Elizabeth Williams

[Bigpetunia]

If you are a fan of WCBB, and you look at all the empty seats in arena after arena, and you observe the fact that the WNBA is on life support, you have to be concerned for the game in general. The only way this problem is going to be solved, to get more people interested, is to generate more parity on the college level. But the gulf that exists between programs is so much more than just a recruiting issue. I find it disappointing to see how poorly some supposedly elite programs fail to develop high quality talent.

I recall watching the McDonalds All-Star game when Elizabeth Williams was a senior. She was the best player on the floor. Duke is a perfectly fine place to attend college, and there may have been a hundred and one good reasons for her to choose to go there, but is there anyone who doubts where she would be as a basketball player today if she had chosen UConn, or ND, or even Stanford? It may not matter to her, but purely in basketball terms she's been let down by a program that didn't have the skills to develop her game!

 

[Rob Signor]

E. Williams is a good player who i think was just overhyped coming out of high school. She never did anything in college that made me think she is a bad player but also nothing that made me think she is elite. I could have just been a bad fit at Duke but unless she turns it on down the stretch we will never know. Wasn't Page Saure from Uconn also highly rated coming out of high school. sometimes the gurus just get it wrong.

 

[sarals24]

I remember in her freshman year, Kiah Stokes completely shut her down. I know Kiah was also highly rated out of high school, but not to the extent that Williams was. Reading the Duke basketball boards (especially the Duke Basketball Report) is always interesting because for the most part, their fans are very knowledgeable and not too crazy. They are not happy with Coach P (other than the occasional defender) and don't understand why all these recruits can't seem to produce anything other than an Elite 8 defeat.

For most programs, that would be amazing, but Duke has set a higher standard and can't seem to get back to where they were in the Coach G years, even though they are getting top recruits year in and year out.

 

[watanabe]

Did you know that Muffet McGraw offered Skyler Diggins a full scholarship when Skylar was in 8th grade? What I'm saying, is that if the player wants it and the coach is good enough, the sky is the limit.

 

[Goodgood]

Elizabeth Williams also had some health issues last year. Don't really know if she is 100% yet. But she is not playing with passion.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Considering all the upsets this season, seems to me there's plenty of parity of talent (below UConn.)

The biggest difference is coaching.

As for getting folks in the stands - that's on coaches, their grad assistants and, in some cases, their Athletic Director. As for getting folks to actually PAY to be in the stands, well.. you know how that is.

As for Elizabeth - I didn't know how much the hype was real or imagined or hoped for. She certainly isn't a name I attach "Need to Know" to... Maybe something will click and that will change.

 

[jsloanjr]

Put EW with Coach Mike with the Washington Mystics of the WNBA and she will do well.....Duke has been exposed many time this season and ND and UCONN and how many close wins in the ACC......What lesson did Duke learn today?........They are not a Top 5 team........My top 4 team as of today barring no injuries.....

UCONN, ND Louisville and Stanford.........Save fans $$$ and start the NCAA games in Nashville next week..........

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I hope the best for her, in any case, and no matter what. She wants to be an MD as I recall...Life is long, sport is not.

 

[msf22b]

Elizabeth Williams also had some health issues last year. Don't really know if she is 100% yet. But she is not playing with passion.

I remember hearing that too.
Clearly is not 100%

And as I'm frequently told: these issues are none of our business; if the player wants to let us know about their health issues, they may…if not, it's private.

 

[TroyHouse66]

Sauer grapes, no... still a Huskie... abilities vs disabilities

Paige Sauer was from Fallon, Nevada ....a far-out, (think: boondocks)(think: 4000 yr old dry lake bed) town ...about 90 mi SSE of Reno. Having no competition with her size (6-5") and talent, she went off to Oklahoma where WBB was more highly competitive. She picked UConn over Tenn, because of Geno's proven teaching abilities [think: Lobo (6-5") & Wolters (6-7")] with Centers.
Geno never faulted Paige for her commitment to the team, but she seemed to be persistently subjected to debilitating injury... foot problems, torn medial meniscus surgery, back troubles. A more mobile Schumacher (6-5") gradually became the Center of choice.
Some times: When the mind is willing, but the body is not...

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Considering all the upsets this season, seems to me there's plenty of parity of talent (below UConn.)

The biggest difference is coaching.

As for getting folks in the stands - that's on coaches, their grad assistants and, in some cases, their Athletic Director. As for getting folks to actually PAY to be in the stands, well.. you know how that is.

