21-22 Season

For fan discussion of the Vanderbilt Commodore women's basketball program, games and recruiting.

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moxiedore92
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21-22 Season

Post by moxiedore92 »

What I've seen so far from the Commodores has been encouraging. I like how the staff is using VU's fast, athletic guards to create turnovers and score in transition. Sacha Washington's is a good looking freshman. She disappeared against the taller, more-experienced KU bigs, but probably a case of the Freshmans. It'll be interesting to see how Kansas does this season beccause they didn't play like last place in the Big 12 in the second half. So far, it seems like teams have made second half adjustments that VU hasn't been able to counter. Wish there was a player coming off the bench that could create mismatches. There's so much sameness to the guards/forwards in the primary rotation. Will be interesting to see if the staff has more tricks up their sleeve for SEC play. Certainly they can improve on how they attack zone defenses. SV#


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MikeADore
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Re: 21-22 Season

Post by MikeADore »

moxiedore92 wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:20 am What I've seen so far from the Commodores has been encouraging. I like how the staff is using VU's fast, athletic guards to create turnovers and score in transition. Sacha Washington's is a good looking freshman. She disappeared against the taller, more-experienced KU bigs, but probably a case of the Freshmans. It'll be interesting to see how Kansas does this season beccause they didn't play like last place in the Big 12 in the second half. So far, it seems like teams have made second half adjustments that VU hasn't been able to counter. Wish there was a player coming off the bench that could create mismatches. There's so much sameness to the guards/forwards in the primary rotation. Will be interesting to see if the staff has more tricks up their sleeve for SEC play. Certainly they can improve on how they attack zone defenses. SV#
I think you've pretty much nailed it, Moxie. I wonder if a lot of our inability to counter opponent adjustments in the second half stems from fatigue. In a couple of recent games (Depaul and Kansas) it seemed we were noticeably slower in the second half after an energetic first half built a good lead.

We have some quickness and play hard, but we are not an imposing physical team. The freshmen will mature physically with time, but, for now, they're going to be prone to wearing down against bigger, stronger players. I don't mean to the point of exhaustion but to the point of losing a step of quickness and a bit of explosiveness. Unfortunately, even our more veteran players missed substantial development time the past couple of years.

Still, I give this team a lot of credit. Even with everything going sideways in the second half Sunday, they battled back and cut the deficit from 10 to 3 with four minutes to go. Obviously, though, they weren't able to close the show.

The Kansas zone was problematic. They're able to extend to defend the three because they have 6'6 and 6'4 behind them guarding the paint. Of course, we always knew size was a problem with this team, and this won't be the last time we pay the price for that.
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Re: 21-22 Season

Post by Ndorefin »

It appears many opponents devise a method to beat our press in the 2nd half and also drop back into a zone to combat our quickness. I believe we should utilize our shooters, Bartram and give Cheesman an opportunity to play more, especially in the 2nd half. I believe Cheesman has a lot of potential, but, I guarantee you, she won’t be here long if she doesn’t get more PT
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Re: 21-22 Season

Post by moxiedore92 »

Totally agree about well-coached teams making adjustments in the second halves. Would love to see us try a zone attack that puts Sacha in the short corner as a passer. (?) But from what I’ve seen, Bartram has been given plenty of opportunities and has been pretty cold. Gotta be able to hit open 3’s if that’s your role. And Cheesman looks like she plays much smaller than her height. What’s her bread and butter?
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Re: 21-22 Season

Post by Ndorefin »

Cheesman does a decent job rebounding and can shoot…..she too thin to be much more physical. I believe her biggest challenge is she’s a Freshman and she is having a difficult time adjusting to the college game. She is so used to dominating, I believe her confidence has suffered a severe blow.
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Re: 21-22 Season

Post by moxiedore92 »

Ndorefin wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:16 am Cheesman does a decent job rebounding and can shoot…..she too thin to be much more physical. I believe her biggest challenge is she’s a Freshman and she is having a difficult time adjusting to the college game. She is so used to dominating, I believe her confidence has suffered a severe blow.
There's a lot to digest, for sure. I'd hate to think a freshman who doesn't play a lot right away - esp for a coach like Ralph - wouldn't just look for greener/easier pastures elsewhere, but I guess that's the world we live in now. To me she's just looked very hesitant, but it's hard to be aggressive if you feel out of place in your new role. If she's used to dominating, hopefully she can get the mindset back and bring something to the team that it's lacking! An aggressive 6-2 shooter and passing forward/playmaker would be a big boost.
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