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Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 5059363, member: 12088"] I am totally with you on this post, both about Nika and about Watkins and about Raven. Being a great defender isn't about athleticism taken in isolation. It's about knowing your position, getting to your spots, getting the switches right, calling out screens and so on. This is exactly why Nika was so good. Also, a ton of tenacity didn't hurt. This is also why Ash is becoming a great defender, and KK too. Give them another year to master their craft and they'll give Nika a run for her money as premier defenders. I'd say Raven has similar qualities as Nika and these are what will get her drafted this year. Paige is a great defender for a slightly different reason. She's crafty, she's lanky, and she reads situations better than anyone in D1. She may not have Nika's fire, though she's close. Of course she knows her role in the system. But she also knows when to take a chance, shoot the gap and get in the passing lanes. And she does one other thing very few players do. On passes -- especially inbounds passes -- she plays the ball not the passer. She doesn't just jump up and down waving her arms. She looks to grab the ball. She's made lots of steals, tips and deflections this way over the years. One other player who does this on defense is Sarah Strong. I'm really looking forward to watching her play defense as much as offense. Finally, I don't know who floated this idea, but there is no way Ashlyn Watkins is quicker than Paige, much less Hannah Hidalgo. Not in this universe. She is a very quick very strong 6'2" player and very athletic. She's quicker than Ayanna Patterson who also runs the court very well. [/QUOTE]

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