RebKell's Junkie Boards

[5thmantheme]

Swishappeal posted a decent Mitchell v Plum article , with some fancy stat talk :
http://www.swishappeal.com/2017/2/28/14752648/kelsey-plum-mitchell-comparision-ncaaw-wnba

[Shades]

<iframe width="740" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fFSKKxSfAEY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

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

[CamrnCrz1974]

[WNBA 09]

[stever]

Toad455 posted a pretty solid 2-round list last Saturday on draftsite.com:
https://www.draftsite.com/mydraftsite/toad455/wnba/mock-draft/2017/

If Mitchell & Diamond coming out were to push Shayla Cooper down to NY at #14, that could solve NY's "problem" at the 3 for next decade, and would be a steal, IMO.

...plus, she's a creative defender:
<iframe frameborder="0" width="480" height="270" src="//www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x177110" allowfullscreen></iframe>

_________________
Women's Basketball Daily
Celebrating the Women's Game Since 2005
WBBDaily Mobile Edition

[WNBA 09]

[Nixtreefan]

Have y'all watched Ohios State this year errr obviously NOT.

[Shades]

Cooper and Ohio St are peaking at the right time.




Don't want to turn this into another NYL thread (there's enough hand-wringing going on in their own thread), but there could be a few interesting possibilities at #14: Shayla Cooper, Alexis Prince, Brittany Sykes, Nina Davis.... maybe Jankoska if the Libs are done with the Boyd experiment.

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

[PickledGinger]

My big question in the Kelsey vs. Kelsey debate is this: Plum has steadily improved over her career due to her desire and commitment to be the best. Mitchell arguably had her best season as a Freshman, and hasn't really grown as a player since. Is that a product of coaching, or of self-discipline? And how will that translate to their pro careers?

[hangtyme24]

[CamrnCrz1974]

[toad455]

[zvyn3]

[stever]

https://theundefeated.com/features/tennessee-diamond-deshields-delino-deshields/

[Shades]

[J-Spoon]

So with the consensus now being that Mitchell and Deshields are coming out (Personally I think it is about 50/50 for both. I could see both receiving a lot of pressure to stay or even wanting to stay because Ohio St and Tenn should be better next year than this year and at least be in the conversation for the final four, if that matters to either I could see them wanting to stay).

But my real question is will anyone else make the early leap?

Based on absolutely nothing I feel like L. Brown or Mavunga might.

And a real dark horse might be Reimer.

Again all of this is pure speculation.

Anyone else got a feeling about anyone, speculate away.

[root_thing]

If Reimer comes out, she's crazy. I don't think she'll get drafted.

In general, I doubt the one-year transfers are coming out. DeShields gave two years, and in theory she may be graduating (don't know anything about her academic life). That's more acceptable. Yes, I do think it matters to them.

_________________
You can always do something else.

[Richyyy]

Selfishly, I want them all to declare. If you're good enough, don't waste another year of your near-prime playing in the minor leagues (I appreciate there are other, good reasons for staying in school. But I want to watch the best players in the best league).

I'd have been really interested to see what happened if someone like Griner turned pro out of high school. She could've immediately made a lot of money overseas. Would there have been pressure on the WNBA to change their rules? Would USA Basketball (even with their ties to the NBA/WNBA) have called her up to the full training squad when she was still years away from being eligible to play professionally in the USA? Especially considering the really big money would've been in doing something like Epiphanny Prince and becoming 'Russian' as part of the deal.

I understand why the rules are the way they are, especially considering the relative lack of money in the women's game. But it just seems unfair that the guys end up signing at least three or four big contracts after their initial deal, while you're already starting to wonder if the women are declining as they come off their rookie scale contracts. Athletic careers are so short, and all those college years can really take a bite out of the overall earning potential.

_________________
Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[zvyn3]

[root_thing]

[RavenDog]

Diamond DeShields has always been a question mark for me. Not for her athleticism but for the other attributes she displays at times, as mostly Clay has opined.

Some players do not like or want to be coached. Some players do not like or want to play defense. Some players do not like or want to be second level leaders or be led by others. Some players do not have, show or always enlist a positive attitude or demeanor. Some players do not always hustle and give 100% effort.

For SAS, VJ will not put up with players employing the above less than positive attributes. However, she well knows that all of these attributes can be learned, demonstrated, changed or corrected should a player want to. She will need to decide whether the time and effort invested by the coaching staff and the effect on the other players will likely produce a beneficial undertaking should a player demonstrate some or all of these tendencies.

SAS is Moriah Jefferson's team and she is and will continue to be its primary leader. Moriah always portrays and demonstrates a positive attitude, energy and team spirit that encourages her team mates. She expects the other players on her team to do the same and follow her orders and properly run the plays called on the floor.

Not saying that Diamond coincides with all of the above "Some Players" but in her history she has shown given tendencies that have some people questioning her at times.

Diamond currently is not a great shooter. Can she become one? The ability is there.

Can she defend? Yes, she is a good defender but like many players may not always defend up to her ability.

She is a 3 player that can play the 1 and 2. Good 3 players like Diamond are very rare, as most know. So, she is a most valuable commodity should she produce up to her ability and potential.

Diamond hardly ever smiles but almost always has a depressed look on her face when on the floor. When she does smile it is electric! Is this important? Do the other players feed off of it? Does it portray team values and support for the coaching staff? Is something bothering her? I cannot come to grips with an answer. There could be countless reasons and legitimate answers, i.e., her general nature or simply being unaware.

So, again, it comes down to the proverbial risk/reward choice. With Plum, you know exactly what you are going to get 100% of the time. Mitchell is pretty much a given to. These two have pretty much matched their potential offensively. According to Sue Bird, Plum is an outstanding passer - one of the best she's seen. Diamond, most believe, has the higher ceiling of the three should she desire to aggressively produce, progress and perfect.

Ruth and VJ will have to answer the above questions and decide on a #1. Ruth and VJ are both pretty good judges of talent and character and beneficially, they both played in the WNBA and overseas professionally. Their closer involvement with these three players and their respective coaches should help make clear their final decision.

Hoping for the best...

[CamrnCrz1974]

The science behind Plum's shot is comparable to Curry's
http://es.pn/2mDenLa

[WNBA 09]

[Richyyy]

I made a similar argument before last year's draft: that however good they eventually turned out to be, Tiffany Mitchell would have a smoother immediate transition to WNBA level than Rachel Banham (and I turned out to be right, for once ). T.Mitchell just had more obviously translatable skills, and we'd seen lots of players like her succeed before. Even if she wasn't great, she was going to be a serviceable bench guard (I think my comparison was Tan White, which isn't a great parallel, but gives an idea). Banham, on the other hand, was a kind of player that we just haven't seen succeed much in the WNBA. The slow, combo-guard gunner, with questionable defense and ballhandling. There were just much more glaring bust possibilities, even if you might believe that she'd ultimately become the better player (and she still could - her rookie year certainly didn't tell us everything).

I can see the somewhat similar argument with Plum vs K.Mitchell, although I don't think it's entirely fair - mainly because I just think Plum is a significantly better player than Banham. The situations they're dropped in and the coaches they're playing for will have a huge impact on how they translate, but I could certainly imagine K.Mitchell being effective more quickly. Plum may have greater issues working out what she can get away with against WNBA-level athletes.

_________________
Independent WNBA coverage: http://www.wnbalien.com/

[Shades]

Banham was injured.... but left's not make that a factor in anything.

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