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Post by austinace on Nov 24, 2021 16:38:01 GMT -6
The bar is set really low; but below is what we need to beat to improve. Season | Overall | Conf | 2021-22 | 4-1 | 0-0 | 2020-21 | 6-18 | 2-16 | 2019-20 | 3-26 | 0-18 | 2018-19 | 4-26 | 2-16 | 2017-18 | 3-27 | 0-18 | 2016-17 | 14-17 | 8-10 | 2015-16 | 3-28 | 1-17 | 2014-15 | 13-19 | 6-11 |
I would say any semblance of .500 in conference play would be a huge success. In fact, if we can win 13 games total, we will have won as many games as the past three years combined. If we win four conference games, we will have won as many conference games as in the last four years combined. I'm not sure how someone keeps their job (that long) with a record like that. But we definitely seem to be on the right track now. Can we win 20 games this year might be a better question (from how it looks now)? But I want to see a few conference games first as the VB team did awesome out of schedule (and had a great year) but didn't quite finish .500 in conference play. So conference play will definitely be tougher.
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Post by acecard on Nov 24, 2021 17:00:36 GMT -6
Not sure what the Ladies MVC record will be, but I believe it will be above .500. I am also sure that they will be a team that you sure as hell don't want to meet in the MVC tournament.
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Post by austinace on Nov 24, 2021 17:03:56 GMT -6
Not sure when we last had a winning conference record in basketball but it’s definitely been a few years.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2021 18:34:50 GMT -6
It is difficult for me to assess the talent in women's ball. That's just a fact. I don't know if the players RSW has brought in are better than the ones who played here two or three years ago -- I do know Feit and Newman are regulars from the last couple of teams. Assuming they are just naturally better because of experience, the conclusion I've drawn is literally in conditioning and approach to play. I saw three fast break baskets today that made me drool for the days when the fast break was something teams actually practiced and executed. The press I am seeing is ruthless and as the game progressed, it got better, more focused on creating a different set of problems for the offense -- easily the work of a coaching staff that adapted IN-game to what it needed to do. The trick now is execution. Within reason, that's always do-able. Officiating matters. Some days the shots don't fall. The press won't fail them. Their pace of play won't fail them. PFW was out of gas in the fourth period today. No idea how deep the Valley rosters are. I assume MoSt and Drake will be tough to handle. The end result is having a team that isn't an embarrassment. Regional high school coaches and players will pay attention to this.
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Post by acecard on Nov 25, 2021 13:56:39 GMT -6
I just watched a replay of the Purdue Fort Wayne game. One of the play by play guys asked the question of how scary would the Aces be if Abby Fiet was the second best go to player on the team. Je'naiya Davis had a phenomenal game scoring 35 points off the bench. You can tell she was the same kind of talent that Abby does, and is even quicker, and more mobile. Those two, and Coach RSW will take the Ladies to another level this year.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 27, 2021 8:54:51 GMT -6
I just watched a replay of the Purdue Fort Wayne game. One of the play by play guys asked the question of how scary would the Aces be if Abby Fiet was the second best go to player on the team. Je'naiya Davis had a phenomenal game scoring 35 points off the bench. You can tell she was the same kind of talent that Abby does, and is even quicker, and more mobile. Those two, and Coach RSW will take the Ladies to another level this year. Davis is quick on the first step. She may end up with a dozen points every night if her defender is slow. Exploiting weaknesses is how you win. PFW obviously thought they could screw down Feit, but they had no idea about Davis, who was coming off the bench. That secret is out now, assuming the women scout with the intensity that you'd expect from the men. As for them going to another level -- there were no lower levels to reach, so any improvement is acceptable. I am still among the group who wants the program to be competitive inside their schedule. Beyond that, not realistic. Still, winning a Valley title, maybe making it through the first couple of tournament games -- that would be way more fun than it's been for anybody at UE.
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Post by acecard on Nov 27, 2021 10:59:39 GMT -6
I just watched a replay of the Purdue Fort Wayne game. One of the play by play guys asked the question of how scary would the Aces be if Abby Fiet was the second best go to player on the team. Je'naiya Davis had a phenomenal game scoring 35 points off the bench. You can tell she was the same kind of talent that Abby does, and is even quicker, and more mobile. Those two, and Coach RSW will take the Ladies to another level this year. Davis is quick on the first step. She may end up with a dozen points every night if her defender is slow. Exploiting weaknesses is how you win. PFW obviously thought they could screw down Feit, but they had no idea about Davis, who was coming off the bench. That secret is out now, assuming the women scout with the intensity that you'd expect from the men. As for them going to another level -- there were no lower levels to reach, so any improvement is acceptable. I am still among the group who wants the program to be competitive inside their schedule. Beyond that, not realistic. Still, winning a Valley title, maybe making it through the first couple of tournament games -- that would be way more fun than it's been for anybody at UE. Going to another level to me means not finishing last in the MVC. NOTHING MORE.
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Post by heavensvilleace on Nov 29, 2021 14:20:06 GMT -6
Congrats to Je'Naiya!
