2015-2016 Roster

[SCGamecock]

I expect her (Davis) shooting numbers to increase once she is playing with Gray, Coates, and Wilson.

I agree. I think her numbers will improve once she's around players equally as talented. She won't have to shoulder the entire burden of the offense.

 

[triaddukefan]

I agree. I think her numbers will improve once she's around players equally as talented. She won't have to shoulder the entire burden of the offense.

Imagine KML's numbers if she played on last year's Ga Tech team. They sure as heck wouldnt be as sterling.

 

[UConnCat]

Imagine KML's numbers if she played on last year's Ga Tech team. They sure as heck wouldnt be as sterling.

My guess is her numbers would have been a lot better than Davis'. Of course, KML has such a different approach to the game than Kaela Davis and she never would have chosen to play for Mechelle Joseph so I can't really get my head around the comparison.

I'm a big believer that basketball players, like most people, rarely change their stripes. We'll see.

 

[DavidinNaples]

Imagine KML's numbers if she played on last year's Ga Tech team. They sure as heck wouldnt be as sterling.

Agree w/ UConnCat.... KML scored 565 pts on 396 shots. She shot 54% vs 36% for Davis... Davis took 249 more shots. So you're saying KML would score fewer points even w/ 249 more shots?? THat's crazy talk...

 

[CocoHusky]

Imagine KML's numbers if she played on last year's Ga Tech team. They sure as heck wouldnt be as sterling.

I disagree. KML much like Maggie Lucas-PSU '14 were going to lead the nation in 3 PT shooting percentage regardless if they play at GT, PSU, UCONN, or Stonybrook. Why? Because both are significantly better than their peers. Kaela Davis is simply not that elite a shooter.

 

[hjoerring]

Interesting analysis of team height - but one question; have they changed the rules and are allowing more than five players on the court at one time? Inquiring minds want to know.

Haven't you been following the discussion- it's all (or at least mostly) theoretical: from questions about height (some find it easier to let others do the math then use battery power on their calculator), shooting, practice to games. Not to forget confidence. Some can do it all in practices but not in games. Have mercy on us all. And poor Dawn. She gets everything but the one thing she really need- a 3pt shooter. Now that stubborness. (I said it 2years ago, she is really positioning herself for the Uconn job when - and if - it opens.) And in the end- all are in agreement things got lost in translation, or it was all semantics. And as math is nonsemantics/theoretical (at least here on/in the Yard), Uconn is the mathemtical winner- the tallest team, NC 2015). Unless Stevens and Wilson plu add a few centemeters- not an impossibility. Just musing.

 

[Sonny44]

Finally got around to doing the math..
I've included the entire 2015 rosters for both teams, including incoming freshmen.

The average height of South Carolina's 14 player roster is 71.14 inches, or barely over 5'11.

The average height of UCONN's 13 player roster is 71.76, so still 5'11 but almost 6'.

To make things even, I did calculations for a 13 man South Carolina roster as well (by dropping Cuevas, SC's shortest player) and the average height rose to 71.53 inches (Still shorter than UCONN but barely)

And just in case somebody asked, I did one for a 16 man SC roster (including ineligible transfers Kaela Davis and Alisha Gray) and the average height there was 71.37 inches.

So in reality, neither team is remarkably bigger than the other but if there had to be a bigger team (whether you use average height or number of players taller than 6') then that team would be UCONN.

You can only put five players on the court at a time. Their starting interior three are taller than us. Not sure if Butler starts or not. But the height differences aren't that critical. We are more athletic I believe. I think Gabby can rebound very well against the bigs.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Haven't you been following the discussion- it's all (or at least mostly) theoretical: from questions about height (some find it easier to let others do the math then use battery power on their calculator), shooting, practice to games. Not to forget confidence. Some can do it all in practices but not in games. Have mercy on us all. And poor Dawn. She gets everything but the one thing she really need- a 3pt shooter. Now that stubborness. (I said it 2years ago, she is really positioning herself for the Uconn job when - and if - it opens.) And in the end- all are in agreement things got lost in translation, or it was all semantics. And as math is nonsemantics/theoretical (at least here on/in the Yard), Uconn is the mathemtical winner- the tallest team, NC 2015). Unless Stevens and Wilson plu add a few centemeters- not an impossibility. Just musing.

