RebKell's Junkie Boards

[mavcarter]

[J-Spoon]

Here is the thing

the rookie who will likely make the biggest impact is the one who gets the most minutes. Here is the problem with figuring that out

Walker, Willoughby, Jones and Odom are all 6 to 6' 1" G/Ws who may also play some at the 4 spot in Hopkins system but

figuring out who is going to get the minutes is really difficult while there games aren't the same

Walker is the best shooter
Willoughby has the best all around game
Jones is the best defender and slasher
Odom is the most athletic with possibly the highest ceiling

but who gets the minutes, will it be split evenly, will there be some sort of meritocracy where ones minutes will increase with greater performance, or will that matter lease in a season where Hopkins is working out his system and fit and wins don't seem that crucial. Could Jones have some advantage seeming like more of a SG than the others, or will Nurse or Ionescu slide over to the SG spot when Durr is off the floor.

Then you have Shook who seems to be playing behind Zahui B and Stokes. If Shook ends up also seeing minutes at the 4 spot she is going to be splitting them with Allen and all of the possible 3/4 from above (Walker/Willoughby/Odom).

My over all feeling is

Walker has possible future all-star, is a year younger and has at least one legit W level skill in her shooting so she seems the most likely to be developed and get the most minutes.

Willoughby is the quiet assassin type. She has the best two way game and what seems like a desire to compete and improve. Normally I am drawn to flash but I won't be shocked if Willoughby has the best rookie season of the rest and a decent W career.

Jones I just don't know, she seems like a prototypical two was decent sized WNBA SG there is no reason she wouldn't succeed, but there have been a lot of players in this style who make and who don't is she closer to a Hayes, Sykes, R. Williams type a Copper, S. Johnson, A. Gray, SWk, Hill, S. Rodgers type or an Allston, Epps, Harper, Simmons, Marshall type?

Odom Going back to my being drawn to flash IMO Odom has a tom if IT factor, she has the least impressive college stats of these four but I just have a feeling if given a chance she is the one who will blow up. She has the highest ceiling IMO and maybe if as other Duke players have she flourishes under a new coach/system then I think she has a shot. OTOH she is the last of our rookie draft class and with all the other players who need minutes to show what they can do she might not have much of a chance. She'll be that player who will blow up on her second WNBA team.

Shook I will be thrilled if she proves me wrong but I feel similar to Myrtle that she is a good college player who will be out matched at this level. (I have already stated I would have picked Mompremier instead of her but I also would have picked Brewer if you were going for 3 and D post). Again I hope she proves me wrong but I think she will be the next in a long line of players like Hamblin, Bulgak, Huff, Robinson, Malott, Coates, Hollivay, Alleyene etc. Not saying the exact same type of game but excellent college posts who are good enough to get in the league but not good enough to stay in the league. The advantage that Shook does have is once Hopkins has a good feel for Zahui B and Stokes Shook may get some more minutes that won't be available to the other 4 rookies, and if she delivers in those minutes more opportunity will come her way.

Overall
I think Walker will get the most minutes to prove her worth, Willoughby will do the best with the minutes she gets and Odom is my long shot to out perform the other rookies if she gets a decent shot. Long story long I think the consensus of the poll is accurate.

[root_thing]

1. Walker is the youngest, but her November birthday only makes her 8 months younger than Willloughby, Odom, and Shook who all became 22 in March. Sabrina turns 23 in December. Jones is the old lady -- she becomes 24 in October.

2. Shook is much more proven as a 3-pt shooter than Brewer. Brittany does fine shooting from mid-range, but she only started shooting 3's as a senior and wasn't all that successful (9-37 24.3%). Brewer is good at blocking shots, but I'm not convinced her overall defense is anything special. She definitely doesn't have the lateral quickness of Shook.

