In Reply to: Meant to add, Dudley looks like a very good glue player posted by TheHappyBurgermeister on November 18, 2024 at 09:56:23
after the Wooden years, the one team about which i felt very confident with regards winning a NC was '95 and that was because with their personnel - top seven anyway - they had the wherewithal to go big or small, to play quick or methodically - to meet any challenge in terms of style with a small personnel adjustment.
This women's team potentially has it all. (The only potential shortcoming is whether or not they can stand up to a super strong and big and very aggressive front line especially should Betts get into foul trouble. - note: last year's team looked great until Lauren missed some games at which point they stumbled and they never did get back to that same high level they had before her absence. However, they are a bunch of players - very good players - who are 6'3" or 6'4" and won't fall apart should Lauren have to sit out some minutes with foul difficulties.)
Anyway, when you have a team that can put multiple players on the court at every position with all of them being very good players - players who also play with selflessness and an eye to making their teammates successful - it's a pure delight to get to watch and celebrate it - the team.
If the men's team can start hitting from outside and develop strength in the post, they could be at least echoing the same feeling. Remains to be seen there, however, as the women's team is filled with kids who topped their HS classes nationally - especially of course the 2022 recruiting class the top of which pretty much is playing for Cori Close now and is in its junior year as well