Bashaara Graves in the WNBA

#52
#52
gule said:
looks like people were correct, she gone!
Click to expand...

And so is Bashaara. Waived today by the Lynx. They did her a favor. She was languishing at the end of their bench. Hopefully, she gets picked up by another team this season.

Bashaara would be a nice pickup for a team like LA. Surely they could trade in one of their Serbians for her. They need young blood on their team.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#54
#54
Amb3096 said:
And so is Bashaara. Waived today by the Lynx. They did her a favor. She was languishing at the end of their bench. Hopefully, she gets picked up by another team this season.

Bashaara would be a nice pickup for a team like LA. Surely they could trade in one of their Serbians for her. They need young blood on their team.
Click to expand...

I agree with you I like her in LA coming off their bench or even Seattle or San Antonio. She could learn a lot from Dan Hughes (who has had a history of coaching undersized Post) and Playing behind Crystal Langhorne (who is another undersized Post) would be a good mentor for her. Both also offer playing time as they are thin at the backup 4 spot
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#55
#55
Minnesota waived Bashaara on 6/28, and then signed her on 7/1 to a 7-day contract. This hardly makes sense. Given that there were no other players signed or hurt, why not just waive her on 7/8 :dunno:

At least she gets to stay in the league for another week. Who knows...maybe she'll have a nice showing in the 4th quarter while Minny is slaughtering San Antonio.
 
#56
#56
Amb3096 said:
Minnesota waived Bashaara on 6/28, and then signed her on 7/1 to a 7-day contract. This hardly makes sense. Given that there were no other players signed or hurt, why not just waive her on 7/8 :dunno:

At least she gets to stay in the league for another week. Who knows...maybe she'll have a nice showing in the 4th quarter while Minny is slaughtering San Antonio.
Click to expand...

I agree but the 7 day contract gets them out of her rookie contract as they are allowed to pay her on a weekly basis, I believe it allows them to do it 2 more times before they have to give her the full rookie deal/keep her for the rest of the year. I don't see why they cut her though (unless they were looking to make a trade), they should've cut Hampton imo, because they are oldest at the 4/5 spot (with Brunson, Fowles, and McCarville all being about 32 and older) Hampton is a 3 who can spend some time at 4 and with Maya so young it is rare that she comes off the floor.
 
#57
#57
Graves' offensive shortcomings will make it hard for her to stay in the WNBA for very long. Hope I'm wrong...but the signs are not good.
 
#58
#58
armchair said:
Graves' offensive shortcomings will make it hard for her to stay in the WNBA for very long. Hope I'm wrong...but the signs are not good.
Click to expand...
Exactly, better coaching would have brought her out from underneath, played out of position the whole time she was here.
 
#59
#59
PineyBluff Vol said:
Exactly, better coaching would have brought her out from underneath, played out of position the whole time she was here.
Click to expand...

She played her right position. She just didn't have the body for it.

She will have a hard time playing offense or defense at the low post in the WNBA with her lack of length and hops. If she wants to stay in the league, she needs to bank on getting 70% of her points off 12-15 foot jumpers like Candice Dupree does.
 
#60
#60
I'm just asking, does she have a shot from the elbow, or can she handle the ball to get that shot or to the paint for a hook? Does she have a hook shot? The few minutes I have seen her play, I don't remember seeing her away from the basket. I agree, she is not a 5. But if she is subbing for Fowles or McCardle, then I suppose she is a 5. Just asking...
 
#61
#61
Rixxx said:
I'm just asking, does she have a shot from the elbow, or can she handle the ball to get that shot or to the paint for a hook? Does she have a hook shot? The few minutes I have seen her play, I don't remember seeing her away from the basket. I agree, she is not a 5. But if she is subbing for Fowles or McCardle, then I suppose she is a 5. Just asking...
Click to expand...

She's not really a 5. Her more natural position is the 4 at PF. That's what will hurt her even more is for her to be playing the 5 position. Bashaara does have a jump shot out to 15 feet. It's not pretty but she can hit them.

She's very very foul proned. If she tries to guard a Center she's just going to get into foul trouble all the time. She needs to be at the PF position to have the best chance in the WNBA. Thanks!
 
#62
#62
Amb3096 said:
She played her right position. She just didn't have the body for it.

She will have a hard time playing offense or defense at the low post in the WNBA with her lack of length and hops. If she wants to stay in the league, she needs to bank on getting 70% of her points off 12-15 foot jumpers like Candice Dupree does.
Click to expand...


