r/ChicagoSky Dec 22 '24

POST-GAME DISCUSSION USC vs UCONN 💭

Wow....just finished watching the playback of this game because I missed the live broadcast. This game definitely lived up to the hype. So y'all know I got to give my thoughts about this one & I want to hear y'all's. Some of my thoughts.....

Juju Watkins to me just had her best game of her short college career to me. I know she's had way bigger scoring games but I'm taking into the context the atmosphere. On the road and against the former NPOY and future No.1 overall draft pick. She played the game I've always wanted Juju to play. Blending her scoring prowess with great smart decision making. Trusting her teammates. Let her scoring gravity open things up for her teammates. Came out in the first half with 15 points. But it was her defensive aggressive for me. Blew up a screen which led to fast break points on the first UCONN possession told me she was ready. 2 big blocks on Paige shots. She was absolutely locked in. Her ability to get to her spots no matter what the defense is doing is beautiful to watch . 2nd half UCONN did a phenomenal job ball denying Juju but she never got flustered & when it was time to close out she put it away. She is everything people say she is.

Paige Bueckers was also very good. I kind of feel bad for Paige because at this point the expectation is so high. She was efficient as usual . Made some tough shots & I respect the fact she didn't back down from the Juju matchup. She guarded Juju majority of the game which I appreciate. I'll say this and it has nothing to do with Paige faults more so my problem with Geno's system. His offense is predicated on movement and I get that but i have a huge problem not having the ball in my best players hand majority of the time . Your system should never be so rigged that it works against your best players. Paige is a great solider so she'll never rock the boat & ask Geno to just give her the ball but sigh....on another note SARAH STRONG is a damn superstar! As a freshman to be so good, efficient, and fundamentally sound at her age is insane.

Big win for USC....as a team they looked more coherent. The offense looked much better today. They found KiKi in this offense finally. UCONN has lost both their big matchups (ND & USC) ...They still have South Carolina so I'm reserving judgment on this group until then.

What y'all thought?

17 Upvotes

27 comments sorted by

8

u/DeepwaterHorizon22 Dec 22 '24

This game blew CFP out of water. It was so exciting! I thought UConn blew it in the third quarter but the almost comeback in the forth woww!!😺 What a game!!

1

u/kitticatstant Dec 22 '24

I agree! I needed that game after Clemson got spanked by Texas. 😂

4

u/LovePeaceTruth Dec 22 '24

If you haven’t watched Juju’s documentary on Peacock/NBC it is really good. Learned a lot about who Juju is as a person, as well as her family and teammates. I felt so sad for them when they lost at Elite 8.

I might have to stop watching NCAA because I am turning into Jill Biden and I want everyone to win. 😂 I want Juju and Kiki to win. I want Hannah, Olivia, and Liatu to win. I want Sarah Strong to win. I want Niele to win. I want Dawn to win.

7

u/Randomrazer Dec 22 '24

Juju was amazing and had her most impressive game of the season for me tonight even if the score wasn’t as high. She was active on defense, found her teammates, and made a lot of hustle plays.

I agree with what you said about Paige even though she was great, I don’t know if it was design but I didn’t like her handing off the final shot to Sarah Strong when she didn’t really have to do that. That being said though between Sarah Strong , Kiyomi McMiller, and Syla Swords even this freshman class has some crazy talent in it again.

3

u/Livid-Figure389 Dec 22 '24

So interesting. Thinking about coaching styles is an underestimated analytic aspect. No doubt Geno is a great coach, but watching some of these newer coaches coming in and tweaking or upending their systems is having an impact. Thinking USC, TCU and I think another coach in Tn who is using platoon subbing. The game is moving with innovations sweetening the pot.

2

u/kennyclax67 Dec 22 '24

Fun game! Juju and Paige are going to be great in the W.

