Question about consistency

[SoonerNorm]

This is particularly a question for those who have coached but anyone is welcome to answer.

I will use Peyton as an example before asking the question. I believe she scored close to 20 points in the Yale game and then had 3 or so yesterday. Everyone would agree the 20 was really good while the 3 was not her best outing.

Is there anything a coach can do to bring about more consistency by each player?

 

[jerry]

This is particularly a question for those who have coached but anyone is welcome to answer.

I will use Peyton as an example before asking the question. I believe she scored close to 20 points in the Yale game and then had 3 or so yesterday. Everyone would agree the 20 was really good while the 3 was not her best outing.

Is there anything a coach can do to bring about more consistency by each player?

WVA much more athletic than Yale. This affects Peyton.

 

[j2d2]

Experience would be the biggest factor, I think, in playing at a consistent level. As experience accumulates the level of play in a good player will rise. But then there are days when nothing works. Experience should enable a player to recognize when this happens and to adjust his/her game.

 

[bluesooner17]

Experience would be the biggest factor, I think, in playing at a consistent level. As experience accumulates the level of play in a good player will rise. But then there are days when nothing works. Experience should enable a player to recognize when this happens and to adjust his/her game.

Totally agree as a player you should know your limitations and skills so with the experience of playing at this level you have to determine what you can and can not do then work to hone your skills. One thing I noticed with Little comparing Yale to West Virginia game she seemed to be more relaxed during the Yale game, but at times she seemed intimated against West Virginia. Not sure if she was a 3 point shooter before coming to Oklahoma, but she had open shots, but didn't take them against West Virginia.

 

[soonermike22]

It looked to me like the more athletic WV guards kept her from being able to drive into the lane, and this affected her overall shooting performance. She was 0 of 4 from 3 point range and 0-6 overall. So both the match-up, inexperience, and just an off shooting night all contribute to low scoring from her. She played good defense, and hopefully will learn to be a more consistent scorer.

 

[sybarite]

I have only watched the Yale game once. I have watched the WV game twice. It seems, in my memory, that Peyton was making more intelligent choices in the Yale game. She was driving to a spot in the middle of the free throw lane, and they were letting her. She can hit that shot from the middle of the lane. With her touch, she was also getting the roll.

Against WV, she seemed to be working the corner and trying baseline shots. She was never able to dribble penetrate against their defense which had more hands than Yale's. She wasn't hitting the shot from fifteen feet on the baseline. It was a different shot, and she seemed more awkward taking it. WV was letting her dribble outside. But, they weren't letting her penetrate. But, she was also trying to penetrate to a different place and in a different way. I think Peyton is still learning what she can do under what circumstances. If you have the reputation as a shooter, sometimes people think that means you can hit any shot. Peyton seems to be a lot better when no on the baseline.

 

[SoonerinNC]

So much of shooting is knowing where your good shots come from and getting to those spots ready to shoot in good rhythm. West Virginia was more athletic than Yale and easily shut down her penetration.

She seemed to struggle to get open all night and was very tentative when she was open. She seemed out of sync all night and lacking in confidence.

If she lacks the skill to penetrate against the better teams then she has to try to improve that but maybe more important do a better job of moving without the ball and using screens to get open for her best shots.

We don't seem to move much without the ball but possibly that is because of the youth and inexperience of this team. Most of Carter and Sharane's points came on one on one moves. We are not likely to beat Texas and especially Baylor without more movement and flow.

 

[rocjunkie]

When you become a predominant dribbling team on offense, and not much moving without the ball, you become an easy target for the defense. The defense doesn't have to work as hard to guard. West Va. did an excellent job of switching or forcing the dribbler off screens to change direction. The more you pass the ball, make the defense move and create space, it becomes more difficult to defend. Gioya and Sharane are becoming very good at creating space and getting to spots for good shots. Peyton doesn't have the quickness to create, but uses screens well, and when she is in rhythm a very good scorer. Once the youngsters can comprehend to use the pass and have constant motion, then the game will become easier and more consistent good shots will open up.

This team understands the concept of hard work, now they need to see how to make that hard work look easy. It will take time, but I am slowly seeing the fruits of their labor.

 

[womenssports]

We don't seem to move much without the ball but possibly that is because of the youth and inexperience of this team. Most of Carter and Sharane's points came on one on one moves. We are not likely to beat Texas and especially Baylor without more movement and flow.

My memory could certainly be off but moving without the ball is not something that our teams have done in the last 12 years. 2002 team did, but I don't remember teams since then doing it........not saying they did not but just it seems something that I always wish we would do more/any.

 

[SoonerNorm]

Our passing isn't getting our shooters open. That's because we pass around the perimeter. There is no give and go. One player passes and holds their position until the ball comes back to them. That's very easy on the defense. We set some screens but that seldom creates an opportunity to drive toward the rim the way it did when we had DRob. We only have two players who can create their own shots effectively, Gioya and LaNesia.

Quick, sharp passes is one way to find an open shooter, particularly against a zone. Dribbling kills that, something we do too much.

A good way to take advantage of man to man defense is to pass into the post and allow them to create if possible or pass quickly back outside. If the post is double teamed, someone is open. A quick pass to the open player should result in an open shot. When we use quick inside/out passing, something good normally happens.

If players aren't quick enough to create their own shots, good passing and movement is about all you have left to score.

When Gioya is scoring at will we have to get her the ball. But, there will be times the defense can hold her scoring into single digits. Others are going to have to pick up the slack and find ways to score.

Unless Peyton's three point shooting improves, I don't think we are going to get much scoring from her against good teams. Against better defenses, I would like to see LaNesia get more minutes as she has the ability to penetrate.

Edwards has the quickness to drive but she is hesitant to do so. Hopefully, she will gain confidence in her ability.