Dan Olson: "The Best Recruits I've Seen"

[donalddoowop]

I guess he did not see Delle Donne. I heard about her on the national news when she was a senior.

 

[bballnut90]

The post is about best recruits, not best college careers, so yeah it's about talent moreso than production.

Even still, she is a legit WNBA all-star right now in her second year. So we're not talking about someone who is all hype.

As soon as she got to Chicago, she fell in line behind Vanderquigs and there has been no trace of this "entitlement".

It leaves me to conclude that she just needed a little guidance and structure.

Her defense is pretty good as a pro. Of Chicago's rotation players, she was 2nd behind Cheyenne Parker in defensive rating and defensive win shares.

That leaves 3 point shooting as your remaining complaint and that's an area where she could still stand to improve.

Not saying she is faultless but I think a lot of the flaws she displayed in college are correctable.

Anyhow, she was certainly an excellent recruit. Let's not forget she led a very young UNC team to the Elite Eight as a true freshman.

I think this is spot on. Deshields has flourished in a more structured system in Chicago and playing for a team where she isn't clearly the best player.

In college it seemed like there was a certain level of wanting to bask in the glory of her own greatness rather than wanting to work hard, improve, and win at all costs. I don't think she was very challenged by her coaches and she likely wouldn't respond well to someone who did push her. She was so talented that she could coast and still put up a great stat line. Talented player, but not someone who would've done well under the likes of Geno, Dawn, or Muffet.

I do think once she got to the pros she realized she'd have to work her butt off if she wanted to produce and become a go to player. As a result, she's clearly put in the work and has grown up a lot which we've seen pay off so far. Diamond hasn't shown an inkling of entitlement or laziness from games I've seen and is likely only going to get better from here on out.



On the flip side, I think someone like Griner has had somewhat of a reverse in mentality as a pro. BG at Baylor was extremely dominant and improved leaps and bounds every year. She transformed Baylor from being a 4 seed as a freshman to the heavy championship favorite her final 2 years. I really thought she was going to cement herself as the clear best player in the world once she hit the pros, as no one else has her combination of size, length, mobility and coordination. BG has certainly had a very impressive career, but watching her now she just doesn't appear to have the same focus and drive that she did her first 3 seasons. Seems like she goes through the motions and isn't as focused about coming away with a W. She went from being DPOY twice in her first 3 seasons to being All-Defensive 2nd Team in 3 of the last 4 years. She should absolutely be on the first team every season with her ability and skills. Might be a harsh critique for someone who has averaged 20 ppg the last 3 seasons but I honestly think she could be more dominant than she is, and that Phoenix should be a LOT better than they've been the past 4 seasons.

 

[reno tony]

Deshields has always had unlimited potential. Even now as a WNBA all-star, I feel she is just scratching the surface of her potential.

Unfortunately she went to schools where she was immediately hailed as a savior and expected to carry the team. Now that she's on a team with veteran leadership where she is not expected to do everything, she is flourishing.

If she had gone to a well-run program that developed her talent, such as UConn, she would have been an NPOY caliber player.

So as the story goes, do you agree she has become one of the top 3 WNBA stars from her recruiting status behind Maya and Stewie. All I heard from you was about her potential and blaming her lack of success on the coaches or the high expectations of her team and nothing about her greatness as a College or WNBA player. There are dozens of players I would put in front of her. I'll kick it off with a few UCONN favorites... Skylar Diggins and Candace Parker. Then there are Tina Charles, Neka Ogwumike, Elena Delle Donne and Brittney Griner, just to name a few.

 

[reno tony]

I will say one thing about Deshields...… I like .her sense of humor. When she was asked if she was the best high school player out of Georgia and she was reminded that Maya was from Georgia..... she said she was the best. How can you not love a person who is that hilarious.

 

[hoophuskee]

[/QUOTE]

The post is about best recruits, not best college careers, so yeah it's about talent moreso than production.

Even still, she is a legit WNBA all-star right now in her second year. So we're not talking about someone who is all hype.

As soon as she got to Chicago, she fell in line behind Vanderquigs and there has been no trace of this "entitlement".

It leaves me to conclude that she just needed a little guidance and structure.

Her defense is pretty good as a pro. Of Chicago's rotation players, she was 2nd behind Cheyenne Parker in defensive rating and defensive win shares.

That leaves 3 point shooting as your remaining complaint and that's an area where she could still stand to improve.

