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So There Was This Wasp Nest And

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Against my better judgment, I watched the video on YouTube. I didn’t like the video title to start with. As I watched the video, a more apt title should have been, “Amari DeBerry, a great kid, who is who she is.”
 
I think he’s mostly right, to the extent he says anything amidst a cloud of qualifications and excuses. Amari isn’t a physically aggressive player in the sense of wrestling with other bigs. In other words, she doesn't have a muscular game and likely never will. That’s obvious. She might have (and still might) develop a subtler game in the post. He’s wrong that she is quick-footed. The opposite seems to be true. The virtue of her HS years was the ability to make midrange shots — she’d catch and shoot without ever bringing the ball down — and blocking shots from behind. She has a very smooth shooting stroke. The problem is the playing time it will take to get her into the flow of the offense, and whether it’s worth the cost of her defense.

He’s also mostly right about Audi Crooks. I watched a couple of her HS games and saw right away that she had the stamina and focus to succeed at the next level. I also figured few coaches would be willing to take a chance on her — good on ISU for recognizing her. But he’s really wrong in his mea culpa on an earlier video comparing her to Ice. By the end of this year Ice will again be able to “slice and dice” Audi. If you want to see the sort of post player Ice can be and will be soon, look for the video of Ice vs Audi in a summer league game.

Back to Amari: she's not going to develop into Mama Steph, and she isn't quick enough to emulate Stewie, and she doesn't muscle up against other bigs. By the way, you know who we have on the bench for next year who can muscle up with anyone in the post? Jana El Alfy. I can't wait for her return. But a turn and shoot game with rebounding and shot blocking and high post passing skills -- that kind of game Amari probably can develop. But she needs to do it at a quicker pace than she's moving at right now.
 
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I think Amari is more like Dorka than she is a true post player but she didn't play for an average team out of high school that allowed her to be a guard in a center's body. Amari is a very good shooter, a decent passer but her defense is typical of a really tall player who has gotten by with just being way longer than the person she guarding. Problem is she is expected to be another player at UConn and she isn't willing to change and neither is Geno so you have a stalemate.

Any player has to be on the court to improve. They have to be on the court to work through the details and when they get them wrong they need to be coached up but still put on the court to develop. For Amari she hasn't been in that position and it is a shame because she is the only player they have right now that gives them the size they will need at some point. Like the narrator pointed out she held her own in the UCLA game so maybe she could be an answer but at some point she will need more experience in games to be consistent.
 
Rowdy831 said:
Like the narrator pointed out she held her own in the UCLA game so maybe she could be an answer but at some point she will need more experience in games to be consistent.
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He said she was effective “kinda, for a while”.

Amari needs to embrace the physicality in the post. The Huskies have enough wings
 
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HuskyNan said:
He said she was effective “kinda, for a while”.

Amari needs to embrace the physicality in the post. The Huskies have enough wings
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Ay, there's the rub. My guess is her reluctance to embrace muscular physicality in the post is an artifact of her back problems. Even if she's fully over those, the mentality they produced, won't get resolved quickly.
 
Bone Dog said:
Ay, there's the rub. My guess is her reluctance to embrace muscular physicality in the post is an artifact of her back problems. Even if she's fully over those, the mentality they produced, won't get resolved quickly.
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When did Amari hurt her back, in HS? Because she has not embraced the physicality of the game in any of her years at UConn.
 
Rowdy831 said:
I think Amari is more like Dorka than she is a true post player but she didn't play for an average team out of high school that allowed her to be a guard in a center's body. Amari is a very good shooter, a decent passer but her defense is typical of a really tall player who has gotten by with just being way longer than the person she guarding. Problem is she is expected to be another player at UConn and she isn't willing to change and neither is Geno so you have a stalemate.

Any player has to be on the court to improve. They have to be on the court to work through the details and when they get them wrong they need to be coached up but still put on the court to develop. For Amari she hasn't been in that position and it is a shame because she is the only player they have right now that gives them the size they will need at some point. Like the narrator pointed out she held her own in the UCLA game so maybe she could be an answer but at some point she will need more experience in games to be consistent.
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This guy was overly positive. DeBerry played all of 9 minutes in a couple shifts and did nothing other than commit 1 foul and 2 turnovers. As far as good shooter and passer? People are seeing what they want to see, Auriemma is dealing in reality.
 
