Our new bigs: what do we know?

[Longtime fan]

Do you expect Aaliyah to see a lot of bench time, then?

Nan, Bit of an oversight there, I fear.

 

[Bone Dog]

Ayanna played particularly "small" for a player who is measured at 6'2". Gets blocked regularly, doesn't block many shots, and just was not the power underneath that one expected she'd be. Yes, she was transitioning from HS to WCBB. But lots of players ranked in the top 20 or so make that transition, and right out of the gate prove themselves to be major movers and shakers in the WCBB game. Ayanna was surprisingly quiet.

I think it’s not quite fair to compare Ayanna to those players. Think about Cotie McMahon, for example. She had a great freshman season and seems like the paradigm of the freshman who “makes the transition.” But she was in a situation that really suited her skill set in the same way it had in HS. There wasn’t much of a transition for her. She’s listed as a forward, but essentially plays the floor against opponents mainly smaller than her. This is just a continuation of her HS experience. When she’s had to matchup against bigger guards and forwards she tended to get into foul trouble.

Ayanna has an inherently more difficult transition to make at the 4, where she’s playing against bigger faster players than she ever faced in HS.

 

[HuskyNan]

I think it’s not quite fair to compare Ayanna to those players. Think about Cotie McMahon, for example. She had a great freshman season and seems like the paradigm of the freshman who “makes the transition.” But she was in a situation that really suited her skill set in the same way it had in HS. There wasn’t much of a transition for her. She’s listed as a forward, but essentially plays the floor against opponents mainly smaller than her. This is just a continuation of her HS experience. When she’s had to matchup against bigger guards and forwards she tended to get into foul trouble.

Ayanna has an inherently more difficult transition to make at the 4, where she’s playing against bigger faster players than she ever faced in HS.

People should look up the stats for Asjha Jones, Kelly Schumacher, or Jess Moore (below). It’s especially difficult when a freshman post is playing behind a couple of strong upperclassmen