|
|
Post by wbosh15 on Oct 20, 2022 8:05:16 GMT -8
I think the two are Jelena and AJ. If those two step up there game it will make a big difference on the season. I feel pretty good on what we will get from TVO and Bendu, but Jelena and AJ are the key to the season IMO. I'd love to hear other's thoughts. Excited for the year.
|
|
|
|
Post by 411500 on Oct 20, 2022 9:45:38 GMT -8
wbosh15 - - I'm in complete agreement with you on what players are most critical to the upcoming season.....Here is what I wrote on this very topic in June:
"On this board we talk about players making a "Kolbie Leap" - a big improvement in one's game from one year to the next.
The two players who I think have the best chance of making a BIG step forward are Jelena and AJ....They both have shown flashes of promise, they both have unique attributes and skills that, if further developed, will produce impressive results on the court.....
On the other side of the coin is the simple fact that if Jelena and AJ don't show big improvements in their game, we are basically going to field a Pac-12 roster next season with only one top-quality Pac 12 player....Not a good situation for any coach who wants to deliver a winning, highly competitive team.......
So, I'm hoping for big things next season from Jelena and AJ......It's only June, so this is really long-distance forecasting - but that's how I see it now."
GO BEAVS!!
----------------------------------
P.S. It's now October 20, and the storyline still looks pretty much the same, at least to me.
I'm hoping someone makes a great breakthrough in their game this season and makes this team a whole lot better than it looks like it's going to be - but other than AJ & Jelena I can't imagine who that player might be.
Most of us having been following OSU WBB for a while now - so I'll ask this question. What players in the past decade have gone thru what might be called a great breakout year?
Gulich (and Kolbie) come to mind, but really, who else has made a greatly impressive year-to-year improvement that significantly improved the team?
It just doesn't happen very often.......
GO BEAVS!!
|
|
|
|
Post by bvrbooster on Oct 20, 2022 9:58:31 GMT -8
All of them need to get better, particularly at putting the ball through the hoop.
|
|
|
|
Post by hoopheritic on Oct 20, 2022 13:08:14 GMT -8
Talia: needs to improve her pace and move the ball up the floor with passes more than dribbling. She needs to get better at creating space. Ice D on ball screens really stopped her last year.
Jelena: Needs to work on fitness so she can stay on the floor longer.
AJ: Has the most room to grow among the returners because she is such a good athlete. If she can improve finishing at the rim that would be huge. She was able to turn the corner on any defender she saw last year, now she needs to turn that into buckets.
Noelle: Needs to increase lateral speed. She can't much faster up and down but in her defensive stance she has more to give.
|
|
|
|
Post by qbeaver on Oct 20, 2022 13:22:02 GMT -8
I think the key to success is the perimeter game...guards both on offense and defense. That being said,Talia and Bendu on the defensive end and scoring. After them,the freshmen on the front line and how fast they adjust to PAC-10 level hoops will determine if we have a tourney team and how far we go. In my mind,the Los Angeles schools have left the conference is why I call it the PAC-10.
|
|
|
|
Post by beaverstever on Oct 20, 2022 13:24:12 GMT -8
I think we’ll see a jump with TvO if we have another volume scorer, and I think Gardiner can provide that. Talia had a lot more ways to contribute when Aleah took so much of the defense’s focus.
|
|
|
|
Post by willtalk on Oct 21, 2022 8:56:50 GMT -8
I think the key to success is the perimeter game...guards both on offense and defense. That being said,Talia and Bendu on the defensive end and scoring. After them,the freshmen on the front line and how fast they adjust to PAC-10 level hoops will determine if we have a tourney team and how far we go. In my mind,the Los Angeles schools have left the conference is why I call it the PAC-10. I would agree! The major problem last season was that the guards had issues both defending and knocking down 3pt shots for most of the early part of the season. They got open looks but just could not knock them down. The real issue was that they just continued to throw up bricks with not inclinations of getting the ball inside to post players. It improved once Greta was relegated to coming off the bench and that created more ball movement and opportunities for more players becoming involved in the offense. Talia and Greta on the floor together was not a good combination. That is generally true when you put to volume shooting guards on the floor at the same time. It works when your shooters are hot, but when they are not the offense grinds to a halt. |
|
|
|
Post by qbeaver on Oct 21, 2022 10:43:45 GMT -8
Perimeter players start your offense and your defense on any team...
|
|
|
|
Post by grad1973 on Oct 21, 2022 11:37:20 GMT -8
The purpose of having a 6-9 player is to get her the ball as much as possible. If we can get the low post game to produce. This will not put pressure on anybody else.
With post being a threat opens up all kinds of scoring possibilities.
If we have little continuity or flow we will be in trouble. I say everything feeds thru the post. We need to break down teams inside then go outside. Also our post if she Can face the basket can pass well. Which opens possibilities with the two freshmen. Both are three level shooters.
