Utah @ #10 Oregon - 12/06/20

[domerduck]

Correct me if I am wrong but hasn't there been a different high scorer in each of the four games?

Almost correct, since Utah had two top scorers, Off the top of my head:
Mikesell game 1-28pts against Seattle (8/10 for threes),
Boley game 2 -25 points against Portland, (11-17)
Sabally game 3-20 points (9/9 & 10 rebounds) against Colorado
Pao-Pao AND Boley, each 17 points against Utah.

(edited since my head misremembered Boley's points against UP)

 

[domerduck]

Paopao is starting to come into form. And Boley. I remember going over to the Notre Dame board and they would diss her game badly. Boley looking very, very good this season. Graves has to be real happy to the start of this season

To me the two biggest surprises this year is Pao Pao starting at point and Boley's all around game as she comes out of the shadow of the Big 3 and is becoming the quiet leader on this team. First off, some may have expected Paopao since Graves said she reminded him of Sabrina and her high school coach at Country Day said she was the best player he ever coached over both Candice Wiggens and Kelsey Plum. She's been the obvious starter at point as I thought he would have Taylor Chavez & Jaz Shelley starting at the 2 guards.

The bigger deal is Erin's improvement from her previous 2 years. Her all around game has been tremendous so far., especially the last 3 games once she accepted the fact that letting Mikesell play the 3 point sniper on this team is good. She's not pressing anymore to try to stand in a 3 point place to wait for a pass. She is moving all around., but still will take her 3 in the flow of the game. Her positional D has always been good, but she seems quicker with her hands and fast to the ball, getting more offensive rebounds which Ruthie and Sabrina used to scarf up. She is one of the PAC12 players who have played at least 20 min/game, who have more than 30 pts/40min. The other two are Haley Jones of Stanford and Cate Reese of Arizona, who both are under the basket players who neither have made a 3 points shot. Erin is shooting 44.4% from 3's having made 8 three pointers in the 4 games. She also is averaging better than 10 rebounds/40, 2 steals/40, and 2 assists/40. All these stats include that subpar first game agaisnt the weakest opponent where she only had 8 points and missed her 4 three pointers.

The big test will be against Oregon State in Corvallis next Sunday to see how the Ducks play and who leads the team then.

 

[Shades]

 

[bballnut90]

To me the two biggest surprises this year is Pao Pao starting at point and Boley's all around game as she comes out of the shadow of the Big 3 and is becoming the quiet leader on this team. First off, some may have expected Paopao since Graves said she reminded him of Sabrina and her high school coach at Country Day said she was the best player he ever coached over both Candice Wiggens and Kelsey Plum. She's been the obvious starter at point as I thought he would have Taylor Chavez & Jaz Shelley starting at the 2 guards.

The bigger deal is Erin's improvement from her previous 2 years. Her all around game has been tremendous so far., especially the last 3 games once she accepted the fact that letting Mikesell play the 3 point sniper on this team is good. She's not pressing anymore to try to stand in a 3 point place to wait for a pass. She is moving all around., but still will take her 3 in the flow of the game. Her positional D has always been good, but she seems quicker with her hands and fast to the ball, getting more offensive rebounds which Ruthie and Sabrina used to scarf up. She is one of the PAC12 players who have played at least 20 min/game, who have more than 30 pts/40min. The other two are Haley Jones of Stanford and Cate Reese of Arizona, who both are under the basket players who neither have made a 3 points shot. Erin is shooting 44.4% from 3's having made 8 three pointers in the 4 games. She also is averaging better than 10 rebounds/40, 2 steals/40, and 2 assists/40. All these stats include that subpar first game agaisnt the weakest opponent where she only had 8 points and missed her 4 three pointers.

The big test will be against Oregon State in Corvallis next Sunday to see how the Ducks play and who leads the team then.

Boley is good...former top 5 recruit and finally getting her chance to shine. coming from ND I thought she was underutilized her first 2 years in Oregon. Maybe not underutilized since the Ducks had exceptional teams, but that she was capable of doing more than being the 3pt specialist which was her role on those teams. Glad to see everything is clicking well for her.

Oregon looks stacked and has dominated lesser competition. I've enjoyed watching them more than any other team so far this season. Good posts, a boatload of shooters, and they move the ball around well.

 

[nwhoopfan]

Utah women’s basketball transfer Dre’Una Edwards will play for Kentucky

Utah forward Dre'Una Edwards, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, has chosen Kentucky to continue her women's basketball career.

www.sltrib.com

Old news. She transferred after '18-'19.

 

[azfan]

Old news. She transferred after '18-'19.

My family is correct.... I'm consistently s day late...

 

[willtalk]

For me Boley is a big surprise. Pao Pao not so much. I expected her to start. I saw her play in high school and she clearly has the "IT" factor and is the real deal. Her missing a year and recovery from an ACL in high school sort of took her off the National radar a bit. The Covid also did not allow her to show her stuff in the McDonalds and Jordan Classics.

