If Brink is really going to be primarily a 4, that means Iriafen starts at the 5, does it not? I know Brink can play 5 on D and 4 on O but I thought the idea for Brink at the 4 was twofold - to allow her to expand her game and scoring and to make room for Iriafen at the 5, not to mention Betts. I realize this means Belibi doesn't start. You could make a good case for a Brink/Belibi 4/5 or 5/4 but that would put Brink inside more, not a real switch to the 4. We simply have so much talent inside that the choices are all good, really.
We have heard Jones at the 1 and for now I will take that as true on O and D. I've not been sold on that because I want Jones to play off the ball and score, but then again, she is a great passer if she keeps the TOs down, and there are great point guards who are on the taller side that have many of her attributes. The key is can she shoot threes, keep turnovers down, and be a prime scorer while also running the offense? Oh yeah, she will have to defend smaller, quicker players - no where to hide if we play a lot of bigs and she is on the perimeter. That's a lot for her, but if she can do all that, she could be quite dynamic as a pg. She needs to shoot threes to be a great WNBA player so getting that going helps the team and her both. I imagine at the next level she is a 3. Need to shoot threes to play there and defend well in space.
That just leaves the 3 and 2 spots, and Jump is going to start, probably at the 2, but I could see her at the 3 if the coaches think her defense is not quite what they want with her and Jones as the two guards. If it is Jump at the 3, then I'd say we see someone new at the other guard spot, someone who can handle and help Jones run the point and bring the ball up, and most importantly defend well on the perimeter. Who that might be I do not know. If Jump is at the 2, the candidates for the 3 are too many to name, really, and I have no idea who would get that role. We speculate Demetre because she has a nice shot from mid-range and three or Emma-Nnopu because she defends well and can make threes, but nobody is an obvious choice without more info (for us fans).
I am not stating a preferred line-up. I don't even have one yet, not until I see the team play a game or two...or three or four. The sophs aside from Iriafen are mysteries to me, as are the frosh. There are a lot of permutations that could work and maybe we get varied line-ups depending on the opponent with a bigger line-up against bigger teams or teams with tall but not super quick guards vs a smaller line-up for teams that play three guards or are small and quick outside? Should be interesting.
Last thought is who is the backup pg if Jones plays point? I have no idea.
We have heard Jones at the 1 and for now I will take that as true on O and D. I've not been sold on that because I want Jones to play off the ball and score, but then again, she is a great passer if she keeps the TOs down, and there are great point guards who are on the taller side that have many of her attributes. The key is can she shoot threes, keep turnovers down, and be a prime scorer while also running the offense? Oh yeah, she will have to defend smaller, quicker players - no where to hide if we play a lot of bigs and she is on the perimeter. That's a lot for her, but if she can do all that, she could be quite dynamic as a pg. She needs to shoot threes to be a great WNBA player so getting that going helps the team and her both. I imagine at the next level she is a 3. Need to shoot threes to play there and defend well in space.
That just leaves the 3 and 2 spots, and Jump is going to start, probably at the 2, but I could see her at the 3 if the coaches think her defense is not quite what they want with her and Jones as the two guards. If it is Jump at the 3, then I'd say we see someone new at the other guard spot, someone who can handle and help Jones run the point and bring the ball up, and most importantly defend well on the perimeter. Who that might be I do not know. If Jump is at the 2, the candidates for the 3 are too many to name, really, and I have no idea who would get that role. We speculate Demetre because she has a nice shot from mid-range and three or Emma-Nnopu because she defends well and can make threes, but nobody is an obvious choice without more info (for us fans).
I am not stating a preferred line-up. I don't even have one yet, not until I see the team play a game or two...or three or four. The sophs aside from Iriafen are mysteries to me, as are the frosh. There are a lot of permutations that could work and maybe we get varied line-ups depending on the opponent with a bigger line-up against bigger teams or teams with tall but not super quick guards vs a smaller line-up for teams that play three guards or are small and quick outside? Should be interesting.
Last thought is who is the backup pg if Jones plays point? I have no idea.