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Ohio State WBB: What will 2 for 14 and 8 Mean To Kelsey Mitchell?
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kelsey Mitchell has always understood the hype around her and how her teammates have depended on her to “pick them up”. Being the daughter of a coach,sound fundamentals have always been a part of her A-game. She stamped her name on four single season OSU records, four single game records, added her name to several career lists after just one season, set a new NCAA record for three-pointers made in 35 consecutive games as well as made in a season with 127. She also set new school and B1G scoring record in points scored with 873.
Wanna be like @Kelz_Hoop when I grow up..!
— Johnnie L. Dixon III (@YoungKing_JD5) November 14, 2015
Kelsey’s consecutive streak of three-point FG’s became 36 straight against South Carolina, but was stopped by the intense defense by UConn. That streak wasn’t the only thing they stopped in their efforts to limit the Buckeyes star. Her streak of scoring in double digits was broken, as Kelsey scored only 8 points against the Huskies. Since coming to Ohio State, Mitchell had scored in double figures in every game and the lowest total came at TTUN in a loss back in January of 2104. She has scored 15 points or less only three times in 35 games last season. To put that into perspective, she scored more than 20 points in 26 of those games and more than 30 points in 6 games!
Geno Auriemma made it pretty clear that he was honestly worried about the Buckeyes on the road, especially after watching video of South Carolina game. He assigned senior guard Moriah Jefferson with the task to play lock-down defense on Mitchell and it played out perfectly for the Huskies. Holding Mitchell to 2 of 14 from the floor with zero three-pointers made and only 8 points on the night. I searched and searched and could not find the last time she was held to single digits in scoring.
You have to believe two things with regards to the nightmarish night she had from the floor. One, she had a bad night when she really couldn’t afford to, but so did Ameryst Alston and that compounded the Buckeyes problems. If their two distributors and primary scorers weren’t scoring and racking up assists, it was going to be a long night. Two, the Buckeyes and Kelsey Mitchell just aren’t ready for that big stage yet, but they have the talent to get there by the end of the year.
And we're underway pic.twitter.com/sqZ35WpOli
— OSU W Basketball (@OhioState_WBB) November 16, 2015
A match-up against the reigning champions at the end of the season would have a different result I suspect. Maybe not a win, but they would be more prepared for the pressure they saw on Monday night.
What will the numbers 2 for 14 and 8 mean to Kelsey Mitchell as this team moves forward? I think head coach Kevin McGuff summed it up nicely.
“We got our a– kicked out there, they coached better, they played better, they were more prepared, they deserved to win by the margin they did. One of two things is going to happen, We’re going to stick around and sulk about it or we’re going to assess where we are, where we need to get better, and start to improve.”
You know that Coach McGuff has those numbers somewhere to remind Mitchell of the night against the defending champs. The truth of the matter is she will not need any reminders. She is the type of player that will put the team on her back and carry them. There are two learning’s that can be taken from the game.
First and foremost, she led the team in assists last season, but she also led the team in turnovers and her turnover to assist ration is 1 to 1. That isn’t good for someone who needs to be taking care of the ball. A big reason for that issue from last season was all of the injuries the Buckeyes suffered through and the fact that Mitchell and Alston scored a vast majority of the points.
Secondly, and probably will come slowly but surely, there are more players that can help in scoring this season and that will have to come from even more assists from Mitchell when she’s getting the full attention from the opponent which will happen more times than not.
Has to dish it and take care of it to improve this season
Kelsey Mitchell is one of the most talented players in the country and improving taking care of the basketball as well as becoming more involved in the rebounding game will go a long way to erase the memory of 2 for 14 and 8. If Coach McGuff has anything to say about it, you may just see the best player on the Buckeyes team improve her game. What a scary thought for any team facing them. The Buckeyes aren’t done with their murderers row schedule, they still have #3 Notre Dame and #12 Texas A&M in the early going.
Hopefully, it also means a rematch with the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Final Four with a chip on her shoulder.
