Post by ToddyJ on Jan 22, 2019 13:37:33 GMT -5
What I would like to see:
S: Carlini, Hancock, Poulter, Hunter
OH: Larson, Hill, MBH, Lee, Plummer, Foecke/Anae
MB: Akinradewo, Gibbemeyer, Ogbogu, Washington, Ajanaku/Alhassan
Opp: Lowe, Drews, Cuttino/Whitney
L: Robinson, Courtney, Maloney/Whichever young talented libero gets invited to train....
This roster gives Karch TONS of versatility with in the roster to move players around to different positions. It allows Lowe, Gibby, Hill, MBH, and Robinson to become leaders on the floor and the veteran backbone needed to steady the ship. Bring in Foluke and Jordan for the finals or on weeks where all the matches are tough.
Keep the setters on shuffle all during the prelims. Take the best two to the finals. Hopefully one of those four setters will emerge as the one to lead this system we run.
Players not on this roster still will get plenty of court time in several of the possible 7 tournaments being played this year. (Pan-Am Games, Pan-Am Cup, Norceca Championships, World Cup, IOQT, Montreux VM). Not sure if we will be at MVM since we haven't participated since 2014.
On the flip side of the coin.....
What we will probably get:
S: Lloyd, Hancock, Carlini
OH: Larson, Hill, MBH, Wilhite-Parsons, Kindgon-Rishel, Lee
MB: Akinradewo, Adams, Gibbemeyer, Dixon, Ogbogu, Washington
Opp: Murphy, Lowe, Drews
L: Robinson, Courtney, Benson
Ultimately I think in this years VNL will see most teams bringing their big guns more during the preliminaries and especially for the finals because the IOQT is the next major tournament for all of these teams. They will want to be at their best. If this roster happens I think we can kiss major development of younger talent goodbye for this quad. I'm not saying development won't occur. I just think Karch has made up his mind on who he thinks will get the job done. After 2020 we will see some major changes and though the squad will be pretty inexperienced at an elite level.....this will leave room for the next generation to grow towards 2028 where we will be the hosts.
S: Carlini, Hancock, Poulter, Hunter
OH: Larson, Hill, MBH, Lee, Plummer, Foecke/Anae
MB: Akinradewo, Gibbemeyer, Ogbogu, Washington, Ajanaku/Alhassan
Opp: Lowe, Drews, Cuttino/Whitney
L: Robinson, Courtney, Maloney/Whichever young talented libero gets invited to train....
Run the preliminary round with the bolded lineup. Make them fight to earn their spot in the finals.
Keep the setters on shuffle all during the prelims. Take the best two to the finals. Hopefully one of those four setters will emerge as the one to lead this system we run.
Players not on this roster still will get plenty of court time in several of the possible 7 tournaments being played this year. (Pan-Am Games, Pan-Am Cup, Norceca Championships, World Cup, IOQT, Montreux VM). Not sure if we will be at MVM since we haven't participated since 2014.
On the flip side of the coin.....
What we will probably get:
S: Lloyd, Hancock, Carlini
OH: Larson, Hill, MBH, Wilhite-Parsons, Kindgon-Rishel, Lee
MB: Akinradewo, Adams, Gibbemeyer, Dixon, Ogbogu, Washington
Opp: Murphy, Lowe, Drews
L: Robinson, Courtney, Benson
I would love to see the bolded players developing during the preliminary rounds to see who makes the most progress. Sprinkle in some vets on weeks where the line-up of opponents is a little more tough. Or hell....just use the same 14 the whole 5 weeks. I feel confident that this bolded group could at least make the finals. I would predict a 3rd-6th place finish on the table after the prelims. But if they finished top of the table again...Karch would have to realize who his "best 7" are...might not be all of his old Olympic vets.
The one thing the USA has more than any other team is depth and lots of it. Italy and China are probably the next two teams with a decent amount of depth. Most other teams have maybe 7-10 players of depth before the level of play drops significantly. In order to make the finals they will have to exhaust their starters. I think this is what makes team USA unique and also frustrating in that we don't have a clear starting 7 at the moment.