A freshman who had only played a few minutes started three games in Hawaii--on the road. So, Oregon wasn't stellar. Arkansas was no slouch, and Maddie had 10 points, 8 rebounds (not bad), three assists, a couple of steals, and a block. Not all that bad. Against the home team, she 12 points, 4 rebounds, and a couple of steals. She shot 13 for 19 from the field in three games. That's not all that bad.
The key was that she was never actually stopped. When she decided to drive to the basket, she did. Nobody stopped her. She also made the layup. When she took a short jumper, nobody was anywhere near her level. She was six inches to a foot over everyone else. When you watched what she did, you wondered what she might have done if she had gone out to score or hog the ball.
She's not short like most of our ball-handlers. She gets up higher than anyone on the court. She seems to have good body control, good finishing ability. She also just took the ball away from some folks. She does have long arms.
Since nobody actually stopped her, what, exactly, is her upside? She takes a shorter player inside and runs by a taller player (even some shorter players). Meanwhile, Norm, are you sure DRob was faster from the top of the key to the basket? Maddie explodes in two steps.