 

[DefenseBB]

To me the two biggest surprises this year is Pao Pao starting at point and Boley's all around game as she comes out of the shadow of the Big 3 and is becoming the quiet leader on this team. First off, some may have expected Paopao since Graves said she reminded him of Sabrina and her high school coach at Country Day said she was the best player he ever coached over both Candice Wiggens and Kelsey Plum. She's been the obvious starter at point as I thought he would have Taylor Chavez & Jaz Shelley starting at the 2 guards.

The bigger deal is Erin's improvement from her previous 2 years. Her all around game has been tremendous so far., especially the last 3 games once she accepted the fact that letting Mikesell play the 3 point sniper on this team is good. She's not pressing anymore to try to stand in a 3 point place to wait for a pass. She is moving all around., but still will take her 3 in the flow of the game. Her positional D has always been good, but she seems quicker with her hands and fast to the ball, getting more offensive rebounds which Ruthie and Sabrina used to scarf up. She is one of the PAC12 players who have played at least 20 min/game, who have more than 30 pts/40min. The other two are Haley Jones of Stanford and Cate Reese of Arizona, who both are under the basket players who neither have made a 3 points shot. Erin is shooting 44.4% from 3's having made 8 three pointers in the 4 games. She also is averaging better than 10 rebounds/40, 2 steals/40, and 2 assists/40. All these stats include that subpar first game agaisnt the weakest opponent where she only had 8 points and missed her 4 three pointers.

The big test will be against Oregon State in Corvallis next Sunday to see how the Ducks play and who leads the team then.

To me, when Prince is healthy, the weak spot is Mikesell. She is the least deserving starter and could struggle for playing time once the rest of the freshman hit their stride. Here career assists per game are 2.9 while her turnovers are 2.1 per game. She's a 42.5% 3 pt shooter so that's a good asset off the bench. I also think her defense is suspect. Thoughts?

 

[jonson]

To me, when Prince is healthy, the weak spot is Mikesell. She is the least deserving starter and could struggle for playing time once the rest of the freshman hit their stride. Here career assists per game are 2.9 while her turnovers are 2.1 per game. She's a 42.5% 3 pt shooter so that's a good asset off the bench. I also think her defense is suspect. Thoughts?

Although I suspect many (most?) Oregon fans feel otherwise, I agree completely. Her defense is indeed suspect, and unless she's shooting lights out from 3, I think Shelly (with her shooting woes behind her) or Chavez or even Scherr bring more to the table. I can see starting her to see if she's having one of those days, but to me the team is stronger with PaoPao + one of the other guards on the court along with Boley, Sabally, and Prince.

 

[Floridaduck]

I'm beginning to wonder if the 6'4" Dugalic can bring a similar skill set to the floor as Satou. She appears to have range out to the 3 line, floor speed, and driving ability. Nearly a double/double in limited minutes v. Utah. Early days yet but...

 

[LoTrader]

Graves has so many "good" problems to sort out. And Graves will ahead of the game by putting the lineup on the floor that can best take advantage of the opposing team. And Grave can make adjustments in game should he choose to do because he has so much skill to choose from on his bench. These are challenges that few coaches will have the opportunity to face during the course of the season. I think Tara has the same "challenge".

 

[Flyinsouth]

Satou is Who Graves referred to in describing Dugalic's skillset and potential. I thought that was hyperbole but I can see glimpses. I think they have a good one on their hands and of their fab 5 freshman so far I would rank her only behind Pao Pao in terms of game and ability to contribute.

 

[LOhunter]

I'm beginning to wonder if the 6'4" Dugalic can bring a similar skill set to the floor as Satou. She appears to have range out to the 3 line, floor speed, and driving ability. Nearly a double/double in limited minutes v. Utah. Early days yet but...

Yes, early days yet to know whether Dugalic will have similar growth as Satou but do think she is more advanced than Satou when she was a freshman. Remember hearing Sabally describing how often she was confused when she was a freshman and it took her a year to adjust to the college game and its speed. Dugalic, probably because of her work in the Serbian national team, is more ready to play right now.

 

[Figurehead]

Yes, early days yet to know whether Dugalic will have similar growth as Satou but do think she is more advanced than Satou when she was a freshman. Remember hearing Sabally describing how often she was confused when she was a freshman and it took her a year to adjust to the college game and its speed. Dugalic, probably because of her work in the Serbian national team, is more ready to play right now.

I know this has has been posted before but there are your typical guards that don't do things like this in the P-12 and Dugalic is 6 ft-4 in.

