They are who we knew they were ...
Jan 12, 2020 20:16:33 GMT -8
2ndGenBeaver, lotrader, and 5 more like this
Post by beaverstever on Jan 12, 2020 20:16:33 GMT -8
and that is a team that while justifiably ranked very high, are still too frequently playing at a level that will get them bounced in the early to mid-rounds of the tourney. They have had starts like this way to frequently, and you can recover vs. a Liberty or BYU, but not vs. good teams, let alone very good.
This was a game that this team needed, IMO, as the undefeated record was fools gold relative to what will be needed in March. And I see this team as currently really vulnerable without solving some key problems they have often had to date. So now is the opportunity for me to offer my peanut gallery expertise on what I think will be needed to make a deep run with this roster (with the full disclaimer that my opinion is worth exactly what you paid to read it).
We seem to have only one player consistently bringing her A game early, and that's our freshman post ... the only one to score in Q1. That just can't happen with all the upper-classman leadership on this team. Someone just has to will in a few buckets in that situation ... the old "who is going to step up?".
We jack up 20 threes, and only have one our of 5 players able to hit any. That just can't happen, particularly given the quality of shooters we have. Tudor and Goodman in particular have to find other ways to contribute if the shots aren't falling.
This was a game where we REALLY missed Taya. Last year, Taya seemed to be able to find a way to score when things went bleak (often a 3). Because of her versatility to play inside and out, she could go to what the defense was giving her and get a bucket. KB is not able to play that role so far, and it's creating a lot of dry spells. Maybe Maddie needs to play more, as she at least brings some efficiency on offense with her minutes, and has some skills that can at least stop droughts.
8 TO by Destiny... ASU just ate her up. She must learn that she cannot penetrate indecisively... she has to go into the drive with a plan. IMO, she should be penetrating with a plan of either getting to the rim or a step-back FT jumper, depend on what the defense gives, and then pass if the opportunity arises based on any rotating help. She has to have a go-to shot that she utilizes when we need a bucket ... indecisive penetration leading to TOs is the worst possible outcome. Mik still does too much of this as well, but has gotten much better ... still, 4 TOs was also from playing into the defense's strengths. IMO, Destiny should be the player to go to when we need a bucket rather than Mik, but she just hasn't become that player on a consistent basis (Mik is our best option right now, I'm just saying that shouldn't be the case given Destiny's range of skills).
KB has got to find some way to contribute on offense. She's really struggled to get comfortable shooting with the physicality going inside. She's also close to 25% from 3 - at that pace, it's a bad shot for the team... it's one thing to try to get her confidence going, but I just don't like the look of her shot out there. She's also not getting to the FT line, which she should be able to do (but also not shooting well once she does get there). She has the size and athleticism to be unstoppable, yet she currently has no go-to skills she has any confidence in at that end of the floor. We don't need her to score a lot, but if she could find a way to get a few points per quarter inside on a regular basis, it would help this team immensely.
Aleah has defenders on her hip and in her head nonstop now - it's clearly every teams gameplan now to be in her grill and take her out of the game mentally. IMO, she needs to be relieved of her PG duties, at least for a while. Her mental game is wrecked by having to focus so much on initiating the offense, not getting her pocket picked, and dealing with getting pushed around non-stop (as a former PG, I get PTSD watching her throw elbows in frustration). She needs few games of being able to play loose at SG, getting a few great opportunities of setting her defender into a blindside pick that has the defenders head on a spindle the rest of the game, and just generally being able to focus on finding her rhythm as the game develops.
As others have mentioned, Kat has developed a hitch in her shot. It's not a fluid motion right now, and that hitch sends it really high. I don't know how that developed, but it's not good from a golf-swing consistency perspective, nor is it good from a physics perspective (too much arch means anything off by a bit has more velocity and is more likely to bounce off the rim rather than slip in). Seems like she's been pressing as well, which isn't helping that it's her senior year, and she's both trying to make up for lost time and also make the most of it.
This was also a game where we could have used Jasmine, with her speed able to counter the defensive aggressiveness, as well as flip the TO script some. Unfortunately she hasn't played enough to have confidence in this kind of situation, but we need to find a way to get her there still.
