In Reply to: Re: WBB - not too much talent, but rather too much posted by UCLA23OSU10 on June 06, 2025 at 14:44:15
Imo, the way Close played the 2nd half of the season minimized the use of the players' talent. Particularly Kiki.
Everyone that ever saw a wbb in their life knew that we were going to toss it in to Lauren and let her go 1 v x. If that x was 4, so be it. Kiki's game is penetrating, getting to the basket, finishing with either hand. She was never going to be able to do that once Close went to all Lauren, all the time. This is not a knock on Lauren. It was really disappointing to hear, in a recent interview posted here, Close stilllllll blaming a 35 point loss to UConn in the Semi's on effort.
Brueckers wasn't even spectacular in that game. She didn't need to be. Close structured our team so that only one player was going to get looks - and Aureima (sp?) went with it.
It's not Kiki's fault that she's not a CWBB star (#2 rated recruit in the country). Close has taken her game away from her.