NEW OPALS COACH = NEW OPALS TEAM!

[InfectiousS]

Soooo, with a new Head Coach always come new plays, new style of play (not always dramatically different, but still different), and always new players who fit this style of play, or are just personal favourites of a coach.

Personally i thought Laura Summertons spot in the Opals was just laughable, and that the only reason she was there was because she was "Jan's girl" through and through... However, i have eaten my words after Beijing olympics because for the first time ever, i was impressed by this girls game....

Another example is Brogan's attempt at breaking back into the Olympic team... If any other coach had of been there (and not Jan) there is no way Brogan would have even got a look into the squad, let alone actually be a contender to make the team!

Soooo Graffy.... Well here's a few players i think you will see in the mix for the next Opals gig....

Abby Bishop for sure... Musselwhite, and i'll throw it out there... Hurst to be the off the bench point behind Phillips.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Grima be put through her paces and really have to earn her spot under Graf. Also screen (as a Jan favourite, and seriously just laughable that she is in the Opals).... well i expect Screen might never play ball for oz again... Big call, but i'm happy to throw it out there.

Poto will never play for Australia again. Not because of her playing ability. I think she's an amazing player, with some of the best bball smarts ive seen... but Graf won't want her attitude... And Hurst just keeps getting better.

Wouldn't be surprised to see Carly Wilson get more of a chance and i also think Cox will be given more play time and flexibility to use her athletism under Graf.

Porter ??? I think may have done her dash. I put her in the same attitude basket as Poto.

Randal i think will be a keeper, but will have to keep improving if she's going to hold her spot over Tolo, Francis and Bishop...

Anyways... just throwin it out there...

[coach_me]

Summerton goes ok internationally.

But laughable - Musslewhite no thanks. No where near good enough to wear green and gold my friend
and Hurst, well I am still laughing about her name being thrown up. She could not defend in the international game. Yes she has had a couple of good WNBL seasons, but remember that most of our high quality players are away over seas and she really only has Harrower and a banged up Poto to contend with in the WNBL, and last time I checked she struggles to container either of them. (no disrespect to the others running about)

Bishop, Francis, Tolo, are our future bigs although Tolo a way off compared to the other two. Taylor, Grima, Randall, Suzy and Jackson will remain the core for the next year or two.

Our real worry I would think is replacing Harrower. we dont have anyone else to run the team without her about. Phillips is a long, long, long way off yet.

Screen just shouldn't have been there in the first place, good player but better role players about.

Just my thoughts and I could be be, as I am told that often :lol:

[Dunkin' Dan]

^ agreed with just about all of that.

Summerton has been an excellent international player. She was fantastic in Brazil and very useful in Beijing as well.

But Musselwhite??? Yikes!
I'm not going to write Hurst off just yet, because she is still relatively young, still improving, and to be frank our upcoming point guard stocks are as lean as I have seen for the best part of 20 years. Right now though, give me MacLeod & Richards ahead of Hurst for sure.
Bishop strikes me as being a bit too short for the style of game she plays. I notice she is adding the 3 point shot to her repetoire lately, so if she can get that going reliably and still keep working on her post moves as well then she'll have herself a spot in the Opals for a long time.

[Keegan]

Randall and Grima were embarrassing at Beijng. Bishop, Francis and Tolo please. They should start grooming Cambage big time as well.

At the wings, Musselwhite doesn't have the decision making and focus to be a final 12 Opals player. Carly Wilson - needs to get stronger and develop a strong offensive weapon. I'd like to see Deanna Smith get a proper run with the Opals.

Have to agree that point guard is the big concern - Phillips is still only half a point guard and Macleod lacks strength and international experience. I think these two are the future of the Opals point guard position. I am worried about the lack of good young prospects beneath them though.

[basketballer999]

what about jenna ohea in the mix

she would go better than screen i recon

[InfectiousS]

Yeah i'm a fan of Deanna Smith... A player who doesn't bitch or moan and just gets a job done with limited (to no) help around her. I just don't know if she goes into the Hibbert bracket where they are excellent WNBL players, but maybe just not on par at international level.

Jenna O'Hea has apparently stacked stacked stacked on the weight... and i believe her fitness level (and game) like our current market..... has crashed!

