Mississippi State game reflections

[MsSportsGuy]

Green is better when she is the five and doesn't have to play around Russell. I would like to see Davis and Green in there together inside and Nared, Westbrook, and Hayes think they are the quickest lineup we can put on the floor.

I'm bored tonight so..

Green is better at the 5. She and Russell don't need to be on the floor at the same time. She definitely has skills and could play a bigger role in the offense.

 

[MsSportsGuy]

I disagree that Russell and Nared's play springs from a lack of conditioning. If so, there is no excuse for this. I think Nared and Russell struggle because of mental things holding them back.I think she loses confidence as the game progresses, or doesn't want to dominate the game like a Deshields character. Either way, "tired" is not an excuse.

To be fair...
Never said they lacked conditioning, just that they were tired. We aren't even to February and they have played a ton of minutes and honestly should have been rested more in those blowouts early in the season.

Russell and Nared are both excellent players who do get rattled. It is easy to sit back and watch but harder to be out there. I'm as critical as the next person but have to remember we have young adults playing this game.

 

[Orange_Juice87]

I do think Russell is wearing down, as are probably a lot of players. This roster is good but it isn't the deepest team and those seniors have logged a ton of minutes. Fatigue may have something to do with it as it's been mainly those two leading 2 and 3 freshmen on the court. Nared has forced some shots and played out of control a few times but is still probably the best player.

Russell has taken a ton of criticism that hasn't always been deserved in my opinion. Heavy is the crown of "number 1 overall recruit" when the last few times a player got that ranking they wound up being transcendent. That just isn't her. I will say she's been much better since her surgery and has played very well in stretches the last few years when I've watched. She just isn't a very fast moving player and you can't teach speed.

The team is much deeper than it was last year. Last year they were extremely short-staffed and Mercedes, Jaime, and the other starters had to play more minutes than they do now yet they didn't seem tired, so I don't think fatigue is the issue. And I love Jaime, but...the best player on the team?? Wild shots, wild passes... she just seems unhinged most of the time forcing things when she doesn't have to. That's not to say she's a bad player...she's shown flashes of greatness, but it's been rare this season. Russell or Davis would get my vote for best on the team right now.

Russell is very efficient when she gets the ball, she has an arsenal of moves and she's smooth, but there are a lot of times (especially in the 2nd half) when she fades to the background and doesn't even try to get open. You have to demand the ball. Can't blame the guards for not getting the ball inside if the post isn't posting up.

 

[Orange_Juice87]

Harris is our "in case of emergency break glass" player, not KK. If she is going to make a contribution this season, Holly will need to make more of an effort to give her spot minutes. Although Green hasn't done a lot the last four games I'm not arguing she shouldn't be ahead of KK in the rotation. But KK has the much higher ceiling IMO. There is no substitute for game action, and even a few minutes here and there could pay dividends in March and next season when the frontcourt will be the biggest question mark. It also doesn't have to necessarily be either/or as Green can also rotate to the high post to spell Nared.

The other issue I've wondered... Russell has started disappearing in second halves. Nared's shot has gone to hell. Both have history of nagging injury. Maybe Holly grinding them up for almost 35 minutes a game is taking a toll? Free KK....

Agreed. Even if Russell and Green get the bulk of the minutes I can't understand why KK still couldn't get a few runs in. Game experience is priceless and she hasn't done BAD in the few appearances she's made. Why don't we use/develop the tools we have. I've wondered the same thing about Dunbar...she has her flaws but she'd be a great 3-point option should we ever need it, if she could only get enough minutes to get comfortable. There have been some blowout games where she could have gotten plenty of garbage minutes and used them to get some shots up. But even in those situations she's been bound to the bench. I don't get it.

 

[travis929]

Agreed. Even if Russell and Green get the bulk of the minutes I can't understand why KK still couldn't get a few runs in. Game experience is priceless and she hasn't done BAD in the few appearances she's made. Why don't we use/develop the tools we have. I've wondered the same thing about Dunbar...she has her flaws but she'd be a great 3-point option should we ever need it, if she could only get enough minutes to get comfortable. There have been some blowout games where she could have gotten plenty of garbage minutes and used them to get some shots up. But even in those situations she's been bound to the bench. I don't get it.

I agree re: KK but the myth that KD doesn't play (this year) just isn't true. She's played in 18 of 20 games and is averaging 12 minutes per game. She's put up 59 shots (42 3-pointers) and is at 42/35 for FG/3FG%.

These numbers are way up from last year when she was apparently playing injured, at 9 minutes per game in only about 2/3 of games and shot 29/21.

 

[Orange_Juice87]

I agree re: KK but the myth that KD doesn't play (this year) just isn't true. She's played in 18 of 20 games and is averaging 12 minutes per game. She's put up 59 shots (42 3-pointers) and is at 42/35 for FG/3FG%.

These numbers are way up from last year when she was apparently playing injured, at 9 minutes per game in only about 2/3 of games and shot 29/21.

Not quite following the stat line. If she put up 59 shots, 42 of which were 3-pointers (3PTA), how does she have 42 FG? Are you including free throws in the 59 shots she's put up? Either way, 42 3-pt attempts this year compared with 29 3-pt attempts last year and 12 mins vs. 9 mins per game is not that big of a jump considering she's healthy this season and she's a Senior. She has definitely gotten in the game more but still not enough imo considering we've had some blowouts and we've also had some games where we were seriously struggling from the 3 point line (ref: recently when we didn't hit ANY 3s the entire game). I know she's not the best defender, but in those situations I'd think she'd get more of an opportunity.