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I have watched eight MAC teams play so far in the tournament and see a lot of teams pounding the ball inside. Curt favors shorter, more athletic centers in his system. And I am not stupid enough to question anything Curt is doing right now.

But that does create some match-up problems when Breske is giving up 3, 4 some times five inches on the opposing centers. I just wonder if he will ever recruit a 6'3" or 6'4" post player?

Why should he? He'll win a M.A.C. championship AGAIN (how much do you love reading that???) this year and make another run at the tourney with his 'undersized' centers. Not trying to be a dick, just revoling in the success Miller and his protogees have enjoyed.

I believe we have a 6'3" girl coming in next year from Cincinnati. Correct me if I am wrong.

I am just curious how he would adapt his offense to make a true center fit in?

The Niz wrote:Why should he? He'll win a M.A.C. championship AGAIN (how much do you love reading that???) this year and make another run at the tourney with his 'undersized' centers. Not trying to be a dick, just revoling in the success Miller and his protogees have enjoyed.

Niz,
While I don't like to pour cold water on your enthusiasm...we've got a LONG way to go to get that 4th straight Tourn. Championship...and there ARE 3 teams in the MAC who beat us this year.... Frankly, I'm a little concerned about this KSU game...beating teams a 3rd time in a season is NOT the easiest thing to do, even if they're under (wo)manned. Do I think we'll win? Yes, but let's take it one at a time before assuming a tournament win this time. It's still a young and untested (tournament wise) team.

Rollo83 wrote:I have watched eight MAC teams play so far in the tournament and see a lot of teams pounding the ball inside. Curt favors shorter, more athletic centers in his system. And I am not stupid enough to question anything Curt is doing right now.

But that does create some match-up problems when Breske is giving up 3, 4 some times five inches on the opposing centers. I just wonder if he will ever recruit a 6'3" or 6'4" post player?

At the MAC level, our lack of elite height in the post is not as much of a problem as you would think. To illustrate, below is a team-by-team list of every player over 6'2'' that is in the top 8 in scoring on their team. I think we can all agree that with her physical presence, Breske isn't really bothered by being an inch or two shorter than her opponent. 3-5 inches is where the difference becomes a real factor.

I apologize for the length, but this question really interested me since I haven't seen the team play much this year.

Akron - Riana Miller - 6'3'' - 8.0 (pts) and 4.7 (rbs)

BSU - Nobody

BG - Breske - 6'0'' - 10.8 and 5.3

Buffalo - Nobody

CMU - Nobody

EMU - Colleen Russell - 6'5'' - 12.8 and 4.2

Kent - Anna Kowalska - 6'4'' - 14.7 and 7.9, Ellie Shields - 6'3'' - 8.7 and 4.9

Miami - Laura Markwood - 6'3'' - 9.1 and 10.6

NIU - Ebony Ellis - 6'3'' - 5.4 and 5.9

Ohio - Chandra Myers -6'4'' - 7.9 and 6.2

Toledo - Nobody

WMU - Nobody


We see right away that 5 teams don't even have anybody over 6'2'' that contributes (6 if you count us). The team that looks to be the most trouble on paper is tomorrow's opponent - Kent. Kowalska is a beast and shields is solid. Let's look at all 3 players' preformances in the two games this year:

Kent Game 1 - BG wins 90-64.

Breske - 4-9, 8 pts, 1 rb.

Kowalska - 7-8, 18 pts 7 rbs.

Shields - 1-3, 2 pts 5 rbs.

This was the game we went 16-23 from 3. Kent could have had Shaq in the post and it wouldn't have mattered. The numbers show here that Kowalska severely outplayed Breske, and Shields wasn't a factor. None of our posts played well in this game.


Kent Game 2 - BG wins 76-68

Breske - 5-7, 11 pts 5 rbs

Kowalska - 2-8, 7 pts 8 rbs

Shields - 3-7, 6 pts 4 rbs

Interesting to note in this game is that Uhl (6'2'') came in and had 22 and 6. Breske and Kowalska were about even, and shields was a non-factor again. Kent shot well from downtown and stayed in it, but Uhl destroyed them in the post.


So it looks like Kent's size does bother Breske a bit, but Uhl was able to dominate against them in game two. I suspect Uhl will be a large factor tomorrow and in the NCAA tourney if we make it that far.


Let's look at Breske's performance against the other players on the list.


