Diamond is NFOY

[DaddyChoc]

well ESPN's NFOY... UNC Article

 

[intlzncster]

well ESPN's NFOY... UNC Article

aaaand you'll get crickets from this board. good player.

 

[VAUConnFan]

North Carolina is a #4 seed and relevant again. Good job!

 

[Icebear]

We knew that front the ESPN article earlier when it was posted with both NPOY and NFOY. No surprises.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I didn't know... nor saw it posted on the Boneyard. Congrats Diamond and I agree they may be relevant again. I'll be watching to see how far they go

 

[Icebear]

HERE is a LINK to the thread, WBBFan1 posted it on Friday.

 

[EricLA]

Congrats to DD. She had a terrific year. I do think she has a laziness to her game that's punctuated with bursts of energy, but there is no denying her talent, or WNBA ready body. UNC was an interesting team to watch this season - they started 3 freshmen (Mavunga, Grey, and Deshields) and 1 sophomore (McDaniel), and then I think a junior for most of the entire season so their "learning" curve was larger than most teams.

I'd say they are very dangerous in the NCAA's as the freshmen are much improved which means their entire team is "more" improved than most out there...

 

[triaddukefan]

#23 is definitely a player to watch in the future.

 

[DaddyChoc]

HERE is a LINK to the thread, WBBFan1 posted it on Friday.

Diamond deserves her own thread

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Congrats to DD. She had a terrific year. I do think she has a laziness to her game that's punctuated with bursts of energy, but there is no denying her talent, or WNBA ready body. UNC was an interesting team to watch this season - they started 3 freshmen (Mavunga, Grey, and Deshields) and 1 sophomore (McDaniel), and then I think a junior for most of the entire season so their "learning" curve was larger than most teams.

Diamond is in an unique situation. She is the leader and most talented player of the freshman class. But UNC's roster is very heavy on youth. Four of the five top players are freshman; the other is a sophomore. The roster does not have any seniors. The junior class has solid roleplayers (Butts, Coleman, Roundree), but they are better suited as bench players than starters. The juniors can be glue players if one is playing with four of the top freshman/sophomore players. But they are better coming off the bench.

When the season began, there was no real leader on the squad. As I mentioned, the team does not have any seniors. And when the best players are that young, either a coach steps in to be the leader (even moreso than the coach's role already is) or you have one of the younger players assume the mantle of leadership. And Diamond has had to do that. Washington was slow to develop as a point guard (though has come on as of late), so DeShields was often called upon to be a playmaker for herself and others. She is also a tremendous rebounder for her height (5.5 rebounds per game from the wing position). She is the team's leading scorer, but second in assists per game and the team leader in steals.

I don't know if I see Diamond as having a laziness. Rather, I see her struggling at times with knowing when to create for herself, when to use the two-man game (pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop situations), and when to be the playmaker for the entire team. She is not naturally a point guard, and as I have always said, being a point guard or playmaker is a mentality. I see her learning to become the playmaker while balancing the mantle of leadership. There are times she seems a bit confused as to which role she is taking on the court. That leads to passivity.

I do think, however, that Andrew Calder and his assistants did great things with the young players on that squad. I think he did a much, much better job than Sylvia Hatchell would have done. While I sympathize for Coach Hatchell and wish her the best in recovery, Calder was the better coach of the two for DeShields and crew.

 

[meyers7]

Diamond deserves her own thread

Why?

 

[DaddyChoc]

Why?

cause she's Diamond... duh

 

[meyers7]

cause she's Diamond... duh

Well I'll agree with the Diamond and duh part.