Mercedes Russell : Road to Recovery

#2
#2
I would like to know at what % she played this year. She may have been 100% healthy. She may not have been. But mentally I'm not sure she played 100% all season. She definitely got there by seasons end though. She should be much better next season.
 
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#3
#3
cwbytruckers said:
I would like to know at what % she played this year. She may have been 100% healthy. She may not have been. But mentally I'm not sure she played 100% all season. She definitely got there by seasons end though. She should be much better next season.
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I know she said at start of year that she was 100%.... it was good to be playing without pain etc.... do not know though if what she said was in fact the truth
 
#4
#4
We need to see the heart of a lion uncovered this upcoming year from Mercedes. I don't know if she already has the killer instinct, but we need to see a woman who refuses to give in, refuses to be dominated, who digs in every ounce of her being to running the floor and muscling up to take on whoever they throw at her.

Not someone who throws up her hands in the "oops, I didn't mean to touch her" way.
 
#5
#5
bobkitten said:
We need to see the heart of a lion uncovered this upcoming year from Mercedes. I don't know if she already has the killer instinct, but we need to see a woman who refuses to give in, refuses to be dominated, who digs in every ounce of her being to running the floor and muscling up to take on whoever they throw at her.

Not someone who throws up her hands in the "oops, I didn't mean to touch her" way.
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+++++++++++++++++++++++

i don't know if she has ever heard this, but a lot of players mistake anger for aggression.... And they get called down for being too aggressive (angry)

In competition: Anger is when you want to hurt someone and aggression is when you want to control them... I try to teach my players controlled-aggression.

Once she learns this concept, she can begin to internally release more force against her opponent.
 
#6
#6
bobkitten said:
We need to see the heart of a lion uncovered this upcoming year from Mercedes. I don't know if she already has the killer instinct, but we need to see a woman who refuses to give in, refuses to be dominated, who digs in every ounce of her being to running the floor and muscling up to take on whoever they throw at her.

Not someone who throws up her hands in the "oops, I didn't mean to touch her" way.
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She played some killer minutes during the last few games. If she can play like that for a few minutes, why is it that Russell cannot play like that for a whole game? When she wants to dominate she has shown that she can. I think the issue gets down to how hard is she being pushed by the coaches? We really need coaches that can get 110% from all their players. We need the same hunger we showed in 4 of the last 6 games, from all players.:good!:
 
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#7
#7
teacherdean said:
She played some killer minutes during the last few games. If she can play like that for a few minutes, why is it that Russell cannot play like that for a whole game? When she wants to dominate she has shown that she can. I think the issue gets down to how hard is she being pushed by the coaches? We really need coaches that can get 110% from all their players. We need the same hunger we showed in 4 of the last 6 games, from all players.:good!:
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Helps when she gets the ball. Several times even the announcers commented on how hard she was working to get open and when she did they wouldn't throw her the ball.
 
#9
#9
teacherdean said:
She played some killer minutes during the last few games. If she can play like that for a few minutes, why is it that Russell cannot play like that for a whole game? When she wants to dominate she has shown that she can. I think the issue gets down to how hard is she being pushed by the coaches? We really need coaches that can get 110% from all their players. We need the same hunger we showed in 4 of the last 6 games, from all players.:good!:
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I agree! I'm happy that she's pain free from foot surgery. Although it was frustrating for most of the season watching Mercedes play. I guess I was expecting too much from her and maybe she's not the player I thought of her to be. Might another season with good feet change things for her?

Been waiting a long time for her and Diamond to be on the same page playing Big Girl basketball. Two outstanding high school players coming into college ranked 1 and 2. Something has to give this summer. Will they be ready to start anew and play up and beyond their potential by being leaders and competing at their best?
 
#10
#10
cwbytruckers said:
Helps when she gets the ball. Several times even the announcers commented on how hard she was working to get open and when she did they wouldn't throw her the ball.
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Not disagreeing, however, Russell spent a lot of time being a spectator on offensive rebounds. It seemed she was too in fear of fouling. When her hands were up, indicating she had not committed a foul, perhaps she could have rebound the ball and make a put back. She was seldom aggressive on defense or offense. We really need her to be a force at both ends of the court. Also if the announcers saw Russell getting open and she was not being thrown the ball, where were the coaches? Why didn't they correct the problem? It is difficult to fully blame the players when the coaches are on the sidelines "coaching", or lack thereof.
 
#11
#11
teacherdean said:
Not disagreeing, however, Russell spent a lot of time being a spectator on offensive rebounds. It seemed she was too in fear of fouling. When her hands were up, indicating she had not committed a foul, perhaps she could have rebound the ball and make a put back. She was seldom aggressive on defense or offense. We really need her to be a force at both ends of the court. Also if the announcers saw Russell getting open and she was not being thrown the ball, where were the coaches? Why didn't they correct the problem? It is difficult to fully blame the players when the coaches are on the sidelines "coaching", or lack thereof.
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This goes back to my earlier question. At what % physically and mentally she was playing at. I think her feet injuries got into her own head. Maybe she wasn't ready to come back as soon as she did. I just hope she plays like the #1 recruit next year. We need her in GODZILLA mode next season.
 
#12
#12
I'm hoping Mercedes has a good year next year as well! I believe she's had a chance to get used to the rigors of the season. Like someone else stated she played big minutes for us last year. That could attribute to the sometimes "bystander" mentality she took on throughout the season

Next year I believe we'll see her play to more of her "#1 recruit out of high school" potential. It always takes time for post players to develop. For last year being her first season 100% healthy she played pretty good. Again as someone mentioned earlier, she could have also not been 100% mentally after having to get herself back in SEC/NCAA basketball coming off feet surgery. Who knows? I just hope she's ready to be a major contributor next season.....we need her!
 
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#13
#13
cwbytruckers said:
This goes back to my earlier question. At what % physically and mentally she was playing at. I think her feet injuries got into her own head. Maybe she wasn't ready to come back as soon as she did. I just hope she plays like the #1 recruit next year. We need her in GODZILLA mode next season.
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As far as how much she was hurting last year can only be answered by Russell, I still think that a good coach would question the infrequency of Russell aggressiveness and try to come up with an answer. Especially since dominance at that position can make the difference between winning or losing a championship, along with other team factors. If Russell can dominate and have a first or second team All American, or even All SEC,year along with major contributions by Cooper, Diamond D., Nared, etc., baring a bunch of injuries, we can be a top 10 team. I am still worried how much the coaching will affect that from happening.
 
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#14
#14
teacherdean said:
As far as how much she was hurting last year can only be answered by Russell, I still think that a good coach would question the infrequency of Russell aggressiveness and try to come up with an answer. Especially since dominance at that position can make the difference between winning or losing a championship, along with other team factors. If Russell can dominate and have a first or second team All American, or even All SEC,year along with major contributions by Cooper, Diamond D., Nared, etc., baring a bunch of injuries, we can be a top 10 team. I am still worried how much the coaching will affect that from happening.
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Playing so many minutes I'm guessing took a toll on her mentally.
 
#15
#15
I would think "elite" players are accustomed to playing many, many minutes.

I had expected,given months off her feet, she would have instead been doing a great deal of upper-body strengthening. Apparently not. Hope there will be a focus on that and conditioning, in addition to post-play tactics such as boxing out.
 
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