USA v Japan 9/10/18
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MilfordHusky
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Hmmm. Elena is saying that she can't practice. It's legit, so I wouldn't hold that against her. If she plays as she did against Seattle, she's still our best option.
MilfordHusky
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So it dropped only a few feet. Whew! It's not as if it nearly fell during last night's game. If it had, it should have wiped out part of Team USA, part of ESPN, and part of the Boneyard.
MilfordHusky
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Some more thoughts on last night's game ...
It was a back and forth game for 30+ minutes, with neither team leading by more than 7 or so. Overall, Japan led for longer than the U.S. did.
Japan's drive and kick offense gave us lots of trouble. They were nearly unstoppable over the first 3 quarters. We finally got some stops in the 4th quarter and got out in transition. Perhaps, Japan got tired as well.
After watching UConn switching screens, I found it strange that U.S. defenders were running around screens last night. I'm not sure if I like Dawn's defensive strategy. Our players were beaten off the dribble repeatedly, with no rim protector on the back line.
Keep in mind that some of the foreign teams play together for months. Though we have far more talent, games are not always won on talent. It's arrogant for us to think that our second team could win Gold. We barely beat Canada and Japan--on our soil--with our second unit. Our first unit includes some all-time greats. The second and third units reflect a significant drop-off in talent.
A'ja and Nneka were really good last night. Perhaps it was partly the competition. Tina played pretty well, despite shooting 5-12, but looked slightly hurt. Stef (now cut) didn't show a lot. Morgan looked pretty good, drawing the start. Pheesa was fairly passive early on, but put the ball on the floor and got to her spots for shots later in the game.
Elizabeth Williams played very little. On one play near us, she came out on a 3-point shooter and fully extended to block the shot. But the high-arcing shot found nothing but net, which surprised and impressed me.
Clarendon and Sims played hard. The speed and physicality are apparent when sitting a few feet off the court. But I thought Plum looked best at PG.
Diamond is a phenomenal athlete, but needs to have her basketball abilities and decision-making catch up. She was spectacular on one drive when she got to the rim in just 2 dribbles (and I mean literally rim high) and also battled hard on defense in one brief stretch. She is thinner than she looks on TV.
I didn't see a lot out of Gray or K. Mitchell. T. Mitchell, as noted, played tough, intense defense.
I had no objections to the USAB cuts. I wish Lou, Renee, Moriah, and Tiffany were there.
It was a back and forth game for 30+ minutes, with neither team leading by more than 7 or so. Overall, Japan led for longer than the U.S. did.
Japan's drive and kick offense gave us lots of trouble. They were nearly unstoppable over the first 3 quarters. We finally got some stops in the 4th quarter and got out in transition. Perhaps, Japan got tired as well.
After watching UConn switching screens, I found it strange that U.S. defenders were running around screens last night. I'm not sure if I like Dawn's defensive strategy. Our players were beaten off the dribble repeatedly, with no rim protector on the back line.
Keep in mind that some of the foreign teams play together for months. Though we have far more talent, games are not always won on talent. It's arrogant for us to think that our second team could win Gold. We barely beat Canada and Japan--on our soil--with our second unit. Our first unit includes some all-time greats. The second and third units reflect a significant drop-off in talent.
A'ja and Nneka were really good last night. Perhaps it was partly the competition. Tina played pretty well, despite shooting 5-12, but looked slightly hurt. Stef (now cut) didn't show a lot. Morgan looked pretty good, drawing the start. Pheesa was fairly passive early on, but put the ball on the floor and got to her spots for shots later in the game.
Elizabeth Williams played very little. On one play near us, she came out on a 3-point shooter and fully extended to block the shot. But the high-arcing shot found nothing but net, which surprised and impressed me.
Clarendon and Sims played hard. The speed and physicality are apparent when sitting a few feet off the court. But I thought Plum looked best at PG.
Diamond is a phenomenal athlete, but needs to have her basketball abilities and decision-making catch up. She was spectacular on one drive when she got to the rim in just 2 dribbles (and I mean literally rim high) and also battled hard on defense in one brief stretch. She is thinner than she looks on TV.
I didn't see a lot out of Gray or K. Mitchell. T. Mitchell, as noted, played tough, intense defense.
I had no objections to the USAB cuts. I wish Lou, Renee, Moriah, and Tiffany were there.