Post by 411500 on Jan 6, 2024 16:48:32 GMT -8
I just finished watching the replay for the 3rd time.
So, I have assembled a few thoughts on the game - most of which have been stated better elsewhere on this baord, but some not.
General Observations:
The Beavs played tougher and with more tenacity than I have seen this year. A very good sign.
Team defense AND individual one-on-one defense was very good last night, and, as near as I can tell, better than the Beavs have shown thus far this year.
Team passing in the half-court offence was crisp and purposeful. An impressive improvement over last year.
U.S.C. is a team whose sum is less than its parts. They waste a lot of talent. Gottleib has not yet mastered how to get the entire team totally invested when a legit star is the dominant focus. She needs to study the Iowa coach to learn how to engineer total team participation with a super-super-star in the mix.
Particular observations:
Hunter has the makings of a premiere point guard. She handled a ton of pressure effectively, she made few poor passes, scored when it was there, and got banged around without getting shook up. Excellent point guard play by every measure.
Gardiner is becoming an impressive rebounder.
Hansford and Rees lack strength and volume but they both are tough and tenacious.
Beers has exceptional footwork and relentless finishing power in paint. She lacks the extension of Gulich and Hamblin, but her footwork and her positioning, I think, is already better than either of these two Beaver legends.
Concluding observations:
Last night the Beavs played better than I thought they would, or could.
No matter how solid you play as a team, however, you still need shooters - and the Beavs have yet to find a good one. A few solid shooters. But a consistent, dependable, deadly shooter has not yet emerged. This is far from a minor problem for this year's team.
Tomorrow against UCLA we'll see if the many good things the Beavs did right against USC repeat themselves. If they do, Rueck will be impressed with what he's accomplished in the first 14 games of the year.
But somebody, somewhere on this team has got to turn into a shooter!!
GO BEAVS!!
