Pheesa dropped 27...

[DefenseBB]

It was sooooo strange watching Lou guard Pheesa. Plus, Pheesa’s teammate is Jessica Shepherd who grabbed a lot of boards and dishes some assists to Pheesa. They actually played well together.

How do Lou do?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Adamec on Twitter last night. Cracks me up.

o Napheesa Collier (@PHEEsespieces) with 27 points (8-for-10 shooting, and how about that step-back 3), 6 rebounds, 3 blocked shots in her #WNBA debut. But somewhere you know her old college coach at @UConnWBB is complaining that she tied her career high in assists (0).

 

[UConnFranklin]

I don't recall Napheesa doing much driving and penetrating at UConn, probably because she always set up in or near the paint on offense. Her first play in last night's game was to drive from the left corner and draw a foul. I think it was on Allie Quigley, but whoever it was clearly didn't expect any such move, and was beaten after the first step.

That's probably an example of a move that Napheesa always had, but didn't need to use at UConn since she was always playing inside.

On the other hand, her step back move was a staple of her UConn career, and could not have been missed by anyone who scouted her.

Actually, Napheesa played all over the court in her UConn career although she frequently set up at the high post. That’s was one of her hallmarks. When she set up at the high post it was very often a fake and a slashing drive or a step back 2 or 3. So the slashing drives don’t surprise me. She’s a terrific player with a nice soft touch. Just had to work on a quicker release of her 3 point shots. I wish her well.

 

[BobbyJ]

I had the impression (from press reports), that she was a little lost in pre-season.
Wouldn't have been surprised given her (slightly) demure and retiring nature.

Seems to have picked up the essence of the pro game (and a new position) pretty quickly.

Of course...look at her pedigree and the level of instruction she received the last four years.

I still remember her appearance during her freshman season at a regional in Bridgeport, where she entered a game in which the starters were flat and strangely ineffective.
A few quick buckets from Phee turned that all around.

Now it's happened again...in spades.

Go, Naphessa.

I tend to believe that the retiring nature is mainly for public consumption. You don't compete like she does unless you've got fire.

 

[Bigboote]

In any case, great job by Pheesa, Jess and Lynix newcomer Lexie Brown. (BTW, it does not surprise me at all that Pheesa and Jess would get along on the court -- Reeve knows exactly what she's looking for in on-floor dynamics.)

Jess and Pheesa know each other pretty well. They've been roommates at USA basketball at least once.

 

[Jackalope]

How do Lou do?

Lou do "dodo"

(sorry, I just couldn't resist!).

Four points with 1 for 1 shooting in 17 minutes while guarding Pheesa most of the time.

 

[jaydee602]

Pheesa & Shepard will make a dynamic tandem. I can finally root for Shepard, whom I've admired as a classy, intelligent opponent. But the fierce rivalry limited my ability to applaud her success.

 

[eebmg]

Fun twitter clip. Toweling off Pheesa and a little buckerroo dance at the end

 

[eebmg]

Probably more appropriate thread

Caption:

Guys, it is not really the coaching. All you need to succeed in the WNBA is the head band.

View attachment 43517

 

[CL82]

Seems to have picked up the essence of the pro game (and a new position) pretty quickly.

Her basketball IQ is off the charts. I think her demeanor makes people overlook her. She's not flashy or demonstrative. She just plays and never takes a play off. Love this kid.

 

[eebmg]

Sheppard Post game Interview. Second half discussing the Pheesa - Sheppard connections

 

[Carnac]

We'll see if she can keep the starting job, but Pheesa's upside is stratospheric. I want to see her play with Maya.

Christmas-Kelly had better get well and fast. If Collier’s next game is similar to this one, she may force Karima Christmas-Kelly to become known as Karima Wally-Pipp.

 

[Bama fan]

Her BBQ is off the charts. I think her demeanor makes people overlook her. She's not flashy or demonstrative. She just plays and never takes a play off. Love this kid.

I love BBQ. Gonna have some today! And yes ,while Pheesa appears demure, she does not demur.

 

[CL82]

I love BBQ. Gonna have some today! And yes ,while Pheesa appears demure, she does not demur.

Apparently the BY doesn't like that phrase "B.B.I.Q." (or Tom may just be messing with people. He does that you know.)

 

[DefenseBB]

Lou do "dodo"

(sorry, I just couldn't resist!).

Four points with 1 for 1 shooting in 17 minutes while guarding Pheesa most of the time.

Oh man, considering how bad the Sky are, I was hoping for more opportunities...

 

[oldude]

Lou do "dodo"

(sorry, I just couldn't resist!).

Four points with 1 for 1 shooting in 17 minutes while guarding Pheesa most of the time.

So Pheesa lit up her old roomie and BFF. Good stuff. I’ll bet Lou has a breakout game of her own sometime soon.

