Amari's Summer Session

Encouraging words from Liv for the youngster:
1. I wish there had been this level of competition when I was a freshman
2. I can't wait to see how she develops, she has great footwork and a nice shot

very loosely quoted.

But how will Dawn deploy that size?  Boston has a better face up game, so she may play the four, but that is a much tougher defensive assignment for her.  Also, it means she'll have to run the floor more.  Those will be important steps in her development, but it is a lot to ask.  Further, She's been working the Center moves for two years, and not the PF.  She'll likely foul more from there, too.  Alternatively, Camilla is faster and likes to run (comparatively).  So maybe she plays the four.  But she doesn't really have a game outside the arc on offense.  If I were advising, I'd have Cardoso play 4 on D and 5 on when they have the ball.  Stewie, Gabby, Napheesa .... have all done that at times.  But that too presents some challenges.  not only do you need to cover your mark ... you need to FIND her first.  Teams like UCONN and Stanford have enough speed to make that really tough.  Imagine Liv and Dorka trading sides of the court whenever they find themselves close to their SCar defender.  That effectively doubles the chasing distance ... and neither of them is as fast as Liv or Dorka.  The final option is to play them both as Centers ... but then each would sit for half of the game.  Is the rest of the team able to do enough, or will you need both to play at once to generate enough offense?

All this to say, that the chess match is only beginning.  Finally, someone remarked correctly of late ... Our guards are going to be stinking good.  So their bigs are going to have to dominate ours for them to win barring a dramatic entrance by a rookie gamecock guard.  Possible, but unlikely.  

I think they'll be a bigger threat next season, after some of these things have been worked out.  But, a lot of water will flow over the dam before then.  Who will still be there on the inside in Storrs?  Dorka and Liv could both remain, or both leave.  We could be seeing Amari and Ice as our primary inside forces, with Piath maybe gaining some PT.  Will Aubrey have developed a consistent presence in her Senior season?  

It's going to be fun to watch.

They might have been great together eventually, but it did work out for them when Alaina got injured.  Cardoso is bigger and more athletic than Coates.  Boston is less mobile and not as talented as Asa was back then.  It will be interesting to see how things work out down there.  

BTW- Both AW and AB considered UCONN until eventually selecting SCar.  Ah, what might have been.  

Asa could've been Stewie's teammate.  I was convinced she'd come, only to be dashed later.  Her stated reason for selecting SCar was that there she could pursue her dream of being a Guard, not a Center or Forward.  Geno said what he always does.  If you earn the spot you want, great.  She specifically stated that she liked his honesty, but went to the nearby Gamecocks and never played a minute of guard.  She also didn't complain about playing inside, so maybe Dawn wasn't just saying anything to get her in the door.  She may have swayed Wilson later to prefer to play in the paint.  Guards do generally have to run a lot more.