Gioya

[SoonerNorm]

There is not a player on the roster that I am pulling for more than Gioya. She has talent. Everyone knows that. She's just struggling. I believe her problem is mental, not physical. You can be in top physical condition and have all of the skill in the world but, if you aren't confident that you will play well, you probably won't. She may have a confidence problem while all of us watching knows she can do it. But, until she convinces herself she can do it, it won't matter what the rest of us thinks. I have participated in sports, watched sports for a number of years, and what she is going through is not new. All athletes go through it. For OU to make a deep run in the NCAA tourney, we have to have this girl at the top of her game.

I believe she is not only a fan favorite, she's also one of Sherri's favorites. The only way I know of for her to regain her early season form is just to put in hours and hours and hours in the gym. Repetitions of taking and making good shots will be the greatest cure.

 

[sybarite]

I wonder if we didn't make too much of a deal that we needed Gioya to be the scorer that she was early in the conference season for the team to be successful? I wonder if that didn't put a lot of pressure on someone who was not a highly-recruited player? Was it difficult to live up to those expectations?

I wonder if the emergence of other scorers won't let her relax. It was interesting that in the second half against OSU, she had about five minutes in which she looked like she did when she was going well. Then, she made mistakes when she tried to do too much.

She just needs to have fun and relax.

 

[YCN]

I wonder if we didn't make too much of a deal that we needed Gioya to be the scorer that she was early in the conference season for the team to be successful? I wonder if that didn't put a lot of pressure on someone who was not a highly-recruited player? Was it difficult to live up to those expectations?

I wonder if the emergence of other scorers won't let her relax. It was interesting that in the second half against OSU, she had about five minutes in which she looked like she did when she was going well. Then, she made mistakes when she tried to do too much.

She just needs to have fun and relax.

I wish she was just left to be the 2-guard. We banked too much on her ridiculous 3-point shooting in mid-season, but regardless of that, she's a gamer. I wouldn't toss her in the trash pile, she's WAY too good (if only she knew it) for that.

 

[Sooners4Life0101]

I feel like she knows she's talented, she has to-- I certainly don't see a lack in confidence. I just think she is better scouted and more of a the defensive focal point now. They play her a lot better than they did before- they help quickly on her drives and they play her pretty tight so she can't shoot. She has that power lefty crossover that is deadly, but it hasn't been as effective since its been scouted. The first man is rarely the problem for her, she gets by them with ease, but its the decision after that she has to get to quicker. Theres a million things she could do to get the ball in the hoop, including getting others better looks. But it will all take some time to develop, hard to change everything now. She is a powerful explosive athlete, who will get better.

 

[MsProudSooner]

I think Gioya will continue to improve, just as KK has.

 

[garyeb2]

She is good. Not consistently good.......yet.

 

[SoonerNorm]

She is good. Not consistently good.......yet.

Yep, that's the problem. If she could consistently knock down 13-15 points a game she would be just what we need to win some big games.

 

[womenssports]

I think she knows what she can do but can't just relax and play. When she does, she is really good but she needs to learn to do that every game. And I think she can shoot from anywhere on the floor, from lay-ups, 5ft, three point & she is a good free throw shooter. If she had Peyton's attitude, she would be the best player on the team. Well, actually, I do think Maddie has the potential to be better than anyone, but I don't know if that will happen or not.

 

[Stringmusic]

Norm. I agree. Her problem appears to be mental. Same as with Trevor Knight.

"If you think you can't do it, then you can't." Henry Ford

 

[scrybe]

I think 12 points in 20 minutes is nothing to sneeze at. This team has multiple options for scoring; Gioya does not and will not need to carry OU offensively every game. Lighten up, guys. Often, our expectations (mine included) for certain players border on unreasonable. On a team with this much offensive firepower, Gioya can't be expected to average 20 points. But Gioya will be fine.

 

[Sooners4Life0101]

Norm. I agree. Her problem appears to be mental. Same as with Trevor Knight.

"If you think you can't do it, then you can't." Henry Ford

I think about why Knight can't figure it out all the time, and its cause I feel Knights is just a nice, passive person- No killer instinct. Gioya is not that IMO- she is still shooting and attacking- Being aggressive. she's just been forcing it and missing a lot of shots.

Good pt. and topic to get into.

I feel like Gioya is a lot closer than Knight cause she's not afraid to make the play- Honestly, IMO Maddie is a lot closer to what Knight is dealing with, that is overcoming the fear of mistakes and having confidence. I don't see a true lack in confidence in Gioya, she's still putting up 10-15 shots a game. But she is definitely forcing it. Where Maddie isn't even giving herself a chance to have a big game... she's always 1-3, 3-5, etc. I think some of that is minutes and getting comfortable but, most of it is she lacks a true scorers mentality at this stage in her game. Gioya on the other hand, is just not hitting- though, she is a much bigger focal point for the the defense now and gets a lot more attention. I believe Gioya actually just needs to grow her game, and get better in some areas to be a leading scorer- And she is more than capable of doing that- she gets by impressively with athleticism, but she needs to develop more this offseason to be the true number 1. If both of them can overcome these stages in there basketball careers, it will be scary and we will be true contenders next season.

 

[Sooners4Life0101]

I think 12 points in 20 minutes is nothing to sneeze at. This team has multiple options for scoring; Gioya does not and will not need to carry OU offensively every game. Lighten up, guys. Often, our expectations (mine included) for certain players border on unreasonable. On a team with this much offensive firepower, Gioya can't be expected to average 20 points. But Gioya will be fine.

Yeah, but 5/14 after a string of very similar performances is what everyone is talking about I think.

 

[SoonerNorm]

I think 12 points in 20 minutes is nothing to sneeze at. This team has multiple options for scoring; Gioya does not and will not need to carry OU offensively every game. Lighten up, guys. Often, our expectations (mine included) for certain players border on unreasonable. On a team with this much offensive firepower, Gioya can't be expected to average 20 points. But Gioya will be fine.

I think you are glossing over the importance of Gioya. Here are her stats in the last 4 games that we lost:

WVU- she was 1-8 from the field and scored 7 points.
Baylor- 2-12 from the field and scored 8 points.
ISU- 2-5 for a total of 5 points.
KU- 0-6 for a total of 2 points.

We are a MUCH better team when Gioya is playing really well on both ends of the court. She continues to play well defensively and if her offensive game gets back on track we will go further in the tourney.

 

[giraffespots]

Well, I agree with Sooners4life. She has been scouted and teams are ready for her. She just needs to learn to make quick adjustments. I have no worries that she will get there. She is pretty darn good right now...she will be scary good next year.

 

[scrybe]

I think you are glossing over the importance of Gioya. Here are her stats in the last 4 games that we lost:

WVU- she was 1-8 from the field and scored 7 points.
Baylor- 2-12 from the field and scored 8 points.
ISU- 2-5 for a total of 5 points.
KU- 0-6 for a total of 2 points.

We are a MUCH better team when Gioya is playing really well on both ends of the court. She continues to play well defensively and if her offensive game gets back on track we will go further in the tourney.

I don't disagree, Norm. Gioya has been in a bit of a shooting slump lately. But even though her shooting percentage wasn't impressive against OSU, she did hit some big shots at some very key moments in that game. A couple of those pull-up, mid-range jumpers were things of beauty – touched nothing but the bottom of the net. Peyton is the only other player on the team that can consistently hit those types of shots.

I worry less about Gioya's shooting (I have no doubt her numbers will improve significantly) than about her getting the ball stripped on some of her dribble drives. If she can learn to slow her brain down a tad, she'll learn that it's sometimes better to kick the ball out to a teammate than to try to finish a drive herself.