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Post by bigfan on May 5, 2020 11:52:27 GMT -5
WSU beat UW both times last season A lot of people, especially outside of PAC circles, don't seem to understand that Jen Greeny is doing good things over there in the Palouse. WSU will compete and maybe win the Pac-12 in 2020. MAGDA JEHLÁROVÁ was the best player I saw in person in the entire Pac-12 in 2019. WSU is loaded with talent and most importantly is that they have great on court chemistry and compete as a team.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2020 12:09:21 GMT -5
A lot of people, especially outside of PAC circles, don't seem to understand that Jen Greeny is doing good things over there in the Palouse. WSU will compete and maybe win the Pac-12 in 2020. MAGDA JEHLÁROVÁ was the best player I saw in person in the entire Pac-12 in 2019. WSU is loaded with talent and most importantly is that they have great on court chemistry and compete as a team. better than Plummer, Drews, Bajema, May, and Lanier? Or did you not see any of those ladies play in person
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Post by mikegarrison on May 5, 2020 12:26:43 GMT -5
Magda Jehlářová was quite good, wasn't she? And only a freshman. I'm not sure if I would say she was better than the top juniors and seniors in the conference last year (especially because she played middle, making it hard to directly compare with OH), but there was no doubt she was the best freshman. In fact, AVCA declared her to be the best freshman in the whole country.
Still, it's hard for a middle to carry a team like an elite OH or setter can.
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trojansc
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Post by trojansc on May 5, 2020 14:53:46 GMT -5
WSU beat UW both times last season A lot of people, especially outside of PAC circles, don't seem to understand that Jen Greeny is doing good things over there in the Palouse. Completely agree. Now, given all that, she nearly sabotaged her team’s chances at the NCAA tournament last year. Wazzu was like 12-8 and nearly missed the big dance. If they didn’t beat Washington in that last match of the season - they most likely wouldn’t have gone in. The strangest part about her atrocious non-conference schedule was they actually went on the road three of the weeks, but she just put together a terrible group of opponents. We obviously don’t know what’s happening with this season, but I hope she learned from last year.
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Post by ay2013 on May 5, 2020 16:15:10 GMT -5
I'd need to look at the schedule before making any hard prediction about conference finish....but in general I'd say: 1: UCLA 2: Utah 3: Stanford 4: WSU 5: Washington 6: Cal 7: USC 8: Oregon ---Probably the tournament cutoff----- 10: Arizona (they would have higher had Smoot stayed) 11: Colorado 12: OSU 13: ASU WSU above Washington? Interesting. Are you high on the Cougars or low on the Huskies? Surprised no one has mentioned Endsley yet. I could see them swapped, both lose backcourt necessity, but I think WSU is probably a bit stronger on the LS. I also do NOT like how injury prone Hoffman is, not to mention Dani Cole. That worries me re depth, especially given how much of a load she'll be asked to take. I don't think Endsley gives the Huskies anything they don't already have. A strong arm to play along side Hoffman if need be? ok, but not much else. Frankly, I'd rather have Dalton until Endsley makes big progress with her footwork. Dalton is massively unrated in this class.
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Post by davethecoug on May 5, 2020 17:19:04 GMT -5
A lot of people, especially outside of PAC circles, don't seem to understand that Jen Greeny is doing good things over there in the Palouse. Completely agree. Now, given all that, she nearly sabotaged her team’s chances at the NCAA tournament last year. Wazzu was like 12-8 and nearly missed the big dance. If they didn’t beat Washington in that last match of the season - they most likely wouldn’t have gone in. The strangest part about her atrocious non-conference schedule was they actually went on the road three of the weeks, but she just put together a terrible group of opponents. We obviously don’t know what’s happening with this season, but I hope she learned from last year.
I posted the following last year in a Bracketology thread:
------- Wazzu is a Freshman dominated team. The coaches arranged a moderate non-con schedule against teams that had a 2018 record of 203-168 (54.7% win percentage). The same teams also had a 2017 win percentage of 54.7%. Unfortunately, in 2019, these same teams have only achieved a 150-204 record (42.4% win percentage). This is a huge year to year drop in winning percentage that is massively dragging down Wazzu's RPI.
If the non-con opponents had won 54.7% of their matches, I suspect Wazzu's RPI would be in the high 30's or low 40's. -------
Considering that the team was dominated by freshmen, a weaker set of non-con opponents was expected. The large year to year drop of non-con opponent winning percentage was not expected.
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trojansc
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Post by trojansc on May 5, 2020 17:57:36 GMT -5
I posted the following last year in a Bracketology thread: ------- Wazzu is a Freshman dominated team. The coaches arranged a moderate non-con schedule against teams that had a 2018 record of 203-168 (54.7% win percentage). The same teams also had a 2017 win percentage of 54.7%. Unfortunately, in 2019, these same teams have only achieved a 150-204 record (42.4% win percentage). This is a huge year to year drop in winning percentage that is massively dragging down Wazzu's RPI.