On the point guard front... maybe harrower will stick around a little bit longer to break in our point guard rookies... Still reckon you will see Hurst in the next Opals squad...

What about Sam Richards. I love this girl and how she plays. If she can stay injury free, surely she is an Opals contender. I heard she did an amazing job at World Uni Games under Graf.

[Left Field]

Graf loves Hurst, she brought her into the Canberra line-up when she was 16 and brought her back a couple of years ago when Maher dropped her in preference to Marino. I'd expect Hurst to make the initial train-on squad, not sure if she'll go any further.
Deanna Smith I'd like to see get a fair go, she has the talent and the work ethic and she can score, which is something our guards didn't do regularly at Beijing.
Bishop, Francis, Tolo and perhaps Cambage will be groomed with London in mind, hopefully at the expense of Grima and Randall who I felt, along with a few others, where dissappointing at Beijing.
I think we are looking pretty strong in the tall department, but as mentioned previously, we are a little short in guards. Perhaps Abrams and Bibby are a chance. :D

By the way, does anyone know what has happened to Jacinta Hamilton, did she retire after giving birth? While at Dandenong, I rated her more hightly than Summerton. She doesn't have the size to match it with the Yanks, but her work ethic and smarts were 1st class.

[jake11]

In the international game you need SIZE. Harrower gets away with he size cos she is brilliant. Phillips struggled cos she isnt. Laura has size and now knows the international game.

Hurst to small, would get owned by USA. Smith again to small and one dimensional. Cox is a fantastic athlete yes but she was nervous the whole trip to Beijing and performed well under par but should get another shot.

Randell and Grima did their bit parts and did ok. Randell should improve greatly playing in europe and so will Porter.

I think if you radically change the side i fear for big trouble. One or 2 changes at best is all that is required. Screen is in a lot of trouble but everyone else i feel should be safe.

[rondo]

Hey what about Veal!!!!

She is definately a very experienced PG who never been given the opportunity to play for the Opals.

[dirtydigits]

Abby Bishop should walk in with the season she's had so far and she seems to have a great attitude.

If Harrower retires we are well and truly up S*it Creek without a paddle in the point position. Looking around the league...

Hurst is mediocre. DEspite her good form this season, I don't think Pto will get a run in the Aus team. I think her international career is well and truly over, BUT with rumours swirling about Dalton being Graf's assistent, it's possible she will get a run. I think that's her only hope. She will be too old and we should invest in some young ones while harrower is still there to teach them.

Veal is great but has been out of the international game for a while. Throwing out there... at 19, sarah graham has shown some good signs. I would like Graf to spend some with ehr and see how she improves. She's very young, but can shoot and play defence. Flanagan, no. Milner... yes. no idea why she hasn't had a look in. yes shes short, but look at harrower. this girl has speed that not many can keep up with. does perth have a point guard ???????

thank god Marino is a kiwi. Phillips is a 1 and a 1/2 IMO, shame shes not a bit taller. hopefully she will develop into more of a thinker in time.

cayla francis has had a big year and i would take her over randall and summerton now.

[Dr Damage]

What is that, 8 replies, and not once have I seen the word.....................






CAMINO!!!!

[FeelinDaHeat]

After hearing the Graf interview last night at half time of the live telecast, I wouldn't discount anyone as too old for the opals in the new campaign. she made a strong point of the value of veteran leadership and the importance of having people who have been there done that. she highlighted Kristi Harrower as an example but also made a point of saying that its not at all surprising to see players mature in their game at 30 years of age. Going by that standard, Veal and Poto won't be without a look in. Veal is having an ok season in a mediocre team and Poto is just about unstoppable in the league. I would be very surprised if Harrower did retire.

[Hammertime]

InfectiousS

I'm not sure where you get your intel from but its so far off the mark it's humorous.

Check the Eye on France 08/09 thread and perhaps a quick google search http://www.womensbasketball-in-france.com/lfb-match-arras-challes-open-lfb.html and you'll see Jenna O'Hea is playing well in one of the best leagues in the world.

And you follow your first useless statement by mentioning Sam Richards played well in the World Uni Games???? Who cares. She won't be in contention for the next round of Opals camps.