I think Amari is more like Katie Lou. It took Katie Lou a while before she got physical and she played outside most of the time. If Geno would let Amari play outside more she might be worth more as a wing than a center.
Right now shes just holding the bench down.
 
Rowdy831 said:
I think Amari is more like Dorka ...

... For Amari she hasn't been in that position and it is a shame because she is the only player they have right now that gives them the size they will need at some point. Like the narrator pointed out she held her own in the UCLA game so maybe she could be an answer but at some point she will need more experience in games to be consistent.
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if the huskies 'will need at some point' some theoretical special size that you desire against gigantic teams then it ain't gonna happen. they'll simply have to win with what they've got.,

i think they can. they have done so in the past, and it will be fun to see if they can pull it off again.

you don't have to have a certain perfect combination of players to win ... you have to mold the players you do have into a winning team. a high inch-count is nice, but lack of it doesn't equate to a lost cause.

that's what i think, anyway.
 
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Bone Dog said:
I think he’s mostly right, to the extent he says anything amidst a cloud of qualifications and excuses. Amari isn’t a physically aggressive player in the sense of wrestling with other bigs. In other words, she doesn't have a muscular game and likely never will. That’s obvious. She might have (and still might) develop a subtler game in the post. He’s wrong that she is quick-footed. The opposite seems to be true. The virtue of her HS years was the ability to make midrange shots — she’d catch and shoot without ever bringing the ball down — and blocking shots from behind. She has a very smooth shooting stroke. The problem is the playing time it will take to get her into the flow of the offense, and whether it’s worth the cost of her defense.

He’s also mostly right about Audi Crooks. I watched a couple of her HS games and saw right away that she had the stamina and focus to succeed at the next level. I also figured few coaches would be willing to take a chance on her — good on ISU for recognizing her. But he’s really wrong in his mea culpa on an earlier video comparing her to Ice. By the end of this year Ice will again be able to “slice and dice” Audi. If you want to see the sort of post player Ice can be and will be soon, look for the video of Ice vs Audi in a summer league game.

Back to Amari: she's not going to develop into Mama Steph, and she isn't quick enough to emulate Stewie, and she doesn't muscle up against other bigs. By the way, you know who we have on the bench for next year who can muscle up with anyone in the post? Jana El Alfy. I can't wait for her return. But a turn and shoot game with rebounding and shot blocking and high post passing skills -- that kind of game Amari probably can develop. But she needs to do it at a quicker pace than she's moving at right now.
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Bone Dog- - -I agree with your post!
Ice IMHO hasn't gotten used to the speed or the physicality of the college game yet!
Missing last year really set her back in her development!
But she'll really improve shortly!
 
BobbyJ said:
She was at UConn for 2 years before the back problem. She’s the same player now that she was before.
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I was under the impression this was a chronic condition that she finally addressed.
 
I like Amari playing on the outside on offense and inside on defense. How effective will she be. We know she can shoot and we know she has height. Playing her down low on defense will help. First she will have to play off her player a little to eliminate the physicality and work on getting position to block and intimidate on defense. On offense shooting from 10 ft out it will force defenses to come out and guard her opening up down low. I know we have enough shooters already. Geno is in charge and knows what he is doing so we can only hope.
 
Tonyc said:
Playing her down low on defense will help. First she will have to play off her player a little to eliminate the physicality and work on getting position to block and intimidate on defense.
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This advice strikes me as contradictory. If she plays off her player a little she will not be able to get position for rebounds or challenging her shot. This might be okay if there was another big post player next to her (someone like Jana) who could supply the muscle, so to speak. But that's a luxury we don't really have. In the present configuration of our bench, the only way she can play is if she is willing to muscle for position.
 
