[81alum]

I think the frustration with what I will call the "clock killing offense" are partly justified and partly not.  There is always a certain point in a game when your lead compared with the amount of clock that is left justifies making the consumption of clock the most important consideration.  But it is obviously preferable to consume a lot of clock and score after running off the time.  We seem to do very poorly at this.  Not only at the end of games, but also at the end of each quarter when we run the clock down to 10 seconds before starting our play--how often do we score on those plays?  Very rarely.

It seems to me that we need to work harder on those 10 second plays.  We need to execute them more crisply and with greater confidence.  True, when you have only 10 seconds left you are not going to shoot for as high a percentage as when you have an entire shot clock to find an open shot.  But can't we at least occasionally score after running down the clock? 

This gets at a weakness that we have discussed before--players who can manufacture their own shots, or shoot well even when covered (the latter is Slocum's gift.)  Those are the kinds of players who can score with little time remaining.  And Carrington and Jones were two of those kind of players.  The step back jumper that Jones had, or scoring with contact like Carrington can do--those are important skills when there is not enough time left to get open.  We need to develop other players who can do this too.  Williams can to an extent--clearly our best (and maybe only) option in those situations right now.  But that makes her easier to defend.

[81alum]

I think the frustration with what I will call the "clock killing offense" are partly justified and partly not.  There is always a certain point in a game when your lead compared with the amount of clock that is left justifies making the consumption of clock the most important consideration.  But it is obviously preferable to consume a lot of clock and score after running off the time.  We seem to do very poorly at this.  Not only at the end of games, but also at the end of each quarter when we run the clock down to 10 seconds before starting our play--how often do we score on those plays?  Very rarely.

It seems to me that we need to work harder on those 10 second plays.  We need to execute them more crisply and with greater confidence.  True, when you have only 10 seconds left you are not going to shoot for as high a percentage as when you have an entire shot clock to find an open shot.  But can't we at least occasionally score after running down the clock? 

This gets at a weakness that we have discussed before--players who can manufacture their own shots, or shoot well even when covered (the latter is Slocum's gift.)  Those are the kinds of players who can score with little time remaining.  And Carrington and Jones were two of those kind of players.  The step back jumper that Jones had, or scoring with contact like Carrington can do--those are important skills when there is not enough time left to get open.  We need to develop other players who can do this too.  Williams can to an extent--clearly our best (and maybe only) option in those situations right now.  But that makes her easier to defend.