Sherri mentioned that the Puerto Rico Tournament in Las Vegas (that's the kind of year this is) will be used to evaluate who should start, what rotations worked together well, etc. There are a lot of talented people who are not separated by much.
I expect that the post will remain Vivi---for now. EJ is clearly behind Vivi, and both are exceeding expectations, especially EJ. But, Nancy's emergence should be causing some second thoughts. With 4:18 left in the third quarter against Tex-Rio Grande Valley, a new era at OU may have begun. The dominance that the Nancy, Maddie, Gabbi, Chelsea, LaNesia rotation exhibited for the remainder of the quarter set the tone for that game and the next. Nancy only played seven minutes against Tex--Rio Grande Valley, but we totally dominated those seven minutes.
If this continues, it will be difficult to keep Nancy out of the starting lineup. I never thought we would be seeing that this year. But, I expect to see Vivi in for the Xavier and California games. If Nancy continues as she has in the past two games, it would not be a surprise to see her start against Portland State, a considerably weaker opponent, making her first start not quite so competitive.
Vivi is still the stronger rebounder, the best on the team. But, the combination of Nancy and Maddie seems to keep the ball alive until we get it. They seem to work together on the boards better than Maddie with Vivi or EJ.
Do you keep Nancy on the bench as a member of the shock troops?
I don't know why Maddie has not been starting. But, she has been the MVP in three of the last five games. The past two have been rather dominant. She seems to have become the defensive leader as well, as a lot of our offense has been generated by the defense. I suspect that Sherri might not want to change anything up with her. But, she plays so many minutes that it is reserve in name only, 55 minutes in the past two games, with the next most with 42.
Carter seems to have become quiet at the wrong time. Would Carter be an effective sixth man? She seems to have a short energy span, going full steam for about three minutes before disappearing. She is actually shooting better from three than from two. Is she becoming like Derica?
Peyton had a quiet game against Tex-RGV. But, she fought well against Tulsa. She seems to be a steady defender who is becoming better at a running jumper than the three. She keeps getting steals when she is the only one downcourt. She is steady in her all-around game.
Chelsea has emerged as an offensive threat who happens to play good defense. She is aggressive and can hit the three. She was excellent from the line until the past two games. I think she has become a solid starter.
That really leaves the T'Ona/Gabbi battle. As Sherri mentioned, Gabbi is more like herself recently. She makes better decisions than T'Ona, and she is effective with Nancy. The one double pass to Nancy for a layup was quick thinking and reaction. She also took advantage of the collapse on Nancy for a fall away jumper in the lane that was wide open. Funny, Maddie and Gabbi both found that the middle was wide open for short jumpers with Nancy on the floor.
T'Ona's four fouls in eleven minutes were largely due to her insistence on driving into a crowd. So many of her fouls seem to be unnecessary charges. As the announcers said, point guards have to realize that their value to the team is too high to get fouls in the post. Stay out of the forest unless it is wide open. I don't know which one Sherri will go with against Xavier. But, I think Gabbi opens up the offense more.
I expect a starting unit of Vivi, Maddie, Peyton, Chelsea, and Gabbi. No matter who starts, I think they'll get the most minutes.
The assimilation of Morgan Rich begins with Xavier. From the videos of her in highschool, my first impression was that she had long arms like Maddie on defense. If she is our best shooter, that might work out nicely. I expect defense.
I was surprised by the use of LaNesia on the floor in both games with Nancy, Maddie, Gabbi, and Chelsea. She becomes pretty effective in the wide open game that results from that defense. With that group, I'd rather have her than T'Ona. She has a nice jump shot in open court.
I wonder if Sherri will try to use those five as a defensive Shock Troop in reserve? I'd let them set the tone for the game. If you didn't notice, when they began that defensive run against Tex-RGV, they bent down after a time out and slapped the floor as a group. The defense began. I wonder who choreographed that move?
