All Decade Team for WCBB

[bballnut90]

Well then, "All Decade Team" should have been a "team" accomplishment, and then it would make sense to not include EDD & Sabrina.

Team accomplishments add to one's resume. They're not mutually exclusive with individual accomplishments.

 

[LoTrader]

Team accomplishments add to one's resume. They're not mutually exclusive with individual accomplishments.

An EDD + Sabrina + U pick em 3 best players that didn't play for UConn, would wipe the floor with just about any team, and your theory goes out the window. The players you were fortunate enough to play with for 4 years matter.

 

[j66kicker]

An EDD + Sabrina + U pick em 3 best players that didn't play for UConn, would wipe the floor with just about any team, and your theory goes out the window. The players you were fortunate enough to play with for 4 years matter.

I’d take my chances against that bunch with an all-UConn team. Say Stewart-Jefferson-Collier-Charles-Moore?

 

[bballnut90]

An EDD + Sabrina + U pick em 3 best players that didn't play for UConn, would wipe the floor with just about any team, and your theory goes out the window. The players you were fortunate enough to play with for 4 years matter.

It's not a theory of who was the best player. It's who had the best collegiate career.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Last Saturday I watched her warm up for 45 minutes, and then the game. No appearance of injury. What I did notice is Sabrina seems to be more focused upon orchestrating vs scoring. She seems intent on getting everyone involved in the offense. I think Sabrina could score 40 points a night if that is what the team needed from Sabrina. But it is not, and, Oregon has many who can put the ball through the net.

I'm pretty sure Sabrina could not average 40 points a game. Particularly since no one ever has. She's a good player. No need to resort to hyperbole to argue for her ability.

 

[JonathanXIV]

I’d give EDD HM at best. She never won anything in college, tagged along for freebie Olympic gold, and never won the WNBA until this year when all the other WNBA stars were hurt or out. Doesn’t have the heart of a champion.

A little harsh, don't you think?

 

[j66kicker]

A little harsh, don't you think?

Yes, but true. I think she has the heart of a great human being. But, probably for all the right reasons, has never prioritized basketball greatness to the level, or with the intensity, of the truly great ones. Not that those great ones have balanced lives - they're truly "all in" so that's probably mutually exclusive with "balance".

 

[biobioprof]

I’d take my chances against that bunch with an all-UConn team. Say Stewart-Jefferson-Collier-Charles-Moore?

EDD + Sabrina + 3 more? Would be interesting vs:
Griner at post
Aja at the 4
EDD at the 3
Sabrina at 2
Diggins at 1

That would be a plausible US National team lineup, IMO... but..

• The UConn alums would have the advantage of having played in the same system, so playing as a team would be much easier.
• There are nonadditive effects of putting together real lineups. Wasn't there a thread during the last WNBA season about Aja and Cambage being better when the other was on the bench?

 

[WestCoast]

I'm pretty sure Sabrina could not average 40 points a game. Particularly since no one ever has. She's a good player. No need to resort to hyperbole to argue for her ability.

Ionescu's versatility is what has statistically set her apart from others who have come before her. She has been encouraged and allowed (via the offense and her extended playing time over her career) to help her team win the way she (and Graves) believes is best.

Could she average 20+ points per game if she passed less often? Yes. Has she tried to score more in key games without her's team success playing out. Yes. Like UConn's star players of the past, Oregon's top star player must sacrifice a bit of individual glory in order to help her team obtain a national team title.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Ionescu's versatility is what has statistically set her apart from others who have come before her. She has been encouraged and allowed (via the offense and her extended playing time over her career) to help her team win the way she (and Graves) believes is best.

Could she average 20+ points per game if she passed less often? Yes. Has she tried to score more in key games without her's team success playing out. Yes. Like UConn's star players of the past, Oregon's top star player must sacrifice a bit of individual glory in order to help her team obtain a national team title.

All true. What I took issue with is the ridiculous assertion that she could average 40 points a game.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Yes, but true. I think she has the heart of a great human being. But, probably for all the right reasons, has never prioritized basketball greatness to the level, or with the intensity, of the truly great ones. Not that those great ones have balanced lives - they're truly "all in" so that's probably mutually exclusive with "balance".

Still, I think that writing that she "tagged along" for a "freebie" Olympic gold (a charge that could be made against almost any American player) and that she doesn't have the "heart of a champion" after leading her team to a WNBA championship seems needlessly harsh.

 

[j66kicker]

Still, I think that writing that she "tagged along" for a "freebie" Olympic gold (a charge that could be made against almost any American player) and that she doesn't have the "heart of a champion" after leading her team to a WNBA championship seems needlessly harsh.

I was originally responding to a poster who insisted that leaving EDD off any all-decade team is simply not credible. I was just making a case that it’s totally credible.

 

[WestCoast]

All true. What I took issue with is the ridiculous assertion that she could average 40 points a game.

True. 25 per game is doable for her if she passed less. I understood the hyperbole. That poster has apparently seen her play a lot. Lots of Oregon fans can see Ionescu do no wrong. Those who are a little further removed from Oregon may have a little more objectivity.

 

[LoTrader]

All true. What I took issue with is the ridiculous assertion that she could average 40 points a game.

Sorry, I meant 50+ points a game.

 

[Zanzman]

True. 25 per game is doable for her if she passed less. I understood the hyperbole. That poster has apparently seen her play a lot. Lots of Oregon fans can see Ionescu do no wrong. Those who are a little further removed from Oregon may have a little more objectivity.

I’m glad UConn fans aren’t that way

 

[LoTrader]

I’m glad UConn fans aren’t that way

And I'm an Oregon State Fan, not a DUCK Fan. But I appreciate greatness when I see it.

 

[triaddukefan]

And I'm an Oregon State Fan, not a DUCK Fan. But I appreciate greatness when I see it.

You're a better person than I.

 

[LoTrader]

You're a better person than I.

That could be debated

 

[JonathanXIV]

Sorry, I meant 50+ points a game.

 

[willtalk]

It seems obvious that a few Uconn fans are still a bit ticked that EDD bailed on their team.
Having the best college career means different things to different people. You can have a great college career without playing in the final four. Pistol Pete averaged 44 pts a game in his college career and he never smelled a final four. Could anyone say he did not have a great college career?

The thread title is All-Decade Team. That is not specific enough and leaves a lot of interpretation open. Everyone has their own criteria for judging what that should entail. Those of you that want to limit others to your own personal criteria are way off base here. There is only one team that wins a championship every year. There are only four teams that make a final four. We are talking about a single-elimination tournament which also relies on luck of the draw and any given night factor.

I think it is difficult enough to make subjective picks without giving excessive weight to NCAA tournament success. It certainly can be considered on factor, but should not be a criterion for elimination. As a player can make their team better, the reverse is also applicable. Playing on the right team can make a player better. KML is an example of that. She was a specialist who benefited from the great players around her.