Was Tiffany Mitchell A Steal?

[malevocalist#]

Sure starting to look that way.

Not a good game from Hayes today...Everyone's entitled to a bad day. She will bounce back.

Hartley? Love her, if only she could develop some consistency.

Let's go Stewie.

Would love to see Tuck get some more minutes. But it's a rookie season. She'll be alright. Clouds can't hold back the sun forever.

 

[SCGamecock]

At #9 in the draft, probably.. Mitchell had a great college career but her game is suited for the pros. She's getting the spacing and ball movement needed to thrive and it's showing.

 

[mkwstar23]

not to be negative but makes you wonder why South Carolina was not even more dominant the last two years...she is a very talented young offensive player

 

[Plebe]

not to be negative but makes you wonder why South Carolina was not even more dominant the last two years...she is a very talented young offensive player

She's only one player. South Carolina fell just a whisker shy of the national championship game two years ago and played a flat game against a hot Syracuse team in this year's Sweet 16. With UConn being what they were the past two years, the ceiling on SC's potential wasn't that much higher than what it achieved.

 

[SCGamecock]

not to be negative but makes you wonder why South Carolina was not even more dominant the last two years...she is a very talented young offensive player

The University of Connecticut.

 

[JordyG]

Players with size who can create off the dribble will thrive in the pro game, men and women. Both leagues remain isolation oriented and those kinds of players do well. Things tend to change come playoff time when defenses clamp down and ball movement becomes more important.

 

[Fightin Choke]

At #9 in the draft, probably.. Mitchell had a great college career but her game is suited for the pros. She's getting the spacing and ball movement needed to thrive and it's showing.

I wouldn't say that, as her college game was amazing in her sophomore and junior years. I think the injury slowed her down her senior year, and that scared off a lot of WNBA teams. I think the Gamecocks were focused on post play as well, as opposed to featuring Tiffany. But Mitchell is showing us all how truly good she is this summer. And she's only a rookie!

 

[Wbbfan1]

Definitely would have liked the Sun to pick Mitchell over Banham. Definitely a steal at #9 like Kiah was last year at #11.

 

[malevocalist#]

Definitely would have liked the Sun to pick Mitchell over Banham. Definitely a steal at #9 like Kiah was last year at #11.

You right about that one. Suns like most got caught up in the Banham media hype - And not to say she won't turn out to be a good pro.

But it goes to show with some of these players - who are not listed as the top 3 coming out of college - that you really have to do your homework.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

The Gamecocks have been one player away the last 2 years. I think they will be better in 2016-17 by the end of the season, but may start slow while acclimating the newcomers.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Tiffany is playing very well as a rookie, better than I expected.

 

[CocoHusky]

not to be negative but makes you wonder why South Carolina was not even more dominant the last two years...she is a very talented young offensive player

Two years ago South Carolina lost to UCONN KY, and ND only. This year South Carolina lost to UCONN and Syracuse. 5 losses in two years is pretty dominant.

 

[mkwstar23]

sorry meant championships dominant...apologize

 

[easttexastrash]

Mitchell will probably finish second to Stewart in ROY votes. She is playing like she has been in the league 5 years.

I am really disappointed that Phoenix is not giving Williams an opportunity. Phoenix is an aging team and they need an injection of energy and I really think Williams could add a spark that lights a fire under their butts.

I really like that Brondello is using Harrison more and more, who, at times, looks to be a much better fit than Griner at center in this offense than. Phoenix is going to jack up a lot of long range shots, which result in long rebounds, and Harrison is better than Griner at moving to those balls.

 

[j66kicker]

I really like that Brondello is using Harrison more and more, who, at times, looks to be a much better fit than Griner at center in this offense than. Phoenix is going to jack up a lot of long range shots, which result in long rebounds, and Harrison is better than Griner at moving to those balls.

Then change the offense. You have Brittney Griner for gosh sakes - can't she figure out an offense to to do something with that. I mean, she coaches DT and Griner in Russia during the regular season too...#$%^&*##!!??

 

[bballnut90]

The Gamecocks have been one player away the last 2 years. I think they will be better in 2016-17 by the end of the season, but may start slow while acclimating the newcomers.

IMO perimeter shooting has been their downfall, although they weren't ever remotely competitive against Connecticut, so I don't think adding 1 more player (unless it was a bonafide POY type of player) would have made much of a difference.

Going into next season, on paper they seem to have all the pieces besides the PG slot. They have the posts in Wilson/Coates, and 2 really good perimeter scorers in Davis/Gray. Cuevas is a terrifying prospect to have running that team. She has moments where she plays quite well and is a burst of energy, but she can also single handidly sink the ship. People have compared her to Swanier, which I think is a solid comparison to Swanier as a freshman, but Swanier developed into a very controlled top rate point guard by her senior year. She was darn good at pacing the game and playing smart basketball by the time she graduated. Whether or not Cuevas can make the same switch that Swanier did remains to be seen.

