Message To CW and Olivia | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Message To CW and Olivia

I want Olivia to have someone teach her good form for free-throws; her technique is awful and that is why she doesn't shoot them well. It's much too elongated; please coaches, make it simpler! Unless it's too late.
Herb Magee could fix that...incredible free throw shooter.
 
In the Lowell game, Liv had the most points, rebounds and blocked shots as the score reached 46-9. Did Geno really want Liv to "pour it on" against Shea's husbands hapless squad at that point, i.e. to be more "impactful", and less "passive". Obvious that Liv was sufficiently 'impactful' in the Lowell game, and so, I have no idea what Geno is talking about, eh?
In fact, I think criticism of Liv [and CW] based on the Lowell game is counter-productive.
Here is the thing, eh. It is not just based on one game! Liv and Olivia are juniors and Geno specifically said they have had the most experience in games among the current team. Liv was not sufficiently impactful against UMASS-Lowell unless you consider 5/14 impactful in a game where you were the tallest player on the court by roughly 1/2 a foot.
 
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In the Lowell game, Liv had the most points, rebounds and blocked shots as the score reached 46-9. Did Geno really want Liv to "pour it on" against Shea's husbands hapless squad at that point, i.e. to be more "impactful", and less "passive". Obvious that Liv was sufficiently 'impactful' in the Lowell game, and so, I have no idea what Geno is talking about, eh?
In fact, I think criticism of Liv [and CW] based on the Lowell game is counter-productive.

Possibly he was. He obviously had the ball going inside early and I wonder if her wanted her to dominate to build up her confidence. She did well in the first half but when went 0-7 in the 3rd he basically benched her since there wasn't much else she could learn against UML.

ONO is no center. But she is an outstanding shot blocker and that allows team mates to take risks on defense. What I want to see from her are better outlet passes. UConn has the makings for a great transition team.
 
Why is Anna passing up open shots? Possible slight lack of fitness, she's not able to square up to the hoop? My impression of Geno is that he never discourages the kids from taking open shots. I feel like he avoids head-games as it pertains to shooting. I would bet Geno asked Anna why she passed up open shots.
That's what I meant earlier in another thread, that I thought Anna was often invisible in the game Saturday.
We've got hosses this year sitting over there. Can't just run around out there for 35 minutes.
I agree, she shouldn’t pass up open shots because they’re the only ones she’ll get. An open 3 or an open layup. Her problem is that she can’t get off a shot in traffic because she hardly leaves the floor. That’s why when she penetrates into the lane she always looks to pass and whenever she goes baseline, which is rare, she always continues through to the other side. You’ll notice she never goes at anybody and attacks the rim. I hope she changes but it just seems to be her game.
 
Thinking causes Stinkin Thinkin which causes you to underperform. As many of you know I have a love affair with golf. However my youngest daughter was a softball pitcher who had 6 pitches and averaged 1 walk a game. Her pitching coach taught her to not think just focus on throwing the ball and feeling it. One game her HS coach said to her think about what your doing. She responded if I think I screw it up. Just let me throw the ball. She was 5'3 ft and 101 pds as a senior in HS. IMO for you golfers stop thinking and understand golf like basketball is a game of feel.

If I may say with respect alot of you guys when on dates were thinking instead of feeling what they felt. LOL
 
I want Olivia to have someone teach her good form for free-throws; her technique is awful and that is why she doesn't shoot them well. It's much too elongated; please coaches, make it simpler! Unless it's too late.
Couldn’t agree more. Anything sub-70% is just leaving too many free points on the floor. Maybe Sue, KML, and/or KLS could come back for a workout or two and teach her their shooting forms!
 
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Possibly he was. He obviously had the ball going inside early and I wonder if her wanted her to dominate to build up her confidence. She did well in the first half but when went 0-7 in the 3rd he basically benched her since there wasn't much else she could learn against UML.

ONO is no center. But she is an outstanding shot blocker and that allows team mates to take risks on defense. What I want to see from her are better outlet passes. UConn has the makings for a great transition team.
Disagree. ONO is a 'true' center, who plays with her back to the basket from where she does most of her scoring. When she gets the ball at the hi-post, it's usually to pass to cutters [or this year] to pass to AE on the lo-post. Liv is an exceptionally good passer, which she showed last year.
Liv runs the floor extremely well, and often scores as the trailer in transition, as she showed in the Lowell game.
I don't think Geno wanted to run up the score against Shea's husband, so anything that happened in the 2nd half - when UConn was putting on the brakes - is moot.
Yes u r right, with Anna, Paige & Nika, we have the makings of a gr8 transition team, but Liv's outlet passes are the weak link in that chain, eh?
 