 

[Dokey]

Adamec on Twitter last night. Cracks me up.

o Napheesa Collier (@PHEEsespieces) with 27 points (8-for-10 shooting, and how about that step-back 3), 6 rebounds, 3 blocked shots in her #WNBA debut. But somewhere you know her old college coach at @UConnWBB is complaining that she tied her career high in assists (0).

Ha ha

 

[Dokey]

It's worth noting that the Sky's hometown newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times, led its story covering the game with Katie Lou taking a charge from the bigger Jessica Shepherd. You had to look hard to find bits of hope for Sky.

 

[VAMike23]

More of the toweling off (second frame)

 

[SVCBeercats]

Interesting fact.

Karima "Wally Pip" Christmas-Kelly

GENO DIDN'T TELL US SHE HAD A STEPBACK
Geno didn't know any more than Reeve who said it was the only thing about Pheesa's performance that surprised her.

 

[eebmg]

Found this article which seems to have the most extensive post game commentary including Coach Reeves

How Napheesa Collier imposed her will on the Sky

Here is one Gem directly from Geno's playbook.

“The rookie was pretty good,” said Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve. “I said to her, I don’t think she scored 27 points in three weeks of training camp, so it was good to see her unleash on Chicago tonight.”

More Geno like traits

As you would imagine, starting a rookie can make a coach uneasy. Inexperienced players are more likely to make critical mistakes than veterans. Reeve joked that she was “a wreck” when asked how she felt about Collier starting but later added the possibilities for her performance were exciting.


and on the other (pathetic) side of the coaching universe

Chicago seemed intent on defending Collier with the smaller Quigley. The Lynx consistently identified the mismatch several times, leading to multiple fouls by Quigley and easy baskets. Surely, there must have been some brilliant switching pattern involved in creating this matchup.

“That was their doing,” said Collier after the game. “They put her on me and we noticed that it was a mismatch, so we tried to feed it in the post.”

Reeve added that she didn’t think Quigley wanted that matchup either and that attacking her inside with Collier, as they did to DeShields, made sense.

 

[JordyG]

Shepard finished with 6 assists and 13 rebounds. That's a lot. As a matter of fact,
Per @EliasSports: "Jessica Shepard had a game-high 13 rebounds, the most by any player in her @WNBA debut since DeTrina White (13 rebounds) on May 21, 2004 for New York at Indiana."

On offense, Jess was setting screens at and just offside the elbows and dishing passes on rolls and back out to three-point shooters. I counted two to Lexie Brown.

In any case, great job by Pheesa, Jess and Lynix newcomer Lexie Brown. (BTW, it does not surprise me at all that Pheesa and Jess would get along on the court -- Reeve knows exactly what she's looking for in on-floor dynamics.)

In watching the game it was clear that Jess had just as impressive a debut as Phee. Honestly, both just seemed to play their game. Jess established her position and read the ball off the rim well. Phee set up outside and hit her shots. But more importantly she posted up her mark and used her length and superior footwork to score inside. The passes she received down low again showed her terrific eye/hand coordination, soft hands and agility. Jess showed her deceptive strength and hustle. Both players seem to have had soft landings with the right team. With Fowles inside this team is gonna be hella nice all year.

 

[JordyG]

Even though Pheesa had 6 rebounds, most were late in the game. I seem to recall in a preseason interview that besides having to learn how to play on the wing offensively and dealing with a reconstructed 3pt shot, Reeves theory on rebounding is very different from UConn. At UConn, it was ingrained that you must box out but the Lynx want defensive rebounding to be more direct and just go for it to maintain aggressiveness. I suppose Sheppard is taking to that a bit better although I have no doubt Pheesa will get the hang of that as well.

and Pheesa's defense was fantastic.

Remember however. Phee offensively sets up on the perimeter while Shepard typically in this offense plays further inside. Flying in from the outside to get rebounds isn't as easy as settling under the hoop.

 

[eebmg]

In watching the game it was clear that Jess had just as impressive a debut as Phee. Honestly, both just seemed to play their game. Jess established her position and read the ball off the rim well. Phee set up outside and hit her shots. But more importantly she posted up her mark and used her length and superior footwork to score inside. The passes she received down low again showed her terrific eye/hand coordination, soft hands and agility. Jess showed her deceptive strength and hustle. Both players seem to have had soft landings with the right team. With Fowles inside this team is gonna be hella nice all year.

In general, Jess simply shifted her game unchanged from ND into the lineup as a reserve (less pressure) focusing on rebounds and effort plays while Pheesa had to do so many new things as a last second starter. I have no doubt Jess and Pheesa will be very good players for a very long time but I give round 1 to Pheesa for difficulty of play.

 

[Bigboote]

Another good quip: '(Danielle) Robinson laughed after the game when she was asked how she helped Collier, saying, “I don’t think she needed my help tonight.”'

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Quigley on Collier much of the night. I assumed it was mostly after screens, but reading these articles, it looks like it was deliberate. What were they thinking?