Beating #20 Maryland like they are a SoCon team. Giving off '24 Vibes. That season started in Paris as well.
Our Girls looking scary good
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I tuned in because of your post. Looks exactly the WNBA out there. Horrible passes, turnovers, can't make layups. It's painful to watch.
It's like trying to watch a lumberjack cut a tree down with his teeth, with no arms. IDK what that is, but it's not basketball.
Yeah for real.I hope all our games against SoCon teams aren't this close!
Hopefully, the 2nd half performance contains plenty of "learning moments" that Dawn can exploit to keep the team grounded and fine-tuned.
Didn't mean for my post to come across as harsh as it did. It is painful to watch though. It seemed to me like the girls were trying too hard to blow them out, and as a result, they kinda lost focus and were pushing too hard and too fast. I'm sure the emphasis will be on recognizing that moment, slowing down a bit, and getting focused on making good 2 point shots and then taking the fast breaks when they present themselves.
Of course, Dawn could have done that with a few timeouts but she didn't take them.....probably to let her players get the experience of what not to do - ish, letting them fight through it, etc.
You didn't have to. I don't get your problem along with some others. If you don't like it. Fine. Don't watch it. It's like it offends you that others care to tune in. You can't control what others do.
Yep, that second half was rough. Played like we thought the game was over especially defensively. We gave up 60 points in the second half. That is just unacceptable.I hope all our games against SoCon teams aren't this close!
Hopefully, the 2nd half performance contains plenty of "learning moments" that Dawn can exploit to keep the team grounded and fine-tuned.
Relax, man.
I tuned in because I wanted to watch. I should have said, had it not been for your post I wouldn't have known they were playing and I'm glad you made the post. I saw some other girls "waiting their turn" in the tunnel right before the game was over so I assume it's a tournament of some sort in Paris, which is cool. And now that I know, I'll probably watch the next game they play as well. I also posted what I think is a fairly fair assessment of what I saw and I'm sure they'll work on it. Watching the lady G's play is more like watching normal basketball than anything I've seen in the Wnba.
And I was excited to see Dawn get that "white girl" from overseas last year.....don't know her name but I know she can dunk based on the highlights I saw of her and I want to see her dunk in one of our games. -- Having said all of that, at times, it is painful to watch. Less so with the lady G's cause they're so talented and athletic, which is good.
The "quality" depth with this squad is downright unparallel .... goodness! If there were anything extra to wish for, it would be a 6'5"/6" center with some bulk (Aly Tournebize does not have the bulk, but boy she can be very good ... thinking especially after another year in this program) ... looking forward to watching them play ... nice to have a team that is THE standard overall in the sport ... also, being a father of three girls and having coached some girls b'ball, I love it ...
I'm cool. Your initial post did come off a little crazy. Like some of those WNBA posts. It's a new season. It's our Gamecocks.
To be clear, I'm good with college girls / women basketball. IMHO, that's the sweet spot. There's no pre-game fashion shows like the WNBA girls do. (Some of them anyway)
And yeah, Aly Tournebize, that's her name!! I want to see her do this during one of our games.
They have to respect their opponent better than that though. It came a little too easy for them in the first half. Also, the Mack girl from Maryland got red hot in the 2nd half. I looked her bio up and she wasn't even a Top 100 recruit coming out of high school. Our girls probably never heard of her and got a little bit disrespectful. Lucky we had a 30 point cushion or we could have taken an embarrassing L.
I’m not a fan of WBB but I’ve watched some today and I must say it’s really bad basketball.
We missed Raven out there today, alot, she would have shut down their shooter and wouldnt have made all those transition turnovers we had when they pressed, Dawn will get it figured out, but in the next few games expect the same until Tessa, Jordan, Jerzy and Agot get it figured out bringing the ball up, and one of them needs to step up and be "that girl" that shuts down the opposing shooter. We will face alot of them in Booker, JuJu, Chavez, Blakes. I thought Lee might be that girl but she struggled defending today, hopefully that gets fixed asap.
why did Tournebize only play for 3 min? Sure 2 fouls but in France?
If you watched the USC Men's team over the past few years, you should be used to watching bad basketball. Men's team was not only bad the last couple of years, but there were many instances where I saw a lack of competitive spirit too. They would just lay down and get the brakes beat off of themselves.
We all view things through our own lens and from my lens, I enjoy watching WBB played by our Lady Gamecocks. For the most part, they are unselfish (think the Anti-Angel Reese group) and are very coachable (again, Reese). They listen to their coach and play with a lot of freedom and within the system. Women do not have the strength nor the incredible jumping ability so IMO, skill set is that much more important. I sort of liken this to hockey. In America, we love watching fights ... it has become our DNA in many ways. But watching European teams who rarely fight and watching them on the ice going end to end is a thing of beauty. Watching Women's basketball, with top notch players and not playing like Reese, it too, is a thing of beauty. To each their own and these 15 on the squad are just incredible and deep! The additions (Lee, Robinson, etc.) are going to help tremendously .... let's enjoy my friends (oh, and having 4-5 girls on your team that can slam the ball ... pretty impressive) ....
