I've been wondering

[SoonerNorm]

What would likely happen if Sharane moves to the 4. Sharane is undersized but she is the toughest player we have, she has good leaping ability, and we could use her defensive skills inside, plus, she can shoot from outside and drive to the rim.

We know Morgan will start at the point and Aaryn will start at the 2. From the SF position, we need scoring, defense, and certainly rebounding.

Who do you think gives us the best option with those needs?

 

[35TangoTango]

I think that Sharane seeing time at the 4 is a likely scenario. Maybe not all game every game, but at least in situations. That would be the "4 guard" solution we have discussed. In that case, the 3 is up for grabs, Nicole K and Maddie being the most likely candidates. Of course we don't know how the freshmen will fit in. Shaya often to me looks like she could be a tall wing - can definitely shoot the 3.

 

[rocjunkie]

Interesting set up. My biggest fear is she gets beat up by the time the end of the season tournaments begin, and she doesn't have any thing left in tank. I agree, right now she is the toughest player we have, but at the four that could be a detriment in the long run. Right now, without the newbies, we have 7 bonafide kids who could start. Two of them coming off of injuries, and we have no idea how they will be physically come playing time. However, being the optimist, lets say for argument sake that Kaylon and Maddie come back true to form. Maddie probably gets the three spot, which would leave open the 4 to Kaylon or Sharane. Sherri has never done this, but I think it would be nice if she would rotate her starters to who is best match ups against the next opponent. If you need height and strength, start Kaylon, if you need speed and driving ability from the wing, start Sharane. Its easy to see on paper but I guess practice will determine who plays where.

I won't leave out Nicole K at the four either. I was really impressed with her play during the tournaments. She can mix it up at the glass, and she was becoming more than just a three point shooter. I think we will see her take the ball off the dribble a little more next year. We never know, but Shaya may surprise us all and become another Joanna. But for now I think the four will come down to Sharane and Kay-Kay, I just don't want Sharane to be physically beat up toward the end of the season.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Would her playing at the 4 be harder on her physically - take a worse beating than at her current position?

 

[sybarite]

Until we see how they have developed over the summer, it is difficult to say anything. But, I tend to think that Sharane would best be used as a sixth man type. The real value that Sharane brings is her energy off the bench. I don't know that it is there as much when she starts. I think she can be a sixth man type who comes in for the first person two through four that is not performing with life.

 

[j2d2]

I agree with Sybarite. Love her coming off the bench. I still think KayKay is best used at her natural position of sf. She was hurt early enough that with luck she will be full of whiz and vinegar next fall. We should know this summer how our wounded are faring. We need a BIG badly- a BAD, Take No Prisoners BIG.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

Syb, where would you rate Sharane's athleticism and basketball skill?

Is she the best overall player on the team right now? Is she close?

Who is the best, in your opinion?

 

[SoonerinNC]

Sharane can't get beat up much worse that she does game after game. She throws her body after everything and ends up on the floor a high percentage of the time. Love to watch her play.

The rotations will be interesting next year. Sherri's history is to play her upper classmen. We will return 8 players who have started at least 3 games at OU.

Portia could be a surprise. Sherri always gets a lot out of her seniors. I believe that Portia is a better player than Cerina who started some as a senior and contributed.

The four newbies appear to be capable of competing in the Big 12. Three pretty long players and a quick point guard. Good outside shooters as well. The biggest question may be Derica Wyatt. Her competition has been pretty weak but she was off the charts better than the competition. If she is quick enough she seems to have a good offensive game and appears to have great court awareness on both ends of the floor.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Sharane can't get beat up much worse that she does game after game. She throws her body after everything and ends up on the floor a high percentage of the time. Love to watch her play.

The rotations will be interesting next year. Sherri's history is to play her upper classmen. We will return 8 players who have started at least 3 games at OU.

Portia could be a surprise. Sherri always gets a lot out of her seniors. I believe that Portia is a better player than Cerina who started some as a senior and contributed.

The four newbies appear to be capable of competing in the Big 12. Three pretty long players and a quick point guard. Good outside shooters as well. The biggest question may be Derica Wyatt. Her competition has been pretty weak but she was off the charts better than the competition. If she is quick enough she seems to have a good offensive game and appears to have great court awareness on both ends of the floor.

Derica's quickness probably will determine how much playing time she gets. Is she quick enough to get open on offense and is she quick enough to guard her position on defense? If so, Sherri may have found a player that other good coaches overlooked.

 

[sybarite]

I don't know that any of our present team stands out as a great athlete. They are all pretty good athletes. If she is as good as she was before the injury, I think Maddie is the one that can be a star at any level.

When I watched the championship game with Derica, it was obvious that these were not talented athletes. Some were barely adequate. There were probably about five or six who stood out as having enough ability to play at a 5A level in some capacity.

What did strike me was how quick Derica was when she had an opportunity. A couple of times, she picked up a loose ball and got off a shot so quickly that everyone else was still going where the ball had been. She was very, very quick in those cases. She was also double and triple-teamed. The best athletes don't get a shot off any quicker than she did with those loose balls.

You can't be sure until you see her against better competition, but it did provide some hope. If she is quick enough, she brings something that we haven't had. She can shoot from anywhere and get a shot off very quickly. She is deadly.

Didn't she play with some AAU team? I saw a quick blurb once that said she led her AAU team in scoring. But, I don't know anything about that team or where that blurb came from.