I say verdict is still open to prove.
|
|
|
|
Post by grayman on Oct 21, 2022 13:19:46 GMT -8
I think the key to success is the perimeter game...guards both on offense and defense. That being said,Talia and Bendu on the defensive end and scoring. After them,the freshmen on the front line and how fast they adjust to PAC-10 level hoops will determine if we have a tourney team and how far we go. In my mind,the Los Angeles schools have left the conference is why I call it the PAC-10. I would agree! The major problem last season was that the guards had issues both defending and knocking down 3pt shots for most of the early part of the season. They got open looks but just could not knock them down. The real issue was that they just continued to throw up bricks with not inclinations of getting the ball inside to post players. It improved once Greta was relegated to coming off the bench and that created more ball movement and opportunities for more players becoming involved in the offense. Talia and Greta on the floor together was not a good combination. That is generally true when you put to volume shooting guards on the floor at the same time. It works when your shooters are hot, but when they are not the offense grinds to a halt. I think a big reason the perimeter players were putting up a lot of shots (aside from the 3 being a key element of the offense) is that there wasn't enough consistent offensive output from the bigs. The Beavers are loaded with perimeter players coming into this season. I think it will be the strength of the team, which makes the improvement of Mitrovic all the more important. If the freshmen bigs can make an immediate impact, that would be huge. There just isn't a lot of depth in the frontcourt and I don't think Mitrovic is a high-minute player. Not getting another big through the transfer portal could become a major issue, but hopefully not. |
|
escott58
Sophomore
Posts: 1,301
Grad Year: 1983
|
Post by escott58 on Oct 22, 2022 11:56:45 GMT -8
One of the biggest unknows to me is Shalexxus Aaron. She has the potential to be a consistent, mature entry into the mix. She may not be hugely vocal, but she seems to be very observant.
The next month should answer a lot of questions that we're all anxiously awaiting!
|
|
|
|
Post by beavheart on Oct 23, 2022 10:40:33 GMT -8
Just hope that Yeaney and Pietch can handle the point and initiate the offense effectively. Really think that TVO would be more effective playing off the ball.
|
|
2ndGenBeaver
Sophomore
Posts: 1,828 
Grad Year: 1991 (MS/CS) 1999 (PhD/CS)
|
Post by 2ndGenBeaver on Oct 24, 2022 7:42:19 GMT -8
What struck me the other day as I start to ponder the upcoming season is essentially this topic.....
In what might be the best of the golden years (thus far) of WBB [i.e. 2015 - 2019], we had some proven, dominant players in key positions, we had enough of them, and they happened to be a tasteful mixture of paint players and beyond the arc players, which fed the SR outside-in and inside-out creativity with reliable results. What has happened of late is we either have arc players needing to make a "Kolbie leap" or paint players needing to do so (thank you transfer portal, Covid, homesickness, illness, injuries, etc) which stymies the SR playbook.
This year is no different, in that players like AJ and Jalena must make a "Kolbie leap" in order for us to be an upper echelon team.
What makes this year more intriguing is we have some *very* highly regarded paint players that might be able to verge on contributions not dissimilar from year 1 TVO levels, along with some highly regarded arc players that for whatever reason did not completely shine at the collegiate level thus far that might just find themselves, though our prospects have been hurt by the unforeseen departures.
I nominate Jalena for "player most likely to make the "Kolbie leap"", and Shalexxus as "player most likely to find her mojo", and I base the Jalena one on the fact that with her size, it will be hard for opposing players to neutralize her improvements (i.e. her improvements mostly rely on herself), and the Shalexxus one is just pure speculation coupled with liking what I have seen of her game :-).
Go Beavers!
|
|
|
|
Post by rmancarl on Oct 24, 2022 10:23:04 GMT -8
I'm not even sure Jelena needs to make a "Kolbie leap" for her and the team to be effective this season. If there was no improvement from Jelena, and she played 25 minutes per game instead of the 12-12.5 in her first two seasons, you would be looking at a player who is giving you near double/double numbers. If we get some improvement out of her, which I would expect, and if she can play 25+ minutes per game, we should expect her to average 9-12 points and 10ish rebounds per game. Nothing wrong with that from your starting center when you back her up with a top 10 recruit.
I don't know what to expect from Shalexxus. She's always been a good 3pt shooter, but not much from the 2pt range. I would expect the same at OSU, but I think the Beavs will put her in a position to have better shots, and SR likes her ball handling skills, which is much needed.
Bendu has every opportunity to have her best season ever. I would not consider her a PG, certainly no better a PG than Talia, but she will help take the pressure off, and will no doubt have the ball in her hands a lot. As a Sophomore Bendu averaged 9.7 ppg for Indiana. I expect very similar for the Beavs this season.
I expect improvement from AJ, but a "Kolvie leap" may be asking a bit much. Certainly she has the physical tools to be a real difference maker. The question becomes will she develop her skill set enough to match her physical tools, and will she learn to best use those skills. I would expect that process to take a couple years, but who knows, we would all love a surprise.
To me, the real success of this team is how quickly the freshman can come along. If any of the freshman, and most importantly, the two with size, can have first years similar to a Talia, or a Shasa, or a Syd, or a Taylor, etc, then the team will be in good shape.
It's going to be fun to see how this all plays out. My expectations for the team this season are low, but my hopes are high. I'm pulling for my hopes and not my expectations.
|
|
|
|
Post by lotrader on Oct 24, 2022 10:51:15 GMT -8
For OSU WBB to exceed BEAVERNATION's expectations, I think we need an "unexpected" "surprise" season performance from one of our freshman guard/wings. Not that we don't have expectations for our two freshmen BIGs.
|
|