Lots to be excited about. Some observations:
That 3rd and 4th quarter were rough. Defensive intensity wasn’t there. Jordan Lee and Joyce Edwards defense was non-existent. Joyce needs to pass more! It was concerning that we could barely break Maryland’s trap in the 4th with Makeer and Robinson looking totally inept at dribbling past the mid court. It looked like Kitts and Watkins lost a step, so hopefully they continue to get to game speed. I’ve never liked Dawn’s constant tinkering with lineups during game time and her refusal to call timeouts—like bruh, cummon Dawn. Tournebize just does not impress; she’s a foul machine. Letting Addi Mack run wild was disheartening—Lee needs to step it up—this ain’t Texas.
The good: This team is sooooo explosive! Getting it up the court for fast break points was AMAZING! And Jerzy Robinson is going to be a star—that frame and aggressiveness was impressive. Makeer is our secret weapon; she’s so smooth and that 3-pt shooting is A++. This team can beat anybody anytime.
Get out on the court big guy. I would love to see Jerzy Robinson truck you.
One thing I am not comfortable with is Tessa playing so much as a POA defender. Defending wings like Madison Booker and defending PGs that have the quickness of a Milaysia Fulwiley are different tasks. Tessa is a solid defender, but I don't see her as a player that can guard 1 through 4 like Raven did. Raven was a special defensive talent. I think we lose again to Iowa in '24 if not for Raven being switched onto Caitlin Clark. Remember Caitlin exploded for 18 points in that 1st quarter and we were down double digits. Raven cut her water off and we were off to the races. It's going to be a process finding our defensive footing without her. We have the offense. Defense and Rebounding will determine whether we get back to where we want to go.
We've got all these wonderful pieces but might be undone by a fatal flaw.
Most guys that actually played basketball appreciate what the girls do. I have trained young girls and they can do all of the fundamentals that the guys can do. In training and coaching young girls They just can't do it with the explosion, balance and quickness that the guys do it with. Also, they are playing with the same vertical standard that the guys have (10 feet) yet girls are usually about 6 inches shorter at each position. So, the game is going to look different. No, you won't see the dunking and acrobatic finishes that you see in the men's game. However, I challenge anyone to show me anything else in the men's game that you don't see in the women's game. Draw the defense and pass out for a 3? The women's game has that. Footwork by bigs in the post? Actually, the women's game has more of that because the men's game has practically abandoned it. Euro-steps and deceleration around the rim? Women's game has that. Step-back 3s? Women's Game has that.Get out on the court big guy. I would love to see Jerzy Robinson truck you.
We're fine King. I know that second half feels like a loss, but we did just beat the #20 ranked team by 8 on a neutral floor. I, also, believe Maryland is a little underrated. Maryland beat North Carolina in an exhibition game before going to Paris. UNC came into the season ranked #12. We could have been like the Tar Heels yesterday. They went over to Paris as well and got beat by Oklahoma. So, the Tar Heels will be a team desperate for a win when we play on Sunday. The season is going to come at us fast and furious from here.
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I definitely trust in Dawn—she’s a GOAT for a reason—but the defensive lapse and heavy breathing in the 3/4th was noticeable to me. Again, we play our schedule for the end results, so I can be patient. I don’t think we’ll go undefeated this season—I just get that sense that we need some time until Spring to gel all these star players and figure out the PG & defensive schemes. We have some very very good opposing players coming up before Jan. 1st!
It was a solid win over a ranked team.
I love that they were challenged in the 2nd half. Tough games now build reserves for the season and March. Based on all the press they are getting , they could have mailed in the game yesterday thinking that they will win just because
They found out otherwise- but most importantly- they found out and still won. That's the best of both worlds.
Dawn can teach much more based on this game than if they had won by 40 points. Early season is for teaching and experimenting and finding out what players will be prepared for the season and what lineups work and which ones need some work.
I love that they were challenged in the 2nd half. Tough games now build reserves for the season and March. Based on all the press they are getting , they could have mailed in the game yesterday thinking that they will win just because
They found out otherwise- but most importantly- they found out and still won. That's the best of both worlds.
Dawn can teach much more based on this game than if they had won by 40 points. Early season is for teaching and experimenting and finding out what players will be prepared for the season and what lineups work and which ones need some work.
Respectful question: Why do they all have such trouble with layups? Is it a depth perception thing?
And, whatever the problem is with layups, why hasn't there been a solution to fix it? Like a coaching technique or something to identify the problem, and correct the problem for the ladies?
And, IMHO, in another decade, I think we'll see the girls / women dunking pretty regularly. I could be wrong but I think it's coming.
They don't have the balance of the guys. So, they can be knocked off balance easier with defensive pressure. However, you would be surprised how many layups and finishes the guys smoke during the course of a game. There is only a 4% difference in the FG percentages of the top guys over the top girls. Girls, on average, shoot around 42-44% from the field. The guys, on average, shoot around 46-48% from the field. So, a lot of this fuss is over the guys making 3-4 more shots per game. It looks different, but the girls are putting the ball in the hoop too.
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Ok. Appreciate the answer.
Maybe I'm just focusing in on it too much. I understand the balance thing and getting knocked around by defenders but I was more referring to fast breaks and I didn't make that clear. But the %'s are the %'s. Can't argue with the numbers.
I personally find both fighting and storming the playing surface after a win unappealing. And add blinking lights after a score too.
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