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Post by 411500 on Jul 1, 2018 12:56:22 GMT -8
A few general observations on Aleah Goodman's first season at OSU...
There is a lot to like about Goodman's game, and there will be even more to like about it at this time next year.
In her first year in the program Aleah had a bumpy go of it. She showed enough flashes of excellence that the overall expectations for her remain high, but she also had a few trouble spots that need improvement before she can become a starter for the Beavs.
This past season AG averaged about 6 points per game, shot a sizzling 46% from the 3 point line (among the very best in the country). She led the team in scoring in 2 games (against UCSB & WSU) - and this is no easy feat coming off the bench. She pretty much saved the Beavs in Pullman...Coaches love players who can come off the bench and score, so do fans, and this is a big plus in Aleah's game. She comes in blazing.
Defense: It is hard for me to make an informed comment on her D because I have not seen her in person enough. In the OSU system the best defence is played away from the ball, in designated lanes, and lots of help-D. Rueck coaches a position-specific D, and demands tough box-out habits. So, whether Aleah is viewed as a top defender I do not know. (Maybe someone can help me out on this one).
Ball handling skills: From November to January she had considerable difficulty handling the ball in the back court. Especially against the aggressive, quick handed ballhawks lining up at USC & UCLA. As Feb.-March rolled around she showed dramatic improvement. She lowered her dribble making it tougher to swipe the ball away. She is a bit of a straight back dribbler (much like Pivec) and this is no-no for a ball handler. By the time she hit the NCAAs her control of the ball was solid. This kind of improvement is the mark of good coaching and dedicated work ethic.
Offensive skills: Aleah's offensive skill set is high - much higher than anything we saw in her first year. She is a premiere 3 point shooter; she has the best step back 3 of all players who saw the floor. She can nail 3s off the dribble better than any of her teammates. She is a good open court passer and that fits in perfectly with a team that likes to run.
Floor time next season: On any other team a player like Goodman would be ready to step into a starting position after putting together a solid, sometimes impressive, rookie season. Unfortunately for Aleah the Beavs are adding two guards that bring super high expectations - Destiny Slocum & Jasmine Simmons. These two are going to make it very tough for Goodman to jump to the front of the line. It is speculated that in two years Slocum and Simmons could be every bit as potent as Wiese and Weisner, a stratospheric expectation.
Last word: Coach R makes it clear that he likes Goodman, and that he believes that she has a high ceiling. I agree. Sometimes we lose sight of her fundamental strength - she's tall, she handles the ball, and she drills the 3 consistently and persistently. Coaches love those kids - and there aren't many of them to love.
If the Bigs get as much floor time next year as many here expect, Goodman will make sure they have room to roam. You can't leave Aleah alone. She spreads the court and that, unto itself, guarantees her floor time in 2018-19.
GO BEAVS !!
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Post by jegerklog on Jul 1, 2018 16:31:25 GMT -8
Quite a nice summary. I did notice that Goodman played with increase confidence and aggressiveness as the season matured. As an uneducated fan it is hard to concentrate on defensive players away from the ball and even then hard to completely understand what is going on.
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Post by shelby on Jul 1, 2018 17:56:36 GMT -8
One thing I noticed was how susceptible our girls, in general, were to the backdoor strip. Especially Pivec and Tudor, and due to playing time and to a lesser extent Aleah.
Additionally, on our entry passes to Marie, there were way too many forced passes which were easily intercepted or knocked away. Better passing, better lane creation and quicker recognition and reaction, would yield a much better outcome.
The defense certainly over - defended us on our pass penetration.
Maybe we see an improvement in that area as well - especially since we have more height inside.
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Post by believeinthebeavs on Jul 1, 2018 18:17:43 GMT -8
Rueck compared her to Sage Indendi when she first signed her nli. Coming from the coach that is high praise. Not the most athletic player on the court but have a very high basketball IQ. She is also a true point guard, and proven winner.