Disagree. ONO is a 'true' center, who plays with her back to the basket from where she does most of her scoring. When she gets the ball at the hi-post, it's usually to pass to cutters [or this year] to pass to AE on the lo-post. Liv is an exceptionally good passer, which she showed last year.
Liv runs the floor extremely well, and often scores as the trailer in transition, as she showed in the Lowell game.
I don't think Geno wanted to run up the score against Shea's husband, so anything that happened in the 2nd half - when UConn was putting on the brakes - is moot.
Yes u r right, with Anna, Paige & Nika, we have the makings of a gr8 transition team, but Liv's outlet passes are the weak link in that chain, eh?
Agree. Real Center. And I'm sure Geno teaches real post moves. Pete Newell- Cal Berkeley stuff. I worked for a guy who even taught players to "chin it", which is putting the ball under your chin with your 2 hands on the sides of the ball and elbows out. Classic.
I think Liv is in love with that drop step toward the middle of the lane from the right side which gets her that little jumper in the lane. She should watch some clips of Robert Parish on that. Is she fading away on that shot? Should that be choice one against a player 5 inches shorter than you? (I know you take what the D gives you, but I think she's stuck.) She should have 5 or 6 more moves in her repertoire by now. Go Liv!
 
Couldn’t agree more. Anything sub-70% is just leaving too many free points on the floor. Maybe Sue, KML, and/or KLS could come back for a workout or two and teach her their shooting forms!
Really missing Olde Coach now. He wrote a treatise on FT shooting. He was also a double Hall of Fame inductee and a consummate gentleman.

 
Really missing Olde Coach now. He wrote a treatise on FT shooting. He was also a double Hall of Fame inductee and a consummate gentleman.

OLDE COACH one of the Boneyards Hall of Fame. A true Gentleman and a great athlete
 
Liv is a good post player, but after seeing her rebound her own miss like 4 times, only to get the ball taken away, made me say she can’t really be a go to scorer. I think she’s more of a specialist type of big, rim runner, long defensive player. Right now I’m not sure if she’s a 1st round WNBA draft pick next year, but she will be drafted since she plays at UConn and you can’t teach size.
 
Liv is a good post player, but after seeing her rebound her own miss like 4 times, only to get the ball taken away, made me say she can’t really be a go to scorer. I think she’s more of a specialist type of big, rim runner, long defensive player. Right now I’m not sure if she’s a 1st round WNBA draft pick next year, but she will be drafted since she plays at UConn and you can’t teach size.
Doing her best Moses Malone impersonation. Pad the rebounding stats.
 
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Disagree. ONO is a 'true' center, who plays with her back to the basket from where she does most of her scoring. When she gets the ball at the hi-post, it's usually to pass to cutters [or this year] to pass to AE on the lo-post. Liv is an exceptionally good passer, which she showed last year.
Liv runs the floor extremely well, and often scores as the trailer in transition, as she showed in the Lowell game.
I don't think Geno wanted to run up the score against Shea's husband, so anything that happened in the 2nd half - when UConn was putting on the brakes - is moot.
Yes u r right, with Anna, Paige & Nika, we have the makings of a gr8 transition team, but Liv's outlet passes are the weak link in that chain, eh?
That was really creative coaching by Geno. He didn't want to run up the score against Shea's husband so Geno arranged for Liv to miss 7 shots in a row? Then Geno still had the nerve to bench Liv anyway-go figure!
 
Agree. Real Center. And I'm sure Geno teaches real post moves. Pete Newell- Cal Berkeley stuff. I worked for a guy who even taught players to "chin it", which is putting the ball under your chin with your 2 hands on the sides of the ball and elbows out. Classic.
I think Liv is in love with that drop step toward the middle of the lane from the right side which gets her that little jumper in the lane. She should watch some clips of Robert Parish on that. Is she fading away on that shot? Should that be choice one against a player 5 inches shorter than you? (I know you take what the D gives you, but I think she's stuck.) She should have 5 or 6 more moves in her repertoire by now. Go Liv!

I think that as much as Edwards' nature is to seek contact ONO's is to avoid it. They can learn and adjust but I think ONO's preference would be to play stretch 4, knocking down 3's and flashing through the lane to block shots. That's why the fadeaway is her go to. I don't care if that's all she ever does as long as she makes them like Collier did. ONO's entire problem is too many missed shots. She takes good shots.
 
