Maddie

[SoonerNorm]

While some seem to think that Maddie can leap tall buildings in a single bound, the truth is, she has been a decent reserve. It appears Sherri agrees. Without looking, I'm not sure she averaged more than 6-7 points per game last year.

She will likely get an opportunity to be a starter at the 4 this year. She is going to have to hit the boards with abandon to be what we need at that position. Is that her game? I'm not sure it is. Everyone can see that Maddie is an athletic kid. She moves well and can get off the floor. She also makes some really good passes although she has some clunkers as well.

She needs to improve her ball handling, make smarter decisions, rebound, defend better, and stop turning down open shots. If she does those things, she will become the player we all think she can be.

Edit to add: She must also cut way down on fouling.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

Maddie has to shoot more and make them. She was way too Reluctant to shoot last year. She also has to cut down on trying to thread the needle in a crowd. She turns it over too much doing that.

I have hope that she will hit her full stride next season.


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[sybarite]

I rather hoped that a number of people would have presented their thoughts. Considering that it is apparently a bad thing to think that an OU player can leap buildings with a single bound, I would suggest that Maddie is the one that has come the closest to having that potential.

When we had Gabbi in foul problems, and sometimes when she was still learning, we frequently used Maddie to bring the ball up court. We had some games in which the last two or three minutes were nothing more than either Maddie or Peyton shooting ten free throws as they handled the ball at games' end.

If you listen to the telecasters as they describe the game, they have always been fascinated by the little things that Maddie can do that others really can't. They spent at least ten minutes last year describing how she could make an entry pass that others couldn't due to her long arms that could reach further to the side in order to make the pass.

Maddie had some turnovers. Some were scorekeeper's errors. Some were due to scorekeepers who gave the turnover to Maddie when it bounced off someone's hands. Quite a number were due to charges, some of which were questionable. Some were simply turnovers. But, there also needs to be another statistic: turnovers saved. I don't know how many times I saw Maddie use her long legs and arms to get to passes that were essentially thrown away by someone. She kept it in our hands. In one game, I saw at least three passes thrown from the side or corner to the front that were horrible passes, but she got to them.

She can shoot. Sometimes, it seems that she lacks confidence. I think a part of it is that she has been cultivated as a ball-handler rather than a shooter. But, she has good motion on her shots. We'll see how that develops this year.

I do not see Maddie at the four. She can play it, and she may be forced to at times. Last year, at times she was at post, simply because we had foul problems. Sometimes, she looks lost. At others, she looked like she was born to play post. But, she is really what Sherri said when she recruited her. She is a 6-2 Stacy Dales. Unless we use a point forward approach, she will be in competition with Gioya, Peyton, and Gabbi for time. But, she will take time from all of them, as well as a little from the four. She can play any of these positions.

Unless something develops that I don't see yet, we have one thing of which I am certain. If Maddie develops, we can be a Final Four team. If she doesn't, we will be hard-pressed this year to get past the Sweet Sixteen. We have enough returning that a Sweet Sixteen should be a certainty. But, Maddie could make us special.

 

[tycat947]

I think it's helpful to remember that Maddie basically spent 2 years playing little, if any, basketball. I think she showed enough last season that if she regains her confidence (focusing on basketball and not re-injuring a knee) and just gaining that comfort of playing and familiarity with teammates on the court, she can be a special player for us. She may or may not regain her physical playing ability that she had before the injuries. I think it's too soon to say but she has some special talents that few in the women's game have. We need to let this young woman recover, both physically and emotionally, from 2 ACL injuries. She will be fine.

 

[j2d2]

I think that her knee problems are responsible for her not reaching the level I think she is capable of. This year she should be both mentally and physically ready to excel. I think she is right at all american caliber. If not, her fake is better than what most can do when trying.

 

[cowboysooner]

My exact thoughts tycat. I think, if she can stay healthy enough to practice full time, she will improve by leaps and bounds this year. It will be interesting to see what Sherri does with her this year and interesting to see which direction Sherri goes with the "4" spot this year, e.g. big, guard, or a tweener like Maddie. maybe the new kid fits that spot if her lateral quickness will let her guard the position.

Sherri has a good team coming back with a lot of depth and so she will have more options than normal.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Maddie said last year that, physically, she was 100% healthy. The way she runs, jumps, and cuts, I don't see any physical limitations. The only people talking about her injuries are fans. Most of the problems we see have to do with mistakes that have prevented her from starting and get her pulled in various situations. She just needs to correct the mistakes and she will be good to go.

 

[sybarite]

It's one thing to say that you are healthy, to be cleared by the physicians to play. It is quite another to believe it. I think Maddie spent a lot of last year with some uncertainty. After all, she had come back the year before, only to suffer another injury. I still remember the panic that set in when Maddie went down with an ankle twist. The entire bench was concerned that it wasn't something more. You hay have been told that you can run and jump. It is quite another thing to feel it, to extend yourself without reservation. I suspect that even now there will be some uncertainty after missing two years. Hopefully, a little more playing time will remove the mental obstacles from Maddie.

 

[scrybe]

I think "rust" is the key word when we consider Maddie's contributions in 2014-15. There is no way, IMO, that any player could come back from devastating injuries that kept her off the court two full seasons, and immediately be the player she was before the injuries.

 

[Oliver Hardy]

I still think Maddie gets some play at the 4. That is where we are more in need than anywhere else and I do think Maddie is going to be starting next year.


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[SoonerNorm]

I still think Maddie gets some play at the 4. That is where we are more in need than anywhere else and I do think Maddie is going to be starting next year.


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I agree. If she doesn't start at the 4, she won't start. I can't see her putting Gioya or Peyton on the bench and she certainly isn't going to take over for Gabbi.

 

[MsProudSooner]

Experience wise, last year was Maddie's freshman year. I hope to see the type of improvement that most good players make between their freshman and sophomore years.

 

[rocjunkie]

Maddie will either start or at worst be the first off the bench, I think. This I really believe will be her break out year, and become the player I saw before her two injuries. She is just too good to become mediocre.