cowboysooner
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- Joined
- Dec 3, 2008
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Basketball in the SEC is hard and tough. Every night. We have lost a couple close games we could have won by having a different outcome on just a few plays. We miss Liz's toughness in the paint. Freshmen are talented but unfocused (which is exactly what you get from 99% of freshmen).
Kind of like in golf, some kids will lack focus at the start of the round, make a poor decision and make a triple bogey (including missing a tap in). Then play 17 holes one under, and still shoot over par. It all counts. Chavez in almost every game takes a bunch of poor ill advised shots in the first quarter, then pulls her head out, and plays better as the game wears on. Problem is, it all matters. A turnover or stupid shot in the first minute causes losses every bit as much as one at the buzzer.
Also, when you get a kid like Chavez, it takes a while for everyone to learn how to play with her. There is a lot more standing around and watching it seems to me. After the first quarter anyway, she appears to find people that are open -- if they get open.
Biggest issues I see, however, are first we just need to be a little tougher with the ball in the SEC. You can't just play basketball in the SEC and assume officials are going to call fouls such as over the back, arm bars, redirecting movement with bodies not in position, and/or contact on the arms and wrist going to the rim. They just don't. Just going to have to be tougher, a lot tougher. And for heaven's sake, get under 3 point shooters. Running at them is worthless. They are focused on the back rim and don't even see you. The only defense to the 3 is being under them before the players gets into their shot. Make them dribble. It is hard to win 2 points at a time. The goal should be and we should welcome singularly guarded 2 point shots.
And, secondly, we just need to use a little better judgment when and where we dribble. Hadn't been nearly as bad this year, but a handful of silly unforced turnovers is the difference in a close game between good teams.
I would be surprised if getting our heads beat in every night in the SEC doesn't toughen us up by the end of the year. Might just make us tougher and better for the NCAA tournament. I like this team. Who knows, but I will be surprised if they don't improve through the year. That has been the MO of Jennie's teams previously.
Kind of like in golf, some kids will lack focus at the start of the round, make a poor decision and make a triple bogey (including missing a tap in). Then play 17 holes one under, and still shoot over par. It all counts. Chavez in almost every game takes a bunch of poor ill advised shots in the first quarter, then pulls her head out, and plays better as the game wears on. Problem is, it all matters. A turnover or stupid shot in the first minute causes losses every bit as much as one at the buzzer.
Also, when you get a kid like Chavez, it takes a while for everyone to learn how to play with her. There is a lot more standing around and watching it seems to me. After the first quarter anyway, she appears to find people that are open -- if they get open.
Biggest issues I see, however, are first we just need to be a little tougher with the ball in the SEC. You can't just play basketball in the SEC and assume officials are going to call fouls such as over the back, arm bars, redirecting movement with bodies not in position, and/or contact on the arms and wrist going to the rim. They just don't. Just going to have to be tougher, a lot tougher. And for heaven's sake, get under 3 point shooters. Running at them is worthless. They are focused on the back rim and don't even see you. The only defense to the 3 is being under them before the players gets into their shot. Make them dribble. It is hard to win 2 points at a time. The goal should be and we should welcome singularly guarded 2 point shots.
And, secondly, we just need to use a little better judgment when and where we dribble. Hadn't been nearly as bad this year, but a handful of silly unforced turnovers is the difference in a close game between good teams.
I would be surprised if getting our heads beat in every night in the SEC doesn't toughen us up by the end of the year. Might just make us tougher and better for the NCAA tournament. I like this team. Who knows, but I will be surprised if they don't improve through the year. That has been the MO of Jennie's teams previously.
