GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

[jackdaniel]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

Of the starters , I thought Clarin and Boever looked like they were able to hold their own and compete. Stuart came in off the bench and was aggressive in getting some shots off - have not understood why her minutes have shrunk in the last 5 or 6 games. She has improved her post game offensively. Would like to see her and Clarin in the game together, especially against teams with size like the Irish. The Jacks need more scoring from Waytashek than the 5 points per game she has provided in this 3 game skid. The Jacks miss Strop more than I thought they would. She doesn't put up big numbers , but she provides senior leadership and a steadying influence. Hopefully another week off gets her ready for conference play.

Paluch got smacked in the nose pretty good early,strickly a homer call,she was standing still and the ND player caught the ball , turned around and hit Steph in the nose with the ball or something,clearly off foul and TO not called,instead foul Jacks....joke.She was taken out for repair at a time when she could have made a difference.
Agree Clarin and Stuart on the court at the same time helps both ,more than one post player to defend is a little harder.Another poor offensive performance w/o a double digit scorer.We have to play as good on the road as we do at home,or we cannot have any sense of playing consistently well at all.

[Captain Jack]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

Of the starters , I thought Clarin and Boever looked like they were able to hold their own and compete. Stuart came in off the bench and was aggressive in getting some shots off - have not understood why her minutes have shrunk in the last 5 or 6 games. She has improved her post game offensively. Would like to see her and Clarin in the game together, especially against teams with size like the Irish. The Jacks need more scoring from Waytashek than the 5 points per game she has provided in this 3 game skid. The Jacks miss Strop more than I thought they would. She doesn't put up big numbers , but she provides senior leadership and a steadying influence. Hopefully another week off gets her ready for conference play.

Clarin and Boever did well. Clarin is still a bit undersized but works hard on the boards - I wish she was better at kicking the ball out to an open player when she does not have a good shot. I agree that Stuart has worked on her offense - needs to learn team ball - especially on defense and then she would play more. In my opinion - I would not want Stuart and Clarin on the floor at one time. Waytashek has to score more. She is getting the best defender from the other team. She is not one to create a shot very often but the team does not drive and dish... it is more pass around the outside - pass to the post. They seldom go inside and then back out.... in my opinion they need to be more creative in the offense to get her the ball when she is on the move or her defender is helping down low. Work to her strengths and she will score more. I like what I am seeing from the freshman - the playing time they are getting now will help come March. Also, agree that we need Strop back - she does not usually fill the stat sheet but BB is a team game and she brings a lot to the floor that does not show up in the box score. Bottom line - ND is one of the top teams/programs... we/Jackrabbits are a very good team that has not been playing well on the road. Welcome back to Frost ladies!!

[Captain Jack]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

WE pass too much....don't have confidence to take and make a shot....look at ND,one pass,score easily.
We on the other hand ....pass,oops defender,pass,oops defender,pass,oops defender,pass,tipped and stolen or bad pass out of bounds.Execute and it only takes one pass,that's what I saw.

That said,we had to learn some things,and we did,however painful it was.Thats why we have to play these teams...you don't see this consistency of scoring from Summit teams,we get used to that level of play,never improve....bad for NCAA tournament games,we have to learn to step up our play .We will.

Agree -- need quicker and stronger passing and more movement on the offense. ND looked 100 times faster and more athletic than we did last night.

[TK22867]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

ND looked 100 times faster and more athletic than we did last night.

That's because they are. Anyone who thinks we should have stayed close with ND last night needs to have their head examined. ND is loaded this year, and have probably gotten better even with the departure of Diggins.

[JackrabbitGuy]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

True. This program has been a consistent winner in D1, but the other consistent theme is that AJ's teams have been overmatched when facing top 10 teams. We have at times competed well and beaten other ranked teams but there is a line we just can't cross yet and that is the top 10 teams (esp #2 last night).

[jackdaniel]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

That's because they are. Anyone who thinks we should have stayed close with ND last night needs to have their head examined. ND is loaded this year, and have probably gotten better even with the departure of Diggins.

