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Post by rainbowbadger on Jul 17, 2015 10:32:39 GMT -5
In retrospect we do seem naive. Do keep in mind, though, that none of us had seen Bates play, and add in a dash of skepticism about freshmen transitioning. I'm glad things worked out the way they did. Bates had an awesome freshman campaign. I've said this before, but it's still true: it was a joy to watch her develop last year. I'm a fan. I'm also impressed with Deme, who made huge, though less visible contributions and stepped up her own back row game in order to do so. She also mentored Bates and handled her role change with maturity and class. My hopes for this year: -Bates remains solid or (better) grows her game more -Gillis blossoms into a confident 6-rotation hitter -Romo's long, slow rehab pays off -LC and Tay stay healthy and continue to anchor the team -Nelson continues to grow -Williams and MacDonald have strong freshman campaigns -Duello gets some match time and transitions well to college Not sure it's naivete or the fact that before the season, there was an HM AA ahead of her. But there wasn't. Maybe in May, but not by this time last year. Romo had her knee scoped and we knew she'd be out for the pre-conference. It really was a question of Bates or Deme, and there were a ton of Deme loyalists about, myself among them. I wasn't counting on Bates, a freshman, to be able to hold her own in the college game right away. But I remember Bates' first collegiate kill against Louisville. She just about took the defender's head off. And then I knew... We had something special.
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Post by bucky415 on Jul 17, 2015 11:11:57 GMT -5
Yeah, with all the freshmen on the roster, I am hoping to witness more first kills early on, but I don't think anyone is going to beat out Bates in that regard. It was abusive, and a line shot to boot. Also, I think some of our questions on Bates, having not seen her play, were due to her being a bit undersized. We didn't know she had the vertical and power that she does. She also showed she has the work ethic to improve over the course of the season. I hope we have similar pleasant surprises this season.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jul 17, 2015 11:23:58 GMT -5
Not sure it's naivete or the fact that before the season, there was an HM AA ahead of her. But there wasn't. Maybe in May, but not by this time last year. Romo had her knee scoped and we knew she'd be out for the pre-conference. It really was a question of Bates or Deme, and there were a ton of Deme loyalists about, myself among them. I wasn't counting on Bates, a freshman, to be able to hold her own in the college game right away. But I remember Bates' first collegiate kill against Louisville. She just about took the defender's head off. And then I knew... We had something special. I think Bates was a placeholder until the second injury occurred.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 15:42:43 GMT -5
Quite a few people had Bates easily in the lineup, myself included. She was playing incredible volleyball for Ultimate during her senior year. It was the Wisconsin homers who were unwilling to believe that anyone could beat out Morales. Bates over Kriskova, an HH AA? You're crazy. Again, it was well-known that Kriskova wasn't completely healthy and there were a ton of question marks surrounding her making the jump from VCU to the Big Ten. There were several posters who didn't think Kriskova would crack the lineup and that Bates would.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 15:44:45 GMT -5
In retrospect we do seem naive. Do keep in mind, though, that none of us had seen Bates play, and add in a dash of skepticism about freshmen transitioning. I'm glad things worked out the way they did. Bates had an awesome freshman campaign. I've said this before, but it's still true: it was a joy to watch her develop last year. I'm a fan. I'm also impressed with Deme, who made huge, though less visible contributions and stepped up her own back row game in order to do so. She also mentored Bates and handled her role change with maturity and class. My hopes for this year: -Bates remains solid or (better) grows her game more -Gillis blossoms into a confident 6-rotation hitter -Romo's long, slow rehab pays off -LC and Tay stay healthy and continue to anchor the team -Nelson continues to grow -Williams and MacDonald have strong freshman campaigns -Duello gets some match time and transitions well to college Not sure it's naivete or the fact that before the season, there was an HM AA ahead of her. You say "HM AA" as if it means something more than "All-Region," which is funny. You also say "HM AA" without regarding the circumstances as if all HM AAs are equal or something, or are, de facto, better options than incoming freshman. That's funny too.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 15:46:33 GMT -5
Quite a few people had Bates easily in the lineup, myself included. She was playing incredible volleyball for Ultimate during her senior year. It was the Wisconsin homers who were unwilling to believe that anyone could beat out Morales. In retrospect we do seem naive. Do keep in mind, though, that none of us had seen Bates play. ...yet that didn't stop you from making predictions or comments about her ability to impact the lineup.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jul 17, 2015 15:58:43 GMT -5
In retrospect we do seem naive. Do keep in mind, though, that none of us had seen Bates play. ...yet that didn't stop you from making predictions or comments about her ability to impact the lineup. Correct. But I do think people are generally correct to be cautious about freshmen in general and those they haven't seen play in particular. I know more of what to look for when watching hitters than I did a year ago. I'm also generally cautious. I don't know whether I'd've made the same prediction this time last year, knowing what I know now. What I am grateful for is the increased amount of streaming of club tournaments. I've been able to see a bunch of Hilley, Dodge, MacDonald, and Williams. Less of Saunders and Juley, due more to bad timing than anything else. Really looking forward to seeing Duello. Praying to the weather gods that they're getting their horrid humidity out of their systems THIS WEEKEND and will give us comfortable weather 26 days from now.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 16:14:22 GMT -5
In retrospect we do seem naive. Do keep in mind, though, that none of us had seen Bates play. ...yet that didn't stop you from making predictions or comments about her ability to impact the lineup. yeah, we'll be surprised again this year - some player will step up we didn't expect.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jul 17, 2015 17:53:17 GMT -5
Not sure it's naivete or the fact that before the season, there was an HM AA ahead of her. You say "HM AA" as if it means something more than "All-Region," which is funny. You also say "HM AA" without regarding the circumstances as if all HM AAs are equal or something, or are, de facto, better options than incoming freshman. That's funny too. Who said I didn't consider those things? Did I say she was equal to or better than any player from any other conference because of her award? No. I said she was an HM AA, which she was. Are you saying all region/HM AA isn't significant from any team? It's more than many, many players ever achieve regardless of conference. What's more, she was more proven that a freshman, regardless of conference, no matter what way you look at it.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jul 17, 2015 18:14:05 GMT -5
I forgot how much you two love to snipe at each other.
