oldude
bamboo lover
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2016
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At one of the FF pressers a reporter asked Geno how the WNBA had influenced WCBB. Geno took a somewhat different tack in his answer, talking about how the NBA had influenced WCBB and basketball in general. He spoke about “position-less” basketball and spreading the floor where everyone can shoot the 3. If you watch the NBA recently, that is primarily how the games are played. That style of play has certainly filtered into both MCBB as well as the WNBA, and it is slowly but surely making its way into WCBB as well,
You need look no further than the BE to see a bunch of teams who spread the floor and shoot 3’s. In the case of the BE, this strategy is as much out of necessity as anything else. Doug Bruno’s DePaul teams have largely dominated the conference as an early proponent of spreading the floor and shooting 3’s. In addition, other than UConn, the rest of the BE does not have the size or overall talent to grind it out every night like the SEC.
Beyond the BE, the number of teams that are moving in the direction of the “spread the floor, shoot the 3" offensive mindset is growing significantly. IMO, the most talented team to fully embrace this type of basketball is MD. The Sweet 16 battle between a MD team that wanted to run the floor and shoot 3’s and a TX team that walked the ball up the court, used the 30-second clock and pounded the ball inside was truly a battle between the future and the past. In that instance, the past prevailed. But it was probably the biggest upset of the Tournament.
UConn is not all the way there yet, but the 2016 team had 5 talented players who could all knock down 3’s, and there was no team in the country that came within 10 points of beating them. This year Geno surprised many by going largely with a 4-guard offense that worked particularly well up until Nika’s injury. After the AR game, when the Razorbacks swarmed Liv in the low post, UConn gravitated to an offense that often left the lane open for players to drive to the basket, cut backdoor or pick and roll, effectively spreading the floor.
As WBB continues to evolve in this direction, I think it will have a significant impact on personnel. While small. explosive guards like Crystal Dangerfield and Aari McDonald will always be around, top teams will put a premium on big guards and wings who can shoot it, attack the basket, defend out to the arc and battle in the post on defense if they get caught on a switch against a Big.
More significantly, I personally believe the days of dominant post players like Aaliyah Boston and Elissa Cunane are numbered. I grew up before the 3-pt shot, watching the titanic battles between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. In today’s NBA, Chamberlain and Russell would have to develop significantly different skillsets to be effective.
In WBB, players with size who can handle the ball and shoot it are increasingly prominent: Nalyssa Smith, Ashton Prechtel and hopefully Dorka Juhasz to name a few. The gold standard of course are players like Stewie and EDD. I know, great players like Stewie and EDD don’t grow on trees. But right now, there are literally thousands of tall young girls, dribbling a basketball wherever they go and practicing 3-pt shots until they can’t lift their arms. It’s a Brave New World in WBB.
You need look no further than the BE to see a bunch of teams who spread the floor and shoot 3’s. In the case of the BE, this strategy is as much out of necessity as anything else. Doug Bruno’s DePaul teams have largely dominated the conference as an early proponent of spreading the floor and shooting 3’s. In addition, other than UConn, the rest of the BE does not have the size or overall talent to grind it out every night like the SEC.
Beyond the BE, the number of teams that are moving in the direction of the “spread the floor, shoot the 3" offensive mindset is growing significantly. IMO, the most talented team to fully embrace this type of basketball is MD. The Sweet 16 battle between a MD team that wanted to run the floor and shoot 3’s and a TX team that walked the ball up the court, used the 30-second clock and pounded the ball inside was truly a battle between the future and the past. In that instance, the past prevailed. But it was probably the biggest upset of the Tournament.
UConn is not all the way there yet, but the 2016 team had 5 talented players who could all knock down 3’s, and there was no team in the country that came within 10 points of beating them. This year Geno surprised many by going largely with a 4-guard offense that worked particularly well up until Nika’s injury. After the AR game, when the Razorbacks swarmed Liv in the low post, UConn gravitated to an offense that often left the lane open for players to drive to the basket, cut backdoor or pick and roll, effectively spreading the floor.
As WBB continues to evolve in this direction, I think it will have a significant impact on personnel. While small. explosive guards like Crystal Dangerfield and Aari McDonald will always be around, top teams will put a premium on big guards and wings who can shoot it, attack the basket, defend out to the arc and battle in the post on defense if they get caught on a switch against a Big.
More significantly, I personally believe the days of dominant post players like Aaliyah Boston and Elissa Cunane are numbered. I grew up before the 3-pt shot, watching the titanic battles between Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell. In today’s NBA, Chamberlain and Russell would have to develop significantly different skillsets to be effective.
In WBB, players with size who can handle the ball and shoot it are increasingly prominent: Nalyssa Smith, Ashton Prechtel and hopefully Dorka Juhasz to name a few. The gold standard of course are players like Stewie and EDD. I know, great players like Stewie and EDD don’t grow on trees. But right now, there are literally thousands of tall young girls, dribbling a basketball wherever they go and practicing 3-pt shots until they can’t lift their arms. It’s a Brave New World in WBB.
