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Post by skyrider on Feb 11, 2018 9:47:35 GMT -8
This years women's basketball team appears to have more overall depth and talent than some of Coach Rueck's previous versions.
However they often seem to struggle with teams that do not appear to have the talent or the depth that they do. A case in point was their game on Friday against WSU.
WSU (who is near the bottom in the PAC12 standings) had three players suspended and I believe two players out with injury, and yet probably deserved to win the game.
Beavers seem to have a lot of offensive potential, so perhaps they are not playing defense as well as some of the past Beaver squads?
To me, it feels like a team that can be terrific at times, and at other times (like 13 points in a half against WSU) seems less than average.
Maybe that is the mark of a young team.
Go Beavs!
P.S. Pivec had some terrific strong drives and finishes to the basket in the WSU game. I would like to see more of that. Her combination of speed and strength makes her very difficult for opposing defenses to stop. |
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Post by bennyskid on Feb 11, 2018 10:14:51 GMT -8
Simply enough, this team has some flaws. Some opponents have the personnel and coaching to take advantage, others don't. Mainly, we don't have a true PG to protect the ball and stress the defense, and we lack power at the 4-spot. Fortunately, not every team has a Jordin Canada or Borislava Hristova to punish us.
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Post by skyrider on Feb 11, 2018 10:20:39 GMT -8
Simply enough, this team has some flaws. Some opponents have the personnel and coaching to take advantage, others don't. Mainly, we don't have a true PG to protect the ball and stress the defense, and we lack power at the 4-spot. Fortunately, not every team has a Jordin Canada or Borislava Hristova to punish us. Excellent observations! Obviously Destiny appears to be the solution at point guard. Corsdale is a very talented player in many ways. Do you think she will be able to develop more strength and power in the future and thus fill the void at power forward? |
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Post by ricke71 on Feb 11, 2018 10:26:14 GMT -8
another point...and not an excuse: PAC 12 Road Games are really tough, no matter who the opponent (ask the MBB team).
To systematically come back from the huge Q1 hole on Friday night...on the road...and then to top it off with incredibly heady plays in the last 2 seconds of regulation and the last 2 seconds of OT speaks volumes. And though Marie is unquestionably the 'leader' of this squad, ALL of the players directly involved in both of those clutch plays will be back next season.
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Post by skyrider on Feb 11, 2018 10:52:35 GMT -8
another point...and not an excuse: PAC 12 Road Games are really tough, no matter who the opponent (ask the MBB team). To systematically come back from the huge Q1 hole on Friday night...on the road...and then to top it off with incredibly heady plays in the last 2 seconds of regulation and the last 2 seconds of OT speaks volumes. And though Marie is unquestionably the 'leader' of this squad, ALL of the players directly involved in both of those clutch plays will be back next season. Also, I wonder if it is sometimes difficult for the OSU team to get "up" for a game when virtually no fans are in attendance (very few fans were at the WSU game-it almost looked like there were more Beaver fans than WSU fans). You made a great point about the "incredibly heady plays". I really like Goodman, I think she is a potentially great player for the Beavs. |
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Post by beaveragain on Feb 11, 2018 15:44:37 GMT -8
Some games it's hard to hit the broad side of Gill, let alone a tiny basket way up in the air. What I found encouraging was that despite their worst game shooting they kept their head in the game and rebounded and played decent D. So long as they play D and rebound they can beat pretty much anyone. If they get down emotionally and don't take care of rebounding and D, they will lose (Stanford and UCLA). I think the real downer about the PG situation is that Mik's development has been delayed. Taking on the PG job has meant that she hasn't been able to work on her scoring abilities. As others have noted her drives are pretty much the same as last year. She tends to lose track of where she is during her drives and when she gets cut off she doesn't have an alternative ready to use (has to look for someone to dump off to). This something that practice teaches you and she is practicing being a PG instead. She is doing what she can to help the team. Next year when she can practice her natural inclinations I think she will be a dominator.
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Post by skyrider on Feb 11, 2018 17:10:38 GMT -8
Some games it's hard to hit the broad side of Gill, let alone a tiny basket way up in the air. What I found encouraging was that despite their worst game shooting they kept their head in the game and rebounded and played decent D. So long as they play D and rebound they can beat pretty much anyone. If they get down emotionally and don't take care of rebounding and D, they will lose (Stanford and UCLA). I think the real downer about the PG situation is that Mik's development has been delayed. Taking on the PG job has meant that she hasn't been able to work on her scoring abilities. As others have noted her drives are pretty much the same as last year. She tends to lose track of where she is during her drives and when she gets cut off she doesn't have an alternative ready to use (has to look for someone to dump off to). This something that practice teaches you and she is practicing being a PG instead. She is doing what she can to help the team. Next year when she can practice her natural inclinations I think she will be a dominator. |
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Post by skyrider on Feb 11, 2018 17:15:25 GMT -8
Great observation about Pivec. I had not considered that aspect of the situation. What a difficult match up for other teams, if she developed a mid range jump shot off her drives as well as some of the "tear drop" or "floater shots". Also I would imagine she could post up players that were several inches taller than she is just because of her strength and quickness
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