Do you think it does more harm than good to schedule teams of ND's stature,or should we stay in our comfort zone,our level of play?It's debatable,maybe we shouldn't .That's always a tough call,you want the players to grow and be challenged,but you don't want them embarrassed because there's probably nothing they could have done to prevent it,from a purely athletic standpoint.I'm torn ,maybe we're pushing ourselves a little too fast and too hard,unnecessarily.I do know fans don't like to be embarrassed,that's for sure.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

Do you think it does more harm than good to schedule teams of ND's stature,or should we stay in our comfort zone?

I don't think one bit of good came out of last night. Our last three games have been dumpster fires. Has to be a blow to their confidence.

[Southeast]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

Do you think it does more harm than good to schedule teams of ND's stature,or should we stay in our comfort zone,our level of play?It's debatable,maybe we shouldn't .That's always a tough call,you want the players to grow and be challenged,but you don't want them embarrassed because there's probably nothing they could have done to prevent it,from a purely athletic standpoint.I'm torn ,maybe we're pushing ourselves a little too fast and too hard,unnecessarily.I do know fans don't like to be embarrassed,that's for sure.

I was thinking this last night also. ND could have won that game by 70 if they wanted to. Multiple SDSU players would have fouled out by halftime if the refs did not mercifully swallow their whistles. Maybe a couple of our players found something positve to take away from last night's experience, but I'm guessing the beating did not do much good overall. Having it happen after two other ugly road losses could really backfire.

I think we'll be fine in the Summit though. AJ has a bit of history showing us that he knows what he is doing. There's my understatement of the day!

[91jack]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

Do you think it does more harm than good to schedule teams of ND's stature,or should we stay in our comfort zone,our level of play?It's debatable,maybe we shouldn't .That's always a tough call,you want the players to grow and be challenged,but you don't want them embarrassed because there's probably nothing they could have done to prevent it,from a purely athletic standpoint.I'm torn ,maybe we're pushing ourselves a little too fast and too hard,unnecessarily.I do know fans don't like to be embarrassed,that's for sure.

I find the last part(about the fans) really interesting. There are only so many DI "big teams" that will travel to Frost to play the Jacks. Look how fans always pick on the men's schedule. "Why can't we get any good games at home?" In women's basketball we can get some teams to come here to play but the more we beat them the tougher it will be to get them to come here. Do we want to see ND come to Frost and play against our team in the next couple of years? I guess if they come in and roll us some fans will maybe say no but some fans want to see the best play and this is the only way to do that.

I'm not trying to start anything but it's a double-edged sword.

I think a big part of it is the turnovers. I think in the last 3 games we have turned the ball over about 75+ times. Is that because we play tougher teams or does it have something to do with our "uptempo" style of play? I'm sure it has some to do with both. I don't know how many charges we've had over the last few games but when your better players get into foul trouble, it makes things tougher. I like the aggressiveness but when we turn it over on 3 of the first 4 trips down the court, you are building yourself a hole to get out of.

There are 2 players that have a combined line of 9-35 FG% and 20 TO's over the last 3 games. One player is a freshman and I think she will have a really good career before it's all said and done but right now she is still picking up the college game. I think the players will figure it out next week. They will come home/play easier teams and figure things out. The talent is arguably better than some of the teams from the past but with the tougher schedule and playing younger players, it's taking longer than normal to figure things out.

[SturgisJeff]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

just got back from the game last night. what an adventure, left home in a snow storm with plenty of time to get to south bend and relax a little. wrong, took one hour to go two miles because of a tanker carrying hydrogen sulfide overturning and blowing up under an interstate bridge. made good time after that but got to south bend with 45 minutes to spare. impression of the game. the Irish could do whatever they wanted to against the Jacks, the feed to the post was about the only play they needed to run, the Jacks could not stop number 12 down low. Jacks constantly out of position or losing their assigned player. the notre dame fans behind us were wondering in the first half what the final score would be, one said 102 the other said 116. would have liked to see a better performance from the ladies after the trip down but that just added to the misery. trip home was full of accidents around Detroit but not us. also wonder how TV had Digger Phelps as his intern for the night. they sat side by side. oh well on to conference.

[TK22867]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

Do you think it does more harm than good to schedule teams of ND's stature,or should we stay in our comfort zone,our level of play?

