Aluminny69
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Latest video of Gandy Malou-Mamel (merged)
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EricSD
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Hard not to get excited - the play where she ran the floor, caught the pass, and layed it up mostly with her left hand was impressive for a "newer to basketball" player. Obviously very raw still, but she seems to be learning and improving, and she has a good motor - great effort - not sure if she's 100% every minute she's on the floor, but really good base to work with!
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I just love that she runs the floor well. When you 6'6" that takes some commitment. I guess playing soccer as a kid helped with that. I gather she played goalie, which doesn't involve that much running. But it does involve throwing your body around. Remember how Dorka would dive after loose balls? I hope we get to see that again.
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She reminds me of a bigger version of Kiah Stokes. Big, strong, good defender, very athletic, etc. She has had impressive improvement each year and continues to impress me. She is obviously very motivated to get better and must be working at it very hard. I can't wait to see what she does at UConn.
T
Tufkas
Wow - what a delta from the previous posted video analysis. Portends well for UConn, provided she aligns with coach's practice rigor and teaching to drive game time. Still, her coordination (no given for a big, especially in high school) and foot speed is impressive. Body control as well, as she made sure time again to leverage her wingspan to prevent body-on-body fouls.
Having a defensive post presence is such a great advantage, in that it facilitates tighter, more aggressive perimeter defense knowing a drive-by after an overplay won't necessarily mean a layup (e.g. Clingan last year).
Perhaps UConn's not as post-challenged as folks might think, given the improvement El Alfy showed at the end of her freshman year, and the potential on display here.
Having a defensive post presence is such a great advantage, in that it facilitates tighter, more aggressive perimeter defense knowing a drive-by after an overplay won't necessarily mean a layup (e.g. Clingan last year).
Perhaps UConn's not as post-challenged as folks might think, given the improvement El Alfy showed at the end of her freshman year, and the potential on display here.
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From what I have seen from her, and I saw two of her games in person, I think that would be a really high bar. She will need to improve a lot between now and next season for her to get on the court for even a minute of time when a game is not already decided.
Charliebball
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She's got to develop the little jump hook and some kind of a midrange jump shot to keep defenders honest......that could tase a couple of years to develop but she's a hard worker so maybe it will happen sooner......if nothing else she's a solid defensive presence and gives UConn another five fouls for when they play opponents with big post players....
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I have been following Gandy Malou-Mamel for (it seems like)
a LONG time. What was new to me in this presentation was
the comment that besides being 6' 6", that Gandy has
a 7'1" wingspan. Also, did anyone else notice on one of those extended
highlight clips where she "ran the court", back and forth, FORTH
and BACK,! a number of times without any perceptible fatigue
or any slowing down. Impressive! IMHO.
a LONG time. What was new to me in this presentation was
the comment that besides being 6' 6", that Gandy has
a 7'1" wingspan. Also, did anyone else notice on one of those extended
highlight clips where she "ran the court", back and forth, FORTH
and BACK,! a number of times without any perceptible fatigue
or any slowing down. Impressive! IMHO.
T
Tufkas
Yup, but what stood out most to me, was that low-block spin jumper along the baseline, toward the very end of the video. Especially as the analyst consistently lauded her defense, while citing challenges on offense. That unlocks a host of options on the offensive end.
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I didn’t see one word in any of these comments that could even remotely be called hype. Hopeful, yes; hype, certainly not. Your post is ironically the only one that is outlandish, IMO.Here we go again.... hasn't played a second against D1 competition and the hype train has left the station!
Choo choo!!
CL82
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Don't forget about Ayana
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That's a pretty high bar.
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When you consider what a short time she has played and what a 'developmental' player she was when last seen, the new video shows impressive improvement. Her hands look really good, she has a soft ten foot jumper, and she keeps the ball high when she gets it down low. And she does seem to get up and down the court with enough quickness even when doing it three or four times in a row. So yeah, looks pretty good, and can at least provide 5 fouls against the bigs if nothing else next year. She will also provide some good practice competition for Sarah and Ice and Jana.
