Cal had to at least stay close at Utah Thursdfay for that game to well follow the double overtime epic in #3 Stanford at #21 Colorado.
When Pac-12 Network finally cut from Boulder to Salt Lake, the Golden Bears and Utes were near halftime, and the Golden Bears trailed by six. Swell, until Utah made 12-of-17 in the third quarter. After that, my interests in the game were reduced to whether Alissa Pili played at all, that Kennady McQueen has 23 assists and 6 turnovers in Utah’s last 10 games, and would they keep the camera on the handshake line long enough to see Kemery Martin greet Coach Roberts.
Cal’s social media person published a splendid picture of Martin boarding the team bus, in which she looked quite cheerful (I truly think she’s better suited for life in pinko Berkeley than in her home state Utah). She looks happier in this picture, I said, than I ever saw her in Salt Lake, where her knees bothered her.
Someone said: Coaching resources and team family make a difference, and I laughed. I typed: “I’ll imagine you’re not implying those weren’t present in Utah”, but closed the app without tapping Post, because I opted to assume just that.
I’ve speculated about where Utah might be if Gylten, Maxwell, and Martin hadn’t transfered. (When I still thought Martin was a senior; hadn’t she been at Utah for five or six years already?)
Unquestionably, they’d be better with Gylten. South Dakota State is better with Gylten. Last year, the Jackrabbits were 29-9, 17-1 in the Summit League; this year, 24-5, 17-0. On the bottom line, SDSU is better, though much of Dru’s value doesn’t show in W-L records or boxscores.
Do I really think Utah would have improved on 24-3, 14-3 had she stuck around? Certainly, though Isabel Palmer is more impressive by the game, and Ines Vieira is efficient on one end while annoying and pesky on the other, so where would Gylten fit? The best teams in the Pac-12 are hounds on defense, and I would — you should, also — feel more comfortable with the ball in her hands. Where do the roster spot and playing time come from? Dunno. That would’ve been Coach Roberts’ problem if you want to call it that.
The Pac-12 Network talking heads praised the Utes as a group while discussing how they’re accepting shifting roles. Which is why Brynna Maxwell hiked to the West Coast Conference: Because she wouldn’t accept a changed role.
Would Utah be better if Maxwell were still here, *and* settled into a limited capacity? Yep, no doubt.
On Roberts’ Pacific teams, shooter Claire Conricode accomplished what Brynna Maxwell might’ve been asked to do in Utah. Claire was one of my favorite players at Pacific because she got good grades in a tough major, and when she made a trey, Pacific won. Near the end of her senior year, I counted: Pacific’s W-L was markedly better when Claire hit one than when she didn’t. Also near the end of her senior year, her role became quite limited: she was mostly stationed in corners during inbounds situations.
Coach Bradley Davis, Roberts’ top assistant then, said during Claire’s senior farewell dinner that it takes a special player to not only accept a changed role but to excel after doing so, and Claire did that twice.
If Brynna Maxwell were content to shoot situational threes, Utah would’ve have been better. The Utes are already one of the best 3-point and free throw shooting teams in the nation, but with Maxwell, better still (with everyone benefitting from more space on the floor, and so on).
It’s hard to see where Kemery Martin would fit in with this Utah team. Kemery’s a starter at Cal, and the Golden Bears need her to play well. And like I said, she really looks much happier; I’m glad she found a home here.