"She played her right position. She just didn't have the body for it."
My point exactly!:question:
 
#63
#63
PineyBluff Vol said:
"She played her right position. She just didn't have the body for it."
My point exactly!:question:
Click to expand...

My point is that she was good enough as a combo PF/C to do reasonably well at the top level of the college basketball, but cannot get away with it as a pro. Holly would have been a fool to try to turn her into a wing or face-up 4 when she was already a solid post player. Besides, there were already better wings on the team who were playing alongside her.

This is the same reason why I don't expect Nina Davis to amount to much of anything in the WNBA. A 5'11 post player will get punished in the pro ranks.
 
#64
#64
Amb3096 said:
... I don't expect Nina Davis to amount to much of anything in the WNBA. A 5'11 post player will get punished in the pro ranks.
Click to expand...

We need to wait and see how Davis performs in the WNBA before passing judgment. What we do know is that she was a Tennessee native (Memphis Central HS) who chose to leave the state rather than play for Coach Warlick. It was another coach who developed this undersized post into a first team All-American. Does anyone think coach Warlick could have accomplished this feat? Was Davis skeptical of Coach Warlick's ability to develop talent? Is that why she passed up the chance to play for her state's flagship university and went elsewhere? ESPN ranked Graves #5 coming out of high school; Davis was ranked #52. Graves has three inches on Davis. Which player has developed into the better PF, and which coach deserves the credit?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#65
#65
Hoya Saxa said:
We need to wait and see how Davis performs in the WNBA before passing judgment. What we do know is that she was a Tennessee native (Memphis Central HS) who chose to leave the state rather than play for Coach Warlick. It was another coach who developed this undersized post into a first team All-American. Does anyone think coach Warlick could have accomplished this feat? Was Davis skeptical of Coach Warlick's ability to develop talent? Is that why she passed up the chance to play for her state's flagship university and went elsewhere? ESPN ranked Graves #5 coming out of high school; Davis was ranked #52. Graves has three inches on Davis. Which player has developed into the better PF, and which coach deserves the credit?
Click to expand...
Leave it to you to ruin good conversation about Shar and turn it into a bash Holly thread!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#66
#66
I'd be hard pressed to name very many players who actually improved significantly during their four years with UT--and that is probably true of most players at most schools. Examples? Most players develop/improve a little but are not much different as seniors than they were as freshmen. The best players are typically good from the get-go--naturally talented; they don't really develop.
 
#67
#67
armchair said:
I'd be hard pressed to name very many players who actually improved significantly during their four years with UT--and that is probably true of most players at most schools. Examples? Most players develop/improve a little but are not much different as seniors than they were as freshmen. The best players are typically good from the get-go--naturally talented; they don't really develop.
Click to expand...


I thought Glory, Izzy, and Kamiko all improved.

Meighan and Bash, not so much.

Love all five and want the best for them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 people
#68
#68
mcannon1 said:
I thought Glory, Izzy, and Kamiko all improved.

Meighan and Bash, not so much.

Love all five and want the best for them.
Click to expand...

I think Bash's slow development attributed to the lower back injury she devolved her sophomore season. She was wayyyyyy more explosive prior to that injury. After that she seemed to lose her explosiveness she once possessed. The girl had hops similar to Glory and we all saw the potential her freshman year. She developed a mid range jumper, however it never seemed like she used it enough to keep the defense honest. Once she drove around her defender, she often got her shot blocked by not being able to explode once she got to the rim. Her freshman year, she just leaped over her defender to finish. Bash was one of my favorite players of all time. She was relentless, tough, and hard working. I hate she couldn't get her a NC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#69
#69
LadyVol1908 said:
I think Bash's slow development attributed to the lower back injury she devolved her sophomore season. She was wayyyyyy more explosive prior to that injury. After that she seemed to lose her explosiveness she once possessed. The girl had hops similar to Glory and we all saw the potential her freshman year. She developed a mid range jumper, however it never seemed like she used it enough to keep the defense honest. Once she drove around her defender, she often got her shot blocked by not being able to explode once she got to the rim. Her freshman year, she just leaped over her defender to finish. Bash was one of my favorite players of all time. She was relentless, tough, and hard working. I hate she couldn't get her a NC.
Click to expand...

Bashaara never had hops. She can't jump, and she's not particularly long either. Glory would jump Bashaara out of the building. There is zero comparison there...none whatsoever. However, Bashaara was strong as hell, used her body to get in good position for rebounding, and she had a pretty good first step and a couple of reliable back to the basket moves where she could navigate around her defenders. Freshman Bashaara was way better than Freshman Glory because she was a more skilled basketball player.