 

[Lwrc]

Although I suspect many (most?) Oregon fans feel otherwise, I agree completely. Her defense is indeed suspect, and unless she's shooting lights out from 3, I think Shelly (with her shooting woes behind her) or Chavez or even Scherr bring more to the table. I can see starting her to see if she's having one of those days, but to me the team is stronger with PaoPao + one of the other guards on the court along with Boley, Sabally, and Prince.

Got to watch the Mighty Ducks finally. Utah’s victory over Oregon State is mostly a testament to how average Oregon State is, but it seems the Ducks may have some good D this year. Sabally will be a force alongside Prince, or rotating with her by the end of the year. Mikesell looks the same as she did at Maryland, she can shoot, possibly best in country. Paopao will be a star, she’s fun to watch. Not sure what Graves is doing with the others, I would start Scherr alongside Paopao, her and Parrish are a level better players than Taylor Chavez and Jaz Shelley. The announcers talked about the returners being great shooters but with all the other offense on the floor Graves will need what Scherr and Parrish bring to the team far more than the two returning guards. My guess he’s biding time until the games get harder.
With all that said, I have a bold prediction. Erin Boley will be the Pac-12 POY.

 

[nwhoopfan]

With all that said, I have a bold prediction. Erin Boley will be the Pac-12 POY.

That is bold. I'm going Haley Jones. If not her Boley has some competition with fellow seniors Aari McDonald and Michaela Onyenwere.

 

[Anchor Town]

Boleys not gonna get the minutes that Jones will.

 

[Anchor Town]

Got to watch the Mighty Ducks finally. Utah’s victory over Oregon State is mostly a testament to how average Oregon State is, but it seems the Ducks may have some good D this year. Sabally will be a force alongside Prince, or rotating with her by the end of the year. Mikesell looks the same as she did at Maryland, she can shoot, possibly best in country. Paopao will be a star, she’s fun to watch. Not sure what Graves is doing with the others, I would start Scherr alongside Paopao, her and Parrish are a level better players than Taylor Chavez and Jaz Shelley. The announcers talked about the returners being great shooters but with all the other offense on the floor Graves will need what Scherr and Parrish bring to the team far more than the two returning guards. My guess he’s biding time until the games get harder.
With all that said, I have a bold prediction. Erin Boley will be the Pac-12 POY.

Parrish hasnt played guard yet this year. She is playing the Erin Boley role of the past two years.

 

[Shades]

With all that said, I have a bold prediction. Erin Boley will be the Pac-12 POY.

That’s a little too bold. What’s it based on?

 

[azfan]

That is bold. I'm going Haley Jones. If not her Boley has some competition with fellow seniors Aari McDonald and Michaela Onyenwere.

These four players are outstanding and any of the them would clearly make a great POV. Given the tiny sample size so far and the uncertainty moving forward I think it would be a challenge to pick from among these four.
Wonder if anyone thinks a dark horse might emerge as conference play develops? If so who might that dark horse be.

Speculation has the seniors going in the first round of the WNBA draft. Last I saw McDonald was the second rated player off the board. It'll be interesting to correlate draft expectations with performance with performance.

I think of the hype that often anticipates college football season and the Heisman. ll of the hype can at times obscure dark horse candidates who haven't received early pub.

 

[LOhunter]

Although I suspect many (most?) Oregon fans feel otherwise, I agree completely. Her defense is indeed suspect, and unless she's shooting lights out from 3, I think Shelly (with her shooting woes behind her) or Chavez or even Scherr bring more to the table. I can see starting her to see if she's having one of those days, but to me the team is stronger with PaoPao + one of the other guards on the court along with Boley, Sabally, and Prince.

Just re-watched the Utah game and Mikesell was on Maxwell for much of the game. Maxwell shot 2 for 9 and 0 for 5 from three. More, Mikesell played very strong face up D and was very disciplined. She prevented a lot of passes from getting to her. (Scherr also played very tough D but can't say based on this game that Mikesell is somehow a defensive liability.)

 

[domerduck]

Just re-watched the Utah game and Mikesell was on Maxwell for much of the game. Maxwell shot 2 for 9 and 0 for 5 from three. More, Mikesell played very strong face up D and was very disciplined. She prevented a lot of passes from getting to her. (Scherr also played very tough D but can't say based on this game that Mikesell is somehow a defensive liability.)

I agree and when you consider what Maxwell did against the Beavers yesterday (34 points, 10/15) we really shouldn't sell Mikesell's D short. Plus I like her 3.3 threes per game shooting 59%.

 

[Anchor Town]

Just re-watched the Utah game and Mikesell was on Maxwell for much of the game. Maxwell shot 2 for 9 and 0 for 5 from three. More, Mikesell played very strong face up D and was very disciplined. She prevented a lot of passes from getting to her. (Scherr also played very tough D but can't say based on this game that Mikesell is somehow a defensive liability.)

A lot of people are selling Oregons D short.

 

[LOhunter]

A lot of people are selling Oregons D short.

Don’t know why..holding the opposition to 50 points a game