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Alaina Coates on her way to Dallas

My counter-attack is working well!

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So, you're saying that those who maintain that we play better without her are not correct.
I'd say that the people that are saying this are doing an injustice to Alaina. She deserves better than that.

She never had an opportunity to play in this style of offense, so who really knows what she could do. She's an excellent athlete that runs the floor very well for her size, and I think she would do more than hold her own.
 
She has been Fine.. It has been a Ploy by Dawn to allow other players to "hone" their games for the Final two.. She will start against Stanford IF they think they need her prior to UCONN Game..
 
If it were me I'd just ask for the shot. It's ankle injury right? If they gave her the pain shot it wouldn't damage her for life unlike a rotator cut injury. I hope she can play
 
I'm so glad Alaina is going; what an emotional boost for the team. I understand we sold our entire allotment for Dallas, which is wonderful since the men are playing, too. I'm flying to Dallas for the women's semis then to Phoenix for the men's semis. The weather looks good so I don't anticipate any delays.
 
The tweet doesn't say anything about her possibly playing...It says she is going there to be with her teammates...

SO MUCH FOR CONSPIRACY THEORIES!! I guess the CIA evidence of Russian interference is as bogus as always
So what is her injury? All I heard weeks ago was ankle. Simple sprain? Ligaments? High ankle sprain? If she just sprained her ankle again, she should be ready to go again. I don't get it. It's been something like seventeen days now?
 
So what is her injury? All I heard weeks ago was ankle. Simple sprain? Ligaments? High ankle sprain? If she just sprained her ankle again, she should be ready to go again. I don't get it. It's been something like seventeen days now?

Dude please....a high ankle sprain is as bad a break...it takes at least 4 weeks...the mystery is why Dawn allowed her to play in the SEC tournament...Coates wanted to give it a go...Coach Staley should have said heck no the National Championship is the prize...But HBCs have a soft spot for seniors
 
I'm happy for her that she gets to experience the FF again even if from the sidelines. The team can use her senior leadership and feed off her cheering from the bench. Great teams adapt and this team has done that. To say the team is better without her is to forget the contributions she has made over the last 4 years of her career. IMHO the team would not have this opportunity without her. She along with many others are the foundation bricks of this program.
 
The team is better with only one big at a time offensively. We sure could have used her size, D, rebounding and general badass toughness against ASU & FSU. She would add so much depth and flexibility playing 15 minutes
 
The team is better with only one big at a time offensively. We sure could have used her size, D, rebounding and general badass toughness against ASU & FSU. She would add so much depth and flexibility playing 15 minutes

exactly right...FSU is so athletic and physical on the boards, playing them without Coates scared the crap out of me...Beating them without Alaina and Wilson being benched with fouls for 22 minutes is an amazing achievement...It speaks volumes for the talent and character of our roster...
 
The team is better with only one big at a time offensively. We sure could have used her size, D, rebounding and general badass toughness against ASU & FSU. She would add so much depth and flexibility playing 15 minutes

The defense is better as well against smaller lineups that can space the floor. The Mizzou game is an example where two bigs were ineffective defensively.

But I think you nailed it stating we miss her rebounding, toughness and size against bigger lineups. You're also right about the 15 minutes per game, and I believe that's where the "we're better without her" comes from. We all know Dawn is loyal to her seniors, so she would never diminish Coates' role and increase Kaela Davis' role if Coates were healthy. So we're not better without her, but her absence allows/forces coach to play A'ja at the 5 for most of the game and to give Davis a bigger role in the offense.
 
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by the way, did anyone notice after beating Mississippi State in the SEC tournament, Coach Staley say something to the effective of "we knew A'ja could play tough when she needs to"? I get the feeling coach wants her to play the 5 more, but Wilson isn't so enthused. I know her dad thinks she's a "point forward." But in today's game, with all these small lineups, there is no one for her to guard except the opposing big. So Coates' absence forces Wilson to play a position she might not desire to play otherwise, and to her credit she has risen to the challenge.
 
The defense is better as well against smaller lineups that can space the floor. The Mizzou game is an example where two bigs were ineffective defensively.

But I think you nailed it stating we miss her rebounding, toughness and size against bigger lineups. You're also right about the 15 minutes per game, and I believe that's where the "we're better without her" comes from. We all know Dawn is loyal to her seniors, so she would never diminish Coates' role and increase Kaela Davis' role if Coates were healthy. So we're not better without her, but her absence allows/forces coach to play A'ja at the 5 for most of the game and to give Davis a bigger role in the offense.

I haven't watched every WBB game, but from what I have seen, with two bigs, our game plan seemed to be pass-pass-pass-pass....goinside! That worked outstandingly well against smaller, inferior teams, but not quite as well against the bigger, stronger ones. With only A'ja in there, - And while she can still post up well - we're forced to do some different things with the O which has been working pretty well! We're fortunate that we've had others step up and step into roles in the offense change.
 
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I haven't watched every WBB game, but from what I have seen, with two bigs, our game plan seemed to be pass-pass-pass-pass....goinside! That worked outstandingly well against smaller, inferior teams, but not quite as well against the bigger, stronger ones. With only A'ja in there, - And while she can still post up well - we're forced to do some different things with the O which has been working pretty well! We're fortunate that we've had others step up and step into roles in the offense change.

Teams have to guard A'ja to the free throw line. She's very good facing the basket from that range, which opens up the low post for Davis to drive. Coates is strictly a low post offensive threat. And a very good one, I should add. She almost always draw a double, if not triple, team. The problem is we're not exactly loaded with players capable of hitting open 3 pointers. We also struggle at time with the entry pass. We mostly rely on A'ja to get Coates the ball.
 
Dude please....a high ankle sprain is as bad a break...it takes at least 4 weeks...the mystery is why Dawn allowed her to play in the SEC tournament...Coates wanted to give it a go...Coach Staley should have said heck no the National Championship is the prize...But HBCs have a soft spot for seniors
Dude, please, I asked if it was a simple sprain or a high ankle sprain! I know the difference! My question, since you seemed confused was to ask what was the extent of her injury. Like I pointed out, if it was just a simple sprain, she should be ready to go by now. Some people just need to learn how to read, geez!!!
 
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I'm so glad Alaina is going; what an emotional boost for the team. I understand we sold our entire allotment for Dallas, which is wonderful since the men are playing, too. I'm flying to Dallas for the women's semis then to Phoenix for the men's semis. The weather looks good so I don't anticipate any delays.
Respect to you. Have a great Trip.
 
Dude, please, I asked if it was a simple sprain or a high ankle sprain! I know the difference! My question, since you seemed confused was to ask what was the extent of her injury. Like I pointed out, if it was just a simple sprain, she should be ready to go by now. Some people just need to learn how to read, geez!!!
If that's what you meant you must work for CNN...You noted it had been 17 days...Obviously it was not a simple sprain or she would be back...We have known for 3 weeks it was a high ankle sprain and she was out for the tournament...
 
I'm so glad Alaina is going; what an emotional boost for the team. I understand we sold our entire allotment for Dallas, which is wonderful since the men are playing, too. I'm flying to Dallas for the women's semis then to Phoenix for the men's semis. The weather looks good so I don't anticipate any delays.
Then hopefully back to Dallas for the women's finals, then hopefully back again to Phoenix for the men's finals?
 
Never heard anyone say it was a high ankle sprain. I thought someone said it was on the inside of the foot, not the outside where you typically sprain the ankle. Either way, if she was out for this long, obviously it was something more serious than a sprain. Don't know if she had surgery. It just sucks for her since she is a senior and she is a big reason why the Gamecocks won so many games over the last 4 years.
 
If that's what you meant you must work for CNN...You noted it had been 17 days...Obviously it was not a simple sprain or she would be back...We have known for 3 weeks it was a high ankle sprain and she was out for the tournament...
And once again, I asked the question because I never heard what the injury was. Read my original post, Jesus. Your ridiculous CNN comment is just that, ridiculous. Why you want to get into a pissing contest is beyond me. I asked a very simple question and you want to start acting like you are? Ok, fine! Don't respond to any more of my posts. Do us both a favor.
 
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