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Message: [QUOTE="Dillon77, post: 3034840, member: 6620"] Good thread. I refrained from joining in (for a variety of reasons) but primarily because I wanted to see (yet another) bounce-back game for the Irish vs. Florida State. And I'm glad I did because Kara Lawson was also there and, as is her wont, she gave it straight. Most of this is paraphrased from Lawson during the course of the first three quarters, when Ogunbowale was putting on an Arike+ clinic (for the first time in many a game). - Arike is fast, much faster than she looks on tape. And she's also strong. Lawson focused on when Arke comes from a wing, cuts off an elevator screen and takes it down the hole. Lawson said you can practice against it and think you have it, but you're not ready for the directed burst of speed. - Ogunbowale is passing much better this year, particularly on the break. She does an excellent job of drawing the last defender to her then finding the space to get the ball to most feasible shot. Young is her main wing man on these plays, but Mabrey and Shepard are there, too. - She gets her shot off fast and in tight situations, citing two such plays against FSU that led to threes. Of course, these situations are (too) well-known on this board. - Lawson thinks Arike is best situated as a wing in the pros, for many of the reasons brought up already, in that it allows her to utilize her strengths. (BTW, I'm aware of Arike's shortcomings, many/most of which have been pointed out here by others. Perhaps the one that frustrates me most as an Irish fan isn't her inability to play defense (she actually can and did against FSU), it's her inconsistency and, at times, indifference to it. ) I'm not making any comparisons to Ms. Durr or KLS, both of whom are excellent players and bring unique skills sets to the fore. They'll do fine at the next level. While each of us may have our faves when picking a pick-up game from scratch, one can also look at what the WNBA GMs need versus their preferred style of play and/or needs. (BTW, stepping outside of the guard conversation, I have recently found myself becoming even more of a fan of Jessica Shepard and her ability to do simple, understated things very well. Like hustling and working her you know what off to be in a position to get the ball in the best possible place to score, whether in a half-court set or on the break. And her rebounding and outlet passes are the "put the petal to metal" start of ND's fast break. This young woman is sweating bullets to get better. All power to her...wish we had her all four years.) [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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