InfectiousS if you're going to post again please type something useful that doesn't have me asking for the five seconds of my life back that I spent reading your drivel.

[InfectiousS]

ooooohhhh.... someone has a big fat crush on Jenna O'hea....

"Jenna and Hammertime sitting in a tree... K*I* S*S*I*N*G..... "

Was that useful enough for you hammertime... Fact is (perhaps the only truthful one on these boards)... that this is a public forum, open for opinions and debate. I can say whatever the hell i want... given that it is basketball related... and you will just have to deal with that... and yes, perhaps waste the precious seconds of your life... not my problem.

I'll take your comments about Jenna on board. I was merely relaying secondhand info. (something we all do or these forums would not survive).

As for Richards, i'm not going to argue with you. I will simply say that if she is not in the next opals squad, then you win, you are king, i am the scum beneath your toes. If she is however in the next Opals squad... i will be humble and not demand you turn around, bend over, and let me A** F*** you.

[dirtydigits]

InfectiousS

I'm not sure where you get your intel from but its so far off the mark it's humorous.

And you follow your first useless statement by mentioning Sam Richards played well in the World Uni Games???? Who cares. She won't be in contention for the next round of Opals camps.

I don't klnow how anyone can be "so far off the mark" when this forum is all about SPECULATING who will be in the next Opals team. how is it not relevent that richards played well when graf was her coach? of course that is relevent. agreed the standard may be lower than other intenational comps but also younger and some people playing in that comp could well be future olympians.

personally i dont think richards will compete at the next olympics but that is because she is always injured. but the problem remains that in 2012 we are going to be pretty slim in the point guard position. hopefully someone like macleod is developing well OS because Hunt cant even dribble. i watched the tv game on the weekend and that girl needs to attend 3 or 4 basic skills sessions a week to get up to scratch. what is going on at the institute that there arent any superb guards coming out of there... am i forgetting anyone here?

[Off_the_bench]

in the spirit of speculation... here's my WNBL based squad members.

Afeaki (Flames)
Bishop (Caps)
Cambage (AIS)
Cox (Fire)
Doccy Smith (Lynx)
Foley (Lightning)
Francis (Lightning)
Harrower (Spirit)
Penaluna (Boomers)
Poto (Flames)
Tolo (Caps)

All the girls, bar Penaluna and Afeaki were all members of the WNBL 2008 Beijing 25 person squad.

In this league, their are 3 girls that are virtually un-guardable players night in, night out. Cox, Poto and Smith. On the second tier I would add Bibby- there are too many "ok" games in between her outstanding games. Foley would also be in that second tier of players.

[coach_me]

Just on current WNBL players, and going off form I would take

Harrower
Poto
Cox
Foley
Doc Smith
Hammonds
Penaluna
Francis
Bishop
Cambage - injuries a worry

unlucky
Duke - having a great season
Tolo - big future just not yet
Haring - having a good season

[Hammertime]

[quote=InfectiousS]ooooohhhh.... someone has a big fat crush on Jenna O'hea....

"Jenna and Hammertime sitting in a tree... K*I* S*S*I*N*G..... "

Yes thank you, that was very useful.

Was that useful enough for you hammertime... Fact is (perhaps the only truthful one on these boards)... that this is a public forum, open for opinions and debate. I can say whatever the hell i want... given that it is basketball related... and you will just have to deal with that... and yes, perhaps waste the precious seconds of your life... not my problem.

You can continue to say whatever the hell you want, but if you continue to make personal comments about players which are incorrect i'll let you know.

I'll take your comments about Jenna on board. I was merely relaying secondhand info. (something we all do or these forums would not survive).

Again I was just pointing ot that your second hand info was rubbish. It's easy to hide behind a source "I heard from such and such that InfectiousS is an ________ and liked to do ______ to _______' Maybe just do a tiny amount of research of your own before you post it online. e.g. read some of the other threads...... Remember its not your source posting, its you, so if there's information at hand why not have a look.