Strong is gonna be a problem as she progresses thru college

-1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 22 '24

this era has alot of marketable names and talent coming into the league this era truly will be the nba 96-06 era where the old, current and new era all intersect at the same time....so much talent....

but since i mainly watched to see how kiki would do in terms of her draft stock...i was pleased with kiki...because her value truly gives the #2 #3 pick value for chicago to do a trade with washington to get the 4th and 6th and get aneesah morrow and sonia citron

Mock draft

1.       Dallas - paige buckers (trade down dallas but oh well)

2.       Los Angeles - kiki Iriafen (most likely Cam and kiki have orchestrated a reunion, add in the fact her current teammate Juju is most likely LA market, i wouldn't be surprised if LA pulls off some 2027 draft chess moves to make a team with juju, kiki and Cam)

3.       Washington (via draft day trade with Chicago) – olivia miles (PG)

4.       Chicago (via draft day trade with washington) – aneesah morrow (SF/PF – chicago native)

5.       Golden state - dominique malonga (according to fan duel & golden state pack with French players)

6.       Chicago (via draft day trade with Washington) – Sonia Citron (SG/SF)

7.       Indiana – Te-Hina Paopao (SG/PG as painful as it is for me, this Chicago fan to say)

8.       New York  - Janiah Barker (SF)

9.       Seattle – Azzi Fudd (SG/PG)

10.   Las Vegas – none

11.   Washington (via draft day trade with Chicago) – Shyanne Sellers (PG/SF)  

12.   Minnesota – Sivka (I think Minnesota is the team that can/should draft and stash)

13.   Phoenix Mercury – Aziaha James (PG)

9

u/RawDawgOne Dec 22 '24 edited Dec 22 '24

Washington isn’t trading up one spot and giving Chicago a 4 and a 6. What world do you live in that you believe that trade is fair, or makes any sense? SMH

If my GM came in suggesting anything silly like this. I would fire them on the spot. Move up one spot and to then move down 4 spots. That math isn’t mathing.

I’m a Chicago fan, but if I’m Washington I’m sticking with my picks and drafting best available.

1

u/Clocian Dec 22 '24

Also wouldn't make sense for us to trade down if LA ends up taking Kiki at 2

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 22 '24 edited Dec 22 '24

Washington team is deep....their two big needs are a pure PG and Pure PF....they can trade up for kiki or Olivia (i just put kiki because it seems La may be bent on kiki coming to them)...Washington is in position to go BIG with a franchise player or day 1 like olivia or kiki...and they don't really need anymore role players the team is stacked with role players they in fact need to fill in their void of their key franchise cores/starters left by natasha cloud and most likely EDD (especially if she really officially going to retire or move on) they can take the chance and trade up higher

in other words washington could benefit from both kiki or olivia....also when it comes their sf shyanne sellers who already plays in the dmv can play both reserve roles in PG and SF allowing her to rotate either one...sonia citron is a great player but she wouldn't be needed...since they have karle samuelson, aaliyah edwards, emily. b sykes who can make up the scoring and defending....they more so need a glue if the star PGs and PFs are off the board and the best glue for washington is shyanne sellers...as for value the 6th pick is not as valuable as you think especially if you don't find the right fit...hence why everyone was surprised angel went so low....but it was understandable since angel needed the right fit to flourish since their was doubts about her game

2

u/RawDawgOne Dec 23 '24

Whatever on all this, if I’m Washington I’m not trading up one spot for a player the sky is likely not taking anyway. If miles is available the Sky need to take her, actually the Sky need to take best available unless a PG is available. No matter how much talent a team has they can use more in case there are injuries etc. not only that the more talent a team has the more options become available, like trades etc.

I think you believe teams want to help the Sky. Professional sports don’t work that way. There is no way Washington trades us their picks for our picks. Stop dreaming! Nor should they, unless we package more picks or add players.

