ThomasCostello
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Adding Elsa Lemmilä to the roster should help improve Ohio State women’s rebounding
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
FIBA.com
Fans could see the Finnish big sooner rather than later.
College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is getting you ready with a series of player previews. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for more player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.
The last time Ohio State women’s basketball featured a player averaging more than 10 rebounds a game, it was 2021. That’s when Dorka Juhasz led the Buckeyes with 11.1 per game in her final season before transferring to the UConn Huskies.
Since Juhasz’ departure, a constant talking point for head coach Kevin McGuff is the team’s struggle with consistent rebounding. The Buckeyes finished 11th out of 14 teams last season. This offseason, McGuff addressed the issues in two ways.
Elsa Lemmilä is one of those ways.
Name: Elsa Lemmilä
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
High School: Tapiolan Honka Club (Espoo, Finland)
2023-24 Stats: 15.8 ppg, 10 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.4 bpg
Lemmilä’s final amateur season before heading to Ohio didn’t happen due to injury. The 6-foot-6 center tore her ACL, meaning a loss of the center’s final campaign.
However, Lemmilä’s history dates back years with her role with Finland’s national team system. At the young age of 16, Lemmilä played on the senior national team. Lemmilä debuted with the top women’s team in Eurobasket Qualifying. In her second game, the center played 20 minutes, grabbing eight rebounds and adding three blocks against Ukraine.
On the youth team level, Lemmilä represented Finland in both U16 and U18 European competition. In the 2022 U18 European Championships, Lemmilä played seven games and nearly averaged a double-double with 12.9 points and nine rebounds per game.
Despite the injury, Lemmilä returned to the national team but not for getting game minutes. Before traveling to Columbus to begin a college career, Lemmilä worked out with Finland, taking steps toward recovery.
In club basketball, with Honka, Lemmilä played 27 games in the 2022-23 season, her final full year before the ACL tear. The center averaged a double-double, scoring 15.8 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and adding 2.4 blocks per game.
Her standout performance of the season came on Jan. 18, 2023. In a 94-40 win over Catz Lappeenranta, Lemmilä nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks. It was one of 16 double-doubles for the center that season.
At 6-foot-6, the most obvious skill to expect is rebounding. Lemmilä’s size puts her at an advantage against most bigs in the conference, minus the likes of UCLA’s Lauren Betts or Oregon’s Phillipina Kyei. Even so, Ohio State hasn’t had a presence like Lemmilä for years.
Sometimes, a recruit the size of Lemmilä has stats that stand out simply because of a lack of competitors who can match up. The international experience means she’s gone up against other top European players on youth and senior levels.
Lemmilä gets rebounds because of her length and physicality. The center will use her frame to get the advantage around the basket and reach over shorter defenders.
Also, in practice, Lemmilä showed the ability to run up the court with the ball too. Usually, someone with that size may not have the ballhandling skills to move quickly but Lemmilä has that ability, even though it won’t be required much in McGuff’s offense.
There are a few reasons that Lemmilä is not going to feature prominently in the first season at Ohio State. The first is the transfer of graduate senior Ajae Petty from the Kentucky Wildcats. Petty joins the Scarlet and Gray after averaging 10.6 rebounds per game in the SEC. That ability and experience, combined with only one year remaining in eligibility, means Petty likely the signed in ink starter for coach McGuff.
The return from injury is another piece that might slow things down. According to McGuff, Lemmilä returned to full practice a few weeks ago. That and being new to the offense in general puts the center slightly behind compared to if she joined without the ACL concern.
That doesn’t mean fans won’t see Lemmilä on the court soon. In practice, Lemmilä’s played in the second group of five, behind the likely starting five of the first group. Also, the Buckeyes non-conference schedule, aside from Stanford, is against mid-major competition that likely ends in Ohio State victories.
Lemmilä will get opportunities to play against those sides with hopes that she plays a bigger role off the bench in Big Ten play, where rebounding will be especially important.
If you’ve got the time, here’s a replay of a 2022 U18 European Championship game between Finland and Lithuania. Lemmilä (No. 13), had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the victory.
Miss a player preview? Click the links below to learn more about the 2024-25 Buckeyes roster:
Madison Greene
Eboni Walker
Ava Watson
Chance Gray
Continue reading...
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
FIBA.com
Fans could see the Finnish big sooner rather than later.