I read an interview with Aleah, she did she wasn't a three point shooter in high school but knowing she is relatively short she knew she would have to become one. She spent the spring and summer of her senior year working on it. Looks like she succeeded. She changed her game every year in high school to fill the need, one year she was a scorer the next she lead the state in assists feeding the ball to her team mates especially Wedin.
She is a good solid defender, once again it was something some she identified her need for improvement. As a senior she led her team to victories over Southridge (6A champs) and South Salem (6A 3rd place team). Her team was undefeated against Oregon schools. Against South Salem she completely shut down Westbrook, think Gabby vs Plum.
It did take her a while to get up to the speed of the Pac 12 but once she did she was able to make an impact whenever she was on the court. With her and Destiny here for the next three years we have the point guard position covered nicely. She could easily play a wing if needed.
She will make large strides in her game for next season, at least I hope so.
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Post by beaveragain on Jul 1, 2018 19:24:29 GMT -8
I, and I think most if not all of us, assume Destiny is the main PG for next year. But Destiny played in a very different system at Maryland both in defense and in offense and it's not a given that she will excel with Rueck's style of bball. We are very fortunate that Aleah is here to take up whatever slack that may develop.
Aleah started off the season with a couple of faults some of which she seems to have resolved. For instance she had a nervous habit of playing with the ball that resulted in some turnovers, but she seems to have stopped that.
She has good court awareness, but to be great defensively she needs to work on what the next move is. ie She is good at staying with the ball and fronting the player who has it, but she needs to be more aware of where the ball could go next. At times she can overplay the ball and leave the option wide open. Mostly defensively she just needs more practice at this level.
On offense Aleah at the beginning of the season just wasn't ready for the speed of college ball. But as the season went along she got better with ball movement, defending her ball, anticipating other players movement, etc.
I think Destiny is tired of cheering from the sidelines, but if she isn't ..... 8 )
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2ndGenBeaver
Sophomore
Posts: 1,827 
Grad Year: 1991 (MS/CS) 1999 (PhD/CS)
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Post by 2ndGenBeaver on Jul 1, 2018 22:45:11 GMT -8
We have all been assuming DS is going to be the starter at PG, and quite honestly, I believe that as well. That said, ~8 of the 10 available players last year saw double digit minutes per game. So Aleah will continue to be a factor.... And we shouldn't discount Aleah's proven ability to remake her game: to wit, she decided to overcome her perceived height disadvantage by adding the 3 point shot to her arsenal, and was among the nation's best for the year. As noted already, her ball handling improved light years over the course of the season. I marveled at her court work in the tournament, because she started using the dribble to her advantage, while earlier in the year it was an advertisement for the lightning quick guards against her to pick her pocket. Her court vision and passing was very good, and her basketball IQ incredibly high. She likely cannot become lightning quick, but I believe she will add more components to her game that will continue to make her if not a starter than always a factor. Two things I really like about her game this past season: 1) the ability to take over a game when we need someone to step up - we would have had a dreadful blemish on our record this last season against WSU if not for her single handed heroics. 2) her quick uptake - I saw her dribbling, defense (ability to anticipate opponent moves) and her communication with the team improve leaps and bounds over the season. I saw her make corrections *within* a game. Just to compare - Mik, a very heady and cerebral player, still has the nasty habit of dribbling right to the rim and then picking up her dribble and getting stuck - a carryover from her HS post playing days. Contrast that with Aleah within games changing her dribble when her pocket gets picked, or changing her defense when the opponent would capitalize on her lapse. OK, I have to add a third - I loved in games when she knew her 3 point shot was spot on, she would launch and be headed back up the court before the ball would even get to the basket (very different than Kat who would hold her pose until the rainbow drew rain and then found the pot of gold on the other end......). But I loved it! I predict Aleah continues to grow in the leadership department, adds more tools to her offensive arsenal, and continues to be in the mix for 10-20 minutes a game. I have already used my tag for "most headroom between current state and ceiling" vote on Taya in that thread (great topic for the offseason, incidentally, 411500 ), but if there was ever a close second, I think it might be Aleah. I suspect the leadership heir apparents after KTMac graduates are going to be DS and Aleah. Go Beavers! |
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Post by rmancarl on Jul 2, 2018 12:48:40 GMT -8
Thanks for doing these, 411500. I enjoy reading them. Personally, I consider myself far...FAR...from being an expert. I loved Aleah's game as a Freshman. The only problem I saw with her game was that she was susceptible to turnovers if guarded by someone with quicks. Some of you mentioned her improvement during the course of the year, and I hope that is true. I like her game though, and it is obvious she played an important role last year, and you would expect great improvement from Freshman to Sophomore years. That brings up the question we have all been asking though. There are a lot of capable guards/wings on the roster for this coming season, and you have to wonder how that is all going to shake out.