Bottom line, I feel like this team is playing well below it's potential (and largely has been), and a lot of it seems mental to me. Rueck is the right coach to straighten it out, but doing it in the middle of a brutal schedule is a very tough ask. I'm glad he loves a challenge!
This was a game that this team needed, IMO, as the undefeated record was fools gold relative to what will be needed in March. And I see this team as currently really vulnerable without solving some key problems they have often had to date. So now is the opportunity for me to offer my peanut gallery expertise on what I think will be needed to make a deep run with this roster (with the full disclaimer that my opinion is worth exactly what you paid to read it).
We seem to have only one player consistently bringing her A game early, and that's our freshman post ... the only one to score in Q1. That just can't happen with all the upper-classman leadership on this team. Someone just has to will in a few buckets in that situation ... the old "who is going to step up?".
We jack up 20 threes, and only have one our of 5 players able to hit any. That just can't happen, particularly given the quality of shooters we have. Tudor and Goodman in particular have to find other ways to contribute if the shots aren't falling.
This was a game where we REALLY missed Taya. Last year, Taya seemed to be able to find a way to score when things went bleak (often a 3). Because of her versatility to play inside and out, she could go to what the defense was giving her and get a bucket. KB is not able to play that role so far, and it's creating a lot of dry spells. Maybe Maddie needs to play more, as she at least brings some efficiency on offense with her minutes, and has some skills that can at least stop droughts.
8 TO by Destiny... ASU just ate her up. She must learn that she cannot penetrate indecisively... she has to go into the drive with a plan. IMO, she should be penetrating with a plan of either getting to the rim or a step-back FT jumper, depend on what the defense gives, and then pass if the opportunity arises based on any rotating help. She has to have a go-to shot that she utilizes when we need a bucket ... indecisive penetration leading to TOs is the worst possible outcome. Mik still does too much of this as well, but has gotten much better ... still, 4 TOs was also from playing into the defense's strengths. IMO, Destiny should be the player to go to when we need a bucket rather than Mik, but she just hasn't become that player on a consistent basis (Mik is our best option right now, I'm just saying that shouldn't be the case given Destiny's range of skills).
KB has got to find some way to contribute on offense. She's really struggled to get comfortable shooting with the physicality going inside. She's also close to 25% from 3 - at that pace, it's a bad shot for the team... it's one thing to try to get her confidence going, but I just don't like the look of her shot out there. She's also not getting to the FT line, which she should be able to do (but also not shooting well once she does get there). She has the size and athleticism to be unstoppable, yet she currently has no go-to skills she has any confidence in at that end of the floor. We don't need her to score a lot, but if she could find a way to get a few points per quarter inside on a regular basis, it would help this team immensely.
Aleah has defenders on her hip and in her head nonstop now - it's clearly every teams gameplan now to be in her grill and take her out of the game mentally. IMO, she needs to be relieved of her PG duties, at least for a while. Her mental game is wrecked by having to focus so much on initiating the offense, not getting her pocket picked, and dealing with getting pushed around non-stop (as a former PG, I get PTSD watching her throw elbows in frustration). She needs few games of being able to play loose at SG, getting a few great opportunities of setting her defender into a blindside pick that has the defenders head on a spindle the rest of the game, and just generally being able to focus on finding her rhythm as the game develops.
As others have mentioned, Kat has developed a hitch in her shot. It's not a fluid motion right now, and that hitch sends it really high. I don't know how that developed, but it's not good from a golf-swing consistency perspective, nor is it good from a physics perspective (too much arch means anything off by a bit has more velocity and is more likely to bounce off the rim rather than slip in). Seems like she's been pressing as well, which isn't helping that it's her senior year, and she's both trying to make up for lost time and also make the most of it.
This was also a game where we could have used Jasmine, with her speed able to counter the defensive aggressiveness, as well as flip the TO script some. Unfortunately she hasn't played enough to have confidence in this kind of situation, but we need to find a way to get her there still.
Bottom line, I feel like this team is playing well below it's potential (and largely has been), and a lot of it seems mental to me. Rueck is the right coach to straighten it out, but doing it in the middle of a brutal schedule is a very tough ask. I'm glad he loves a challenge!
