I have said most of what can be said about Nancy. I think there is one player in this class that has the potential to change women's basketball, much as Courtney or Griner did, but in a different way. I think Nancy can be the player who turns the post into a defensive position.
Offensively, Nancy can shoot. She can probably shoot the three about as well as any guard that we have. She is very good at free throws. She was six for six in the state tournament last year. She has a deadly ten to twenty-foot jump shot. She can put back rebounds. She can score any number of ways. But, that is not how I see her becoming a superstar or taking OU to the next level.
When Nancy is in the game, she just disrupts everything. She doesn't need to do much. Others panic around her. They shoot absurd shots, try some unique shots trying to shoot over her or around her. They also tend to shoot more from outside. She affects the game psychologically. Does she have the ability to alter it via her skills?
Yes. She has the best hands that I have seen on a post since Courtney, maybe even better. She can take the ball out of the air with one hand, either from a pass or block, and she can control it with one hand. She has a gentle touch, a controlling touch. She can move from one side of the lane to block shots on either side of the lane by simply shifting her weight. She doesn't need to take steps. She will stuff a shot on the right side of the lane and the left side of the lane with one or two seconds, without doing anything other than shifting weight. She is more agile than people suspect. I saw one notice posted today which addressed her as having good footwork. She does. She is not awkward out there. Her biggest problem is staying out of the way of those who become awkward in her presence.
In the finals against Skyline, they must have shot about fifty to sixty percent with Nancy on the bench. With her on the floor, Skyline probably shot about fifteen to twenty percent. IT was approximately 42-18 with Nancy, and 15-31 without her.
Although Nancy has been selected twice for the USA U-16 teams, that really isn't her forte. She isn't a playground star. She operates best as a part of a team where the flow can go around her. She is a great passer on offense. She is capable of presenting opportunities for fast breaks on defense. She played, but she wasn't dominant in the playground environment.
She turned the freshman forward, Reese, of Cypress Woods into a star. They would take silly shots avoiding Nancy. Reese rebounded underneath the rim, and they were off running. What I didn't see a lot of was passing to Nancy, even at the high post. Everyone wanted to score. She did bring the ball up once against pressure and took a jumper from about the top of the free throw circle--swish. She can do that. She turns a team into a force, and she is the leader of the team.
It was interesting watching the time outs. Cypress Woods players listened to her more than their coach. When she fouled out, the team was headed back out to the floor. She called them over, and they came back over for about fifteen seconds to listen to her before going out to try to hold off Skyline. She was the leader.
There was one official who called some very biased fouls on Nancy to get her into trouble.
If Nancy can dominate in a team game the way that she did in highschool, OU will be very, very good. I think we have much better talent to surround her than we had when we had Courtney, and they fit. She needs to play high post on offense with EJ or Vivi or someone hanging out near the basket for some obvious dishes (I would have thought that Cox would have recognized that opportunity). She can make a power forward into a star. She can operate at high post and let mobile guards operate around her. If they don't come out on her, she can hit the jumper. I think having Peyton or a clone of Peyton, Maddie, perhaps Chelsea and Anna will be fantastic.
Nancy is the one player who could have that influence. Now, let's hope that she settles in.
Incidentally, she isn't weak or too thin. She may rip the ball away from a defender on a rebound.