I think of her as being a year or two behind Jana in her development, but with the same kind of upside.
And she has a nice deep ball on the outlet!
I think of her as being a year or two behind Jana in her development, but with the same kind of upside.
And she has a nice deep ball on the outlet!
Betts is an example of true low-post presence. Most of her shots and scoring opportunities come within 7 feet of the basket. Sealing a defender, keeping the ball high, and some quick spin moves could do the trick; anything above that would be a bonus.
If any of our bigs could dominate the paint, it would clog the middle and it would have to change Geno's offensive approach, but if any of our bigs could dominate inside, he would do it.
Gandy runs the floor well and would be a good defender with her wingspan and quickness. I am very high on her. Our future is very bright as long as we stay healthy.
If any of our bigs could dominate the paint, it would clog the middle and it would have to change Geno's offensive approach, but if any of our bigs could dominate inside, he would do it.
Gandy runs the floor well and would be a good defender with her wingspan and quickness. I am very high on her. Our future is very bright as long as we stay healthy.
oldude
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Just as in the NBA, the era of the big low-post scorer is fading fast. There was a time when many teams would dump the basketball into the paint and watch their center go to work. Outside of a handful of WBB teams, that system doesn’t work at all against teams who can spread the floor. Consider how UConn dismantled UCLA, OK & Iowa St this season by playing tough defense on post entry passes, while spreading the floor with their small lineup, forcing Betts, Beers & Crooks to defend out on the floor.
UConn won those games against teams with stars in the post by 34, 23 & 33 points respectively. Give me a team with 5 players who can pass, shoot and move on the court, and I don’t care how big your post player is.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want or need Bigs on my roster. Jana, Ice, Ayanna & Gandy are important to rebound, defend and score the occasional basket. But the team’s offense does not depend on double digit scoring from the 5.
UConn won those games against teams with stars in the post by 34, 23 & 33 points respectively. Give me a team with 5 players who can pass, shoot and move on the court, and I don’t care how big your post player is.
That doesn’t mean I don’t want or need Bigs on my roster. Jana, Ice, Ayanna & Gandy are important to rebound, defend and score the occasional basket. But the team’s offense does not depend on double digit scoring from the 5.
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Ditto the Dude's comments. Many teams with strong low post players often find themselves trading 2's with teams such as UConn that can drain 3's. While every team would love a Stewie like player that can move outside as needed, its easier to double a true 5 down low or prevent her pass. Stef Dolson or our recruiting target, Olivia V, are some of the few 5's with the diversity of skills needed to drive a team to the National Championship.
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I don’t think Gandy will get 8-10 mins of prime time playing time because I doubt Geno will give up on his small ball lineup. The team played small for 15-20 mins/g last season. Maybe, if Serah comes to Storrs, he’ll reduce that to 8-10 mins, but that lineup is not going away. It was too successful last season to give up on.
I am very high on Gandy, but this season she is at the end of long front court roster. If she really impresses in practice and if injuries remain a problem, she could conceivably move up that list. But I have no particular expectations there. I think time is on Gandy’s side and by her junior year she may be a rotation player or better.
I am very high on Gandy, but this season she is at the end of long front court roster. If she really impresses in practice and if injuries remain a problem, she could conceivably move up that list. But I have no particular expectations there. I think time is on Gandy’s side and by her junior year she may be a rotation player or better.
oldude
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I would venture to guess that UConn’s small lineup with Sarah at the 5 lead the team in overall plus/minus rating by a lot.
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Just a clarification: Geno played the small ball lineup on average 10-12 mins. I overstated it a bit earlier. Some games it was on the floor close to 20 mins, especially when Ice was out with a sore shoulder.
But this still doesn’t leave much playing time for Gandy, prime time or otherwise, even without adding Serah. Of course, 2 key ingredients of the small ball lineup were drafted last week. But I think 4 other keys remain in Sarah Azzi KK and Ash. That’s enough to recreate its same intensity. It may get slightly larger if Geno fills it out with Morgan and Blanca (or even Caroline or Ayanna) in it, that is if he can get them up to speed on the defensive intensity it requires.
