Remember Mo'ne Davis? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Remember Mo'ne Davis?

Carnac

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I hope this is the last thread on Mo'ne in respect to basketball that we will see on the Uconn. After reading one of the earliest threads on this subject I did some research myself and concluded that if she applied her self and worked hard she still had a mid major ceiling. Of course there were plenty of red flags that implied otherwise.

Her parents and her rec coach really did her a disservice by not being realistic as to her potential verses her actual level of play. I think just like many posters on this site, they just were not aware of the level that competition in girls basketball had risen to. Girls played year round in both high level high school programs and summer AAU ball. You need to at least play one to get a realistic perspective of you actual skill level. She played on a really poor high school team and it wasn't until recently that she even got involved in AAU. And even then her AAU team is lower level.

I remember reading Olsons article. He was being extremely kind. Scouts never go to evaluate a player against the poor level of competition that she was facing when he evaluated her. Usually they only go to top level tournaments, state championships or at the least against highly rated teams. I believe he saw her when she was playing for her high school team in weak league play. I am sure she probably faced better competition in the summer workout/scrimmage. Still she did not take basketball seriously enough for far too long. Because of her late start she was behind technically to all the players in her class. She wanted to continue to play other sports in the summer. Basketball requires far more commitment than those other sports. This was evident by the last article that I read which stated she got tired and hit a wall before the end of her last AAU season. There is a big difference between basketball fit and baseball fit.

The area that I live in has been a high school hot bed for basketball in the last ten years. We had 3 of the top ten teams in a 5o mile area that along with the Cal Stars arguably the best AAU team in the country ( they lost only twice in two years )the last couple of years. I get to see a lot of good players and talk to their parents. I know what they go through for their sport. They play year round along with working out with personal trainers. They put in a lot of effort and it is an insult to them that anyone could believe that an a player can give half an effort and reach even close to their level. Ucon players are gleaned from the cream of a talented, very hard working and dedicated group. They are not just athletically gifted.

I heard posters say they hoped she would commit to Uconn. I heard them ask if she was invited to the USA training camps. They are only revealing their ignorance of the hard work that is required even to just get a scholarship. Most players want to play for a top level program, but most little girls also want to be Princesses. Realistically Mo'ne had about as much of a chance of playing for Uconn as most girls had of becoming Princesses. Her expectations have now been adjusted to a more realistic level. It seems, however, that the work ethic required for basketball is still a work in progress. She wasn't helped at all, but rather hindered, by all the unrealistic basketball hype that carried over from her Little League success.

Some posters have stated that she is a low level DI prospect. Well being a prospect does not mean you will be offered. She is going to have to work hard to even achieve that. To do that she needs to have her coaches and people around her quit blowing smoke at her and start being realistic as to what is required for her to even reach any DI level. Any 5'4" prospect with a suspect out side shot, needs to realize that they have to constantly hustle on both ends of the floor to even get an offer. Mean while, her AAU coach is telling her she could play for an upper level D I college program ( more smoke ) . Some AAU coaches are either delusional of self serving con artists. I have seen high school players potential ruined or at least severely diminished by such idiocy.

Good post willtalk. Admittedly I am a Mo'ne fan, but your narrative on her is fair, realistic and spot on. You can't simply flip a switch and transition between two sports with any consistent degree of success. Especially if you aspire to play at the high D-1 level.
 

RockyMTblue2

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Good post willtalk. Admittedly I am a Mo'ne fan, but your narrative on her is fair, realistic and spot on. You can't simply flip a switch and transition between two sports with any consistent degree of success. Especially if you aspire to play at the high D-1 level.

If she is really good at softball she'll get a slew of offers from the south, central and south west where women's softball rules.
 

donalddoowop

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She is playing baseball again. I read an article that stated she was no longer thinking of playing basketball for Uconn. I believe she now knows she does not have the kind of basketball background that has prepared her to play at that high a level.
 
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If she is really good at softball she'll get a slew of offers from the south, central and south west where women's softball rules.
Even if she is good the problem would still be exposure. To be offered a scholly you have to be seen and evaluated. The same problem exists as with her early basketball career. She plays shortstop for a high school which is in a very weak Academic league. I don't believe that softball has a lot of AAU teams so she would actually have to hook up with a summer travel team to get the right kind of exposure. One the plus side, you don't need to watch games, for you can always gage a softball players ability during a tryout.. And she obviously has a good arm.

Something that needs to be considered is that young players develop at different ages. Little league is fairly early to get an accurate reading of a players potential. Girls usually develop faster than boys so at that age they are more equipt to compete with boys. As they get older the boys end up surpassing the girls. Mo'ne has not grown from the 5'4" she was in 2014. She probably peaked early physically. This also happens to boys who are at one time physically superior to their peers but then are caught and surpassed.