If the non-con opponents had won 54.7% of their matches, I suspect Wazzu's RPI would be in the high 30's or low 40's. -------
Considering that the team was dominated by freshmen, a weaker set of non-con opponents was expected. The large year to year drop of non-con opponent winning percentage was not expected. This non-conference schedule was not moderate, it was deliberately weak. This is what it looked like going into the 2019 season: 2018 Final RPI and 2018 Final Record 56 James Madison 22-7 75 UTRGV 22-9 78 Iowa 15-16 87 Portland 20-13 100 Stony Brook 21-9 133 Idaho 23-10 144 UT Arlington 16-14 168 Idaho State 19-14 169 Liberty 15-17 182 Houston Baptist 16-16 250 Utah State 5-24 316 Texas Southern 11-22 I could stomach scheduling one of Utah State or Texas Southern as a "given" in a tournament with 2 other tough teams, but not when these tournaments have no other real threatening competition. James Madison and UTRGV were not bad choices at all. They were proven successful mid-majors also with quality RPI's, excellent choices. They are also less likely to beat you on the actual court than similar top-50/top-75 RPI teams might be. Iowa is/was a terrible scheduling choice. Iowa is a perfect example of a lose-lose situation. Their record isn't going to help you, and they're a much tougher match than their win% says compared to others. And of course, Washington State did lose to Iowa. What Washington State did was a little greedy: try to get the most out of the RPI formula by scheduling weaker RPI teams with good or decent winning %'s. That works when you schedule teams like Dayton, VCU, American University, etc. Certain mid-major programs are almost always good win'loss teams, and even in a rare off year, their record is still respectable. That's how you can avoid playing tougher non-conferences while still sort of gaming the RPI system. What they did wrong was banked on teams in the 150s RPI range to produce their same W/L %. There is a lot of variability there, a very risky group to bank on unless they have sustained conference dominance for multiple years. I don't understand why Washington State couldn't have scheduled at least a few tournament name teams, maybe even just a couple to show that they are still going to challenge themselves once or twice in the non-conference. It was a very poorly put together non-conference schedule. You can say that the math might have supported it - but in terms of actual strength of opponents and chances at an at-large bid, it was terrible. A 12-8 PAC record should not be missing the NCAA Tournament. Actually, I think Washington State could have had a chance at a seed had they put together a better non-conference schedule.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2020 17:58:40 GMT -5
WSU above Washington? Interesting. Are you high on the Cougars or low on the Huskies? Surprised no one has mentioned Endsley yet. I could see them swapped, both lose backcourt necessity, but I think WSU is probably a bit stronger on the LS. I also do NOT like how injury prone Hoffman is, not to mention Dani Cole. That worries me re depth, especially given how much of a load she'll be asked to take. I don't think Endsley gives the Huskies anything they don't already have. A strong arm to play along side Hoffman if need be? ok, but not much else. Frankly, I'd rather have Dalton until Endsley makes big progress with her footwork. Dalton is massively unrated in this class. See that's interesting. I agree they're close, but ignoring the incoming classes for a moment, the Huskies are stronger. Jehlarova is good (although not the best middle in the Pac imo) but I'd take the Huskies trio of Sanders, Summers and Grote over her. Pukis is a good setter but Ella May Powell is better. Hoffman is better than Timmer, Lusby and Drechsel are a push and neither team has a decent libero on the roster (although WSU at least have some DSs - Calle is a serving sub). Now, obviously it's hard to know how freshmen will translate to the Pac but I think you're right about Dalton; I'd rather have her this year than Endsley. But neither Timmer or Hoffman are big time terminators, so I think both will get opportunities as freshmen. Ultimately I don't think either roster peaks in 2020 & I'd expect both to be better in 2021. I also don't think either will challenge for the Pac-12 this year but it'll be interesting to see which team performs better in what should be a competitive conference.
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Post by c4ndlelight on May 5, 2020 18:38:27 GMT -5
I posted the following last year in a Bracketology thread: ------- Wazzu is a Freshman dominated team. The coaches arranged a moderate non-con schedule against teams that had a 2018 record of 203-168 (54.7% win percentage). The same teams also had a 2017 win percentage of 54.7%. Unfortunately, in 2019, these same teams have only achieved a 150-204 record (42.4% win percentage). This is a huge year to year drop in winning percentage that is massively dragging down Wazzu's RPI.
