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2026-2027 Minutes Thread

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HOFcoachRoy

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I know we have one scholarship left, but I doubt we use it on a true rotational piece.

PG: Kate (24), Kelly (16)
SG: Clardy (22), Brooks (18)
SF: Burrows (20), Brooks (6), Hull (14)
PF: Alkot (24), TQ (10), Astakhova (6)
C: Toomey (20), Thomas (10), Bonfia (10)

*The back up minutes at the 4/5 is the most intriguing to me. I really think Astakhova and Bonfia could seize the majority of those minutes, but we’ll see.

Very deep team. Kudos to the staff for identifying who they wanted quickly after our departures and closing on them.
 
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Viking131

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Mark my words. Mark my words. IF Reniya is even close to being healthy she's our starting PG. Reniya is PROVEN. This isn't an indictment against Kate. The minute distributed between the two, very well might be 20/20 or reversed!
 
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HOFcoachRoy

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Viking131 said:
Mark my words. Mark my words. IF Reniya is even close to being healthy she's our starting PG. Reniya is PROVEN. This isn't an indictment against Kate. The minute distributed between the two, very well might be 20/20 or reversed!
Click to expand...
Could be right. Just hope she is healthy, but tbh we need Kate to be that stud go to player, this lineup doesn’t really have that and it’s needed.
 
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Jriv23

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Mark by words, Kate H if healthy will be the starting PG unless she is hurt. RK will be starting at the 2 if she is 100% healthy. Kate is the Nesmith Player of the year coming out of high school. There is no way a player of that caliber is going to be coming off the bench. Has UNC ever had a National Player of the year coming to ever sit the bench. I do think so. Ivory Latta came in as a freshman, and she did not come off the bench. DD and AG are some other ones that were highly ranked and they did not come off of the bench. DK was highly ranked and I do not remember her coming off of the bench her freshman year either. There is no way Kate is going to come in and sit the bench being ranked so high and being the national player of the year. Did Caleb Wilson sit the bench when he came in this past year? He was ranked number 4 in his class. What kind of message would that send recruits in the class of 2027 that are ranked that high if CB has her coming off of the bench. CC is our insurance policy just in case RK is not 100% healthy. CC could start at the 2 and she can also play the 1. There is one more scholarship to give out. We need to find a true 5 if possible if we are trying to get beyond the sweet 16 IMO. There are some 5's out there.
 
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3397char

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Next Season actually stacks up much like this season: 4 starters gone and the one returning starter had the least minutes (and was generally considered by fans the least reliable among the 5.)

granted, last year at this time we did not know Reniya Kelly was effectively a scratch for the season, but otherwise we are in the same boat.

like last year we snagged a really reliable, yet not a superstar, 4 in the portal. So that position seems secure. And we knew that we would have a ton of depth. we had a portal guard coming in who felt like a role player, though they had proven minutes in the P4.

but beyond that we were relying on freshmen to pop and/or significant growth from the returning roster.

Fortunately, enough of that growth we needed happened. we figured out how to win with depth and rebuilt a defense From scratch. There were growing pains early but we eventually developed into a top 16 team by the final 3rd of the year.

So that is what I see again for next year. In order to be a top 16 team again, We need player improvement at most every position except maybe the 4 with Akot a proven talent. If that does not occur at a couple of spots, then this will be a top 32team, not a top 16 team. But fortunately we have so many “maybes” on this team, surely enough will come through?

to become better than that, then Kelly needs to be 100% and Harpring needs to be a superstar. Then we will be breaking down teams and the other players can feast off the help those two demand. That is our ceiling: how we take another step forward.

as to who will get minutes, I agree with the OP that there are 12 players with potential. But I disagree that 12 will make the cut for real rotation minutes by the time we get to January. 10 at most. Who those 10 are, I have no idea.
 
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Jriv23

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CC is another IN on the defensive side of the ball, but she can score offensively. She is a steal really. Her stats were better than LG which means not only can she rebound at the guard position, but she can also score it as well. She averaged 12 points a game with only 11 starts. She has IN defensive instincts, tenacity, etc. This girl is legit and seasoned. You can throw having potential out the door on her. She caused us problems in Carmichael and that was coming off a concussion protocol. Kate is legit. Akot is legit. We have 3 players that are legit. You can throw potential out the door on these 3. NB may fit into the legit category is she works her tail off this off season. We still need a true 5 in my book. If something happens to CT, we are going to be in trouble. I think the big girl from NC State would be a great fit and addition to our team. There are some other 5s in the portal right now. I am not sold on BT right now. Bringing in another 5 would put pressure on BT to work her tail off this offseason. If we want to get pass the sweet 16 then we need a true 5. Duke is going to be the team the beat. They are setting the standard for the ACC. You can see it with the why Kara is recruiting. She is bringing the talent into Duke because she wants to get past the elite 8. We will have to do the same if we want to stay relevant with them, Louisville, and ND.
 
