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How is 6’5” Alex Eschmeyer 5th on the team in rebounds/min (behind 6’1” Courtney Ogden, 6’2” Nunu Agara and Mary Ashley Stevenson, and 6’3” Lara Somfai)?  Today she had 2 rebounds in 12 minutes.  To be fair Somfai hovered them up (18 rebounds in 24 minutes), but even MAS had 4 boards in about the same amount of time.  I think the reason she is not getting as many minutes as people are clamoring for despite her potential is that she doesn’t “play big” given her size.  She will be much better once she bulks up and can establish position, but I think she still has a lot more work to do compared to the other freshmen.

BC

Regarding Eschmeyer, some of your comments are valid.  I will add she needs stronger hands, especially when grabbing rebounds, but when she's in the game, her touches are few, her teammates often don't look for her when she does establish good position, and when she gets behind her defender, passes (to her) are either thrown over her head or intercepted.  Eschmeyer (and her build) reminds me of a young 6'5 Marie Gulich from Oregon State who started very raw, but got minutes and became one of their best ever posts and is a member of the German national team.  More recently, 6'6 So. Elsa Lemmila for Ohio State got 15 minutes and 4points/game as a freshman for Kevin McGuff, who still had faith in her and now, as a sophomore is up to 18 minutes and 6.7 pts. and starts for the Buckeyes.  The other day, she looked very impressive against UCLA and Lauren Betts and her numbers are going up.  But the best example is Stanford's next opponent- 6'6 so. Tilda Trygger for N.C. State.  Wes Moore had her playing over 22 minutes/game as a freshman (6.6pts and 4.9 rebounds), but her post presence and playing time earned her a spot on the all-ACC freshman team.  This season as a sophomore she's averaging 11.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg. and will present a problem for the smaller Cardinal starting lineup.

We've seen Somfai and Argara in effective high/low action, but that pairing will not be all that effective against bigger teams.  On the other hand, it could hold promise for a Somfai-Eschmeyer high/low where her defender is behind her and where Alex would be in better position to score or get fouled.  Unfortunately, Alex is often paired with MAS who is too short to make that play work.  You will remember how awkward and ineffective freshman Lauren Betts was, but there was a game on the road (either Arizona or ASU) when Tara (briefly) had Brink and Betts playing a high/low and Betts looked really good.  Why that didn't continue remains a mystery to me.

Critics on this Board are correct in that Eschmeyer needs to develop, get bigger and stronger, but I have seen so many other post players (who are built like Alex) who were not all that big and strong as freshmen, get more court time, strong support from their respective coaches who saw their potential.  Their confidence improved and their effectiveness also improved over the season.  The reality is, we will not likely see this from happening under Coach Paye, who is basically playing a 'Post-Lite' offense.

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How is 6’5” Alex Eschmeyer 5th on the team in rebounds/min (behind 6’1” Courtney Ogden, 6’2” Nunu Agara and Mary Ashley Stevenson, and 6’3” Lara Somfai)?  Today she had 2 rebounds in 12 minutes.  To be fair Somfai hovered them up (18 rebounds in 24 minutes), but even MAS had 4 boards in about the same amount of time.  I think the reason she is not getting as many minutes as people are clamoring for despite her potential is that she doesn’t “play big” given her size.  She will be much better once she bulks up and can establish position, but I think she still has a lot more work to do compared to the other freshmen.

BC

Regarding Eschmeyer, some of your comments are valid.  I will add she needs stronger hands, especially when grabbing rebounds, but when she's in the game, her touches are few, her teammates often don't look for her when she does establish good position, and when she gets behind her defender, passes (to her) are either thrown over her head or intercepted.  Eschmeyer (and her build) reminds me of a young 6'5 Marie Gulich from Oregon State who started very raw, but got minutes and became one of their best ever posts and is a member of the German national team.  More recently, 6'6 So. Elsa Lemmila for Ohio State got 15 minutes and 4points/game as a freshman for Kevin McGuff, who still had faith in her and now, as a sophomore is up to 18 minutes and 6.7 pts. and starts for the Buckeyes.  The other day, she looked very impressive against UCLA and Lauren Betts and her numbers are going up.  But the best example is Stanford's next opponent- 6'6 so. Tilda Trygger for N.C. State.  Wes Moore had her playing over 22 minutes/game as a freshman (6.6pts and 4.9 rebounds), but her post presence and playing time earned her a spot on the all-ACC freshman team.  This season as a sophomore she's averaging 11.2 ppg and 7.8 rpg. and will present a problem for the smaller Cardinal starting lineup.

We've seen Somfai and Argara in effective high/low action, but that pairing will not be all that effective against bigger teams.  On the other hand, it could hold promise for a Somfai-Eschmeyer high/low where her defender is behind her and where Alex would be in better position to score or get fouled.  Unfortunately, Alex is often paired with MAS who is too short to make that play work.  You will remember how awkward and ineffective freshman Lauren Betts was, but there was a game on the road (either Arizona or ASU) when Tara (briefly) had Brink and Betts playing a high/low and Betts looked really good.  Why that didn't continue remains a mystery to me.

Critics on this Board are correct in that Eschmeyer needs to develop, get bigger and stronger, but I have seen so many other post players (who are built like Alex) who were not all that big and strong as freshmen, get more court time, strong support from their respective coaches who saw their potential.  Their confidence improved and their effectiveness also improved over the season.  The reality is, we will not likely see this from happening under Coach Paye, who is basically playing a 'Post-Lite' offense.