The post Ohio State WBB: What will 2 for 14 and 8 Mean To Kelsey Mitchell? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
WVaBuckeye via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Kelsey Mitchell has always understood the hype around her and how her teammates have depended on her to “pick them up”. Being the daughter of a coach,sound fundamentals have always been a part of her A-game. She stamped her name on four single season OSU records, four single game records, added her name to several career lists after just one season, set a new NCAA record for three-pointers made in 35 consecutive games as well as made in a season with 127. She also set new school and B1G scoring record in points scored with 873.
Wanna be like @Kelz_Hoop when I grow up..!
— Johnnie L. Dixon III (@YoungKing_JD5) November 14, 2015
Kelsey’s consecutive streak of three-point FG’s became 36 straight against South Carolina, but was stopped by the intense defense by UConn. That streak wasn’t the only thing they stopped in their efforts to limit the Buckeyes star. Her streak of scoring in double digits was broken, as Kelsey scored only 8 points against the Huskies. Since coming to Ohio State, Mitchell had scored in double figures in every game and the lowest total came at TTUN in a loss back in January of 2104. She has scored 15 points or less only three times in 35 games last season. To put that into perspective, she scored more than 20 points in 26 of those games and more than 30 points in 6 games!
Geno Auriemma made it pretty clear that he was honestly worried about the Buckeyes on the road, especially after watching video of South Carolina game. He assigned senior guard Moriah Jefferson with the task to play lock-down defense on Mitchell and it played out perfectly for the Huskies. Holding Mitchell to 2 of 14 from the floor with zero three-pointers made and only 8 points on the night. I searched and searched and could not find the last time she was held to single digits in scoring.
You have to believe two things with regards to the nightmarish night she had from the floor. One, she had a bad night when she really couldn’t afford to, but so did Ameryst Alston and that compounded the Buckeyes problems. If their two distributors and primary scorers weren’t scoring and racking up assists, it was going to be a long night. Two, the Buckeyes and Kelsey Mitchell just aren’t ready for that big stage yet, but they have the talent to get there by the end of the year.
And we're underway pic.twitter.com/sqZ35WpOli
— OSU W Basketball (@OhioState_WBB) November 16, 2015
A match-up against the reigning champions at the end of the season would have a different result I suspect. Maybe not a win, but they would be more prepared for the pressure they saw on Monday night.
What will the numbers 2 for 14 and 8 mean to Kelsey Mitchell as this team moves forward? I think head coach Kevin McGuff summed it up nicely.
“We got our a– kicked out there, they coached better, they played better, they were more prepared, they deserved to win by the margin they did. One of two things is going to happen, We’re going to stick around and sulk about it or we’re going to assess where we are, where we need to get better, and start to improve.”
You know that Coach McGuff has those numbers somewhere to remind Mitchell of the night against the defending champs. The truth of the matter is she will not need any reminders. She is the type of player that will put the team on her back and carry them. There are two learning’s that can be taken from the game.
First and foremost, she led the team in assists last season, but she also led the team in turnovers and her turnover to assist ration is 1 to 1. That isn’t good for someone who needs to be taking care of the ball. A big reason for that issue from last season was all of the injuries the Buckeyes suffered through and the fact that Mitchell and Alston scored a vast majority of the points.
Secondly, and probably will come slowly but surely, there are more players that can help in scoring this season and that will have to come from even more assists from Mitchell when she’s getting the full attention from the opponent which will happen more times than not.
Has to dish it and take care of it to improve this season
Kelsey Mitchell is one of the most talented players in the country and improving taking care of the basketball as well as becoming more involved in the rebounding game will go a long way to erase the memory of 2 for 14 and 8. If Coach McGuff has anything to say about it, you may just see the best player on the Buckeyes team improve her game. What a scary thought for any team facing them. The Buckeyes aren’t done with their murderers row schedule, they still have #3 Notre Dame and #12 Texas A&M in the early going.
Hopefully, it also means a rematch with the UConn Huskies in the NCAA Final Four with a chip on her shoulder.
The post Ohio State WBB: What will 2 for 14 and 8 Mean To Kelsey Mitchell? appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...