Is it just me or is Pinewood's schedule pretty weak this year? They'll certainly make CCS open and probably make it to the finals against Mitty again, but are they Norcal Open contenders? Interesting schedule that makes that call difficult.
Pinewood schedule
- Thread starter bayareagbballfan
- Start date
I would have to agree. Besides Clovis they haven't played anyone that is known for competing on a higher level. No disrespect to Clovis but they are normally the weaker out of Clovis North and Clovis West. However, knowing they are rebuilding after losing Jump, Alstrom, Copeland, and Leung I think it is a wise choice. They have some young talent as well as some vets to lead the young talent. The last thing you want to do is discourage them however, you still want to put some meat on the table so they get better against elevated comp. But Doc has a proven track record and I'm sure he knows what he is doing. This new Pinewood squad appears to be getting better. The only true test I see on their schedule before CCS is Miramonte. I think they beat Menlo and Salesian handily but I could be wrong.
I wouldn't consider Carondelet a tough game on the schedule. I know their girls are playing hard but they are having too many challenges this year to be formidable. It looks like we will not know too much about Pinewood until
1/11 Menlo
1/31 Menlo
2/1 Salesian
2/15 Miramonte
With Doc and the talent on that team, I do expect them to be a CCS open contender. But until they play a tough team we won't know too much about them. Clovis high school is a solid team but not on the level of Clovis North and Clovis West but we will know when those teams battle in league. If Clovis does well then add Clovis to the list of strong teams Pinewood has competed against.
I was just reporting the score, and didn’t mean to imply in any way it was a tough game for Pinewood. CLet is obviously down this year, and Pinewood coasted the whole way.
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Let's be clear: The 2020 NorCal girls' hoops picture is not littered with powerhouse units. There are some very good ones but no absolute top-of-the-line national standouts. Even Mitty has some obvious flaws. Pinewood, even somewhat diminished compared to last year, is definitely in the NorCal mix.
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I've seen all the teams play save Salesian and Pinewood and I can say with certainty that Mitty is head and shoulders above the rest. That being said, any team can be beaten on any given night...that's why they play the game!
I agree that Mitty is the best team in the north. They are much better than what I thought they would be at the beginning of the year. I was absolutely wrong on that observation.
Mitty is (10? 11? 12? ) deep and they play HARD! Sue subs liberally and the girls go balls to the wall when in the game. They just wear down their opponents and after watching them play a few times now I understand how they have blasted so many teams in the north. 32 mins of pressure eventually grinds out their opponent.
And that's exactly what happened at last night's game vs. O'Dowd. It was a 2 point game at half, and slowly but surely Mitty started getting O'Dowd to turn it over more and more. You can see the BOD players getting tired as the second half wore on.
I've said it before. Mitty is a well oiled machine that runs a great system and has athletes that are in D1 college shape.
I've said it before. Mitty is a well oiled machine that runs a great system and has athletes that are in D1 college shape.
The Mitty program runs so deep and so wide it cascades all the way down into the lower elementary school age brackets via its AAU club teams. The Monarchs varsity is a natural extension of years, if not several decades, of nourishing young female hoopsters throughout the South Bay and beyond. In many ways, it has become a thriving full-time business. It's CCS girls' basketball taken to a very successful capitalist level. And it's all legal and above-board.
Actually, I would humbly disagree, from what I've seen their AAU club teams are not that good, and I suspect most of the players who end up at Mitty have come in from outside the Cagers program. With all due respect to you and Sue Philips, and who am I to argue with her success, but private schools are a bit >cough< easier to build a great program at.
You are very incorrect. A lot of the players do come from the AAU program. Some of them weren't good and no one gave a darn about them but there is something called development. It's funny how I've seen adults overlook players with "potential" because they are so enamored with the kid who can do ankle breakers. A true coach with a long term vision can appreciate existing talent and see the potential few others can. Maybe they weren't there in 4th or 5th grade but some of them were and a lot more through the middle school stages. And yes some do show up that never played for the Cagers but those girls that end up being factors are on the lower end of the percentage.
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williams, hiraki, langhi didn't play cagers
what kids in their current or past programs weren't good or had the size and athleticism to be good?
what kids in their current or past programs weren't good or had the size and athleticism to be good?
