[2006alum]

Alanna getting some national recognition as a nominee for the first ever Leslie award for the nation's best center.

... I'm not sure I understand the distinction between centers and other forwards, I guess.  Why is Kristine Anigwe not on the list?  And is Smith playing the 5 or the 4 for us?  But regardless, nice to see people taking notice of her--I think her outstanding play in the run to the final 4 last spring opened up some eyes.

I share both your excitement for Alanna and confusion as to what a center is. I think of Alanna as being more of a 3/4 than anything close to a center, given her penchant for treys and full court mobility. I'm not sure I'd have even called Bird a center, and she certainly played the 5 more than Alanna does. Maybe part of the difference is that women's bball doesn't have as much height variation between the 4s and 5s as men's basketball? It's hard to call a 7'0" player anything other than a center.

I poked around the web and liked this definition of the distinction, at least as applied to the NBA: "Centers now do all the dirty work, as post-Shaq they had to battle with players like him. These guys are the Dale Davis, Ben Wallace, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah players that can't shoot and only score off of others, but can defend, rebound, and do all the intangible things that make a team tick. This use to be the role of the power forwards."

To that end, I feel like the only true centers we've had on our team over the last decade have been Shannon Coffee, Tess Picknell, Sarah Boothe, Mikaela Ruef (sort of), and, to some degree, Jayne Appel (the classic play for Jane was to feed to her for a back-to-the-basket play or a layup in transition with her already near the basket). Other than Jayne, none of the others have had much impact or playing time. Even Nneka and Chiney played more like power forwards than centers, given their athleticism and speed, and the fact that since they overlapped, they couldn't both just post up at the same time.

Interestingly, if Johnson had more bulk, I think she could be a solid true center. She has (or at least has had) excellent rebounding and pretty solid defense beneath the basket. If she had a bit more of a back to the basket shot, she'd be a solid 5.

In the end, it may just be the case that women's college basketball at present does not actually have 20 exceptional true centers, so tall players who post up end up in consideration as well.

[2006alum]

Alanna getting some national recognition as a nominee for the first ever Leslie award for the nation's best center.

... I'm not sure I understand the distinction between centers and other forwards, I guess.  Why is Kristine Anigwe not on the list?  And is Smith playing the 5 or the 4 for us?  But regardless, nice to see people taking notice of her--I think her outstanding play in the run to the final 4 last spring opened up some eyes.

I share both your excitement for Alanna and confusion as to what a center is. I think of Alanna as being more of a 3/4 than anything close to a center, given her penchant for treys and full court mobility. I'm not sure I'd have even called Bird a center, and she certainly played the 5 more than Alanna does. Maybe part of the difference is that women's bball doesn't have as much height variation between the 4s and 5s as men's basketball? It's hard to call a 7'0" player anything other than a center.

I poked around the web and liked this definition of the distinction, at least as applied to the NBA: "Centers now do all the dirty work, as post-Shaq they had to battle with players like him. These guys are the Dale Davis, Ben Wallace, Tyson Chandler, Joakim Noah players that can't shoot and only score off of others, but can defend, rebound, and do all the intangible things that make a team tick. This use to be the role of the power forwards."

To that end, I feel like the only true centers we've had on our team over the last decade have been Shannon Coffee, Tess Picknell, Sarah Boothe, Mikaela Ruef (sort of), and, to some degree, Jayne Appel (the classic play for Jane was to feed to her for a back-to-the-basket play or a layup in transition with her already near the basket). Other than Jayne, none of the others have had much impact or playing time. Even Nneka and Chiney played more like power forwards than centers, given their athleticism and speed, and the fact that since they overlapped, they couldn't both just post up at the same time.

Interestingly, if Johnson had more bulk, I think she could be a solid true center. She has (or at least has had) excellent rebounding and pretty solid defense beneath the basket. If she had a bit more of a back to the basket shot, she'd be a solid 5.

In the end, it may just be the case that women's college basketball at present does not actually have 20 exceptional true centers, so tall players who post up end up in consideration as well.