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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 5303579, member: 12088"] This is such an interesting question with regard to Ash. Lots of folks on the BY criticized her performance in big games late in her freshman season, and she didn't disappoint anyone this season, even in the tournament. But the circumstances were different between the two seasons. As a freshman, she was on a very short rotation and was the primary backcourt shooting threat after Paige. This made it easier for opponents to focus on her in order to isolate Paige. If they shut down Ash, then it's just a matter of contending with Paige and Aaliyah, and a consequence was that the two big stars often got quite tired vying the end of big games -- consider the second half of the games against Duke and USC that season. This season, with Azzi back and Sarah starting, Ash is became the 4th scoring option. Fatigue of the Big Three was no longer an issue and often Ash could only be lightly defended. So, I don't know how much to attribute to Ash's improvement and maturity as a sophomore, and how much is just that opposing teams simply couldn't focus their defense on her. I imagine it's a combination of the two factors. Also, Ash's responsibilities on defense seemed to expand as a sophomore and she rose to meet new challenges as a rebounder and a deny/shutdown one-v-one defender. Now, what does this suggest about next season? I'll expect the 3pt percentage to be the same (there's not a lot of room for improvement with a 40% shooter), but as she herself said, we may see more aggressiveness in seeking her own shot. I hope this means more midrange jumpers (she's great at those) but also more moves to the rim. She's a good finisher and such a great free throw shooter that driving the lane more is likely to be a net plus. I also suspect the rest of the lineup is going to be stronger, which means she'll have even more freedom to score and rebound. Paige is gone, but Azzi and Sarah are likely to be even better this season, and Serah will complement them really well. The 3 prongs of the offense last season were two guards and a forward. This season it looks to be two forwards and a guard supported by three more top level guards and 4 more top bigs. In that context, I expect Ash will thrive. [/QUOTE]

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