WBB New Additions

[CousinRicky]

3 hours ago, BullyPulpit said:

I watched a lot of the women's games last season. We didn't "need" Wilson to score in most games in order to win. That was my larger point. We will need point production from the position this season and Wilson has not shown an ability to provide any. 

I won't argue with you that we were undersized last season, and that CJF is addressing that lack of height, but rebounding is about more than just size. Brito is a decent rebounder and defender for a #3, but she was forced to essentially play as a #4. If you look at my prediction for the starting lineup next year you will see that I move her to the #3, which is a more natural fit for her.  She is young, but plays with heart and passion. If she is going to take the next step, she will have to mature, and I believe that she will. To say that the 5'11'' Brito is "no match" for a 6'0'' player is a little bit foolish. I can highlight games where she was guarding and guarded by players taller than her and she fared well. 

I look forward to the added height and depth. 

Just an aside about Brito, we got to sit with her and the other two Spanish speaking women (Marina and Dani) at the dinner the night before the NC State game. She was such a pleasure to chat with along with the other two. Their English was good enough that there was no communication issues even though a couple of them knew no English before coming to campus. I'm rooting for all three of them. But I will say that the morning games are not favored by any of them. Count me in as a Carla fan. As you said, she was matched up against bigger opponents most games. And I think if there was any deficiency on D it was lack of lateral movement as opposed to being out-toughed.

[panchosanchez99]

20 hours ago, BullyPulpit said:

Wednesday's announced new addition is L'or Eyeba Mputu, a 6'2" forward originally from the Congo that transferred in from Eastern Florida State College. She averages 12.3 ppg and 6.7 rpg, shooting 61.5% last season (albeit at a much lower level of competition). USF is the United Nations of college hoops, with the international breakdown as follows: USA(x3), Spain (x2), Netherlands, Finland, Columbia, Canada, Sweden, Italy, and Democratic Republic of Congo. 

 

One note about Mputu's stats. Per the EFSC website, she achieved those numbers playing only 14.7 minutes per game. Those are amazing states for less than a half of game play.

[BullyPulpit]

Today's officially announced new addition is Judit Valero, a 5'11'' guard from Spain. She has played on Spain's U16 and U17 National Teams the last 2 years and just turned 18 years old. Her limited stats indicate a good 3 point shot but an atrocious free throw percentage. Another good depth piece that will hopefully develop into a contributor down the road. With her addition, we now have as many Spanish born players as US born on the roster (3).  

 

[panchosanchez99]

1 hour ago, BullyPulpit said:

Today's officially announced new addition is Judit Valero, a 5'11'' guard from Spain. She has played on Spain's U16 and U17 National Teams the last 2 years and just turned 18 years old. Her limited stats indicate a good 3 point shot but an atrocious free throw percentage. Another good depth piece that will hopefully develop into a contributor down the road. With her addition, we now have as many Spanish born players as US born on the roster (3).  

 

I just reviewed her stats from 5 FIBA games last summer. In those games she shot 37% from 3P range; however, I am not impressed due to other factors. First, I watched the first quarter of the game against Mali and her first two shots were badly missed threes. From the corner, she hit the side of the backboard and the second shot from the same area was an air ball. Second, her 2 point shooting percentage was 28% in those games. Hopefully, she has improved in the past year, but based on limited information, this is the first addition that I am not impressed with.

[BullyPulpit]

40 minutes ago, panchosanchez99 said:

I just reviewed her stats from 5 FIBA games last summer. In those games she shot 37% from 3P range; however, I am not impressed due to other factors. First, I watched the first quarter of the game against Mali and her first two shots were badly missed threes. From the corner, she hit the side of the backboard and the second shot from the same area was an air ball. Second, her 2 point shooting percentage was 28% in those games. Hopefully, she has improved in the past year, but based on limited information, this is the first addition that I am not impressed with.

High school kid. Lots of potential and room for improvement. No pressure to contribute right away. She appears to show flashes. I trust CJF and his staff's ability to evaluate and recruit talent. 

[BullyPulpit]

Apparently there was a BOGO sale on Judit's in Spain, as the newest officially announced addition to the squad is Judit Oliva, a 6'2'' Spanish forward. It looks like she qualified for the 3-on-3 U17 Spanish national team, but I couldn't find evidence of other international experience. The one video I could find of her shows she does well with motion and off of screens. My thought is that she will likely take time to adjust to the level of competition, but you can't teach height and she is 6'2'', so welcome aboard. We now have more Spanish players running with the Bulls in Tamplona than we do US born players! 

 

Edited May 19, 2023 by BullyPulpit

[CousinRicky]

1 minute ago, BullyPulpit said:

Apparently there was a BOGO sale on Judit's in Spain, as the newest officially announced addition to the squad is Judit Oliva, a 6'2'' Spanish forward. Doesn't look like she has the U16 or U17 national experience that we are accustomed to seeing from our international recruits. The one video I could find of her shows she does well with motion and off of screens. My thought is that she will likely take time to adjust to the level of competition, but you can't teach height and she is 6'2'', so welcome aboard. We now have more Spanish players running with the Bulls in Tamplona than we do US born players! 

 

One Judit
Two Judit
Red Judit
Blue Judit

Apologies to Dr Suess.  When we had a couple of Lauras on the team they went by L1 and L2.  

[panchosanchez99]

21 hours ago, BullyPulpit said:

High school kid. Lots of potential and room for improvement. No pressure to contribute right away. She appears to show flashes. I trust CJF and his staff's ability to evaluate and recruit talent. 

My post was not a negative critique on the coaching staff's ability to evaluate and recruit talent. Not all players are going to be at the same talent level, and that goes for all teams in all sports. I was merely stating that, while I am impressed with the other recruits, this one I was not.

[panchosanchez99]

1 hour ago, BullyPulpit said:

Apparently there was a BOGO sale on Judit's in Spain, as the newest officially announced addition to the squad is Judit Oliva, a 6'2'' Spanish forward. It looks like she qualified for the 3-on-3 U17 Spanish national team, but I couldn't find evidence of other international experience. The one video I could find of her shows she does well with motion and off of screens. My thought is that she will likely take time to adjust to the level of competition, but you can't teach height and she is 6'2'', so welcome aboard. We now have more Spanish players running with the Bulls in Tamplona than we do US born players! 

 

If we watched the same video, one extremely positive in her game is that she does not bring the ball low. When she catches it high, she shoots from the same position.

With four quality recruits at least 6'2" in this recruiting class, we addressed a weakness from last season. I dream of a starting lineup that includes Johansson, Levy, and Lutje, all of whom are good shot blockers. Lutje is outstanding in the post and the other two are great perimeter shooters.

[BullyPulpit]

She was officially announced a few weeks ago and discussed in this thread, but 6'3'' forward Romi Levy, a transfer from Auburn, will bring much added length to the Bulls' frontcourt. Roster breakdown is currently: Spain (x4), USA (x3), Netherlands, Finland, Columbia, Canada, Sweden, Italy, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Israel. Unless I missed something, CJF indicated that there was another US based player that was going to be added to the roster, but no post or mention of that player just yet.