OLDE COACH one of the Boneyards Hall of Fame. A true Gentleman and a great athlete
Tell me more about the Boneyard Hall of Fame! Do we have a computer Wall of Honor? Can I be a voter? ;)
 
Liv is a good post player, but after seeing her rebound her own miss like 4 times, only to get the ball taken away, made me say she can’t really be a go to scorer. I think she’s more of a specialist type of big, rim runner, long defensive player. Right now I’m not sure if she’s a 1st round WNBA draft pick next year, but she will be drafted since she plays at UConn and you can’t teach size.
Grabbing 3 or 4 rebounds on the same possession shows anticipation, quickness, great hands and, most of all, perseverance .. all gr8 qualities that should be applauded, not derided.
She probly got hit on the arms be more than player in that melee, but the refs wouldn't call a foul bcuz of the lop-sided score, eh?
And yes, Liv is [certainly] a high WNBA 1st-rounder bcuz of her height and athleticism and UConn pedigree.
 
Grabbing 3 or 4 rebounds on the same possession shows anticipation, quickness, great hands and, most of all, perseverance .. all gr8 qualities that should be applauded, not derided.
She probly got hit on the arms be more than player in that melee, but the refs wouldn't call a foul bcuz of the lop-sided score, eh?
And yes, Liv is [certainly] a high WNBA 1st-rounder bcuz of her height and athleticism and UConn pedigree.
ROTFL! When ALL of those rebounds are the result of your own shot attempts right AT THE BASKET it also might say you are not very good at that other basketball skill called MAKE A LAYUP will you.
 
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There is no sport that moves at such a slow pace that you can think your way through it. (Baseball expression - "a full mind makes for an empty bat".)

And most sports, other than golf, also require that you react to what opponents, and in some sports like basketball, teammates are doing. So on top of getting your own skills down, you need to develop a feel for how to react to the flow of the game and to what your opponents throw at you.

In order to do that, you also have to have an understanding of what your own strengths and limitations are. And you scout your opponents to learn their strengths and weaknesses. You practice with your teammates so that you all get a feel for what each other can do.

I suspect CW`s somewhat hesitant half court style of play may be because she is not quite comfortable at this point with her own strengths and weaknesses in the half court game. Am I a slasher? Am I a shooter? Should I assert myself? Should I defer?

I think that Geno, who played her 38 minutes the other day, is in effect telling her with his recent comments to assert herself. I hope CW finds that message to be liberating and not something else.

As to her game, I kind of think she may be something in between the "choices" above. Toward the end of last season, she started taking the ball to the basket aggressively. In the half court game I would like to see her aggressively put the ball on the floor and look to pull up around the key for the 15 footer if the lane is not open, as it often will not be against quality opponents. The mid range game may be her thing.

In the open court, she is solid and gets to the basket with strength. She is also a strong rebounder for her size. She has a lot going for her.
 
Why is Anna passing up open shots? Possible slight lack of fitness, she's not able to square up to the hoop? My impression of Geno is that he never discourages the kids from taking open shots. I feel like he avoids head-games as it pertains to shooting. I would bet Geno asked Anna why she passed up open shots.
That's what I meant earlier in another thread, that I thought Anna was often invisible in the game Saturday.
We've got hosses this year sitting over there. Can't just run around out there for 35 minutes.

I've watched the game 4 times since Saturday when it ended. Each time I tracked one player specifically, one of them being Anna. She passed up waaaaaaay too many open shots and several times, they didn't lead to baskets. IF you pass up a shot for a better shot and we score, fine. If not, that's when it's troubling, obvi.

We scored 48 points in the first half and 31 in the second. We didn't play worse, I don't think, instead, the team became wayyyyyy too unselfish and it resulted in lost points, if that could even be a thing.
 
I've watched the game 4 times since Saturday when it ended. Each time I tracked one player specifically, one of them being Anna. She passed up waaaaaaay too many open shots and several times, they didn't lead to baskets.

Agree!

If a decent three point shooter like Anna is open from the three point line, she should take it.

If anyone worthy of a college basketball scholarship is open within 10 feet of the hoop, she should take it. Interior passing is very hard, especially in a season like this one.

They are all a bit too pass happy. Evina had an easy layup the other day and dropped it off to Paige. It worked out well, but why give up a sure thing?

Anna is good off the dribble, except that she is literally always looking to pass off the dribble. She needs to shoot it off the dribble more. She can make the shot, and it will keep the defense honest.
 
Agree!

If a decent three point shooter like Anna is open from the three point line, she should take it.

If anyone worthy of a college basketball scholarship is open within 10 feet of the hoop, she should take it. Interior passing is very hard, especially in a season like this one.

They are all a bit too pass happy. Evina had an easy layup the other day and dropped it off to Paige. It worked out well, but why give up a sure thing?

Anna is good off the dribble, except that she is literally always looking to pass off the dribble. She needs to shoot it off the dribble more. She can make the shot, and it will keep the defense honest.
There has to be reason for this. Lack of confidence maybe..or maybe this was how she was coached in Poland?
 