As for Richards, i'm not going to argue with you. I will simply say that if she is not in the next opals squad, then you win, you are king, i am the scum beneath your toes. If she is however in the next Opals squad... i will be humble and not demand you turn around, bend over, and let me A** F*** you.[/quote:2x86sqqv]

I didn't articulate my point on Richards which was that the tourney was in 2007.... It's almost 2009 now..... While she played well, the team consisted of the likes of Melissa Smith, Rachel Warren, Tanya Smith and Georgia Wooydard. So while the tourney wasn't mickey mouse it wasn't exactly world champsionship standard and I don't think it'll hold much weight in squad selection compared to recent performances. And if Sam's recent performances a good and she's injury free it would be great to see her in the squad.

[Ghostwhowalks]

After reading all the discussion - i dont think that we can really count anybody out of the mix.

Grafy is the ultimate professional and will want a first hand look at everyone - before making and breaking the squd.

Agree Screen, Summerton and Grima are in trouble - but Summerton has the experience on her side.

Think Hammonds, Bishop And Penaluna will push for selection and put the pressure on Summerton, Grima and Randall (but all these are playing internationally now and are doing well.)

Think Wilson and Foley can definately get through - there extra height and athleticism are keys to "getting over everest - USA"

Muss, Smith and poto are all great scorers but all struggle to play "D"

As for Point guards - ithink if Richards can stay healthy, we have a good crop to work with - Harrower, Phillips, Macloed and Veal are all stroung players in their own right.

Hurts is coming along nicely and should get the call up.

Francis and Tolo are improving and will seriously be looked at.

[InfectiousS]

[quote][quote=InfectiousS]ooooohhhh.... someone has a big fat crush on Jenna O'hea....

"Jenna and Hammertime sitting in a tree... K*I* S*S*I*N*G..... "

Yes thank you, that was very useful.

Was that useful enough for you hammertime... Fact is (perhaps the only truthful one on these boards)... that this is a public forum, open for opinions and debate. I can say whatever the hell i want... given that it is basketball related... and you will just have to deal with that... and yes, perhaps waste the precious seconds of your life... not my problem.

You can continue to say whatever the hell you want, but if you continue to make personal comments about players which are incorrect i'll let you know.

I'll take your comments about Jenna on board. I was merely relaying secondhand info. (something we all do or these forums would not survive).

Again I was just pointing ot that your second hand info was rubbish. It's easy to hide behind a source "I heard from such and such that InfectiousS is an ________ and liked to do ______ to _______' Maybe just do a tiny amount of research of your own before you post it online. e.g. read some of the other threads...... Remember its not your source posting, its you, so if there's information at hand why not have a look.

As for Richards, i'm not going to argue with you. I will simply say that if she is not in the next opals squad, then you win, you are king, i am the scum beneath your toes. If she is however in the next Opals squad... i will be humble and not demand you turn around, bend over, and let me A** F*** you.[/quote:1fq02sre]

I didn't articulate my point on Richards which was that the tourney was in 2007.... It's almost 2009 now..... While she played well, the team consisted of the likes of Melissa Smith, Rachel Warren, Tanya Smith and Georgia Wooydard. So while the tourney wasn't mickey mouse it wasn't exactly world champsionship standard and I don't think it'll hold much weight in squad selection compared to recent performances. And if Sam's recent performances a good and she's injury free it would be great to see her in the squad.[/quote:1fq02sre]

Look... at the end of the day... The Jenna stuff was a basketball related comment and nothing personal. You would be pretty nieve to think that a player's fitness levels; physical condition; and body weight does not affect the way that player plays! I did say "apparently" and thankgoodness for the rest of us all, you 'hammertime' came along and cleared that all up for us... Jenna O'Hea has officially NOT STACKED ON THE WEIGHT, she is in prime time form, and is playing the basketball of her life! Woooahhh.... ok, now we can move on and start really 'personal' and horrifying rumours about other players! :twisted:

Richards stuff... *insert yawn*... i'm bored already. Again, i'm happy to let the girl's future inclusion / non-inclusion in the Opals speak for itself... and yes, i agree, it would be great to see her in the squad, she is a terrific athlete.

Apart from that... reading hammertime's above comments has bruised my ego and made me quite emotional... i think i may need to go lie down for a while... i'll be back with another "personal vendetta" against some other poor unsuspecting player another time... stay tuned!

[FeelinDaHeat]

After reading all the discussion - i dont think that we can really count anybody out of the mix.

