ND @ Rutgers, tonight 7pm

[Wbbfan1]

I liked the all Freshmen except for Oliver in the post. It gave Rutgers more speed and potential for the future. The downsize to this lineup which was major against ND, is that at times no one wanted to shoot the ball. My take it was the inexperience playing against the likes of ND a good defensive team. If Vivian stays with this same lineup against UConn, the result should be similar. However, I think by next year they will be a much better team then they are today.

April Sykes did not show me anything tonight and was a detriment to Rutgers defensive efforts. While it wouldn't have made a difference in the game, Rutgers definitely missed Rushdan tonight. She would have provided more leadership for the Rutgers freshmen.

Has Geno started something with teams going to a smaller 4 guard lineup. Other teams seem to be copying him.

 

[ScarlettB]

Wbbfan1, our starting lineup with the four freshman and Oliver was not a small four guard line-up. One of the starting freshman was Christa Evans, the tallest player on our team. Coach Stringer was trying to go big and pound the ball inside to Oliver as our two best perimeter shooters, Sykes and Wheeler have been stone cold the last few games. It worked pretty well until Oliver got into foul trouble and she had to play April, who is now regressing on defense as well. ND shot 4 consecutive 3's from basically the same spot and Sykes was the one who missed her assignment on 3 of them. If Rushdan can't play on Saturday, we will probably see a similar result. I hope Dee can play, as I am coming up to the game and it's a long drive to watch a blowout!

 

[speedoo]

Sykes has been totally unimpressive recently. It's like she does not care about the WNBA draft, and I see her dropping to the bottom of the first round or lower, even though she has the size and skills to be drafted much higher.

 

[pasteurize]

Sykes has been totally unimpressive recently. It's like she does not care about the WNBA draft, and I see her dropping to the bottom of the first round or lower, even though she has the size and skills to be drafted much higher.

I definitely don't see her going in the first round. I do think she has the potential to be a decent player in the WNBA, but Rutgers is just not the place for her. She's a better player than what she has shown during her time here. She also has confidence issues, which seem to get to her head and really affect her game. She and Wheeler (our outside shooters) have completely disappeared lately. With Rushdan out and Oliver sitting early because of foul trouble, we didn't stand a chance last night.

I'm really hoping Rushdan can play when we play you guys. It'll be a blow out either way, but the score will be slightly less embarrassing of our team leader is on the court.

 

[VAMike23]

I've noticed that Novosel has been largely invisible of late...Ill? Injured?
Only played 15 minutes

I kept an eye on the box score at different points and in the first half -- fairly early -- I saw that she had 2 fouls already. She probably sat the rest of the half. They must have liked how well they were doing with the bigger Achonwa, who had a great game, and stuck with her.

I think NN has probably been 'off' a bit lately but also the refs seem to be watching her more closely

 

[Coler]

Can it be next year already?