Next Elena Delle Donne? | The Boneyard

Next Elena Delle Donne?

Striper69

Striper69

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I was stuck watching TV today because of a snowstorm so I tuned into whatever women's BB game I could find.
Indiana @ Iowa was on BTN early so I watched that.

I was only half interested in the game at first but I noticed Gustafson was playing a heck of a game. I found out that she is leading the country in scoring at the moment. She was kinda unstoppable today. I like her moves inside and she was the best post player I've seen this year. She scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds if I'm not mistaken.

The announcers were talking about how she will do in the WNBA and I agree.

I'm looking forward to see how she will do in the NCAA's.
 
Not sure how Gustafson's game will translate to the WNBA. She is not fast or physically gifted (as Geno would say, cant jump over a newspaper) and does not have real shooting range (almost never takes shots past 10 ft but does not have to). She is strong, has good footwork, excellent hands, gets good position but does not have the gifts of EDD (especially 3pt shot range) and she is 6' 3".
 
Striper69 said:
I was stuck watching TV today because of a snowstorm so I tuned into whatever women's BB game I could find.
Indiana @ Iowa was on BTN early so I watched that.
I was only half interested in the game at first but I noticed Gustafson was playing a heck of a game. I found out that she is leading the country in scoring at the moment. She was kinda unstoppable today. I like her moves inside and she was the best post player I've seen this year. She scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds if I'm not mistaken.
The announcers were talking about how she will do in the WNBA and I agree.
I'm looking forward to see how she will do in the NCAA's.
Expand ...
Gustafson is only a NCAA Junior and has been a terrific NCAA player for 3 straight years now. She has the credentials to be Big 10 player of the year for this season. As far as her WNBA prospects @eebmg has it entirely correct.
She will be a very good college player that will likely not be a good enough WNBA player.
 
Striper69 said:
I was stuck watching TV today because of a snowstorm so I tuned into whatever women's BB game I could find.
Indiana @ Iowa was on BTN early so I watched that.

I was only half interested in the game at first but I noticed Gustafson was playing a heck of a game. I found out that she is leading the country in scoring at the moment. She was kinda unstoppable today. I like her moves inside and she was the best post player I've seen this year. She scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds if I'm not mistaken.

The announcers were talking about how she will do in the WNBA and I agree.

I'm looking forward to see how she will do in the NCAA's.
Expand ...

Your post got me googling Gustafson and her story is interesting - comes from a really small town (300) in N. Wisconsin, very hard worker, and tough. Kind of reminds of Stephanie Dolson. Hope Iowa makes into the NCAAs so I can watch her play.
 
I too watched the Iowa vs Indiana game and was impressed with Gustafson. But she is no EDD. MAKE NO MISTAKE.

What she is , is a good and solid college player. Strong . Methodical . And has a WNBA future as a power forward. Unable to defend out on the perimeter , but able to take up space in the paint and rebound. Good form on her shot out to the FT line and elbow. Good low post player.

But she is no EDD.
 
augustaTC said:
Your post got me googling Gustafson and her story is interesting - comes from a really small town (300) in N. Wisconsin, very hard worker, and tough. Kind of reminds of Stephanie Dolson. Hope Iowa makes into the NCAAs so I can watch her play.
Expand ...


It is interesting you mention that because I had thought about how Gustafson does remind me of Dolson on the surface but don't forget how good Dolson could shoot out to 3 pt range (a skill she improved even more in the WNBA) and her passing and understanding of the game such as setting incredible screens was elite. I am also not sure whether Gustafson gets a little extra assist because she is left handed which gives her a different look to college defenders. Also Dolson is 6' 5" and those 2 inches help. Gustafson should use Dolson as a template of what she should do to improve to be a potential WNBA player. I am not sure she will get there (directly) but I will cross my fingers. Her back story is really cool. Her graduating class was size 11.
 
.-.
augustaTC said:
Your post got me googling Gustafson and her story is interesting - comes from a really small town (300) in N. Wisconsin, very hard worker, and tough. Kind of reminds of Stephanie Dolson. Hope Iowa makes into the NCAAs so I can watch her play.
Expand ...

In turn, your post got me interested as well. Her home town of Port Wing is located on a major east-west road in that part of Wisconsin, one I’ve driven on a few times during the decades I lived in the state, and I don’t recall ever seeing the name.

Regarding comparing her to Dolson: it’s an unknowable I suppose but I wonder if she had played at Connecticut if some of Dolson’s great skills would have been developed in her?

Am I right in remembering that neither Gabby nor Kia were ranked top ten in their class? This shows that UConn doesn’t just get “the best players” as critics complain, it develops them. Maybe it might have happened with Gustafson.
 
HGN said:
I too watched the Iowa vs Indiana game and was impressed with Gustafson. But she is no EDD. MAKE NO MISTAKE.

What she is , is a good and solid college player. Strong . Methodical . And has a WNBA future as a power forward. Unable to defend out on the perimeter , but able to take up space in the paint and rebound. Good form on her shot out to the FT line and elbow. Good low post player.

But she is no EDD.
Expand ...

They're completely different types of players. EDD was a perimeter shooter and driver. Gustafson is a back to the basket post player.

Gustafson apparently doesn't shoot treys but I see that as a plus. The shots she took yesterday were far higher percentage. Kelsey Mitchell is the second leading scorer in the nation but she's a ballhog. This was the only game I've ever seen Gustafson play.
 
Striper69 said:
They're completely different types of players. EDD was a perimeter shooter and driver. Gustafson is a back to the basket post player.

