Thoughts on Duck Dynasty After Watching Oregon-Syracuse Replay

[JoePgh]

I had a couple of hours in between leftovers to watch a replay of the recent Oregon-Syracuse game. Oregon is a very good team and deserves their #1 ranking. However, I don't think that they are at the level of the later Stewart era (2015 and 2016). Here are some random observations, mostly about Sabrina Ionescu.

1. Sabrina is a fantastic 3-point shooter, seemingly at the Taurasi level especially with respect to range. And she doesn't need much time to get her shot off. Whoever guards her will have to be able to challenge that shot anywhere beyond half court. I think that requires a taller defender, as opposed to Crystal or Christyn.
2. Erin Boley is a KLS type of player, i.e., a very accurate 3-point shooter who needs help to get open and may be somewhat vulnerable on defense. I don't think Boley's on-ball defense is nearly as good as Lou's was in the latter part of her college career.
3. Minyon Moore is a Crystal-type player -- very fast and makes accurate passes to open players. I think Crystal should guard her when the teams play in February.
4. Hebard and Sabally are good rebounders and good post defenders. UConn will be challenged to get rebounds against them and may have to deal with a lot of second-chance opportunities. But I think Olivia will block more of their shots than they are accustomed to. Also, they both seem to be somewhat foul-prone.
5. I think that Moore is the only Oregon starter (and maybe their only player) to whom the descriptor of "quick" could be accurately applied. UConn as a team should have a quickness advantage over Oregon up and down the lineup. That means that the normal UConn offense of quick cuts and handoffs should be productive against this team, but there will be pressure to hit 3-point shots at the same rate of the Ducks do.
6. Oregon may end up playing a zone defense against UConn for just that reason, since they may recognize that they have a quickness deficit. That will put further pressure on the jump shooting accuracy.
7. I think Anna could guard Boley or even Sabrina without being overly vulnerable, since neither of those players seems to have a particularly quick first step, nor does penetration seem to be a part of their game.
8. I think that the Duck Dynasty may be vulnerable to pressure, including Sabrina. Near the end of the game, I saw Syracuse double-team her twice. The first time, she made a desperate pass that could easily have been picked; the other time she was called for traveling. Syracuse never really trapped the Oregon guards out of their zone, and I would like to have seen how well Oregon handled it. I see a big defensive and rebounding role for Aubrey Griffin in the February game to exploit these possibilities.
9. I predict and hope that the February game will be a high-scoring contest with the final score in the 80's for both teams. I think UConn will have an advantage in that kind of game. It should come down to a question of whether UConn's transition points exceed Oregon's second-chance points. If they do, UConn should prevail.

 

[Teacherdeb]

I had a couple of hours in between leftovers to watch a replay of the recent Oregon-Syracuse game. Oregon is a very good team and deserves their #1 ranking. However, I don't think that they are at the level of the later Stewart era (2015 and 2016). Here are some random observations, mostly about Sabrina Ionescu.

1. Sabrina is a fantastic 3-point shooter, seemingly at the Taurasi level especially with respect to range. And she doesn't need much time to get her shot off. Whoever guards her will have to be able to challenge that shot anywhere beyond half court. I think that requires a taller defender, as opposed to Crystal or Christyn.
2. Erin Boley is a KLS type of player, i.e., a very accurate 3-point shooter who needs help to get open and may be somewhat vulnerable on defense. I don't think Boley's on-ball defense is nearly as good as Lou's was in the latter part of her college career.
3. Minyon Moore is a Crystal-type player -- very fast and makes accurate passes to open players. I think Crystal should guard her when the teams play in February.
4. Hebard and Sabally are good rebounders and good post defenders. UConn will be challenged to get rebounds against them and may have to deal with a lot of second-chance opportunities. But I think Olivia will block more of their shots than they are accustomed to. Also, they both seem to be somewhat foul-prone.
5. I think that Moore is the only Oregon starter (and maybe their only player) to whom the descriptor of "quick" could be accurately applied. UConn as a team should have a quickness advantage over Oregon up and down the lineup. That means that the normal UConn offense of quick cuts and handoffs should be productive against this team, but there will be pressure to hit 3-point shots at the same rate of the Ducks do.
6. Oregon may end up playing a zone defense against UConn for just that reason, since they may recognize that they have a quickness deficit. That will put further pressure on the jump shooting accuracy.
7. I think Anna could guard Boley or even Sabrina without being overly vulnerable, since neither of those players seems to have a particularly quick first step, nor does penetration seem to be a part of their game.
8. I think that the Duck Dynasty may be vulnerable to pressure, including Sabrina. Near the end of the game, I saw Syracuse double-team her twice. The first time, she made a desperate pass that could easily have been picked; the other time she was called for traveling. Syracuse never really trapped the Oregon guards out of their zone, and I would like to have seen how well Oregon handled it. I see a big defensive and rebounding role for Aubrey Griffin in the February game to exploit these possibilities.
9. I predict and hope that the February game will be a high-scoring contest with the final score in the 80's for both teams. I think UConn will have an advantage in that kind of game. It should come down to a question of whether UConn's transition points exceed Oregon's second-chance points. If they do, UConn should prevail.

I enjoyed this analysis- I agree with what you say. A lot can happen, however, between now and then. But fun to speculate...

 

[huskyd]

I had a couple of hours in between leftovers to watch a replay of the recent Oregon-Syracuse game. Oregon is a very good team and deserves their #1 ranking. However, I don't think that they are at the level of the later Stewart era (2015 and 2016). Here are some random observations, mostly about Sabrina Ionescu.

1. Sabrina is a fantastic 3-point shooter, seemingly at the Taurasi level especially with respect to range. And she doesn't need much time to get her shot off. Whoever guards her will have to be able to challenge that shot anywhere beyond half court. I think that requires a taller defender, as opposed to Crystal or Christyn.
2. Erin Boley is a KLS type of player, i.e., a very accurate 3-point shooter who needs help to get open and may be somewhat vulnerable on defense. I don't think Boley's on-ball defense is nearly as good as Lou's was in the latter part of her college career.
3. Minyon Moore is a Crystal-type player -- very fast and makes accurate passes to open players. I think Crystal should guard her when the teams play in February.
4. Hebard and Sabally are good rebounders and good post defenders. UConn will be challenged to get rebounds against them and may have to deal with a lot of second-chance opportunities. But I think Olivia will block more of their shots than they are accustomed to. Also, they both seem to be somewhat foul-prone.
5. I think that Moore is the only Oregon starter (and maybe their only player) to whom the descriptor of "quick" could be accurately applied. UConn as a team should have a quickness advantage over Oregon up and down the lineup. That means that the normal UConn offense of quick cuts and handoffs should be productive against this team, but there will be pressure to hit 3-point shots at the same rate of the Ducks do.
6. Oregon may end up playing a zone defense against UConn for just that reason, since they may recognize that they have a quickness deficit. That will put further pressure on the jump shooting accuracy.
7. I think Anna could guard Boley or even Sabrina without being overly vulnerable, since neither of those players seems to have a particularly quick first step, nor does penetration seem to be a part of their game.
8. I think that the Duck Dynasty may be vulnerable to pressure, including Sabrina. Near the end of the game, I saw Syracuse double-team her twice. The first time, she made a desperate pass that could easily have been picked; the other time she was called for traveling. Syracuse never really trapped the Oregon guards out of their zone, and I would like to have seen how well Oregon handled it. I see a big defensive and rebounding role for Aubrey Griffin in the February game to exploit these possibilities.
9. I predict and hope that the February game will be a high-scoring contest with the final score in the 80's for both teams. I think UConn will have an advantage in that kind of game. It should come down to a question of whether UConn's transition points exceed Oregon's second-chance points. If they do, UConn should prevail.

Well thought out, Joe. My only quibble is with #7. I seriously doubt that Anna can stay with Sabrina. My guess is that Geno will switch multiple defenders on the Divine One; no one player is likely to guard Sabrina. AND I will add that, in general, I have never been overly impressed with West coast women's teams. More than likely, a team from this side of the Mississippi will dominate most years. Ducks? Beavers? Seriously?

 

[WNBA 09]

Oregon plus by 10 + if the game were played today.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I think I would call Sabally quick as well, at least for a 6-4 player. I know everyone is taking it with a grain of salt, but in that game against the US National Team she was blowing by every defender that tried guarding her. While some of those defenders were fairly long in the tooth, she also got past Collier several times, who already is considered an above average defensive player in the WNBA.

 

[Moose]

I think I would call Sabally quick as well, at least for a 6-4 player. I know everyone is taking it with a grain of salt, but in that game against the US National Team she was blowing by every defender that tried guarding her. While some of those defenders were fairly long in the tooth, she also got past Collier several times, who already is considered an above average defensive player in the WNBA.

And that game is really the only time I've watched the Ducks, but "penetration is not part of Sabrina's game?" There was quite a bit of Sabrina driving in that game, I thought. And the USA did bring the pressure too, and while there were some tense moments, the Ducks got through it.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I had a couple of hours in between leftovers to watch a replay of the recent Oregon-Syracuse game. Oregon is a very good team and deserves their #1 ranking. However, I don't think that they are at the level of the later Stewart era (2015 and 2016). Here are some random observations, mostly about Sabrina Ionescu.

1. Sabrina is a fantastic 3-point shooter, seemingly at the Taurasi level especially with respect to range. And she doesn't need much time to get her shot off. Whoever guards her will have to be able to challenge that shot anywhere beyond half court. I think that requires a taller defender, as opposed to Crystal or Christyn.
2. Erin Boley is a KLS type of player, i.e., a very accurate 3-point shooter who needs help to get open and may be somewhat vulnerable on defense. I don't think Boley's on-ball defense is nearly as good as Lou's was in the latter part of her college career.
3. Minyon Moore is a Crystal-type player -- very fast and makes accurate passes to open players. I think Crystal should guard her when the teams play in February.
4. Hebard and Sabally are good rebounders and good post defenders. UConn will be challenged to get rebounds against them and may have to deal with a lot of second-chance opportunities. But I think Olivia will block more of their shots than they are accustomed to. Also, they both seem to be somewhat foul-prone.
5. I think that Moore is the only Oregon starter (and maybe their only player) to whom the descriptor of "quick" could be accurately applied. UConn as a team should have a quickness advantage over Oregon up and down the lineup. That means that the normal UConn offense of quick cuts and handoffs should be productive against this team, but there will be pressure to hit 3-point shots at the same rate of the Ducks do.
6. Oregon may end up playing a zone defense against UConn for just that reason, since they may recognize that they have a quickness deficit. That will put further pressure on the jump shooting accuracy.
7. I think Anna could guard Boley or even Sabrina without being overly vulnerable, since neither of those players seems to have a particularly quick first step, nor does penetration seem to be a part of their game.
8. I think that the Duck Dynasty may be vulnerable to pressure, including Sabrina. Near the end of the game, I saw Syracuse double-team her twice. The first time, she made a desperate pass that could easily have been picked; the other time she was called for traveling. Syracuse never really trapped the Oregon guards out of their zone, and I would like to have seen how well Oregon handled it. I see a big defensive and rebounding role for Aubrey Griffin in the February game to exploit these possibilities.
9. I predict and hope that the February game will be a high-scoring contest with the final score in the 80's for both teams. I think UConn will have an advantage in that kind of game. It should come down to a question of whether UConn's transition points exceed Oregon's second-chance points. If they do, UConn should prevail.

Good job, Joe. My major consideration in a game with the Ducks and most top 6 teams is : How long will Olivia play due to energy and or fouls. If fouls who fills that hole, certainly not Irwin but she will have a role against the Ducks. Ania may deceive you sometimes BB IQ has a way of overcoming physical quickness--i.e. Anna has played lots of high level basketball and has seen a lot --so may be tendencies, seen in pregame prep, can overcome lack of quickness. I was thinking Aubrey while I read your quickness comments and lack of post by Uconn. I hope she makes the jumps gamewise that Olivia did as a frosh. Evelyn, is slow of foot too but big and not too move-able ala Kalli Mcclaren. It shall be a battle mostly for Geno punch and counter punch. If Geno has only one rebound of note against the ducks--fast breaks are negated unless steals work and there again is a job for Aubrey. Geno may choose to sent 4 to the boards that works some times.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I was impressed by the fact that Oregon got 32 points from its bench, including their 6'6" post player, Giomi.

They've got depth.

 

[Zanzman]

I was impressed by the fact that Oregon got 32 points from its bench, including their 6'6" post player, Giomi.

They've got depth.

What game were you watching