RebKell's Junkie Boards

[TheWildJacko]

I was just wondering, for those who have been watching Stanford this year, and maybe who also saw them some last year as well, what is your impression of J.J. Hones? Last year she had a great assist to turnover ratio but wasn't much of a shooter or slasher except in the L.A. away games; then she injured her knee and sat for the rest of the season. A few months later there was that somewhat bizarre turn of events that had J.J. on the Nancy Lieberman award short list even though she was in rehab at the time. It was pretty clear at that point that there were others who could have made the list ahead of her (Zoll) given her injury, but this year she's really stepped up her game.

In this 07-08 season J.J. is back in the lineup for Stanford and in fact has regained her starting role in the past couple games. She doesn't have the most assists per game compared to other point guards, but her Assist to Turnover ratio for the season is 47/10 in 20 games (395 minutes) played; in the Pac-10 it's 38/4 in 10 games (260 minutes). So for the season that's one turnover every 39.5 minutes, and in the Pac-10 it's one turnover every 65 minutes. I should also note that 4 Stanford players besides J.J. also average over 2 assists per game for the season, and two more average over 1 Ast/game. So Stanford's offense doesn't just run through its point guard.

In terms of individual offensive production, J.J. also seems to found her shot from outside (4 3's against Cal, 3 against Arizona), and she's more aggressive slashing towards the basket as well. While she won't be known as a scoring point guard like other top point guards in the country, at least this year because of Candice, Kayla and Jayne, J.J. has definitely made herself a threat for opposing defenses.

So my question is, given the role J.J. typically plays as the 4th or even 5th scoring option on the floor (when Jill or Jeanette is on the court), on a team that runs the ball through many different players each time down the court, how do you think J.J. stacks up against the other top point guards in WCBB?

[eyevolley4]

I find it difficult to rate JJ on a global level because her history is a bit skewed by injury, though there are strong indications of some pretty awesome strengths.

The ATO is unreal. You can tell when she is on the court, Stanford is a different team. I would love to see a comparison of Wiggins' numbers with Hones on the court to when Ros is on the court, to when neither are on the court. My thought is that Wiggins, as well as the rest of the team, becomes more efficient with JJ's presence.

Moving from there, the talk of her strong three point shooting this year is great for her showing she is a well-rounded offensive threat.

The concern I have is with her lateral movement in defending quicker guards. I am wondering if that had a play in the dismal LA trip, but I'd have to go back to the box scores to get a better indication.

Regardless, I think deeper into this season, and into next year, her place in the WCBB world will be much more solidified.

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Some days are meant to be remembered.

[hoopfan24]

JJ was doing a great job during her frosh running the team and hitting threes before going down with an ACL tear. She wasn't that quick before and obviously her lateral movement is limited now, but as you pointed out, the offense runs more smoothy with JJ and her great A/TO ratio. Plus, she's been making some beautiful pin point passes in transition and post entry passes to Jayne.

The quicker guards we face (Morris at UCLA, LaNoir at USC) were guarded by Wiggins because JJ wasn't ready yet. Ros is better at D, but JJ is better at running the pt and offense, so it's a tough trade off.

I thought Wiggins looked tired vs. LA schools down there, but I think (and hope) we're over the Jan. hump and getting stronger and healthier as we go (Ros and JJ). Losing Mel Murphy hurt our ability to guard quicker guards, so here's hoping we avoid the FSU, MD and UNCs of the world in the NCAAs.

[JACKOWACKO]

The couple of times Ive seen her play she seemed very poised and in control of the Stanford offense. Solid shooter, ball handler, and a nice 4th option after Wiggy, Appel and Harmon.

Its great to see such a good comeback after ACL surgery.

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LAUREN JACKSON is the greatest of alltime.

[An_nic]

I haven't really followed her since she left high school. In high school she was one hell of a player to watch and her shooting touch was AMAZING. I just hope she came back from the ACL tear in awesome time.

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"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine

"Our greatest fear is not that we are in adequate, our greatest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure." - Nelson Mandela