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Message: [QUOTE="YKCornelius, post: 5316829, member: 9864"] Bballnut, IMO the biggest issue with Arike is that she is a horrible defender. It is an aspect of her game that has not improved at all this season. Perhaps it is a result of being the franchise player for the past six years and being asked to avoid picking up defensive fouls so she can stay on the court? Whatever the reason, her defensive MO seems to be to jump the lane and try to pick off (or deflect) passes, or swipe at the ball as a player moves by her. Time and time again you see her fail to drop back in transition defense after missing a three, opting instead to try to position herself to intercept any long passes down court. Additionally, she is poor (reluctant?) at fighting through or maneuvering around screens which is a huge liability for a player who is just 5'9", as she cannot switch onto any big who is setting the screen, which forces other teammates to rotate from their assignments to now cover the big leaving Arike in a no-mans land. IMO, this could very well be another of the reasons she does not get the assignment to cover the opposing team's primary shooting guard. Bottom line: her defensive liability will not go away by itself. She needs to commit to improving her defense. Otherwise, it will continue to be a glaring hole for any team who desires to be a title contender. As an aside, I have always been puzzled by why Notre Dame - that has a history of strong defensive guards (Hannah Hidalgo, Sonia Citron, and Skyler Diggins to name a few) - didn't address this during her time in South Bend. Maybe one of our Irish 'yarders can shed some light.... [/QUOTE]

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