WBB: Open Practice - Printable Version
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RE: WBB: Open Practice - CompSci87 - 10-29-2022
Iriafen was so good that we should all learn to spell her name right. :-)
RE: WBB: Open Practice - CompSci87 - 10-29-2022
Green did play. She seemed to fit in okay but didn't stand out.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - mbdude - 10-29-2022
thanks. thanks to all for the reports
RE: WBB: Open Practice - 81alum - 10-29-2022
(10-29-2022, 03:24 PM)CompSci87 Wrote: Iriafen was so good that we should all learn to spell her name right. :-)Indeed! Fixed.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - chimera - 10-29-2022
Some good stuff above. Agree with much of it from the posters above.
Seniors - Belibi had her left thumb wrapped it looked like and did not play at all. No idea how serious it might be, hope just a slight sprain to her wrist or thumb. I thought Jones looked good at the point, tighter dribble, making her threes well, good passing, plenty of scoring off her spins and drives when needed. Jump did miss her threes more than usual but also did show some nice shorter stuff and I think will be an improved version of the gunner she has been. Prechtel looked fine also, similar to how she has played. Everyone who played looked good and we know what they can do.
Juniors - Brink looked good to me. She did travel a couple of times trying to drive from the perimeter, but she also did have a few good drives from outside and hit a few threes, etc. Emma-Nnopu looked improved, still a hard nosed defender and had some nice drives, and I think hit a three or two? Can't remember everything without the stats. Lots of made threes in this one.
Sophs - Agree with all who praised Iriafen. She did it all and looked very comfortable hitting some long twos. Gotta think she starts and/or gets a lot of playing time. Bosgana had some good moments and hit a few shots. I am still not sure given the small sample size how much she may have improved or if she will see more playing time than last year. Demetre looked much improved on offense. She had some very nice fadeaways and spinning shots. If her defense is good enough she should get a lot more playing time as someone who can make a well guarded shot because her offense can be that good if what we saw is something she can consistently do. Harriel was called a redshirt freshman but I will include her here. She ran the point some, did ok, but did not make a big impression, which may be my fault due to whom I happened to be watching.
Freshmen - Tara's praise of Lepolo seems right on the money. I was impressed with her handle and her three point shooting. She looked very good out there, passed well, had a few layups from smart drives, ran the team well and got a lot of playing time at the point, more than I think anyone else on either team. If Jones is the pg, she is probably the back up. Nivar also did well and ran the point. She looked very quick, had zipped to the basket a few times. I think she made a three also? Can't recall. But she seems also in line to maybe back up at the point and/or the 2 spots. Papadaki was relatively quiet. I don't recall any drives but I think she made a couple of baskets and worked hard on D. Betts scored a few inside and I think made a mid-range shot or two. She played early, sat on the bench looking like she maybe did not feel very well, played a little more, and then did not play much in the second half. She did not do anything super amazing but she also did not do anything to show that she can't be a force given time. I did see Green and did not notice her too much, which again, could be on me, not her. Not sure what her strengths are yet.
Overall it was a jumble of players moving between teams, tons of subbing, hard to keep sorted who did what. The bigs defended each other pretty well inside so there was a lot of passing out to shooters, thus a lot of threes made. I don't feel I got a great handle on what most of the "littles" can do except Lepolo and Nivar. Just too hard to really get to know anyone's game off one scrimmage, except for the players we already know. Compared to other open practices/scrimmages in other seasons, this one seemed to have much better offense. Not sure if that means the D is in trouble or we have a lot of players who can hit shots. I lean more toward the latter. Basically I feel good about where the team is. We seems to have plenty of capable shooters. We have good size. Looks like guard play will not be a big issue with Jones/Lepolo/Nivar at the 1. There were a few turnovers but given the pace of the game, not really that many for this time of the season. I don't recall our point guards turning the ball over all that much.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - Baez87 - 10-29-2022
Three tiers:
In an earlier post, I placed players in three tiers based on the collective knowledge of who would likely play the most minutes per game this season. Based on last season results and preseason speculations, I placed Haley, Cam, Hannah, Fran, Ashten, and Kiki in the first tier. I would change that assessment based on todays scrimmage only. I would move Kiki to the top of that list with Talana, Hannah, Haley, Aggie, and Cam to follow.
My second tier would be Indya, Brooke, and Ashten, all of whom made a difference in the game and seemed to impress the fans!
The third tier consists of the remainder of the team, players who will have the preseason and conference games to prove their worth to the team — Lauren Betts, Jzaniya, Elena, Stavi, and Lauren Green.
(I did not include Fran, who did not play today due to what appeared to be a thumb injury.)