3. My take on Walker is that she has enough athletic ability to play in the WNBA, and the stats indicate she has very good shooting skills. Her problem is getting too amped-up for big games. She needs some kind of emotional reinforcement -- either a hug or a kick in the butt. I think the coaching staff can provide the former and Sabrina will happily do the latter. Megan also needs to diversify her offense. She relies too much on long jump-shots.

4. It's clear that you can separate the Liberty picks into two groups. The first three are offensive skill players who put up big numbers. The second three are defensive players who put-up moderate numbers but are more athletic. It's easy to dream when it comes to athleticism, but I think skill usually wins out as long as the skilled player is at least an average athlete.

_________________
You can always do something else.

[Stormeo]

...and the winner, effectively after making the All-Rookie Team, is Jazmine Jones! She garnered the least votes here (just 1 out of 38!), so maybe she saw this post and it got her fired up 😤, ready to prove the doubters wrong.

Who makes it to the Liberty's final roster next year? My order of who has thus far made the most impact on the court to the least:
1. Jones
2. Odom
3. Willoughby
4. Shook
5. Walker

[myrtle]

great poll and great results to show us know-it-alls that we don't really know much at all. But it was fun.

_________________
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

[J-Spoon]

Jones 10+ points a game put her on the all rookie team but an argument can be made that Odom was the better Liberty player

Odom had more floor time, shot 49% to Jones 40% on many fewer attempts meaning Jones scored more points but also missed a lot more shots. Odom also had 15 TOs in more minutes played to Jones 58.

Jones was flashier and more exciting but also made a lot more mistakes. It will be interesting to see how the Liberty value those two results. Jones has a lot of potential but has to improve in a lot of areas, and at least on the offensive end what she was doing later in the season when she increased her scoring is going to be replaced when Ionescu, Durr and Johannes are back in the fold. OTOH most of Jones' mistakes came from being a late first round rookie suddenly thrust into the role of a number 1 or 2 offensive option maybe she can take what she learned in 2020 and apply it to a more efficient reduced role in 2021 but that can be a hard adjustment. While Odom was meshing her game with the starters all season long and playing decent defense with more consistency in her role while making a lot fewer mistakes. Odom's game also has a lot of room for improvement, and she has a lot of potential, but more importantly Odom might be more of a fit with Liberty 2021 when Ionescu and Durr are back on the team.

I would also rank Jones and Odom as the best of the six rookies who played the whole season. I would probably agree that Jones had the most impact in 2020 but I think Odom will be the best fit with Liberty 2021.

[bluedevilaztecfan5]

Jones, regarding the turnovers, also was thrust into a position (point/lead guard) she hadn’t played since high school.
I agree Odom fits with the roster better for next season, so now would be the time to trade her with value being higher than it may ever be (not saying it’s a lot now lol but still).

Did we vote on this before we found out Megan Walker tested positive for COVID? I am pretty sure I voted for Walker, but I think it was before this knowledge.
Willoughby would have been my next pick though, tbh.

[mavcarter]

[myrtle]

not impressed with Odom. Yeah she shot 49% but you could say she missed 51% of her shots from 6' or less. (ok, only a slight exaggeration) Lots of activity but looked lost and missed a lot of bunnies.

_________________
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

[WNBA 09]

[Stormeo]

There were times when Odom looked like a natural out there, and other times where she would just disappear from the game. It was clear offensive rebounding was one of the few jobs assigned to her, but even that wasn't consistent. Still, she gives them a little something the other perimeter rookies and players don't. I don't know if that something's enough, but it's still something. Ditto Jones and her physicality and ball-handling (which imo have proven to be enough). The Liberty perimeter could see this competition play out in 2021's camp:

PG – Ionescu/Clarendon/Kea
SG – Durr/Nurse/Johannès
(S)F – Allen/Talbot/Willoughby/Walker

And I have absolutely no idea how Willoughby or Walker fit into this group if that's indeed what it'll be.

