Pre-Season Big Ten Poll and All-Conference Team

[bomber]

pablo said:

bomber said:

Hey, come to think of it, the very same issues apply to Purdue this year. Good luck to those Boiler hitters, they're going to need some.

Perhaps that is why I am less convinced it is as big of a problem as you folks think it will be.

Apparently the Big Ten coaches don't think it as much of a problem, either, as they had no problem expecting Penn St to win the conference. They didn't seem to penalize Purdue too much for it, either, although you could argue that with an experienced setter Purdue could be ahead of Ohio St (although Ohio St fans would probably disagree).

P-dub, have you ever heard the expression " whistling as you walk past the graveyard"? Since you've proven yourself in the past to be very adept at analyzing statistics, I suggest you again review the statistics I posted earlier in this thread to make my point.

Purdue hitters will absolutely have more trouble hitting the numerous bad sets they just didn't get as many of last year with Dargan. PSU was picked to win the conference because they are simply overloaded with talent. (Though I don't think they're near as good as they were last year with their All-America setter, and certainly not a shoo in to win it.) And Purdue doesn't have anywhere near the level of talented hitters that PSU has, which will make the Boilermakers struggles with a frosh setter that much more of an issue.

If you don't believe me, just keep whistling......(it doesn't work, by the way).

[The Bofa on the Sofa]

bomber said:

Purdue hitters will absolutely have more trouble hitting the numerous bad sets they just didn't get as many of last year with Dargan. PSU was picked to win the conference because they are simply overloaded with talent. (Though I don't think they're near as good as they were last year with their All-America setter, and certainly not a shoo in to win it.) And Purdue doesn't have anywhere near the level of talented hitters that PSU has, which will make the Boilermakers struggles with a frosh setter that much more of an issue.

As I said, that didn't seem to affect the Big Ten coaches' predictions much.

Now, there are a lot of reasons that could be, with probably the biggest one being that it's too hard to predict how the team will be affected.

Also, it is BECAUSE I am adept at analyzing statistics that I know not to pay too much attention to a single example to determine a trend.

[bigtenfred]

Is Sam still training with the national team?

[The Bofa on the Sofa]

backwoods said:

I really disagree with that. Dargan tossed up a real good number of clunkers last year.

I thought Renata struggled a lot with the middles last year, particularly with Jacques. OTOH, Jacques was ailing, so it's hard to pin those on Dargan.

However, she threw that leftside set as well as any setter around. That one time she was basically diving toward my seat in the media bench on the RS of the court and hit Merlau with a perfect set. It was a long, long set and, yeah, the blockers had time to line up, but the fact that she could even put it there from her position was remarkable. ISTR that Danita ultimately did put it down.

But your point is valid. Dargan wasn't about clever sets, she was the package. Her court awareness was great, and she saw when the hole was there, and she held her own on the block, even going 1 on 1 against the other team's left side. THAT is going to be missed.

[bomber]

backwoods said:

bomber said:

Purdue hitters will absolutely have more trouble hitting the numerous bad sets they just didn't get as many of last year with Dargan.

I really disagree with that. Dargan tossed up a real good number of clunkers last year. Purdue will miss her offense and her blocking more than anything but replacing her isn't going to be as hard as replacing Sam T. at PSU. Not even close.

Dargan made All Big Ten (unanimous by the way) principally because of her setting...not her blocking or offense, which only completed her package. Sure she tossed up some clunkers, all setters do. But don't kid yourself. Replacing a unanimous All Conference setter will not be easy. Good luck, Purdue will need it.

P/S.......Can you whistle?

[bomber]

pablo said:

bomber said:

Purdue hitters will absolutely have more trouble hitting the numerous bad sets they just didn't get as many of last year with Dargan. PSU was picked to win the conference because they are simply overloaded with talent. (Though I don't think they're near as good as they were last year with their All-America setter, and certainly not a shoo in to win it.) And Purdue doesn't have anywhere near the level of talented hitters that PSU has, which will make the Boilermakers struggles with a frosh setter that much more of an issue.

Also, it is BECAUSE I am adept at analyzing statistics that I know not to pay too much attention to a single example to determine a trend.

Check with Ruffda for another example. (See above) Ask any Michigan player if they would like to have Gmalski back. (Check the Wolverines stats from 2004 and 2005 if you don't believe me.)

I did.

[Deleted]

There's also the 2005 Gophers.

But you are both right. There's a definite trend there, but there's always going to be a problem isolating your variables.

Even PSU this year: how much does Walters departure affect the passing? Or if Price is moved, what does that do? Is Harmotto healthy? Is Russ slipping?

