Chiney as All-American

[Buzzyboy]

I really find it hard to fathom that Chiney Ogwumike is a unanimous preseason All American. I think she's a phenomenal athlete and relentless but her skill level as a basketball player is nowhere near many many other ladies. The vast majority of her points are scored either on offensive rebounds or at the foul line. She has absolutely no ability shooting the basketball from virtually anywhere on the court. I was so impressed with Amber Orange from Stanford and I consider her a vastly superior basketball player to Chiney. She has great skills and plays a totally complete game. As mentioned, Chiney really is a superb athlete and jumper and her energy level is off the charts but I really think that if you're an All-American basketball player, and unanimous at that, you should have more skills than does Ms. Ogwumike. The reason I'm impassioned about this is because of all the hype I continually hear about her, including tonights broadcast. Her sister who is now in the WNBA has great skills and is wonderfully talented but I just think her leaping ability and her great "engine" is the only thing that Chiney really has in her favor. I'll probably hear a lot of criticism for my rant but I just thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[sarals24]

I agree...I mean, she's definitely physically talented and can jump out of the gym, but she has a long ways to go offensively. Nneka was a more complete player IMO, and I thought Orrange outshone her tonight.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Amber has been incredibly inconsistent.

Who would you replace C.O. with?

 

[Icebear]

Buzzy, I think your evaluation is about half right. Chiney has limitations but is much better than you credit her with being.

 

[msf22b]

I think your evaluation is about half right. Chiney has limitations but is much better than you credit her with being.

UConn has the size and ability to make her look bad as we've shown last year and again tonight.
Garbage collecting power forwards can be very impactful as a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th option in a more complete offense.
She'll be fine in the pro's

 

[Scotter]

You're significantly underrating Chiney's skill level. Maybe you haven't seen her play enough, but her skill level is much higher than your description. Is she polished as Nneka? No, and she's never been but she's willing to take more risks. Chiney is to Nneka as Breanna Stewart is to EDD.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Amber has been incredibly inconsistent.

Who would you replace C.O. with?

I'm not sure who I'd replace her with. There are some pretty talented girls out there. Maybe C. O. deserves some consideration but the fact that she was unanimous really gets under my skin. That's really because I see such really sloppy play from her so frequently that's compensated for by her relentlessness. I wish there was some way to determine her shooting percentage from beyond six feet away from the basket. Actually, I think her field goal percentage on layups is probably somewhere around 35% based on the games that I've actually seen her play. I'm assuming that what I've seen is a reasonably accurate representation of what she does the rest of the time.

 

[Buzzyboy]

UConn has the size and ability to make her look bad as we've shown last year and again tonight.
Garbage collecting power forwards can be very impactful as a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th option in a more complete offense.
She'll be fine in the pro's

I just want to thank you and others for your feedback. I don't claim to be an authority but just wanted to throw out my opinion and I'm appreciative of your input.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Chiney is probably the #1 pick in the WNBA draft, but if I had the choice, it would be Odyssey Sims. I would also be evaluating Alyssa Thomas closely this year as well, she might be equal to or better then Chiney. I'll know more after Saturday's game.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Dennis Rodman is a first ballot Hall of Famer.

The hype about Chiney being a better player than Nnecka will never pan out. However, that could very well be due to Nnecka being surrounded by a more stellar supporting lineup. There is no one on Stanford's current front line threatening enough to make a defense pay for focusing too keenly on Chiney.

Chiney is definitely an All American. She may not have dominated the game offensively, but she had a double-double against the best team in the country. That counts for something.

 

[VAMike23]

You're significantly underrating Chiney's skill level. Maybe you haven't seen her play enough, but her skill level is much higher than your description. Is she polished as Nneka? No, and she's never been but she's willing to take more risks. Chiney is to Nneka as Breanna Stewart is to EDD.

I think that's an excellent way of putting it.

 

[cardfan]

Amber has been incredibly inconsistent.

Who would you replace C.O. with?

Inconsistent since when? Against BC she was one board minus a triple double. Her game is much improved this year so I would suggest waiting to judge her level of play until you see more of her games this year.

Regarding Chiney, what everyone seems to miss, including Doris Burke, who does Chiney have in the post to help her in the post this yr and last? And she is a forward, not a center. We do not have a center, so she is carrying the Cardinal on her back with averaging a double/double.

UConn is deep at every position, and bigger in paint. You could throw 3-4 players at her because no other Cardinal can score, yet (they will be better in March). If Chiney had some help in the paint, it might be a tad harder to guard her.

I do hope KML is okay.

 

[wallman]

Wait a second, you don't think Tinkle could have played the 5? Or even Ruef, who is after all not a shooter and only a rebounder! Maybe OC is not able to play away from the basket, after all I have not seen any of those skills to suggest she can. Now that may not be her fault but I have watched her in probably every PACTV game plus some and never seen that she has those skills.

 

[VAMike23]

You could throw 3-4 players at her because no other Cardinal can score, *except Amber*, yet (they will be better in March). If Chiney had some help in the paint, it might be a tad harder to guard her.

Definitely true as far as other interior players. But AO has talent, and some moxie.

 

[Kibitzer]

Once again, I am reminded of what Jim Brown once said. Brown was arguably the greatest running back in NFL history, but caught occasional flack from critics who felt he was deficient at things like blocking or pass catching. His response: "All Caruso could do was sing."

 

[UcMiami]

Wow - Uconn defense can make anybody look ordinary (including her sister.) Chiney is very good and that 'ordinary' just scored 16 with 13 rebounds against Uconn. So... as a comparison, our all world Stewart scored 9 with 4 rebounds. Sorry but I just find this silly.

 

[msf22b]

Perhaps if we neutralize Ms Thomas again…

 

[dtbtbtb]

IMO there is very little improvement in the game of CO from last year and specifically her shot or lack off from mid range. She is a very very good player but if she could shoot from the mid range she could be un-stoppable. She is relentless with a quick second jump which allows her to be a great rebounder but her lack of outside shot will hurt her in the next level. Basically I see her as a Glory Johnson type player which is really good but not great.

 

[VAMike23]

IMO there is very little improvement in the game of CO from last year and specifically her shot or lack off from mid range. She is a very very good player but if she could shoot from the mid range she could be un-stoppable. She is relentless with a quick second jump which allows her to be a great rebounder but her lack of outside shot will hurt her in the next level. Basically I see her as a Glory Johnson type player which is really good but not great.

Her big sis really did ramp it up her senior year, adding an extra dimension of touch and range to make her a clear #1 lottery pick at the next level. Still remains to be seen if Chiney will be able to do the same. I'm guessing not quite , but the year is young. I still love Chiney and admire her game greatly.

If I were voting I would put her AA as well.

 

[cferraro04]

In my opinion and based on the level of play tonight...there was only one All American on the floor tonight and it was Bria Hartley!

 

[dtbtbtb]

While Bria was the best player today, Orange was impressive