Of course, the key to that lineup is its overall speed. It has to move and switch as a unit too quickly for opposing teams to leave a big on the floor stationed in the low post. This may favor using Blanca in it over Ayanna.
oldude
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Yes, but I would suggest that the key to the small lineup is Sarah, who is a matchup nightmare for opposing bigs. The UCLA game was illustrative. While Betts got her points on offense, no other Bruin was much of a factor. On defense Betts was lost, either wandering around in the paint while Sarah knocked down open 3’s, or chasing Sarah out on the perimeter while UConn attacked the paint.
There were three plays that stuck out in my mind. Initially, when UConn first went small, Ryan Rucco mentioned that Betts was now on Sarah. Almost on cue, Paige passed the ball to Sarah, who was all alone at the arc, while Betts was standing by herself in the paint….3 points.
On another play, UConn pulled down a defensive rebound. Sarah sprinted down the court, receiving a pass from Kaitlyn for an easy layup. Betts was supposed to be guarding Sarah, but never made it over half court.
On yet another play, Sarah pulled Betts out to the wing on defense, receiving a pass from KK on a give and go. Sarah fed KK, the shortest player on the court, for an easy layup.
Honestly, I don’t know that there is any team in the nation that can defend against UConn’s small lineup with Sarah at the 5.
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If nothing else she will be the quickest baseline to baseline post player UConn has had in many years......should be fun to watch her on the fast break....
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Actually, the low post scorer in the NBA is NOT going away, just redefining the position. I would use Jokic, Embid, Davis, Gobert, Wembanyama, Holmgren and Porzingis as my examples of BIGS who play the post both low and high. While UConn showed how to play against that setup this year I still fear the one or two teams that will build around that one special BIG and challenge us again.
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Totally agree with your account, ... and this particular point is one of the reasons I think Gandy's salient virtue right now is running the court really well. She can build on this. That's what I took away from the recent videos. She's not as fast as Sarah in transition, but what big is, really? The closest I can think of was Aaliyah, who also ran really well. But Gandy looks to be quite a bit faster than Beers or Betts (and especially Crooks) in the open floor. She just needs to have the stamina to run like that consistently.
I also agree about Sarah being the central element of the small ball lineup. She a very difficult player for opposing teams to defend against, perhaps the most difficult in the country. She's too quick for the bigs, too good a perimeter shooter to leave alone, and too big for the guards to defend. Perhaps the only person in D1 with physical skills similar enough to stay with her is Joyce Edwards, though even she is stretched by Sarah. I remember what Sarah said in an interview, that she played against Joyce's teams several times in high school, and that Joyce usually got the better of it. In their senior year, they had a final matchup -- there's highlights of this one online -- and Sarah outscored her, while Joyce won the rebounding battle. But it's clear from the video that Joyce can't consistently keep Sarah from scoring, and that no coach would want Sarah to get the foul trouble that might come from having her defend Joyce exclusively.
The small ball lineup is most effective when they can force a transition game on opponents. And Sarah and Azzi are the scoring 'hammer' in those situations. If all goes well, Ash and Blanca will add that extra threat. But I don't see any of the bigs being able to play in that game, not Jana or Ice, probably not Serah, and though Ayanna used to run the floor well, not her either since she didn't finish well in transition. Clearly, Gandy has no obvious role in a transition game either, other than providing an outlet pass.
oldude
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Yes, but what you don’t see anymore is a Chamberlain or Jabbar, who gets the ball in the low blocks and dribbles a few times, then shoots it, while the rest of their teammates stand around and watch. Part of that has to do with the rules change that allows teams to double on the ball.
All the players you mention can also shoot it, which makes them extremely difficult to defend. When it comes to WBB, think about how difficult it is to defend Stewie who’s a 3-level scorer who can also post up. Not a lot of players like Stewie in WBB….yet.
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