Posted by SandDevil on April 02, 08 at 09:48:20:
In Reply to: Recruiting a better bench posted by Ladydevilfan on April 02, 08 at 00:25:27:
(SD)I personally do not think that a player like Wiggins,Parker or even Maya Moore could play for ASU, reason is CTT plays a team concept and I don't see CTT allowing a player the freedom to score or take over a game single handly, first off she would not get the mins to put up big numbers.
Can ASU win without a superstar? I think they can but like you said it would require a strong bench and that is what the team was lacking this past season and it was not due to injuries, they simply did not have the talent on the bench they had the previous years.
I would like to see CTT give her players the freedom to shoot the ball whenever they like, biggest difference I see between ASU and the teams playing right now in the tournament, besides talent level, is they are not hesitant to shoot.
CTT's philosophy is to bring up the ball quickly but to wait for a good shot, thus they fall into a half court game and are reluctant to shoot the ball.I think they should bring the ball up quickly and take a shot while they have numbers, if they don't have a shot then wait for a good shot but don't wait too long!
I know there was alot of disappointment in the stands this year even though ASU made the tournament and some fans like you thought we had a great year, but I have talked to alot of fans and they don't feel the same way you do, maybe it was because they bought into the preseason hype that this team could go to the Final Four, regardless the reason alot of fans were disappointed in the team, especially the way they played.
I will say one thing, my biggest disappointment was the excuses they made, injuries and the constant reference to a "tough, brutal schedule.
I really don't think the schedule was that tough!
I think ASU has reached a point where if they don't have a great 2009 recruiting class. they will fall to the middle of the Pac 10.Reason I say this, is they are losing alot of good players next season and they really don't have good talent on the bench right now.Recruiting is the life blood of your program,they simply cannot have 3 lackluster recruiting years back to back!
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: I have been thinking about what a lot of people have been saying this season about how ASU will not be elite unless they get superstars. And I still disagree -- I think Charli runs a great program for TEAM basketball and we have been, can be, and will be successful with that style of play. And I think our starters are good enough for us to be very successful. People keep saying we need a Wiggins, Parker, etc, but I'm not convinced we do. Last year's starters are a great example: Emily, Aubree, Jill, Reagan, and Briann -- Bri is a defensive superstar, but altogether none of those 5 are on par with Wiggins, Parker, Moore, etc. offensively -- Yet we still had a great season.
: But at the same time, I DO think SOMEthing needs to change: better bench players. People have mentioned all year that ASU shouldn't use the injury excuse because compared to other teams we haven't suffered all that much: although we had some minor injuries early on, we only lost one player for the whole year, and while she was one of our strongest shooters, she wasn't a starter. Compare this to other teams who lose starters and survive. UCONN lost 2 starters throughout the season and still only lost one game on the year so far. UCONN can survive because their replacements are stronger (they were better bench players) than ASU's bench players would have been as replacements. Maybe UCONN was able to do so well because they can rely on superstars, but I'd argue that ASU could just as easily do as well with Charli's team-ball scheme AS LONG AS she recruits a better bench: stronger, more offensive-minded, and confident. If Charli wants to give 10 players 20 minutes each, that's fine by me -- but we just need 10 players who are ASU-starter-caliber. This year I'd say we had 6.5 ASU-starter-caliber players.
: That being said, I loved this years team, and I am quite obviously the first to cheer for some of ASU's bench players who might not shoot as much as they should. :) But that's because I'm an optimist and eternally forgiving of anyone on the ASU team. But just because I am appreciative of our team doesn't mean I don't think there is room for improvement. Likewise, just because I recognize room for improvement doesn't mean I need to beat a dead horse with comments like "OMG Charli's system will NEVER work at an elite level without a Wiggins or Pedersen!" --> (This happened a little on this board, but OFTEN on comments on articles on azcentral.)
: Well anyway, that's my 2 cents on it. Here's to a strong 2008-2009, and many years of deep recruiting.