OT: Can South Carolina WBB Take the Next Step This Season?

[cockhrnleghrn]

Think imma go ahead and purchase my ticket this week.... i was surrounded by chicken fans last time. I dunno what your schedule looks like.. but hopefully yall will be unbeaten upon your arrival to Durham.

It will be tough with games at Ohio State and Texas plus a neutral site vs. Louisville in Springfield.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

You're right. IF SC can come out on the other side of these 3 games without a loss, then I'd be more incline to believe they have a chance of making it to Dallas in April. All 3 of these games will test their mettle to the core.

I'll be surprised if we win all three with three new starters, but I thiink by mid-season we will be better than last year.

 

[Carnac]

She shoots entirely too much and plays 0 defense. She's a great player but if she can't become a pass first player with all the talent around her then I don't see them succeeding that much this year

You're not the first poster I've heard say that about Mitchell. That's the knock on Mitchell. She thinks like Steph Curry. As soon as she crosses the half court line, she feels she's in range to shoot. There are guards at this level that will exploit her refusal to play defense.

 

[JordyG]

You're not the first poster I've heard say that about Mitchell. That's the knock on Mitchell. She thinks like Steph Curry. As soon as she crosses the half court line, she feels she's in range to shoot. There are guards at this level that will exploit her refusal to play defense.

Now are you guys talking about Mitchell or Diamond?

 

[JordyG]

You're right. IF SC can come out on the other side of these 3 games without a loss, then I'd be more incline to believe they have a chance of making it to Dallas in April. All 3 of these games will test their mettle to the core.

It's no secret that I'm a Dawn fan. I think Harris is a wild card. If she plays well and keeps her errors to a minimum Dawn won't have to live and die with Cuevas' mistakes on offense and sometimes questionable defense. Now, as a frosh I don't expect this young lady to come flying out of the gates. But like Danger, toward the end of the season the talent this young Harris has may be a deciding factor. At this point Coates is what she is, a typical SEC low post player with little skills outside 5 feet. Fortunately Harrigan looks like the real deal and could take the scoring pressure off of Wilson. For Balcomb to effect positive change they'll need consistent options on offense. We'll have a better idea by Dec. 2.

 

[Carnac]

Now are you guys talking about Mitchell or Diamond?

Kelsey Mitchell from tOSU. I've seen Diamond play about 3 times. I wasn't paying much attention to whether she was playing any D or not. I'm just saying I I've read here in the yard, other posters (plural) comment on Mitchell not playing any defense. A poster mentioned that Kelsey Michell didn't play any defense in their exhibition game last week. When you read different people say the same thing, there might be some truth to it.

We know she can shoot. If she wants to play at the next level, she MUST be able to play good tight man-to man defense. WNBA coaches love players that can/will play defense. I like Diamond by the way. I always have. I like cocky players that can play. DeSheilds was recovering from injury most of the year. She should be completely healthy this year. I want to see her at full strength this season. She's talked the talk, can she walk the walk?

 

[JordyG]

Kelsey Mitchell from tOSU. I've seen Diamond play about 3 times. I wasn't paying much attention to whether she was playing any D or not. I'm just saying I I've read here in the yard, other posters (plural) comment on Mitchell not playing any defense. A poster mentioned that Kelsey Michell didn't play any defense in their exhibition game last week. When you read different people say the same thing, there might be some truth to it.

We know she can shoot. If she wants to play at the next level, she MUST be able to play good tight man-to man defense. WNBA coaches love players that can/will play defense. I like Diamond by the way. I always have. I like cocky players that can play. DeSheilds was recovering from injury most of the year. She should be completely healthy this year. I want to see her at full strength this season. She's talked the talk, can she walk the walk?

Admittedly I was being facetious. In the exhibition I saw this year she and the Tenn offense, as did Mississippi State, looked pretty much the same as last years: Dump it in to the stationary objects or have the other three create. Diamond still looked majorly athletic and quick. And inconsistent with her shot and defensively lazy. The SEC is so ripe for a team that moves the ball on offense, plays fast with forwards that move and are effective beyond 10'. I'm hoping Balcomb can help SC with that. Once again I fear the SEC will have a record number of teams invited to the Dance with all falling before the Elite 8. Except Dawn, of course. For MS I saw Vivians upchuck brick after brick. Does she work on her shot I wonder, or not?

 

[CocoHusky]

Where is the question mark on Kelsey Mitchell? 2 years running and one of the nation's primer scorers and floor generals? She's a junior this year I can't see her numbers going down too much, even with the transfer additions.

Plenty of questions mark on Mitchell as point guard/"floor general"and team leader. Her A/TO ration is 1.00 not very good for a player who dominates the ball as much as she does. The entire team is defensively indifferent and that's the one place ironically that Mitchell is showing great leadership of the negative variety. Mitchell also has an option to go to the WNBA this year, which she will likely do. Mitchell will be literally gunning for the #1 spot in the draft and at least one of the tOSU assistant coaches ( her dad) will gladly cosign that plan.