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uman1

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With RK I am taking a hoping for the best but assuming the worst approach. Great to have Kate and Chloe in the fold. With LG and EA gone and the uncertainty about RK, we may need another solid ballhandling guard.
 
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tarboy

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We have a physically big strong athletic and talented team. I think that is going to be its calling card.

All the ;potential starters can drive it to the rim, run the court and switch on defense. I think we have a
top 10 team ;potentially.

I pray all the players mesh and love playing up tempo and hard and fast together.

Coach CB is great at team building and talent developing. I hope she continues her magic.
 
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3397char

3397char

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tarboy said:
We have a physically big strong athletic and talented team. I think that is going to be its calling card.

All the ;potential starters can drive it to the rim, run the court and switch on defense. I think we have a
top 10 team ;potentially.

I pray all the players mesh and love playing up tempo and hard and fast together.

Coach CB is great at team building and talent developing. I hope she continues her magic.
Click to expand...
Playing Devil's advocate here:
How many top 10 teams this season did not have a star player?

Here are this year's final top 10, along with post season national award recipients according to AP or conference awards :
  1. UCLA - Lauren Betts 1st team A-A, Kiki Rice 3rd Team A-A, Gianna Kneepkins HM A-A, Jaquez B1G 2nd team
  2. UofSC - Joyce Edwards 2nd Team A-A, Tinaya Latson HM A-A, Raven Johnson SEC 2nd Team (on multiple A-A lists too), Tess Johnson SEC 2nd Team, Masina Okot SEC 2nd Team
  3. UConn - Sarah Strong NPOY, Azzi Fudd 1st team A-A, KK Arnold Big East 1st Team, Blanca Quinonez Big East 2nd Team
  4. Texas - Madison Booker 2nd Team A-A, Rori Harmon HM A-A
  5. dook - Toby Fournier 3rd Team A-A, Taina Mair ACC 1st Team, Ashlon Jackson ACC 2nd Team, Ariana Roberson ACC Freshman Team
  6. TCU - Olivia Miles 2nd Team A-A. Marta Suarez HM A-A
  7. Mich - Olivia Olson 3rd Team A-A, Syla Swords B1G 1st Team
  8. LSU - Flau'jae Johnson 3rd Team A-A, MiLaysia Fulwiley HM A-A, Mikala Williams HM A-A, ZaKiyah Johnson SEC Freshman Team
  9. ND - Hannah Hildago 2nd Team A-A, Prosper ACC 2nd Team
  10. Vandy - Mykala Blakes 1st Team A-A, Aubrey Galvan SEC Freshman Team
Every single team has at least one top 15 player in the country (1st, 2nd or 3rd team), and every one except ND (who was barely top 25 until the tournament) has a 2nd player who was also a top 30 national player or conference top 10 player

And if you go down the line with other teams that vied for home court tournament games then you will find a star player on all but two of them: Louisville (Ziegler plus Roberts & Berry), Oklahoma (Beers, Chavez), Kentucky (Strack, Morgan), Iowa (Heiden, Stulke), Ohio State (Cambridge) and Maryland (Okanananwa) . The exceptions were UNC and Minnesota who each had a pair of 2nd team all-conference players. The two exceptions were Minnesota and UNC, who both ad a couple of 2nd team all-conference players and tons of depth in talent.

