GAMEDAY! Final thoughts. Game is at 6:00 pm against North Carolina.

[BBallF]

First road test this year against a ranked team in a difficult place and first ever for our freshmen. I think the keys are of course Paige leading and taking control early and also Ash starting quickly. Kaitlyn's role on this team is still evolving and the Ice/Jana duo has to stay out of foul trouble. Sarah is on home turf and it is always unclear how that works for the player but her drives alone will be important. If KK or Kaitlyn penetrate and there is not a clear path and Morgan and/or Allie are in the game and open they should get the ball. They are both terrific 3 point shooters and a few threes would be significant. For Q, concentrating on her defense and not forcing will be a solid step forward. All in all, we want to see where we stand as team and this is a good way to get the 411. Thoughts?

 

[msf22b]

There is an often made assertion (repeated here) that Kaitlyn's "role is still evolving."

Geno starts her and uses her (quite consistently) as point guard, bringing the ball up and initiating the offense...with Paige functioning as shooting guard.

I fail to see what about that responsibility is "evolving."

 

[yhun89]

Backcourt is the deciding factor. Both of us have young, inexperienced frontcourts. (Unless Gakdeng is healthy) The backcourt is where the major advantage is.

Not to be biased, but we’ve got the backcourt advantage.

 

[yhun89]

There is an often made assertion (repeated here) that Kaitlyn's "role is still evolving."

Geno starts her and uses her (quite consistently) as point guard, bringing the ball up and initiating the offense...with Paige functioning as shooting guard.

I fail to see what about that responsibility is "evolving."

Evolving her game- at Princeton she was a score first, pass next PG. Here, she needs to be a bit of the opposite. She’s still a good scorer, but we need some distribution from her as well.

Her role needs to be beyond scoring here. That’s what they mean by “evolving.”

She’s coming to a new program, used to being the primary scorer. Now, she doesn’t have to be. And that takes getting used to. You could see against USF she wanted to take those contested drives, and ended up getting blocked. That’s an instinct that will likely go away over time. That’s a “I need to score” mentality. Not what she needs to be forced into having here.

 

[BBallF]

Evolving her game- at Princeton she was a score first, pass next PG. Here, she needs to be a bit of the opposite. She’s still a good scorer, but we need some distribution from her as well.

Her role needs to be beyond scoring here. That’s what they mean by “evolving.”

She’s coming to a new program, used to being the primary scorer. Now, she doesn’t have to be. And that takes getting used to. You could see against USF she wanted to take those contested drives, and ended up getting blocked. That’s an instinct that will likely go away over time. That’s a “I need to score” mentality. Not what she needs to be forced into having here.

Exactly. Is her role as a point guard to score first, pass first, run the offense first, defend primarily, drive and dish, drive and pull up, shoot the 3 or a combination thereof? We have Paige, and soon Azzi, and also Ash and Sarah with Jana emerging as a scoring force underneath. As the Princeton point she had to score and had the freedom to shoot and create, but with two great shooters/scorers in Paige and Azzi, they should be doing that.

It is not just that we shoot 3 pointers or pull ups but also who shoots them because of percentages and scoring per possession. So yes, when Kaitlyn drives and forces it is counterproductive even if just Morghan or Allie is open at the arc. They are a lot better shooters than BYers are considering them to be right now. So KC has to continue to evolve into a pure passing floor general at times with strong defensive and offensive skills and at other times into a high percentage scorer/shooter meaning very selective shots or moves when open.

There are a lot of targets here for assists. The team is shooting 60% from the field including Q's 3-10 and 40% from the arc. Just from the field without the 3 point shots, we are shooting 70%. These are stupid numbers that will certainly decrease with competition but for now play the numbers like Paige shooting 74% from the field inclusive of 50% from the arc. Just think how many shots Nike wouldn't take with this scoring talent around her.

 

[Zarathustra]

Evolving her game- at Princeton she was a score first, pass next PG. Here, she needs to be a bit of the opposite. She’s still a good scorer, but we need some distribution from her as well.

Her role needs to be beyond scoring here. That’s what they mean by “evolving.”

She’s coming to a new program, used to being the primary scorer. Now, she doesn’t have to be. And that takes getting used to. You could see against USF she wanted to take those contested drives, and ended up getting blocked. That’s an instinct that will likely go away over time. That’s a “I need to score” mentality. Not what she needs to be forced into having here.

Just a side story.... Kaitlyn was recruited to Princeton by.... H.C. Courtney Banghart!

 

[hoophuskee]

Evolving her game- at Princeton she was a score first, pass next PG. Here, she needs to be a bit of the opposite. She’s still a good scorer, but we need some distribution from her as well.

Her role needs to be beyond scoring here. That’s what they mean by “evolving.”

She’s coming to a new program, used to being the primary scorer. Now, she doesn’t have to be. And that takes getting used to. You could see against USF she wanted to take those contested drives, and ended up getting blocked. That’s an instinct that will likely go away over time. That’s a “I need to score” mentality. Not what she needs to be forced into having here.

I beleive it's a combo. She is the team's 2nd pg to Paige whom Paige is a SF / PG. Kaitlyn had 7 assiists last game. The "evolving" are things like turnovers (4), and at times she picks up the ball stopping her delivery to continue movement too early. I'm sure there are other things.
To some degree all players are "evolving." But she has to be a passer, not just a scorer. Good sign last game,