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Message: [QUOTE="diggerfoot, post: 3489084, member: 1673"] This thread prompts a few thoughts: 1. I do not follow HS players closely. Bueckers became the exception because she is so entertaining! However, perhaps that allows me to better determine who has been hyped. If it reaches even my ears, well... While I've seen scouting reports about the good defense of some HS players there has been one, and only one, that has reached the level of hype to my ears. That would be Nurse, and the hype was not about her defense in high school, but what a pain she was guarding veteran players on the national team. No other HS player to my casual ears had that kind of hype about her defense before putting on a Husky uniform. 2. I also think Nurse could have been the type of leader we have needed for awhile, but she was a victim of circumstances. For her entire UConn career she was surrounded by legitimate point guards and multiple first team Americans. It's not her fault she held back on some of her leadership potential, nor the coaching staff's, nor the players. Sometimes situations just dictate conditions beyond control, either for good or bad. Had Nurse reached her leadership potential at UConn that might have made a difference in a few key games, plus get her on the wall. 3. Getting back to Bueckers, I commented earlier on the BY that she could be great in a Stewart or Samuelson role of being the point on a 1-2-2 press. Actually, with the roster we will have those positions for the press would be interchangeable. Most could play the point, most could play the rear. Most will play good defense. They may not have the Nurse hype for defense but the scouting reports are promising. 4. Considering who will be on the roster just how good do people think Bueckers needs to be on defense? Even if she proves to be the fifth best defender that is still an excellent defensive squad we will have. Bueckers is coming into an ideal situation for herself in more ways than one. She seems to be highly coachable and will adapt fully, but with the others on her team she does not need to adapt much further than Samuelson, ie, make sure she only gets beat the right way for help defense. The type of defense we will need from her is entirely within her reach; the type of defense we will get is likely to exceed what is needed. 5. Muhl has been overlooked in this thread. For a press that will discombobulate opponents I would have Muhl in there before ONO. Edwards, Griffin and McLean all are capable of being the last line of defense for a press. Not for the half court, but for a full court press they would do nicely. In fact, an opponent might be more likely to make a bad pass in the area of a deceptively lengthy leaper than a tall player. For that matter, Muhl may prove better for a press than a few others cited. [/QUOTE]

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