RebKell's Junkie Boards

[Shades]

Tuscaloosa, AL - 8:00 PM ET
TV: SECN

Video:
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index/_/id/2075665/Womens-College-Basketball-Duke-vs-Alabama

Audio:
http://www.rolltide.com/collegesportslive/?media=471277

http://www.goduke.com/liveEvents/liveEvents.dbml?SPSID=22762&SPID=1846&db_oem_id=4200 (sub)

Gametracker:
http://www.rolltide.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wbaskbl.html?event=1367009&school=alab&sport=wbaskbl&camefrom=&startschool=&

_________________
Nnekalonians 1:14 - Thou shalt not accept that which is not earned

[sigur3]

I appreciate your hard work with these threads, Shades. Glad to see you're doing it again this season.

[Randy]

I agree. It's really helpful to have TV and links. Thanks Shades.

[ArtBest23]

This game is on the SEC Network on TV, by the way, which I think a lot more people get than they do the SENC+.

DirecTV and Comcast customers, for example, both get this game on their TV tonight I believe.

611 on DirecTV.

[myrtle]

[readyAIMfire53]

[lvf08]

Excited to have college basketball back on TV!

[myrtle]

Bama looks BAAAAD! Pass it around until you lose it - I hate that offense.

_________________
For there is always light,
if only we’re brave enough to see it.
If only we’re brave enough to be it.
- Amanda Gorman

[Brinx]

Wow, Duke has a lot of length this year. Bama just can't pass around those long arms.

[FollowtheCardinalRule]

Bama also lost a LOT from last year, so I'm not really surprised by this.

[readyAIMfire53]

[PRballer]

Greenwell looks mighty good out there for Duke. The sophomores from California (Chidom and Cooper) looked long/tall and savvy, too.

Hoping Elizabeth Williams has her best season yet and plays into the #1 pick next April.

[ArtBest23]

Wow. Is Alabama the worst team in the SEC? If they're not I hate to see who is. Baaaaad team.

And Fortner has to have the early lead as the worst on-air personality in WCBB. Make no mistake, I'm thrilled to see ANY WCBB on TV, but between the bizarre camera angles, the nonstop SEC hype (I thought the BTN was bad for shameless self promotion, but the SECN makes them look like rank amateurs), and Fortner's superficial commentary, lack of homework, and smiley face phony undeserved praise for anything and everything, this is really tough to watch. I knew it would be a tough night when Fortner declared at the outset that Kristy Curry should have been coach of the year for the great job she did at Bama last year (they ended 14-16, by the way). She followed that up by calling Tenn the best team in the country.

Duke is really going to punish people inside, by the way. You really couldn't tell much tonight about whether they can deal with the guard positions or not because they weren't tested anywhere. I though it looked like Williams has lost quite a bit of weight. She looked really good.

[blaase22]

If you think Fortner is bad commentating basketball, you should hear her commenting volleyball.

[scfastpitch]

[ArtBest23]

[readyAIMfire53]

[ArtBest23]

[SportzJunky]

My thoughts on the game:

Pros: Coach P has FINALLY tried to practice pressed breaks (I know Alabama press was weak but it is a step in the right direction). Duke has changed their offensive scheme (thank God). It is no longer (so far) throw it in the inside ONLY to EW. The problem I had last year is that this is all they looked for, so teams would scout for it and Duke would look lost whenever EW was not in the game or double teamed and couldn't get the ball to EW (despite having a descent amount of talent). Duke is also passing more this year (this is probably coming from not just looking at EW on offense). This makes them harder to guard when you trust your teammates enough to pass them the ball. I actually like the mixups with defenses and even the different presses (again, I know it was against Alabama but still with the length we have it is working). I DO NOT want to do a 2-3 zone against good 3-point shooting teams still but it was good practice to see all the different defensive schemes.

Cons: Turnovers!!!!! I know this is a young team (especially at the guard position) but we have to be smarter. The player that showed she was truly a freshman the most was Sierra C. Man, I see potential but I also see a HUGE headache! I hope she gets it together because 95% of her turnovers were unforced! She also needs to make better shot selections. Sometimes she is double teamed and have a wing player open but won’t pass the ball and make a stupid shot attempt. Our PG play is SCARY!!! I know, this isn't a surprise to most but I honestly thought KJ was going to be descent this year but against ALABAMA she looked at best AVERAGE which is scary.

