We lost Emely Rodriguez to Iowa. She had visited about 8 days ago. I did not think she would come when she did not announce last week.
We need, imo, another “difference maker”. One big who can alter shots in the paint or a guard who can hit threes above 40%.
Without this, we need some current players to surprise. We need Zania (who battled every practice last year against Lauren Betts), and two of the other bigs (the portal ads Edessa and Jade or the existing bigs of Faith and Syd) to really blossom. We need three scoring guards. Shay for sure, but two out of Beau, Valentyne, or Maya. I include the 6’3” Maya as a G (probably wrong) due to her three point shooting. I would love to see it but am not expecting scoring from Stotijn, Spreen, or Caffey.
The most recent top 25 I have seen does not have us in it but does have multiple big ten teams.
I've taken a close look at this roster statistically and, frankly, it is very concerning, particularly on offense.
We have 9 kids who have some experience, 4 basically have no experience.
Of the 9 who have some experience, a few have played very little, Sprren...129M, Zania...84M, Faith...35M.
Of the 9, only one, Lenee B., had an ORtg (offensive efficiency) rating of over 100 last year. Her's was 1110.4 last year, which was very good for that team. But all 5 starters were between 100 and 107. And that was with a team that was 81/362 teams nationally in the stat. The year before they were 9th, and 2 players had efficiency ratings of 120 or higher.
Also, there is no one coming back or joining from the portal who averaged more than 3.4 assists per every 40M played. That's what Shay averaged, which was matched by Phoenix Stotijn. In comparison, Chloe averaged 5.5 assists per every 40M, which was down some from the prior year. And while Chloe averaged 2.8 TOs every 40M, Phoenix was upside down with 4.1.
The possibilities at pg seem to be Coffey, Stotijn, and Spreen. Spreen didn't have a lot of assists, but she didn't turn the ball over. She was 3 to 1 on the A/TO #.....but she shot very poorly---.333 on 2s, .182 on 3s, .583 on FTs.
I hope Coffey's the one who gets the job. She was pg on 2-3 state championship teams. Her highlights look a lot like Chloe M.M.---does a little bit of everything, although maybe not great in any one area.
Lenee Beaument and Valentyna lppk like potentially good players, but more like combo guards than pure PGs or 3 point specialists. Valentyna looks like more of a scorer than Lenee, but neither is a pure shooter. Lenee was at 25% in 2023-24, Valentyna at 33% last year.
If the PG position is of concern, so is our outside shooting. No one other than Shay (.389) was at better than .333 last year. (Valentyna and Edessa Noyan). Jerni K. was at .263, Stotijn at .260, Spreen at .182, Beaumont .250 (in 2023'24),
I feel a little better about our inside D and rebounding. Zania is a tough kid, with a limited offensive game limited to 5 feet in.....but she can really rebound the basketball. And it seems like Edessa Noyan, who looks like a sure starter, can rebound a tad better than Garzon.
I don't expect much from Maya, Sydney, Faith or Jade. Long-term Naya could be very good, but not seeing it until the end of next year at the earliest.
I wonder about the Phoenix & Jerni additions. From highlights, it looks like Jerni is a confident but inefficient scorer....more drives than 3s. She really rebounds well for a 5 7 kid, so TM might think there's a potential leader/fighter type there if she can get settled down. Phoenix played very inefficiently for a very bad Arkansas team, so she might also benefit from a more disciplined approach.
I have no idea who starts the season at PG. Perhaps Phoenix, and Nevaeh fight that out. Shay starts obviously. Lenee, Valentyna, and Jerni back her of with 1 starting at the 3rd guard . And I'd be shocked if Edessa and Zania don't both start. Chloe Spreen might be the odd woman out, scratching for minutes. I think those 9 are the rotation players.
