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Post by Phillytom on Mar 26, 2015 14:15:10 GMT -5
I agree with you Frantti was a more consistent player for that Penn State team. She could get the ball down faster with less swings. Courtney can hit hard, but I don't think she is a terminator. When out of system sets were given to Courtney she would take a lot of it. She needs to be more versatile in her hitting. She has a good jump, she just needs to be better at killing sets that are not perfect. It's pretty tough to compare any player to Frantti in that regard. She is crazy good at OOS hitting. And, of course, going to be even better this year. Courtney does a lot of things better than Frantti -- solo blocking, soft hitting, back row defense etc.
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Post by dorothymantooth on Mar 26, 2015 14:24:55 GMT -5
I agree with you Frantti was a more consistent player for that Penn State team. She could get the ball down faster with less swings. Courtney can hit hard, but I don't think she is a terminator. When out of system sets were given to Courtney she would take a lot of it. She needs to be more versatile in her hitting. She has a good jump, she just needs to be better at killing sets that are not perfect. It's pretty tough to compare any player to Frantti in that regard. She is crazy good at OOS hitting. And, of course, going to be even better this year. Courtney does a lot of things better than Frantti -- solo blocking, soft hitting, back row defense etc. Courtney does most everything better. She is PSU's best volleyball player, and probably was last year as well. Frantti is a better OOS hitter because she is simply bigger and stronger.
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Post by setterball on Mar 26, 2015 14:32:15 GMT -5
Courtney's problem is, and has always been, the second half of the season. I hope she can change that fortune next season. Not sure I see it. Courtney has been great the second half of the last two seasons. Her numbers fluctuate widely, more than most top outsides, but that's because PSU has the luxury of going to different people if Courtney is being defended. Whether Courtney is "up" or "down" probably has to do with the matchups and game plan more than her performance. And, more than a lot of players, she truly does not care if she gets 30 kills or 0 as long as her team wins. She will do whatever it takes. What I like about Courtney is the more subtle contributions -- she is going to be the first player to spot tendencies. She instantly notices when defenders are cheating positionally and goes right for the empty spot on the floor. And that helps her teammates see it too. She's going to be incredibly valuable this year on a PSU team that is going to be very young in the back row. Courtney and Frantti are such contrasting styles and yet both such well rounded intelligent players. Y'all can fight about who's better but I'm glad PSU doesn't have to make a choice. This is the best answer yet to the Courtney/Frantti debate! PSU has so many offensive options that their game plan can vary from match to match or even set to set, and Russ Rose is a master at understanding which matchups work best for his team. As a result, sometimes Courtney is the go to hitter and sometimes she's not - either way they usually manage to get a win. I agree with you about the contrasting styles, too. And I'm sure it's not by accident that Russ ended up with two such different players. Having to prepare for two VERY different players makes PSU all that much harder to defend. I'm a big Courtney fan, but having Frantti opposite her is certainly not a bad thing!
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Post by trianglevolleyball on Mar 26, 2015 16:42:58 GMT -5
There have been many predicting Illinois to be better than Wisconsin this year. I think it is possible, but I don't think it is likely. Illinois has starters Birks, Stadick, and Donnelly returning and likely starters this year. Both setters return, but sounds like freshman Paulter will be the starting setter? Starks returns and possibly starts at RS? Wisconsin has Carlini, Nelson, Bates, and Morey returning as starters. I can see Birks being better than Bates (although I am not sure there is that big of a difference), but I think most would consider Nelson to be better than Stadick and Morey better than Donnelley. Carlini would have to be considered a heavy favorite to be better than anyone setting for Illinois. Counting Paulter as a returning (known) player, Wisconsin is better than Illinois in 3 of the 4 returning starting spots. I don't know a whole lot about this year's recruiting class - but I do know that Wisconsin has 4 1st team AA (Under Armour) and from what I understand has one of the best incoming freshman classes in the nation. Illinois freshman would have to be considerably better than Wisconsin's to make up the gap from returning starters (and this is already including Paulter among the returning starters). Is there a transfer or injury from last year that I am missing? "I can see Birks being better than Bates" If Bates is somehow better than probable 1at Team All-Amerixan Birks Wisconsin is going to steamroll this conference. That's not happening though.
