that option exists, though.

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Our two seniors (and our two juniors) play F and W. Maybe first guard off the bench behind soph Thomas? Do you think Mosley or Cayton could be OK at SG?

Very few players can make an impact as freshmen; some can certainly make a difference, and given Cal's roster, I would expect that Mi'Cole would. But to me, making a difference and having an impact are two different things.

Because of the specific holes in the roster, if Micole, or other similarly-skilled guard, arrives in Berkeley, she will most certainly get PT. Thomas will not play the whole game at the style and pace LG favors. With Gabby gone, minutes to compliment Asha at PG will need to come from someone.

puget sound cal fan;842696516 said:

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Because of the specific holes in the roster, if Micole, or other similarly-skilled guard, arrives in Berkeley, she will most certainly get PT. Thomas will not play the whole game at the style and pace LG favors. With Gabby gone, minutes to compliment Asha at PG will need to come from someone.

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I think we will be a strange-looking team this year. Because we will have more big people than guards, Courtney Range will likely be bringing the ball up court a lot, and playing more outside.

annarborbear;842696537 said:

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Courtney Range will likely be bringing the ball up court a lot, and playing more outside.

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Courtney did bring the ball up at times this past season, possibly because she was being defended by a big without the skill to press her. I like Courtney's perimeter game and I think it would be beyond cool to replace a 6'2" PG with a 6'3" PG, but I also think we could use Courtney's rebounding and interior offense.

ClayK;842696123 said:

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Mi'Cole Cayton could be an OK Pac-12 player as a freshman, but is not a point guard. And really, it would be asking a lot for her to step in and be a major contributor right away. She's a good player, but that's a big leap. An ideal situation for her would be to be the first guard off the bench behind at least one senior ... don't know if that option exists, though.

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Here we go again Clay... You said the same thing about Brittany Boyd and Elisha Davis when they entered college.

Cali Bear;842696599 said:

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Here we go again Clay... You said the same thing about Brittany Boyd and Elisha Davis when they entered college.

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well both BB and Elisha Davis were both better later on, which is what Clay is saying. I agree with him.

Regardless, it would be nice to get Cayton. We really need someone that can stop players like Canada and SI.

I definitely underestimated Elisha Davis -- I did not think she would be as good as she turned out to be.

Her freshman year she averaged 2.5 ppg and had a 67/59 A/TO. Her sophomore year she averaged 5.4 ppg and had a 94/70 A/TO.

Brittany Boyd was much more successful as a freshman, but I think she was a better player coming out of high school than Cayton.

If Cayton can do what Boyd did -- 10. 2 ppg, 168/36 A/TO -- and shoot better (Boyd was 16.4% from three), she's an impact player. If she does what Davis did, she's an OK Pac-12 player.

puget sound cal fan;842696516 said:

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Because of the specific holes in the roster, if Micole, or other similarly-skilled guard, arrives in Berkeley, she will most certainly get PT. Thomas will not play the whole game at the style and pace LG favors. With Gabby gone, minutes to compliment Asha at PG will need to come from someone.

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IMO Micole is a 2 guard not PG, she's more of a scorer. If we do land her we need a good back-up for Asha at the PG spot.

85 Fly;842696815 said:

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IMO Micole is a 2 guard not PG, she's more of a scorer. If we do land her we need a good back-up for Asha at the PG spot.

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We don't have any 2's. I was surprised that Asha could play as much as she did coming off major knee surgery. Very fortunate that she recovered so well. i can't think of another school with only one guard. If Cayton wants playing time (whether anyone thinks she is ready or not), this is the place.

GATC;842696872 said:

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We don't have any 2's. I was surprised that Asha could play as much as she did coming off major knee surgery. Very fortunate that she recovered so well. i can't think of another school with only one guard. If Cayton wants playing time (whether anyone thinks she is ready or not), this is the place.

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I agree with you, and I think Micole knows this. But more important than playing time is finding the right fit, which is why I think she is taking her time to make the decision.

Now that Mi'Cole is on board I'm going to speculate about minutes. Roughly:

[INDENT]30 each for Courtney, Mikayla, Kristine, Asha
20 each for Penina, Ma'Ane, Mi'Cole
5 each for KC, Yue, Jaelyn, CJ[/INDENT]

In close games our top 4 will probably play more. Any of the freshies (including Yue) could break out and play more. And if Mikayla can play guard our bigs will play more.

Using my guesses for minutes our average experience (weighted by minutes) would be 1.4 years. That's up from 0.8 year this past season but still quite young.

stu;842700014 said:

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Now that Mi'Cole is on board I'm going to speculate about minutes. Roughly:

[INDENT]30 each for Courtney, Mikayla, Kristine, Asha
20 each for Penina, Ma'Ane, Mi'Cole
5 each for KC, Yue, Jaelyn, CJ[/INDENT]

In close games our top 4 will probably play more. Any of the freshies (including Yue) could break out and play more. And if Mikayla can play guard our bigs will play more.