Who on UNC will be a top 30 player on the country next year? Or ACC 1st team? We certainly have no one who achieved either this past season that is returning.
  • Brooks was 4th in votes on the ACC freshamn team and was not a starter. As of right now that is the same trajectory as Lanie Grant last year.
  • We lose both of our 2nd team All conference players to graduation.
  • Akot Achol was honorable mention in the Big XII which puts her in the 21st to 25th best player range in a p4 conference this year.
  • Reniya Kelly was preseason All-ACC this year, 2nd team All-ACC last year, but has battled injures most of her UNC career and had to shut down her season. Can she return to form?
  • Harpring is a consensus top 5 recruit, HS NPOY by some.
  • Sophie Burrows, Chloe Clardy and the entire remaining UNC roster have so far shown they are solid players, but no star recognition nor indication that they are on that trajectory.
My point here is that I think it is near impossible to advance to the top 10 level without any star players. Harpring and Brooks have that potential. Kelly too if healthy AND makes a leap from her sop year as well. But right now that is just potential. To fit among this list above then two of these three need to be all conference or better, or someone needs to emerge from nowhere. I think we have already reached the pinnacle of what a team with 10-12 above average to well above average players can accomplish. The next step is star power.

Someone like Jada Williams or Kymorah Johnson would have moved that needle right away.
 
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HOFcoachRoy

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tarboy said:
I think Harpring, Brooks and maybe Akot are potential star players.

I guess I think one of if not all of the three will become star players.

We are going to have a really good team.
Click to expand...
I think that’s key, one or more of them need to be a star for us to get past the E8/S16.
 
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Kleizaster

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Viking131 said:
Mark my words. Mark my words. IF Reniya is even close to being healthy she's our starting PG. Reniya is PROVEN. This isn't an indictment against Kate. The minute distributed between the two, very well might be 20/20 or reversed!
Click to expand...
I love Reniya but she isn't starting over Harpring. Harpring was recruited and paid alot of money to come to UNC for a very specific reason. and it's not to sit on the bench.

For the time and effort this staff put into recruiting her away from SC and UCONN and other perennial contenders, i find it hard to believe that they would have her come off the bench.

If the staff had to choose to keep one of Harpring or Reniya, who do you think they'll choose? iIf you think about it, then it becomes clear.

Harpring is a pure scorer. She'll average at least 15 points a game. She's a big and strong PG. She's almost 5'11 and can create her own shot whenever she wants. I watched her HS championship game and the gap between her and the rest of the players on that court was substantial.

If Kate comes in and struggles mightily, then that's a different story. Either way if she's coming off the bench you won't see her back for her sophomore season in a UNC shirt.
 
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tarboy

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K I agree with you 110%. There is no way Kate does not start. She is that good. CB is going to (has) build
the entire offense around her skills. Kate will make everyone on the court with her better. I expect Kate to be All Conference her freshman season.
 
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Jriv23

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I agree with you tarboy about Kate starting. When you say All Conference, I think you need to specific which team. It will not be the first team that is for sure. I think she will make the All Freshman team. There are too many good juniors and seniors that are in the ACC that are coming back. I will have to see how she does when the season starts to make a statement like that.
 
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3397char

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I think the most likely starters in order are:

1. Akot
2. Harpring
3. Toomey

a healthy Kelly would be in front of Clardy as the 2nd staring guard.

with that said, every position will be open competition.
 
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HOFcoachRoy

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3397char said:
I think the most likely starters in order are:

1. Akot
2. Harpring
3. Toomey

a healthy Kelly would be in front of Clardy as the 2nd staring guard.

with that said, every position will be open competition.
Click to expand...
I very seriously doubt Clardy and Burrows are leaving starting roles to come to UNC without an idea that they will be starting.

Kate, Clardy, Burrows, Akot, Toomey is your starting 5 imo.
 
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3397char

3397char

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HOFcoachRoy said:
I very seriously doubt Clardy and Burrows are leaving starting roles to come to UNC without an idea that they will be starting.

Kate, Clardy, Burrows, Akot, Toomey is your starting 5 imo.
Click to expand...
I don’t think Banghart is doling out starting assurances To recruits.

I think former 2nd team all ACC kelly, HS NPOY Harpring and Clardy are effectively in a competition for the two starting spots. If all are healthy it think Clardy is the most likely to come in 3rd here. It is no different than Aarnisalo transferring in last season. She lost out to Grant and Kelly and did not get the starting job until Kelly was injured.

At the wing Burrows will have to hold off all-freshman team Brooks who averaged 18 mpg last year. Very similar to Grant last year who was the leading bench minutes and on the freshman team two years ago, then lead UNC in minutes the next year. That is 50/50 tossup, but my money is on Brooks.

i think they key factor for both may end up being shooting. We can’t start both of these two if they both shoot their 3pt percentage from last season. Harpring would need some Drano to unclog the lane for driving. Akot makes this even worse. Toomey did Not exactly light it up either. That starting 5 would be rock bottom in the ACC on 3pt shooting.
 