As for Elizabeth - I didn't know how much the hype was real or imagined or hoped for. She certainly isn't a name I attach "Need to Know" to... Maybe something will click and that will change.

Getting folks in the stands is a marketing department's job. In reality.

The coach does obviously bear the responsibility for putting a product on the floor that folks want to watch. But, anything competitive that wins more than it loses ought to be marketable.

The problem, as has been said many times on this board, is just not that many folks want to watch WBB more than they want to do other things. Unfortunately.

As to Duke, and JPM, I mentioned in another thread that I'm not a big fan of hers. But - please, in the real world, her performance at Duke has been (win/loss wise) better than 98% of other teams? And she's on the hot seat. Yikes.

 

[Sonny44]

I remember in her freshman year, Kiah Stokes completely shut her down. I know Kiah was also highly rated out of high school, but not to the extent that Williams was. Reading the Duke basketball boards (especially the Duke Basketball Report) is always interesting because for the most part, their fans are very knowledgeable and not too crazy. They are not happy with Coach P (other than the occasional defender) and don't understand why all these recruits can't seem to produce anything other than an Elite 8 defeat.

For most programs, that would be amazing, but Duke has set a higher standard and can't seem to get back to where they were in the Coach G years, even though they are getting top recruits year in and year out.

We could have had EW instead of Kiah if she had accepted. Would we have been happier now?
Or would EW be a far different story at UCONN?

 

[DaddyChoc]

We could have had EW instead of Kiah if she had accepted. Would we have been happier now?
Or would EW be a far different story at UCONN?

coming out of HS... Williams would have been my pick BUT its up to the player and GENO to get the best out of them!

 

[pap49cba]

Doug Feinberg ‏@DougFeinberg 16h
I really like Elizabeth Williams as a player but in the two biggest games of the season for @Duke_WBB she's disappeared.

 

[hjoerring]

If we are not going to be too bias then we need to do a more detailed analysis of players at Duke over the years. The fact that Duke does such an excellent job at reeling them in suggests that incoming and already there players are happy. I have read in an earlier thread that KLS has Duke as a possible destination- along with ND, Uconn and Stanford, etc. Also, not all good h.s. and college basketball kids want to go on to the WNBA or profesional basketball. Perhaps playing bb (for her) might be similar to working tables to pay one's keep! Doing just enough to get by; afterall, she may have a big phy.chem exam right after the big game tonight!

 

[EricLA]

I remember in her freshman year, Kiah Stokes completely shut her down. I know Kiah was also highly rated out of high school, but not to the extent that Williams was. Reading the Duke basketball boards (especially the Duke Basketball Report) is always interesting because for the most part, their fans are very knowledgeable and not too crazy. They are not happy with Coach P (other than the occasional defender) and don't understand why all these recruits can't seem to produce anything other than an Elite 8 defeat.

For most programs, that would be amazing, but Duke has set a higher standard and can't seem to get back to where they were in the Coach G years, even though they are getting top recruits year in and year out.

That's a great point about Kiah, but also I want to add a few things...

Kiah has been a bit of an enigma - anyone can look at her and say she has been gifted with one of the most amazing basketball "bodies" in WCBB - tall, strong, and a huge wing span to go along with fantastic athleticism and mobility. On ANY other team she'd be a starter, and a star. And she could do that with sporadic effort and using JUST the talents she was born with.

BUT that's not enough at UCONN. IMHO Geno and the staff see the limitless potential of her and we've all seen flashes of it where she can literally dominate a game, then flashes where she disappears completely. Again, at most any other school, that would be ok and she'd see a ton of PT. But Geno wants her to be the best that HE knows she can be and that's why I believe UCONN is unique among all the basketball powerhouses. This is not to say kids can't be stars and have great careers coming out of other schools, but I think the UCONN coaches push the kids harder to be great at the things they currently aren't as good at, whereas other schools mostly let the kids develop along a trajectory that is more comfortable for the individual player, and therefore, they just aren't as fantastic as the COULD have been...

 

[Buzzyboy]

coming out of HS... Williams would have been my pick BUT its up to the player and GENO to get the best out of them!

You say Williams would have been your pick out of high school and I'm inclined to think that was because of all the information that was out there saying how talented she is. I don't think most people here have much of an opportunity first hand to really know how good a player is or how good a player can be. Coaches and scouting services usually spend a lot of time seeing players and often see them many, many times to be absolutely sure just how good they actually are. Unless you've got the time and resources, the average person really isn't able to know who might be the best available player.