 

[easttexastrash]

Then change the offense. You have Brittney Griner for gosh sakes - can't she figure out an offense to to do something with that. I mean, she coaches DT and Griner in Russia during the regular season too...#$%^&*##!!??

Brondello is not going to change the offense. She has superstars on the perimeter who will be the focus of the offense until they retire.

Look at what Minnesota did with Fowles tonight. They go to her over and over, forcing BG to play hard defense on every trip. Fowles isn't under nearly the same stress on defense that BG is because Phoenix doesn't give BG the ball enough to allow her to get Fowles into foul trouble.

I will really be interested in seeing how Geno uses BG this summer. There will be so much talent on the court that he will not really need to use her the way Phoenix needs to be using her.

I really hope he works with her on a few items that I see where she needs to improve. One of those things is to quit reaching with her hands on her player. She is keeping her hands around her player's waist, which puts her at jeopardy of picking up fouls.

Griner has a tendency to go after a rebound with the palm of her hand facing down instead of coming from under the ball. The result is that she ends up pushing the ball down to the court instead of securing it. And she taps a lot of balls out hoping to get the ball to her teammates. These are balls that she could just as easily tap into the air to give herself a chance to then go back up for the rebound.

 

[easttexastrash]

Brondello is not going to change the offense. She has superstars on the perimeter who will be the focus of the offense until they retire.

Look at what Minnesota did with Fowles tonight. They go to her over and over, forcing BG to play hard defense on every trip. Fowles isn't under nearly the same stress on defense that BG is because Phoenix doesn't give BG the ball enough to allow her to get Fowles into foul trouble.

I will really be interested in seeing how Geno uses BG this summer. There will be so much talent on the court that he will not really need to use her the way Phoenix needs to be using her.

I really hope he works with her on a few items that I see where she needs to improve. One of those things is to quit reaching with her hands on her player. She is keeping her hands around her player's waist, which puts her at jeopardy of picking up fouls.

Griner has a tendency to go after a rebound with the palm of her hand facing down instead of coming from under the ball. The result is that she ends up pushing the ball down to the court instead of securing it. And she taps a lot of balls out hoping to get the ball to her teammates. These are balls that she could just as easily tap into the air to give herself a chance to then go back up for the rebound.

But please, please, please, don't have her setting picks for the guards 25 and 30 feet from the basket. There is no need for your 6-8 center to be any farther out than the FT line. Is that really where you want them to use their fouls? And please pound it into her brain that a player who is shooting 95% from the FT line should not hesitate to take the shot if she is open 15 - 18 feet from the basket.

But only time may teach her that she cannot try to block every foul, especially when she is in foul trouble. The benefit from getting one block does not equal sitting on the bench for 5-8 minutes.

 

[baggerbob]

But please, please, please, don't have her setting picks for the guards 25 and 30 feet from the basket. There is no need for your 6-8 center to be any farther out than the FT line. Is that really where you want them to use their fouls? And please pound it into her brain that a player who is shooting 95% from the FT line should not hesitate to take the shot if she is open 15 - 18 feet from the basket.

But only time may teach her that she cannot try to block every foul, especially when she is in foul trouble. The benefit from getting one block does not equal sitting on the bench for 5-8 minutes.

Someone needs to teach her how to establish rebounding position, and to go after rebounds hard. She picks up many of her fouls on 2nd chance shots. She may never be a great rebounder, but with her ability should average at least 9 every game.

 

[easttexastrash]

Then change the offense. You have Brittney Griner for gosh sakes - can't she figure out an offense to to do something with that. I mean, she coaches DT and Griner in Russia during the regular season too...#$%^&*##!!??

I really wish Geno had coached BG in college because I guarantee that we would be looking at a player for which there would be no comparison. I have watched almost every game of hers since she arrived at Baylor and I see so many nuances in her game that could changed to keep her improving.

 

[easttexastrash]

Someone needs to teach her how to establish rebounding position, and to go after rebounds hard. She picks up many of her fouls on 2nd chance shots. She may never be a great rebounder, but with her ability should average at least 9 every game.

I agree. I think part of her rebounding woes come from her extra large feet and not having the quick footwork required to get to rebounds quickly. But a certain part of her rebounding problems come from how she is positioning herself. Watch her when she is set up to rebound when the opponent is shooting free throws. She often faces her opponent instead of pinning her opponent on her back and blocking her out. Who taught her that?

I believe that if she goes after rebounds too hard that she will pick up fouls since she is not as fleet of foot as the other players. I do think that she often backs off on rebounds due to fear of fouling.