Using my guesses for minutes our average experience (weighted by minutes) would be 1.4 years. That's up from 0.8 year this past season but still quite young.

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My own scenario would be:

1. Start Thomas and Cayton to put both speed and shooting on the floor, helping to break the packed-in zones that we have seen used against us too often in the past.
2. When one of those two needs a rest, bring in Davidson and move Courtney Range outside to the perimeter. Courtney can do a decent job of handling the ball while continuing to rain down some threes on the offensive end.
3. Keep Cowling consistently at the wing rather than using her sometimes as a guard. Cowling becomes too passive on offense when playing outside. Her game should be aggressive shots and rebounding in the lane and on the baseline, while also putting up some threes from the deep corner.
4. Use Mosely periodically as a fourth guard to provide extra doses of trapping and added defensive intensity.

The main goal should to improve our outside shooting to unpack the lane so that Anigwe can then have more room to operate inside and do major damage.

I think West and Brown will play more that you indicated. Let's hope there are no injuries or other unexpected issue. Is our roster now finalized or are there still other possibilities? For example:

Is there any chance that Gabby stays?

Is there any chance that SI chooses to come to Cal?

Since I am dreaming, I might as well ask the following: Is there any chance that I win the California lottery in the same week that I win Ms. USA contest while I am climbing Mt. Everest? OK, maybe not the Ms. USA part because I am the wrong gender and around 2.5 times older than the normal contestants! 😀

Go Bears! Go Sharks! Go Warriors!

annarborbear;842700115 said:

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Start Thomas and Cayton to put both speed and shooting on the floor

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calbear80;842700134 said:

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I think West and Brown will play more that you indicated.

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I hope the freshies play more than I guessed, as that would mean they're really good.

2016-2017 Active Roster (excluding Sara)

FRESHMEN
5'9 SG Mi'Cole Cayton
6'1 W Jaelyn Brown
6'3 C Celeste West

SOPHOMORES
6'4 C Kristine Anigwe
6'7 C Chen Yue
5'4 PG Asha Thomas
5'11 W Ma'Ane Mosely

JUNIORS
6'1 W Mikayla Cowling
6'3 F Penina Davidson

SENIORS
6'3 W Courtney Range
6'1 F KC Waters

I think Chen took a blueshirt year, if so she's a freshie for eligibility purposes.

CalFanatic;842700627 said:

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2016-2017 Active Roster (excluding Sara)

FRESHMEN
5'9 SG Mi'Cole Cayton
6'1 W Jaelyn Brown
6'3 C Celeste West

SOPHOMORES
6'4 C Kristine Anigwe
6'7 C Chen Yue
5'4 PG Asha Thomas
5'11 W Ma'Ane Mosely

JUNIORS
6'1 W Mikayla Cowling
6'3 F Penina Davidson

SENIORS
6'3 W Courtney Range
6'1 F KC Waters

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Wow, only two guards and only four wings on the entire roster. That is a total of six players for 120 minutes of playing time per a game. I hope Green sees the light and decides to stay.

Go Bears! Go Warriors!

Gabby did some nice things as a Bear... but the lack of energy and aggressiveness (among other attitude related things) was widely talked about on this board and others. It might hurt this year, but also might be beneficial in the long run for the Cal program. I hope she finds a program best suited for her.

On the flip side, i'm incredibly excited for the work ethic and attitude Cayton will bring to Cal. Should have a ton of playing time as a Freshman.

stu;842700637 said:

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I think Chen took a blueshirt year, if so she's a freshie for eligibility purposes.

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Any word on how Chen's recovery is progressing?

85 Fly;842696815 said:

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IMO Micole is a 2 guard not PG, she's more of a scorer. If we do land her we need a good back-up for Asha at the PG spot.

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The thing to remember is that Micole played the two at SMS because they had Smith at point. Micole is a better point than perhaps she is given credit for. I found she plays better with the ball in her hands. She sort of never had the opportunity to play the point with her AAU team either. I think she will do well with Thomas at point and playing the 2 and back up and change of pace PG

CalFanatic;842700665 said:

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Gabby did some nice things as a Bear... but the lack of energy and aggressiveness (among other attitude related things) was widely talked about on this board and others. It might hurt this year, but also might be beneficial in the long run for the Cal program. I hope she finds a program best suited for her.

On the flip side, i'm incredibly excited for the work ethic and attitude Cayton will bring to Cal. Should have a ton of playing time as a Freshman.

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We really miss the high energy when Boyd graduated. It should also open things up more for Anigwe since the person guarding Cayton won't automatically back down and double her.