What impressed me most:
— Kiki Iriafen has improved steadily since joining the team. She is confident, tough, assertive, and skilled on both sides of the ball. She scored at will, making several mid-range shots, most of her free throws, and several aggressive drives under the basket.
— Talana Leopolo drives, passes, shoots, and defends like a starting point guard, and she makes her threes! She does not play timid like a newbie!
— Hannah Jump made more successful drives to the paint than three pointers. She looked even more trim than last year and ran the floor assertively.
— Aggie Emma-Nnopu was tenacious. She plays lock-down defense, although Indya Nivar faked her out a couple of times and drove by her, which speaks more for Indya's skill set. Aggie also hit her threes and was not intimidated by the tall trees inside!
Fun scrimmage! It will be fascinating to watch this team’s trajectory!
RE: WBB: Open Practice - bl82 - 10-29-2022
I agree with almost all the comments above. A few of additional thoughts:
As a team, there was very little sloppiness on offense and generally good ball movement. I can really only recall one bad pass from Haley (she may finally have learned not to force it with too many thread-the-needle passes) and as a team, turnovers were relatively low for this early in the season.
Ashten seems much more comfortable with the ball. Her passing looks better and when her shot is not there on the perimeter, she does not seem lost, as she sometimes has in past years.
Lauren Betts also impressed me with her comfort level within the offense. While she didn’t play much (injury precaution?) she had several nice passes and stayed nicely in the flow, not forcing the action, but letting the game come to her.
Elena Bosgana hit not one but two threes late in the fourth quarter. We know how aggressively she can attack the basket, but if she can hit threes as well, this will open up her offensive game a great deal. Last year when the ball went to her it too often did not come back out, so today I was pleased to see her better integrated into the team offense.
While Telana Lepolo and Indya Nivar both brought the ball up and initiated the offense, I thought Lepolo did so much more crisply, except for some instances of over dribbling on the perimeter. Lepolo had some great passes and the bigs should expect to have the ball zipped to them when they are open. While Lepolo strikes me as more of a pass first PG, she showed a broad offensive arsenal, including at least three threes, a beautiful runner and a couple of nice drives that she finished. Nivar seemed more suited to a 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 game and looks to have more of a scorer’s mentality. While Lepolo impressed me a little more today, I’ll go out on a limb and say that both are ahead of where Kiana was at this stage of her development.
Brooke Demetre is the queen of fallaway and turnaround. She took quite a few tough shots that were well defended by Cam and others and yet they kept falling and falling. I don’t think it was luck.
I believe Hannah missed every one of her three pointers. As others have noted, a much more diversified offensive game was on display, which is much more important than one day of bad shooting. After the scrimmage ended, Hannah was the only one practicing shooting and she was mesmerizing in her accuracy. She is such a hard worker and how ironic was it that our best three-point thooter was the only one practicing her shooting after the scrimmage.
If it were up to me, I’d start (with an eye toward who will develop most by the end of the year):
Cam
Kiki
Haley
Hannah
Telana
Finally, Juju Watkins had a chance to chat with most if not all of the entire team after the scrimmage. I hope she feels the sisterhood and I like that she was at Stanford right before what is presumably decision day for her.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - treetop11 - 10-30-2022
(10-29-2022, 10:02 PM)bl82 Wrote: I agree with almost all the comments above. A few of additional thoughts:
As a team, there was very little sloppiness on offense and generally good ball movement. I can really only recall one bad pass from Haley (she may finally have learned not to force it with too many thread-the-needle passes) and as a team, turnovers were relatively low for this early in the season.
Ashten seems much more comfortable with the ball. Her passing looks better and when her shot is not there on the perimeter, she does not seem lost, as she sometimes has in past years.
Lauren Betts also impressed me with her comfort level within the offense. While she didn’t play much (injury precaution?) she had several nice passes and stayed nicely in the flow, not forcing the action, but letting the game come to her.
Elena Bosgana hit not one but two threes late in the fourth quarter. We know how aggressively she can attack the basket, but if she can hit threes as well, this will open up her offensive game a great deal. Last year when the ball went to her it too often did not come back out, so today I was pleased to see her better integrated into the team offense.
While Telana Lepolo and Indya Nivar both brought the ball up and initiated the offense, I thought Lepolo did so much more crisply, except for some instances of over dribbling on the perimeter. Lepolo had some great passes and the bigs should expect to have the ball zipped to them when they are open. While Lepolo strikes me as more of a pass first PG, she showed a broad offensive arsenal, including at least three threes, a beautiful runner and a couple of nice drives that she finished. Nivar seemed more suited to a 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 game and looks to have more of a scorer’s mentality. While Lepolo impressed me a little more today, I’ll go out on a limb and say that both are ahead of where Kiana was at this stage of her development.
