Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="YKCornelius, post: 5354319, member: 9864"] Dillon, I appreciate your response and your assessment. A lot of salient points for sure. I would agree that any review of her collegiate stats to date gives the impression that she is doing everything asked of her, and therefore, on face value, one would be hard pressed to find fault with her game. However, my impression is based on what I have been observing, not on the stat ledger. I question her physical toughness because it seemed that in every game she would take pains to avoid contact. This was a stark contrast to what I had come to expect from Irish guards like Skyler Diggins, Kayla McBride, Marina Mabrey and even Arike when she wore the ND jersey. Rebounds as a validation of toughness? Meh. I don't see her impressive rebound totals as an indication that she was "battling for the boards" (my term). Rather they were a reflection of her wonderful innate awareness of the game which, among other gifts she possesses, included having a Dennis Rodman-like understanding of where missed outside shots were going to go. This ability complimented her skill as a facilitator of the Irish's transition game. Said differently, rather than be on the receiving end of Irish fast breaks, her forte was to initiate and facilitate them, for which defensive rebounds gathered [U]away from the paint[/U] were her bread and butter. I would also argue that if one is going to point at rebounds as a measure of physical toughness, then one would expect to see offensive rebounds support or refute any contention. In Olivia's case, she averaged just 0.5 offensive rebound per game [U]her entire ND career[/U]. One offensive board every two games - for a starter averaging over 32 minutes per game. Hmmmm. Contrast her 0.3 orpg with her 5'6" backcourt mate's 1.5 orpg last year and it suggests something other than a desire by Olivia to mix it up. I agree on your assessment and characterization of "burst speed", and at the college level I would not disagree that Olivia possesses the ability to dial it up at times during the game. But using burst speed to go from slow to fast at the college level is not the same as accelerating from fast to extremely fast at the pro level. That last sentence pretty much characterizes my overall assessment of Olivia Miles - a great college player who has some unbelievable court skills that should translate well at the next level. But she also has some eyebrow-raising weaknesses that I hope she works on during her stay in Fort Worth. If she doesn't, then I suspect her time on the court next summer will be very limited. Maybe she used some of her NIL money this summer to hire some professional WBB trainers, and therefore her renaissance with the Horned Frogs will make my impressions moot. I wouldn't mind if Olivia proves me off-base. Thanks again for your thoughts. Good insight regarding a wonderful player. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,738

Messages: 4,408,456

Members: 10,228

Latest member: NEONDOHA