psconn
Proud Connecticut WBB Fan
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 3,237
- Reaction Score
- 14,002
1) Courtney Williams breaking out. No surprise to many here, Courtney is really starting blossom in her role with the Sun, and with Alex Bentley leaving the team to chase her Olympic dream in Belarus, Courtney will probably start the next 4-6 games. The way Alex has been playing, could Courtney secure the starting role for the remainder of the season? Courtney has been an impact player since her arrival due to her energy and quickness to the ball for rebounds and defensive disruption. Her hustle, and jumping ability place her at #7 in league among all guards in rebounds per game despite not starting (she leads the Sun bench players in minutes played with 24 mpg). My only issue with Courtney is that she has not always been disciplined in the offense and takes ill-advised "hero" shots at times. No one will complain about her shot selection when she goes 10-11 like she did on Saturday, however.
2) Jonquel Jones refining her game in the midst of her breakout season. JJ is working hard to defend without fouling, you can see this even as teams attack her arms and body in the paint. She is FAR MORE selective in her 3-point shooting than last year. That is reflected in the percentages... 33% last year, 50% so far this year. Assuming the healthy return of Chiney next year, JJ's individual rebound stats may dip a bit but other teams should be largely one-and-done, and the O-board potential with these two will be disruptive and require game planning by opponents. JJ needs to keep working on her strength and weight, and finishing with contact... missed lay-ups continue to frustrate. Being stronger and a little heavier will help in that department. The trajectory she is on in the beginning of year 2 out of GW is very promising and GM Miller has said that he gets many calls from teams wanting to deal for JJ. His response is that she is untouchable.
3) Alex Bentley. She seems to be working harder on D, but her shooting % is well below previous years. Her work within the offense seems to have improved, she is generally showing better shot selection and she has been taking pretty good shots (fewer, it seems, but better). The starting 2 guard needs to do better than 33% shooting for 8 ppg). Hopefully, we'll see a positive change when she gets back from overseas.
4) Jasz Thomas. Oddly, shooting a terrific 52% from 3 point land (4th best in the W among the 25+ players averaging more than 3 attempts per game) but overall only 34%. Love Jasz for her hustle and leadership but needs to do better in the assist to TO ratio department. She's at 1.9 (20th in the league among player playing 20+ mpg)... the bar set by the Queen of the Point (Sue Bird) is a ridiculous 6.6 and no one else is close.
5) Lynetta Kizer continues to be a positive addition to the team. Minutes, points rebounds all up from previous years. Her "per 40" pts/rebounds is a very solid 20/10. Brings strength and toughness underneath and a solid mid-range game. By all accounts, a really good teammate. Very glad she's here.
6) What to say about Rachel Banham... She looks more fit this year and is a better defender than last year (but that's a low bar). You see her sweet "Minnesota Mamba" stroke at times, but overall she still isn't performing to the level needed to justify what was "paid" for her. Coach Miller stated early on that Morgan was pretty far ahead of Rachel on the rehab front and maybe that's part of it. How many years do they wait for her to be what was hoped for on draft night? Will Leticia Romero or some other player threaten Rachel's roster spot next year? Maybe Leticia will bring a Spanish Unicorn named Alba with her to CT...
7) Alyssa Thomas is a wonder. One of the worst shooting strokes in the W make her game pretty one-dimensional, yet there are many times when she is unstoppable in that dimension. Teams know what she is going to do and they can't stop her. She doesn't get any love from the refs because she's very strong and does not "sell" contact fouls against her. Coach Miller suggested that she needs to learn to fall down more (if only she had gone to ND instead of MD
). Aside from the lack of a mid-range threat in her game, her free throw % is the real Achilles heal. It is obvious she works on it, because her form has changed (and arguably improved) over the years, BUT the proof is in the pudding and at 50%, this is not very tasty pudding.
8) The 3rd Turtle. Brionna Jones has only appeared in 3 games and averages <5 min per game. I really expected more. I have spoken to Brionna and she strikes me as a really great kid. Very humble and smart, but maybe not assertive and confident enough on the court. This is the kind of player that probably needs time to develop and get accustomed to the speed and physicality of the W. The problem is that in the W you generally don't get a lot of time due to competition for the very few roster spots. She is capable of contributing, but she needs to get things together ASAP. I'm sure her teammates (especially the other 2 former Terps) are working with her everyday to make it happen.
