Breakdown: Olivia Nelson Ododa | The Boneyard

Breakdown: Olivia Nelson Ododa

I remain very optimistic for Olivia to stand out as a senior team leader this season while posting significantly better numbers across the board.

P.S. Bashers and complainers are downers and tough enough to be around in person; the same applies to this board as we discuss fantastic young women playing for our favorite team.
 
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Part of me wonders what a line up of ONO, Dorka and Aaliyah with Caroline as a wing subbing in forecourt and a combination of Paige, Azzi, CW, and Nika in backcourt could do. I doubt we will see that forecourt on a regular basis, though it might give SC fits. The problem may be the need to have Paige, Azzi and CW in the game for long periods, thus reducing time for that longer forecourt line-up. I am guessing but I expect it will be difficult to keep Caroline on bench. This is of course predicated on the idea that Azzi is a starter.
 
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Fair article. Liv has been up and down so far.

In her favor, she is a very good passer from the high post and a good to very good rim protector. We will see if her offensive game & shot selection improves.

She will still be an important contributor this season.
 
I'm excited to see what Olivia brings to the table this season. Geno threw down the gauntlet last season (after all the games I think) where he said that if Olivia plays in her senior year like she did in her junior year, he will look to other players as options on offense, or something like that.

I think her mid range game is good for a post player and she battles on defense. One of my biggest beefs with her is that no matter what kind of pass she receives, even if she doesn't need to dribble, she brings the ball down almost below her waist before attempting the layup. I don't understand why the coaches have not addresses this, unless it's so ingrained in her hoops DNA that it would set her back years in attempting to fix it.

Bring the ball that low ALL THE TIME just screams for even the shortest guard to strip her. Look at the entire clip above in the player breakdown of Liv. There are at least 15 snips of her making layups and on EVERY SINGLE ONE she brings the ball down to her waist. She just will not keep the ball high. I hope that is addressed, but I don't think it's likely.

Still, she can be a solid contributor. I can see her keeping her starting spot, but she will definitely lose minutes (a lot if she's not improved) to Dorka and Liya, especially if Dorka is as aggressive as advertised. C'mon Liv - please be awesome!!
 
EricLA said:
One of my biggest beefs with her is that no matter what kind of pass she receives, even if she doesn't need to dribble, she brings the ball down almost below her waist before attempting the layup.
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I agree. It's something I've been complaining about for quite some time about Liv. What's worse is whenever she drops her left leg (which she didn't do until her sophomore year) she brings the ball below her waist, hesitates, then puts it up with two hands. She never fluidly fakes going to her right, spins left and puts it with her right hand. She never spins left, takes that big step to the hoop and shoots the layup. She never even fakes right, spins left and shoots the fadeaway. I've noted this a bunch of times in a quite a few posts. I've also stated that I would be very happy if Liv improves her inside game this year by just putting the ball up with her right hand and improves her FT shooting by a few percentage points.

I don't agree that her mid range game is good for a post player. Tuck had a good mid range game for a post player. Boston has a good game for a post. But Liv has certainly improved from the air balls she used to shoot her freshman and sophomore year. If Liv could show just a little consistency from the elbow UConn could effectively play 4 or even 5 out. That would open up the shooting lanes, the cutting lanes, the passing lanes, and open up the hi/lo game. As of now the threat of Liv hitting that elbow jumper is real low, and teams just sag off her when shes working that part of the triangle.
 
JordyG said:
I agree. It's something I've been complaining about for quite some time about Liv. What's worse is whenever she drops her left leg (which she didn't do until her sophomore year) she brings the ball below her waist, hesitates, then puts it up with two hands. She never fluidly fakes going to her right, spins left and puts it with her right hand. She never spins left, takes that big step to the hoop and shoots the layup. She never even fakes right, spins left and shoots the fadeaway. I've noted this a bunch of times in a quite a few posts. I've also stated that I would be very happy if Liv improves her inside game this year by just putting the ball up with her right hand and improves her FT shooting by a few percentage points.

I don't agree that her mid range game is good for a post player. Tuck had a good mid range game for a post player. Boston has a good game for a post. But Liv has certainly improved from the air balls she used to shoot her freshman and sophomore year. If Liv could show just a little consistency from the elbow UConn could effectively play 4 or even 5 out. That would open up the shooting lanes, the cutting lanes, the passing lanes, and open up the hi/lo game. As of now the threat of Liv hitting that elbow jumper is real low, and teams just sag off her when shes working that part of the triangle.
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ONO has a world of talent but we've only seen about 65%-70% of it so far...........I'm hopeful her final season will bring out the rest of her game........BTW if she played around 30 minutes a game she'd be averaging something like 18/12/4 per game, hardly disappointing numbers.....
 