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HOFcoachRoy

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3397char said:
I don’t think Banghart is doling out starting assurances To recruits.

I think former 2nd team all ACC kelly, HS NPOY Harpring and Clardy are effectively in a competition for the two starting spots. If all are healthy it think Clardy is the most likely to come in 3rd here. It is no different than Aarnisalo transferring in last season. She lost out to Grant and Kelly and did not get the starting job until Kelly was injured.

At the wing Burrows will have to hold off all-freshman team Brooks who averaged 18 mpg last year. Very similar to Grant last year who was the leading bench minutes and on the freshman team two years ago, then lead UNC in minutes the next year. That is 50/50 tossup, but my money is on Brooks.

i think they key factor for both may end up being shooting. We can’t start both of these two if they both shoot their 3pt percentage from last season. Harpring would need some Drano to unclog the lane for driving. Akon makes this even worse. Toomey did Not exactly light it up either. That starting 5 would be rock bottom in the ACC on 3pt shooting.
Click to expand...
We’ll see. It’s a different world in the portal. Assurances are given more than they used to be.
 
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kystroup

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HOFcoachRoy said:
We’ll see. It’s a different world in the portal. Assurances are given more than they used to be.
Click to expand...
That cuts both ways though - if teams were trying to poach Toomey, Grant, Aarnisalo, and Henderson then they were certainly trying to poach Brooks too. What do you think CB did to get her to stay?
 
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kystroup said:
That cuts both ways though - if teams were trying to poach Toomey, Grant, Aarnisalo, and Henderson then they were certainly trying to poach Brooks too. What do you think CB did to get her to stay?
Click to expand...
Agree. when you play recruiting games it can quickly have a detrimental effect on your locker room. And in this era any locker room trouble can lead to a mass exodus. Keep it simple: minutes are earned in practice.

As to Brooks:



"Reports also indicated that Nyla Brooks wants to graduate as a Tar Heel."

That may just be a rumor. That could be a platitude. That could be hyperbole. It could just simply be Brooks expressing her love for UNC. Or it could mean we offered her a multi-year deal 🤷‍♂️
 
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kystroup

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3397char said:
Agree. when you play recruiting games it can quickly have a detrimental effect on your locker room. And in this era any locker room trouble can lead to a mass exodus. Keep it simple: minutes are earned in practice.

As to Brooks:



"Reports also indicated that Nyla Brooks wants to graduate as a Tar Heel."

That may just be a rumor. That could be a platitude. That could be hyperbole. It could just simply be Brooks expressing her love for UNC. Or it could mean we offered her a multi-year deal 🤷‍♂️
Click to expand...

Yeah I really hope that’s true, and Kate’s dad has said similar things, but I never would have detected Grant to transfer and she did
 
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Gio2dahouse

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3397char said:
I think the most likely starters in order are:

1. Akot
2. Harpring
3. Toomey

a healthy Kelly would be in front of Clardy as the 2nd staring guard.

with that said, every position will be open w
Click to expand...
Pg Harpring, Kelly
Sg Burrows, Clary
SF Brooks, Hull, Burrow
PF Akot, Hull, QT
C Toomey, QT, Blanca

Toomey is going to have to play 25 plus.

This lineup allows us to have positional size and depth. With us picking up G White, RK health is a major concern. Yall speak on RK like she has been Utsby. Her career is extremely inconsistent or prob below avg even in 2024-25 she took bad shots and missed alot. Below 40% fg shooter. If you look at elite 8 teams pretty much everyone on team shoots above 42% with bigs over 55%. RK is ok not great
 
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kystroup

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Gio2dahouse said:
Pg Harpring, Kelly
Sg Burrows, Clary
SF Brooks, Hull, Burrow
PF Akot, Hull, QT
C Toomey, QT, Blanca

Toomey is going to have to play 25 plus.

This lineup allows us to have positional size and depth. With us picking up G White, RK health is a major concern. Yall speak on RK like she has been Utsby. Her career is extremely inconsistent or prob below avg even in 2024-25 she took bad shots and missed alot. Below 40% fg shooter. If you look at elite 8 teams pretty much everyone on team shoots above 42% with bigs over 55%. RK is ok not great
Click to expand...
I like this, but do think/worry CB will be loyal to Reniya. That could be the right call but the consistency/durability concerns are real. I understand that she was trying to get in her groove while dealing with an injury this year but she took some pretty bad and selfish shots
 
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HOFcoachRoy

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kystroup said:
That cuts both ways though - if teams were trying to poach Toomey, Grant, Aarnisalo, and Henderson then they were certainly trying to poach Brooks too. What do you think CB did to get her to stay?
Click to expand...
No idea....glad CB has to manage this. In the end, I think the best players will play.
 