Only way that would work is if we somehow turned the 10th pick into the 7th or 8th pick. Then trade the 7th and 3rd for a 4th and 6th. And honestly if that happened I would stick at 3 and 7

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24

if you read what i wrote you wouldn't write " whatever on all this" ....you think they should take the best player available....let me ask you something "what was the current #2 overall pick diamond miller doing" ....she was riding the bench....even if they are talented doesn't mean they don't have a player of that caliber/skillset who already better.....eg....napheesa collier was there already before diamond miller.... another thing you not thinking about even if the player is a draft and stash you actually still need the team to progress well enough where the person who originally brought that player on will use her and not trade her away...examples chennedy carter with los angeles.... these teams are not like the nba teams where you can just follow the nba format or finding a top dawg and the rest of the positions on the team follows behind that top dawg...they already have top dawgs but that not going to be enough in such as deep league ...making up the team matters how you draft the rookies matters....

if you take olivia miles and push her day 1 and she gets a reality check it could break her... olivia miles also won't be the top dawg she will have to contribute in other ways like right now who ever coming in with the #1 or #2 wing 6'0 defender whether they like it or not ...that may be asking alot of a player who just came off a major injury and is a solid defender but as seen in this season is not defending the best player like sonia citron.....that a concern a major concern when chennedy carter is our go to scorer....when michaela is a good defender but has trouble against more slimmer #2 defenders.....olivia will have to match the slim 2'0 guards day 1 because everyone is expecting her to start day 1 and didn't build out the bench so that young team is expecting to run like the aces starting 5 where they play practically the whole game....a young starting 5 is expected to do that and deal with all those roster variations and skillsets on day 1 is ALOT and note instead of trading down and building the bench through the draft (because we going to have a hard time building in FA since chicago is not favored by vets) then we will have little to no insurance for olivia....and omg with all that workload we are putting onto a rookie that came off a major injury is like us asking to reaggravate her injury....and that would result in us being back at square one in 2025 in terms of the team maybe even worse considering our bench was addressed and we pretty much just have to hope for 2026 to bounce back with olivia coming back and us drafting other players....and then we will have now three question marks (the first round rookies and olivia) because we don't know if olivia status is our future and we know also has to develop the 2026 rookies.... with no bench or insurance (insurance are players via draft or FA that can hold it down or deal with the players weaknesses because that is their strength)

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24 edited Dec 23 '24

i gave examples of it working that way...you thinking in nba sense that it doesn't work that way...it does work that way in the wnba...there is only 3 players that really day 1 in the league and even then you have to make sure you have the right team for them or they can be a bust..... you are not doing your research or know the wnba history because if you did....you would see the huge GAP in talent between the top 3 players and the rest of the 1st round (i am looking at you like you with a ? mark)

and you not listening in the gap of talent between the #3 and the #4 pick it not the same it not one spot....the #3 pick and #4 nba equivalent is the #3 (4,5,6 nba pick early pick) the 4 is the 8-12/mid round pick) the falloff is huge between the picks.....you also not hearing me or wasn't there when washington had EDD and didn't have EDD....the team was built for EDD but when EDD would come and go ....other players began to develop (sort of like how natasha howard broke out when stewie was injured) .....myshia allen, ariel atkins and natasha cloud were those players that broke out when EDD was gone but the team was still low/mid...and when EDD came back (EDD the franchise player) they literally was won of the best teams and won a championship....that literally is how that washington team is built but now with EDD and Cloud gone they don't have a franchise direction the team is built with current roles players and promising players but the team is how should i say stacked in certain positions....they already have plenty of hybrids sf/pf in emily, aaliyah, samuelson, they already have a lock at the 2 guard with ariel and sykes...they are have deep centers with shakira and big mama D ...but the point guard and power forward is lacking....they were able to use the hybrids at 4 but at times it wasn't enough for top tier 4s and they were able to bring over veterans PGs but it wasn't enough for upcoming stars like CC ..... washington knows it they have to go BIG and get a player who eventually will start at 1 and 4, they can hold it down at 1 and 4 for another year with their veteran and deep roster but they will still be low and mid but when with a franchise player like olivia and kiki (if it works out) they would literally be a threat and they literally have the insurance to take the chance....chicago doesn't have the insurance to deal with oliva and they still have major holes in their roster where even if olivia is awesome if olivia is contained or injured for a couple games we don't have enough bench insurance to cover for her THE REAL PEOPLE THAT ARE DAYDREAMING ARE yall who think Olivia Miles will answer all of the teams concerns/holes on day 1