Grafy is the ultimate professional and will want a first hand look at everyone - before making and breaking the squd.

Agree Screen, Summerton and Grima are in trouble - but Summerton has the experience on her side.

Think Hammonds, Bishop And Penaluna will push for selection and put the pressure on Summerton, Grima and Randall (but all these are playing internationally now and are doing well.)

Think Wilson and Foley can definately get through - there extra height and athleticism are keys to "getting over everest - USA"

Muss, Smith and poto are all great scorers but all struggle to play "D"

As for Point guards - ithink if Richards can stay healthy, we have a good crop to work with - Harrower, Phillips, Macloed and Veal are all stroung players in their own right.

Francis and Tolo are improving and will seriously be looked at.

I think that Graffie's planning will involve many girls who will play for the Opals but with no real chance of making the final squad for Worlds or London. we will obviously still need players to play in tours, friendlies and "meaningless' games that will no doubt be scheduled through the next four years where the big guns won't be playing. Most of the girls here will probably get the call up at some stage to be viewed and given a chance to impress. Bring on the training bait! :lol:
Poto struggle to play defense??? surely you must've had an enormous typo there or you haven't seen the little guard play in the last 3 years. :shock: I think that you will all be pleasantly surprised when Graf gives her the call-up. And as for the point of Graf won't like her attitude, couldn't be further from the truth, unless Graffie's lying. :wink:
Tolo and Francis will be in the squad, make no mistake about it. They are the future of Opals ball and seeing as they were both in the 25 player Beijing Squad can't see how that will change. Their improvement rate is so off the charts its not funny. Give these girls another 12 months tops before they are Euro-bound.

[Off_the_bench]

Veal is great but has been out of the international game for a while. Throwing out there... at 19, sarah graham has shown some good signs. I would like Graf to spend some with ehr and see how she improves. She's very young, but can shoot and play defence.



yes continued good performances would help their cause. Would like to see Sarah do the job on the back of some solid seasons after her breakout year this year. But she has indeed shown some good signs thus far. the battle will be when opposition coaches sort her out on the scout- then we'll see if she has what it takes to even make a squad.
Poto struggle to play defense??? surely you must've had an enormous typo there or you haven't seen the little guard play in the last 3 years. :shock: I think that you will all be pleasantly surprised when Graf gives her the call-up. And as for the point of Graf won't like her attitude, couldn't be further from the truth, unless Graffie's lying. :wink:
Tolo and Francis will be in the squad, make no mistake about it. They are the future of Opals ball and seeing as they were both in the 25 player Beijing Squad can't see how that will change. Their improvement rate is so off the charts its not funny. Give these girls another 12 months tops before they are Euro-bound.

Spot on on Poto, super defender doing the job on both ends of the floor. She will make the squad without a doubt in the world.

Spot on and on with Francis and Tolo. I'd add Cambage on that list but on the secondary level. We're talking 2 years to worlds and 4 till Olympics and this kid has risen (physically and game wise) and improved faster than a speeding bullet. Will be good to see when her improvement plateaus... why not have Graffie fast track her development and see what she can get away with.

[roadie]

Gotta agree with feelindaheat and off the bench in that I think they will cycle through a lot of players to have a good hard look at over the next couple of years before they put their heads down for London. In the big department, Francis, Tolo and Bishop (in that order - love the way Bishop plays but suspect she is a bit small to play that way internationally - maybe her perimeter game will continue to improve) have already been exposed to that level and can be assured of some more exposure.

As far as Cambage goes, my big reservation is her body holding up. Saw her in street clothes a couple of weeks ago at the AIS and she has certainly fined down since I last saw her but there are some bodies (particularly those that are 6'8") that are simply not meant to pound up and down a hardwood floor, and I suspect, much as was the case with many of our early big males (think Ralph Sampson who was going to revolutionise the game), her body may fail her which would be a great shame. Compare her to Brittney Griner (the #1 high school recruit in the States and also 6'8") who throws it down with ease and tears up and down the court.

Like many, I think our point guard stocks are a little thin behind the current crop.

[dirtydigits]

Ok so I will wait for every1 to yell but… we all seem to agree that our point guards are not right. Is there not anyone wurried that Poto is tearing it up this because all the other guards we are complaining about are sub par.

