Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="bballnut90, post: 5110253, member: 2117"] Solid opening day of basketball! Some good battles to start the season: USC/Ole Miss - this game was all kinds of ugly but it looked like Ole Miss was primed to steal the win, only to blow it down the stretch. Tough loss but has to be a confidence booster to start the year for Law's team. Deans was huge nailing 4 or 5 triples in the second half. I thought Madison Scott played well. They would've won this game if Kennedy Todd-Williams could throw it in the ocean (shot 2-18). They had good looks but zero rhythm in the first. Props to the Rebs though, they fought back and took the lead late after being down by double digits. For USC, a win is a win, but they looked far too dependent on Watkins. Everything ran through her and it often led to a turnover or Juju trying to draw a foul rather than trying to score. That said, she had some great plays and was aggressive taking the ball to the basket and not settling for jumpers. She was also a menace defensively. She's a great player but they have too much talent to rely on hero ball. Von Oelhoffen was a no show, Iriafen looked good but could've had more touches. Kennedy Smith had a really solid debut for USC. Active player, good frame and they mentioned probably 5x on the broadcast that Gottlieb said she's the best freshman defender she's ever coached. Rayah Marshall was completely uninvolved offensively. USC's team defense looked pretty good overall. Louisville/UCLA - I just caught the end of this one. Gardiner has one of the cleanest/prettiest releases I've seen. UCLA struggled with TOs but were without Rice, so they get a pass in that department. Solid night for Betts. Louisville looked like a standard Jeff Walz team, being a roster of mostly new players that are undersized but athletic and work hard even if it isn't pretty. Tajianna Roberts was electric for Louisville and will be a name to watch. South Carolina/Michigan - mad props to Michigan and Kim Barnes Arico for giving South Carolina everything they could handle. Syla Swords was by far the best player on the court tonight and is a star in the making. Side tangent, but her path reminds me a bit of Caitlin Clark's in that both are 6-0 guards who were #4 recruits and chose a consistently good but not elite Big 10 program. She was everywhere tonight, hit clutch shots and was really good at attacking SC's defense. Again, by far the best player on the court tonight. Jordan Hobbs also hit some big 3s in the second half to keep the game close and the whole team just really battled. For South Carolina, it was far from their best effort. The rebounding was not nearly as strong without Cardoso/Watkins in the lineup. Going player by player: Kitts-best SC player of the night. Just worked her butt off and was aggressive on both ends. Dawn will have a hard time taking her out of the lineup with her motor. Tessa Johnson-the second best SC player of the night. She knocked down triples and was very good attacking off the dribble. Every time I watch her I come away impressed. Raven Johnson-the offense had no flow, she missed several perimeter shots too. Forgettable game for her. Milaysia Fulwiley-had some nice plays offensively, still seems a little lost at times offensively and doesn't always make the smart play. Forgettable game for her. Sania Feagin-limited minute but came out flat and just didn't make an impact. Bree Hall-hit a big shot late, defended well, was mostly irrelevant though throughout the night Pao Pao-attacked the basket well, knocked down a couple of perimeter shots too. I thought she had an okay game, though far from her best effort. Dauda-limited minutes, took a couple of threes and missed them. Not a lot else to report on. Adhel Tac-I thought she gave SC some nice minutes even though she missed a bunny and a pair of FTs. She is a big presence inside and I think she'll be a really good player down the road. Not sure if she'll contribute much this season, especially if Watkins comes back. Joyce Edwards-mixed game for her. The pluses are that she's incredibly athletic (blocked a shot off the backboard) and has some of the best hands for catching passes/rebounds I'ver ever seen. Just magnets for hands and high energy and a nose for the ball. When guarding Hobbs on the perimeter she got caught behind a couple of screens which led to open 3s, but I thought she defended well in the paint. Didn't seem super polished offensively but is high energy and has a great motor. She's going to be really good. I will say, overall I thought this was the most entertaining game of the 3. The offense was painful at times but it was high energy and both teams were battling hard every possession. Swords nailing the back to back triples late was very impressive and Michigan scrapped hard as underdogs. If they play like this every night, Michigan will surprise a lot of folks in the Big Ten. For SC, they're extremely talented and will be fine long term, but the contrast from the Paris opening game last year to this one is drastic. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach