South Carolina ver Arkansas

[bballnut90]

I don't want to split hairs here but she doesn't run hard up the court and doesn't consistently move her feet well. Many times, she doesn't move her feet at all actually. She looked better last year to me. I've only seen two games but she seemed to be better physically this game than the other game I saw vs NC state.

NC State was probably the worst game of her career, SC looked awful that game. Id suggest watching Kentucky highlights too since that was a big game recently. She's not a rim to rim post like a Brianna Turner but she hustles and isn't slow back defensively. She started out the season slow but is playing great the last few games as SC gels as a team.

 

[bballnut90]

So how did the Gamecocks do against the only quality defense they have faced, NCSt? 27%fg, 17%3pt, and Boston was 4-14 against the only quality post she has faced.

I'm a huge Boston fan but the fact is that she hasn't had success against a quality post. I expect that she will but until then I'll leave my anointing oil in it's vase.

Question...aside from Cunane, who are some quality posts in your opinion?

 

[Alydar]

Question...aside from Cunane, who are some quality posts in your opinion?

Ark's front line was 6'1 5'11 5'9. I can confidently say that there was only one quality post in the game.
I'm not criticizing Boston, I'm criticizing her fans' attempt to call the Arkansas game evidence of Boston's dominance in the post.

 

[bballnut90]

Ark's front line was 6'1 5'11 5'9. I can confidently say that there was only one quality post in the game.
I'm not criticizing Boston, I'm criticizing her fans' attempt to call the Arkansas game evidence of Boston's dominance in the post.

Right, but you said, "I'm a huge Boston fan but the fact is that she hasn't had success against a quality post."

So I'm wondering who you'd consider to be quality posts in WCBB?

 

[ConwayGmck]

Posters here constantly say Boston doesn't run. She's had many games this season where she's taken a rebound/loose ball/or retrieved a block she administered to an opponent, and drove the length of the court dribbling the ball and laid it up or stopped for a short mid-range jumper. Comments about Boston not moving or being left behind is flat incorrect.

South Carolina plays a more up-tempo offense than in past seasons, with the guards they utilize these days. Henderson is near Cuevas-Moore speed level but with more control. Cooke and Beal are runners, and even Saxton who is a 6-1/6-2 is top-level athletic that runs the floor. Boston is a 6-5 Post with a legit Post body-type. She's not a stretch 4 playing in a Post position. Some fabricated narrative being constructed here that she should be transformed into a slender stretch that can run with the guards in order to somehow become relevant as a top player in college is surprisingly (to me, for this site) uneducated thought process. I struggle to recall ANY legit posts in post's bodies able to do that - perhaps Alaina Coates who had coat-hanger shoulders a mile wide but below that the slender body of a stretch 4, but again her body type was not quite the same....

 

[nwhoopfan]

Again? Really?!? Honest question: do you think that Paige Bueckers has the potential to be a generational player?

Boston, Bueckers, and Fudd are all generational players...in the last 3 years. Maybe generational player doesn't mean what it used to.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

So how did the Gamecocks do against the only quality defense they have faced, NCSt? 27%fg, 17%3pt, and Boston was 4-14 against the only quality post she has faced.

I'm a huge Boston fan but the fact is that she hasn't had success against a quality post. I expect that she will but until then I'll leave my anointing oil in it's vase.

I guess we will just have to live in suspense as to whether a second team all American and national freshman of the year is good or not.

 

[jonson]

Sadly, acknowledging basketball success seems all too often a zero sum game for some posters on this board. Crediting Boston doesn't mean diminishing Ono--or any other player at UCONN, past or present. To me this is A'ja Wilson redux, or, to speak of my team, some of the comments above are reminiscent of the constant sniping at Sabrina Ionescu. Had Boston chosen UCONN and Ono South Carolina I have no doubt that, for some posters at least, the narrative would be reversed. Why not simply acknowledge that, even if not a "perfect" post by UCONN standards, whatever those might be, Boston is, in Geno speak, really really good.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

South Carolina has only faced four teams with defenses that were not in the top 75 per Massey.

It scored 100+ on all 4.

Massey says Gonzaga was the best defense USC has faced at 10. State at 18. SD at 24. Kentucky at 25.

NC State is a damn good squad. All the credit to them for that win. It'd probably be another low scoring tight one if they met up again. Shouldn't think it would be until the F4 though.

 

[Alydar]

I guess we will just have to live in suspense as to whether a second team all American and national freshman of the year is good or not.

Don't start with that stuff or show me where I even hinted at that. ONO tonight dominated her opponent. The opponent was over 6'1. I totally discount the game. It's the same for all elite posts, they dominate 95% of their opponents and the only true test is against another elite post. ONO hasn't faced one yet. Boston did and played a poor game. That's all I said.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Don't start with that stuff or show me where I even hinted at that. ONO tonight dominated her opponent. The opponent was over 6'1. I totally discount the game. It's the same for all elite posts, they dominate 95% of their opponents and the only true test is against another elite post. ONO hasn't faced one yet. Boston did and played a poor game. That's all I said.

Ha, I didn't realize UCONN fans thought ONO was good now. You have generally hated on her.

Boston has faced and done well against several very good post players in her career, including ONO.

I'm not sure there is any suspense as to whether she can do it again, but if we need to hold our breath we can.

This thread really began as someone choosing a 26/16/6 performance in which Boston was on full display to make an odd point about her fitness and lack of skills. I thought it was funny.

Boston and Cunnane were equally bad in their matchup as were the two offenses. You could give them both credit for holding down the other, I guess. But Boston wasn't really playing great to start the year. She's...better now.

 

[visitingcock]

Whoa folks. We’ve got a few weeks til game night. Save it til game week

 

[ConwayGmck]

South Carolina has only faced four teams with defenses that were not in the top 75 per Massey.

It scored 100+ on all 4.

Massey says Gonzaga was the best defense USC has faced at 10. State at 18. SD at 24. Kentucky at 25.

NC State is a damn good squad. All the credit to them for that win. It'd probably be another low scoring tight one if they met up again. Shouldn't think it would be until the F4 though.

We'll be playing another solid defensive opponent Thursday in Georgia. They have the 16th rated defense per Massey. The 30th ranked Scoring Defense and top Scoring Defense in the SEC, just ahead of USC's....

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Who folks. We’ve got a few weeks til game night. Save it til game week

Thought it might be good to have a conversation before UCONN hangs 90 on us.

 

[TC22]

Go back to pictures of Stef over her four years. Worked hard on conditioning. Not an accident she (and others) were able to turn the hard work into championships. If Boston is in such good shape, why does she never run?

Watch the game. Twice Henderson hit Boston on the fast break. She runs. That was a fast game. When you get two teams who push the ball as fast as those two teams it’s hard. If she doesn’t get the rebound she’s gone.

 

[SCspur]

Go back to pictures of Stef over her four years. Worked hard on conditioning. Not an accident she (and others) were able to turn the hard work into championships. If Boston is in such good shape, why does she never run?

 

[ConwayGmck]

Speaking of Massey's ratings, I decided to check the opponents for two specific teams already played, and their defensive ratings per Massey:

USC (10-1):

CoC: 338
SD: 25
Gonz: 10
NCST: 18
ISU: 67
Temp: 164
UF: 73
UA: 74
UK: 24
VU: 227
ARK: 198

next: Georgia: 16

Still to play:

(X2) LSU: 20
MSU: 53
AU: 125
CT: 2
MIZ: 90
UT: 28
TAM: 23

CT (8-0):

UM-L: 169 .
SetH: 201 ..
Creit: 39
Xav: 199 ..
Villa: 69
DeP: 260 ..
Prov: 65
But: 116 .

Next: Tennessee: 28

Still to play:

(X2) GT: 46
(X2) St. J: 129 ..
Marq: 58
SC: 4


For South Carolina, College of Charleston is a pretty bad outlier, but after that, the Gamecocks have already played four (4) games against opponents with top 25 rated defenses, per Massey. They have five (5) more games against four (4) opponents with top 25 rated defenses still on their schedule that they have yet to play. This does not include a 2nd game with Kentucky (24th rated defense) that they will play towards the end of the schedule.

That's a total of ten (10) games against top 25 rated defenses.

For Connecticut, they have already played zero (0) opponents with top 25 rated defenses, and look to only have one (1) opponent left on their schedule that will have a top 25 defense, unless Tennessee's own defense moves up the ratings, and if they do, that adds another top 25 defensive opponent to South Carolina's list as well.

That's a total of one (1) game against top 25 rated defenses.

On the other end of the spectrum, well, South Carolina owns the worst rated defensive opponent with College of Charleston. But in total they will play one (1) game against an opponent with a rated defense outside of the top 300, two (2) opponents outside the top 200 rated defenses, and a total of five (5) opponents outside of the top 100 rated defenses.

Connecticut meanwhile plays zero (0) opponents outside of the top 300, four (4) opponents outside of the top 200, and a total of ten (10) opponents with defensive ratings outside the top 100.

For SC, Arkansas could slip outside of the top 200, and Missouri outside of the top 100, and for CT Xavier could slip outside of the top 200 and Seton Hall inside the top 200, but right now looking at the schedules from the front AND back ends, the Gamecock's schedule has much higher rated defensive teams as opponents than CT's schedule does.

Also, looking at NET and RPI ratings, South Carolina has already played seven (7) of its 11 games against Quadrant 1 NET opponents going 6-1, and eight (8) Quadrant 1 & 2 opponents going 7-1. Connecticut has played just two (2) of its 8 games against Quad 1 NET opponents, and just three (3) games against Quad 1 & 2 opponents.

Likewise, for RPI South Carolina has played five (5) opponents with Quad 1 RPI and nine (9) of its 11 games against Quad 1 & 2 RPI opponents. Connecticut meanwhile has played two (2) of 8 games against Quad 1 RPI opponents, with NO games against Quad 2 RPI opponents.

I make these comparisons because comparisons seem to be being made between what South Carolina scores against its opponents, or allows to be scored BY its opponents, and what might it score against CT or allow CT to score. But if the season stats of scoring offenses and defenses are being used as basis for these comparisons, well then possibly the strength of schedules - and what each team's opponents bring to the table - may need to be compared as well. Also, it's interesting that CT's own NET and RPI rankings are eye-to-eye with SC's or even slightly better, when the ratings of each team's schedules don't seem to pair up eye-to-eye......

 

[ConwayGmck]

Aliyah Boston drives length of court to beat buzzer - ESPN Video

South Carolina's Aliyah Boston grabs the rebound, drives the length of the court and scores the bucket as she beats the first-half buzzer.

www.espn.com

 

[shiverz45]

Posters here constantly say Boston doesn't run. She's had many games this season where she's taken a rebound/loose ball/or retrieved a block she administered to an opponent, and drove the length of the court dribbling the ball and laid it up or stopped for a short mid-range jumper. Comments about Boston not moving or being left behind is flat incorrect.

South Carolina plays a more up-tempo offense than in past seasons, with the guards they utilize these days. Henderson is near Cuevas-Moore speed level but with more control. Cooke and Beal are runners, and even Saxton who is a 6-1/6-2 is top-level athletic that runs the floor. Boston is a 6-5 Post with a legit Post body-type. She's not a stretch 4 playing in a Post position. Some fabricated narrative being constructed here that she should be transformed into a slender stretch that can run with the guards in order to somehow become relevant as a top player in college is surprisingly (to me, for this site) uneducated thought process. I struggle to recall ANY legit posts in post's bodies able to do that - perhaps Alaina Coates who had coat-hanger shoulders a mile wide but below that the slender body of a stretch 4, but again her body type was not quite the same....

In a press conference awhile back when Henderson was a freshman, I think it was Dawn who said Henderson was the fastest player on the team. It took me by surprise because Cuevas was still there.

 

[jazz]

Boston

19-20: 12.5 pt 9.4 reb 2.7 blk 1.0 ast .609/.182/.744
20-21: 14.3 pt 11.1 reb 2.7 blk 1.4 ast .500 /.333 /.700

Boston started slow this season, but her counting numbers are up across the board.

I think the shooting percentage is partially taking more outside shots and partially struggling against the novelty of sagging defenses earlier this year.

She wasn't really a throw it in and convert a basket against a double team post last season. And if you had to fault her defense last season it would have been getting out on shooters in help situations.

I think she's improved in both categories this season.

She's also expanded her game outside and is better off the dribble.

But again, she had a slow start as she and the team started to adjust to way they were being played. And maybe some COVID lag. Might as well throw that in.

I'm sure that all is true Gamecock and there are valid points.

Despite the reasons or her stats, she looks a bit slower than last year and doesn't move her feet very well. She still dominate, don't get me wrong. Anyway, as I said, I've only seen 2 games.

Also I am willing to say and have said that about many players and also citing the layoff and Covid as potential reasons....Maybe her feet will quicken up as the season goes along...she looked better recently than she did at NC State but I think State's size bothered her and wore her down more.

 

[Alydar]

Ha, I didn't realize UCONN fans thought ONO was good now. You have generally hated on her.

Boston has faced and done well against several very good post players in her career, including ONO.

I'm not sure there is any suspense as to whether she can do it again, but if we need to hold our breath we can.

This thread really began as someone choosing a 26/16/6 performance in which Boston was on full display to make an odd point about her fitness and lack of skills. I thought it was funny.

Boston and Cunnane were equally bad in their matchup as were the two offenses. You could give them both credit for holding down the other, I guess. But Boston wasn't really playing great to start the year. She's...better now.

You seem to think that I am accountable for every comment made by every UConn fan. I never hated on ONO and my only comment about Boston was to point out the level of opposition she faced in the paint the other day. I think she is great but when her fans started touting her performance against a munchkin roster as evidence of greatness I just pointed out the only game this season where Boston had to play against a better center and didn't play all that great. That doesn't mean she can't win POY but it does say that she isn't omnipotent. She and Cunnane cancelled each other out and it was left to the rest of her team to produce points and they did produce 37, but it was not nearly enough.

I remember reading comments about how Wilson would dominate UConn. The SC fans had all the stats figured and they were convinced that Wilson would show UConn something. And for 4 years she lost to UConn every time they played so you will forgive me for not panicking over your team.

 

[MooseJaw]

You seem to think that I am accountable for every comment made by every UConn fan. I never hated on ONO and my only comment about Boston was to point out the level of opposition she faced in the paint the other day. I think she is great but when her fans started touting her performance against a munchkin roster as evidence of greatness I just pointed out the only game this season where Boston had to play against a better center and didn't play all that great. That doesn't mean she can't win POY but it does say that she isn't omnipotent. She and Cunnane cancelled each other out and it was left to the rest of her team to produce points and they did produce 37, but it was not nearly enough.

I remember reading comments about how Wilson would dominate UConn. The SC fans had all the stats figured and they were convinced that Wilson would show UConn something. And for 4 years she lost to UConn every time they played so you will forgive me for not panicking over your team.

I would expect nothing less from you. It is refreshing to have views that my be different from most, while in many cases just pointing out the obvious. Please keep on stating you case, for me the best post are thought provoking and generating discussion. I may not agree with everything you post but look forward to them.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

You seem to think that I am accountable for every comment made by every UConn fan. I never hated on ONO and my only comment about Boston was to point out the level of opposition she faced in the paint the other day. I think she is great but when her fans started touting her performance against a munchkin roster as evidence of greatness I just pointed out the only game this season where Boston had to play against a better center and didn't play all that great. That doesn't mean she can't win POY but it does say that she isn't omnipotent. She and Cunnane cancelled each other out and it was left to the rest of her team to produce points and they did produce 37, but it was not nearly enough.

I remember reading comments about how Wilson would dominate UConn. The SC fans had all the stats figured and they were convinced that Wilson would show UConn something. And for 4 years she lost to UConn every time they played so you will forgive me for not panicking over your team.

Cool, while we are at it here are things that neither I nor anyone in this thread said or suggested:

1. UCONN should be in a "panic" over playing South Carolina.
2. Anything at all involving Boston being the National Player of the Year
3. Anything referencing A'Ja Wilson's career vs UCONN. I'm not 100% sure she was even mentioned, but I don't recall for sure.
4. Anything involving the potential outcome of the 2021 UCONN-South Carolina beyond there being no chance in hell that it will be as high scoring as South Carolina-Arkansas was.

This thread began with a random poster claiming Boston was out of shape, doesn't run the floor, and isn't very good.

It's not been about UCONN vs South Carolina beyond that.

But maybe we're all just biding our time until UCONN hangs 90 on South Carolina.

 

[baggerbob]

I think the “generational” term gets thrown around WAY too much

To me, it cannot be even considered until a player's senior season - if then. Are Aja or Stewie even "generational" at this point? They are the same "generation" but maybe we won't know until their careers end whether one or the other is truly "generational."

Stewie already has 2 WNBA titles in 4 years, was MVP of the World games. And has been finals MVP 2 times. A pretty good start with a good amount of time left.

 

[Creature]

Having moved to South Carolina, interesting watching South Carolina play Arkansas on SEC Channel. Few points I'm sure Geno is aware of:

-Have watched 2/3 of the game and not seen Boston run the court once. Usually a slow trot. Gets gassed after 5 minutes. ONO likely to run her out of game. Clearly overweight but still had a double, double at halftime. Huge-outweighed her Arkansas defender by 50-60+ pounds and moves well on pick and rolls. Does not move on defense but if near the ball will block it.
-Much of SC's offense revolves around getting the ball inside to Boston or when she gets doubled, kicking out to open shooter. If we don't have to double Boston, did not see great SC ball movement.
-Midway through second half, Arkansas got cold but was getting open shots every time down the floor.

SC a good team, but having watched them a few times this year, not as dominate as in the past. Feel good about future match ups.

ha ha -Alternative fact