RebKell's Junkie Boards

[pilight]

After seeing her get abused by Jessica Davenport last night, I'm less convinced than ever that she's an impact player in the W. She doesn't seem to be able to handle good college posts. She's been outplayed by Kelli Roehrig twice, Roehrig is a second tier prospect at best.

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[gopher5]

I just have to disagree with the comment that McCarville was outplayed by Roehrig twice. There were not many good things in the loss to MSU, but McCarville clearly outplayed Roehrig in Minneapolis. The only stat that should have been better for McCarville is rebounds. Roehrig was ineffective in getting the shot off that she is comfortable with and was not much of a factor.

[CamrnCrz1974]

Last night's game proved McCarville will have to be a 4 in the W.

[4ever_bball_fan]

Does anybody remember Stacy Stephens? McCarville is perhaps much better at a lot of skill sets than Stephens, no argument here...but Janell is not going to play the 5 in the W. If she can perfect a three ball shot, she can perhaps make a really powerful 4...she sees the court well and can bang, but the W centers will eat her lunch at this point in her development.

Which leads to further questions about the impact of where she lands this season. Will it be with a coach that will give her time to develop in the league or will she be expected to be an "impact" player right away?

[accommodatingly]

[4ever_bball_fan]

I'm not really sure of Sancho's ability to keep up with the premier centers in the W at this time. I can actully see her playing the four and working up to the five in a year or so...again, under the right coaching. She will continue to fill out physically, and she has the right mentality for the 5, but the transition from college to pros can be difficult.

And remember, Sancho didn't start playing basketball until she was about 17 years old...another Hakeem story.

[Keegan]

If Phoenix drafts Janel, they wouldn't necessarily play her at the 5. They are looking at other options for the 5 spot.

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[accommodatingly]

[womens_hoops]

yeah, I'm pretty much with accommodatingly, as usual.

Davenport outplayed her. Janel did a good job some of the time pushing Jess out of her range. But OSU is just too good at swinging and reversing the ball, and Janel could only keep her out so long. Janel also did some fronting which led to some steals.

But once Davenport got the ball, if she was within 10 feet of the basket, it was over. Janel played good D fundamentally -- stayed on her feet, with a hand in the face. But it just didn't matter -- Jess just shot right over her.

Davenport is at least 2 inches taller and also has longer arms. She's also good -- the best post we've played this year. Lots better than Fowles, from what I've seen. Janel can't guard her here, and Janel can't guard people that tall in the W. I think she'll be able to guard people who don't have such a height advantage, but we'll see.

But honestly pilight, Roehrig? What the hell are you talking about? The first game (probably Janel's worst of the season) was a draw. Roehrig did absolutely nothing at the game here -- Janel didn't let her within 10 feet of the hoop, so she got no rebounds, and no looks. Shot something like 1 for 4.

I gather you didn't actually see that game. talking out of your ass, maybe?

[BBallFanCT729]

Janel will definitely have to play the PF position in the WNBA. She wouldn't be able to hang with the likes of Lisa Leslie and Yolanda Griffith. She'll be a solid pro, but I don't think she'll be a star.

While I really like Janel, I would still take Sandora Irvin over her. That's not a bash on Janel, nor is it a way to prove Sandora's talent. I just like Sandora's all-around game better than Janel's (sans the turnovers). If only Sandora had a somewhat better supporting cast.

[womens_hoops]

i still haven't seen sandora play, but from what i've heard, i'd probably take her over janel too, much as i love janel.

we've all been saying for two years that she'll have to be a 4 in the W. the truth is, she should really be a 4 in college. my MN starting lineup would be calhoun, roysland, broback, mccarville, and liz/tasha/lacey. but it will never happen.

i think janel is used wrong in college. and i think she is surrounded by some really subpar players. at the same time, she also has some problems -- fades away too much, doesn't get to the hoop, passes too much when she should be trying to score, etc. will be interesting to see if she can carry this team far in the tournament. i have to say, i don't have much hope.

i think she'll make a very good 4 in the W. but it's definitely a question mark -- only time will tell.

[GlennMacGrady]

Janel needs a better left hand, or at least a better one than she's shown in the games I've seen.

When she moves from right to left across the paint, she tries to shoot by squaring up and shooting with her right hand over her right shoulder ... which allows her shot to be easily blocked. Especially by a long defender like Davenport. Especially since Janel doesn't have much leapability.

If she could finish that move with a left-handed scoop shot ... a la Charde "Whirlaway" Houston ... she could go under the defender and be much more effective.

Agree she is not a so-called 5. But that's not a reason for the Mercury not to take her ... if there's not a better 4 or 5 available when they draft. (How's that for a triple negative sentence.) A short post player with good moves and scoring ability ... like Janel ... is more valuable to the Mercury than a good face-up shooter like Wecker. The Merc have enough outside shooters.