Brooke Demetre is the queen of fallaway and turnaround. She took quite a few tough shots that were well defended by Cam and others and yet they kept falling and falling. I don’t think it was luck.
I believe Hannah missed every one of her three pointers. As others have noted, a much more diversified offensive game was on display, which is much more important than one day of bad shooting. After the scrimmage ended, Hannah was the only one practicing shooting and she was mesmerizing in her accuracy. She is such a hard worker and how ironic was it that our best three-point thooter was the only one practicing her shooting after the scrimmage.
If it were up to me, I’d start (with an eye toward who will develop most by the end of the year):
Cam
Kiki
Haley
Hannah
Telana
Finally, Juju Watkins had a chance to chat with most if not all of the entire team after the scrimmage. I hope she feels the sisterhood and I like that she was at Stanford right before what is presumably decision day for her.
Good to hear about Watkins. Based on the reports above, I would think she would see the value of the talent that will be around her and how she would fit in to be on NC team. she would be a nice fit at small forward with quick guards and top bigs giving her plenty of her plenty of firepower arounde her.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - 81alum - 10-30-2022
(10-29-2022, 10:02 PM)bl82 Wrote: If it were up to me, I’d start (with an eye toward who will develop most by the end of the year):
Cam
Kiki
Haley
Hannah
Telana
I agree with this, based on the limited bit we have seen so far. But there are at least 6 more players with a good claim to minutes, which would make for an overly large rotation of 11. A lot could be situational.
Our bigs Prechtel, Betts, and Belibi will need minutes--I wonder about Prechtel at the 3 some of the time, if she keeps shooting as well as she did yesterday. Betts needs game experience to develop.
Guards Nivar and Emma-Nnopu will need minutes. They both need game experience to develop, Emma-Nnopu looked like the complete package yesterday and was actually more effective than Jump, minute for minute.
And then there is Demetre. She still looks like our best midrange jumper and could prove critical against anyone who plays zone against us.
Tara has, as usual, an embarrassment of riches. And any of the other players I have not mentioned could emerge, too--it is hard to judge based on one practice session. But half of the fun for us fans is to watch Tara compose her symphony from all the various parts.
Then there is defense. Almost every year we fans try to figure out lineups based on what we see early on, and almost every year we underestimate the degree to which Tara bases her decision on defense, which is much harder for us to judge.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - BobK - 10-30-2022
Neat that Watkins was out with the team later. Per Instagram
RE: WBB: Open Practice - stopandpop - 10-30-2022
(10-29-2022, 03:01 PM)skip75 Wrote:(10-29-2022, 02:48 PM)mbdude Wrote: was players put on 2 separate teams? or was it a free substitution type scrimmageSome players shifted from Cardinal to White and vice versa at the quarter breaks.
I'm repeating some earlier comments about the scrimmage.
IRIAFEN- Far and away, the best performance by any player. I would be shocked if she doesn't start.
LEPOLO- What a great surprise! Great ball-handling and better offense than I expected. Our PG in the not-too distant future.
NIVAR- Not as impressive as Lepolo, but handled the ball well and made some very good moves to the hoop.
BETTS- Not yet explosive nor strong enough to finish in the paint when defended by big strong players (i.e. Kiki and Ashten), but optimistic this will change with more strength training. We will need Lauren down the road.
EMMA-NNOPU- Improved her offensive game significantly. Intense pressure defense. I think we'll see Agnes early in the rotation.
JUMP- Not worried about her missed 3's, but she's added to her offense with drives and runners.
DEMETRE- Defense still a question mark, but her shooting touch (even when falling away and defenders in her face) was awesome and she showed her desire to attack off the dribble. I think Tara starts her.
PRECHTEL- Made a slightly greater effort than from last season to score in the low post even though her game is primarily from the outside. That could be important when Tara brings her in because opponents don't see Asheten as a low post threat.
JONES- Haley was fine. I'm often guilty of expecting the spectacular every time she steps onto the court.
BRINK- I expected more from Cam; especially movement without the ball. She seemed content standing out on the perimeter waiting to get the ball and when she got it, there was a defender in her face. Yes, she attacked her defender off the dribble a few times; (yes) she shot the ball from distance and (yes) she occasionally posted up, but the lack of movement prevents Cam from getting the ball in more favorable positions and with better options to use her skill-sets. Maybe we'll see a more complete/explosive game from Cam once the season starts.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - bl82 - 10-30-2022
Thanks to all who have weighed in on the team with their excellent observation. It may still be pre-season for the players, but the commentary and analysis is already in mid-season form.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - TheFarm07 - 10-30-2022
(10-30-2022, 04:22 PM)bl82 Wrote: Thanks to all who have weighed in on the team with their excellent observation. It may still be pre-season for the players, but the commentary and analysis is already in mid-season form.
