It was an interesting scrimmage. I was so glad that Sherri only played the girls. None of the guys that practice with them played. The pleasant surprise for me was the posts. McKenna, Kaylon, and ViVi all played extremely well. McKenna will remind everyone of Joanna, without the three point shot. She finished off the glass, rebounded well, and has soft hands. In my opinion she did not play like a freshman. ViVi had a little bit of a problem getting up and down the court, however once she set up, she played good defense, and made good opportunities at the glass. Also has good hands. Kaylon played well, but still needs to work on her fouling. We have a good set of bigs regardless, in my opinion.
Maddie is going to be a star. Her confidence and poise is that of a seasoned veteran. She has it all, can penetrate, dish off, hit the outside shot. She did not shoot very well, but I'm not worried. Played good solid defense. She seems to really like to rebound and got a few offensive, as well on the defensive end.
Peyton got off to a slow start. Her biggest weakness is the same as Nicole. If she doesn't get set on her jumper, forget it. Once she gets square to the basket and doesn't float, she is deadly. She hit some nice three's and had some drives.
Sharane, rock solid. Took the ball inside to score and hit some nice 3's. She will get plenty of minutes whether starting or from the bench. No worries with her.
Nicole, played well. Again when she is set and doesn't float on her shot, deadly. I don't think she will get off to a slow start this season.
Derica is vastly improved from last year. Still solid on defense. Hit some nice outside shots, and showed her ability to go inside and score. She will earn some playing time.
Gioya, I don't know. I really like her. I like her passion. She really needs to work on finishing at the rim, and be more pin point on her passes. Once she puts it all together, Carter is going to be a dangerous threat. That will be sooner not later.
Gabi, I didn't think she had a particular good scrimmage, but she has a swagger about her and confidence you just don't see in a freshman. I don't think she will start, but she will get plenty of earned minutes. She takes care of the ball. Plays solid defense, and passes the ball well. She didn't shoot very well in the scrimmage, but that doesn't mean any thing this early in practice.
T'Ona, Played okay, is improved from last year, still needs to develop an outside shot. She will be a good point guard off the bench.
LeNesia, She did not stand out in the scrimmage, however, she is very athletic, has nice range. She is a freshman, and if she keeps positive, she could get some playing time later in the season, too many guards in front of her at the moment, that will get playing time.
Whitney, A very pleasant surprise, she knows basketball and played very well, she won't get a lot of playing time, but wouldn't hurt us if she did.
Shaya, on crutches and 2 weeks or so out.
Penzo, well we will see next season.
I really liked the ball movement on offense. There were some really nice passes to the post. Nice off ball movement, and kids not standing around. Need to work on solid screens and get a body on the defense. Rebounding was okay, not great. There were too many forced passes in the paint, and some no look were not close. Some things you expect with a lot of youngsters playing.
Stand outs to me, Post play, Maddie directing traffic, Peyton's shooting, Sharane picking up where she left off, Derica, Nicole, and Gioya's improvement. I was impressed with how smart the freshmen are around the ball. I think as the season goes on, this team will surprise their fans, and especially teams in the Big XII. The kids have raised their defensive intensity, and I hope that will be a strength all season long. I see some really good stuff coming from this group.
http://instagram.com/p/uzQzVuG6Nd/
Anyway, thanks to you and Sooner Mike for your thoughts.