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Post by Boof1224 on Mar 26, 2015 17:11:43 GMT -5
There have been many predicting Illinois to be better than Wisconsin this year. I think it is possible, but I don't think it is likely. Illinois has starters Birks, Stadick, and Donnelly returning and likely starters this year. Both setters return, but sounds like freshman Paulter will be the starting setter? Starks returns and possibly starts at RS? Wisconsin has Carlini, Nelson, Bates, and Morey returning as starters. I can see Birks being better than Bates (although I am not sure there is that big of a difference), but I think most would consider Nelson to be better than Stadick and Morey better than Donnelley. Carlini would have to be considered a heavy favorite to be better than anyone setting for Illinois. Counting Paulter as a returning (known) player, Wisconsin is better than Illinois in 3 of the 4 returning starting spots. I don't know a whole lot about this year's recruiting class - but I do know that Wisconsin has 4 1st team AA (Under Armour) and from what I understand has one of the best incoming freshman classes in the nation. Illinois freshman would have to be considerably better than Wisconsin's to make up the gap from returning starters (and this is already including Paulter among the returning starters). Is there a transfer or injury from last year that I am missing? "I can see Birks being better than Bates" If Bates is somehow better than probable 1at Team All-Amerixan Birks Wisconsin is going to steamroll this conference. That's not happening though. They would be very good but "steamroll" the conference. That's a little overkill
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Post by Phillytom on Mar 26, 2015 17:59:10 GMT -5
"I can see Birks being better than Bates" If Bates is somehow better than probable 1at Team All-Amerixan Birks Wisconsin is going to steamroll this conference. That's not happening though. They would be very good but "steamroll" the conference. That's a little overkill The conference looks tougher to me this year. Minny had an off year so they're due for a bounceback year - the coaching is too good for it to be otherwise. Ohio State will be better. Purdue and Michigan could be better. Nebraska will definitely be better. I don't think PSU will drop off much, though the first month will be interesting... The team that might slip a little IMHO is Wisky. But not necessarily -- they've got great recruits coming in. If they can get the chemistry right, they could be great by late season. Does anybody know, is there any chance PSU will get two matches against Wisconsin this year? It's a crime to not have those teams play a home and home. A late season match at Madison once both teams have had a chance to gell with their new players -- that would be amazing. What do you think the odds are that Carlini will beat Penn State at least once in her career. She's 0-5 so far -- three sweeps in the regular season, and two very competitive losses in the NCAAs.
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Post by alt on Mar 26, 2015 18:46:09 GMT -5
There have been many predicting Illinois to be better than Wisconsin this year. I think it is possible, but I don't think it is likely. Illinois has starters Birks, Stadick, and Donnelly returning and likely starters this year. Both setters return, but sounds like freshman Paulter will be the starting setter? Starks returns and possibly starts at RS? Wisconsin has Carlini, Nelson, Bates, and Morey returning as starters. I can see Birks being better than Bates (although I am not sure there is that big of a difference), but I think most would consider Nelson to be better than Stadick and Morey better than Donnelley. Carlini would have to be considered a heavy favorite to be better than anyone setting for Illinois. Counting Paulter as a returning (known) player, Wisconsin is better than Illinois in 3 of the 4 returning starting spots. I don't know a whole lot about this year's recruiting class - but I do know that Wisconsin has 4 1st team AA (Under Armour) and from what I understand has one of the best incoming freshman classes in the nation. Illinois freshman would have to be considerably better than Wisconsin's to make up the gap from returning starters (and this is already including Paulter among the returning starters). Is there a transfer or injury from last year that I am missing? Bates does not even close to being as productive as Birks. Birks got almost 2 times the amount of kill Bates did while hitting at a higher percentage. I don't see how you don't see a difference. Yea Wisconsin had 4 Under Armour All Americans, a setter that won't play, a Libero that will be a DS, a outside hitter that can't pass, a middle that is pretty good. Poulter is only going to benefit Illinois, getting players to have a higher efficiancy. Illinois got a right side hitter from Oregon that can jump higher than I've seen in a while. She will most probably be the right side for the Illini. Illinois also has one of the highest recruiting classes coming in. I'm not saying there is no way Wisoncin will beat Illinois, but I think they are pretty even Illinois with a little bit more experience.
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bluepenquin
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Post by bluepenquin on Mar 26, 2015 19:04:42 GMT -5
There have been many predicting Illinois to be better than Wisconsin this year. I think it is possible, but I don't think it is likely. Illinois has starters Birks, Stadick, and Donnelly returning and likely starters this year. Both setters return, but sounds like freshman Paulter will be the starting setter? Starks returns and possibly starts at RS? Wisconsin has Carlini, Nelson, Bates, and Morey returning as starters. I can see Birks being better than Bates (although I am not sure there is that big of a difference), but I think most would consider Nelson to be better than Stadick and Morey better than Donnelley. Carlini would have to be considered a heavy favorite to be better than anyone setting for Illinois. Counting Paulter as a returning (known) player, Wisconsin is better than Illinois in 3 of the 4 returning starting spots. I don't know a whole lot about this year's recruiting class - but I do know that Wisconsin has 4 1st team AA (Under Armour) and from what I understand has one of the best incoming freshman classes in the nation. Illinois freshman would have to be considerably better than Wisconsin's to make up the gap from returning starters (and this is already including Paulter among the returning starters). Is there a transfer or injury from last year that I am missing? Bates does not even close to being as productive as Birks. Birks got almost 2 times the amount of kill Bates did while hitting at a higher percentage. I don't see how you don't see a difference. Yea Wisconsin had 4 Under Armour All Americans, a setter that won't play, a Libero that will be a DS, a outside hitter that can't pass, a middle that is pretty good. Poulter is only going to benefit Illinois, getting players to have a higher efficiancy. Illinois got a right side hitter from Oregon that can jump higher than I've seen in a while. She will most probably be the right side for the Illini. Illinois also has one of the highest recruiting classes coming in. I'm not saying there is no way Wisoncin will beat Illinois, but I think they are pretty even Illinois with a little bit more experience. I do see a difference between Birks and Bates - I wrote as much. Of the 4 starting positions that we 'know' - Wisconsin would appear to be clearly better than Illinois in 3 of those positions, while Illinois is clearly better in 1. That doesn't mean it is how it will work out, but going into the season I think most would agree with that point. So, at a high level, Illinois has to be better than Wisconsin in the other 3 positions (I realize there is much more to this than the individual talent of the 7 starters). We really don't know a whole lot about how those 3 new starting positions (4 for the Illini) will work out.