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Post by austinace on Mar 5, 2022 22:38:28 GMT -6
It's still possible that the Lady Aces could get at least another win in the MVC tournament, but I thought I would update my table from the opening table in this thread to see how much improvement we saw from last year. We did see a "nominal" improvement in the win column, but I think the point differential might be more telling on the improvement we made. We are not where we want to be, but we are moving in the right direction. Note: Last year fewer games were played, so the point differential would have been even higher if five more games were played. So, we saw an improvement of 6.285 points per game from last year - which is pretty significant in year one. Season | Overall | Conf | Point Differential
| Avg Game Differential
| 2021-22 | 8-21 | 2-16 | -271 | -9.34 | 2020-21 | 6-18 | 2-16 | -375 | -15.625 | 2019-20 | 3-26 | 0-18 | -466 | -16.07 | 2018-19 | 4-26 | 2-16 | -515 | -17.17 | 2017-18 | 3-27 | 0-18 | -629 | -20.97 | 2016-17 | 14-17 | 8-10 | -120 | -3.87 | 2015-16 | 3-28 | 1-17 | -437 | -14.10 | 2014-15 | 13-19 | 6-11 | +5 | +0.16 |
Interested to get people's comments and if there are other ways to measure their improvement. Certainly, you could see they were a happy cohesive team and family on and off the court.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 6, 2022 9:32:20 GMT -6
It is difficult to measure improvement. This is a high-energy fastbreaking team, which is becoming more of a trend in the women's game than the slogging 4-pass offense that we once saw. That sort of change coming all at once will create interesting outcomes. It's also an offense that tends to get better with time.
It's higher risk, higher turnover, breaks down easily with a short bench or picky officiating. But it's what they have and once you install it, you can't just rub it out and start over.
Flaws: The rebounding was very ordinary but showed improvement in the last 3 or 4 games. That could be an incredibly positive development. Davis and Clark need to get their game under control but likely won't. DuPont needs to be better but she's not evil. There was no real backup for her and asking Feit to play the middle is bad juice.
I think this is a much better team than 2-16 but they had so far to go against other programs that were winning all along. I will be curious to see how this kind of game translates to recruiting. I wished for more wins, and saw the reasons why they didn't come. Coaching counts now.
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Post by ibleedpurple on Mar 6, 2022 9:46:07 GMT -6
The women's team and staff are improving things and the numbers are and will show it. This is only the first year under new management. Give her 3-4 years and I feel we will see continual improvement. I am more confident in this program than I am the men's bb, men's baseball and many other team sports at UE.
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Post by stennisrm72 on Mar 6, 2022 13:00:13 GMT -6
My line of work was process/continuous improvement so there are ways to demonstrate it. Choose the appropriate metrics and plot them over time. We just completed the first year so it's hard to quantify now. One data point that has gone higher(or lower) is not a trend nor does it necessarily indicate true improvement/regression. The good old eye test and the one piece of data presented earlier does justify optimism IMHO. I agree with atp's assessment. Better days are definitely ahead for the program.
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Post by aceshigh on Mar 6, 2022 18:44:52 GMT -6
After watching every women’s game available on broadcast media I feel comfortable in saying that the program has taken great strides forward. Are they where they want to be ? No, but they are heading in the right direction. A good coach could identify critical needs, but as an observer I see many on the current team that have weaknesses that need work but don’t we all. If each returning player sits with the coaches and identify those areas to work on and then put in the work next year should be another giant step forward.
There were a few games the Aces were overmatched or just blown out, but in general they were competitive and lost only due to a bad quarter or an off night. Get a little more consistent and they will see a winning record.
We have to remember that a number of the players were freshmen or transfers and they just need a little more experience and time playing together. While their season will end with the Conference tournament, I for one am looking forward to seeing them play again next year.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 7, 2022 9:46:18 GMT -6
I don't watch women's ball as much as men's games, but there are distinct levels in talent in the NCAA.
The top tier is where it is and won't add any new members. A few storied programs will sputter at times but they are still top tier and will inevitably return to form. The problem at this level is that some all-state level girls/women will get 'stashed' inside programs where they won't thrive. The best player in Indiana is a girl from Noblesville who will go to UConn and will probably find herself 11th on the bench. She will stay there because once she enrolls in an undergrad program, she will stick it out. There's no "pro" game for her and the scholarship is paid for. That runs across the country, to my next point.
The second tier is where the Valley is seated. The Valley might be the best second-tier women's league in the country, although the MAC might argue. Women who are smart enough to see through Geno's stash game at UConn or places like it will go to Valley schools. Girls basketball is to Iowa what the boys game is to Indiana. it explains why the Iowa schools are better at women's ball. Indiana's girls programs are improving but it is still uneven. Indiana's college programs are reasonably competitive at all levels.
The outgrowth of all this is that competing for women's talent in the MVC is quite intense. It requires more than sending out letters, although sending out letters to regional girls is a really great idea. I think UE could mold a consistently good program by harvesting regional talent. The reason is pretty simple: It keeps the public interested. It adds enthusiasm, fans in the seats, a buzz and a reason to care.
You might not win with that, but tell me how you lose.
Moving forward, the Aces might compete some years, might not in other years but they should be up to speed pretty soon to the point where watching a home game will be worth the ticket price. The education the women get is up to them. There is a lot to be said for playing in the Valley instead of sitting on the bench in the Big East, being treated like practice fodder while you polish the "Indiana girls all-state plaque" that's nailed to your wall back home in Noblesville.
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Post by 65pointgame on Mar 7, 2022 12:04:34 GMT -6
Some of the most enjoyable basketball I watched in the last couple months is the IU women's team Big10 tournament games. Very unselfish and did not make many needless turnovers.
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