Gustafson apparently doesn't shoot treys but I see that as a plus. The shots she took yesterday were far higher percentage. Kelsey Mitchell is the second leading scorer in the nation but she's a ballhog. This was the only game I've ever seen Gustafson play.
Expand ...

So. she's not the next EDD?
 
Striper69 said:
They're completely different types of players. EDD was a perimeter shooter and driver. Gustafson is a back to the basket post player.

Gustafson apparently doesn't shoot treys but I see that as a plus. The shots she took yesterday were far higher percentage. Kelsey Mitchell is the second leading scorer in the nation but she's a ballhog. This was the only game I've ever seen Gustafson play.
Expand ...

With both Gustafson and Mitchell, being a "ballhog" is the team's best options.
 
.-.
Striper69 said:
Maybe the #1 draft choice next year.
Expand ...

No way! Over Brown, McCowan, Stevens and maybe a couple of other UConn players? Can't see it, but there is another year of basketball ahead to make such a case.

There's even rumblings that she may be eligible to declare for this year's draft, but I don't think she's interested in doing that.
 
Yeah Megan is and has been a solid player here in Big Ten country. At the next level, like now, it will come down to confidence in order to make that leap at the WNBA level. Can she play at the WNBA level? I think so. Just depends on where so goes, who the coach is, and the type of team she has around her. Megan can play.
 
Striper69 said:
I was stuck watching TV today because of a snowstorm so I tuned into whatever women's BB game I could find.
Indiana @ Iowa was on BTN early so I watched that.

I was only half interested in the game at first but I noticed Gustafson was playing a heck of a game. I found out that she is leading the country in scoring at the moment. She was kinda unstoppable today. I like her moves inside and she was the best post player I've seen this year. She scored 36 points and grabbed 16 rebounds if I'm not mistaken.

The announcers were talking about how she will do in the WNBA and I agree.

I'm looking forward to see how she will do in the NCAA's.
Expand ...
When I read "the next Elena Del Donna", I assumed the post was going to be about KLS. I do think there's a lot of similarity in their size and the way they play the game. I haven't had the opportunity to see this Gustafson but she does sound like a very nice and hardworking player.
 
Shades said:
No way! Over Brown, McCowan, Stevens and maybe a couple of other UConn players? Can't see it, but there is another year of basketball ahead to make such a case.

There's even rumblings that she may be eligible to declare for this year's draft, but I don't think she's interested in doing that.
Expand ...

Who's Brown?

She's a better offensive post player than McCowan and maybe Stevens.
 
Shades said:
With both Gustafson and Mitchell, being a "ballhog" is the team's best options.
Expand ...

With Gustafson not being a guard she can't very well be a ballhog. She does make the most out of whatever passes she gets in the paint.
 
Striper69 said:
Who's Brown?

She's a better offensive post player than McCowan and maybe Stevens.
Expand ...

Just think if McCowan or Stevens were on Iowa’s team instead of Gustafson. Who would be the best offensive option?

Anyway, you probably already know offense isn’t everything. The most obvious example is Kelsey Plum, who supplied the most offense in NCAA history. It doesn’t necessarily mean that offense translates well to the next level.
 
.-.
cabbie191 said:
Am I right in remembering that neither Gabby nor Kia were ranked top ten in their class? This shows that UConn doesn’t just get “the best players” as critics complain, it develops them. Maybe it might have happened with Gustafson.
Expand ...
Well the services don't really rank Internationals all that well. Some of them don't rate them at all. And Williams had been hurt her Jr and Sr year. So no telling where they would have been ranked if they had been looked at and/or had played.
 
cabbie191 said:
Am I right in remembering that neither Gabby nor Kia were ranked top ten in their class? This shows that UConn doesn’t just get “the best players” as critics complain, it develops them. Maybe it might have happened with Gustafson.
Expand ...

meyers7 said:
Well the services don't really rank Internationals all that well. Some of them don't rate them at all. And Williams had been hurt her Jr and Sr year. So no telling where they would have been ranked if they had been looked at and/or had played.
Expand ...
Despite being hurt in those years at least one recruiting service ASGR ( Brett McCormick) had Gabby #2 overall in the class.
Gabby was selected for McDonalds AA game despite being hurt.
"Williams is a 5-11 guard from Sparks, Nev., who is listed as the second best prospect in the class by the All Star Girls Report.
Williams was a hidden gem for a while, but now everyone knows her,” said ASGR analyst Bret McCormick. “She hurt her knee back in February, but if she recovers from that I think she will be a great player. She is a tremendous athlete with a great skill set. There’s really nothing that she can’t do."
UConn Building Monster 2014 Class | ASGR Basketball
 
I know this thread is primarily about Gustafson and it is, indeed, an interesting one.
But when I think about a player who very much reminds me of the attributes of EDD, it's one who is dominating the recruiting threads: Samantha Brunelle.
She's still early in her development, but has that solid all-round game (inside, getting further outside all the time, passing) and demeanor that reminds of EDD.

There's something about the calmness and intensity of Baby Bru that seems in character with EDD. It's embedded in there and makes for an exciting, enticing future.
 
EDD college version could replace any of the UConn's current starting 5. Who can Gustafson replace? Definitely not Z as the first sub of the bench.
 
.-.
Gustafson's playing in the Big Ten tournament in a few minutes.
 
Iowa leads 22-1 after the first quarter. Gustafson has 2 points and 4 rebounds and 1 assist.
 
Gustafson scores 48 points but loses due to poor guard play. Too many turnovers and they didn't guard the other teams 3 point shooters. Should've went man-to-man.
 
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