Mo'ne is obviously still a good athlete who loves to compete in a variety of sports. That was evident by her not wanting to commit to basketball. Nothing wrong with that at all. She seems to play for the enjoyment of playing the games she competes in. The sad part is that you can not do that anymore on the higher competitive levels.. Because the reward of scholarships the athletic bar has been raised to high that to compete at the higher levels you have to make an earlier commitment, especially with basketball. When you are good at a lot of things it is often difficult to make choices. She also seems to have the personality that lacks that competitive fire and desire required in a simi contact sport like basketball. She made a remark about AAU that everyone takes it too seriously. That is very telling. Girls basketball is very competitive and is taken very seriously by those that play at a high level. She was not ever exposed to that in her high school program and Rec league. Rec being short for recreation league. Not everyone's personality is geared for the upper level competition required in some sports.

I did rag on her advisors (parents) in respect to steering her the wrong way. But perhaps they really didn't. Parents certainly know their children better than the casual fan does. Sports isn't everything and raising a happy well adjusted person is certainly a higher priority than a star athlete. Forcing her to commit to a sport that she really wasn't ready to commit to might have been a bigger. mistake. Except to the very few, putting the focus and effort into becoming an elite athlete ( especially when the physical aspect is not there ) just isn't worth the effort required. I think that is what Mo'ne is realizing. Better to just continue to play the sports she enjoys rather than being burned out and frustrated pursuing a lost cause.
 

Sluconn Husky

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Mo'ne played for her high school softball team. But her dream is to play in the WNBA, and she's getting long looks from some prominent collegiate basketball programs. She had once expressed desire to play for Geno Auriemma at UConn, though she seems to be backing off that idea, her individual identity trumping even the allure of such a historically successful program.

"I still watch them play and still watch all the highlights, but I don't know if I fit that playing style," she said. "I have a different playing style, an old-school playing style. I like to slow
things down if the team's on the run, get the ball moving a little bit."


Mo'ne Davis continues to inspire on diamond
 
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where does she go to high school & what year is she in...has she been on girls hoops watch list?
 

CocoHusky

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where does she go to high school & what year is she in...has she been on girls hoops watch list?
She plays varsity for Springside Chestnut Hill Academy outside of Philly. She played AAU basket for Philly Tripple Threat program. She has not been on an of the major girls hoops list since about Fall of 2016 when Dan Olson of ESPN hoopgurlz rated her game saying she lacked several elements towards achieving her goal of playing for UCONN or high major DI WCBB.
 
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She plays varsity for Springside Chestnut Hill Academy outside of Philly. She played AAU basket for Philly Tripple Threat program. She has not been on an of the major girls hoops list since about Fall of 2016 when Dan Olson of ESPN hoopgurlz rated her game saying she lacked several elements towards achieving her goal of playing for UCONN or high major DI WCBB.
Thanks..great info
 

RockyMTblue2

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She was the pitcher for the Philly area little league team in Williamsport....the one Geno congratulated by phone which sent Vandy into a tizzy. She also was quoted as saying that she wanted to play for Geno.

She is on the cover of the Sept. 18 issue of Time magazine. Yikes! I haven't read the article yet...it will be a minor miracle if this kid grows up well-adjusted and happy.
I don't know if she is being heavily recruited in hoops.

No is the answer. She lacks the skills and discipline to be elite in basketball and the notoriety I'm sure made a contribution to that. There is a thread from maybe a year or year and a half ago the cites extensive articles about this.
 

RockyMTblue2

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I hope this is the last thread on Mo'ne in respect to basketball that we will see on the Uconn.

Amen. But you do realize that some will start a thread just to annoy you and me. They'll calendar it for March 2019.
 

Bama fan

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Amen. But you do realize that some will start a thread just to annoy you and me. They'll calendar it for March 2019.
Done and done! Keep your eyes peeled next St Patty's day. Seek and ye shall find, ask and the door shall open. Anything for you guys!
 
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Mo'ne played for her high school softball team. But her dream is to play in the WNBA, and she's getting long looks from some prominent collegiate basketball programs. She had once expressed desire to play for Geno Auriemma at UConn, though she seems to be backing off that idea, her individual identity trumping even the allure of such a historically successful program.

"I still watch them play and still watch all the highlights, but I don't know if I fit that playing style," she said. "I have a different playing style, an old-school playing style. I like to slow
things down if the team's on the run, get the ball moving a little bit."


Mo'ne Davis continues to inspire on diamond
Interesting. The only players I've known who want to "slow things down" instead of getting out on the break are players who are lack a motor, are not in basketball shape, or can't finish consistently.
 

DefenseBB

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Isn’t her 15 minutes of fame up? Best of luck in whatever endeavor she tries but “elite”at either sport is not on her resume. There are literally a couple hundred and more young women better than her at either sport but yet here we are discussing this.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story...
 

RockyMTblue2

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Isn’t her 15 minutes of fame up? Best of luck in whatever endeavor she tries but “elite”at either sport is not on her resume. There are literally a couple hundred and more young women better than her at either sport but yet here we are discussing this.

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story...

I suspect she'll be a "Where is she now" click bait for a long, long time. Her Little League stint was tremendous fun and a great gender equity story and, of course, Geno fed it with his phone call and ensuing slap on the wrist.
 

RockyMTblue2

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Not me! Perhaps patients of very skillful chiropractors? Good point,Bags

She's looking for a scholarship and to catch lightning in a bottle one more time. Clear the mechanism! ;)
 

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