Bright Spots: Becca was off tonight from the Arc (Coach P, you ever heard of running a play where Becca comes off of 2 screens to get her open) and still had 17 points!!! It shows that she is not scared to put the ball on the floor and drive! This is something that took Liston 4 years to learn. When teams focused on Liston and ran her off the line (before her senior year) she disappeared from the game. Becca also decided not to let her off shooting dictate her game! She played good defense and got some stills for easy buckets and rebounded for the team to help out. Azura Stevens WILL start before it is all said and done (at the SF position). This girl I think is VERY underrated coming out of college. To me she is our BEST recruit from this class. Her handles and shot is good (did you she her cross up that guard and pull up for that jumpshot!) plus she understands she is tall so when she had a smaller defender on her she went to the post. Despite her small frame she still was aggressive with rebounding as well. AZ needs more touches in my opinion! I LOVE Chidom!!! She plays her part and really gets after it on both sides of the court. Lastly EW looks good! You can tell she actually got a chance to work on her game this summer (finally completely healthy)! In her pre-season games and against Alabama she looks ready for this year (granted the level of competition she was against). She is actually LOOKING to pass the ball this year which is GREAT! Ever since she got to Duke I felt like Coach P was making her do too much (forcing shots) instead of depending on her teammates. In one interview last year Coach P criticized EW saying she needs to play through double teams and score the ball because she can?!?!?! Why do that when you have Liston on the wing along with Peters and Jones (when she was healthy) at the point? This year so far I see that EW is choosing when to take the ball strong to the goal and when to pass (which is keeping the defense honest). I will say, I see a little more aggressiveness from EW but I need more...I want some fire from her and to be more vocal.

Coach P is still coach P but she is atleast attempting to coach looking at this game. I cannot wait until we face some comp because I want to see this team under pressure, thats when you see the true make of the team.

_________________
If at first you dont succeed....try and try AGAIN!!!

[SportzJunky]

My thoughts on the game:

Pros: Coach P has FINALLY tried to practice pressed breaks (I know Alabama press was weak but it is a step in the right direction). Duke has changed their offensive scheme (thank God). It is no longer (so far) throw it in the inside ONLY to EW. The problem I had last year is that this is all they looked for, so teams would scout for it and Duke would look lost whenever EW was not in the game or double teamed and couldn't get the ball to EW (despite having a descent amount of talent). Duke is also passing more this year (this is probably coming from not just looking at EW on offense). This makes them harder to guard when you trust your teammates enough to pass them the ball. I actually like the mixups with defenses and even the different presses (again, I know it was against Alabama but still with the length we have it is working). I DO NOT want to do a 2-3 zone against good 3-point shooting teams still but it was good practice to see all the different defensive schemes.

Cons: Turnovers!!!!! I know this is a young team (especially at the guard position) but we have to be smarter. The player that showed she was truly a freshman the most was Sierra C. Man, I see potential but I also see a HUGE headache! I hope she gets it together because 95% of her turnovers were unforced! She also needs to make better shot selections. Sometimes she is double teamed and have a wing player open but won’t pass the ball and make a stupid shot attempt. Our PG play is SCARY!!! I know, this isn't a surprise to most but I honestly thought KJ was going to be descent this year but against ALABAMA she looked at best AVERAGE which is scary.

Bright Spots: Becca was off tonight from the Arc (Coach P, you ever heard of running a play where Becca comes off of 2 screens to get her open) and still had 17 points!!! It shows that she is not scared to put the ball on the floor and drive! This is something that took Liston 4 years to learn. When teams focused on Liston and ran her off the line (before her senior year) she disappeared from the game. Becca also decided not to let her off shooting dictate her game! She played good defense and got some stills for easy buckets and rebounded for the team to help out. Azura Stevens WILL start before it is all said and done (at the SF position). This girl I think is VERY underrated coming out of college. To me she is our BEST recruit from this class. Her handles and shot is good (did you she her cross up that guard and pull up for that jumpshot!) plus she understands she is tall so when she had a smaller defender on her she went to the post. Despite her small frame she still was aggressive with rebounding as well. AZ needs more touches in my opinion! I LOVE Chidom!!! She plays her part and really gets after it on both sides of the court. Lastly EW looks good! You can tell she actually got a chance to work on her game this summer (finally completely healthy)! In her pre-season games and against Alabama she looks ready for this year (granted the level of competition she was against). She is actually LOOKING to pass the ball this year which is GREAT! Ever since she got to Duke I felt like Coach P was making her do too much (forcing shots) instead of depending on her teammates. In one interview last year Coach P criticized EW saying she needs to play through double teams and score the ball because she can?!?!?! Why do that when you have Liston on the wing along with Peters and Jones (when she was healthy) at the point? This year so far I see that EW is choosing when to take the ball strong to the goal and when to pass (which is keeping the defense honest). I will say, I see a little more aggressiveness from EW but I need more...I want some fire from her and to be more vocal.

Coach P is still coach P but she is atleast attempting to coach looking at this game. I cannot wait until we face some comp because I want to see this team under pressure, thats when you see the true make of the team.

_________________
If at first you dont succeed....try and try AGAIN!!!

[summertime blues]

[PUmatty]

The way Kristy Curry continues to fail into major jobs is bizarre. She was pushed out at Purdue and ended up getting a raise to go to Texas Tech. She is a big failure at TTU, and parlays that into an SEC job.

What is it about this woman?

[FollowtheCardinalRule]

[readyAIMfire53]