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Message: [QUOTE="sutomcat, post: 3716362, member: 27"] This is a strange team. They seem to have all the pieces to be a legit NC contender but they tend to play really mediocre ball for extended periods just about every game. Wake is well coached and fundamentally sound but they aren’t very athletic and aren’t very big. Yet they were able to get quality shots from the perimeter and from the paint most of the game. SU dug in and played good defense parts of the 3rd and 4th quarters and it was enough to get them the 10 point lead that they were able to ride through to get the win. But it is hard to watch them get beat on defense so easily so often. A lot of mental lapses, even from veterans. Digna has had a disappointing senior season offensively. She has shot the ball poorly from the perimeter and her normally reliable mid range game has also failed her. Good to see her play with confidence and shoot it well. She has become the best defender on the team and is very solid defending her area of the zone. Priscilla Williams is, I think, our best outside shooter and has the size and athletic ability to do a lot more but she tends to make bad defensive gaffes and force some bad shots. She seemed to shoot just about every time she touched the ball early in the season but is learning now how to get her shots in the flow of the offense. And her defense is getting better, slowly. Emily got off to a bad start and was pulled pretty quickly by Q. Had a melt down and I don’t think she played again until the second half. She is so important to this team. Can do some much. I think she is our best rebounder, tough, tall and gritty. But she is a good ball handler, an excellent passer, and she can shoot it too. Excellent mid range jumper and really nice finisher down low. Cardoso is a huge talent who even as a frosh is capable of taking over games for extended stretches. She seems like a very nice person. I think she is trying not to overstep her bounds as a frosh playing with players with a lot more experience and that is holding her back a bit. When SU surged ahead in the second half, a big reason was her inspired play on defense (we have seen this before as well). She has spurts where she becomes really active, goes after every shot and gets a startling number of blocks. A lot of them are from people shooting from near the free throw line or 15 feet out on the wing. Her footwork and use of her body aren’t great yet and she still lets players drive around her sometimes. But she is so tall and so strong she is still a huge force when she is in. And she runs the court like a deer. Gets a couple of layups every game that way. It is going to be exciting to see her develop over her career. I think she is going to be the best center in the country down the road. Tiana had a strange game. No points in the first half until a desperation shot at the buzzer. Was not really involved in the offense. Didn’t even look at the basket much. She scored a lot of points in the past in transition and that part of her game is unfortunately gone now. Definitely has lost a half a step. Good to see her get more aggressive in the second half and get some points. She got hurt and Q had to help her walk off the court at some point in the second half but she returned late in the game and seemed to be okay. When she was gone. Kiara took over the point duties and played well. Better than she had been playing. Seems more comfortable playing point guard...has not been super effective at shooting guard. She is another player who can be a fine defender for spurts but seems to get disinterested at times as well. I don’t know why, but I have developed a strong dislike for Muffet McGraw and her appearances as an analyst pre-game, post-game and at half time. Maybe it is because she never seems to have anything nice to say about Syracuse. Maybe it is because she seems to talk out of the side of her mouth all the time (did she suffer a stroke). Maybe it is her bizarre outfits. She had this gold shiny thing on the other day that I swear I saw the head madam at a cathouse wear on an episode of Bonanza in 1973. I have to say though, she is right. This team doesn’t seem to be that tight. Q has cut down the rotation of players pretty dramatically as the season has progressed, some experienced players have seen their playing time cut and it has to be hard with all the adjustments going on. There is enough talent here to make a run. I will be disappointed if this team does not at least get to the Elite Eight. Last comment: given the lack of playing time for the young PGs, it looks like Q is going to have the PG job to the dynamic PG coming in from Toronto. That should be interesting. [/QUOTE]

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