#IsItAugustYet
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Post by Deleted on Jul 17, 2015 20:22:11 GMT -5
You say "HM AA" as if it means something more than "All-Region," which is funny. You also say "HM AA" without regarding the circumstances as if all HM AAs are equal or something, or are, de facto, better options than incoming freshman. That's funny too. Who said I didn't consider those things? Did I say she was equal to or better than any player from any other conference because of her award? No. I said she was an HM AA, which she was. Are you saying all region/HM AA isn't significant from any team? It's more than many, many players ever achieve regardless of conference. What's more, she was more proven that a freshman, regardless of conference, no matter what way you look at it. Proven against pretty inferior competition or not, just because someone is named an HM AA in one season does NOT mean they are, by definition, better than an incoming freshman. As unproven as Bates was against B1G-level competition, Kriskova was also unproven against that level. Also, you're pretty mistaken regarding the timeline of her injury/transfer. Since we seem to be losing the point here, you're misremembering that several posters thought that Bates would start in 2014. Wisconsin homers didn't think Morales would lose her spot. Several other posters did. Wisconsin homers didn't realize the extent of Kriskova's knee troubles or how that would impact her ability to compete for a spot in the lineup. Several other posters did.
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Post by SportyBucky on Jul 18, 2015 11:26:01 GMT -5
Who said I didn't consider those things? Did I say she was equal to or better than any player from any other conference because of her award? No. I said she was an HM AA, which she was. Are you saying all region/HM AA isn't significant from any team? It's more than many, many players ever achieve regardless of conference. What's more, she was more proven that a freshman, regardless of conference, no matter what way you look at it. Proven against pretty inferior competition or not, just because someone is named an HM AA in one season does NOT mean they are, by definition, better than an incoming freshman. As unproven as Bates was against B1G-level competition, Kriskova was also unproven against that level. Also, you're pretty mistaken regarding the timeline of her injury/transfer. Since we seem to be losing the point here, you're misremembering that several posters thought that Bates would start in 2014. Wisconsin homers didn't think Morales would lose her spot. Several other posters did. Wisconsin homers didn't realize the extent of Kriskova's knee troubles or how that would impact her ability to compete for a spot in the lineup. Several other posters did. Ok. Thanks.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jul 18, 2015 17:55:36 GMT -5
I was just reading back through the Wisconsin 2014 thread, and it looks like Pelc is sorta right, in that there were a bunch of people clinging to Morales as a starter for a lot longer than I'd remembered. We also didn't realize the extent of Romo's knee issues until she had a setback during the pre-conference.
Like I said, I didn't really believe Bates was any more of a viable front row option than Deme until I saw her nearly take that Louisville player's head off during their first match of the season. Then I knew.
Let's shrug off arguments about who backed which player when. Bates is a pretty solid lock for one of the 2015 OH positions. And Deme? Deme's gonna go play pro ball. I think they've both done some darn fine work here, and I'm proud of both of them.
Let's look ahead. 34 days until the Cardinal & White scrimmage! How shall we pass the time? I know I'll be glued to live streams of the FIVB finals this coming weekend. Couldn't make the trip to Omaha work this month.
In other news, Tawa named Tionna Williams, Molly Haggerty, and Grace Loberg as 2015 Club Volleyball All-Americans, based on performance at AAUs and/or GJNC.
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Post by rainbowbadger on Jul 18, 2015 18:02:23 GMT -5
Also, camps just finished up with Little Badgers (5-10 years old). Training 'em early...
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Post by WahineFan44 on Jul 18, 2015 18:03:31 GMT -5
Also, camps just finished up with Little Badgers (5-10 years old). Training 'em early... That was adorable. And LOL at how tall they are compared to the little badgers.
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