In the country. Tonight they scored 30 in the first and only 12 in the second. That has happened in many games
Our lady bball team has got to one of the worst 2nd quarter teams...
- Thread starter aj&uscgrad
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Dawn's previous teams could play tenacious defense not this one. The other team has many lay ups and open jumpers. Those bigger guards are slower.
Tough to follow up the greatest season in school history with what is really a totally different team. Last year you basically had 6 starters (Because Bianca becomes starter after Alaina Coates injury). In recent years, USC always had one consistent defensive stopper on the perimeter and sometimes more than one (Gaines, Mitchell, Dozier, Cuevas at times etc). This year, not so much. Bianca Jackson did a nice job in the Duke game, but since then we've seen opposing guards go off, like McCay did last night (and she was really the only offensive weapon they had and USC still couldn't stop her).
Back to my original point:
Last year's starters: Coates (graduated/WNBA), Wilson (still here), Davis (WNBA), Gray (WNBA), Harris (still here), Cuevas (out for the year with ACL).
This year's team is good, but obviously does not have the "star power" beyond A'ja. This year's starters:
Wilson - one of the nation's best when healthy (if she's out for TN game, SC will get crushed)
Harris - turning into a great point guard, no doubt. Not a consistent threat from the outside.
Spann - a good outside shooting threat, but like most who are strictly 3 point shooters, she is streaky and has not yet found the form in SEC play that she showed in non-conference play (only 33% from 3 in SEC play).
Jennings - A good post, but not a beast like Coates (then again, Coates was a special, so a tough comparison).
Jackson/Cliney - The freshman shows promise, but not an every night scorer. Cliney has definitely improved, but very inconsistent defensively and with decision-making in passing (twice as many turnovers as assists in SEC play).
The rest of the league has gotten really good. Miss State is still very legit with what they have back (McCowan has turned into a beast down low and they have great veteran guards). Tennessee has very good veterans in Nared and Russell and their freshmen have made a big impact. Missouri (as dirty as they are) is very good.
Overall, USC hasn't had a great recruiting class since A'ja's class (I don't count transfers as those can fall in your lap, even though we've had some success in luring those who seek to transfer, but hard to continually build with folks who only play one year).
It's odd to me that USC hasn't been able to secure those freshman studs with all the success they've had, but I guess I understand why some still choose UCONN over USC (I'll never understand how they choose Baylor though!). With not as much in-state talent in the last few years, USC has suffered in the recruiting dept. in my opinion (again, I'm comparing to a very high standard that was set a few years ago).
Back to my original point:
Last year's starters: Coates (graduated/WNBA), Wilson (still here), Davis (WNBA), Gray (WNBA), Harris (still here), Cuevas (out for the year with ACL).
This year's team is good, but obviously does not have the "star power" beyond A'ja. This year's starters:
Wilson - one of the nation's best when healthy (if she's out for TN game, SC will get crushed)
Harris - turning into a great point guard, no doubt. Not a consistent threat from the outside.
Spann - a good outside shooting threat, but like most who are strictly 3 point shooters, she is streaky and has not yet found the form in SEC play that she showed in non-conference play (only 33% from 3 in SEC play).
Jennings - A good post, but not a beast like Coates (then again, Coates was a special, so a tough comparison).
Jackson/Cliney - The freshman shows promise, but not an every night scorer. Cliney has definitely improved, but very inconsistent defensively and with decision-making in passing (twice as many turnovers as assists in SEC play).
The rest of the league has gotten really good. Miss State is still very legit with what they have back (McCowan has turned into a beast down low and they have great veteran guards). Tennessee has very good veterans in Nared and Russell and their freshmen have made a big impact. Missouri (as dirty as they are) is very good.
Overall, USC hasn't had a great recruiting class since A'ja's class (I don't count transfers as those can fall in your lap, even though we've had some success in luring those who seek to transfer, but hard to continually build with folks who only play one year).
It's odd to me that USC hasn't been able to secure those freshman studs with all the success they've had, but I guess I understand why some still choose UCONN over USC (I'll never understand how they choose Baylor though!). With not as much in-state talent in the last few years, USC has suffered in the recruiting dept. in my opinion (again, I'm comparing to a very high standard that was set a few years ago).
I blame last night's 2nd quarter lethargy on Dawn's uncharacteristic substitution pattern. She benched 4 starters for 4 minutes to start the quarter. We lost all our offensive cohesion, we let Auburn survive instead of just piling it on. It told the team the game was already over and we played like it. I understand wanting to get the bench experience so they grow but the game is 40 minutes NOT 10!
We are really missing Bianca Cuevas-Moore as she was our defensive stopper on the outside and hounded the best guard on the other team.
We don't have anyone to defend small, quick guards. Spann is an average defender, at best, and Jackson is too green. Cliney often gets the assignment, but she's a wing defender. We miss BCM, obviously. I hope Cooper can defend, if she's eligible.
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Very well thought out assessment. BCM and T'ea Cooper definitely missing links for us. The other concern is the strategy teams are using against A'ja. Two or three defenders constantly banging on her down low. She is taking a beating, and very little of it gets called. Worked for Mizzou and almost worked for Allbarn. Other teams will do the same. Watch those replays of games, or watch the next game focusing on her. I don't think fans recognize the way she is hammered constantly. Surprised she hasn't had more injuries than she has had. Teams will substitute lesser quality players just to go in for a while and hound her. Teams tried that last year, but with Alaina, Davis, and Gray, it didn't work so well. Not discounting the effort of this year's team at all, they just have a tough act to follow. Need a bench player or two to step up. We are not done yet.
1.If they needed the three to four minute break from the end of the quarter and a full four minutes of game time, not including dead balls, then we are sadly out of shape
2. Dawn's typical substitution pattern is not to take out four starters out of a game unless it is the fourth quarter and we are up big
Win, do you think with the big first quarter lead, Dawn may have been guilty of looking forward to the TN game Sunday and trying not to over work the first team? I agree that would be somewhat out of character for her, but it is a loooooong season.
Dawn does a great job of developing players in season. Part of how She does this is making sure they get game time. I think she was trying to season the bench and the mojo just went away.
We never let them truly back in the game, but we didn't knock out a clearly inferior opponent when we had a chance
Well outlined and stated. Am concerned about what the program will look like once Aja graduates. The point about not having a good recruiting class since Aja and the rise of other SEC programs could catch up with this program and our domination of the SEC over the last several years if something doesn't change.
