It seems that every game Jana has a wide open bunny that she misses. To my eyes, it looks like she is shooting the lay up, whether put back or not, quickly and in a push up motion. It is not a fully controlled shot, especially if she is off balance. A simple counter to that is a baby jump shot where she releases it at the top of her jump. She is strong enough to shoot it well, it is harder to block, and will eliminate the lack of control. Think Ash shooting her jumper from 3 feet off the backboard. When Jana gets that shot, and she will, it will transfer her into an unstoppable inside force.
Jana's Lay Up
- Thread starter BBallF
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I saw her miss 4 in a row in a recent game.
But she does need to learn how to make the bunny shots- if you are saying she shouldn't try because she has difficulty with them and attempt a baby hook shot instead, I disagree. By all means, she can and should add a baby hook to her repertoire. But a wide open bunny shots needs to be taken when it presents itself.
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Jana is improving and is motivated. Those missed bunnies won't be missed and she will develop more confidence in her footwork around the basket and correct positioning of her body and hands before making a layup or even a 10 footer. As she gets more game time experience these things will be worked out. She just needs more game time experience.
I hope you’re right, given that we’re at the halfway point in the season.
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She has a bad habit of pulling the ball down to just above her waist when she shoots. She becomes more like 5'11" than 6'5", plus it's very slow. When she is wide open she speeds up her motion to not get blocked and she throws it over the rim.
I am sure they are working with her to catch it and go up with one motion.
I am sure they are working with her to catch it and go up with one motion.
She isn't playing loose yet. As she gets more comfortable with Geno she will become more comfortable in the game. I noticed in the last game when Geno was getting on her she was not liking it at all. One other thing that would help her is if the players passing to her remembered she is 6'5 not 5'6, give her the ball up top to help her be able to find the rim.
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She is certainly not the 1st or only Husky to miss layups. I've been screaming at my TV for years. I really think it's something in the coaching that is missing. I don't know what and I certainly have no solution but it's been a recurring problem for years.
If one was to listen to all the noise about Jana on this thread, one would wonder where to start to fix everything. Granted, she seems to be struggling in the games and yes, it is obvious than she takes Geno's criticisms a bit too seriously, but she seems to have the desire to get better and be a starter. Looking back in pre-season, Geno gave us a premise that she had the 'bones' to be a good player, basing that mostly on physical abilities, not so much on mind set and confidence. Taking stock of the comments above, it would seem that most of the issues can be addressed with practice, practice, practice of individual skills in lieu of team play. Better hands - receive 100 passes; no more bunnies - take 100 layups with each hand, post play under pressure; presence under the basket - 100 rebounds while being bumped and blocked. Not being privy to UConn practices I wonder if those players needing this type of improvement are facilitated during regular season.