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Post by SportyBucky on Jan 23, 2014 11:00:00 GMT -5
Interested to see other's opinion on Wisconsin's chances for a return to the final four next year. Who steps up to challenge at OH2, if anyone? Is Morey going to be able to fill Hickey's shoes?
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Post by buckybadger on Jan 23, 2014 11:26:42 GMT -5
Yes, Morey will be able to fill Hickey's shoes.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jan 23, 2014 11:34:57 GMT -5
Yes, Morey will be able to fill Hickey's shoes. Maybe I should be more specific. Will there be a drop-off? Temporary drop-off? Improvement? I'm concerned on serve receive given what I've seen so far...not THAT concerned, but I think there might be a slight decline in serve receive from Morey over Hickey.
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Post by vbnerd on Jan 23, 2014 11:35:54 GMT -5
Can they make the final four? Or are you asking if they can be a top 4 team for the duration of the season? I don't think anyone is saying this was a top 4 team in September or October, but they got hot and played huge down the stretch.
With Mikaelsen, Graff, Fricano, and Bates are all available to make a contribution its likely that they can be even better, but can they get hot like that again? Nobody can predict that.
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Post by itsallrelative on Jan 23, 2014 12:20:33 GMT -5
Not to mention, they aren't going to sneak up on anyone next year.....they will have a target on their back, every time out....
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Post by bballnut90 on Jan 23, 2014 13:30:22 GMT -5
Yes, Morey will be able to fill Hickey's shoes. Maybe I should be more specific. Will there be a drop-off? Temporary drop-off? Improvement? I'm concerned on serve receive given what I've seen so far...not THAT concerned, but I think there might be a slight decline in serve receive from Morey over Hickey. Losing Hickey will be a big loss for UW. She was a 4 year starter (3 years at libero), one of the best diggers in the Big 10 and a very steady passer. Her leadership and court presence will definitely be missed as well. Morey is a strong defender (from what I've seen I think Hickey is a step better defensively--but Morey is very good) but passing has looked streaky. That said, she'll improve next season and I think will establish herself as a strong libero in the B1G. I'd look for Wisconsin to improve at every position next year besides libero (slight downgrade) and DS (I think Morey's replacement at DS will be a downgrade.) Everyone returns and has solid experience. They'll also bring back Mikaelson/Graff who can compete for PT and provide added depth. Additionally and they'll have 2 freshmen who could compete for playing time in Fricano (RS freshman) and Bates. I think Wisconsin should be a top 10 team next year if they play hard and work together like they did this season. It'll be interesting to see how Wisconsin handles the pressure of being a favorite next season. Wisconsin has been an underdog the last few years, this year they'll have a target on them.
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Post by chisovnik on Jan 23, 2014 13:47:19 GMT -5
Yes, Morey will be able to fill Hickey's shoes. No she won't. Morey's not on the same level as Hickey.
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Post by Wiswell on Jan 23, 2014 14:03:15 GMT -5
Article on Diane Nordstrom, the communications director. host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/know-your-madisonian-diane-nordstrom/article_6543c93f-207b-5685-9269-f54bb3f22b46.htmlThe big questions going into the season are who is going to be the DS replacing Morey? Who will play right side (three choices there)? What kind of pt will Graff get? Does Morales continue to play all around? What happens with Bates? Are the starting middle spots locked? As for the "sneaking up," after the Michigan State and Minnesota victories, I don't anybody thought they were sneaking up on folks. Don't get me wrong, Texas was a huge upset, but otherwise it was pretty obvious they were pretty capable by the halfway mark of the Big Ten season.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jan 23, 2014 20:31:06 GMT -5
The B1G inn 2014 is going to be even more of a slug-fest than 2013, for sure. I am excited.
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Post by itsallrelative on Jan 23, 2014 20:46:09 GMT -5
Article on Diane Nordstrom, the communications director. host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/know-your-madisonian-diane-nordstrom/article_6543c93f-207b-5685-9269-f54bb3f22b46.htmlThe big questions going into the season are who is going to be the DS replacing Morey? Who will play right side (three choices there)? What kind of pt will Graff get? Does Morales continue to play all around? What happens with Bates? Are the starting middle spots locked? As for the "sneaking up," after the Michigan State and Minnesota victories, I don't anybody thought they were sneaking up on folks. Don't get me wrong, Texas was a huge upset, but otherwise it was pretty obvious they were pretty capable by the halfway mark of the Big Ten season. Maybe not.. But their travel partner Minnesota was higher ranked the entire year...
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Post by bucky415 on Jan 24, 2014 1:14:41 GMT -5
The B1G inn 2014 is going to be even more of a slug-fest than 2013, for sure. I am excited. I think the league will be down a bit, as there are some really significant graduation losses around the league. Illinois and Wisconsin may be the least hard hit, relatively speaking, but both lose very good liberos. As far as Wisconsin, I think Morey will have to make strides to be at the level Hickey was this year, but I still think the Badgers will be fine at the position with her. At this point, as someone said, I think the biggest hit will not be having the luxury of basically having two liberos out there half the time, as they did much of this season. Still, if the team can get healthy, they will have a lot of options, something they lacked this season. I think this year's edition had special intangibles that made the whole better than the sum of the parts, and I don't know if that is easily replaced. I am, however, excited about what next year's group could become with more depth and, maybe just as importantly, more practice time. It sounded like most of the team, even those playing, were often nicked up and missing practice. Since the Badgers overcame that to improve a lot over the course of this season, I would love to see what they could do if the injury bug left the Field House.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jan 28, 2014 21:46:04 GMT -5
Okay…so anyone else get teary watching this?
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jan 28, 2014 21:49:59 GMT -5
Okay…so anyone else get teary watching this? Yes. Every time.
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Post by notpriddy (COIF) on Jan 29, 2014 9:29:33 GMT -5
Interested to see other's opinion on Wisconsin's chances for a return to the final four next year. Who steps up to challenge at OH2, if anyone? Is Morey going to be able to fill Hickey's shoes? I believe that as long as Carlini is setting the Badgers, they will be a permanent fixture in the upper tier of the B1G. As long as Coach Sheffield is coaching, Wisconsin will be a regular fixture in the tourney. As far as being in the Final Four, so much depends on matchups and which teams are grouped together in a Regional. Certainly, Wisconsin will be looked at as a favorite to return to the Final Four next season.
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Post by WahineFan44 on Jan 29, 2014 17:12:48 GMT -5
Interested to see other's opinion on Wisconsin's chances for a return to the final four next year. Who steps up to challenge at OH2, if anyone? Is Morey going to be able to fill Hickey's shoes? I believe that as long as Carlini is setting the Badgers, they will be a permanent fixture in the upper tier of the B1G. As long as Coach Sheffield is coaching, Wisconsin will be a regular fixture in the tourney. As far as being in the Final Four, so much depends on matchups and which teams are grouped together in a Regional. Certainly, Wisconsin will be looked at as a favorite to return to the Final Four next season. Agreed. That's why it's hard to predict who will be a final four team. Match ups are key. If wiscosnin faced a team like stanford this year in the sweet sixteen, I don't think they would of beat them. But had stanford faced anyone else besides penn state, I think they would of made it into the final four. That's why I feel the tournament isn't an accurate tool for deciding any other place but 1st
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