We really only need to worry about the Americans. Does she have the pace to compete against the Americans? I don’t think so. Yes she will be in the squad and deserves her place there. Will she make the final 12… who knows. But I am going to say no. I would take harrower, phillips and maybe macloed. The third spot has to be someone we can work with. How much do you reckon wed have to pay mills to have a sex change...... are there any young guards in college at the moment

[roadie]

dirtydigits - don't know about the crop of point guards that are currently over there in college but I know a number of the girls who will go in the next 12 or 18 months (most of whom will be too young for a role in 2012). I would say the same thing about our current crop as well - we lack significant athleticism. We've got no-one I'm aware of with Patty Mills'-type jets. It was interesting when they snatched Ebzery out of the 16's a few years ago and slotted her straight into the AIS team that they had her playing 20-30 minutes as a point guard, a role she had never played as a junior. Sort of said we don't have any specialists we'd rather develop in the point.

I see the same problem with a lot of the juniors I see - not enough pure athleticism to play the role effectively - does that perhaps mean that our best hopes lie with Erin Phillips progressing and maturing into a genuine point guard over time?

Random Question - do we spend too much time allocating positions by body size rather than personality type? While there are certain pre-requisites obviously (and I am aware of my previous post which suggested Bishop is maybe too small to play the way she plays internationally) but our littles are automatically categorized as 1's whereas their personality might be pure shooter/scorer, in which case they don't work as a point.

[Dunkin' Dan]

I would take harrower, phillips and maybe macloed. The third spot has to be someone we can work with. How much do you reckon wed have to pay mills to have a sex change...... are there any young guards in college at the moment
I still don't think that Phillips will ever be an Opals-quality point guard. Happy to have her in the team as a scorer or playing some minor relief minutes at PG, but she is not the answer (unless of course no one else comes through). It's just not her strength.
The way I see it, our possible options behind Kristi are Poto, MacLeod & Richards. I think they all have the class to lead the team. Poto is a solid player and has a lot of experience behind her, so she's the "safe" option. MacLeod I think is probably the best long-term prospect, so I would like to see her get some decent international minutes ASAP. Richards I'm a fan of as well. Health is always a concern, but she is poised, athletic, can deliver a basketball, and can give you those special plays because she reads a one-on-one opponent so well, so Sam definitely needs to be in there fighting for a spot as well.

I'm a Hunt fan as well, but it's too early to tell whether she will continue to improve to the level necessary or just stagnate at WNBL club level.
That's the problem with all the talent drain from our league these days ... the quality of the opposition just isn't there anymore so the jump from club play to Opals play is a large one, where previously it wasn't big at all because you were facing opponents like Bevilaqua, Harrower, McConnell, Kingi, LaFleur & Chandler every single week.
In Hunt's case, size will always be against her as well.

[dirtydigits]

dirtydigits - don't know about the crop of point guards that are currently over there in college but I know a number of the girls who will go in the next 12 or 18 months (most of whom will be too young for a role in 2012). I would say the same thing about our current crop as well - we lack significant athleticism. We've got no-one I'm aware of with Patty Mills'-type jets. It was interesting when they snatched Ebzery out of the 16's a few years ago and slotted her straight into the AIS team that they had her playing 20-30 minutes as a point guard, a role she had never played as a junior. Sort of said we don't have any specialists we'd rather develop in the point.

I see the same problem with a lot of the juniors I see - not enough pure athleticism to play the role effectively - does that perhaps mean that our best hopes lie with Erin Phillips progressing and maturing into a genuine point guard over time?

Random Question - do we spend too much time allocating positions by body size rather than personality type? While there are certain pre-requisites obviously (and I am aware of my previous post which suggested Bishop is maybe too small to play the way she plays internationally) but our littles are automatically categorized as 1's whereas their personality might be pure shooter/scorer, in which case they don't work as a point.

roadie i think you are right. body type seems to be to important. can there really be no point guards around. i think they are searching for a tall point guard but people like harrower and chis paul and patt mills show you dont need to tall to get it done.

i think the real issue is they dont teach em how to read the game. where are all the thinkers. i know i will upset some people who think physical ability si the be all and end all but bring on the smart players or focus the juniors on thinking more.

