diggerfoot
Humanity Hiker
- Joined
- Oct 1, 2011
- Messages
- 1,714
- Reaction Score
- 9,788
Like DiN I was intrigued first by conflicting reports on KLS's defense. On one side were those confirming the "scouting report" on KLs, on the other side was UcMiami, whom I've come to respect greatly as a person who lets observations guide his opinions, rather than the other way around. I proceeded to watch the game with a similar objective as DiN, but different method. I looked for indicators of playing team defense. I don't have an agenda with this. I think both Butler and Williams should be starters before either Collier or Samuelson. As for Collier v Samuelson, I can only go by what I am now observing and I need far more observations. With that caveat, there are five points to make in KLS's "defense."
1. KLS switched on screens decisively. I was surprised when BV cited confusion on this specifically, I'll allow for an occasional slip-up, but I'll counter that KLS usually both hedged and fought through screens without hesitation, suggesting she was "in communication" with others in the context of team defense. KLS comes out well comparing her to past freshman in regards to this.
2. When beaten, KLS yet managed to steer her man towards the baseline. I respect Coco's knowledge of the game on a par with UcMiami, and I suspect maybe I misunderstood him in his criticism of huskyd, but the point of perimeter defense is NOT to force the weak hand, unless going down the center. Rather it is to force the baseline, where if you have good team defense you end up with a double team, yet with restrictive vision preventing outlet passes near the basket. KLS got "beat" the right way which, once again, could not be said of all our freshman in the past.
3. KLS was not the only defender that got "beat." Player #3, in particular, beat both KLS and Williams on separate occasions. It was obvious that Nurse defended better than Williams, Collier and KLS; the distinction between those three was not so glaringly obvious (um, I do think Williams had a much better game than the other two, just not in terms of positional defense). It's a little beside the point to use slip-ups as an indictment when others have them as well.
4. While Lubbock Christian is not Notre Dame it is the only set of observations from which to draw. The observations of UcM, myself and a few others did not fit into conventional thinking. To then "move the goalpost" by extrapolating to other potential games, while a common tactic when one feels one's position being undermined by actual observation, does not make for a legitimate argument. Hey! I'll take Williams over KLS. I'll even take an unseen Butler over KLS, at least for a starter. I may take Collier over KLS as more valuable to this team with enough future observations. But I'll also suggest that some of the reactions on here were that of letting opinions influence observations, rather than vice-versa.
5. Collier may prove to be more valuable to the team than KLS in the long run; I have no clue as to this. Yet the suggestion that the coaching staff can get the offense they need from Collier easier than they can get the defense they need from KLS is far from intuitive. KLS is 6'3" with a quick release and accuracy from the perimeter. You can't teach that, and there are only a handful of women in basketball with those combined abilities.
In summary, I don't think either freshman matched their hype, neither KLS on offense nor Collier on defense, but that should be expected. However, I thought both fit very well as early freshman into the concepts of both team offense and team defense, which bodes well for the future.
1. KLS switched on screens decisively. I was surprised when BV cited confusion on this specifically, I'll allow for an occasional slip-up, but I'll counter that KLS usually both hedged and fought through screens without hesitation, suggesting she was "in communication" with others in the context of team defense. KLS comes out well comparing her to past freshman in regards to this.
2. When beaten, KLS yet managed to steer her man towards the baseline. I respect Coco's knowledge of the game on a par with UcMiami, and I suspect maybe I misunderstood him in his criticism of huskyd, but the point of perimeter defense is NOT to force the weak hand, unless going down the center. Rather it is to force the baseline, where if you have good team defense you end up with a double team, yet with restrictive vision preventing outlet passes near the basket. KLS got "beat" the right way which, once again, could not be said of all our freshman in the past.
3. KLS was not the only defender that got "beat." Player #3, in particular, beat both KLS and Williams on separate occasions. It was obvious that Nurse defended better than Williams, Collier and KLS; the distinction between those three was not so glaringly obvious (um, I do think Williams had a much better game than the other two, just not in terms of positional defense). It's a little beside the point to use slip-ups as an indictment when others have them as well.
4. While Lubbock Christian is not Notre Dame it is the only set of observations from which to draw. The observations of UcM, myself and a few others did not fit into conventional thinking. To then "move the goalpost" by extrapolating to other potential games, while a common tactic when one feels one's position being undermined by actual observation, does not make for a legitimate argument. Hey! I'll take Williams over KLS. I'll even take an unseen Butler over KLS, at least for a starter. I may take Collier over KLS as more valuable to this team with enough future observations. But I'll also suggest that some of the reactions on here were that of letting opinions influence observations, rather than vice-versa.
5. Collier may prove to be more valuable to the team than KLS in the long run; I have no clue as to this. Yet the suggestion that the coaching staff can get the offense they need from Collier easier than they can get the defense they need from KLS is far from intuitive. KLS is 6'3" with a quick release and accuracy from the perimeter. You can't teach that, and there are only a handful of women in basketball with those combined abilities.
In summary, I don't think either freshman matched their hype, neither KLS on offense nor Collier on defense, but that should be expected. However, I thought both fit very well as early freshman into the concepts of both team offense and team defense, which bodes well for the future.
)