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Post by lotrader on Jul 2, 2018 13:47:51 GMT -8
Aleah had a typical and atypical freshman year:
Typical: PAC12 Game speed was quicker than Aleah. Defending a good/great PAC12 point guard, or, physical guard, demonstrated that Aleah needs improvement on 1-on-1 defense. Good news is that Aleah KNOWS where/how she needs to improve on defense. As already pointed out, ball handling was a problem against quicker/stronger guards, and, her entry post passing suffered early in the year against athletic defenses. Again, Aleah made dramatic improvements from the beginning to end of season.
ATypical: Only player (and a freshman) on entire team that can separate from defender and get off a 3-point shot (and make it!). Aleah's confidence as a scorer is way beyond what I expected to see from her--she wants the ball. Her ability to improve quickly & address her deficiencies is impressive. She exuded confidence (as a freshman) and never seemed to "defer" to the upper class teammates. She is an intelligent player....just need her physical skills to catch up to her mental game.
All in All, Aleah has upside. Rueck loves her game, and she flat out has game. I really hope that she trains hard physically over the off season so she comes back stronger/quicker in her 2nd year (much like Kat Tudor). Aleah doesn't have to play the point, she can play a wing all day long and be a HUGE contributor. We are stacked at the guard position.
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Post by Werebeaver on Jul 3, 2018 19:13:19 GMT -8
Aleah had a typical and atypical freshman year: Typical: PAC12 Game speed was quicker than Aleah. Defending a good/great PAC12 point guard, or, physical guard, demonstrated that Aleah needs improvement on 1-on-1 defense. Good news is that Aleah KNOWS where/how she needs to improve on defense. As already pointed out, ball handling was a problem against quicker/stronger guards, and, her entry post passing suffered early in the year against athletic defenses. Again, Aleah made dramatic improvements from the beginning to end of season. ATypical: Only player (and a freshman) on entire team that can separate from defender and get off a 3-point shot (and make it!). Aleah's confidence as a scorer is way beyond what I expected to see from her--she wants the ball. Her ability to improve quickly & address her deficiencies is impressive. She exuded confidence (as a freshman) and never seemed to "defer" to the upper class teammates. She is an intelligent player....just need her physical skills to catch up to her mental game. All in All, Aleah has upside. Rueck loves her game, and she flat out has game. I really hope that she trains hard physically over the off season so she comes back stronger/quicker in her 2nd year (much like Kat Tudor). Aleah doesn't have to play the point, she can play a wing all day long and be a HUGE contributor. We are stacked at the guard position. How about Aleah’s ability to drive to the basket? Seems like that needs to improve as Pivec, McWilliams, Tudor, Slocum and apparently Simmons possess that skill. If Aleah is limited exclusively to perimeter shooting (like Lexi Bando) her utility in Rueck’s system will be limited. |
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Post by 411500 on Jul 14, 2018 13:46:31 GMT -8
Bringing to the top of the thread.....
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