 

[jsloanjr]

EW disappeared, because her coach let her disappear. Anybody watching the game closely will tell you to get her the ball 5' or closer to the basket and she will score or get fouled. It is true that she gets lost in big games, but the Duke system is broken and needs a huge overhaul and soon. Gosh, they have tons of AA players that need to be coached.......I would like to have EW, Liston and Jones right now and help them become better players and make other players around them better......Duke is making the same blunders in 2014 they did in 2008...

 

[DaddyChoc]

You say Williams would have been your pick out of high school and I'm inclined to think that was because of all the information that was out there saying how talented she is. I don't think most people here have much of an opportunity first hand to really know how good a player is or how good a player can be. Coaches and scouting services usually spend a lot of time seeing players and often see them many, many times to be absolutely sure just how good they actually are. Unless you've got the time and resources, the average person really isn't able to know who might be the best available player.

you didn't think she was any good while in HS, I'm sure (not really) that believe what the services say overall. How did you feel about Stewie, Dolson and KML coming out of HS? (I saw a few games of KML and could see she was the real deal). its a gamble that coaches take

 

[Sonny44]

S

EW disappeared, because her coach let her disappear. Anybody watching the game closely will tell you to get her the ball 5' or closer to the basket and she will score or get fouled. It is true that she gets lost in big games, but the Duke system is broken and needs a huge overhaul and soon. Gosh, they have tons of AA players that need to be coached..I would like to have EW, Liston and Jones right now and help them become better players and make other players around them better.Duke is making the same blunders in 2014 they did in 2008...

Sssshhhh, you want them to hire a better one?

 

[msf22b]

S

Sssshhhh, you want them to hire a better one?

That's a really tough question Sonny, but after little consideration, my ansewr would be YES!

 

[Sonny44]

That's a really tough question Sonny, but after little consideration, my ansewr would be YES!

Not me.

 

[kat0189]

I watched the 2011 McD's AA game and that was the only time I saw EW in high school. She set the record for most points (23, still stands) and grabbed 11 boards. By far the best player on the floor.

Unless that game was a fluke, I don't think she was overhyped coming out of HS.

No doubt there must be some injury issues, but I also get the impression that she doesn't obsess over basketball in the way you really need to in order to become really elite. But you can't fault someone for prioritizing Med School over the WNBA or Olympics.

In fairness to Duke, Amber Henson also showed a lot of potential that game. Great length and athleticism making her a formidable shot blocker (5 that game, still among the top 10 ever). Her injuries are well documented.

Furthermore, in 2010 Richa Jackson really impressed me on offense—great mid-range game. She's also had injuries. Chelsea Grey is out. Liston & Peters have always been overachievers. Jewel Loyd is their only truly elite player who has remained injury free.

The future does not look bright at Duke, given their expectations.

 

[Fightin Choke]

I watched the 2011 McD's AA game and that was the only time I saw EW in high school. She set the record for most points (23, still stands) and grabbed 11 boards. By far the best player on the floor.

Unless that game was a fluke, I don't think she was overhyped coming out of HS.

No doubt there must be some injury issues, but I also get the impression that she doesn't obsess over basketball in the way you really need to in order to become really elite. But you can't fault someone for prioritizing Med School over the WNBA or Olympics.

In fairness to Duke, Amber Henson also showed a lot of potential that game. Great length and athleticism making her a formidable shot blocker (5 that game, still among the top 10 ever). Her injuries are well documented.

Furthermore, in 2010 Richa Jackson really impressed me on offense—great mid-range game. She's also had injuries. Chelsea Grey is out. Liston & Peters have always been overachievers. Jewel Loyd is their only truly elite player who has remained injury free.

The future does not look bright at Duke, given their expectations.

A couple of points. First, I would call Liston more than just an overachiever, as the jump in her game this season has been immense. She has been Duke's best player this year, and it's not even close. She will definitely be picking up some AA awards this season. Second, Jewell Loyd is an Irish player, not a Blue Devil. You probably meant Alexis Jones, but in that case, you should acknowledge that Alexis Jones has not escaped the injury bug herself. She had her cornea scratched in the Miami game (which proceeded the ND game), so Alexis was wearing goggles the first half. She shed them for the second half, but it may have still affected her game.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

There is no such condition as an overachiever. People in life achieve what they achieve. No less, no more.