As for experience - Wisconsin will be starting 4 players who started last year. It would appear that Illinois will be starting just 3 players that started last year. I don't put a lot of stock in 'experience', but I am not seeing experience as a check mark in the Illinois column. Don't get me wrong - I am not down on Illinois this year. They clearly have a high potential of being very good and could win the conference. But I also see a lot of risk - more risk than Wisconsin.
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Post by badgerbreath on Mar 26, 2015 21:53:31 GMT -5
I agree with Penguin that the badgers do not face as many problems as it appears from the turnover of players. Actually the problem is even less severe than stated. Of the open starting positions for the badgers, one would probably go to Romana Kriskova, a Junior transfer from VCU who had to redshirt last year with knee problems. She is not an unknown entity. She's played on the slovakian junior and senior national teams. Her last year at VCU she had 4.8K/set hitting at a .267 clip at OH/RS. She also had 50 service aces and averaged 2.4 digs/set, so she's an all rounder that will help our service game, defense and passing. She will probably play RS replacing Courtney Thompson (EDIT: Thomas!!!). From what we can tell she has been practicing this spring without a knee brace...so signs are good. She hasn't hit against B1G defenses, but she also hasn't been set by LC until now either. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact she makes. It's possible she enters conversations like this one by the end of the year.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 21:58:24 GMT -5
I agree with Penguin that the badgers do not face as many problems as it appears from the turnover of players. Actually the problem is even less severe than stated. Of the open starting positions for the badgers, one would probably go to Romana Kriskova, a Junior transfer from VCU who had to redshirt last year with knee problems. She is not an unknown entity. She's played on the slovakian junior and senior national teams. Her last year at VCU she had 4.8K/set hitting at a .267 clip at OH/RS. She also had 50 service aces and averaged 2.4 digs/set, so she's an all rounder that will help our service game, defense and passing. She will probably play RS replacing Courtney Thompson. From what we can tell she has been practicing this spring without a knee brace...so signs are good. She hasn't hit against B1G defenses, but she also hasn't been set by LC until now either. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact she makes. It's possible she enters conversations like this one by the end of the year. Courtney Thompson? That's one hell of a career.
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Post by badgerbreath on Mar 26, 2015 22:04:25 GMT -5
She can do everything... EDIT:: That's what I get for posting while watching basketball...
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Post by rainbowbadger on Mar 27, 2015 5:31:47 GMT -5
She can do everything... EDIT:: That's what I get for posting while watching basketball... Dude, I was barely capable of complete sentences during that game.
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Post by Boof1224 on Mar 27, 2015 10:25:43 GMT -5
She can do everything... EDIT:: That's what I get for posting while watching basketball... Dude, I was barely capable of complete sentences during that game. You guys have had a great season, Unfortunatly Kentucky is at a different level then the rest of ncaa. So in end it's a fight for second.
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Post by firedup on Mar 27, 2015 12:52:43 GMT -5
We can't really be seriously thinking that the Under Armour match was very informative about what is likely to happen. It was a hot mess. No, but I do seriously think that Skjodt is the best of the girls that were playing that night for the East. She will make an impact in the B1G, and I find it amusing that everyone is sleeping on Michigan. All back but Dannemiller.
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Post by chisovnik on Mar 27, 2015 13:04:40 GMT -5
We can't really be seriously thinking that the Under Armour match was very informative about what is likely to happen. It was a hot mess. No, but I do seriously think that Skjodt is the best of the girls that were playing that night for the East. She will make an impact in the B1G, and I find it amusing that everyone is sleeping on Michigan. All back but Dannemiller. Skjodt will be their OH1 from day one. She's the kind of player who can carry a team. However, I'm more worried about who will replace Dannemiller. The other two setters on the roster are not very good. I mean, look at what happened to Nebraska this past season.
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