A good year for University of Oregon
- Thread starter Kaizen
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I've said it before and thought it many times, this Oregon team has really impressed me the last couple of years. They are clearly in the process of building a great team. They have a great coaching staff led by one of my growing favorites in Kelly Graves and a team that really seems to follow their mindsets and philosophies. As I've also said, I'm a bit biased because Nicole Powell is on the staff, but the Ducks are definitely growing on me.
RogueDave
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nwhoopfan
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Oh, I don't see that one. Powell was basically their PG despite her height, but could also play in the post on either end of the floor. She wasn't the pure shooter that KLS is but was a much more versatile player in my mind. I'd say Gabby is a closer comparison to Powell than KLS is. Powell was something to watch.
I'm talking about while she was at Stanford. I didn't follow her WNBA career very closely.
RogueDave
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Good point, I forgot about all the point work she did and quite well...just was recalling the streaky good shooting...similar to Lou...
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Nicole was kind of the epitome of the "know every position" player Stanford likes to have when they can. A lot of it was the point when they were a bit thin her first couple of years. I could see some similarities with Lou in terms of the shooting you mentioned RogueDave. There were times too that she would have those quiet nights where you would look up and see she somehow got 20+ points. I have favorites of Stanford past and she's definitely up there.
nwhoopfan
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It's been a while, maybe my memory is hazy, but my recollection is that Powell was a triple double threat every time she stepped on the floor. I remember her being by far and away their best player, the supporting cast at the time wasn't stellar. She kept them afloat but they really weren't Championship contenders. Right after she left Wiggins arrived soon followed by Appel, Pedersen, etc. etc and they started a long run of consecutive Final 4's.
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It may never have been the intention at all, but I always felt like people kind of forgot what Nicole did for the program. She was a vital part of the growth to what they became with all the players that followed. A lot of fans became enamored with where the team had gone and how they had improved, but didn't quite respect how they got there. They may never have gotten past the Elite 8 when Nicole was there, but it's not something that should diminish the star in my mind.
Perhaps that's why I made more of a jump towards UConn (I was already a fan before that) because the program and the fans not only have the rich tradition, but they respect it and acknowledge it.
Sorry for the little rant there. One of the things that I wish the team, the program, and the fans did better at Stanford.
nwhoopfan
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Not as many games were on TV back then, but I was certainly aware of Powell and impressed by her skills. I know I saw her in person at least once or twice when Stanford played UW in Seattle. Those were some entertaining games, UW was led by Giuliana Mendiola at the time. Before Plum came along, I thought Mendiola was the best ever to play at UW.