Taber Spani

#1
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dapeak

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#1
Loved her as a player very solid role player. She played the role I think Dunbar would thrive in. The question however is what the difference is between these players? Both can/could shoot neither are/were great defenders so what is stopping Dunbar from being this team's Spani.
 
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#2
#2
dapeak said:
Loved her as a player very solid role player. She played the role I think Dunbar would thrive in. The question however is what the difference is between these players? Both can/could shoot neither are/were great defenders so what is stopping Dunbar from being this team's Spani.
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Opportunity... she gets almost no time to show what she can do and grow. I expect her to get more time next year
 
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#4
#4
Taber could create her own shot....she could also defend the 2-4 positions...she also had a totally different mindset than Dunbar
 
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#5
#5
dapeak said:
Loved her as a player very solid role player. She played the role I think Dunbar would thrive in. The question however is what the difference is between these players? Both can/could shoot neither are/were great defenders so what is stopping Dunbar from being this team's Spani.
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++++++++++

Spani moved to get open. Dunbar gets open because they get bored.
 
#6
#6
I just think she has the potential to be a similar type of player. There are so many players that couldn't defend but ended up being great players like all the shooters on the Stanford teams, KML, Spani, Spencer, Zolman, red haired girl from Iowa State?
 
#7
#7
I saw both Spani and Dunbar in person up close to mind you, and Spani had a WNBA-ready body the minute she walked on UT campus. That's why she could bang with big girls and had an ability to play down low and grab some rebounds whereas Dunbar's frame looked a little delicate. I bet if Dunbar had Spani's body and athleticism she would be averaging 20+ minutes not 5.
 
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#8
#8
2Alum4EverVol said:
I saw both Spani and Dunbar in person up close to mind you, and Spani had a WNBA-ready body the minute she walked on UT campus. That's why she could bang with big girls and had an ability to play down low and grab some rebounds whereas Dunbar's frame looked a little delicate. I bet if Dunbar had Spani's body and athleticism she would be averaging 20+ minutes not 5.
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I can agree with this. I just see potential in her and think her ceiling is on Spani type level. I was very surprised she hasn't played in the W I thought she was very capable.
 
#10
#10
When Spani was on, she could drill those 3 balls. She put many a dagger in the heart of opponents. She could be physical and finesse at all times.
 
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#11
#11
I watch Dunbar when she is playing, and I don't think her defense is that bad. Of course she is not going to grab many rebounds if Holly sends her into the game to stand outside the three-line. Holly hopes Dunbar will cause the other team to come out of the zone and that they will stay out of it when Dunbar leaves the game. This is just another case of a player being wasted by Holly. I hope everybody does not think Holly is suddenly a genius because she won at ASU. I doubt she will have a long stay in the genius category.
 
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#12
#12
Dunbar needs lot's of work on how to position herself to collect rebounds and stopping people from bumping her out of the way. She can do the job, but does she really want to?
So far, she has shown very little(well duh, Sherlock) other than the ability to get winded after more than three trips up & back on the court.
 
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#13
#13
One huge difference is that teammates would actually pass the ball to Spani when she was open.
 
#14
#14
How tall was Spani? Wasn't she a wing player? I think she was not as tall as Dunbar, and moved better, and she could shoot--but she was not at all an elite athlete. That, in fact, was her problem, as I recall--didn't really have the athleticism to be special.
 
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#15
#15
Spani's chronic injuries prevented her from reaching her potential. But I don't see her at all similar to Dunbar other than shooting threes. Dunbar needs to play the 4 on defense, and needs to learn how to move to the open spots on offense, or create her own shot, else I fear she won't ever get much PT.
 
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#17
#17
LVJeff said:
Spani's chronic injuries prevented her from reaching her potential. But I don't see her at all similar to Dunbar other than shooting threes. Dunbar needs to play the 4 on defense, and needs to learn how to move to the open spots on offense, or create her own shot, else I fear she won't ever get much PT.
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I agree with this. She was a very good athlete, with a high basketball IQ. She had some monster games in her sophomore year and then the elbow and back injuries started to take their toll.

There really is not a comparison to Dunbar in terms of Taber's work rate on the court, her lateral movement, and quickness (no she was not the quickest but she could get open and some moves to create space for her shot).
 
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#19
#19
Dunbar is not even in the same league as Brittany Jackson, Shanna Zolman or Sidney Spencer as far as pure God-given talent and athleticism are concerned much less Taber Spani. Yep, the injuries really took its toll on Taber, b/c when she was healthy she was an impact player. No wonder Geno wanted her coming out of high school.

Angie Bjkorklund whom I consider the best among the afore-mentioned group of players, had some injury issue to deal with (stress fracture in her foot?) which slowed her down particularly in her senior season, but not as extensive as Spani's. Angie had a great career at UT winning it all in 2008 in her freshman season and setting UT's all time 3-point record. I wonder what she's up to these days. She was fun to watch when she was on. Dead-eye shooter. Hard to find these sharpshooters these days..
 
#20
#20
Spani had more of a feathery touch on her release.

She was more nimble on her feet than Dunbar despite a severe case of turf toe.

Spani had to be fairly uncontested to dial up the 3 ball however. Her elevation on her shot was minimal.

Her actual productivity never came close to her anticipated legacy, IMO.
 
#21
#21
Faith Dupree would've been another Spencer at 6'3 she had a big body and could drain it from 3 but she she didn't get the time so she moved on
 
#22
#22
Wasn't there a scholly up for grabs between Taber and another player and Taber took it....does anyone know who that other player was?
 
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