There has to be reason for this. Lack of confidence maybe..or maybe this was how she was coached in Poland?

IMO it's too much practice and not enough games. In practice you consciously think about what you are doing and what you are about to do. There's no time for that in a game.
Bueckers and Westbrook may be the best starters and they have one game together with each other and with their team. It's a process .
 
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IMO it's too much practice and not enough games. In practice you consciously think about what you are doing and what you are about to do. There's no time for that in a game.
Bueckers and Westbrook may be the best starters and they have one game together with each other and with their team. It's a process .
Maybe..if she was a freshman perhaps but she is a sophmore.
 
Am I the only one posting on this site who has an understanding of what CW strengths and weaknesses are? Or am I just the only one that has articulated it. To begin with she is a streak shooter who takes advantage of what the defense gives her. She is a very smart player who plays within her capabilities. This is the reason she was successful in the past and why she will often have a really good game. She is not someone who forces up shots when she recognizes the ball isn't dropping or tries to force shots in general. You have to give her a lot of credit for that. Many players go throught their entire careers and never figure that out. Players like here have their own unique value to a team. While it is trure that they will not always shoot you to a victory, but they will also not shoot you out of a game when they are not feeling it either.

While every not and then she can have a game that can carry a team, that is not an every game occurance. Unfortunately, fans seem to believe that those games are a measure of what she could produce every game. To me she is the ideal support player that every team needs. People keep mentioning the ND game and her McD AA appearance. Those were not her average game but the exceptions and only a measure of what she is capable of producing every now and then under the right conditions.

Any attempt to get her to be more offensively agressive shooting wise will on hurt her game. When she tries to do that her game erodes. Now with respect to her off season work on her body she might have more of an upside to take advantage of in respect to drives to the basket. That remains to be seen, but she does look quicker. I would, however , trust her own opinion instead of those that try to push her to do things she feel she is not capable of. She is not insecure, she is just smart.
 
Am I the only one posting on this site who has an understanding of what CW strengths and weaknesses are? Or am I just the only one that has articulated it. To begin with she is a streak shooter who takes advantage of what the defense gives her. She is a very smart player who plays within her capabilities. This is the reason she was successful in the past and why she will often have a really good game. She is not someone who forces up shots when she recognizes the ball isn't dropping or tries to force shots in general. You have to give her a lot of credit for that. Many players go throught their entire careers and never figure that out. Players like here have their own unique value to a team. While it is trure that they will not always shoot you to a victory, but they will also not shoot you out of a game when they are not feeling it either.

While every not and then she can have a game that can carry a team, that is not an every game occurance. Unfortunately, fans seem to believe that those games are a measure of what she could produce every game. To me she is the ideal support player that every team needs. People keep mentioning the ND game and her McD AA appearance. Those were not her average game but the exceptions and only a measure of what she is capable of producing every now and then under the right conditions.

Any attempt to get her to be more offensively agressive shooting wise will on hurt her game. When she tries to do that her game erodes. Now with respect to her off season work on her body she might have more of an upside to take advantage of in respect to drives to the basket. That remains to be seen, but she does look quicker. I would, however , trust her own opinion instead of those that try to push her to do things she feel she is not capable of. She is not insecure, she is just smart.
You are certainly the best articulator of the talents of CW.
Speaking for myself, in the most clear articulation possible, I expect more consistently excellent play from the #1 high school recruit in America, 2017/2018. Especially as it pertains to shooting and finishing around the basket, which ultimately leads to consistent scoring. Again, from my perspective she is not playing like a blue-chipper. To her credit, she has worked hard to become a better rebounder and defender. She appears to be a wonderful young lady, with a terrific personality and a credit to the program and university. I expect a player of this level of ability to be a 20 point scorer every night. I played small college hoops, so I know what a 20 point scorer looks like. I also know how that role moves from year to year from one star player to the next. "She's a streaky shooter". Bah. No. Streaky is an articulation of the word inconsistent! Somehow it is supposed to sound better when you say streaky.
It is CW's time! She has the pedigree to be Big East POY, a 20 point scorer, 7-8 rebounds a game.
Like having the Nation's best thoroughbred in your stable (sorry about the analogy) and you're supposed to be happy that she finishes 5th every race. A "support player". No No No!
 
Olivia needs to be careful. Aaliyah has the aggressiveness that Olivia needs.
ONO does not need to be intimidated by Edwards, ONO is our rim protector. But everyone else needs to be scared when ONO and Edwards eventually start together
 
ONO does not need to be intimidated by Edwards, ONO is our rim protector. But everyone else needs to be scared when ONO and Edwards eventually start together
Vote for next game- Thursday
 
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