Pac 12 Friday 1/19

[nwhoopfan]

If they wanted next year they could roll out a front line that was 6'7", 6'8" and 6'9".

They "could" but I don't think it will ever happen. Probably only rarely see two of them on the floor together. Hamblin and Gulich played at the same time occasionally and Gulich and Grymek were on the floor for a few minutes on Friday. But those big players aren't real mobile and I don't think Rueck likes the implications defensively. He's got 6-3 stretch 4 Corosdale that is only a Fr. and Washington gets a few minutes, she's kind of a combo forward, I think she's 6-1 or 6-2. Rueck really likes his 3 guard lineups. He'll have a ton to choose from. There are the 5 players in the rotation this year, none of them are Sr., plus Slocum will be eligible and they have another combo guard w/ good length coming in from Australia.

 

[jonson]

McGwire is deadly at midrange shot. I can not remember her missing one in quite a while. I think that is why she was put into the starting line up last year. The thing is that she is not that good on defense. She is too slow to cover her man and also provide any help defense. I think that is why Sabally has taken her place. Especially how bad the Miss State center made the Oregon defense look. I think you might also want to give Oregon state some credit for the defense they played on Sabally.

I am glad to see Graves giving Giomi some minutes in games that matter. They will need her if they face either Baylor, Miss state or any teams with centers like them. She didn't stay in long but long enough to draw a foul for putting a body on Gulich about 9 feet from the basket. I didn't think that was a foul. She had position but I don't believe officials have ever seen someone successfully boxing out any one that far from the basket. That gal is also quick and covers a lot of ground. But she isn't as effective offensively and the coach is Graves so that sort of will limit her time on the floor.

It's too bad McGwire and Giomi couldn't swap some pounds. It might help McGwire's defense a bit and keep Giomi from getting bounced around down low. I agree that Giomi has a lot of upside, and I think that Graves sees that as well. She runs well and is very quick for her size. I think the issue (with minutes) is not so much her offense, but her lack of strength, which hurts her defensively and--especially--rebounding. So I think she's a year away. But the potential is there.

McGwire does bring very good mid-range scoring to the table, but she's not good defensively and isn't the rebounder one might expect given her size (I don't think her hands are what they should be). Replacing her in the starting lineup with Sabally was a major improvement imo. That said, I also think Sabally has hit the proverbial freshman wall: she had a good game against Arizona State, but played very few minutes in the two games preceding due to early fouls. What has definitely improved--and this was evident against OSU--is her rebounding. If she can get her confidence back as a scorer, it will be a major plus for the Ducks, especially with Bando out.

 

[willtalk]

It's too bad McGwire and Giomi couldn't swap some pounds. It might help McGwire's defense a bit and keep Giomi from getting bounced around down low. I agree that Giomi has a lot of upside, and I think that Graves sees that as well. She runs well and is very quick for her size. I think the issue (with minutes) is not so much her offense, but her lack of strength, which hurts her defensively and--especially--rebounding. So I think she's a year away. But the potential is there.-------------------------.

I believe Giomi is stronger than you think. From what I have observed she lowers her center of gravity and uses leverage in blocking out. They problem with her type of body is when she becomes more upright or leaves the ground she looses her leverage and is easily moved. With her feet on the ground she is not that easy to move. I saw that when she blocked out Gulich far from the basket. They called a foul on her as Gulich attempted to get around her, but she maintained positions. I don't think officials has ever seen any one being blocked out so far from the basket. I thought Greaves really missed an important in game adjustment against Miss State. McCowan killed them underneath because the players he put against her were just too short. She was tall enough to rebound and put back shots even when they had positions. I mean who gets 12 offensive rebounds. From what I have seen Giomi is very effective at getting position. She is tall enough that McCowan would not have been able to get those rebounds and put backs like he did over Gildon and Malley who he often used in an attempt of blocking her out.. Most of those rebound were over Gildon. Against a player like her or Baylors Brown Giomi is his best defensive option. She would have also been mobile enough to also play help defense on Vivians as well.

My point about him not using Giomi because of her offense. I stand by that. I am not saying she is a bad offensive player, only that Greaves seems to value offense over defense. This is why he interjected McGwire into the starting line up despite the fact that she is a liability on defense. he loves what she provides in her mid range game offensively and is willing to accept the defensive liability trade off. When Sabbally came on the scene she replaced McGwire not only because she provided a significant defensive advantage but because the offense loses nothing with her on the floor. Her all around game makes her even a greater offensive threat. There was no trade off. This would not be true if Giomi was in the line up.

There is nothing wrong with coaches having different criteria's as to which they value more- offense or defense. However, it is often necessary to make in game adjustments when one becomes more important than the other. The Miss State was one such case. McCowans dominance required a trade off favoring defense, but his offensive minded nature made him loath to comply. It is not unusual for coaches ( even very good ones ) to get locked into their own system, that it takes after the game reflection to help them recognize the need to adjust. I do thin Greaves recognizes that need, but something within him is still resisting the fact. He seems to be trying to talk himself out of it.