Something to Think about

[BobbyJ]

I mean no offense to Amari. I think her size sort of pigeon-holed her and there were times it seemed to me she was indecisive about where on the floor she preferred to play. The videos I saw of her were like the below and I did not see a center, e.g. a back to the basket, bang in the paint player. FWIW, I didn't see the #2/5 ranking either but TBF I only saw high school highlights.

I agree with what you saw. However, I think she made her own bed by not realizing her physical limitations and not having the drive to learn to play the big girl's game that those limitations required. The Buffalo area isn't a mecca for girl's HS BB development, especially the small suburb (5500 pop.) she grew up in. And because she was 6-5, although she traveled to play for the Philly Belles for a couple summers, those HS and AAU coaches weren't going to force her to play differently from what she wanted. Which helps explain why a kid that big was a backup for the Belles half the time. I have no idea what those evaluators were looking at. Unlike with other highly ranked recruits, there was no late recruiting frenzy for her and lack of PT with a couple USA teams was a clue as to why. Auriemma knew her limitations but if you're going to take a chance on a lottery ticket in WBB you make it a 6-5 one.

 

[Bone Dog]

The difference between Amari and Liv is clear in those two vids, brief as they are. Liv talks about working hard as though that were an end in itself. She loves playing with other kids and she dreams of getting even stronger than she already is. By contrast, Amari isn't really challenged by any of the kids on the court. She exhibits some good skills -- passing, shooting, rebounding, blocking -- but doesn't really appear to push herself. And on a lot of her passes, she starts jogging down to the other end before her teammate has shot the ball. And though Liv occasionally did the big-girl trot down the court, she also sprinted when necessary. Amari hasn't shown that degree of intensity yet.

I remember watching highlights of Amari like this one, and back then I was just looking for her skills. And what struck me most was her willingness to pass and her wisdom in not bringing the ball down on a rebound or receiving a pass. I thought those would serve her well at UConn. I didn't pay attention to how unchallenged she seemed to be by opponents in her HS league. Maybe I assumed she would grow into the demands of the next level. But that never really happened. Perhaps the transition from HS to D1 was too steep. I hope Maryland lets her find some middle ground from which she can develop. She still talks about wanting to play BB after college. Maybe she'll find a way now.

 

[MSGRET]

I mean no offense to Amari. I think her size sort of pigeon-holed her and there were times it seemed to me she was indecisive about where on the floor she preferred to play. The videos I saw of her were like the below and I did not see a center, e.g. a back to the basket, bang in the paint player. FWIW, I didn't see the #2/5 ranking either but TBF I only saw high school highlights.

I believe that her high school coach was the one that kind of confused Amari. Amari was the best player on the team and she did more playing either as a guard or forward. If he had her play the center position she would have been better prepared to play it in college.