The Cagers 8th grade team won the April Elite is Earned last year and I believe most of that team is at Mitty.
I'm sure there are good years and not so good years but from what I've seen, by the time they get to 8th grade, they don't lose many games.
But players like Karisma Ortiz who was the #57 recruit in the nation according to espnW hoopgurlz 2018 did play for the Cagers and was a camper at Mitty when she was young. There will be some that did and didn't play for the cagers regardless of how you look at it. But that doesn't negate the ones that did come up in the Cagers. Better yet how many of those Cager girls that didn't go to Mitty go to another high school and have success? Instead of looking for reasons to downplay the Cagers can you find some analytics for that question? The success those girls have at programs other than Mitty still matters and that is the Cagers ultimate goal. To help female hoopsters become successful.
http://www.espn.com/high-school/girls-basketball/recruiting/rankings/_/class/2018
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and to add on to gbball4l... some of these athletes that come to AM in HS without playing cagers still develop from unknown to next level player. Lets not even look at 8th grade and prior... Look at how many kids on this varsity team (besides the 2 transfers and hernandez) played freshman and/or jv. I would be willing to bet it is almost all if not every single one of them. (again with 3 exceptions)
Look how much better Springs, Borland and sharpf have gotten in one years time. They went from hardly playing (and sharpf was on JV) to starting on the number one ranked team in NorCal. If that's not player development than I don't know what is.
Look how much better Springs, Borland and sharpf have gotten in one years time. They went from hardly playing (and sharpf was on JV) to starting on the number one ranked team in NorCal. If that's not player development than I don't know what is.
At Mitty, they have a great strength and conditioning program. Sue has them playing hard and playing good basketball. When your frosh, JV and Varsity all go undefeated in WCAL play you have a lot of talent. I'm not saying there isn't player development going on, but they have 36 basketball players to work with every year. No other school in CCS or Norcal can say they have that to work with. Their JV team this year would beat many public school varsity teams.
Their JV roster would be ineligible to play for most public schools due to strict enrollment boundary requirements.
and think about it like this...if she was not getting minutes the last two years and this year she is, those Mitty teams must have been loaded.
It's funny...I watched all three of Mitty's games at the WCJ and one question crossed my mind... as I watched Sue (who I'm a HUGE fan and think she's a great coach) coach and be louder when she knew higher level college coaches were in attendance), I wonder if it's more about ego and reputation than it is about development and winning. She's done almost everything under the sun.
So what's motivating coaches like her, tom, kelly, malik, Mertle and Hip? (I'l Leven throw his name in there since he's done a GREAT job this year)
It's funny...I watched all three of Mitty's games at the WCJ and one question crossed my mind... as I watched Sue (who I'm a HUGE fan and think she's a great coach) coach and be louder when she knew higher level college coaches were in attendance), I wonder if it's more about ego and reputation than it is about development and winning. She's done almost everything under the sun.
So what's motivating coaches like her, tom, kelly, malik, Mertle and Hip? (I'l Leven throw his name in there since he's done a GREAT job this year)
barely got playing time?? she started and played significant minutes last year. And played a decent amount as a sophomore too...
most people measure the success of a program by championships and where graduates go ... so clearly, winning games and getting the attention of college coaches (you want them to recruit your players) is important.
Ok fine. She played but was really a non factor until this year.
We can't make an assumption without a true baseline. She yells when no scouts are there either.
She is up and acting like a coach when they are winning or as you said when she is interested in impressing someone in the stands....when they are losing she gets more and more quiet....
Tonight is the rematch game of Menlo vs Pinewood, any predictions? I'm sure they will be ready to play tonight and will want to avenge their first leage loss in quite awhile.
Also Pinewood has a couple of tough games left on their schedule, tomorrow they are playing Salesian and they finish the season against Miramonte. Tomorrow will be good teat against a very good Salesian team.
Also Pinewood has a couple of tough games left on their schedule, tomorrow they are playing Salesian and they finish the season against Miramonte. Tomorrow will be good teat against a very good Salesian team.
I would agree that PW steps up and avenges the previous Menlo loss tonight. Interesting schedule to play Salesian tomorrow as they have no practice days to prepare.