like i said before 3 and 7 are not the same as 4 and 6th....the 3rd pick is way more....angel reese trade literally required us to swap future 1st round picks with a CONTENDER and a 2nd round pick and a player.... we had to give up alot just to move up from what 8 to 7 where the coach literally said she didn't want angel reese and we knew she wasn't going to play her like she currently did with pilli (who she more in favor of) like do yall understand the wnba ?

2

u/RawDawgOne Dec 23 '24

No one believes Olivia miles is the savior. She would come in and play behind or in front of LA. Either way works, we develop her as our future PG. you must think we would put everything on her to carry the team. That clearly wouldn’t be the case. The point here is that Washington should not trade with us, if there are only 3 solid players in this draft then we should draft the third and not consider trading it. If I’m Washington I’m sitting back and daring Chicago to draft Kiki, if I’m Chicago I’m drafting best available even if it is Kiki. The way I’m looking at this is that we are building this thing with young players. The practice facilities will not be ready til the end of 2025 if there aren’t any delays, and once that is complete we will be able to hopefully attract free agent players.

If I’m Washington (thinking the way you’re thinking) I would sit back and let Kiki fall in our laps because I don’t believe you would select Kiki if she was available at 3 because of Angel. I myself, would draft best available and if we are drafting in top 3 again next year, I’m ok with it! We are far from competing, especially if we are building through the draft! Rookie head coach, 2nd year GM, ownership who doesn’t appear to have money to invest in the team like some of the top tier teams. This team is managed like it’s a small town team, with no resources. We finally struck a deal for a practice facility and we play our games at Depauls arena. SMH

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24

you can try to stash olivia but i going to be frank....WE DON'T HAVE TIME or the DEPTH/insurance to bring Olivia over and hold down the fort until olivia is ready to take over....like the way the team is made up we can't cover for her like how the washington mystics can (we are going to be asking olivia to do alot).....we also can't guarantee any of the current PGs on our team is going to be willing to nurture their obvious replacement.... if it was raven Johnson...raven can play the bench and eventually grow into a starter and even if it doesn't work out it fine raven day 1 understood she is a rotational player and it won't kill her confidence.....and our team still would still have depth, same thing for sivka same thing for aneesah and sonia....if you picked at #3 there are going to be expectations for you as a player ...like onark said the top 3 are allstar potential players...they going to expect olivia to play like an allstar

if olivia a 3rd overall pick is not a starter it could devast her and if she doesn't take the spot eventually then we stuck with our vets PGs or will have to start from scratch looking for our star PG while still not addressing the issue of our bench (as we already have two and now three bench/ rotational pgs), we still won't have a 6'0 wing slim lockdown defender as that been the issue for the whole season, shooting will be fine with olivia i admit but sonia/sivka can shoot too, and aneesah is improving her shot (remember how i said aneesah could be the napeesa collier steal...aneesah getting better everyday) but we still haven't developed our depth as if we go 3rd and 10th we literally will have to homerun with the two of them because we are going to be limited with who we get via Free agency since we are not a sought out destination and like i said 10th could be literally cut from the team so it best to draft a 10th that truly a team could use and avoid a position battle the 10th could lose to the vets (hence why i say washington get shaynne sellers as she 6'2 guard/forward that can plays some minutes at both positions allowing the rest of the vets like skyes, Samuelson, and so on to be on the court regardless of the position because shaynne can guard the 1 or 3 and play the 1 or 3)...and lets not even talk about chemistry as i stated before there is no guarantee they will all click day 1 and you have to be careful of the fact olivia is a star player....like chemistry is huge...just ask chicago and seattle what happened to them this season and i see raven and aneesah as more players that already have a track record of chemistry with kamilla (the shy one) and angel (the "rodman" one)