+1 agreed. Thank you to those who were able to attend and report back with such excellent & detailed observations and analyses. It's great especially for fans like myself who don't live in the Bay Area to have this commentary.
I am excited to see the team play in about a week and see how far we can go this season (also hoping for some good recruiting news in about a week and a half - fingers crossed)
RE: WBB: Open Practice - acerep - 10-30-2022
I've posted my report on the scrimmage under Richter Reports on the Fast Break Club site, www.stanfordfbc.org. As of this writing, the teaser still shows a previous report, but if you click on it, the new one is there.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - Baez87 - 10-31-2022
We Share This Common Pleasure
Entering the concrete cavern of Maples, experiencing energy — past and present — embedded in concrete and girders.
It’s like hiking a familiar forest trail, like greeting an old friend, like putting on a familiar glove,
It’s more than a competition, a game, a score, a win. It’s life in the microcosm of a familiar venue.
It’s waving across the way to the couple that usually sits in the adjacent aisle;
It’s seeing a sizable contingent of young people in the student section and hoping they will initiate a new era of fandom;
It’s the team introduction with Haley blowing kisses, realizing a greater calling, then running to the far sidelines to exchange high fives with a potential recruit;
It’s fifteen young women, both athlete and scholar, charting their way through life on a hardwood floor, running like the wind, bouncing balls and shooting baskets;
It’s a fan spontaneously making the rounds before halftime imploring other fans to chant “Come to Stanford, Juju!” at halftime;
It’s Juju’s father standing and waving to the crowd to raise their voices, and they respond, much to the delight of the proud dad;
It’s Indya Nivar’s on her first day before a Maples crowd using her best move to create a lane and announce her presence and the beginning of her legacy;
It’s the Cam and Haley show, ushering in a whole new era of the super athlete, while playing the game with their best somersault moves;
It’s walk-on Lauren “Lolo” Green coming off the court beaming so proudly as if she is walking on air, then making eye contact with her parents in the stands who beam back with equal pride and joy!
The game is all this and more. Line-ups come and go, games are won and lost, seasons fly by like the yellow leaves of fall. We, too come and go, yet, today, we chose to meet once more, eager for another year, interests piqued, imbued with renewed optimism.
Welcome back to a common pleasure fellow fans, celebrate these young women’s lives and ours while we add another ring to the tree of Maples.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - 81alum - 11-01-2022
(10-31-2022, 11:58 PM)Baez87 Wrote: We Share This Common PleasureBeautiful. I identify with many of those sentiments.
Entering the concrete cavern of Maples, experiencing energy — past and present — embedded in concrete and girders.
It’s like hiking a familiar forest trail, like greeting an old friend, like putting on a familiar glove,
It’s more than a competition, a game, a score, a win. It’s life in the microcosm of a familiar venue.
It’s waving across the way to the couple that usually sits in the adjacent aisle;
It’s seeing a sizable contingent of young people in the student section and hoping they will initiate a new era of fandom;
It’s the team introduction with Haley blowing kisses, realizing a greater calling, then running to the far sidelines to exchange high fives with a potential recruit;
It’s fifteen young women, both athlete and scholar, charting their way through life on a hardwood floor, running like the wind, bouncing balls and shooting baskets;
It’s a fan spontaneously making the rounds before halftime imploring other fans to chant “Come to Stanford, Juju!” at halftime;
It’s Juju’s father standing and waving to the crowd to raise their voices, and they respond, much to the delight of the proud dad;
It’s Indya Nivar’s on her first day before a Maples crowd using her best move to create a lane and announce her presence and the beginning of her legacy;
It’s the Cam and Haley show, ushering in a whole new era of the super athlete, while playing the game with their best somersault moves;
It’s walk-on Lauren “Lolo” Green coming off the court beaming so proudly as if she is walking on air, then making eye contact with her parents in the stands who beam back with equal pride and joy!
The game is all this and more. Line-ups come and go, games are won and lost, seasons fly by like the yellow leaves of fall. We, too come and go, yet, today, we chose to meet once more, eager for another year, interests piqued, imbued with renewed optimism.
Welcome back to a common pleasure fellow fans, celebrate these young women’s lives and ours while we add another ring to the tree of Maples.
RE: WBB: Open Practice - CompSci87 - 11-01-2022
Baez87, that is gold!
RE: WBB: Open Practice - jonnyss - 11-01-2022
nicely written, baez87. thanks!
RE: WBB: Open Practice - BobK - 11-01-2022
Awesome Baez
RE: WBB: Open Practice - WBB fan - 11-01-2022
Love it, Baez - wish I could have been there!