[Mudhead]

9

1700528978[/url]']

1700497201[/url]']

1700492909[/url]']
As exhilarating a fabulous win this was,
I’m reminded that a 3 legged table is a risky table. Take one leg away, due to injury, foul trouble, or just off night, and the table falls.
Adding other really strong legs (Demetre, guard shooting, bench) would make the table so much more enduring that you take one leg away & it still stands

That's fair as far as scoring is concerned, although Tara makes it clear that there is a lot more to choosing which five to put on the floor than only their scoring.  But ideally I think we all would like to see more balanced scoring from all five starters.

What I hope is that it is not the same three scorers every single game, but that there will be variation depending upon the weaknesses of the opposing defense.

For example, Duke had very good perimeter defense.  They were quick, got to the perimeter fast when they needed to, and really only Jump was able to occasionally get herself open in transition and with her newly successful (as of this year) sideways move before the three point shot.  But Duke was not as talented inside and could not stop our forwards.  So in this game it makes sense that our scoring would come mainly from Brink and Iriafen.

But we will eventually face teams with a better inside presence, or who play zone and pack the paint, denying Brink and Iriafen the chance to get the ball inside or do much with it when they do.  Such teams will become more vulnerable to leaving our players open on the perimeter and in those games we will need several three point shooters to light it up.  In those games I would expect not only Jump but also Demetre, Bosgana, Ogden, Harriel, Lepolo, and even Brink to be shooting and making more threes.  

What I think is outstanding is that Jump was able to go 5/10 from three point range against a top perimeter defense.  Some of those shots were barely open and if her release were any slower she would not have made them.  She would not have been that effective last year.  But our other three point shooters have not shown they can get open or shoot accurately against that level of defense.  They will become more open when other teams sell out to stop Brink and Iriafen.

Our versatility will help us win a lot of games, but on any given night we are going to take what the defense gives us.  At least, I hope we do ;)

All good points.
To clarify a little bit, I'm not really clamoring for or expecting some of the others to suddenly become top scorers.
What I'd hope for is better efficiency.
So far, Cam, Kiki, Nunu, Elena, and Hannah are putting up impressive efficiencies. They're killing it.
Most of the others are not so much.
So hoping for the others to catch up their teammates setting the high standard.
This would make the whole team so much harder to defend than even it is now.

My prediction would be Ogden. She has the golden shot and the size and the athleticism. Further, she will have to get a lot more playing time or she won’t be here next year . But beyond that, she has the talent . It just seems like it’s taking her a while to adapt to the game. Maybe defense issues; I haven’t seen enough to judge.

My bet though , is that she is an 8-10 points per game ,three rebounds , 15 minute kind of player by year end .

It’s also a question of what offense we run. If I were   coaching, in addition to losing a lot of games, I would be inclined to ride Kiki and Cameron as far as I could .. Problem is that won’t get to the final four. If we wind up with two great posts , one excellent three point shooter and two ball handler/ defensive players we will wind up like last year .

A determined sag and chase Hannah will get us back in the 50 point range . I’m hoping we roll,the dice a bit and develop one more serious offensive threat.   Might be Demetre. I’d love that because she is a team player and has the rebounding a defensive skills we need. But if she can’t get her offense up to 8 to 10 points a game , we have to roll the dice with Basagna or Ogden.

What I don’t  believe we can do, is roll with only three scorers. ( granted, that’s one more than last year but it still isn’t enough to go all the way.)

[Mudhead]

9

1700528978[/url]']

1700497201[/url]']

1700492909[/url]']
As exhilarating a fabulous win this was,
I’m reminded that a 3 legged table is a risky table. Take one leg away, due to injury, foul trouble, or just off night, and the table falls.
Adding other really strong legs (Demetre, guard shooting, bench) would make the table so much more enduring that you take one leg away & it still stands

That's fair as far as scoring is concerned, although Tara makes it clear that there is a lot more to choosing which five to put on the floor than only their scoring.  But ideally I think we all would like to see more balanced scoring from all five starters.

What I hope is that it is not the same three scorers every single game, but that there will be variation depending upon the weaknesses of the opposing defense.

For example, Duke had very good perimeter defense.  They were quick, got to the perimeter fast when they needed to, and really only Jump was able to occasionally get herself open in transition and with her newly successful (as of this year) sideways move before the three point shot.  But Duke was not as talented inside and could not stop our forwards.  So in this game it makes sense that our scoring would come mainly from Brink and Iriafen.

But we will eventually face teams with a better inside presence, or who play zone and pack the paint, denying Brink and Iriafen the chance to get the ball inside or do much with it when they do.  Such teams will become more vulnerable to leaving our players open on the perimeter and in those games we will need several three point shooters to light it up.  In those games I would expect not only Jump but also Demetre, Bosgana, Ogden, Harriel, Lepolo, and even Brink to be shooting and making more threes.  

What I think is outstanding is that Jump was able to go 5/10 from three point range against a top perimeter defense.  Some of those shots were barely open and if her release were any slower she would not have made them.  She would not have been that effective last year.  But our other three point shooters have not shown they can get open or shoot accurately against that level of defense.  They will become more open when other teams sell out to stop Brink and Iriafen.

Our versatility will help us win a lot of games, but on any given night we are going to take what the defense gives us.  At least, I hope we do ;)

All good points.
To clarify a little bit, I'm not really clamoring for or expecting some of the others to suddenly become top scorers.
What I'd hope for is better efficiency.
So far, Cam, Kiki, Nunu, Elena, and Hannah are putting up impressive efficiencies. They're killing it.
Most of the others are not so much.
So hoping for the others to catch up their teammates setting the high standard.
This would make the whole team so much harder to defend than even it is now.

My prediction would be Ogden. She has the golden shot and the size and the athleticism. Further, she will have to get a lot more playing time or she won’t be here next year . But beyond that, she has the talent . It just seems like it’s taking her a while to adapt to the game. Maybe defense issues; I haven’t seen enough to judge.

My bet though , is that she is an 8-10 points per game ,three rebounds , 15 minute kind of player by year end .

It’s also a question of what offense we run. If I were   coaching, in addition to losing a lot of games, I would be inclined to ride Kiki and Cameron as far as I could .. Problem is that won’t get to the final four. If we wind up with two great posts , one excellent three point shooter and two ball handler/ defensive players we will wind up like last year .

A determined sag and chase Hannah will get us back in the 50 point range . I’m hoping we roll,the dice a bit and develop one more serious offensive threat.   Might be Demetre. I’d love that because she is a team player and has the rebounding a defensive skills we need. But if she can’t get her offense up to 8 to 10 points a game , we have to roll the dice with Basagna or Ogden.

What I don’t  believe we can do, is roll with only three scorers. ( granted, that’s one more than last year but it still isn’t enough to go all the way.)