[CoachYT]

...... are there any young guards in college at the moment

For mine the college ranks don't hold that much stock because typically most schools are keen on our bigs as they have many, many guards to pick from. Of those there I'd like to see these 3 have a couple of WNBL seasons, or at least a break-out debut season before putting them in the Opals squad:

Alison Lacey, Iowa State Jnr, 6'0" PG averaging 10 and 7, with a 2.2 Assist / TO ratio;[/*:1takp5j7]
Lorelle Roper, Troy University Snr, 5'7" PG averaging 4 and 3, with nearly 4 assist per game and a + asst/TO ratio;[/*:1takp5j7]
Bianca Cheever, North Idaho JuCo Soph & early signee for Idaho next year, 5'8" Combo averaging 11 and 8 and 1.7 assist/TO ratio.[/*:1takp5j7]


Lacey, i think would be the pick here and the bad news, for other WNBL teams, is she's from Canberra!

[jumper]

everyone is stating that there are no young PG,s coming thru.

Is this a reflection on the structure of our junior leagues???

would love to see Veal get a go with the opals. she has experience ( played in USA), speed , smarts, defense and is tough.

[Coachpete]

everyone is stating that there are no young PG,s coming thru.

Is this a reflection on the structure of our junior leagues???

would love to see Veal get a go with the opals. she has experience ( played in USA), speed , smarts, defense and is tough.


I say blame the 24 second shot clock. Why the hell do we need PG's when you only have time to get it over the half and make 1 or 2 passes at the most?

[dirtydigits]

CP is partly right. the 24 sec is stupid. and its only goig to get worse when they bring in the new 14 sec rule in 2010.

but you cant honestly think that there is no need to nuture good pgs because of it. it means you need them more because u need to get the ball in the right peoples hands with less time. the pg is the coach on the court. no matter how much time there is to shoot u need a pg. and we got none. i hope graffy is working with the young ones now because come 2012 it mite not be pretty.

[Dunkin' Dan]

I disagree with CP. With less time to generate a quality shot it makes a good PG even more important IMO.
To me the lack of international-level local PGs is merely a coincidence compared to the timing of the introduction of the 24 second clock.

[Coachpete]

I think you've misunderstood me. I wasn't meaning to say we don't need them or need to nurture them....but the nature of the game with the 24 sec clock means PG's don't have the opportunity or time to learn how to run an offence properly.

[roadie]

Was watching the replay of the Lightning/Sydney game last night and was it just me, or did Poto put out a number of good reasons why she's a fringe Opals squad member (at best) when her talent puts her in the top couple of locally-based point guards. From the don't care free throw (after a bad shooting stretch) through to the 'doesn't matter D' towards the end of the game, when things were going against her, she seemed to switch off.

[dirtydigits]

marino had her for breakfast. iot looked like she stopped tryin to cover up the fact that marino OWNED her

[coach_me]

Should never under value the impact a good point guard can have on a team. The Opals woul dbe lost without Harrower, and to show how limited we are for good point guards at the moment we took Tully to the last olympics. Now before all you Tully lovers jump all over me - I thought she did a great job and I love her game (although could score more) but she was in her retirement year and that is the second best option to run our national team ....... it screams of lack of depth in our ranks (or lack of confidence in the younger point guards by the coaching staff) Tully was the only other player that could run the team and get the on court personalities all on the same page the way Harrower does. Poto or Phillips try barking the orders at Jackson or Suzi and ... well you can but the judge of the reply they might get.

I like Sam Richards as she is smooth with the ball - sure has had injury problems but that comes down to player management to by the coaching staff. I still think she is the best at her psoition outside of Harrower.

That's my opinion anyway, and if you dont like it, then your most likely right :lol:

[~Angel_Baby~]

I still think that everyone is underestimating Hurst, she is fast, accurate and smart on the court. Given the chance I think she could really step up. And hopefully with Graf as the new head coach, she might get that chance.

Plus, I think she is a PG that the other players like LJ and Taylor would listen to, just like Tully and Harrower.

