very well put.......and yes call me crazy but I do believe that MW may very well have made a difference in that game but we will never know because she was left languishing on the bench.....all I ask is for a little consistency.....you want to say my opinion can't possibly be right because Geno said she wasn't good enough... that's fine but then don't all of a sudden call MW the second coming because you need her to perform next year due to others leaving unexpectedly..
I disagree with the first part and fully agree with the second. As I've stated way too many times on both points. MW was handed/anointed the 7th spot and other than a few meaningful outings she was unable to tie down that spot. The specific whys we will probably never know but it's darn clear she didn't / couldn't do what was expected of her in practice.
The second part drives me batty. She in most cases played meaningless minutes at the later stages of blowout games or didn't get off the bench. So somehow miraculously the sophomore jump just happens to every top HS recruit. She has a huge amount of work to do to even become an important cog next year. Maybe it will happen, maybe not but it requires an enormous amount of work on her game and her attitude/mentality.
I hope she does jump comparably to let's say CD, but even if she does all of the above, I'm not convinced her skill set, size, position she plays translates to being an excellent college player. She's clearly a small forward / wing. The college game is a whole other level, and while I truly hope I'm wrong, I don't see a whole lot to make me confident it is guaranteed or assured in any way, that the light will go on and she will make the sophomore jump.
Just a comparison here! KLS as a freshman was almost exclusively a great shooter, but she started and played meaningful minutes even with Gabby and Pheesa there. MW didn't play a meaningful role with much less athletic, skilled players behind her. The leaps that KLS made the last two years have been remarkable leading to being AA twice now and in almost all polls second to the player anointed NPOY before a ball was thrown up. And the end of this year, surely shows how much work KLS has still to do to improve. After three years here and all she's demonstrated, I'm fairly confident she will make further strides. I still think KLS' biggest area of need of improvement, is a little less unselfishness and some more aggressively taking over in tough games at the end. Yes this is related to Geno's system but surely the Big Three accomplished both making their teammates better and taking hold when needed. The point of the comparison is how much work and effort KLS put in to get to where she is and how much more still needs to be done. MW is finishing her freshman year far behind KLS at the same stage. If she can put in the same effort and come even close that will be pretty remarkable progress. One more point in the comparison is attitudinal. KLS when she couldn't play in the freshman final, after what must have been an enormous hurt and dissapointment, was out there excitedly cheering on her teammates. She's even done that again this year when out with her foot/ankle injuries. This year when MW was upset / disappointed she was usually stoic at best on the bench. We all know Geno has very clear expectations as to players demeanor and involvement when not in the game.
This is not meant as a horrible criticism of MW. It is I believe a realistic view of what's come down so far and how much work she has to do.
It's also directed at a lot of those here who continually want to just hand things to players rather than have them earn it first. Please MW go out and prove me wrong! The opportunity is surely there with the loss of Gabby, Kia and AZ!
Bronx23
