Very good post! Here is my thoughts on the program:
First, thanks for taking the time to write this, it was well written and thought out and I completely agree with you.
We do need to take that next step, which right now is getting to the Sweet 16. We need to find someone that can play with Kitley and be okay with not being the top post player. Someone who is good defensively and rebounds well but also has a good shot. That way Kitley is not the only one in the post that is being focused on. If all five players on the court are a threat to score consistently it makes it way harder for other teams to guard you and to double team Kitley.
I would like to point out that in the past we have had problems with transfers. Yes this year a couple transferred out, but one never played for us and the other knew that her style wasn't a fit with Kitley in the post. So we really didn't lose anyone important on that end if it stays that way.
Now it will be interesting to see who replaces Coach Poppie. That could be larger than we think. He did a lot for this program and for Kenny.
On the other end, it will be difficult to replace Sheppard. With that being said, if the focus of scoring is more of a team effort and not on one or two players, we can be more dangerous overall, especially if we can get a couple of good transfers like we did last year. We need another Traylor type that isn't scared of the moment and has a good overall game. Not just a three point shooter. We already have that. The more diverse we get with players abilities to score the better I think we will be.
Consistency is the main area of concern in my opinion. We need to understand how good we are and be consistent with that by winning the games we should. If we beat Liberty and/or Missouri State we probably would have been a 4 seed which could have made a world of difference. We will go into next season probably ranked number 15 in the country, based off of the last rankings. We need to live up to our potential while we still have Kitley on the roster. We lost that opportunity this year with Sheppard and Kitley on the roster. On the upside, losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament hopefully was a wake up call and motivation for next year.
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In response to this post by MrFantastic!)
Posted: 04/04/2022 at 3:00PM