WBB

[Catdude]

It looks like it will be a long year for the women’s basketball team. They are 3-2 with three wins over mid and low majors (two of them close) and losses to Notre Dame by 58 and Florida State by 38.

Coach Joe had two great teams led by Pulliam and Burton in 2019-20 and 2020-21 but has gone 17-12 and 9-21 since. So we did not capitalize on that brief success and are moving in the wrong direction.

 

[WildScott54]

Think coach Joe should retire after this year. He had a great run but Cats need an infusion of energy and talent.

 

[No Chores]

Just a few comments. First, this should be on the Basketball Board. Secondly, this team is not built like the Pulliam /Burton teams. Those teams had 7 or 8 players who played excellent defense and could run the floor. This team does not. Walsh is the biggest offender because she is slow, can't jump, and plays terrible defense. She also fouls a lot. I agree with you that Joe is past his prime, and we need a dynamic young head coach who can recruit. Maybe we can bring Veronica Burton back - she was like a coach on the floor when she was here, and we can probably pay her more than she's making in the WNBA.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Tangela Smith is leading the squad while Coach Joe is out. I’d guess she would be a worthy successor. I would have thought Kate Popevic would also be under consideration; not so sure now as it looks like she received a 10 game suspension at Bradley. No idea what that’s all about.

Bradley suspends women's basketball coach for rest of nonconference season

Bradley University on Saturday announced the suspension of women's basketball coach Kate Popovec for the nonconference season.

www.usatoday.com

 

[techtim72]

It seems like NU recruiting nose-dived after Popevic left although I understand the most recent class is highly ranked. However, and I am far from expert, there were several notable recruiting misses over the past half dozen years or so, ladies that just didn't fulfill their promise coming out of high school.

I think women's BB doesn't have anywhere near the level of consistent talent like the men's game. If a team misses on the large, talented top recruits they are likely doomed to also ran status at the highest levels. Difficult to coach up athletes glued to the floor with only a set shot in their repertoire.

 

[ballerog711]

I saw they have a #25 recruiting class coming in next year. But if that doesn't work out, retirement is in his future

 

[No Chores]

I saw they have a #25 recruiting class coming in next year. But if that doesn't work out, retirement is in his future

Where did you see that?

 

[techtim72]

Where did you see that?

Saw the same thing but finding WBB info without recruiting subscriptions can be a hunt and peck. Thanksgiving. Taking off.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

The team looks terrible. Needs to be fixed one way or another.

 

[NUCatswin]

Saw the same thing but finding WBB info without recruiting subscriptions can be a hunt and peck. Thanksgiving. Taking off.

2024 women's college basketball recruiting rankings: Updated top 25 classes

We break down the top 25 recruiting classes after the early signing window.

www.espn.com

 

[Catdude]

Lost by 22 to Belmont last night. They might not win a Big 10 game with regular blowouts.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Lost by 22 to Belmont last night. They might not win a Big 10 game with regular blowouts.

Look lost out there.

 

[pschatz25]

I watched most of their home loss to Loyola yesterday. A friend who works in the Loyola Athletic Department confidently told me we would win by at least 20. We were immediately down 10 and basically stayed there outside of a run to get within 1 at the end of the 3rd quarter. I didn't think Loyola was that great either.

The most noticeable issue is the defense. The Blizzard zone is totally ineffective and their M2M defense isn't any better. We're 13th in the B10 for average opponent turnovers. Actually all the stats are bad, but the one that really jumps out is opponent 3p%. Penn State ranks 13th in the B10 allowing 33% on threes. We're allowing 41%! We're also last in overall opponent FG% in case you're thinking it might just be bad 3pt luck. We're just giving up open shots all over. We're going to be lit up on a regular basis in conference play.

I was hoping last season (2 conference wins) would be rock bottom before starting back up the standings this season. Instead this season looks like it will be even worse. We do have two four star verbals for next year, but I wouldn't say I'm very optimistic about the women's team in the short term.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I watched most of their home loss to Loyola yesterday. A friend who works in the Loyola Athletic Department confidently told me we would win by at least 20. We were immediately down 10 and basically stayed there outside of a run to get within 1 at the end of the 3rd quarter. I didn't think Loyola was that great either.

The most noticeable issue is the defense. The Blizzard zone is totally ineffective and their M2M defense isn't any better. We're 13th in the B10 for average opponent turnovers. Actually all the stats are bad, but the one that really jumps out is opponent 3p%. Penn State ranks 13th in the B10 allowing 33% on threes. We're allowing 41%! We're also last in overall opponent FG% in case you're thinking it might just be bad 3pt luck. We're just giving up open shots all over. We're going to be lit up on a regular basis in conference play.

I was hoping last season (2 conference wins) would be rock bottom before starting back up the standings this season. Instead this season looks like it will be even worse. We do have two four star verbals for next year, but I wouldn't say I'm very optimistic about the women's team in the short term.

A one win team in B1G? I can’t say I have seen every other team, but this team is completely lost out there.

 

[EagerFan]

I've been to home games, but not since Thanksgiving. Defensively, they are not effective at anticipating ball movement, not fast enough to close out, and are often just completely out of position to pressure or contest anything. They seem to mostly pack the paint, but poorly, and play behind the curve consistently.

Caleigh has a sweet stroke, but she is comparatively slow on the court and doesn't (know how to) play defense. So she's a liability in competitive games - she can't do transition pretty much at all, although she was moderately useful breaking the press. Coach had Mott playing center on defense and tried to keep Walsh off to the side to cut down on her fouling for a decent amount of the games I watched.

Again, only for the games I watched, Mott, Daley, and Weaver seem like the best we have on the team and Lau looks a lot better than she did as a freshman, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

They do play hard and fight; it is not for lack of energy or effort that they are getting crushed.

 

[No Chores]

A one win team in B1G? I can’t say I have seen every other team, but this team is completely lost out there.

The thing that's discouraging is that Loyola is bad. They came into the game with a losing record, and they still have one. We will be fortunate to win a couple of Big Ten games. We can't run, defend, or rebound. The biggest offender is Walsh, who just doesn't fit with the rest of the team. Lau has been a disappointment as well.

 

[No Chores]

I've been to home games, but not since Thanksgiving. Defensively, they are not effective at anticipating ball movement, not fast enough to close out, and are often just completely out of position to pressure or contest anything. They seem to mostly pack the paint, but poorly, and play behind the curve consistently.

Caleigh has a sweet stroke, but she is comparatively slow on the court and doesn't (know how to) play defense. So she's a liability in competitive games - she can't do transition pretty much at all, although she was moderately useful breaking the press. Coach had Mott playing center on defense and tried to keep Walsh off to the side to cut down on her fouling for a decent amount of the games I watched.

Again, only for the games I watched, Mott, Daley, and Weaver seem like the best we have on the team and Lau looks a lot better than she did as a freshman, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

They do play hard and fight; it is not for lack of energy or effort that they are getting crushed.

I agree with most of this, but I'm not crazy about Lau. Harter is an emerging bright light.

 

[EagerFan]

Apparently in the recent games I didn't see, Lau has struggled with ball control and scoring, so that is sad making.