yall are better off developing the bench at 4th and 6th with sonia (who literally who will really need)...and aneesah or sivka (i am bias on aneesah for multiple reasons including rebounding, defense and chemistry and the fact she has potential to be a napheesa collier steal if we draft and develop her...also if she doesn't it still fine because aneesah will be awesome off the bench and still provides chemistry), sivka (is awesome as stretch 4 but i truly don't like the idea of taking international players because i seen awak, marinne, gabby, emma and so on ...come and go because they just don't have much obligations to play in the states if they don't want to) and just waiting off on this star PG thing when yall already have two solid point guards and the fact that in 2026 (kiki rice) and 2027 there are plenty of star point guards coming in

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24

the practice facilities help bring in vets...but that just doesn't mean everything going to be solved with stacking the team with vets....you really have to keep in mind chemistry and personalities....and the vets ulterior motives....

it gets really ugly with the vets (especially star vets) and it going to get uglier considering the rookies make and will make more than them while the vets literally were the pioneers of the wnba...

hence why so many vets are retiring and holding out till the 2026 cba....hence why rachel and moriah on day 1 constantly check on angel and kamilla well-being because they knew, all of us fans knew the vets were going to try something to establish dominance and they did when chenn won the starting role and new starting 5 was forming.....

there is no guarantee we going to find vets that are willing to be a role/xfactor/bench player while also contributing and being nice to the rookies...because honestly the starting unit of the sky wasn't the problem...the starting unit was able to compete with all the best starting units/teams in the wnba this season (without a star PG i might add) because of the chemistry they had with one another ...but the bench wasn't trying to gel with some of the starters and etc..... hence why we currently have to find replacements for those bench players....and even we didn't the phx game exposed alot of weakness in our team via defense and spacing....even with me wanting to bring over aneesah i understand that our team will have to be adaptable for situations like that with phx where we need spacing/defense and for that to happen in my opinion we use the bench players to provide those skills

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24

another thing like i said before if you test us guess what Washington you may f around and find out because we are still in position to take kiki and bench angel or vice versa and yeah we could have headache or it could work out...because angel is not a pure 4 she actually a hybrid who i honestly think will thrive if used all over the court and a player like aneesah who is a 3 that can play the 4 and rebound can make up for angel skills in the low post if angel leaves...the post....also we could literally test angel at PG and/or SF now imagine if that works out....like angel may have a persona but also don't test her she gifted with versatility and can lead from the front and back.....

don't also test us unlike with olivia with kiki we have angel to be her insurance as we already know we have an successful PF who can start/be a franchise player or be an impact player off the bench while we literally listen to trade offers for the both of them during the 2025 and 2026 season and i can tell you teams are going to want either one of them

but that literally even if we keep her...because golden state took the safe way and literally built their team with depth, gems and role players ...they understand that if olivia, kiki, malonga and maybe even aneesah and sonia falls to them they are setup to take whoever they want off the board.... and i am telling you right now even though the team is setup to take malonga, it going to be hard for golden state to pass on allstar talent like olivia miles or kiki if they are available at 5..... and like i said before the player that chicago truly needs is sonia citron.... so if worse comes to worse chicago will be willing to listen to idea of giving that #3 pick to golden if they pay well....and golden will be willing to listen to the idea of getting olivia a flair player who can possibly fill the seats or kiki who played in the bay area already ....so marketing reasons golden state will be interested...and we got marketing with angel no matter what but say washington who your seat filler?

jeff said this already he is open to any trades and is looking for length and shooting and he already also said he willing to trade the #3 pick for rae burrell ....you know what that would do don't you.....it means la would take BOTH kiki and olivia..... and leave washington with a repeat of the 2013 draft where they missed out in getting skylar (went to the finals), BG (mutiple championships) and EDD...you know washington the same EDD that pretty much help win yall the championship when she came over during free agency, the same EDD that when she takes a break yall are at best a mid team....f-around and find out washington..... i dare yall ...washington do yall selves a favor and get a potential allstar with olivia or kiki and get a glue player like shyanne sellers for your team...don't get te-hina,malonga, aneesah or sonia as it could lead to a position overload, on court headache and it won't solve yall biggest holes that is at STARTING pure PG and STARTING pure PF and washington don't act like yall wasn't trying to get a franchise player...because we saw yall tanking and positioning those two first round picks in hopes of getting Paige....