BobbyJ said:
She was at UConn for 2 years before the back problem. She’s the same player now that she was before.
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You don’t know that. That is when she had the surgery. I didn’t get my back checked out until my sciatic nerve started bothering. Come to find out I had a herniated disc, which was really bad. So she could’ve been playing for however long before finding out about it
 
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Bone Dog said:
This advice strikes me as contradictory. If she plays off her player a little she will not be able to get position for rebounds or challenging her shot. This might be okay if there was another big post player next to her (someone like Jana) who could supply the muscle, so to speak. But that's a luxury we don't really have. In the present configuration of our bench, the only way she can play is if she is willing to muscle for position.
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Let me explain When the ball goes down low she gives up a little room and when her player makes her move she has time to get into position to take a charge or make it difficult for her opponent to score. Her height will be her advantage in keeping her opponent honest. Watch Cardoso play not close to her opponent and still cause her opponent to miss or have her shot blocked.
 
oldude said:
Against my better judgment, I watched the video on YouTube. I didn’t like the video title to start with. As I watched the video, a more apt title should have been, “Amari DeBerry, a great kid, who is who she is.”
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If Amari showed any of those moves at UConn, she'd be playing.
 
Tonyc said:
Let me explain When the ball goes down low she gives up a little room and when her player makes her move she has time to get into position to take a charge or make it difficult for her opponent to score. Her height will be her advantage in keeping her opponent honest. Watch Cardoso play not close to her opponent and still cause her opponent to miss or have her shot blocked.
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^^^ this. First thing kids are taught to do against shotblockers is to go right into them. Cardoso is letting them think they're ok. Amari has the same potential (6'9" reach). Just move a half step away.
 
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LarryLegend said:
In a recent post that I attempted to make, I humbly suggested that everyone should just move on.
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The week long Christmas break from basketball is notorious for dusting off old and often irrelevant threads. It should all change once we have some current basketball to talk about again, which will be tomorrow around noontime.
 
Blond D. said:
I think Amari is more like Katie Lou. It took Katie Lou a while before she got physical and she played outside most of the time. If Geno would let Amari play outside more she might be worth more as a wing than a center.
Right now shes just holding the bench down.
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Please. let's never put Amari in any realistic comparison with KLS! Katie was never an inside player at 6ft 2 in. What she was was a player who brought intensity, hustle and fight on to the court. Amari is 6'6" and brings none of that. A good team mate and person but lacking in so many needed qualities to be a big time post player
 
oldude said:
Against my better judgment, I watched the video on YouTube. I didn’t like the video title to start with. As I watched the video, a more apt title should have been, “Amari DeBerry, a great kid, who is who she is.”
Expand ...
I watched it and learned a lot. Amari is a nice kid. She isn't lazy, she just doesn't like physical basketball. So, she can score. If that is true--and she has a nice hook shot, and close in put back. Use her where she shall produce for the team. It ain't rocket science. Apparently, she is what she shall be--doing the same thing over and over has a name.
 
Bills Fan said:
Please. let's never put Amari in any realistic comparison with KLS! Katie was never an inside player at 6ft 2 in. What she was was a player who brought intensity, hustle and fight on to the court. Amari is 6'6" and brings none of that. A good team mate and person but lacking in so many needed qualities to be a big time post player
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No one has inferred she is or isn't doing things that hurt the team. She doesn't like being beat up under the boards--flash--I don't either.
 
PacoSwede said:
if the huskies 'will need at some point' some theoretical special size that you desire against gigantic teams then it ain't gonna happen. they'll simply have to win with what they've got.,

i think they can. they have done so in the past, and it will be fun to see if they can pull it off again.

you don't have to have a certain perfect combination of players to win ... you have to mold the players you do have into a winning team. a high inch-count is nice, but lack of it doesn't equate to a lost cause.

that's what i think, anyway.
Expand ...
I completely agree with you
 
Bills Fan said:
Please. let's never put Amari in any realistic comparison with KLS! Katie was never an inside player at 6ft 2 in. What she was was a player who brought intensity, hustle and fight on to the court. Amari is 6'6" and brings none of that. A good team mate and person but lacking in so many needed qualities to be a big time post player
Expand ...
The comparison was that Katie Lou was basically an outside player at first. Then got way better at rebounding and defending on the inside as time went on. I think thats what Amari wants to be (or wanted to be) and how she sees herself....as an outside shooter.
Its just an observation. No disrespect meant for Katie Lou. But i sure got a lot of WOWS lol
 
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