- Joined
- Sep 12, 2011
- Messages
- 10
- Reaction Score
- 26
Great basketball game ! Baylor is a very physical, superb basketball team. Griner is great and so is Simms. Only one other team in WCBB plays defense like Baylor and it's us. We competed hard for forty minutes and generally played very well. We lost by five points, to the consensus best team in the country, on the road, in Texas, before Christmas and after several days off for exams, on national television, in a game that received as much pre-game hype as possible and we only were ready to play one of our three outstanding freshman at this point against this caliber of team. We are a really, really good team.
I thought the game changed at or around the 11:00 minute mark of the second half when Baylor extended its defensive pressure and began to attack the dribble. It caused turnovers and took our offense out of synch. It is exactly what we should have done back to Baylor. We did not pressure Simms' dribble enough and allowed the Baylor guards to pass the ball to Griner at times without contesting the entry pass. The most effective way to defend the post is to harass the guards and pressure the entry passes. We need to contest every post pass. Moreover, once Griner catches the ball we need help as soon as she puts it on the floor which she does a surprising amount. It is pretty early in the season to expect a team to consistently make that kind of rotation. These things are easily fixable.
On offense, I thought we played pretty well except for the above-mentioned stretch when Baylor turned up the heat. We should continue attacking the basket against Baylor. We need to attack a little differently instead of simply trying to out quick Griner to the hoop, but the answer is not to abandon the drive. We need to penetrate and dish in the lane, we need to put a body on Griner when our guards drive (similar to what Pope was doing to the UConn centers when Simms would penetrate). Geno and CD know a hell of a lot more basketball than I do. They will fix it before we meet Baylor for the National Champ. in March.
I thought the game changed at or around the 11:00 minute mark of the second half when Baylor extended its defensive pressure and began to attack the dribble. It caused turnovers and took our offense out of synch. It is exactly what we should have done back to Baylor. We did not pressure Simms' dribble enough and allowed the Baylor guards to pass the ball to Griner at times without contesting the entry pass. The most effective way to defend the post is to harass the guards and pressure the entry passes. We need to contest every post pass. Moreover, once Griner catches the ball we need help as soon as she puts it on the floor which she does a surprising amount. It is pretty early in the season to expect a team to consistently make that kind of rotation. These things are easily fixable.
On offense, I thought we played pretty well except for the above-mentioned stretch when Baylor turned up the heat. We should continue attacking the basket against Baylor. We need to attack a little differently instead of simply trying to out quick Griner to the hoop, but the answer is not to abandon the drive. We need to penetrate and dish in the lane, we need to put a body on Griner when our guards drive (similar to what Pope was doing to the UConn centers when Simms would penetrate). Geno and CD know a hell of a lot more basketball than I do. They will fix it before we meet Baylor for the National Champ. in March.