C
ChrisWellbaum
Guest
After a quick nap, some notes and observations from the loss to UConn:
- That was a tremendous game. Neither team had their A game, but it was at least a B. It was definitely worthy of “Roundball Rock” as the bump music.
- That sets it apart from the NC State loss. That game required some soul-searching afterwards. This requires a few tweaks that will hopefully make the teams better come March. “That’s why you schedule these games,” Geno Auriemma said.
- Some of those tweaks: getting Aliyah Boston involved earlier. Three shot attempts in the first half is not good enough. Sometimes she needs to be more aggressive, but mostly her teammates need to be more aware. She showed repeatedly Monday night that she doesn’t just score in the low post, she can drive from the high post or hit jumpers (just no more step-back threes with the game on the line).
- Cut down on dribbling. Larry Brown liked to say, "Don't just dribble, go somewhere." All those drives into the lane that just - stopped - didn’t go anywhere, and often resulted in turnovers. When Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke were more selective, it gave Boston, Brea Beal, and LeLe Grissett post up opportunities. Dawn Staley said they weren’t used to the Nike basketball, something she has mentioned in the past. It did seem like they were having issues, but Staley also said that they need to adapt, which they only did in spots. I'll try to have more on this later.
- Paige Bueckers was incredible. She looks like she should be a freshman in high school, not college, and I think that causes some people to discount her (I saw a bunch of comments about a “tiny freshman”). But she is 5-11 and very long. That length gave South Carolina fits. Cooke played good defense on Bueckers, but she kept scoring on backdoor cuts because she could just reach past Cooke for the ball and score. And yes, the three at the end was a lucky shot, but that’s why they say great players make their own luck.
- South Carolina has to feel good about how it defended everyone but Bueckers. The rest of the team was 15-47. “Defensively we did our job. Offensively is what we had issues with,” Staley said.
- I suspect Staley would like a mulligan with how she rotated players. Victoria Saxton’s early foul trouble messed up the rotation, and Boston (43) and Beal (45) ended up playing extremely heavy minutes. Staley probably would have tried to get them a few breathers if she had a do-over.
- Speaking of Saxton, it’s a completely different game if Saxton and Olivia Nelson-Ododa aren’t in foul trouble. Saxton had five points and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes, and had the only positive plus/minus on the team, +6. She puts up good numbers on her own, but she really helps South Carolina’s offense flow. Nelson-Ododa was picking South Carolina apart in the first half, but was barely a factor in the second half when she was in foul trouble.
- If you didn’t have visions of Duke 2014 when Victaria Saxton and Aliyah Boston were grabbing those offensive rebounds in the final seconds, you must be new to this.
- That was a tremendous game. Neither team had their A game, but it was at least a B. It was definitely worthy of “Roundball Rock” as the bump music.
- That sets it apart from the NC State loss. That game required some soul-searching afterwards. This requires a few tweaks that will hopefully make the teams better come March. “That’s why you schedule these games,” Geno Auriemma said.
- Some of those tweaks: getting Aliyah Boston involved earlier. Three shot attempts in the first half is not good enough. Sometimes she needs to be more aggressive, but mostly her teammates need to be more aware. She showed repeatedly Monday night that she doesn’t just score in the low post, she can drive from the high post or hit jumpers (just no more step-back threes with the game on the line).
- Cut down on dribbling. Larry Brown liked to say, "Don't just dribble, go somewhere." All those drives into the lane that just - stopped - didn’t go anywhere, and often resulted in turnovers. When Destanni Henderson and Zia Cooke were more selective, it gave Boston, Brea Beal, and LeLe Grissett post up opportunities. Dawn Staley said they weren’t used to the Nike basketball, something she has mentioned in the past. It did seem like they were having issues, but Staley also said that they need to adapt, which they only did in spots. I'll try to have more on this later.
- Paige Bueckers was incredible. She looks like she should be a freshman in high school, not college, and I think that causes some people to discount her (I saw a bunch of comments about a “tiny freshman”). But she is 5-11 and very long. That length gave South Carolina fits. Cooke played good defense on Bueckers, but she kept scoring on backdoor cuts because she could just reach past Cooke for the ball and score. And yes, the three at the end was a lucky shot, but that’s why they say great players make their own luck.
- South Carolina has to feel good about how it defended everyone but Bueckers. The rest of the team was 15-47. “Defensively we did our job. Offensively is what we had issues with,” Staley said.
- I suspect Staley would like a mulligan with how she rotated players. Victoria Saxton’s early foul trouble messed up the rotation, and Boston (43) and Beal (45) ended up playing extremely heavy minutes. Staley probably would have tried to get them a few breathers if she had a do-over.
- Speaking of Saxton, it’s a completely different game if Saxton and Olivia Nelson-Ododa aren’t in foul trouble. Saxton had five points and eight rebounds in just 24 minutes, and had the only positive plus/minus on the team, +6. She puts up good numbers on her own, but she really helps South Carolina’s offense flow. Nelson-Ododa was picking South Carolina apart in the first half, but was barely a factor in the second half when she was in foul trouble.
- If you didn’t have visions of Duke 2014 when Victaria Saxton and Aliyah Boston were grabbing those offensive rebounds in the final seconds, you must be new to this.