If the non-con opponents had won 54.7% of their matches, I suspect Wazzu's RPI would be in the high 30's or low 40's. -------
Considering that the team was dominated by freshmen, a weaker set of non-con opponents was expected. The large year to year drop of non-con opponent winning percentage was not expected. This non-conference schedule was not moderate, it was deliberately weak. This is what it looked like going into the 2019 season: 2018 Final RPI and 2018 Final Record 56 James Madison 22-7 75 UTRGV 22-9 78 Iowa 15-16 87 Portland 20-13 100 Stony Brook 21-9 133 Idaho 23-10 144 UT Arlington 16-14 168 Idaho State 19-14 169 Liberty 15-17 182 Houston Baptist 16-16 250 Utah State 5-24 316 Texas Southern 11-22 I could stomach scheduling one of Utah State or Texas Southern as a "given" in a tournament with 2 other tough teams, but not when these tournaments have no other real threatening competition. James Madison and UTRGV were not bad choices at all. They were proven successful mid-majors also with quality RPI's, excellent choices. They are also less likely to beat you on the actual court than similar top-50/top-75 RPI teams might be. Iowa is/was a terrible scheduling choice. Iowa is a perfect example of a lose-lose situation. Their record isn't going to help you, and they're a much tougher match than their win% says compared to others. And of course, Washington State did lose to Iowa. What Washington State did was a little greedy: try to get the most out of the RPI formula by scheduling weaker RPI teams with good or decent winning %'s. That works when you schedule teams like Dayton, VCU, American University, etc. Certain mid-major programs are almost always good win'loss teams, and even in a rare off year, their record is still respectable. That's how you can avoid playing tougher non-conferences while still sort of gaming the RPI system. What they did wrong was banked on teams in the 150s RPI range to produce their same W/L %. There is a lot of variability there, a very risky group to bank on unless they have sustained conference dominance for multiple years. I don't understand why Washington State couldn't have scheduled at least a few tournament name teams, maybe even just a couple to show that they are still going to challenge themselves once or twice in the non-conference. It was a very poorly put together non-conference schedule. You can say that the math might have supported it - but in terms of actual strength of opponents and chances at an at-large bid, it was terrible. A 12-8 PAC record should not be missing the NCAA Tournament. Actually, I think Washington State could have had a chance at a seed had they put together a better non-conference schedule. See, this is why it was actually a good non-conference schedule. Washington St. needed those soft weekends to get in rhythm, get confident, and learn how to play as a team. I don't think they come together as a team and are as successful in the PAC if they were taking lots of losses against a tougher pre-conference schedule (the Iowa loss opening weekend wasn't close - 75-60 sweep). The schedule bought them time to gel and gave them confidence.
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Post by bigfan on May 5, 2020 18:45:53 GMT -5
. A 12-8 PAC record should not be missing the NCAA Tournament. Actually, I think Washington State could have had a chance at a seed had they put together a better non-conference schedule. This WSU team is going to challenge for the 2020 Pac-12 title. Pukis, Lusby, Jehlarova, Williams and co. are a very good team.
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trojansc
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Post by trojansc on May 5, 2020 18:59:12 GMT -5
See, this is why it was actually a good non-conference schedule. Washington St. needed those soft weekends to get in rhythm, get confident, and learn how to play as a team. I don't think they come together as a team and are as successful in the PAC if they were taking lots of losses against a tougher pre-conference schedule (the Iowa loss opening weekend wasn't close - 75-60 sweep). The schedule bought them time to gel and gave them confidence. Of course. It all depends on your goal as a program. I don't disagree with that reasoning at all, but the poster above was saying that Wazzu's Coaches attempted to schedule a good RPI schedule based on 2-year winning%'s that was of moderate strength. And even with that theory, Wazzu still could have found a favorable scheduling situation in Week 4. They were coming off a season where they were a Top 16 seed! It wasn't even like they wanted to stay in Pullman for the non-conference. At the end of the day (season), it is very possible that Washington State could have easily been left out of the tournament instead of Cal. That would be very unfortunate for how Washington St. performed in the PAC. There is definitely a balance between scheduling soft(er) and scheduling for a Top 4 seed. Oregon had a Top 4 seed schedule and didn't make the tournament. Iguess I would have looked like a bad coach too, because there's no way I would have turned down that schedule.
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Post by jwvolley on May 5, 2020 19:06:02 GMT -5
Random prediction: Washington State will beat Stanford this season.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2020 19:34:20 GMT -5
. A 12-8 PAC record should not be missing the NCAA Tournament. Actually, I think Washington State could have had a chance at a seed had they put together a better non-conference schedule. This WSU team is going to challenge for the 2020 Pac-12 title. Pukis, Lusby, Jehlarova, Williams and co. are a very good team. Prediction noted, but just to be clear, do you mean Kalyah Williams? The RS-So who hit .104, terminated 26.7% of her swings and had a good pass percentage of just 38.6%? She is surely the worst player mentioned so far in this thread. Regarding the prediction, who is the other starting middle for WSU in 2020?
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Post by USC✌🏼 on May 5, 2020 20:14:04 GMT -5
Does anyone know if Keller is bringing new players or transfers from what we know already?
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Post by bigfan on May 5, 2020 21:27:27 GMT -5
Random prediction: Washington State will beat Stanford this season. Yes
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