Warren Grimes
BAD, as in Balanced And Deep.
Speaking of his beloved Yankees, Yogi Berra once said that
his team had “deep depth.”
Sorry, Yogi.
Your Yankees had nothin’ compared to Kiana Williams and her
mates.
There are 12 active players on this season’s squad. Each of these 12 is good enough to start or be a major
rotation player on the 11 other conference teams. Let’s take the two freshmen that averaged
under 10 minutes per game.
Agnes Emma-Nnopu – Stanford’s Australian freshman averaged
the fewest minutes (5.9 per game) but showed unique capabilities as a defender
and rebounder. Quick to the ball,
Emma-Nnopu was the fourth highest rebounder on a per minute basis. That’s impressive for a perimeter
player. What’s more, she was especially effective
as an offensive rebounder. Emma-Nnopu
was the only player on the team that had more offensive boards (19) than
defensive boards (16). No one else came
even close to this ratio. Tell me
that Charmin Smith or Cori Close wouldn’t have mortgaged the house in order to
have Emma-Nnopu playing major minutes for their team.
Jana Van Gytenbeek -
A talented point guard, Van Gytenbeek averaged 8.7 minutes per game and shot
three pointers at a 39.6% clip. She had
30 assists against just 12 turnovers. Jana
would have started for many Pac-12 teams.
And tell me that Colorado and Oregon wouldn’t have loved to have Van
Gytenbeek to fall back on when their starting point guards fell injured.
The only other Stanford player that averaged below 10
minutes is senior Alyssa Jerome, a team leader and solid and reliable player
who started many games over her career.
This season, Jerome started only once, but that is surely a sign of the
depth of this team, not any fall off in Jerome’s performance. In the OSU game in Corvallis, Jerome came off
the bench and was a real difference maker, hitting four of five 3-point shots and
totaling 14 points. No Pac-12 coach
would turn down an opportunity to add Jerome to the roster.
The rest of the team?
Well six of the nine remaining have received at least one season-ending
award. Here’s the list.
Kiana Williams – All conference team and most outstanding player
in the Pac-12 tournament.
Haley Jones – All conference team and chosen once as conference,
player of the week.
Lexie Hull – All conference team and all-tournament team.
Anna Wilson – Co-winner conference defensive player of the
year (and shot 38.5% from the three point line).
Cameron Brink – All-tournament team, all-freshman team, and
honorable mention, all conference team.
Lacie Hull – Chosen as sixth player of the year.
A seventh player, Ashten Prechtel, received no award this
season, but was chosen as the media, sixth player of the year last season. Prechtel was one of 9 players on this team
that shot threes at 32.6% or higher.
That leaves only Fran Belibi and Hannah Jump. Belibi, nationally known for her dunks, was
the second leading rebounder on the team (on a per minute basis), and had an
enviable field goal percentage (54.2%).
Jump had the highest three point conversion rate (42.7%) and was second
only to Kiana Williams in total threes made.
So which Pac-12 coach isn’t drooling to have these two players on the
roster?
Here’s one more illustration of this team’s depth. Coach VanDerveer likes to relate that in
intra-squad practice games, the team with the Hull twins routinely wins. This is apparently so even if the opposing
team is loaded with starters. The story
illustrates the amazing intensiveness and competitive spirit of the twins, but
it also shows something else. There isn’t
much fall off between those who start and those who come off the bench.
You got it, Yogi. It’s
deep
depth.
This dynamic dozen should receive one of the two top overall
seeds in the NCAA tournament. Winning
six games in a row against really good teams is a tall order. But this team has BAD. Stanford is Final Four material. They will be a challenge for any opponent, even
in potential fifth and sixth games.
Bring it on.
And stay safe.
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