Pheesa dropped 27... | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Pheesa dropped 27...

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.
 
Probably more appropriate thread

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eebmg said:
Caption:

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

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msf22b said:
Seems to have picked up the essence of the pro game (and a new position) pretty quickly.
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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.
 
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Sheppard Post game Interview. Second half discussing the Pheesa - Sheppard connections

 
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MilfordHusky said:
We'll see if she can keep the starting job, but Pheesa's upside is stratospheric. I want to see her play with Maya.
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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. ;)
 
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Bama fan said:
I love BBQ. Gonna have some today! ;) And yes ,while Pheesa appears demure, she does not demur.
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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.);)
 
Jackalope said:
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.
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:( Oh man, considering how bad the Sky are, I was hoping for more opportunities...
 
Jackalope said:
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.
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So Pheesa lit up her old roomie and BFF. Good stuff. I’ll bet Lou has a breakout game of her own sometime soon.
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
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).
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Ha ha
 
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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.
 
eebmg said:
Interesting fact.
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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.
 
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.
 
Dillon77 said:
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.)
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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.
 
eebmg said:
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.
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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.
 
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JordyG said:
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.
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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.
 
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?
 
JordyG said:
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.
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My thoughts exactly. You can't expect a double-double from Collier most nights when she's on the floor with Fowles and Brunson/Shepard/Dantas.
 
I hope Geno et al take note of the "fix" of her 3 point shot. Might come in handy for someone else. It's very satisfying to see Phee come out smokin'. "Give it to me. Give it to me." I love it.

 
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Bigboote said:
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?
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Tried to get some post game quotes from Coach Wade which might explain his thinking but if this link points to the only post game responses, don;t expect any meaningful answers

Post Game Notes and Quotes: Chicago at Minnesota


Chicago Sky Head Coach James Wade

On how he feels after getting his first head coaching game out of the way…

“Honestly, I don’t care. I just want to learn from it. I want us to do better next time. That’s my whole thing. I never made it about me. I think if I did, it would be the wrong move to make. Especially with me being so young as a coach and playing against all these great coaches. It has to be about our team.”

On goals for the season…

“No goals. Just want to get better tomorrow. And get better the next day and just try to build something. And we will see where we are.”
 
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JoePgh said:
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.
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She used to drive quite a bit. She would get the ball near the free throw line extended and drive either with either hand. Also, I don't remember her using a step back outside shot at UConn. Another thing, she did something I had wished she had done more often in college. She gave a head fake when inside to allow the defensive players to go by and ended up with a wide open shot.
 
Shepard, Minnesota’s second-round pick, had team highs with 13 rebounds and six assists to become the third player in league history to record at least 10 rebounds and five assists in her WNBA debut. Los Angeles’ Candace Parker and current Lynx forward Damiris Dantas are the others.
 
Welcome to the WNBA Pheesa!! Pheesa was on fire!! She was lighting them up from inside, outside and the free throw line. How about that step back 3 point shot?
 
Man what a game!! Pheesa looked great!! Making the must of a golden opportunity. Great game, young lady.
 
Thought folks might want to see this.

I first observed it on the UTenn site (of all places).

 
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