I wholeheartedly disagree. Apparently, the Big 12 coaches do too.
I just watched the WV/OU game in the tournament about an hour ago before finally erasing it, having watched it several times. It bears out why I think OU has eight players more effective to winning basketball than Bria Holmes.
Think about it. If Peyton were only to score on three-pointers and breakaway layups, a lot of which she missed even wide-open, shot 39% from the field, 24% from three, and 64% from the free throw line, would you be giving her enough shots to score 17.1 points per game? You really want a 24% three point shooter taking a bunch of threes? She isn't that great of a defender, and Gabbi, somewhat shorter, defender her pretty well. Most of her points came on threes or breakouts when she was downcourt at the time that WV got the rebound, probably ten feet in front of a defender. WV's lament was that they only have two players who will shoot and score. They kept hoping that Stepney or Montgomery would start being an offensive force. But, it was only Fields and Bria, neither of whom was a forty percent shooter. They can't shoot and depend on disruption. If you watch Bria, she really doesn't seem involved in much some of the time, like she is OK if she gets the ball, but takes time off. Surely, the coaches have seen that she is a liability when she shoots such a low percentage. A wild shot is a turnover.
That game made a couple of other things clear. We have two people who can create: Maddie and Gabbi. For the most part, we don't want the others to dribble (Edwards is OK). Sharane, Gioya, and Peyton don't dribble well in traffic, except for one time that Peyton brought it up under pressure. WV is a team that thrives on pressure and turnovers since they have nobody who can shoot. Yet, with Maddie and Gabbi handling the ball, they couldn't force us into turnovers. They did take it from Peyton, Sharane, and Gioya a couple of times each.
I think if WV had Peyton, Gabbi, Maddie, Kay Kay, Gioya, or Sharane, they would probably have been the leading scorer for WV. They all shoot better than anyone WV had. McDonald wasn't bad, but she's gone from what I hear.
When you watch what the Big Twelve really has, we have some people who can shoot. We just needed some time for them to learn what they can and can not do. Gioya and Peyton are much better at spot shooting.