[root_thing]

[Luuuc]

_________________
Thanks for calling. I wait all night for calls like these.

[myrtle]

[Bob Lamm]

[pilight]

[Bob Lamm]

[Stormeo]

My predictions/gut feelings on who's on the Liberty's roster at the start of the 2021 regular season (by virtue of being kept or getting cut/traded):

Holmes: No
Jones: Yes
Odom: No
Shook: Yes
Walker: Yes
Willoughby: No

(forgot Holmes lol whoops)

[J-Spoon]

[root_thing]

While offense grabs people's attention, defense counts too. Odom was considered the team’s best perimeter defender. She got the toughest defensive assignment every game whether PG, SG or SF. And before the season, management made it clear that Leaonna was drafted for her defense. They viewed her offense as being in the development stage. Hopkins said during the season that he felt Odom was ahead of schedule. I’d be very surprised if Leaonna is not on the team next year unless she gets packaged in a trade.

Willoughby seems like another Hopkins favorite. From the things he said, it sounds like she had the best training camp. It was Willoughby who initially replaced Ionescu when Sabrina went down. Like Odom, Jocelyn is considered a good defender. Unlike Odom, they didn’t give up on her defending against post players. While Leaonna got pushed around, Jocelyn could at least hold her ground. Unfortunately, taller players still shot over her. Nonetheless, I have a feeling Walt considers the situation to be a work in progress. If he’s really going to try this SFs as PFs experiment, Willoughby is his physically strongest wing. Allen gives you more length, but like Odom she might get manhandled (womanhandled? personhandled?). On offense, Willoughby was ridiculously bad around the rim, but she did lead the team in 3-Pt percentage. Yes, it was a smallish sample size (15-37 40.5%), but that’s as many made 3's as Clarendon and Jones who played significantly more minutes.

The other alternative if you want strength is Talbot. She is listed at anywhere from 175 lbs to 200 lbs. Stephanie is 6-2 in the US, but 6-1 (185 cm) in Australia. Either way, she probably gives you the best combination of strength and length among the wings. However, I’m not sure Talbot sits high in the pecking order given that she was acquired for a 3rd Round pick. Stephanie would need to have a really impressive training camp to make the team.

Walker is the big question mark. She was the Liberty's most highly regarded draft pick after Ionescu. Megan has a legitimate excuse for her bad season, given that she went into quarantine and missed training camp. Still, we can't unsee that Walker was really bad on both ends of the court. Skill is her calling card because there is nothing special about Megan physically. Among the wings, other players are taller, stronger, or more athletic. Megan is staying afloat based on reputation. Like Kia Nurse, Walker is another odd situation that’s very difficult to evaluate.

_________________
You can always do something else.

[myrtle]

love all these insights. you guys are good!
I really wanted to like Willoughby. There's definitely something likable about her - she has a good pro body, seems to be a decent defender (which is unusual for a rookie) and she could drive to the rim... but her A/To number was not good and I also found myself holding my breath every time she went to the rim - will she or will she not make this bunny, that is the question. She actually reminds me a bit of Shameka Christon, for those of you who've been around for awhile, though Meka was (I think) taller. [I'm talking about her before Syl smushed her eyeball. She was never the same player after that.] Putting Willoughby at the 4 though is totally unfair to her...unless the other team is also playing small ball.

Jones so far exceeded my expectations that perhaps it made me overlook her shortcomings. I know that I had the thought numerous times watching her that she could be as good as Jackie Young, which is pretty astonishing since Jackie went #1 last year.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Walker included in a trade deal. I think on a different team she might blossom. So hard to tell from this year!

Would love to hear what Queenie thinks.

_________________
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

[Stormeo]

It just seems like all of these players would thrive for sure (other than Holmes – she's just too much of a project here in the pros at this point, despite her being highly regarded coming out of high school) if they weren't on the same team. Each of the true perimeter players are a little different and bring slightly different skillsets to the table, but they absolutely aren't drastic enough to justify keeping all of them.

[Bob Lamm]

[J-Spoon]

[root_thing]

Washington made the playoffs so that 2nd Round pick is #17 (12+5).

_________________
You can always do something else.