Friday home games are a little unusual, aren't they? Hopefully they'll be a decent turn out. I know they are offering free pizza to students, free tickets to UCD Staff, and discounted tickets to vets/service men and women. I sure would like to know if John is back, or will be back soon. He's clearly an important piece to our puzzle.

Go Ags!

Both my kids did travel/club ball, and it is very expensive. But they wanted to do it not because of some wild notion of a college scholarship, but because they liked playing the sport in a serious way, with other kids who were equally motivated. They both played little league and/or rec ball in addition to travel ball, but they got tired and frustrated with other kids who just wanted to screw around or didn't even show up (having a game cancelled because the other team didn't have enough players would always bum them out). And they wanted to learn from knowledgeable coaches, not just the "dad" coach who didn't really know much about the sport. And that costs money! I know that the big club my daughter played V-Ball for did offer scholarships based on income level, but even with that, it was still expensive. But now that they both have moved on, some of our best memories are of traveling to different locations around CA, making great bonding moments both on and off the field. It's expensive, but I'd definitely do it again.

Very interesting article. If you watch the Stanford offense you can definitely see some of the same plays we run. It's a credit to Coach Gross that she has established such good relations throughout the country. UCon came to the Pavilion a few years ago partly based on good relations between the two staffs.

As for the game itself, I guess this is what I should have expected. Not only do we have several new players at key roles, we have a couple of returning players that are now being counted upon to be focal points of the team. It'll take some time to meld it all together.

Go Ags!

Let's go Ags!

I haven't heard anything about Underwood being hurt, although I don't know for sure. He played some during the exhibition game, but he looked...stiff...for lack of a better term. Maybe that is injury related. No doubt he can sky (watch him during the warm up drills) and I would have loved to see him get some minutes with John out. We needed another big body inside.

Yeah, I agree. I did like the way our guards doubled down on the big men in the second half, but it was way too late by that time. Honestly, it's been a long time since I've seen us give up so many easy buckets.

Clearly whatever was ailing TJ (and may still be) kept him off the practice court and put him a bit behind where he normally would be. Give him some time and he'll be back to the POY that we expected. Siler was ice cold, which happens with him sometimes, and then it seemed like he was pressing to try and make it up. Mooney also looked like he's been sidelined for a while (when was the last time he air balled a wide open three?) Gonzalez and Neufeld are quality players (Neufeld needs to stay out of early foul trouble), and Fuller and Nelson will be contributors over time once they get used to the D1 speed. Personally, I think Printup should never play the 4 spot. I know he was pressed into that last year because of Chima, and last night he played there a lot because of John being out and Neufeld picking up 2 quick fouls, but at 6'4", and on the slight side, he just can not handle that position.

Over the years, we've seen that this team only win against quality teams when the entire squad gives 100% the entire game. We are not talented enough to go through long prolonged slumps, especially on defense, and still win. Hopefully that's a lesson that was learned last night.

True Blue Aggie, I don't know if it's official that Jackson is gone (and I saw him in the stands last night and at last weeks exhibition game), but the fact that he's at school, but not sitting on the sidelines with the team and not listed anywhere on the roster leads me to believe he is gone. I guess we'll see.

On to Friday!

Underwood did not get off the bench and Jackson is gone

Very pathetic showing especially on defense. Nothing good to say about anything. Coaching, effort, discipline nothing was good. A lot of work to do. Hopefully John comes back soon, though it’ll take more than just one additional player.

Really rough start

Tj joe and nuefeld are dressed. John in street clothes

Ready for the season to start! Should be an interesting game tonight. USF beat us fairly easily last year at their place. That was before the team transitioned from Chima to TJ. John was also still figuring out his game. If I remember correctly, USF really controlled the pace and rhythm of the game. Plus I think they shot really well, which meant our defense was not where it needed to be. Of course, none of that really matters as our team is very different than the one they beat. They are picked to finish fourth in their conference, behind Gonzaga, St. Mary's and BYU, so this will be a good early test.

Hopefully TJ, John, Mooney and Neufeld are healthy enough to play.

Go Ags!

yeah I tried to ask around about John but couldn’t find any info. I’m still hopeful that since he was in uniform that he isn’t in too bad of shape. Guess we’ll know more come Tuesday

For what it’s worth I heard that TJ has a sprained wrist. Not sure which wrist, but guessing that since I didn’t see any wrap around it the other night it’s probably no big deal.

Of course this means nothing, but kind of cool to see the Ags as a 15 seed

Nice write up BGA! No doubt that this team will contend for the regular season title. They are as deep as any team in the BW, especially once some of the new comers get up to the D1 speed (which won't take too long). I really liked Konrad's ability to drive to the hoop, and at 6'0" she'll be a tough matchup for most of the teams in the BW. I've watched this dominant regular season program struggle the past few years in Anahiem, though. Part of it is has been the cavernous arena making it tough to shoot, but I definitely think the pressure of being the clear cut #1 tournament seed got to the players (just an observation). Maybe some of the new blood will help with that.

Go Ags!

Great video of TJ. Love watching how he can finish at the rim even when it doesn't look like there's any room. Just amazing! Hopefully with Gonzalez on board this year, and maybe Squire (who looked really good for a true freshman) that will take some of the pressure off of TJ. It's a long season and we'll need him at the top of his game in March.

yeah that’s not good with his history of leg injuries. The fact that he’s dressed though is probably a good sign

just saw that John is here. Pheww. I was worried when he was even on the bench earlier

Stobbert is as advertised. But watch out for rs freshman Kayla Konrad. She looks like a really nice player once she gets some experience

Ahead by one now!