College basketball season is fast approaching and Land-Grant Holy Land is getting you ready with a series of player previews. Before the season starts this fall, check back regularly for more player previews, schedule news, features, and more heading into the 2024-25 Ohio State women’s basketball season.
The last time Ohio State women’s basketball featured a player averaging more than 10 rebounds a game, it was 2021. That’s when Dorka Juhasz led the Buckeyes with 11.1 per game in her final season before transferring to the UConn Huskies.
Since Juhasz’ departure, a constant talking point for head coach Kevin McGuff is the team’s struggle with consistent rebounding. The Buckeyes finished 11th out of 14 teams last season. This offseason, McGuff addressed the issues in two ways.
Elsa Lemmilä is one of those ways.
Name: Elsa Lemmilä
Position: Center
Class: Freshman
High School: Tapiolan Honka Club (Espoo, Finland)
2023-24 Stats: 15.8 ppg, 10 rpg, 3.4 apg, 2.4 bpg
Last Season
Lemmilä’s final amateur season before heading to Ohio didn’t happen due to injury. The 6-foot-6 center tore her ACL, meaning a loss of the center’s final campaign.
However, Lemmilä’s history dates back years with her role with Finland’s national team system. At the young age of 16, Lemmilä played on the senior national team. Lemmilä debuted with the top women’s team in Eurobasket Qualifying. In her second game, the center played 20 minutes, grabbing eight rebounds and adding three blocks against Ukraine.
On the youth team level, Lemmilä represented Finland in both U16 and U18 European competition. In the 2022 U18 European Championships, Lemmilä played seven games and nearly averaged a double-double with 12.9 points and nine rebounds per game.
Despite the injury, Lemmilä returned to the national team but not for getting game minutes. Before traveling to Columbus to begin a college career, Lemmilä worked out with Finland, taking steps toward recovery.
In club basketball, with Honka, Lemmilä played 27 games in the 2022-23 season, her final full year before the ACL tear. The center averaged a double-double, scoring 15.8 points, grabbing 10 rebounds, and adding 2.4 blocks per game.
Her standout performance of the season came on Jan. 18, 2023. In a 94-40 win over Catz Lappeenranta, Lemmilä nearly had a triple-double with 13 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks. It was one of 16 double-doubles for the center that season.
What to Expect
At 6-foot-6, the most obvious skill to expect is rebounding. Lemmilä’s size puts her at an advantage against most bigs in the conference, minus the likes of UCLA’s Lauren Betts or Oregon’s Phillipina Kyei. Even so, Ohio State hasn’t had a presence like Lemmilä for years.
Sometimes, a recruit the size of Lemmilä has stats that stand out simply because of a lack of competitors who can match up. The international experience means she’s gone up against other top European players on youth and senior levels.
Lemmilä gets rebounds because of her length and physicality. The center will use her frame to get the advantage around the basket and reach over shorter defenders.
Also, in practice, Lemmilä showed the ability to run up the court with the ball too. Usually, someone with that size may not have the ballhandling skills to move quickly but Lemmilä has that ability, even though it won’t be required much in McGuff’s offense.
Prediction
There are a few reasons that Lemmilä is not going to feature prominently in the first season at Ohio State. The first is the transfer of graduate senior Ajae Petty from the Kentucky Wildcats. Petty joins the Scarlet and Gray after averaging 10.6 rebounds per game in the SEC. That ability and experience, combined with only one year remaining in eligibility, means Petty likely the signed in ink starter for coach McGuff.
The return from injury is another piece that might slow things down. According to McGuff, Lemmilä returned to full practice a few weeks ago. That and being new to the offense in general puts the center slightly behind compared to if she joined without the ACL concern.
That doesn’t mean fans won’t see Lemmilä on the court soon. In practice, Lemmilä’s played in the second group of five, behind the likely starting five of the first group. Also, the Buckeyes non-conference schedule, aside from Stanford, is against mid-major competition that likely ends in Ohio State victories.
Lemmilä will get opportunities to play against those sides with hopes that she plays a bigger role off the bench in Big Ten play, where rebounding will be especially important.
Highlights
If you’ve got the time, here’s a replay of a 2022 U18 European Championship game between Finland and Lithuania. Lemmilä (No. 13), had eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks in the victory.
Other Player Previews
Miss a player preview? Click the links below to learn more about the 2024-25 Buckeyes roster:
Madison Greene
Eboni Walker
Ava Watson
Chance Gray
Continue reading...