Team Chemistry
by FightingIrishRadio (2018-09-24 08:54:57)

In reply to: Season approaching  posted by WAYOFJAY19_

Post Reply Return to McGraw's Bench

On paper, this is ND's most talented team ever. The five projected starters are all named on pre-season first or second All American teams. ND's four seniors are currently projected in the top 12 in next year's WNBA draft. With the return of Bri and Mikki and the addition of the freshmen, Coach McGraw will have a lot more pieces to work with this season -- how she balances playing time and player roles will be key.

Last season, Arike was the first ND player to average over 20 ppg in 20 years. She took 26% of the team's shots during the season -- and over 30% in the six NCAA games.

The three guards rarely came off the floor -- and in the NCAA's Arike and Marina averaged 39 minutes of playing time and Jackie just under 38. How will they adjust to fewer minutes? Will the team be better if Arike shoots and scores less? Last year, she stayed on the floor and shot herself out of shooting slumps -- how will that be handled this season?

Will the starters accept fewer minutes and go hard on defense from the opening tip? How will Jess and Bri adapt to each other's presence? Jess really stepped up her contribution in the NCAAs -- her scoring per game went from 15.7 in the regular season to 19.0 in the NCAAs. Her rebounds were up to 9.3 from 8.1 and her minutes to 36.2 from 29.3. She did almost all her scoring in the low post -- how will moving to the 4 affect her game?

If Jordan Nixon comes on at the point -- which guard will be off the floor? Or, will they go four around one?

How will the team handle the expectations of winning it all again?

Managing an abundance of talent is a great problem to have, but it will offer a completely different set of challenges to the ones Coach McGraw managed so masterfully last season.

One question kind of answers itself, IMO
by cbiebel  (2018-09-24 13:41:18)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Will the starters accept fewer minutes and go hard on defense from the opening tip?

If it were a case of a player who was playing a normal number of minutes then getting their playing time cut you'd have a point, but we're dealing with players who played pretty much the entire game going down to what would be a normal number of minutes.

Since they were playing the whole game, they had to be careful in the 2nd quarter. With the backups on the bench, they are now free to be more aggressive, which is what I think they want be anyway. Mabrey wants to go for that ball on defense. Ogunbowale wants to drive harder to the basket. The players are looking to draw charges. It wasn't until halfway through the UT game last year that they finally figured out how to reign in their impulses to adjust to the injuries.