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Gio2dahouse

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kystroup said:
I like this, but do think/worry CB will be loyal to Reniya. That could be the right call but the consistency/durability concerns are real. I understand that she was trying to get in her groove while dealing with an injury this year but she took some pretty bad and selfish shots
Click to expand...
Ofcourse I do which is why we got stuck as a 4 seed this year. RK played absolutely horrible this year and to say it was because of injury and she still played 36 min some games is odd. In warm ups didnt look injured at all. Just played so bad, CB hand was forced. I dont think you bring these type players in to play 10 min.
 
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Jriv23

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I think Gabby White is going to get some huge minutes next season. She won't start but if you looked at her at VA, she played a ton as a freshman and that team was loaded with veterans. Her stats for a freshman were pretty good being a freshman. She is a coach's daughter; therefore, she know that game very well. She does everything well on both ends. That is what I saw when I watched her film that was posted by RL. I suggest if you have not seen her film, go ahead and watch it and you will see what I just saw. She is the insurance policy I was speaking of just in case RK is not able to play or is having issues next season. I think Burroughs can easily play the 2 or 3. NB is going to have to put in the work this offseason if she is trying to start next season. I see NB being at the 3 with Burroughs. Also, I can see Chloe, Kate, RK, and Gabby all competing for starting spots at the 1 and 2 positions. This is a luxury to have because two will be starting and two will be coming off the bench to provide depth. None of these four should be playing all 40 minutes a game. CB and Staff will have to distribute the minutes accordingly. It will be interesting to see who is going to start. I think there is a possible that it could be Kate and Chloe, who knows at this point. It is too early to predict.
 
3397char

3397char

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Gio2dahouse said:
RK health is a major concern. Yall speak on RK like she has been Utsby. Her career is extremely inconsistent or prob below avg even in 2024-25 she took bad shots and missed alot. Below 40% fg shooter. If you look at elite 8 teams pretty much everyone on team shoots above 42% with bigs over 55%. RK is ok not great
Click to expand...
100% agree that Kelly's health is a major concern. She has missed parts of multiple seasons.

But last year she shot 41% from three. That is highly efficient in WBB. It was 3rd or 4th in the ACC last year (min 75 attempts) and lead UNC last year over Donarski. Lanie Grant's 42% from three this year lead the ACC for another comparison. She also handled press and ran the offense well. A solid defender. So I do not agree that she has never shown efficiency. She and Ustby were both 2nd team All-ACC last year. RK was preseason 1st team All-ACC this year. Ustby has had a much better career, no doubt. But Kelly has shown, at least once, that she has impactful talent.

This year was not good at all. Her shot simply was not there, among other issues. The most obvious reason was her bad knee(s) that were scoped in the offseason and clearly never healed, considering she was shut down for good mid-season.

So can we rely on her as a key piece next season? Based on what we fans know at least, clearly not. But does she potentially have significant value? Clearly yes.
 
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3397char

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Jriv23 said:
I think Gabby White is going to get some huge minutes next season. She won't start but if you looked at her at VA, she played a ton as a freshman and that team was loaded with veterans. Her stats for a freshman were pretty good being a freshman. She is a coach's daughter; therefore, she know that game very well. She does everything well on both ends. That is what I saw when I watched her film that was posted by RL. I suggest if you have not seen her film, go ahead and watch it and you will see what I just saw. She is the insurance policy I was speaking of just in case RK is not able to play or is having issues next season. I think Burroughs can easily play the 2 or 3. NB is going to have to put in the work this offseason if she is trying to start next season. I see NB being at the 3 with Burroughs. Also, I can see Chloe, Kate, RK, and Gabby all competing for starting spots at the 1 and 2 positions. This is a luxury to have because two will be starting and two will be coming off the bench to provide depth. None of these four should be playing all 40 minutes a game. CB and Staff will have to distribute the minutes accordingly. It will be interesting to see who is going to start. I think there is a possible that it could be Kate and Chloe, who knows at this point. It is too early to predict.
Click to expand...
She is pretty clearly the 4th best true guard on this team behind Harpring, Kelly and Clardy. She will get even less minutes if Brooks or someone else slides down to the two for any amount of time. She will get significantly more minutes if Kelly is throttled with a minutes restriction or anyone else is injured.

