ONO makes midseason Naismith DPOY list

[Vowelguy]

2021 Midseason Team for Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year

The Naismith Trophy announced 15 players to the midseason team for the women's Defensive Player of the Year award.

www.ncaa.com

 

[Woof 101]

Nice post that includes a good explanation of the NET rankings of which at this time UConn is #1.
Happy for Olivia, she is a better player than some folks think. She works hard down low for what her body mass allows.

 

[Glenn]

I guess the Wooden folks aren't impressed by the "analysis" on the the boneyard that constantly dismisses her accomplishments.

 

[meyers7]

I guess the Wooden folks aren't impressed by the "analysis" on the the boneyard that constantly dismisses her accomplishments.

Well you know, the BY analyists are so much smarter than people who do basketball for a living.

 

[JellyBean]

Congrats, ONO!! Well earned honor. Keep it going.

 

[CL82]

Well you know, the BY analyists are so much smarter than people who do basketball for a living.

 

[bluedevil]

Well you know, the BY analyists are so much smarter than people who do basketball for a living.

Obviously...

 

[Performance]

Well you know, the BY analyists are so much smarter than people who do basketball for a living.

Well said!!

 

[KY Card Fan]

I realize that lists like these are somewhat subjective, and I'll first say that I have not yet had the opportunity to see most of the players on this list.

But I have seen Elizabeth Balogun play 15 games for Louisville and if there's a better wing defender in WBB this season I've yet to see her. In those 15 games Balogun has 18 steals and 27 blocked shots.

I looked at the stats of two non-bigs whom I have seen play a couple times each. Chasity Patterson in 15 games has 60 steals (amazing!) and one blocked shot. DiDi Richards in 12 games has 20 steals and seven blocks.

Balogun's blocks compare favorably with those of Cunane (14 in 10 games) and Nelson-Ododa (20 in 10 games). Boston is way up there with 41 blocks in 13 games.

Every fan has a bit (or more) of homer in him/her, but in this case I really feel that Balogun has been overlooked. I'm not saying that she is the best defender in WBB but she has to be in the top 15.

 

[Heytherego]

Nice post that includes a good explanation of the NET rankings of which at this time UConn is #1.
Happy for Olivia, she is a better player than some folks think. She works hard down low for what her body mass allows.

Totally agree. I think she has really excelled this past year. We’re all tough on her but I give her credit on defense she’s tough to get by and really protects the paint. She’s grown a lot since last year, can only imagine what her senior year will hold.

 

[bballnut90]

I realize that lists like these are somewhat subjective, and I'll first say that I have not yet had the opportunity to see most of the players on this list.

But I have seen Elizabeth Balogun play 15 games for Louisville and if there's a better wing defender in WBB this season I've yet to see her. In those 15 games Balogun has 18 steals and 27 blocked shots.

I looked at the stats of two non-bigs whom I have seen play a couple times each. Chasity Patterson in 15 games has 60 steals (amazing!) and one blocked shot. DiDi Richards in 12 games has 20 steals and seven blocks.

Balogun's blocks compare favorably with those of Cunane (14 in 10 games) and Nelson-Ododa (20 in 10 games). Boston is way up there with 41 blocks in 13 games.

Every fan has a bit (or more) of homer in him/her, but in this case I really feel that Balogun has been overlooked. I'm not saying that she is the best defender in WBB but she has to be in the top 15.

I havent seen much of Louisville so I can't comment on Balogun, but i will say stats often dont parallel how good of a defender someone is. Didi Richards for example, is an unbelievably good defender but never has a ton of steals (under 2 a game) or blocks. Same with Kia Nurse when she was at UCONN. Both shut down their defensive assignment and make life extremely difficult for them even if it isn't showing up in their statline.

Also, players with high steals sometimes play more of a gambling style of defense, where they'll try to get a steal but if they fail, it leaves their defender wide open for a shot or drive to the basket and their steal attempt actually hurts their team more than it helps. Players like that can be great at getting steals but I wouldn't call them good defenders.