Rich: Dolson believes she is better prepared this time

[pap49cba]

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[Sonny44]

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Good article, says NayNay is much more prepared this year for BG. I hope so.

 

[winlots]

Ye Gads..............the core of this article is that Dolson has learned that she must not foul in this game. THAT is what she has learned via her so-called increased maturity since a year ago.

To my way of thinking, that is the absolute worst mindset she could have going in. I'm not going to lay it on the kid, I'm going to lay it on the staff. My view: she should be aggressive, determined, on the attack, commited to swatting away shots, grabbing every freakin rebound in sight, jamming in down LOW on offense and swooping up that little hook shot which even the mythical Griner cannot hope to stop without fouling.

My best guess is: instead, we'll see the tentative, huge, tipee-toed kid we've see thus far this year, hangin out mostly beyond the foul shot stripe. I hope to hell I'm wrong on this.....been WAY wrong before, most notoriously on my call that Hammond would become a Husky. If I'm by any remote chance correct this time, it could be a very long night for "Our Girls." The good news is ( for me), in the likely event that I am wrong, it could be that Dolson or the staff read this and decide to turn her and her THREE worthy back-ups loose and they wear out and devastate Baylor in the post.

 

[cferraro04]

Geno is like a fan...he wants "to see how we handle this". He thinks losing the game would be better...I got to tell you I'm not overflowing with confidence after those remarks. Left to my own design...I do think that beating Baylor at home is a "tall" task...no pun intended. I guess we are just going to have to let Brittany have hers...she is going to score 25 and get 12 rebounds...so I say we make it tough but we give her hers. We focus on everybody else with special attention given to Sims and Pope. If we can guard Sims and limit touches to Brittany it will bode well for UConn. Also we have to recognize that Pope is a more mature player this year. She understands that if the Sims / Griner hook-up isn't paying dividends then she needs to look for her offense...this is something of late that she has been somewhat successful at. We also need to make sure that we aren't leaving Madden and Hayden open on the perimeter. We also have to be careful to not let Destiny Williams pick up the slack. This is a complete team that we are facing in a hostile environment on the home court. We will need an "A" game from everyone...we will need to play team defense for 40 minutes. We also need for our players to bring their offense...we do not have the luxury of watching Maya Moore score 30 points. I believe if we bring our "A" game on both sides of the court we can beat Baylor in a close game...if we are off on either end...it could be a long night for us. Geno is right about one thing...this will tell the team everything they need to know about where they are at this time in the season. I for one, have been waiting with bated breathe for this game all week.

 

[Icebear]

Ye Gads..............the core of this article is that Dolson has learned that she must not foul in this game. THAT is what she has learned via her so-called increased maturity since a year ago.

To my way of thinking, that is the absolute worst mindset she could have going in. I'm not going to lay it on the kid, I'm going to lay it on the staff. My view: she should be aggressive, determined, on the attack, commited to swatting away shots, grabbing every freakin rebound in sight, jamming in down LOW on offense and swooping up that little hook shot which even the mythical Griner cannot hope to stop without fouling.

My best guess is: instead, we'll see the tentative, huge, tipee-toed kid we've see thus far this year, hangin out mostly beyond the foul shot stripe. I hope to hell I'm wrong on this.....been WAY wrong before, most notoriously on my call that Hammond would become a Husky. If I'm by any remote chance correct this time, it could be a very long night for "Our Girls." The good news is ( for me), in the likely event that I am wrong, it could be that Dolson or the staff read this and decide to turn her and her THREE worthy back-ups loose and they wear out and devastate Baylor in the post.

What she said is exactly what she needed to learn coming out of that game last year. She did a lot of reaching and grabbing instead of moving her feet and taking position with her body. That tall tippy toed kid with hands high over her head and not out to her side is exactly the defensive player she needs to be tomorrow. She needs to do her real work early in possessions and deny BG the spots on the floor she wants and then needs to hold those positions with that tall posture defending her own space. One telling call to watch for from the officials early in the game will be if they GIVE BG calls when she turns and sweeps her arms into Stef's when she is in that tall posture. If they wrongly give that call to BG there will be little hope for Stef to defend without fouling and the game will not be within her control. Doing these things is far from tentative it is proper post play for Stef. It is the beast she became throughout the season last year. It is indeed exactly what the staff has taught her and for good reason.

Stef's most important contribution to our rebounding is her excellent boxing out that oftens creates the space for others to rebounds within and her controlled tipping the ball out to open players and open spaces.

 

[winlots]

What she said is exactly what she needed to learn coming out of that game last year. She did a lot of reaching and grabbing instead of moving her feet and taking position with her body. That tall tippy toed kid with hands high over her head and not out to her side is exactly the defensive player she needs to be tomorrow. She needs to do her real work early in possessions and deny BG the spots on the floor she wants and then needs to hold those positions with that tall posture defending her own space. One telling call to watch for from the officials early in the game will be if they GIVE BG calls when she turns and sweeps her arms into Stef's when she is in that tall posture. If they wrongly give that call to BG there will be little hope for Stef to defend without fouling and the game will not be within her control.

Merry Christmas, Preacher. I don't disagree with the details of what you say here. Certainly don't want her "reaching and grabbing." Do want her working hard early in possessions on D etc. Take no issue at all with your specific points. Actually , IF your intent was to refute my thesis, then these details of yours seem like straw men, as they don't really address the details of my own post.

Though I agree with your details, as my post would suggest I do disagree vigorously and respectfully with your opening summary statement re "Exactly what she needed to learn" .......a stance of "I must not foul" vs. a mindset of "I'm gonna TAKE this game." Let's go GET 'em, Dolson.....AND Buck and Johnson and Stokes.

 

[Icebear]

"Not foul" as she referred to it seemed to reflect back onto the game last year when she did not understand how to play the college game without fouling. She did not at the time understand the type of aggression that was and was not acceptable. Very different than in high school. When she fouled the other day it was because she wasn't moving her feet and was reaching I think that was why she sat. A point was being made to her about her effort. Most important point she said she is not afraid this year and admits last year in her second game she was overwhelmed.

Your use of "swatting" had me concerned because that is what will get a whistle quick. Her best defensive posture is that tippy toed hands straight up one. Not sure what you've been seeing this year but I like 90%'what what she has been giving us this year. Geno still refers to her as the #2 center in the country so I think he is pretty happy, too.