Poll: Hanna Hidalgo OR Juju Watkins

[triaddukefan]

You're sounding a bit harsh on your fellow ACC squad, my friend . (Have not eaten out enough recently?)

USC has played some tougher opponents up to this point, yes, but that's not all on ND. Coach Ivey scheduled both Illinois and Purdue, two teams that made post-season play last year. Is it her fault both teams regressed this year?
(Illinois has to be on a finalist list for "most disappointing" this year).

No worries. As this board knows, ND is entering into the "make or break" part of the season, which is one reason I was glad to see Hannah not back down at Storrs. Good prep for the Yum Center, FSU and, yes, Durham.

As of this moment, I'm giving Hidalgo the nod for leading the Irish is oh so many categories of play, including her wanting to play hard all the time. It inspires her teammates.

Didn't mean to sound harsh, and based on my Google Map summary for the month of January I have eaten out enough I'd be shocked if Hildago doesn't get at least 30pts vs F$U. She may get 30 in Louisville. I can't see her getting 30 in Durham.

As I said (inferred) in another thread, Hildago is Freshman of the Year in my book. Watkins is the player I would rather have for Duke. I'll check back in after 9pm on Feb 19th.

Yes, by "better" I meant something like what @bbsamjj means by balanced. But beyond just scoring, I think ND is a much better defensive team. In part, this is because of Hannah, but also the entire rotation are well-trained defenders. This is a hallmark of Niele's teams.

USC, by contrast is not well-balanced in scoring -- hence my noting that Juju carries them -- but also is not a strong defensive team. Strong defense is not a hallmark of Lindsay's teams.

Now, to be fair to Hannah, this doesn't reflect all that well on Juju, who can make a hero-play on defense as well as any of the greats, but isn't often required to play an intense switching defense. Hannah plays in a more disciplined system, though she is allowed to take chances often, and this is one of the reasons she gets so many steals.

All this is to say USC's greater success so far is more due to Juju than ND's success is to Hannah, though Hannah has had a tremendous season so far. Here's a goofy thought experiment: switch their teams. What would ND be with Juju as opposed to USC with Hannah?

The odd conclusion is that ND is the 'better' team, which tells me Juju is the player I'd choose for my team.

Oddly while I think USC has shown to be the better team so far... if I had to choose between the two, I would bet ND has better success in the post season.... and I definitely prefer ND's roster.

 

[bbsamjj]

Yes, by "better" I meant something like what @bbsamjj means by balanced. But beyond just scoring, I think ND is a much better defensive team. In part, this is because of Hannah, but also the entire rotation are well-trained defenders. This is a hallmark of Niele's teams.

USC, by contrast is not well-balanced in scoring -- hence my noting that Juju carries them -- but also is not a strong defensive team. Strong defense is not a hallmark of Lindsay's teams.

Now, to be fair to Hannah, this doesn't reflect all that well on Juju, who can make a hero-play on defense as well as any of the greats, but isn't often required to play an intense switching defense. Hannah plays in a more disciplined system, though she is allowed to take chances often, and this is one of the reasons she gets so many steals.

All this is to say USC's greater success so far is more due to Juju than ND's success is to Hannah, though Hannah has had a tremendous season so far. Here's a goofy thought experiment: switch their teams. What would ND be with Juju as opposed to USC with Hannah?

The odd conclusion is that ND is the 'better' team, which tells me Juju is the player I'd choose for my team.

You may be right historically, but as of today, ND and USC's defensive stats are remarkably similar.

Both give up just over 60ppg.
ND's opponents shoot 37.5%; USC's shoot 38.3%
According to Massey, USC's defense is ranked 10th. ND's is ranked 16th.

In short, they are both very good defensive teams.