In regards to Sam:
- See a bunch of Della Donne, Kat and Shep;
- Speaking of Jess Shepard, will be interesting to see what facets of her game we see in 18-19, now that she's moving to the high post;
- In high school she plays low a lot, in part because she both can and has to. With ND, it will be interesting to see what the coaches think her strengths are and where that positions her (wind, top of the key, etc.)
and in regards to Jackie:
- Because of quick feet, jumping ability and nose for the ball, Jackie has done well at the wing or "slightly-bigger guard" position as I call it.
- Don't see Sam as her successor there. Rather I see MM & Niele going after Haley Jones to fill that role. Jones is an inch taller than Jackie and slightly bigger build, but has a lot of the same attributes and versatility.
- If Jones does come here -- depending on how good she is frosh year -- I could see Jackie moving to the "off guard" role and concentrate a bit more on her outside game.
- I think the Jones recruitment is one of the more interesting question marks left in 2019: MM clearly wants her but so does virtually every top program, including UConn, Stanford and Oregon. Diamond Miller was probably an option, but she committed to Maryland. Is Breanna Beal or Kristin Bell still in play (if at all)? Or -- if Jones goes elsewhere -- does MM wait to go after a wing with the class of 2020? (Sydney Parrish, Maddie Westbeld or a seemingly still growing Ali Campbell?)
Stay tuned.
She reminds me of a shorter Delle Donne. She doesn't have Delle Donne's unstoppable one-on-one offensive ability but she is similar as a 4 that can score at all levels (3-point, midrange, post). On the other hand, she may be more of a passer than Delle Donne who has never been known for assists.
Also like Delle Donne, she's better defensively that she probably gets credit for because she has some shot-blocking ability and is a good rebounder.
Alternatively, I've thought of her as a longer Westbeld with the "deluxe scoring package" equipped. Kat could hit the occasional long jumper but her perimeter shooting was mostly theoretical. Sam will let her jumper fly much more often. Like Kat, Sam appears to be the consummate team player and a leader.
One more: One of the threads below has a link to a USA v. Canada game. The first play of the game is Sam throwing a Jess Shepard-like overhead pass to Aliyah Boston for an easy 2.
I’d say she’s a more athletic version of Kat with probably a bit better range. Maybe a mix of Kat and Jackie.
Like Jackie she chews gum when she plays.
Like Marina she has a burning desire to be the best and will rain threes.
Like Arike she can and will shoot from anywhere on the court.
Like Kat she will hit a big bucket and immediately turn and run back on defense.
Like Jess she passes the ball quickly with grace and dexterity.
Like Anaya she has another year to play high school ball so we can all get to know her game.
But I would say, like Jess, Sam will bang some bodies, get position and score around the basket consistently.