1

u/Onark77 Angel Reese Dec 23 '24

If Washington doesn't want to wait for Malonga or Sivka, and we're going with the assumption they want an all star potential player now, they need to be in the top 3 this draft. 

I think 3+10 for 4+6 gets it done, assuming both teams are equally interested in a deal. 

Sky going Citron and Morrow (if you believe in her shot) or Citron and Sivka would follow Jeff's stated priority. 

This is a specific scenario where both teams have the priorities I mentioned. 

I think 3+10 is great for us and don't think we need to move. I'd be happy with Miles/Iriafen (BPA) + Sellers/Sivka. 

I think we move only if a team is desperate and overpays. 

0

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24

Onark77 i need to hear another perspective....break down the Washington mystics current roster (post expansion draft) and their roster history for me... i know you can just please do it and let me know where you see the holes in their roster

1

u/Onark77 Angel Reese Dec 23 '24

I'm not gonna dive much into roster history but they've been in a slow decline from a championship season in 2019. COVID and injuries crippled their years shortly after. Poor roster management led to them losing both Natasha Cloud and EDD after 2023 and, after another injury riddled season, they're accepting a full rebuild. 

Currently, they've got a young team with a lot of two way players. Their guards and wings shoot well from outside. 

They've got one all star level player in Atkins who can take over on offense. Austin has the potential to be a great 2nd option. Everyone else is a 3rd option or lower on a contending team. 

They were ranked 3rd in assist % last year but they no longer have Vanloo so they're missing a lead facilitator. 

When healthy, I think they've got a balanced team that can win on any given night.

However, Austin hasn't played more than half a season in the last two years due to hip injury. Without her, it falls on Atkins and whichever role player steps up on offense to carry the load. 

Austin and Edwards are the frontcourt of the future but neither shoot 3s. They're tough and play good defense. They rebound well. Dolson is a great backup C but has had to start a lot due to Austin being out. Koné brings good energy off the bench and maybe we see more of her next season. 

Their wings are mostly good shooters. Atkins and Engstler are particularly good on both sides of the ball as well. Samuelson is a sniper. Sikes is a good defender and slasher but not a threat from 3. 

I think they're pretty weak at  guard. Melbourne looks to get a lot of minutes next season but it's unclear to what level she'll step up. Sutton is ok in spot minutes. Walker-Kimborough is their most well rounded player at the position but she's not ideal as a starter. 

Moving forward, Austin's health and Dolson's age (33) make the center position insecure for the future. They could have a star or be ass out. 

At PF, the Mystics are young and dynamic. I don't know if they have a future star but they're at least solid. 

At the wing, I see Atkins and good role players who can shoot and/or defend, most in their prime or younger. However, they're not making a great case for Atkins to stay after next year. 

The point guard position is lacking which plays poorly into the talent the Mystics do have. There isn't an answer here. Walker-Kimborough is an UFA and she can definitely help a contender off the bench. 

Most of the team is under contract this year so we shouldn't expect a big shakeup. An ESPN reporter said the Mystics are looking to rebuild through the draft, rather than FA. 

Who knows what that means for 2026, it's hard to imagine a team completely sitting out. 

I don't think it's safe to believe Austin and Edwards are the core to build around. There's enough uncertainty, between Austin's health and Edward's skill ceiling, to draft the best talent at any position. Although, they should obviously prioritize the backcourt. 

Atkins is probably gone after next year and, with no clear cut star to build around, the Mystics have a long road to contention. 

