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She's a rising junior who kind of got buried on the depth chart when Justine Pissott, Aga Makurat and Khamil Pierre joined the team this year. Hate to see it because she is a wonderful kid and can really shoot it. Struggled some with coach Ralph's defensive demands. There is one more in her class that had a similar experience in terms of playing time, so I'm wondering what her decision will be. Wishing nothing but the best to Ryanne. I'll definitely be following her career. She's a Philly girl, so maybe she winds up closer to home.

 
Vandy will play in the first annual Acrisure Invitational Holiday Tourney on Nov. 26-27 in Plam Desert, Calif. The Dores will face Arizona in the opening round while Michigan State and California will face off in the other first-round game. The winners and losers will play each other the next day.

 

She seems a little short to be a forward, but in that picture she looks to have long arms that could help defend under the basket. Do you think she will move into the wing or continue playing forward?
 
She seems a little short to be a forward, but in that picture she looks to have long arms that could help defend under the basket. Do you think she will move into the wing or continue playing forward?
I don't know a lot about her, but from the little bit of film I've seen and what I've read, I expect her to play limited minutes at the 3 and the 4. Those positions are already crowded with Khamil Pierre, Justine Pissott, Aga Makurat and Jordyn Oliver fighting for playing time. That squeeze for floor time already cost the Dores one player in the portal as sophomore Ryanne Allen, a great shooter, found herself fifth in a rotation for two positions. I suspect Nwaba will fill a similar role as Allen.

I'm thinking coach Ralph sees her as player to provide defense and rebounding off the bench. She can't shoot a lick from distance, but it seems she can be versatile on the defensive end.

Vandy already had 11 players returning next year, and only one of those will be a senior. I'm thinking Shea wants to continue developing those kids while bringing in a player like Nwaba to provide maturity and defensive energy off the bench.

I've felt Vandy would probably add two players this year in the portal, three at most. They could use a bit of depth at guard while waiting for rising sophomore Madison Greene to heal from an ACL injury last November. Greene's loss was a heartbreaker a she was coming on like gangbusters when injured. I think she'll be back good as new. The question is how long it will take her to get there.
 
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Athletic Director Candice Storey Lee talks about Shea Ralph and a couple more things.

 
Does VU have any size coming in? Poor Sacha needs help!
 
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Wanted to include this on the Vandy thread.



An interesting pickup, and an unusual player. A pitiful offensive player her first 2 years at PSU, who couldn't figure out what is a good shot for her, and shot a poor percentage, especially in conference (46.7% from 2 her sophomore yr, 17.9% from 3, 60.9% at the line). Not a PG on offense - a bad perimeter shooter, more turnovers every year than assists, and low total assists.

But in her 3rd year, with PSU having lots of perimeter options, Kapinus could shoot like a power forward/guard, close in to the basket, and with selective, largely wide open perimeter shots for the player who would take the 6th most 3s on her team. Her percentages skyrocketed her junior year, 63% from 2, 41% from 3, though only 64.1% from the line, 55.9% in conference. She led her team in rebounds, turnovers, steals and blocks, an unusual statistical profile.

On the offensive end, she has an unusual game, and it will be interesting to see if Vandy can replicate her very good junior year. If Vandy tries to make her a perimeter force, or a facilitator, disaster awaits.

On the defensive end, a very good rebounder and a very good, versatile physical defender (overly physical for my stylistic preference), with 13 foul-outs over the last 2 seasons. But if my Boneyard education is correct, the SEC may be a better fit for her and her physical defense.

I will have to watch more Vandy games next season to see how she does.
 
An interesting pickup, and an unusual player. A pitiful offensive player her first 2 years at PSU, who couldn't figure out what is a good shot for her, and shot a poor percentage, especially in conference (46.7% from 2 her sophomore yr, 17.9% from 3, 60.9% at the line). Not a PG on offense - a bad perimeter shooter, more turnovers every year than assists, and low total assists.

But in her 3rd year, with PSU having lots of perimeter options, Kapinus could shoot like a power forward/guard, close in to the basket, and with selective, largely wide open perimeter shots for the player who would take the 6th most 3s on her team. Her percentages skyrocketed her junior year, 63% from 2, 41% from 3, though only 64.1% from the line, 55.9% in conference. She led her team in rebounds, turnovers, steals and blocks, an unusual statistical profile.

On the offensive end, she has an unusual game, and it will be interesting to see if Vandy can replicate her very good junior year. If Vandy tries to make her a perimeter force, or a facilitator, disaster awaits.

On the defensive end, a very good rebounder and a very good, versatile physical defender (overly physical for my stylistic preference), with 13 foul-outs over the last 2 seasons. But if my Boneyard education is correct, the SEC may be a better fit for her and her physical defense.

I will have to watch more Vandy games next season to see how she does.
Thanks for the insight. Actually, what you point to as her strengths is exactly what Vandy needs. Coach Ralph has some outside shooters who do not thrive with the physical play near the basket. If she plays defense, rebounds and shoots a good percentage inside 15 feet, she'll be a big help.
 
Does VU have any size coming in? Poor Sacha needs help!
Sorry. I overlooked this post.