- From what I remember of the Gamecocks visit to Gampel last February, Mitchell (3 of 4)and Sessions (2 of 4) both looked like really solid 3pt shooters (seasonal stats aside, and granted, they're nothing approaching KML ). I didn't see the desperate need for a great outside shooter (SC had two good ones) to stretch the floor and open it up for the big kids. But rather I saw the need for a different coaching strategy, which never came.

-Staley knows she is bigger and stronger down low than most every opponent, and in the 6 games I saw USC play, she seemed absolutely determined that options 1, 2 and 3 were to get the ball down to her post players Coates, Welch and Wilson (certainly that was the game plan in the 87-62 shellacking). It did not work that night against UConn, but Staley stayed with it, even though her starting guards were an excellent 5 of 8 from three. Why not take more threes? I'd think shooting the three that well would warrant a strategy change- shoot MORE from the perimeter- which might have opened up more easy shots in the paint, especially those 2 ft putbacks that Coates and Wilson specialize in.

- For most of the year, that dump-it-into-the-bigs strategy worked just great. Until they came up against a great shot-blocking team with guards capable of exerting tremendous on-ball pressure so that getting it inside was really really difficult. Then the Gamecocks offense sputtered. I was kind of waiting for Staley to go with 3 guards-Mitchell, Sessions and Cuevas- to better move the ball around, penetrate, spread the floor so their bigs might be more effective. Nope. Welch was great, taking 17 shots and scored 17 points- a solid game because she was extremely mobile and never stopped moving- she didn't stand around down low waiting for the ball, she went and got it. The stationary Coates and Wilson took a total of 14 shots and scored just 16 points between them, waiting for balls that rarely came.

As far as Staley "positioning herself for the UConn job."

 

[DobbsRover2]

Yep, USCar was a decent 3pt percentage shooting team last year (in the top 50) but a bad 3pt volume shooting team (back around 200) with less than 5 made 3pters per game, and their opponents took more 3s than them. Mitchell and Cuevas as the two most prolific 3pt shooters averaged around 40%, which is very respectable, but the good teams will always set up their defense to shut down the inside game because they just don 't fear Staley unleashing a storm out there.

To put things in perspective, following the first two games each team played at home in the Tourney, UConn averaged 24 3pt FGAs in their last four games, while USCar averaged 11 3pt FGAs in their three games. Widening the floor could only help.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Dawn's offensive strategy is to work around the paint and move from high percentage shots to low percentage shots. In her mind, there's ALWAYS a high percentage shot available. If you're not a high percentage three point shooter then you shouldn't be shooting threes, according to Dawn. I think I've stated in my OP that White doesn't shoot the three consistently, but I've seen her shoot threes. Same for Wilson. White will never shoot it consistently enough to be a specialist, something I never said. That's not her game, but the point remains that I've seen her shoot them. So it's not like she can't. You are correct, Wilson has not demonstrated she can shoot threes in game but she has during drills.

A'ja is best in the paint because few people can match her there, and she's only a sophomore. But I've seen her shoot threes as well, she's not at a competent rate yet but she's already a better shooter than when she arrived. WAY better. Her issue is confidence. She just needs to shoot. She's apprehensive around the arc at times. Dawn wants her to just shoot the ball, Dawn is confident A'ja's shots will drop once she builds confidence in them.

Dear SCG- I would be elated if SC's Wilson and Jetarie White, as well as Azura Stevens and FSU's Bulgak spend lots and lots of time this upcoming season demonstrating their 3-point prowess for all to see (while Chatrice White is a nice player, Illinois is irrelevant- and toxic). It's not the recipe for success these teams seek.

The more time these bigs play outside the arc the better - for their opponents- because it means fewer offensive rebounds, fewer put backs, one less big kid defending in the paint, and many times being the player responsible for getting back first to defend on the break. Good luck with that.

[btw, two of my favorite places in the world are Charleston and Kiawah- both drop dead beautiful]

 

[SCGamecock]

[btw, two of my favorite places in the world are Charleston and Kiawah- both drop dead beautiful]

Charlestonian born and raised. We tend to like it here as well. I grew up on the islands.