Good thing that another thread can alert Snake Tom as to the score of the game LOL.
I know my buddy Pat (and any others at the game) can chime in on this thread to contribute additional observations on the game. I wanted to share some notes on the topic of player development so far as of this game. Note that I do not cover the Starters. They're awesome already. We'll add them to the discussion, just want to share some love for our other players.
First Player In: continues to be Jordan Mosley. She continues to fly under the stat radar but Coach relies on her immensely. She understands all the packages and has the ability to fit in with any other combination. She is the tireless, unspectacular but critical glue player. Really continuing to appreciate her contribution. I need to focus more on what she does so I can report on it better. Honestly, she's really important but you don't easily see it.
Next Player In Due to Matchup Needs: surprising me all day long, it's Martha Kuderer. She was recruited for her three point shooting. Heck. She's a scrappy Minnesota-tough kid. While I lament the loss of Tara Inman, my favorite lock-down defender, I strongly believe that Tony is trying to see if Martha has what it takes to fill Tara's role. Scrappy on offense too. In fact, she did something all fans adore - she tended to linger in a stealth kind of mode during the start of a Marquette transition and managed to foul it up repeatedly, leading to points in some cases. The steal she got after Taylor Byrne tried twice on a missed set of put backs followed by an immediate bounce pass feed to Taylor to get her basket brought the house down. Give me more Martha Kuderer!!
Total Team Respect: There's Tara Inman, back from surgery, in crutches, standing at the top of a pre-game drill line, and every player came all the way back to her to give her a high-five. And she stop at the top of the introduction line as well, doing a ginger calm version of her pre-game salute to each starter. I cannot wait to see how she plays next year.
The Future is Awesome: How about TT Smith. Our leaders are Aleesha Powell and Kena Richardson at point, but TT is fantastic. In the second half she got tons of minutes and at one point simply hammered the **** out of Marquette with basket after tear-drop-miracle basket. She's just a freshman and she's going to be our winning PG leader going forward. She's learning from Kena and Aleesha. Seems like Tony has the pipeline working the way you dream it should be.
Continued Strong Bench: Jordan Molyneaux got a lot of serviceable minutes today. She seems to thrive on playing against taller forwards, so it's good see her playing against a bit smaller team. She had some misses, but she also had some really strong plays on both ends.
Ima Get Points You Cannot Stop Me: This goes to Taylor Byrne. Few minutes first two quarters, more minutes second half, but there was a stretch where she sat on the baseline and got the no-look feed and put back like FIVE TIMES IN A ROW. She continues to play hard. Man - our freshmen are getting good minutes and making the most of them. We've seen all sorts of terrific games from her, and they will only continue.
Last But Showing Growth: Finally Claire Lundberg did two things I'm looking for. (1) She slashed along the baseline from the corner to try to get a layup against two defenders. I wish she got the points to reward her effort because she made a strong baseline move and should really try to add this to her game. It will open up her 3P opportunities. (2) She correctly sealed off slashing attempts at the basket rather more often than I recall from previous games, so she's making progress here as well. I want Claire to find the tools this year so that her next year will finally prove out.
Pat, others, would love to have your additional comments.
I know my buddy Pat (and any others at the game) can chime in on this thread to contribute additional observations on the game. I wanted to share some notes on the topic of player development so far as of this game. Note that I do not cover the Starters. They're awesome already. We'll add them to the discussion, just want to share some love for our other players.
First Player In: continues to be Jordan Mosley. She continues to fly under the stat radar but Coach relies on her immensely. She understands all the packages and has the ability to fit in with any other combination. She is the tireless, unspectacular but critical glue player. Really continuing to appreciate her contribution. I need to focus more on what she does so I can report on it better. Honestly, she's really important but you don't easily see it.
Next Player In Due to Matchup Needs: surprising me all day long, it's Martha Kuderer. She was recruited for her three point shooting. Heck. She's a scrappy Minnesota-tough kid. While I lament the loss of Tara Inman, my favorite lock-down defender, I strongly believe that Tony is trying to see if Martha has what it takes to fill Tara's role. Scrappy on offense too. In fact, she did something all fans adore - she tended to linger in a stealth kind of mode during the start of a Marquette transition and managed to foul it up repeatedly, leading to points in some cases. The steal she got after Taylor Byrne tried twice on a missed set of put backs followed by an immediate bounce pass feed to Taylor to get her basket brought the house down. Give me more Martha Kuderer!!
Total Team Respect: There's Tara Inman, back from surgery, in crutches, standing at the top of a pre-game drill line, and every player came all the way back to her to give her a high-five. And she stop at the top of the introduction line as well, doing a ginger calm version of her pre-game salute to each starter. I cannot wait to see how she plays next year.
The Future is Awesome: How about TT Smith. Our leaders are Aleesha Powell and Kena Richardson at point, but TT is fantastic. In the second half she got tons of minutes and at one point simply hammered the **** out of Marquette with basket after tear-drop-miracle basket. She's just a freshman and she's going to be our winning PG leader going forward. She's learning from Kena and Aleesha. Seems like Tony has the pipeline working the way you dream it should be.
Continued Strong Bench: Jordan Molyneaux got a lot of serviceable minutes today. She seems to thrive on playing against taller forwards, so it's good see her playing against a bit smaller team. She had some misses, but she also had some really strong plays on both ends.
Ima Get Points You Cannot Stop Me: This goes to Taylor Byrne. Few minutes first two quarters, more minutes second half, but there was a stretch where she sat on the baseline and got the no-look feed and put back like FIVE TIMES IN A ROW. She continues to play hard. Man - our freshmen are getting good minutes and making the most of them. We've seen all sorts of terrific games from her, and they will only continue.
Last But Showing Growth: Finally Claire Lundberg did two things I'm looking for. (1) She slashed along the baseline from the corner to try to get a layup against two defenders. I wish she got the points to reward her effort because she made a strong baseline move and should really try to add this to her game. It will open up her 3P opportunities. (2) She correctly sealed off slashing attempts at the basket rather more often than I recall from previous games, so she's making progress here as well. I want Claire to find the tools this year so that her next year will finally prove out.
Pat, others, would love to have your additional comments.
