AP #10 and climbing

In year 3 Nicki now has a team with depth and her recruits. She is well on her way to getting Baylor Wbb back to national prominence !

Bear3 said:

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In year 3 Nicki now has a team with depth and her recruits. She is well on her way to getting Baylor Wbb back to national prominence !

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Yes she is. I really think this team will make a deep run in March. I think we see where we are on December 30 against TU!

Part of the "hidden data" that bodes well is cumulative minutes and peak usage.

Right now every player is at/below 190 cumulative minutes. Buggs is at 190, next highest is 181 minutes.
The accepted theory is that in WBB [college] legs give out at 1000 for post players and 1150 for perimeter players. Baylor is on track to be well below those thresholds this year.

Peak usage is another great hidden data point. Baylor has only used one player in one game for 33 minutes. Every other game it is everyone below 30 or 1-2 players slightly above 30 in the Utah/Harvard/Oregon games.
That item is huge. Baylor has a bad history of over usage.

Compare those cumulative minutes and peak usage with the rest of the Top Ten. It is easy to tell which coaches have professional game experience [and which don't have it]. Dead legs are a killer in post-season.

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Part of the "hidden data" that bodes well is cumulative minutes and peak usage.

Right now every player is at/below 190 cumulative minutes. Buggs is at 190, next highest is 181 minutes.
The accepted theory is that in WBB [college] legs give out at 1000 for post players and 1150 for perimeter players. Baylor is on track to be well below those thresholds this year.

Peak usage is another great hidden data point. Baylor has only used one player in one game for 33 minutes. Every other game it is everyone below 30 or 1-2 players slightly above 30 in the Utah/Harvard/Oregon games.
That item is huge. Baylor has a bad history of over usage.

Compare those cumulative minutes and peak usage with the rest of the Top Ten. It is easy to tell which coaches have professional game experience [and which don't have it]. Dead legs are a killer in post-season.

---

Totally agree - I have said for years that tired legs cost KM wins in the later rounds of the Tournament especially when younger players sat on the bench with big leads and when circumstances forced them into playing in Tournament games, they were not ready for the moment ala Sara comes to mind.

I am however concerned about Jada because her minutes are the most intense physically. She goes end line to end line, sideline to sideline from the tipoff to the horn 100 MPH. That is why I am so glad to see Felder developing so quickly so that Jada (and Sarah) have some relief during the game without a drop-off in talent. We all know that Sarah has a 4 year injury history and that she tends to wear down over the course of the season which may explain why her defense has lapses from time to time (I think because she tends to rest on the court and gets caught trailing drivers).
I am still holding out for hope that Jana is able to help with the PG minutes distribution - She has shown improvement but needs consistency - if that happens, we will really have a backcourt that will be a force to be reckoned with.
NO TEAM has won the Womens National Championship without a MAJOR contribution from the Point Guard Position

blueeyedbear said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Part of the "hidden data" that bodes well is cumulative minutes and peak usage.

Right now every player is at/below 190 cumulative minutes. Buggs is at 190, next highest is 181 minutes.
The accepted theory is that in WBB [college] legs give out at 1000 for post players and 1150 for perimeter players. Baylor is on track to be well below those thresholds this year.

Peak usage is another great hidden data point. Baylor has only used one player in one game for 33 minutes. Every other game it is everyone below 30 or 1-2 players slightly above 30 in the Utah/Harvard/Oregon games.
That item is huge. Baylor has a bad history of over usage.

Compare those cumulative minutes and peak usage with the rest of the Top Ten. It is easy to tell which coaches have professional game experience [and which don't have it]. Dead legs are a killer in post-season.

---

Totally agree - I have said for years that tired legs cost KM wins in the later rounds of the Tournament especially when younger players sat on the bench with big leads and when circumstances forced them into playing in Tournament games, they were not ready for the moment ala Sara comes to mind.

I am however concerned about Jada because her minutes are the most intense physically. She goes end line to end line, sideline to sideline from the tipoff to the horn 100 MPH. That is why I am so glad to see Felder developing so quickly so that Jada (and Sarah) have some relief during the game without a drop-off in talent. We all know that Sarah has a 4 year injury history and that she tends to wear down over the course of the season which may explain why her defense has lapses from time to time (I think because she tends to rest on the court and gets caught trailing drivers).
I am still holding out for hope that Jana is able to help with the PG minutes distribution - She has shown improvement but needs consistency - if that happens, we will really have a backcourt that will be a force to be reckoned with.
NO TEAM has won the Womens National Championship without a MAJOR contribution from the Point Guard Position

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Agree on that last point.