Charliebball said:
ONO has a world of talent but we've only seen about 65%-70% of it so far...........I'm hopeful her final season will bring out the rest of her game........BTW if she played around 30 minutes a game she'd be averaging something like 18/12/4 per game, hardly disappointing numbers.....
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Yet against the better teams and better posts her numbers have been lacking. Projecting numbers over the course of an imaginary full game is, to me, a specious statistic. It hardly takes into account competition, circumstance, the penchant of a player such as Liv for getting into foul trouble, and the defenses the player has to go against. Honestly, if Liv wants to have success at the next level she's going to have to work really hard on her footwork, her finishing at the basket, her strength, her outside shot, and her proclivity for committing fouls.
 
On past game films, I’ve seen Dorka finish low in the paint, spinning Inside to the left and right and finishing with either hand.
I’m hoping that practicing daily against Dorka, Aaliyah and Paith gives Olivia a little more physical presence and the willingness to both absorb and administer hard contact.
I think we’ll find out whose bringing it in the paint early on.
Going 1-9 in ANY tournament game just doesn’t cut it.
 
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JordyG said:
Yet against the better teams and better posts her numbers have been lacking. Projecting numbers over the course of an imaginary full game is, to me, a specious statistic. It hardly takes into account competition, circumstance, the penchant of a player such as Liv for getting into foul trouble, and the defenses the player has to go against. Honestly, if Liv wants to have success at the next level she's going to have to work really hard on her footwork, her finishing at the basket, her strength, her outside shot, and her proclivity for committing fouls.
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understood but I think many here are underwhelmed with her overall play and not just against the top teams.......her stats show she would be statistically well above average for her position.....her intimidation factor is also underappreciated by many..........I wish folks paid better attention to how easily opponents drove to the basket when was on the bench....... I think we will see better from her this season as she will be pushed by Dorka and she will be better able to go all out knowing there are other post players to fill her role if she gets in foul trouble.....
 
Charliebball said:
understood but I think many here are underwhelmed with her overall play and not just against the top teams.......her stats show she would be statistically well above average for her position.....her intimidation factor is also underappreciated by many..........I wish folks paid better attention to how easily opponents drove to the basket when was on the bench....... I think we will see better from her this season as she will be pushed by Dorka and she will be better able to go all out knowing there are other post players to fill her role if she gets in foul trouble.....
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Hope springs eternal.
 
JordyG said:
I agree. It's something I've been complaining about for quite some time about Liv. What's worse is whenever she drops her left leg (which she didn't do until her sophomore year) she brings the ball below her waist, hesitates, then puts it up with two hands. She never fluidly fakes going to her right, spins left and puts it with her right hand. She never spins left, takes that big step to the hoop and shoots the layup. She never even fakes right, spins left and shoots the fadeaway. I've noted this a bunch of times in a quite a few posts. I've also stated that I would be very happy if Liv improves her inside game this year by just putting the ball up with her right hand and improves her FT shooting by a few percentage points.

I don't agree that her mid range game is good for a post player. Tuck had a good mid range game for a post player. Boston has a good game for a post. But Liv has certainly improved from the air balls she used to shoot her freshman and sophomore year. If Liv could show just a little consistency from the elbow UConn could effectively play 4 or even 5 out. That would open up the shooting lanes, the cutting lanes, the passing lanes, and open up the hi/lo game. As of now the threat of Liv hitting that elbow jumper is real low, and teams just sag off her when shes working that part of the triangle.
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Outstanding post. Thank you.
 
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I have always thought that Liv with all of he skills that she has is very tentative. She has no...............toughness/anger. She is a nice kid who will be pushed around. Almost like the character that Clint Walker played (Posey) in the movie dirty dozen. Maybe with the talent sitting on the bench especially Dorka, she might be replaced as a starter a few times and decide to emerge from her safe place.
 
Hmm. Some are taking the wording "Breakdown" a little too seriously. :rolleyes:
 
My take on Liv is not that she’s bothered by opposing team’s size or comes up short in Big games because of pressure. If that were the case, how to explain her performance vs Cardoso & Syracuse in the NCAA tournament, when Liv thoroughly outplayed a 6’7” center with one of her best games?

I have always felt that the challenge for Liv is to play “faster.” In both the AR & AZ games, Liv was harassed in the low post by smaller quicker players who swarmed on her every time she got the ball, speeding her up, leading to missed shots.

