And BTW hats off to Heiden because she's gotten to play some this yr early on. She got a taste of it. She played fantastic up in Washington on the road I thought. It's not easy playing sporadic mins and then getting DNPs. Kudos to Jan and the staff too for I'm sure helping keep her in the right headspace. But mostly that goes to Ava herself. Even if her mins stay minimal the rest of this yr her best days are certainly ahead of her.
Ava Heiden?
- Thread starter Zstatman
- Start date
I don't think Hannah will ever become a legit stretch 4. While Gustafson has stretched her game out to the 3 pt line, she started with a solid elbow jumper and always had a decent FT stroke (81% as a junior)...Hannah doesn't have either of those (much improved from FT, but still only 69% as a junior).
Hannah needs to double down on her strengths. She is okay around the basket due to her strength and quickness, but she lacks craft. She takes too many dribbles, and if she doesn't get a shoulder past her defender on her initial move, everyone knows she is spinning back, and then guards are ready to dig down and steal, or posts just play straight up and stymie her with length and position. I don't know if anyone keeps track of how many times a player's shot is blocked, but Hannah might lead the nation.
Lucy is a great example of what craft can do for you around the basket. She can spin both directions, step through, scoop, fade, or hit off-balance leaners. Czinano had a lot of these tricks. Even Addy has a good toolbox to pair with her size, she shoots jump hooks over either shoulder and she has a little fade away. Hannah just hasn't built the same toolbox, or at least she is not as good at deploying it in games.
The perfect comp for what Hannah could become is Aneesah Morrow (projected to be a top 5 draft pick). She is an undersized post who is not a great shooter. But she is a dynamite scorer because she has excellent ball-handling skills, and she can finish over, under, and around people at the basket.
I sometimes wonder if part of Hannah's slow development comes from Jan trying to coach her the same way she coached Megan and Monica? So, she is becoming a worse version of those 2 (offensively), as opposed to an awesome version of herself. Probably nothing to that, just something I think about.
Hannah needs to double down on her strengths. She is okay around the basket due to her strength and quickness, but she lacks craft. She takes too many dribbles, and if she doesn't get a shoulder past her defender on her initial move, everyone knows she is spinning back, and then guards are ready to dig down and steal, or posts just play straight up and stymie her with length and position. I don't know if anyone keeps track of how many times a player's shot is blocked, but Hannah might lead the nation.
Lucy is a great example of what craft can do for you around the basket. She can spin both directions, step through, scoop, fade, or hit off-balance leaners. Czinano had a lot of these tricks. Even Addy has a good toolbox to pair with her size, she shoots jump hooks over either shoulder and she has a little fade away. Hannah just hasn't built the same toolbox, or at least she is not as good at deploying it in games.
The perfect comp for what Hannah could become is Aneesah Morrow (projected to be a top 5 draft pick). She is an undersized post who is not a great shooter. But she is a dynamite scorer because she has excellent ball-handling skills, and she can finish over, under, and around people at the basket.
I sometimes wonder if part of Hannah's slow development comes from Jan trying to coach her the same way she coached Megan and Monica? So, she is becoming a worse version of those 2 (offensively), as opposed to an awesome version of herself. Probably nothing to that, just something I think about.
Hawkboys
Well-Known Member
WNBA teams always want a strong 3 & D player. Kylie is that, but I think she'd have to bulk up a bunch from where she is now.
Glass1/2fullguy
Well-Known Member
Not sure i agree w/ you. Hannah does her best work in and around the paint. Maybe she'll prove me wrong but she'll need to drastically improve her midrange and long range shot if she's gonna be successful at the 4. If she's not a threat from deep, which she's not currently, the defenders simply back off her which clogs up the lanes. This is the reason Jan put her back to the 5 which was clearly the right move.
O'grady graduates this year so it'll be Ava and Hannah at the 5 next year. Ava has shown a ton of promise in her playing time this year. I agree w/ others her defense is where she needs to improve the most. Love the way she runs the floor and she has shown she has great hands. With the freshman 5 coming in next year along w/ deal, i'm excited about the future of the woman's program.
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Zstatman
Well-Known Member
I wish this team shot better. Someone mentioned they had to learn to play after the CC effect wore off, I think that's been a big challenge this year. I actually thought they would be better shooters this year than they have been so far, especially the 3 ball.
There have been plenty of games where they just kept clanking shots from deep. It cost them some games, IMO. Even in the USC game, when we went up 18-1, I remember thinking that if they could just start hitting a bit higher percentage of the 3s, they could have been up even bigger. I guess it was unrealistic they would all turn into great shooters from deep.
The men also have this same problem.
There have been plenty of games where they just kept clanking shots from deep. It cost them some games, IMO. Even in the USC game, when we went up 18-1, I remember thinking that if they could just start hitting a bit higher percentage of the 3s, they could have been up even bigger. I guess it was unrealistic they would all turn into great shooters from deep.
The men also have this same problem.
loesshillshawk
Well-Known Member
Put the bong down...this is what's right for her team. Hannah is a 5 on this team and gives her team the best chance to win. Hannah struggles with free throws let alone a 3 pointer. She also has limited skills off the dribble facing the basket. Ava is a big time player...
Fryowa
Administrator
This isn't about the WNBA.
STILLBUSTER
Well-Known Member
Amen! Hannah is light years away from having ANY face up shot. She's got 1 more summer to work on it but it's a long shot.
She's athletic enough for the W but may have to focus on being a Barkley type ... Undersized who is relentless around the basket.
Since this thread is captioned "Ava Heiden", let's toast her for coming out of the deep, deep freeze when Stuelke and O'Grady got into foul trouble. She was 3 for 4 from the field, and she looked comfortable out there. That's tough coming off the bench--so good for her. As a true freshman, she's going to be a solid 5 for the Hawks in the years ahead.