9) Danielle Adams is a gifted shooter. but in my opinion disrupts the Sun's defense. Her best performance (the one that made her a fan favorite) was the preseason game with LA. She went 5-7 from 3pt land, but did so against end of the bench and no-longer-there players for the most part. Any team at this point in the season that wants to keep Danielle from hurting them from deep can do so. I still don't see how she fits on the Sun, but I know that there are quite a few in the Sun Arena who disagree.
10) Sure hope Morgan is OK... 'nuff said.
2) Jonquel Jones refining her game in the midst of her breakout season. JJ is working hard to defend without fouling, you can see this even as teams attack her arms and body in the paint. She is FAR MORE selective in her 3-point shooting than last year. That is reflected in the percentages... 33% last year, 50% so far this year. Assuming the healthy return of Chiney next year, JJ's individual rebound stats may dip a bit but other teams should be largely one-and-done, and the O-board potential with these two will be disruptive and require game planning by opponents. JJ needs to keep working on her strength and weight, and finishing with contact... missed lay-ups continue to frustrate. Being stronger and a little heavier will help in that department. The trajectory she is on in the beginning of year 2 out of GW is very promising and GM Miller has said that he gets many calls from teams wanting to deal for JJ. His response is that she is untouchable.
3) Alex Bentley. She seems to be working harder on D, but her shooting % is well below previous years. Her work within the offense seems to have improved, she is generally showing better shot selection and she has been taking pretty good shots (fewer, it seems, but better). The starting 2 guard needs to do better than 33% shooting for 8 ppg). Hopefully, we'll see a positive change when she gets back from overseas.
4) Jasz Thomas. Oddly, shooting a terrific 52% from 3 point land (4th best in the W among the 25+ players averaging more than 3 attempts per game) but overall only 34%. Love Jasz for her hustle and leadership but needs to do better in the assist to TO ratio department. She's at 1.9 (20th in the league among player playing 20+ mpg)... the bar set by the Queen of the Point (Sue Bird) is a ridiculous 6.6 and no one else is close.
5) Lynetta Kizer continues to be a positive addition to the team. Minutes, points rebounds all up from previous years. Her "per 40" pts/rebounds is a very solid 20/10. Brings strength and toughness underneath and a solid mid-range game. By all accounts, a really good teammate. Very glad she's here.
6) What to say about Rachel Banham... She looks more fit this year and is a better defender than last year (but that's a low bar). You see her sweet "Minnesota Mamba" stroke at times, but overall she still isn't performing to the level needed to justify what was "paid" for her. Coach Miller stated early on that Morgan was pretty far ahead of Rachel on the rehab front and maybe that's part of it. How many years do they wait for her to be what was hoped for on draft night? Will Leticia Romero or some other player threaten Rachel's roster spot next year? Maybe Leticia will bring a Spanish Unicorn named Alba with her to CT...
7) Alyssa Thomas is a wonder. One of the worst shooting strokes in the W make her game pretty one-dimensional, yet there are many times when she is unstoppable in that dimension. Teams know what she is going to do and they can't stop her. She doesn't get any love from the refs because she's very strong and does not "sell" contact fouls against her. Coach Miller suggested that she needs to learn to fall down more (if only she had gone to ND instead of MD
). Aside from the lack of a mid-range threat in her game, her free throw % is the real Achilles heal. It is obvious she works on it, because her form has changed (and arguably improved) over the years, BUT the proof is in the pudding and at 50%, this is not very tasty pudding.8) The 3rd Turtle. Brionna Jones has only appeared in 3 games and averages <5 min per game. I really expected more. I have spoken to Brionna and she strikes me as a really great kid. Very humble and smart, but maybe not assertive and confident enough on the court. This is the kind of player that probably needs time to develop and get accustomed to the speed and physicality of the W. The problem is that in the W you generally don't get a lot of time due to competition for the very few roster spots. She is capable of contributing, but she needs to get things together ASAP. I'm sure her teammates (especially the other 2 former Terps) are working with her everyday to make it happen.
9) Danielle Adams is a gifted shooter. but in my opinion disrupts the Sun's defense. Her best performance (the one that made her a fan favorite) was the preseason game with LA. She went 5-7 from 3pt land, but did so against end of the bench and no-longer-there players for the most part. Any team at this point in the season that wants to keep Danielle from hurting them from deep can do so. I still don't see how she fits on the Sun, but I know that there are quite a few in the Sun Arena who disagree.
10) Sure hope Morgan is OK... 'nuff said.