Not saying she is faultless but I think a lot of the flaws she displayed in college are correctable.

Anyhow, she was certainly an excellent recruit. Let's not forget she led a very young UNC team to the Elite Eight as a true freshman.
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Alyadar has been spot on. You're hyping her the same way Olson is.

First off- a fundamental of basketball is to shoot. Now if we're talking ALL-TIME GREATS -- if you're a wing and you can't shoot a 3 well -- that's a huge knock. You're just glossing over Alydar's comments with "That just leaves 3 pt shooting." Well it's huge. She hasn't shown in college or WNBA that she can shoot the basketball. Otherwise show the stats that show as a wing that she's a good shooter.

Now on a lesser note-- she hasn't shown in stats she is a good passer either. Sure she can probably make a beautiful pretty pass- but overall what has she shown? The only thing someone can comeback with is "I know I watched her . . ." Well in response some of us could say "We know . . . you're hyping her."

Fro example-- what you are mentioning here is DRating/DWin Shares. Sure terrific defender. But let's look at her offensive stats and her overall stats:
1--- She is 10th on her team in Offensive Rating.
2-- She is 5th on her team in Offensive Win Shares
3-- She is 8th on her team in Efficiency FG%
4-- She is 6th on her team in Player Efficiency Rating
5-- She is 5th on her team in Win Shares
6-- She is 8th on her team in Win Shares per 40 minutes

***With all this inefficiency she leads the team in Usage. So how is it that we still shouldn't draw the conclusion that she is a gunner and either not that good of a passer or an unwilling passer?
Then to boot we have to read Olson mention her and Jordan in the same breath? Doesn't all this show she is a lot of hype if you put her in the "ALL-TIME GREAT LIST" as Olson has?

IMO you and others give her the hype which makes her a wnba star. Not saying she is not a star at some smaller level but she is not an extreme star other than in name only at this point.

 

[reno tony]

The post is about best recruits, not best college careers, so yeah it's about talent moreso than production.

It is apparent you are a Diamond fan while I am not. If the story is about best recruits then we are to believe that Diamond was the third best recruit Olson has seen in the last 20 plus years? That is hard for me to believe unless he has been living in a cave. If he hasn't seen all the top recruits then why did ESPN give him this assignment? This is one that just boggles my mind. Diamond is a tremendously athletic player who had a great amount of potential. Maybe she will become the player a lot of people believe she can be. I wish her the best of luck.

 

[DeeHusky]

DeShields is very talented and that cannot be denied. She was absolutely recruited by UConn. She did an interview a year or two ago asking why she didn’t go to UConn and she said it was too far away from home.

 

[CocoHusky]

It is apparent you are a Diamond fan while I am not. If the story is about best recruits then we are to believe that Diamond was the third best recruit Olson has seen in the last 20 plus years? That is hard for me to believe unless he has been living in a cave. If he hasn't seen all the top recruits then why did ESPN give him this assignment? This is one that just boggles my mind.

While I tend to agree with your perspective on Diamond I think your perspective and critique of Dan Olson is overly broad & not justified. He plainly states " The best recruits I've seen". Remember this is Dan Perspective only, not ESPN's because as someone has already pointed out Griner received the highest grade ever from ESPN. Dan also publishes his evaluations for both ESPN and collegiate Girls report for a fee so he's not exactly been living in a "cave" for the last 20 years. We can certainly disagree with Dan's opinions and I do. In this same article Dan is owning up to some of his evaluation misses which I find new and refreshing. Had Bret McCormick of All Star Girls Report, or Chris Hansen of PN or Mike Flynn of Blue Star done the article I'm sure there would have been different names. As far as ESPN giving him this assignment- I'm not sure that is the case but thank God if ESPN did. There isn't much WCBB content right now and this gives us something to talk about. BTW I've seen most of the names mention play as HS players including EDD, Maya, Griner, Tina, Holdsclaw, and of course Stewie. Best HS recruit I've ever seen was Vicki Baugh. . You?