I'm absolutely, 100% positive we should continue scheduling these games, but only if the program is maintained at a level that has a real chance to make the NCAA tournament every year so that these games against superior opponents mean something. Here's why:

1. Yes, the girls were pounded last night, but experiencing that speed and size will be invaluable come NCAA tournament time (a presumption, I know). The last thing I want is for our girls to get into the tournament, be shell shocked from the skill of the opposing team in the first 10 minutes, and lose the game because they couldn't dig themselves out of that initial hole. Kind of like throwing a single A player into the Major League for the October playoffs - not a good idea. They will learn from last night and move on.

2. Exposure. Not only for recruiting, but the program in general. Playing the #2 team in the nation will get you that.

I've said this before as it relates to football, but as a fan I'm not in this just to go to the NCAA tournament every year. I want the girls to make a deep run. In order to properly prepare them for that, it is imperative that they move out of their comfort zone. Otherwise, we'll continue to be a one and done program.

[bigticket1]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

I don't think one bit of good came out of last night. Our last three games have been dumpster fires. Has to be a blow to their confidence.

Jessica Hart did the post-game radio interview and she certainly sounded defeated. Saw on Twitter that the team's flight home got canceled so they are now going to bus it back to Brookings. Let's hope that gets the same results as that famous mens bus ride to New Mexico a year ago.

[OldHare]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

As we look forward to the conference and the conference tournament, do we want to play in the NIT, CIT, or the NCAA tournament? If we want to play in the NCAA, then we should think about playing games like last night or the Stanford game or the MTSU game, etc. If we are wanting to play in the big tournament, we had better get the big teams in the schedule. Kampe at Oakland has his men beat up on the road in OOC and he usaually salvages the season. At least we get an occasional big game in Frost that can be won such as Nebraska or Penn St. I would not expect the women to curl up in a ball and look for counseling after getting knocked around by another team. At this point, I would hope they are thinking about how they can avoid 4 losses in a row. Then they should take that thought into the practice for the next game. Last night's game was hard to watch, but I would hope the women now realize the play needs elevated going forward. 3 road games in a row illustrates that we need some improvement.

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

I'm absolutely, 100% positive we should continue scheduling these games, but only if the program is maintained at a level that has a real chance to make the NCAA tournament every year so that these games against superior opponents mean something. Here's why:

1. Yes, the girls were pounded last night, but experiencing that speed and size will be invaluable come NCAA tournament time (a presumption, I know). The last thing I want is for our girls to get into the tournament, be shell shocked from the skill of the opposing team in the first 10 minutes, and lose the game because they couldn't dig themselves out of that initial hole. Kind of like throwing a single A player into the Major League for the October playoffs - not a good idea. They will learn from last night and move on.

2. Exposure. Not only for recruiting, but the program in general. Playing the #2 team in the nation will get you that.

I've said this before as it relates to football, but as a fan I'm not in this just to go to the NCAA tournament every year. I want the girls to make a deep run. In order to properly prepare them for that, it is imperative that they move out of their comfort zone. Otherwise, we'll continue to be a one and done program.

In order for us not to be a one and done program we need to be more consistent so we can get a seed better than a 13 or 14. There is no way we should have gotten whacked as bad as we did against Middle Tennessee St and ULAR. As good as AJ's teams have been, there have been times every year (except for the year we were 32-3 or whatever it was) that we have gotten stomped in games we should have at least been competitive. In order for us to not be a one and done that has to change.

I consider us to be an equal to teams like MTSU and ULAR.

Making a run in the NCAA tourney will get us exposure. We may have gotten some exposure last night but I don't think it's the kind you want. The casual women's basketball fan thinks SDSU stinks bad after seeing that score.

I still think this team will make the NCAA tourney, but I would be shocked if our seed was higher than a 14. So we are stuck playing a top 10ish team, likely on their home court. I like that fact that we play a tough schedule, but I think this years was just a little too tough.

[JamesJacks]

Re: GDT: Jackrabbits vs the Fighting Irish

I love the fact the women's team will play anyone. Losing like we did vs Notre Dame stinks but the fact of the matter is these teams will play us and come to Frost to play as well. If we don't schedule games like this we don't get a chance to get the win we did against Penn State.