Honestly think we will see a 3 person rotation at 1 & 2 by end of season: Walker, Andrews & Felder with the first two logging all the PG minutes. Fritz getting about 10 mpg spelling Buggs at 3. And a three person post rotation: Edwards, Fontleroy, and Blackwell. Very undersized but none of the other bigs has stepped up so far.

The remainder need to step up on both O & D when given minutes. Vasconcelos and/or Abraham might see minutes against a team with a huge big. But see that option as an anomaly rather than a routine option.

As an aside, using the 1/2/3/4/5 designations for ease of reference [mostly regarding D assignments] as Buggs tends to be used more as a 4 on O while Fontleroy and Blackwell are used more as a 3 on O.

Looks like Baylor is the only school with both men's and women's basketball in the top ten

Adriacus Peratuun said:

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blueeyedbear said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Part of the "hidden data" that bodes well is cumulative minutes and peak usage.

Right now every player is at/below 190 cumulative minutes. Buggs is at 190, next highest is 181 minutes.
The accepted theory is that in WBB [college] legs give out at 1000 for post players and 1150 for perimeter players. Baylor is on track to be well below those thresholds this year.

Peak usage is another great hidden data point. Baylor has only used one player in one game for 33 minutes. Every other game it is everyone below 30 or 1-2 players slightly above 30 in the Utah/Harvard/Oregon games.
That item is huge. Baylor has a bad history of over usage.

Compare those cumulative minutes and peak usage with the rest of the Top Ten. It is easy to tell which coaches have professional game experience [and which don't have it]. Dead legs are a killer in post-season.

---

Totally agree - I have said for years that tired legs cost KM wins in the later rounds of the Tournament especially when younger players sat on the bench with big leads and when circumstances forced them into playing in Tournament games, they were not ready for the moment ala Sara comes to mind.

I am however concerned about Jada because her minutes are the most intense physically. She goes end line to end line, sideline to sideline from the tipoff to the horn 100 MPH. That is why I am so glad to see Felder developing so quickly so that Jada (and Sarah) have some relief during the game without a drop-off in talent. We all know that Sarah has a 4 year injury history and that she tends to wear down over the course of the season which may explain why her defense has lapses from time to time (I think because she tends to rest on the court and gets caught trailing drivers).
I am still holding out for hope that Jana is able to help with the PG minutes distribution - She has shown improvement but needs consistency - if that happens, we will really have a backcourt that will be a force to be reckoned with.
NO TEAM has won the Womens National Championship without a MAJOR contribution from the Point Guard Position

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Agree on that last point.

Honestly think we will see a 3 person rotation at 1 & 2 by end of season: Walker, Andrews & Felder with the first two logging all the PG minutes. Fritz getting about 10 mpg spelling Buggs at 3. And a three person post rotation: Edwards, Fontleroy, and Blackwell. Very undersized but none of the other bigs has stepped up so far.

The remainder need to step up on both O & D when given minutes. Vasconcelos and/or Abraham might see minutes against a team with a huge big. But see that option as an anomaly rather than a routine option.

As an aside, using the 1/2/3/4/5 designations for ease of reference [mostly regarding D assignments] as Buggs tends to be used more as a 4 on O while Fontleroy and Blackwell are used more as a 3 on O.

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Good points. I worry about what happens if our starting posts get into foul trouble. I believe Kyla's experience in the system gives her an overall edge; however, Bartley may be a bigger offensive threat. Hopefully Lety will get more comfortable with the physicality of the D1 college game. Her size and mobility could be very useful, especially against bigger front lines. I really hope they all continue to improve as the season progresses but if at least one of them can step up we will be in even better shape.

Great point.

This is a serious question. Why does counting game min. Matter so much? I'm all for playing the bench as MUCH as possible, but your body does not know if you are scrimmaging or playing. Unless you never practiced between games, min during game are but a fraction of actual clocked min on court. Please don't claim that scrimmages against on teammates are easy. Have you ever sat and watched. BU practice? Gets pretty heated.

fredbear said:

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This is a serious question. Why does counting game min. Matter so much? I'm all for playing the bench as MUCH as possible, but your body does not know if you are scrimmaging or playing. Unless you never practiced between games, min during game are but a fraction of actual clocked min on court. Please don't claim that scrimmages against on teammates are easy. Have you ever sat and watched. BU practice? Gets pretty heated.

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There is a huge body of scientific studies on load management, recovery, and maintenance. Turn to any sports medicine journal and 50-80% of the articles in any edition are on the topic.

Besides the scientific data, there is a lengthy history of tracking player performance. NBA rookies hitting the rookie wall. MLB pitchers in the minors are all put on a pitch count by game and by season.

And the concept that practice and games are the same is not widely accepted. Almost every BB coach will tell you that the ultimate test of any player is the ability to perform at game speed.

