She is a female Jahlil Okafor. She is all but unstoppable inside eight feet. She has McHale / Okafor moves and counter-moves. I wouldn't call her a ball hog because she will pass when she is outside of 8 feet. But inside, the ball is going up.

Her rebounding is good but not great. She is not a great athlete and is not a leaper.

She has lead sneakers on defense. Unlike Okafor, she at least seems to give an effort.

I would definitely want her on my team, so long as my WNBA team wasn't committed to the run, a la the Irish.

Gustafson is small for a center at 6'3 and not especially quick. Some of the 4s are bigger than her and more athletic (e.g. 6'5 A'ja Wilson and 6'4 Breanna Stewart). I see her as a defensive liability in the W.

Offensively, she is an extraordinary scorer, but that Iowa offense is completely tailored to her. A pro offense will not be.

With her excellent technique, I think she can still score at the next level but it will be more difficult against folks like Griner and Fowles.

She did have 6 assists last night but had just 28 in 16 games prior to that. Compare to Shepard - 52 assists in 17 games.

She'll make a WNBA roster, but I see her as a backup. I don't see her as an above-average WNBA starter. (But I've been wildly wrong before).

Gustafson ended up with 26 points on 11-16 shooting and 10 rebounds - but quite a few of those stats were in garbage time and against backups.

I'd say she has a similar game to Jess Shepard but not as athletic or mobile, but I've only seen her in the game against ND and a few highlights here or there

ND was subbing most of the starters. She is a very good, reliable player, but a strong team (like ND) will take her out of game until it doesn't matter.

- Very strong rebounder
- Passes Well (had 6 assists last night again Michigan)
- Works hard overall, but works really hard to establish position in the low post.
- And once she gets the hall, the soft hook from either side is virtually unstoppable, like Jess.
- Nice J from the foul line.

Down side:
- First steps not as quick as Jess
- Does not have ability to get up and down the court as quickly as, say, Brianna, but she does run (no walking that I've seen)
- At the next level, she won't have quite the size advantage against some of the WNBA's larger centers that she's had in the B1G. In fact, she'll be at a disadvantage against the Griners and Fowles of the world.

But I think she could definitely be an asset to a WNBA team that likes to run a set offense due to her work ethic and finely honed technique. Could see her making a roster for sure. And maybe more....

Compare that to McCowan and what her coach said about her just last night:

"Teaira McCowan -- she's one of the all-time greatest when she's hooked up and playing," (MSU Coach Vic) Schaefer said. "She's been really interested the last two ballgames. I like this side of T. She's been really interested, very focused on technique and very determined."

You won't have to worry about Gustafson "being interested."

I have seen Megan play 10 or so times. She is definitely a superb player and will definitely make a WNBA roster. Changing topic, I watched Brea Beal last night break the conference scoring record, men's or women's. I totally trust MM, but SC is getting one hell of a player.

..after all, that's one of the reasons we're here: share/exchange information.

I've watched Gustafson on B1G Network a little last year, and a bunch this year. So any input --- whether you've been in the stands or watched on TV -would be great.

BTW, I think she'll make a WNBA team, but think she'll do better with those that have a more deliberate pace.

Thanks for input on Beal. What do you think is/are her best asset(s)?

I know the coaching staff went out to see her at an open house once and after that, kind of crickets.

go to 2-3 Iowa games a year. Gustafson plays a lot like JS, maybe not as quick footed so not on same level defensively. She has a high bb IQ and is able to make the team play better as a result. If surrounded by same level of teammates as ND's post players I think she would look even better. As you noted she is more suited to a half court offense rather than a fast paced one. Iowa is a solid team, but a tier lower than the Irish. Bluder is a good coach, but not MM level. I followed her a bit during her tenure at St. Ambrose.

We have also gone to 2-3 Rocky games a year. About 3 years ago I posted that I thought Beal was a carbon copy of JL. I may temper that a bit now as I don't think she is quite as fluid as Jewel. She has the ability to take over a game, but tends to play too unselfishly at times. I have only seen highlights of Brunelle's play. I think MM and ND cooled on Beal when SB was considered headed to the Irish.

...the Bball IQ of Gustafson is a definite and the point about her doing just as well with better players makes me think of how she'd work with the Irish.

The Beal wing position is interesting. Beal is what, 6' or 6'1"? Brunelle is a definite 6'2". Don't know where Sam will end up at ND but I'm not sure she has the foot speed to play wing defense. On the other hand, with ND in a zone so much, I could see her in a 2-3. Still I'm betting she is the heir apparent to the Kat Westbeld slot.

Keep posting!

Also, what position did Mrs. 72 play? My sister was a shooting high post in the 70s who went the swimming route in college for a few years before a knee injury.
The other thought is that MM/Niele went great guns after Haley Jones, although I personally thought Jones wouldn't leave the west coast.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how Beal does in S.C. Personally, I thought she was headed to Michigan.

was a guard on the state championship team in '64 winning on a '74 UCLA/ND type game—appropriate for today. They went to state twice but no title. Single class back then and most of the big city schools didn't even play. FT shooting is one of my pet peeves about this team. Mrs72 still has HS record with 74 in a row and quite often comments on it being a lost art today. Just short of turning Kelly purple.

OT: in dental school intramural ball the dental wives had a team. Frosh and Soph years they went 0-10. A classmate's wife and Mrs72 played(we had married that summer) the last two years—I coached and ran Digger's get the ball to AC and stay out of the way offense—the next two years. Junior year we won league with a 12-0 record and senior year we were 10-1. Four of our starting five were pregnant so hindered our run and gun offense.

I have been on NDN since the start and enjoy MB the most, reading your and other regulars postings. Did your sister play in Iowa?