There’s a couple things Liv can do this season that would make a world of difference. First, she needs to be a deadly mid-range shooter. Most teams will concede that shot to Liv. If she makes it consistently, that pulls a big defender out of the paint, opening up the lane for layup drills for Paige, Christyn, Evina, etc.

The second thing that would really improve Liv’s low post play is to do the work in the low blocks before the ball comes in to her. Great low post scorers like Pheesa, worked incredibly hard to establish dominant position in the post ahead of time, so that when they received the ball it was simply a matter of catch and shoot.
 
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I was one of the first her frosh year to offer suggestions regarding her lack of midrange shooting, tendancy to foul on block attempts, and missed layups. That being said, while she is still not the perfect player, I hate to think of UConn the past few years wthout her inside defense and rebounding. For several years, ONO was the only height on team. While I have never been an ONO defender, I suspect all the depth this year will take much of the inside load off of ONO and give Geno the ability to coach her strengths. Less minutes? Probably. More performance? Likely.
 
Hardly anyone mentions the obvious, that Dorka historically is a better basketball player at the same height. It will be an interesting season.
 
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oldude said:
My take on Liv is not that she’s bothered by opposing team’s size or comes up short in Big games because of pressure. If that were the case, how to explain her performance vs Cardoso & Syracuse in the NCAA tournament, when Liv thoroughly outplayed a 6’7” center with one of her best games?

I have always felt that the challenge for Liv is to play “faster.” In both the AR & AZ games, Liv was harassed in the low post by smaller quicker players who swarmed on her every time she got the ball, speeding her up, leading to missed shots.

There’s a couple things Liv can do this season that would make a world of difference. First, she needs to be a deadly mid-range shooter. Most teams will concede that shot to Liv. If she makes it consistently, that pulls a big defender out of the paint, opening up the lane for layup drills for Paige, Christyn, Evina, etc.

The second thing that would really improve Liv’s low post play is to do the work in the low blocks before the ball comes in to her. Great low post scorers like Pheesa, worked incredibly hard to establish dominant position in the post ahead of time, so that when they received the ball it was simply a matter of catch and shoot.
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I agree completely with your second point. So why do you think she hasn’t learned or been coached to do that in 3 years?
 
BobbyJ said:
I agree completely with your second point. So why do you think she hasn’t learned or been coached to do that in 3 years?
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If you’re talking about Liv playing faster, part of it is physical. Liv is a good athlete, but she’s not super quick and never will be.

The second part is instinctive, based on doing something over and over again. I compared Liv to Pheesa, which is really not fair. Pheesa had great low post moves when she arrived at UConn and she only got better. For Liv it’s been a long process that’s taken a lot of time.

Liv certainly has been coached, particularly by Jamelle, and she was much better last year than during her sophomore year. With that said Liv needs to continue to improve to the point where she is a viable scoring threat in big games. I hope to see that this season.
 
BobbyJ said:
I agree completely with your second point. So why do you think she hasn’t learned or been coached to do that in 3 years?
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It's hard to say what the problem is sometimes. I watched a game (no, don't remember which one - an easy conference opponent I believe) last year and Geno was all over her during a timeout. very upset about the way she had been playing. It was a good ten second rant.

Immediately on play resuming, she grabbed a rebound, missed the put-up, grabbed that rebound, missed the put-up, and then did it all again on the third try before losing the rebound. These were not highly contested shots. The announcers pointed out that it wasn't a good performance given the lecture Geno had just given her.

Maybe much of it is in her head. I'm confident she can work it out given the support everyone is giving her.
 
She needed to put on 10-20 pounds of muscle so she could better bang down low. Its too easy for the bigger & better centers to outmuscle her for rebounds & position. I dont see this happening.

But, she should have developed a better finesse game by now. I would use the word "deliberate" to describe her play. She seems to be overthinking most plays, and a result, is not quick to act. Players can easily adjust or double-team her. I might be be sounding over-critical, but I just havent seen any improvement in her play or impact in her 3 years here.
 
jaundicedeye said:
I remain very optimistic for Olivia to stand out as a senior team leader this season while posting significantly better numbers across the board.

P.S. Bashers and complainers are downers and tough enough to be around in person; the same applies to this board as we discuss fantastic young women playing for our favorite team.
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Offering an opinion is not bashing and being a downer .Do you think you are a more loyal fan by trying to be Mr.Goodbar.? Give me a break!
 
I posted this in an earlier thread, but it needs to be said again. If this annoys you, feel free to bash me, but give Liv a break...

3 things I really, really want:

1. Win both the powerball and megamillions.
2. Have the BY stop ragging on Liv.
3. Have the BY stop ragging on each other.

Of the 3, #1 is the most likely...
 
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