But load management considers game, practice, individual workouts, etc. Every NBA team has a rest day [zero activity] every week regardless of schedule. No game, no practice, no individual workouts allowed. Zero activity. The concept of weekly pure recovery is almost sacrosanct at this point.

Players practice with heart monitors. Blood sugar levels are monitored. Calorie intake and exertion levels are tracked.

It is 2023. The data is fairly clear on how much energy the average player has "in the tank" by game, by week, by month, by season. The data is also pretty clear when performance can be expected to drop, when exposure to injury will spike, etc.

The trainers know what speed each player ran for each minute of each practice. They know when a player hits a wall. More importantly [to this topic] they know what the proper process is to control the players' load management over a season. How long can be spent in intense practice & drills. How much time in walkthroughs & warmups. For players not in rotation, how much additional active maintenance is needed.

The support staff counts game minutes [individually & collectively]. Some players started the season on minute limitations due to injury recovery. For elite programs this stuff is part of a well oiled wellness & peak performance machine.

Grinding up players in practice & overplaying them in games is dinosaur thinking.

Bear3 said:

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In year 3 Nicki now has a team with depth and her recruits. She is well on her way to getting Baylor Wbb back to national prominence !

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She does not have her recruits...she has her new transfers. Recruiting has not been good, but transfers have been great.

BU71 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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blueeyedbear said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Part of the "hidden data" that bodes well is cumulative minutes and peak usage.

Right now every player is at/below 190 cumulative minutes. Buggs is at 190, next highest is 181 minutes.
The accepted theory is that in WBB [college] legs give out at 1000 for post players and 1150 for perimeter players. Baylor is on track to be well below those thresholds this year.

Peak usage is another great hidden data point. Baylor has only used one player in one game for 33 minutes. Every other game it is everyone below 30 or 1-2 players slightly above 30 in the Utah/Harvard/Oregon games.
That item is huge. Baylor has a bad history of over usage.

Compare those cumulative minutes and peak usage with the rest of the Top Ten. It is easy to tell which coaches have professional game experience [and which don't have it]. Dead legs are a killer in post-season.

---

Totally agree - I have said for years that tired legs cost KM wins in the later rounds of the Tournament especially when younger players sat on the bench with big leads and when circumstances forced them into playing in Tournament games, they were not ready for the moment ala Sara comes to mind.

I am however concerned about Jada because her minutes are the most intense physically. She goes end line to end line, sideline to sideline from the tipoff to the horn 100 MPH. That is why I am so glad to see Felder developing so quickly so that Jada (and Sarah) have some relief during the game without a drop-off in talent. We all know that Sarah has a 4 year injury history and that she tends to wear down over the course of the season which may explain why her defense has lapses from time to time (I think because she tends to rest on the court and gets caught trailing drivers).
I am still holding out for hope that Jana is able to help with the PG minutes distribution - She has shown improvement but needs consistency - if that happens, we will really have a backcourt that will be a force to be reckoned with.
NO TEAM has won the Womens National Championship without a MAJOR contribution from the Point Guard Position

---

Agree on that last point.

Honestly think we will see a 3 person rotation at 1 & 2 by end of season: Walker, Andrews & Felder with the first two logging all the PG minutes. Fritz getting about 10 mpg spelling Buggs at 3. And a three person post rotation: Edwards, Fontleroy, and Blackwell. Very undersized but none of the other bigs has stepped up so far.

The remainder need to step up on both O & D when given minutes. Vasconcelos and/or Abraham might see minutes against a team with a huge big. But see that option as an anomaly rather than a routine option.

As an aside, using the 1/2/3/4/5 designations for ease of reference [mostly regarding D assignments] as Buggs tends to be used more as a 4 on O while Fontleroy and Blackwell are used more as a 3 on O.

---

Good points. I worry about what happens if our starting posts get into foul trouble. I believe Kyla's experience in the system gives her an overall edge; however, Bartley may be a bigger offensive threat. Hopefully Lety will get more comfortable with the physicality of the D1 college game. Her size and mobility could be very useful, especially against bigger front lines. I really hope they all continue to improve as the season progresses but if at least one of them can step up we will be in even better shape.

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Lety needs a year of strength and conditioning and practice before she will be ready for college play. She needs to put on some good weight to keep from being pushed around.

Yes she does have her recruits ! She has to recruit from the portal as well as high school. Transfers don't just decide " out of the blue " to come to Baylor. They have to be recruited just like high school players. The only person on this team not recruited by Nicki is Sarah.

chorne68 said:

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Bear3 said:

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In year 3 Nicki now has a team with depth and her recruits. She is well on her way to getting Baylor Wbb back to national prominence !

---

She does not have her recruits...she has her new transfers. Recruiting has not been good, but transfers have been great.

