UCLA’s next NCAA tournament hurdle is USF’s Courtney Williams

[USFBulls12]

1 minute ago, Ned A Starr said:

Do you think injuries may have contributed to her not being as productive?

She dribbles out of control, makes poor passes and takes bad shots. This isn't a matter of mobility or other injury related poor play besides the fact that she is entirely too slow to be on the court. Without her three point shot being over 35-40%, hitting 2+ shots a game, she doesn't contribute enough to be on the floor consistently. Everyone knows she made her name with us as a 3-point "specialist". Without that skill, you don't find her driving to the basket, getting 10+ rebounds or 5+ assists per game or being a proven team leader. Basically she's an underdeveloped, minimally productive 5th player on the floor at this point. 

[CousinRicky]

59 minutes ago, USFBulls12 said:

She dribbles out of control, makes poor passes and takes bad shots. This isn't a matter of mobility or other injury related poor play besides the fact that she is entirely too slow to be on the court. Without her three point shot being over 35-40%, hitting 2+ shots a game, she doesn't contribute enough to be on the floor consistently. Everyone knows she made her name with us as a 3-point "specialist". Without that skill, you don't find her driving to the basket, getting 10+ rebounds or 5+ assists per game or being a proven team leader. Basically she's an underdeveloped, minimally productive 5th player on the floor at this point. 

Who are we talking about here.  Again the single quote change on the Board strikes.

[TarHeel_Bull]

11 minutes ago, Bourbon Bull said:

Who are we talking about here.  Again the single quote change on the Board strikes.

Stringfield I believe, that's what the previous quoted were about.

[bullsfan27]

only 1656 at the game last night according to espn. We would have had double if not triple that amount had that game been here 

[Mama_Bull]

6 hours ago, The Sheriff said:

It's time to hit the streets of Miami and Tampa hard to find someone that can create separation like Courtney Williams. Look for girls that play with guys - because that's the type of player Williams was. She will be a top five draft pick this season in the WNBA and unfortunately we wasted her great talent getting stymied back to back in the second round of the last two tourneys. I doubt it'll take 20 years to get another Williams in... it's only been a couple years since Jessica Dickson graduated and she too was a star that carried a team on her shoulders. It was a great run for the last two years - however we need speed to compete as our returning bigs just don't have the fluid coordination to make a substantial difference without a playmaker opening the lanes up for them. And that is women's hoops in a nutshell. Just my two cents... 

We have a lady from Denmark coming in the fall,  Enna Pehadzic, who is very athletic, a good shooter and a team leader. She scored about 18 ppg as the best scorer on her national team. I expect she will have an immediate impact.

We still have one scholarship available and CJF thought he'd be getting another very good European player to complete the roster, but last I heard that was still in limbo. Perhaps, we will hold it for the following year, because there are a number of top 100 national players from Florida in the 2017 class that have us among their favorites. The problem is that many of the elite WBB teams are also after them.    

[usfgrad84]

31 minutes ago, Ned A Starr said:

.

Many, if not most of the highly touted recruits we've had in the past have failed to meet expectations.  Just look at the current roster.

Not sure who you are talking about. Laksa was the conference Freshman of the year. Jespersen hasn't been a star, but for the most part, in limited action has been a competent role player. Fereira has played better than average and both Jespersen and Fereira are only going to be juniors. Laksa lived up to expectations as a Freshman. The other two were not expected to be the next coming of Courtney. I think for young players they filled their role. Especially Laura before she was hurt and did just fine last year. 

I don't know the others were that highly touted coming in. 

[DELdaBull]

How can anyone hate on Laura she is all hustle and heart with a nice 3 point shot. She defends multiple positions and defends well. 

[The Sheriff]

1 hour ago, DELdaBull said:

How can anyone hate on Laura she is all hustle and heart with a nice 3 point shot. She defends multiple positions and defends well. 

There's nothing wrong with hustle - however you have to be able hit open shots in tourney play when things matter. She was 0-4 yesterday vs UCLA. She was 0-7 against CSU three nights ago. In the AAC championship against UConn, she went 5-8. The two games leading up to the AAC championship, she shot 2-7 and 0-5. She shot under 9% over a four game stretch. That's pretty horrid. She did show up versus UConn - easily the best team in the country - however she was no where to be found the last two games when the season was in the balance. If you have someone that ice cold and taking bad shots, you either sit them or have them dish the ball to someone that has more confidence.

[Sellular1]

3 hours ago, usfgrad84 said:

Not sure who you are talking about. Laksa was the conference Freshman of the year. Jespersen hasn't been a star, but for the most part, in limited action has been a competent role player. Fereira has played better than average and both Jespersen and Fereira are only going to be juniors. Laksa lived up to expectations as a Freshman. The other two were not expected to be the next coming of Courtney. I think for young players they filled their role. Especially Laura before she was hurt and did just fine last year. 

I don't know the others were that highly touted coming in. 

One thing I think Laksa could work on is her low post defense.  So many times I watch the dribbler blow past her on the baseline because she doesn't collapse.  Her shot release time is unbelievable. 

[Sellular1]

2 hours ago, DELdaBull said:

How can anyone hate on Laura she is all hustle and heart with a nice 3 point shot. She defends multiple positions and defends well. 

Laura needs to improve her footwork.  She spends more time on the ground than the little kids wiping the floor.  She's a good player with a lot of upside.  I'd like to see her get a little more physically strong as well.