Much like Clardy and Burrows, minutes will also be determined by finding her 3 point range. This team right now appears potentially anemic on 3pt threats. Based on history, White appears to be the least likely to find her range. She would be hard to pair with any combination of Akot, Burrows and Clardy in the game at the same time unless one or more of them find range.
 
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tarboy

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I think Brooks is going to start assuming she has the expected Soph leaf. I think Hull will get solid minutes.

Reniya Kelly can really shoot the outside shot, If she comes in healthy and hot shooting the outside shot she will make time for herself.

I think Kate will start but I do not have a feel for her shooting the 3pt shot as of yet. I do know that she can
get into the paint and to the rim better than anyone we have had in a long time and I recognize Elina was really good at getting to the rim.
 
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Gio2dahouse

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3397char said:
100% agree that Kelly's health is a major concern. She has missed parts of multiple seasons.

But last year she shot 41% from three. That is highly efficient in WBB. It was 3rd or 4th in the ACC last year (min 75 attempts) and lead UNC last year over Donarski. Lanie Grant's 42% from three this year lead the ACC for another comparison. She also handled press and ran the offense well. A solid defender. So I do not agree that she has never shown efficiency. She and Ustby were both 2nd team All-ACC last year. RK was preseason 1st team All-ACC this year. Ustby has had a much better career, no doubt. But Kelly has shown, at least once, that she has impactful talent.

This year was not good at all. Her shot simply was not there, among other issues. The most obvious reason was her bad knee(s) that were scoped in the offseason and clearly never healed, considering she was shut down for good mid-season.

So can we rely on her as a key piece next season? Based on what we fans know at least, clearly not. But does she potentially have significant value? Clearly yes.
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To me this is where things can get tricky with percentages. She shot 1.2/2.9 per game. She took open looks because she was the 4th option on offense. This year she came in as the focus on offense and she looked horrible. Also she shot 40% from 2s in her best season. Thats not going to get it. I think she can play a roll as defender and 4th/5th scoring option. Anything more you are asking for trouble

Next if she had horrible knee issues. Why play her 35 plus minutes. You arent doing her any favors. Either allow her to heal or manage the minutes. This will never make sense to me
 
3397char

3397char

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Gio2dahouse said:
To me this is where things can get tricky with percentages. She shot 1.2/2.9 per game. She took open looks because she was the 4th option on offense. This year she came in as the focus on offense and she looked horrible. Also she shot 40% from 2s in her best season. Thats not going to get it. I think she can play a roll as defender and 4th/5th scoring option. Anything more you are asking for trouble

Next if she had horrible knee issues. Why play her 35 plus minutes. You arent doing her any favors. Either allow her to heal or manage the minutes. This will never make sense to me
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Lanie Grant took 90% open looks as well, we run an offense design to get set shooters open looks last year and this year, Her 97 attempts on the season last year is not considered low volume. 3 attempts per game is significant, 3rd on the team. And she had the exact same rate of 3 attempts per game this year.

Her 32.3% this year was not good. But that is not the function of how she was utilized that you make it out to be. They looked like bad shots because they did not go in. Shots that go in always look like good shots. We wanted her to shoot into her form. It did not work out.

No one here is claiming she shot well this year from two or three, I am certainly not. I am just positing the most likely explanation is the well documented nagging injury that eventually ended her season.

Hannah Hidalgo is a career 46% FG shooter. 3-time all American. Yes that is better than Kelly's 41% last year. But I think you are overstating the quality that D1 WBB guards shoot the ball. Deja Kelly was a career 36% FG shooter at UNC. She was a 3 time first team All-ACC., HM A-A. Donarski was 39% on FGs her UNC Career. Grant 41% at UNC.

And if you followed along you know well that UNC placed a very keen focus on limiting her minutes and giving her rest, in hopes that she would ramp up later in the season. But she averaged only 25 MPG and completely sat out multiple games in the fall, plus was reportedly extremely limited in practice. She then was cleared to play in full January first.

I am highly confident that this was based on medical advice, not the coach's whims. the medical plan did not work out. her knee did not cooperate. that happens some times.
 
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