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Here in 2023, transfers are every bit of a recruit as a high school kid is.

I would say Buggs and Fontleroy were pretty good high school recruits. I LOVE how they both play.

ctxbear said:

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chorne68 said:

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Bear3 said:

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In year 3 Nicki now has a team with depth and her recruits. She is well on her way to getting Baylor Wbb back to national prominence !

---

She does not have her recruits...she has her new transfers. Recruiting has not been good, but transfers have been great.

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Here in 2023, transfers are every bit of a recruit as a high school kid is.

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Exactly. And I think her recruits are pretty good.

chorne68 said:

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Bear3 said:

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In year 3 Nicki now has a team with depth and her recruits. She is well on her way to getting Baylor Wbb back to national prominence !

---

She does not have her recruits...she has her new transfers. Recruiting has not been good, but transfers have been great.

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You also have to recruit the transfers. One could argue that recruiting someone in the portal (transfers) is more intense, or difficult, due to the window to influence and sell your program is much shorter than the years to build that relationship. IMO…I think her (and staffs) HS recruiting has been very good…Bella and Buggs? Lety will be a force. The two so far for next year are impressive. Time will tell. All this in three years, as a new college head coach. It usually takes longer to build what she has. Many examples of powerhouse programs, who had coaching changes like we did, who are still struggling to regain that prominence. Players for a top ten program in year 3…not too shabby.

BU71 said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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blueeyedbear said:

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Adriacus Peratuun said:

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Part of the "hidden data" that bodes well is cumulative minutes and peak usage.

Right now every player is at/below 190 cumulative minutes. Buggs is at 190, next highest is 181 minutes.
The accepted theory is that in WBB [college] legs give out at 1000 for post players and 1150 for perimeter players. Baylor is on track to be well below those thresholds this year.

Peak usage is another great hidden data point. Baylor has only used one player in one game for 33 minutes. Every other game it is everyone below 30 or 1-2 players slightly above 30 in the Utah/Harvard/Oregon games.
That item is huge. Baylor has a bad history of over usage.

Compare those cumulative minutes and peak usage with the rest of the Top Ten. It is easy to tell which coaches have professional game experience [and which don't have it]. Dead legs are a killer in post-season.

---

Totally agree - I have said for years that tired legs cost KM wins in the later rounds of the Tournament especially when younger players sat on the bench with big leads and when circumstances forced them into playing in Tournament games, they were not ready for the moment ala Sara comes to mind.

I am however concerned about Jada because her minutes are the most intense physically. She goes end line to end line, sideline to sideline from the tipoff to the horn 100 MPH. That is why I am so glad to see Felder developing so quickly so that Jada (and Sarah) have some relief during the game without a drop-off in talent. We all know that Sarah has a 4 year injury history and that she tends to wear down over the course of the season which may explain why her defense has lapses from time to time (I think because she tends to rest on the court and gets caught trailing drivers).
I am still holding out for hope that Jana is able to help with the PG minutes distribution - She has shown improvement but needs consistency - if that happens, we will really have a backcourt that will be a force to be reckoned with.
NO TEAM has won the Womens National Championship without a MAJOR contribution from the Point Guard Position

---

Agree on that last point.

Honestly think we will see a 3 person rotation at 1 & 2 by end of season: Walker, Andrews & Felder with the first two logging all the PG minutes. Fritz getting about 10 mpg spelling Buggs at 3. And a three person post rotation: Edwards, Fontleroy, and Blackwell. Very undersized but none of the other bigs has stepped up so far.

The remainder need to step up on both O & D when given minutes. Vasconcelos and/or Abraham might see minutes against a team with a huge big. But see that option as an anomaly rather than a routine option.

As an aside, using the 1/2/3/4/5 designations for ease of reference [mostly regarding D assignments] as Buggs tends to be used more as a 4 on O while Fontleroy and Blackwell are used more as a 3 on O.

---

Good points. I worry about what happens if our starting posts get into foul trouble. I believe Kyla's experience in the system gives her an overall edge; however, Bartley may be a bigger offensive threat. Hopefully Lety will get more comfortable with the physicality of the D1 college game. Her size and mobility could be very useful, especially against bigger front lines. I really hope they all continue to improve as the season progresses but if at least one of them can step up we will be in even better shape.

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Based upon the Oregon game, Nicki currently appears to have more confidence in Bartley at the moment.

It was good to see Lety and Kyla both get a few minutes at the end of the game while Oregon still had some of their starting/main rotation bigs in the game.

Yeah. Bartley does have more experience. Hopefully Kyla and Lety will continue to develop and get more minutes. We need their height.

No changes in AP Top Ten, we're holding at #10. KState moves up one, tied with Indiana for #12. Utah holds at #11.