Interesting quote by Chris Dailey

[pap49cba]

This is buried in another thread but I thought it deserved a thread of its own given the recent discussions about Wilson.

"From a recruiting standpoint there are no big kids who want to be in the lane. Everybody thinks they want to shoot threes. In the future it's probably gonna be more remarkable that somebody like Stefanie can dominate inside the way she does."

Are "centers" a thing of the past?

 

[Shenandoah]

Interesting question. The game has evolved in that centers like Stefanie, who could be dominant if left down low, can work the high post, setting screens, passing the ball to cutters in the lane, and hitting the 15+ foot jumper (ok, in Stef's case, hop shot!).

 

[UCONNfan1]

I think she was exaggerating. There are plenty of big kids who want to play in the post. Russell, Coates, Achonwa, Busie, Williams to name a few. Tex AM has a wide body kid. Rice (Kentucky) and Belton (Duke) from 2015. I'm sure most of the top teams out there have some kind of "big" player with limited mobility who is more than capable of playing in the post.

 

[rocky rococo]

I'd say this suggests more about who and how UConn recruits than the actual bank of kids out there.

 

[John Glass]

I'd say this suggests more about who and how UConn recruits than the actual bank of kids out there.

I disagree, most bigs (men and women) want to face the basket. Doing the dirty work in the paint, both offensively, and defensively is not popular .

 

[sawxfan23]

This is buried in another thread but I thought it deserved a thread of its own given the recent discussions about Wilson.

"From a recruiting standpoint there are no big kids who want to be in the lane. Everybody thinks they want to shoot threes. In the future it's probably gonna be more remarkable that somebody like Stefanie can dominate inside the way she does."

Are "centers" a thing of the past?

No, centers are alive and well in players like Kalani Brown. It just takes a special breed of player to bang down low, box out, screen, block shots, and do all the little things that don't get noticed but are essential to win championships.

 

[pap49cba]

I think I would trust CD's perspective on this. She is on the recruiting front lines.

 

[UCONNfan1]

I think I would trust CD's perspective on this. She is on the recruiting front lines.

She said "there are no big kids who want to play in the lane. They all think they want to shoot the three". It would be different if she said "most big kids". There are many kids who are happy to play in the paint. I don't doubt that CD knows way more than all of us combined, but if she's not exaggerating, or speaking in hyperbole, then she's lying which of course couldn't be true.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

It isn't an original comment to CD. Vivian has said similar. And I think Geno might have said similar.

There is a bit of hyperbole there, I think.

And they have been saying for years that the traditional center is a thing of the past - not saying I believe it, just saying.

 

[iri10]

Not too long ago, the idealized big man was large and relatively unskilled, but powerful. (think Shaq) Now people look at the Durants and Nowitzkis of the world as the ideal. In the men's college game you can still find some of the big and powerful types. They have a lot more depth to draw from, after all. In the women's game there has always been a shortage of elite posts. And now that some of them scorn the back-to-the-basket game, that makes the shortage seem even more acute if you're looking for a in-the-post banger that's actually capable of elite play.

 

[rtm5]

If you parse her words, it's an overstatement but the larger point is worth considering -- there are fewer true bigs out there to recruit because a lot of them wanna play with their face to the basket or on the wing. The answer is to recruit "length".

 

[HuskyNan]

She said "there are no big kids who want to play in the lane. They all think they want to shoot the three". It would be different if she said "most big kids". There are many kids who are happy to play in the paint. I don't doubt that CD knows way more than all of us combined, but if she's not exaggerating, or speaking in hyperbole, then she's lying which of course couldn't be true.

Actually, the entire sentence reads,"From a recruiting standpoint there are no big kids who want to be in the lane" meaning she's talking about the kids in high school, not current college players.