Her development stopped because Tennessee did not have a quality guard (other than Ariel, who Holly moved off the ball) that could consistently get her the ball once she had position. If Tennessee had a guard of the caliber of Niya Johnson, then Bashaara would have had a better college career.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#70
#70
Amb3096 said:
Bashaara never had hops. She can't jump, and she's not particularly long either. Glory would jump Bashaara out of the building. There is zero comparison there...none whatsoever. However, Bashaara was strong as hell, used her body to get in good position for rebounding, and she had a pretty good first step and a couple of reliable back to the basket moves where she could navigate around her defenders. Freshman Bashaara was way better than Freshman Glory because she was a more skilled basketball player.

Her development stopped because Tennessee did not have a quality guard (other than Ariel, who Holly moved off the ball) that could consistently get her the ball once she had position. If Tennessee had a guard of the caliber of Niya Johnson, then Bashaara would have had a better college career.
Click to expand...

I saw Bash her Senior year in high school and yes, the girl had hops! That carried over to her freshman year, hence the reason why we were so excited for her career at UT. We'll just have to disagree with the reason as into why she didn't quite excel as much as some of us wanted her to.
 
#72
#72
I don't recall Glory developing much--she was like Graves, no? Excellent rebounder but no offensive game. I think Izzy DID develop--but those who develop significantly are pretty rare.

We all like and respect Graves, a hard worker on the court, but she just doesn't have any offensive/scoring instincts: she is WAY too deliberate and slow with the ball;indecisive. Always had the problem of bending over with the ball near the basket--which is a fundamental mistake, playing small rather than big--and thus making it hard to get your shot off against a defender. If you want to be a scorer close to the basket, you have to make quick decisions with the ball, play big and be explosive. She started to do that a bit the last half of her senior campaign--but too little, too late, at least as far as the Vols were concerned. Even when she started shooting--and making some 12-14-foot jumpers, she'd always pause and think for two seconds before shooting the ball.

Graves is not alone: a lot of players who are very good in high school, and physically dominant, suddenly display weaknesses when the move to college--a significantly higher competitive level. Coaches need to jump on weaknesses such as Bash's IMMEDIATELY, when a player is a freshman--and force players to do things that may not be comfortable doing. In this way you can, in some cases, accelerate the development process. I assume our coaches do it to a degree, but players really need to be pushed.
 
#73
#73
armchair said:
I don't recall Glory developing much--she was like Graves, no? Excellent rebounder but no offensive game. I think Izzy DID develop--but those who develop significantly are pretty rare.
Click to expand...

Glory Johnson has been having a very good season in the WNBA (since her suspension). Her offense has been consistent. But Graves, Burdick, Harrison, and Simmons have all been struggling to make the adjustment to the pro ranks. It's surprising because they were all highly-ranked recruits coming out of high school. Harrison's struggle may be partially attributed to her injury, but that was over a year ago.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
#74
#74
Hoya Saxa said:
Glory Johnson has been having a very good season in the WNBA (since her suspension). Her offense has been consistent. But Graves, Burdick, Harrison, and Simmons have all been struggling to make the adjustment to the pro ranks. It's surprising because they were all highly-ranked recruits coming out of high school. Harrison's struggle may be partially attributed to her injury, but that was over a year ago.
Click to expand...

Glory also had a very good junior and senior year at Tennessee. She was an athlete first, basketball player second during her first two years. As an upperclassman, she developed back to the basket moves, a more consistent mid-range jumpshot and played with better form. There was no comparison between Senior Glory and Frosh Glory.

As for the other recent players you mentioned, Harrison is probably the only one with a game suited for the pros, but she's stuck at Phoenix, and they just got Kelsey Bone. They should trade her or waive her. She's not going to get playing time behind Dupree, Griner, Bone and probably Mistie Bass who is a great role player for Phoenix.

Graves, Simmons and Burdick will likely not be on a WNBA roster come tip-off next season.
 
#75
#75
Hoya Saxa said:
Glory Johnson has been having a very good season in the WNBA (since her suspension). Her offense has been consistent. But Graves, Burdick, Harrison, and Simmons have all been struggling to make the adjustment to the pro ranks. It's surprising because they were all highly-ranked recruits coming out of high school. Harrison's struggle may be partially attributed to her injury, but that was over a year ago.
Click to expand...

Harrison isn't struggling. She's averaging 4.1 points in 8.8 minutes per game on 61% shooting. Her only problem is fouls. The acquisition of Kelsey Bone has pushed her out of the rotation.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 person
New posts
You must log in or register to reply here.

VN Store



Back
Top