mathknapp wrote:
VUofTN wrote: I'm glad to see MB stressing defense and rebounding (Duke nightmare). IF we get a lot better, then flirting with the top 10 could be a possibility. With a veteran team like ours improved, a top 10 finish could happen.
Duke, Baylor, UCONN, North Carolina, Maryland, etc are there now and with a few more recruits like those of late....who knows.
Maybe I'm just pie in the sky. Maybe I just don't follow the national women's bb to understand the competition we're up against this year. But I just don't see why top 10 shouldn't be an expectation for this team. When Holzer is healthy, she's an absolute beast underneath. Foggie might have been the best player in the SEC last year. I really like what Lister and Clarke bring to the team. And it sounds to me like this year's freshman should have an impact. We were good last year. Bring almost all of that talent back. ANd added a really solid freshman class. This year I will be disappointed in anything less than a sweet 16 .... and I kind of want us to go a step or two beyond that...
I'd call Top 10 an "ambitious but realistic" goal. Some of the big "if's" is "If Holzer holds up physically," "If we have reasonably good fortune with injuries to other key players, "If the team truly is abled to step up defense a couple of levels," "If we play better on the road than last year".
We have a lot of build on, but as Coach emphasized to the players earlier, whereas we were ranked in the top 25 on offense last year, we were ranked in the 160s in defense. There were stretches when our defense looked great, but it wasn't consistent, and often when it looked good, Jordan Coleman (our only graduation loss) was on the court. The players are saying the right things about being committed to defense, but it has yet to be proven on the court.
As for playing on the road, I hope that having a strong group of seniors and a more experienced team overall will help with that. Again, though, it remains to be seen.
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