[skoops]

yes we will miss Harrower however i believe that Phillips will stand up in the pg position however what you may find is graffy going with some different types over the next couple of years to have different option in that position. Phillips is explosive and hard to defend one on one hopefully able to draw the help d away from players the ilk of Jackson and Taylor. Veal is a thinker with excellent court awareness and the ability to find her team mates in heavy traffic, ( prehaps the criticism of her has been that she can be erratic with turnovers, but maybe its just that the players around her at the wnbl level havent always been able to read the game as well as her!), Hurst is explosive very quick and could prehaps do a similar job to a Patty Mills if she can defend at the level required? Mc Leod is smart very good distributer of the ball and has the long three point shot which Harrower has which is very important at the international level.

Whoever the point guards are the most important thing for me is that our two and three man can shoot the piss out of the ball, that has been our problem, stop playing players like Screen in Macca both good players but neither can shoot the three at around the 40% success rate, this will open the point guard and inside players like jackson and Taylor.

Be bold and go with a couple of players like Foley Camino and Graham who can really offer some offansive power of their own and not players who are just there to compliment Jackson and Taylor.

[ScoopJackson]

All talk of hunt and hurst about possible future opals pg's.. anyone considered Flanagan?

[mexican]

Give Veal a shot.. she knows how to run the show, can defend and will hit the open 3 when her player goes from her to help

[Dunkin' Dan]

Will she? 26% gives me a lot of doubt about that.

[mexican]

Will she? 26% gives me a lot of doubt about that.

I said the open shot! i think you will find she is taken alot of threes at the end of logan's shot clock with a hand(sometimes two) in her face.
She is sticking the open shots big problem is she dosn't see enough of them in this team.

Would you prefer she didn't attempt these shots and just let the clock run out to help her % ???

I think we can agree that the hardest thing about following the WNBL (and NBL for that matter) is you rarely see players play and are forced to watch box scores ??

[dirtydigits]

mexican is 100% right - there's a stat for you dunkin dan :wink: 26% means nothing esp when her team has noone that can drive and get her a shot. put veal in a better team and she will florish, shooting percentages included.

[Dunkin' Dan]

Shooting has never been Veal's strong point, open or otherwise, but I will of course give you the point about the situation she finds herself in at the moment and the quality of shots available.

I think we can agree that the hardest thing about following the WNBL (and NBL for that matter) is you rarely see players play and are forced to watch box scores ??
Yes, I can agree with that, although in Veal's case I have seen a heck of a lot of her games over the past decade, so I'm quite familiar with how she plays the game.
Traditionally the main criticisms of her game haven't been scoring-related anyway, but rather her defence and her turnovers.

Kristen has been around the fringe of the Opals many times in the past and I'm certainly fine with her being in the mix again. She has a lot of experience under her belt now in the WNBL, international ball and of course the WNBA, which is a rare commodity amongst the "next group" of players (i.e. behind Tully & Kristi) competing for a spot. Poto is probably the only other one comparable in that department, and something they both have going for them right now is that they compete in the same league as the Opals coach.

[skoops]

the more everyone talks about Veal as the incumbent point guard in the opals squad the more i like it, her international experience is a massive advantage and so is her size. There are criticisms of her game however as i pointed out earlier the turnovers would prehaps be reduced playing with better players who read the game better and defencively she is capable and now i believe her mindset is alot better than it used to be, and now that she has matured as a person she could bring the imense amount of talent she has together to guide the opals.

[Off_the_bench]

I'm liking the Veal for Opals talk. :)

She's easily the player that most fans love to watch just by virtue of how she plays the game- the full repertoire of passes- behind the back, no look, full court- and just all around flashy play. Might drive her coaches insane but what the crowd wants to see is that entertaining style of play. Ironically, I think that her style of play is what Opals coaches might be worried about. Generally, we need a stable floor general in international ball and Vealy is willing to push that fine line all the time- which is why she' so good to watch but her assists to turnover ratio would certainly be higher than most quality point guards.

My only other concern would be her defensive play, she really has had problems containing dribble penetration too many times this season, mind you, no one in the Thunder team can play solid, consistent defense.

Regardless, Veal could probably harness that flair and I'm sure she will be given an opportunity again along with the likes of Richards, Poto, Phillips to see who can back up Kristi.