[VBCOACH]

ruffda said:

Is Russ slipping?

Not NOW! It doesn't get cold and icy at Penn State until at least late November.

[bomber]

backwoods said:

bomber said:

Dargan made All Big Ten (unanimous by the way) principally because of her setting...not her blocking or offense, which only completed her package. Sure she tossed up some clunkers, all setters do. But don't kid yourself. Replacing a unanimous All Conference setter will not be easy. Good luck, Purdue will need it.

P/S.......Can you whistle?

Sorry, but I just don't agree with you either. I'm not saying Dargan was not good because she was really good but I feel she will be replaced effectively unlike someone like Sam T. at PSU who you can't ever replace. I don't think the Boilers will have some dreaded down fall like you suggest. But as a fan of the way overhyped Badgers, I can't blame you for hoping.

You're right, Dargan was really good. But Dargan didn't really become Dargan until her junior year, after she'd learned how to play her position in the Big Ten. You think your Frosh setter is going to step in and "replace her effectively" right away, or even the whole first season? I don't think so.


And I don't know about overhyped my friend. Two Elite Eights in two years does say something about their ability to play the game. And with most of the starters back, I think the Badgers are ranked fairly accurately to start the season.

I said nothing about a downfall. I merely pointed out that Purdue's (and PSU's) hitters WILL absolutely have a serious period of adjustment while they try out their new setters. It happens to every team when they change from an accomplished setter. It will be a good measure of both team's players if they can adjust, and at least from Pudue's perspective, finish in the top three or four of their conference.

[bomber]

If you really want to read some interesting comments, try reading some of these......scroll back a few pages.



Originally, I thought it would be interesting to see who were the Big Ten Pre-season All Conference selections before the season started, but I found it's more interesting to see how some fans perceived their teams were going to do in 2006. (ie. I thought PSU and Purdue were both going to stuggle replacing their senior All conference setters. Apparently I was only half right.)

They say hindsight is always 20-20. So here is some...

[foreignball]

bomber said:

By the way, during this same year year of adjustment for freshman setter Simpson (2004), TR still managed to hit .317 to lead the team in this category as a frosh middle.

They used to play for the same JR club (SPRI) so this fact may have somthing to do with the above

[bomber]

foreignball said:

bomber said:

By the way, during this same year year of adjustment for freshman setter Simpson (2004), TR still managed to hit .317 to lead the team in this category as a frosh middle.

They used to play for the same JR club (SPRI) so this fact may have somthing to do with the above

They did, but you completely missed the point of my last post.

Also, fyi, Maggie Griffin set TR during club, not Simpson.

[macktruck]

I don't follow you bomber. Your preseason comment was that PSU and Purdue would struggle with new setters. Purdue, a team picked to finish fifth in this league is 19-6 and 9-5 in the league for a solid 4th place. PSU, is one of the nation's best teams. Neither team's setter(s) are playing at the level as last year's (Tortorello/Dargan), but I am not sure I would agree that the setters are struggling. Penn State has tremendous talent in all positions. I am sure the Purdue faithful are very happy to have a team sitting in fourth place with 4 of their final 6 matches at home. The Big Ten is very competitive this year and I think there will be more surprises down the stretch.

[bomber]

macktruck said:

I don't follow you bomber. Your preseason comment was that PSU and Purdue would struggle with new setters. Purdue, a team picked to finish fifth in this league is 19-6 and 9-5 in the league for a solid 4th place. PSU, is one of the nation's best teams. Neither team's setter(s) are playing at the level as last year's (Tortorello/Dargan), but I am not sure I would agree that the setters are struggling. Penn State has tremendous talent in all positions. I am sure the Purdue faithful are very happy to have a team sitting in fourth place with 4 of their final 6 matches at home. The Big Ten is very competitive this year and I think there will be more surprises down the stretch.

Simply put, I think that PSU, through sheer overwhelming hitting talent and Glass's athletic ability, seems to have overcome their setter transition difficulties. They're among the conference and national leaders in hitting percentage, and have been all year. I was wrong on this point, and I'm impressed by their accomplishments. (Drat!)

Purdue's hitting percentages on the other hand, are down from last year. So are their blocking averages, in which Dargan played a big part. A lot of their fan's gripes and complaints of late have centered on the quality of their setting (or lack of it) this year. Frankly, their conference record notwithstanding, I thought (and still do) that Purdue was a better all-around team last year than this year's version. Last year's team would never have been blown out of matches as badly as they have been at Wisconsin and PSU.

[bigtenfred]

Where is PSU in the national hitting %%%%%