 

[Justavisitor]

SC will most definitely contend for a title. They have the talent and they have a staff that knows how to put them in position to win. Cueves just needs to pass the ball and not worry so much about scoring. The talent on the wings has increased tremendously. The backcourt will be one of the best in the nation.

 

[SCspur]

It will be tough with games at Ohio State and Texas plus a neutral site vs. Louisville in Springfield.

the games that worry me most this year is @Uconn and the neutral game vs Louisville. Its extremely tough to win in Gampel no matter what type of team Geno has, and the game vs the cards is in Massachusetts so its going to be hard to get a good fan base there. Ohio State really doesn't play as a team defensively and offensively so I like our chances. The Texas game is surely going to be tough but their posts don't scare me. Lang and the two twins are absolutely no match for Coates and Wilson and I think that will be the deciding factor in this game. I love Joyner Holmes' game but can she guard some like Wilson for long periods of time? we'll see...

 

[SCspur]

It's no secret that I'm a Dawn fan. I think Harris is a wild card. If she plays well and keeps her errors to a minimum Dawn won't have to live and die with Cuevas' mistakes on offense and sometimes questionable defense. Now, as a frosh I don't expect this young lady to come flying out of the gates. But like Danger, toward the end of the season the talent this young Harris has may be a deciding factor. At this point Coates is what she is, a typical SEC low post player with little skills outside 5 feet. Fortunately Harrigan looks like the real deal and could take the scoring pressure off of Wilson. For Balcomb to effect positive change they'll need consistent options on offense. We'll have a better idea by Dec. 2.

Harris is a freshman so its a known fact that she'll have jitters in games and turn the ball over sometimes but ultimately she's going to be better then cuevas because unlike Bianca Ty plays under control. She knows how to lead a offense with out playing super fast and she knows how to win, just take a look at her in this summers FIBA u18 Americas Championship. Coates in the exhibition showed us that she can hit a shot beyond 5ft as she hit two in a row, now will she move away from her bread and butter posting up and catching high lows and scoring? I doubt it she dominates in that area and the only player who could stop it was Morgan Tuck and she's in the WNBA so I think she dominates in that area again. Harrigan can score in a variety of ways but she also plays lockdown defense so she's a great addition to our frontcourt (Actually I think she's a better addition then Jatarie White).

 

[SCGamecock]

Harris is a freshman so its a known fact that she'll have jitters in games and turn the ball over sometimes but ultimately she's going to be better then cuevas because unlike Bianca Ty plays under control. She knows how to lead a offense with out playing super fast and she knows how to win, just take a look at her in this summers FIBA u18 Americas Championship. Coates in the exhibition showed us that she can hit a shot beyond 5ft as she hit two in a row, now will she move away from her bread and butter posting up and catching high lows and scoring? I doubt it she dominates in that area and the only player who could stop it was Morgan Tuck and she's in the WNBA so I think she dominates in that area again. Harrigan can score in a variety of ways but she also plays lockdown defense so she's a great addition to our frontcourt (Actually I think she's a better addition then Jatarie White).

I was very impressed with Harrigan's ability to score in multiple ways. She's going to be one of our better players on the team in a few years if she keeps progressing. After seeing how skilled she is offensively AND defensively I feel much better about having her, Williams and Jennings in 2018 post-Wilson.

 

[CBear01]

Plenty of questions mark on Mitchell as point guard/"floor general"and team leader. Her A/TO ration is 1.00 not very good for a player who dominates the ball as much as she does. The entire team is defensively indifferent and that's the one place ironically that Mitchell is showing great leadership of the negative variety. Mitchell also has an option to go to the WNBA this year, which she will likely do. Mitchell will be literally gunning for the #1 spot in the draft and at least one of the tOSU assistant coaches ( her dad) will gladly cosign that plan.

The question wasn't about her efficiency in the game nor her ability to make plays and rack up the score. the original poster posed a question with a slew of teams who had no PG identity. IMO there is no crisis here at tOSU and no question marks about Mitchell as there is no doubt the offense runs thru her. that's why I made comment as to where are the ?s at tOSU bc they already have that identity

 

[TerpWomenFan]

Harris is a freshman so its a known fact that she'll have jitters in games and turn the ball over sometimes but ultimately she's going to be better then cuevas because unlike Bianca Ty plays under control. She knows how to lead a offense with out playing super fast and she knows how to win, just take a look at her in this summers FIBA u18 Americas Championship. Coates in the exhibition showed us that she can hit a shot beyond 5ft as she hit two in a row, now will she move away from her bread and butter posting up and catching high lows and scoring? I doubt it she dominates in that area and the only player who could stop it was Morgan Tuck and she's in the WNBA so I think she dominates in that area again. Harrigan can score in a variety of ways but she also plays lockdown defense so she's a great addition to our frontcourt (Actually I think she's a better addition then Jatarie White).

I have always been a huge fan of Tyasha Harris. You guys got a great player there.