 

[Dillon77]

On the flip side, I think someone like Griner has had somewhat of a reverse in mentality as a pro. BG at Baylor was extremely dominant and improved leaps and bounds every year. She transformed Baylor from being a 4 seed as a freshman to the heavy championship favorite her final 2 years. I really thought she was going to cement herself as the clear best player in the world once she hit the pros, as no one else has her combination of size, length, mobility and coordination. BG has certainly had a very impressive career, but watching her now she just doesn't appear to have the same focus and drive that she did her first 3 seasons. Seems like she goes through the motions and isn't as focused about coming away with a W. She went from being DPOY twice in her first 3 seasons to being All-Defensive 2nd Team in 3 of the last 4 years. She should absolutely be on the first team every season with her ability and skills. Might be a harsh critique for someone who has averaged 20 ppg the last 3 seasons but I honestly think she could be more dominant than she is, and that Phoenix should be a LOT better than they've been the past 4 seasons.

The Curious Case of Brittany Griner. I think all your points and "honestly thinking" ponderings are very legitimate because I, too, have given that some thought.

Could there be a little of the Wilt Chamberlain concept there, to wit: I'm bigger and better than virtually all of the individual players I'm going up against and I seem to make my rep/$$$ on scoring, so be it? Individually, Wilt knew he wasn't going to go "up against it" that often (Russell, Nate Thurmond, Reed, Bellamy from time to time) and the Celtics as a whole.

I'm wondering if Griner sets her sights on a few centers (hello, Ms. Fowles and Charles). The lack of intensit on defense is something I've noticed, too, and believe thats' hurt Phoenix.

However, I've noticed one team setting that seems to get her energized (back) to Brittany A+ is playing for the U.S.A. National Team. When she's surrounded by that particular group of peers, she becomes the player your mention just out of Baylor (with the experience), one of the key players on that team and perhaps one of of the best players in the world. Yes, she gets the ball in the right places at the right time, but she looks like she wants to prove something.

Maybe the personnel reshuffling will have even a degree of the same effect, with Skylar Diggins teaming with Diana T. Another person who will help complement Griner is Brianna Turner, who is more than willing to block shots and clean the glass on both ends. This might free (and maybe even inspire) Brittany.

We'd like all of our athletes to be self-motivated but sometimes circumstances need to align for those sparks to grow into constant embers. Stay tuned.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I guess he did not see Delle Donne. I heard about her on the national news when she was a senior.

Elena was a stud and gaining notoriety as an 8th grader playing varsity at Ursuline.

 

[CocoHusky]

Elena was a stud and gaining notoriety as an 8th grader playing varsity at Ursuline.

Before Ursuline EDD was a stud and along with Caroline Doty winning AAU nationals at age 12.

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[reno tony]

While I tend to agree with your perspective on Diamond I think your perspective and critique of Dan Olson is overly broad & not justified. He plainly states " The best recruits I've seen". Remember this is Dan Perspective only, not ESPN's because as someone has already pointed out Griner received the highest grade ever from ESPN. Dan also publishes his evaluations for both ESPN and collegiate Girls report for a fee so he's not exactly been living in a "cave" for the last 20 years. We can certainly disagree with Dan's opinions and I do. In this same article Dan is owning up to some of his evaluation misses which I find new and refreshing. Had Bret McCormick of All Star Girls Report, or Chris Hansen of PN or Mike Flynn of Blue Star done the article I'm sure there would have been different names. As far as ESPN giving him this assignment- I'm not sure that is the case but thank God if ESPN did. There isn't much WCBB content right now and this gives us something to talk about. BTW I've seen most of the names mention play as HS players including EDD, Maya, Griner, Tina, Holdsclaw, and of course Stewie. Best HS recruit I've ever seen was Vicki Baugh. . You?

I looked into Dan Olson before my comments about him and it seems he is owner/director of The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (The coaches source for recruiting). It will always baffle me how he came up with DD as the third best recruit. Unfortunately I don't watch any recruiting videos other than UCONN players and other top national recruits.so I can't speak about many recruits. My favorites, from limited number of views, are EDD and Maya. And I do appreciate you opinion.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I looked into Dan Olson before my comments about him and it seems he is owner/director of The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (The coaches source for recruiting). It will always baffle me how he came up with DD as the third best recruit.

Well, Deshields is extremely talented and mercurial.

 

[hoophuskee]

I looked into Dan Olson before my comments about him and it seems he is owner/director of The Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (The coaches source for recruiting). It will always baffle me how he came up with DD as the third best recruit. Unfortunately I don't watch any recruiting videos other than UCONN players and other top national recruits.so I can't speak about many recruits. My favorites, from limited number of views, are EDD and Maya. And I do appreciate you opinion.

There is really no sane excuse for it over players like EDD and Griner and Parker other than he is acting more like a fan. I take it DT was too early.