No idea at this point. But I think it all depends on how ready the frosh posts will be to play effectively in the PAC12. If one of them is ready (the most likely scenario), I think we move up only to 8th or 9th place. If two are ready by the conference season, then we could go higher. Love Schipholt, but we will really need some front-line scoring.

Looking at these line-ups, I think there still is room for a grad transfer to contribute. Hope that we can find a good shooter/scorer for a one-year stint.

annarborbear said:

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Looking at these line-ups, I think there still is room for a grad transfer to contribute. Hope that we can find a good shooter/scorer for a one-year stint.

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I've been keeping tabs of the transfer portal and there were a couple good guards in there but don't know if they'd come West, one from Georgia Tech the other St Johns

I believe in guards. I don't see three new bigs playing but I will hold my powder till the first open practice in October if there is one.

I'm going to open a can of worms that I don't know anything about. But what if Naje Murray was back at community college trying to get the credits to go to Cal. Might she end up back here in the fall. Just asking. No violence please.

I would go with a good grad transfer if there is one if we want to maximize our chances to win. But if we don't get one, would probably then play the new players lots of minutes to maximize future development and also to figure out who can actually play.

Video suggests that she likely will be challenged to fulfil the defensive responsibility of Pac-12 Woman's Basketball.

Agile and decisive; makes BearBloke and me feel more optimistic.

Lots of High school players don't play defense. Are they capable of learning? I watched Sabrina for four years play at Miramonte and she didn't play defense. Defense is more perspiration than inspiration.

BearBint said:

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Agile and decisive; makes BearBloke and me feel more optimistic.

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14th ranked recruit in the nation for a reason!

I think Daniels would be in the starting lineup.

Then much would depend on what kind of improvement our returners make this offseason...

I think Crocker, with the way she finished the season, is a starter. But will she be comfortable enough to start at point? Or will McIntosh need to continue to play heavy minutes there? If McIntosh can add more shooting and better finishing, then she continues to start.

If Green improves on defense, then maybe she starts? It's more likely, though, that she will again come off the bench.

Will Styles make a big push for her senior season? What will be her on-court role? Against big/strong posts, she will be rotated out. Maybe if the Bears run?

Schipholt improved so much over the season. Watching her against Tapley in the ASU game showed how much better her instincts are now on defense. She has shown she can play the 5 when the Bears go small, but she too can't be expected to match up against the bruisers for the whole game.

So despite the fact that she was limited for a lot of the season, CJ West (big post)'s role in the rotation is what we will miss.

My guess:
McIntosh
Crocker
Daniels
Styles
Schipholt

Except for Daniels, whose versatility gives the Bears flexibility, I think Smith goes with known quantities, at least to start the season. Then give the frosh players minutes and see who breaks through!

The freshman might improve greatly over the summer, just on natural physical maturation. I hope the freshman do not have to suffer the "go with experience" mindset if they are as good as advertised. I think this past season's freshman were underutilized in favor of "experience" to the detriment of the team and the development of the freshmen.

bearchamp said:

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The freshman might improve greatly over the summer, just on natural physical maturation. I hope the freshman do not have to suffer the "go with experience" mindset if they are as good as advertised. I think this past season's freshman were underutilized in favor of "experience" to the detriment of the team and the development of the freshmen.

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There were many times during the season Jaelyn was on the floor with the four freshman. A great photo posted on Cal WBB Twitter and Charmin's Twitter account is when Jaelyn was shooting foul shots because of the intentional foul as Llelani was roughed up. I remember the look on Cailyn Crocker's face as she was looking at Llenai on the floor. I think it was near the end of the Arizona victory. The four freshman were standing in a straight line at mid-court watching Jaelyn shoot foul shots. Llelani had 100 assists and got 50 turnovers this season. She played so hard every game, and came out of the game very little. Jazzy and Cailyn really improved, and were able to put points on the board as they played more. I have watched re-runs of the Arizona St. game at the Pac-12 tournament. They were playing with confidence in the second half. Of course Jaelyn Brown had a stellar performance. ESL performed well when she was on the floor. When Charmin put Sara in the tournament game vs Arizona St, she turned the ball over twice having just gotten in the game. It was in the first quarter, and Charmin pulled her right out. I don't think she played again during the game. There are so many transfers this spring at Auburn, Ohio State, Tenn., etc. I have the feeling Charmin and April are putting together a cohesive, and compatible team. The Pac-12 is just tough...Oregon's 2020 class are all McDonald's All Americans. Stanford is loaded, and experienced, never mind UCLA. This year's team was out sized most of the time. Now, they have height, very good forwards and posts. Work hard during the summer, and GO BEARS!

Did you see Daniels' little dance move, when her name was called, at player introductions? She's a fit for Cal and one heck of a basketball player!

annarborbear said:

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Looking at these line-ups, I think there still is room for a grad transfer to contribute. Hope that we can find a good shooter/scorer for a one-year stint.

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With 6 freshmen coming in, there won't be a lot of minutes for another newbie unless someone redshirts.

IssyBear said:

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annarborbear said:

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Looking at these line-ups, I think there still is room for a grad transfer to contribute. Hope that we can find a good shooter/scorer for a one-year stint.

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With 6 freshmen coming in, there won't be a lot of minutes for another newbie unless someone redshirts.

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Heide is the most obvious redshirt candidate since her high school development has already been held back by injury. I would be hoping for somebody between 6' and 6'2" who could be counted on both for points and to help steady the younger players. Caldwell was really valuable in that regard. But if that type of player is not available, making it a mainly developmental year for new and younger players would be a perfectly fine next step along way.

And Styles could actually be that player. One final year showing both leadership and consistency would be a great way to go out.

They don't need any grad transfers because they have Archer Olson and Sierra Richey as additional backups

Evelien Lutje-Schipholt was great in the non-conference but she completely lost confidence in her offensive game in conference play. I still remember that OOC game when she took it over offensively! Charmin called an isolation play (out of a timeout) to her in the post and she scored the winning basket. She scored more than 20 points at least once. It was kind of the reverse for Cailyn Crocker. She played very tentatively early and turned the ball over a ton! In conference-she discovered her drive to the basket which opened up her overall game.

I also noticed that Charmin Smith was tough on Alaysia Styles. If she didn't play aggressively and well early in the game, the coach often sat her her for the remainder...Hopefully, she learned something from that. I was a bit worried that she might transfer but she stayed. GO BEARS!