I also greatly appreciate Janel's basketball "smarts". She sees the court; she knows what's going on; she can anticipate player and ball movements on both offense and defense; and she can make terrific scoring passes. These are Taurasi's great assets ... and hence I think Janel would work extremely well with Dee on offense. Excitingly well.

[BBallFanCT729]

If Monique Currie enters the draft, and is available at #3, Phoenix will most likely take her.

[fang]

McCarville certainly should be a 4 in the W. She would be better off in the east, due to the greater amount of teams running a half-court type offense. It will be interesting to see what kind of offense SASS will be running with Hughes, who is a die-hard half-court guy.

Not to beat a dead horse, but I still don't believe McC is going to be able to keep up with Tina Thompson (who may be a little slower ), Milton-Jones, LJ, Tangela Smith, etc. in the west.

Indiana could swap her for Nat Williams. They would get at least as much offense for a lot less money.

[4ever_bball_fan]

What about the job Roehrig did on Davenport??? And Davenport had a record setting game!

Kelli reminds me of Suzy Batkovic...fills up the paint and punishes you.

[womens_hoops]

Roehrig did a good job, some of the time, keeping Jess far away from the basket. And she's tall enough that she's able to legitimately contest Jess's shots.

Roehrig also did a good job shooting the ball directly into Davenport's hand a bunch of times. Like she was hoping Jess would break the block record.

Glenn is right about Janel and her relative lack of left hand shooting ability -- for that reason, she's better on the left block. On the right block, when she goes middle, she always has to fade away. Also, from there, she often goes baseline for the reverse so she can use her right hand. But that move isn't as effective as something simpler.

She should learn from Davenport. Turn baseline with a drop step, then just go up and off the glass.

[accommodatingly]

McCarville scored against Davenport more and better than Roehrig did. A lot more, per minute: 22 in 33, vs 14 in 39. Of course Roehrig did a better defensive job: she's two inches taller than McCarville (heavier, too) and knows how to use it. (Kelli and Jess don't look the same effective height, though both are listed at 6'4"-- JD seems to have much longer arms.)

OTOH Roehrig seemed to be doing much better than Janel did emotionally: no frustration fouls for Kelli. On the third hand, she doesn't have to be the emotional and tactical leader for her team every minute of every game. MSU don't even need her to score that much, except when Shimek struggles (as she struggled yesterday).

Has anyone else seen the preview for the Martin Lawrence kids' comedy REBOUND? There's a middle-school girl who looks like a young Kelli Roehrig. If she has a substantial part I'll see the movie.

[wadethered]

[CamrnCrz1974]

Wade, you are wrong. Phoenix would put Currie at the 3, and move Penny Taylor to the 4. The team would run up and down, scoring at will, but giving up quite a bit. The hope would be that the offense would be more potent and would win games, despite the lack of height.

[CamrnCrz1974]

[4ever_bball_fan]

Michigan State won the game...triple double or not.

SDS, Burke, et al. kept saying what a "great" win this was for MSU...but I say, HEY you let OSU back in the thing, their big girl kicked your behind and you got lucky on that last foul for the free throws.

I guess the point is, what could have happened for OSU if Roehrig had not been covering Davenport at least as well as she did.

Face it, OSU did not play their typical game yesterday...I don't see how a team would be ranked as high as they have been all year with that many turn overs as a norm. Very sloppy play, to me. Davenport was a joy to watch though...got me up off the couch with the 10th rebound and then for every block after number 10.

[accommodatingly]

[womens_hoops]

Today we saw how McCarville, when she plays well, can deal with good posts, even ones much taller than she. After getting roughed up pretty bad by Dav in Columbus, Janel won the matchup today, and got the win.

Janel: 21 points (9-20), 15 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals.

Dav: 12 points (5-13), 12 boards, 4 blocks, 2 assists.

On the defensive end, Janel used her strength to keep Dav far away from the basket, and she used great position to deny the postfeed. OSU really struggled to get Dav the ball (and so she didn't get many shots), and when she did get the ball, she was usually too far away to be effective (and so she shot poorly).

As a team, Minnesota also did a much better job preparing for Dav. Janel fronted sometimes, and if they were able to lob over, someone else was right there with the double. Dav's a good, but not great passer, so you don't get hurt too much by doubling her.

At the other end, Janel took Dav away from the basket. Rather than posting up back-to-basket, she got it high and faced Dav up. Went right around her several times and either scored or drew help and dished. And also shot some nice midrange jumpers.

Interesting to note -- in the first game, Dav didn't guard Janel much. In this game, Dav guarded her almost the whole time. Not sure why OSU made that choice.

[stever]

It was Janel's mid-range game that impressed me most of all today, it bodes well for her pro career...as a "point forward."

8^)

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[womens_hoops]

tonight, on the other hand... yikes. This time she really did get outplayed by Roehrig. Terrible shot selection, falling into the bad old habit of fading away. Lost the game.

I think the reason is probably conditioning, which is still a problem for her, and is something she needs to work on for the W. But maybe it's more than just a physical problem...