You’re right. Sacha needs some help. We have a 6’4 rising sophomore, Aiyana Mitchell, who showed flashes last season, but Shea just never seemed to get to the point where she trusted her completely. She praised her at midseason, saying after a slow start she had caught up, and she expected her to help in conference play. Still, when it came down to it, she played very little. She’s fast and athletic and has some skills around the basket.

There’s a 6’3 freshman coming in, Trinity Wilson, who played on the North Tartan EYBL team out of Minnesota with Maddyn Grreenway and Aaliyah Crump, two highly touted recruits. She seems to have a true post mentality and doesn’t wander out of the paint very often on offense. She’s not one of these slender, grey-hound types. I’m hoping she and Mitchell in some combination will provide some relief for Sacha.

Shea has some Geno in her makeup. Every game seemed close, and as the pressure mounted late in the season to make the tournament, the rotation seemed to tighten. Quite a few games with only seven getting meaningful minutes.
 
Sorry. I overlooked this post.

You’re right. Sacha needs some help. We have a 6’4 rising sophomore, Aiyana Mitchell, who showed flashes last season, but Shea just never seemed to get to the point where she trusted her completely. She praised her at midseason, saying after a slow start she had caught up, and she expected her to help in conference play. Still, when it came down to it, she played very little. She’s fast and athletic and has some skills around the basket.

There’s a 6’3 freshman coming in, Trinity Wilson, who played on the North Tartan EYBL team out of Minnesota with Maddyn Grreenway and Aaliyah Crump, two highly touted recruits. She seems to have a true post mentality and doesn’t wander out of the paint very often on offense. She’s not one of these slender, grey-hound types. I’m hoping she and Mitchell in some combination will provide some relief for Sacha.

Shea has some Geno in her makeup. Every game seemed close, and as the pressure mounted late in the season to make the tournament, the rotation seemed to tighten. Quite a few games with only seven getting meaningful minutes.
Thanks for your thoughts. Keep them coming!
 
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The SEC released opponents for each team today. Vandy's lone home/home opponent will be Ole Miss. In previous years, there were three home/home opponents. When Oklahoma and Texas joined, the league decided to stay at 16 conference games, so there can be only one home/home foe. That team will rotate each season.

 
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Shea's response:

“I’m tremendously grateful for this supporter’s generosity and excited to see our community rise to the challenge offered,” women’s basketball head coach Shea Ralph said. “Memorial Gymnasium at full roar is an unsurpassed home-court advantage on game day, and the operations center and practice facility will provide an invaluable at-home advantage every day for our student-athletes, coaches and staff. This will be a home where our basketball family can grow and thrive for years to come.”
 
Dores on the road for the second year in a row in ACC-SEC Challenge. It's OK. We play better on the road. :p

 
Is it too early to whine about schedules? I think I'm justified, so I'm going for it.

Vandy’s SEC road schedule can only be described as brutal this season. Looking at last year’s final standings, we play number 2 (LSU), 3 (Ole Miss) and 4 (Alabama) on the road (we also play Ole Miss at home). Add to that the two newcomers, Texas, which could challenge South Carolina for the conference title, and by extension, the national title, along with Oklahoma, which actually won the Big 12 regular-season crown over Texas last year. They return most of that team and added one of the nation’s top true post players, Reagan Beers, through the portal.

It would not be out of the question to predict those five teams, who were 64-20 in their respective conferences last year, will be among the top-six in this year’s standings, along with South Carolina.

If my paranoia kicked in, I’d be tempted to say someone at the SEC office didn’t like seeing upstart Vandy rising up to sixth place in the standings last season. I actually don’t believe that. I think the conference powers would actually be happy to see Vandy do well, maybe especially in basketball where there is a history of success.

I have no clue how the schedule is constructed. Whatever the process was, it sure didn’t favor the Commodores this time around.

Road Games
Oklahoma 15-3 (Big 12)
Texas 14-4 (Big 12)
LSU 13-3
Ole Miss 12-4
Alabama 10-6
Auburn 8-8
Florida 5-11
Missouri 2-14
 
Is it too early to whine about schedules? I think I'm justified, so I'm going for it.

Vandy’s SEC road schedule can only be described as brutal this season. Looking at last year’s final standings, we play number 2 (LSU), 3 (Ole Miss) and 4 (Alabama) on the road (we also play Ole Miss at home). Add to that the two newcomers, Texas, which could challenge South Carolina for the conference title, and by extension, the national title, along with Oklahoma, which actually won the Big 12 regular-season crown over Texas last year. They return most of that team and added one of the nation’s top true post players, Reagan Beers, through the portal.

It would not be out of the question to predict those five teams, who were 64-20 in their respective conferences last year, will be among the top-six in this year’s standings, along with South Carolina.

If my paranoia kicked in, I’d be tempted to say someone at the SEC office didn’t like seeing upstart Vandy rising up to sixth place in the standings last season. I actually don’t believe that. I think the conference powers would actually be happy to see Vandy do well, maybe especially in basketball where there is a history of success.

I have no clue how the schedule is constructed. Whatever the process was, it sure didn’t favor the Commodores this time around.

Road Games
Oklahoma 15-3 (Big 12)
Texas 14-4 (Big 12)
LSU 13-3
Ole Miss 12-4
Alabama 10-6
Auburn 8-8
Florida 5-11
Missouri 2-14
Gads
 
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