In Reply to: Agree: We won't win a championship doing the same thing... posted by jerseybruin on April 15, 2025 at 15:27:02
we lost to only two teams - twice to SC with Juju Watkins (who is going to miss nearly (and likely all) next year and has lost their AA big forward and center from this year's team and who we beat in our last meeting even with them all and to UConn which was 'way better than everyone else the last six weeks of the season. and which beat two time defending NC South Carolina as badly as they beat us in the final four. (Note: we beat South Carolina - one of only three teams to do it - and we beat them by double digits. And which has lost it's heart and soul in Bueckers and also Chen - not sure now many others.
We are ranked #1 for next year. UConn won't be the same. SC won't be the same.
Where is your evidence for your statement "eventually we'll run into a team that can stop the offense"? And we son't be able to adjust?
Because we couldn't play with UConn? By year's end NO ONE could stay with UConn this year. They were easily the best team in the country but they're losing so much. And we'll have our core back PLUS Leger-Walker and Sienna Betts.
We had a game in which we couldn't hit our shots. We'll have more good shooters next year. And all our key players are bak except Jones who left because CLW is better and with Bilic coming in also, Jones saw the writing on the wall and because Barker saw she wasn't going to play center on a team with Lauren Betts, 4 inches taller and more talented than she, Plus the arrival of Sienna, same height but the #2 recruit in the country and pretty certain to have a real connection with big sister Lauren. Not the way Barker wants to spend her last year in college.
You said "sooner or later" but we have everyone back from a Final Four team and all the other teams are losing key pieces. And we beat every single other team we played last season. Every. Other. One. And nearly all of them by double digits.
We lost our last game to a team that won't be the same next year on a night we couldn't hit a shot.
Will we be unbeatable? No one is unbeatable. But we are the best team in the country going into next season. And if you want to worry about the year after next, I get it, but with all the seniors and grad students in our lineup we will also be the most mature team in the country. Deciding not to play your best and most experienced players would be lime deciding not to go with Ed O'Bannon and Tyus Edny in '95. This team has been three years in the building and it's time is NOW. It's time for us just to enjoy the payoff and the ride. There are always worries (I worry if we have enough quickness on defense to effectively patrol the perimeter in every game against every opponent). But you don't go away from your strengths to go into full developmental mode in the year in which you have all the pieces in place and the best chance of anyone to pull it all off this coming season.