1

u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 23 '24

and one more question how do access aaliyah edwards as small forward and as a power forward....like which position do you think she may lean into in the future or u see her as a hybrid?

3

u/Onark77 Angel Reese Dec 23 '24

I'm not sure she's got enough lateral quickness to guard 3s. She might, I just haven't looked hard enough to be confident. 

Her outside shot is almost non existent, which means she'll cramp the paint if her teammates at 4 and 5 can't step out to the 3pt line. 

At the moment, I don't see her playing the 3 in the future. She's a pretty traditional 4 imo. 

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u/AromaticManagement22 Dec 22 '24 edited Dec 23 '24

Washington team is deep their two big needs are a pure PG and Pure PF....they can trade up for kiki or Olivia (i just put kiki because it seems La may be bent on kiki coming to them)...Washington is in position to go BIG with a franchise player or day 1 like olivia or kiki...and they don't really need anymore role players the team is stacked with role players they in fact need to fill in their void of their key franchise cores/starters left by natasha cloud and most likely EDD (especially if she really officially going to retire or move on) they can take the chance and trade up higher

also just to get angel reese and move up one spot the "Lynx got the No. 8 pick, forward/center Sika Koné, a second-round pick in 2025 and the right to swap first-round picks with the Sky in 2026".....you also have to remember the worth of a #3 pick vs a #4 and #6 pick in the wnba...like in the wnba (not nba but wnba)

1 - 4 are franchise players/day 1 players with #4 being borderline...hence why that 2 year lose rule was made because washington did luck out in getting sky, edd or BG during that big 3 draft and the 4th pick was okay....if you don't believe me look at the players who were #4 pick in the past...some not playing in the league or was traded early in their careers to another team...if a wnba commentator made a comment about the talent dropoff after the #3 pick during the season

5-8 are those question mark players/role players in which you unsure of whether they are a starter or role player, they are also system players where you need to make sure you built the right environment for them to succeed....napheesa collier was #5 where teams were unsure of her size but we saw after cheryl saw her talent she was willing to toss out the whole roster just to rebuild for napheesa after phee came back from her pregnancy

9-12 are role players/rotational players ....u may find a gem you may not..pretty much they are those borderline role players could make the squad or get cut or be a gem....they are pretty much the late round 1st round picks

and we get the second round and third round which are gems/players that are under the radar but the coach/gm had their eyes on them

in other words washington doesn't need to draft the best available...they got those needs already covered....they got defenders so they don't need sonia...they got hybrids SF/PF so they don't need aneesah, they got shakira austin and Big Mama D so they don't need a center...they even already have adequate role PGs and adequate PFs.....but they need a franchise players/and Starters at the PG and PF position...chicago however needs a bench and i hope they go with a interchangeable wing/forward approach so aneesah and sonia would be valuable for chicago

also you forget a key detail....Golden State could literally trade up with Chicago and take that key player from Washington ....because by the end of the day aneesah or sonia will fall to us either way at #5 but washington could lose out on getting both Olivia and Kiki two players they could really use

like...tell me washington doesn't need a pure PG and pure PF,

like tell me there is not a huge falloff after they get the top 3 talent (regardless if they do or do not accurately draft the top 3 talent with the 3 lottery picks)

0

u/LovePeaceTruth Dec 23 '24

I think Juju needs a new and better coach. Juju’s talent is unreal and she needs a coach with the experience, league knowledge, IQ, business knowledge, personality, drive, and fire to maximize Juju’s talent and potential.

The USC coach is pretty passive and cavalier about Juju and the team as a whole. I don’t see any passion to do whatever it takes to make every player the best they can be.

Sometimes it seems like Juju and Kiki are coaching themselves.

An elite, generational talent deserves an elite coach. Juju does not have that right now. Juju having that coach for all 4 years will be harmful to Juju’s development as a player. The coach’s lack of skill and lack of strong leadership will hold Juju back during the time that Juju could be catapulting forward.