Akron Game 1 - BG wins 88-56

Breske - 12 and 5

Miller - 11 and 1..........Breske Wins


Akron Game 2 - BG wins 69-54

Breske - 20 and 8

Miller - 0 and 4.........Breske Wins


EMU - BG wins 57-43

Breske - 6 and 6

Russell - 18 and 8........Breske loses



Miami game 1 - BG loses 60-63

Breske - 8 and 3

Markwood - 12 and 15......Breske Loses


Miami game 2 - BG wins 81-66

Breske - 12 and 3

Markwood - 6 and 7..........Breske Wins


NIU game - BG Wins 85-65

Breske - 23 and 9

Ellis - 2 and 1.............Breske Wins


Ohio Game 1 - BG wins 60-45

Breske - 12 and 9

Myers - 0 and 6.............Breske Wins


Ohio Game 2 - BG wins 82-67

Breske - 17 and 13

Myers - 17 and 10.............push



Lets break this into categories. Breske Dominates, Breske wins, push, Breske loses, and Breske gets dominated.

She was dominated by Kent once, and then outplayed them in game 2. She merely outplayed Riana Miller once, and obliterated her the second time. She was dominated by Colleen Russell, and Laura Markwood once. She then outplayed Markwood in game 2. She then dominated Ellis and also Myers in Game 1. Her and Myers both played very well in the second Ohio game.

So, there were 10 MAC gamed in which she went against an opponent that was 6'3'' and up. She was dominated 3 times, and dominated her opponent 3 times. Of the remaining 4 games, she was the better player in 3 of them, and played to a draw in the fourth.

So, only 3 out of the 10 games was she outplayed by a taller opponent, but when she was outplayed, she was REALLY outplayed. However, she has also shown he ability to play very well against superior height. The good news is, as long as she stays healthy, she'll continue to improve and learn how to use her strength to negate any size advantage. With all of her missed injury time, she's still "basketball young".

As the BG train keeps rolling, you may eventually see us pull in some premiere height, which is rare at the MAC level. However, I do know that we will not recruit size just to have it. Our system relies on our posts ability to hit their jumpers and run the floor. If we find a 6'4'' girl that can do that, we'll try and get her. Since those kids usually end up at Duke, Tennesee, UConn, etc, we'll continue to excel with undersized but skilled and athletic posts.

There are three teams that beat us in the MAC, but all three are on the other side of the bracket and I think if the ladies are going to start a run, there's no stopping them.

And after many reads I'm new! Glad to post.

Rollo83 wrote:I am just curious how he would adapt his offense to make a true center fit in?

I'm guessing lots of cross screens in the post and working on the guards' post-entry skills.

I don't think he'd recruit a true center unless it was an elite prospect. If that's the case, the recruit would probably have solid passing skills, so I'd think he would also emphasize the kick-out game.

I don't think things would change that much. The biggest change would be on the defensive end. Our quick and long guards could pressure even more on the wings with a shot-blocker behind them.

falconfan08 wrote:And after many reads I'm new! Glad to post.

Welcome aboard. Feel free to hang around, tell us about yourself, and bring the beers to the spring game tailgate.

Jacobs4Hesman thanks 4 all the stats. Did you look @ Breske's foul count in any of the games where she lost or was dominated? Tara has a 36" vertical jump so if she boxes out she can rebound & she has been taking the short jump shot to score. I've watched her become smarter in execution thru the season. With the preparation from the coaches--shoot-around, scouting/film, & game strategy IMO we will be OK. I don't see Kate & Whit allowing a let-down. If Kent throws something @ us that wasn't scouted it will be picked up & adjustments will be made. We must shoot & make plays to score. I look for some new wrinkles in the offense that none of us have seen & changes on the defensive end. Play defense & everything else will come. Hope the refs will allow Tara to play & not anticipate.
GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

falconfan08 wrote:There are three teams that beat us in the MAC, but all three are on the other side of the bracket and I think if the ladies are going to start a run, there's no stopping them.

And after many reads I'm new! Glad to post.

Welcome Falconfan08!

I agree with your post. WMU, Miami and Ball State...the only way we play them is in the title game. EMU does concern me and you never know about Ohio so as long as we take care of biz tonight, we will face a challenge Friday. Hell Kent played us pretty tough at AA just a couple weeks ago...although I think we'll beat them tonight. Can't wait to get to the Q tonight!!!

GO FALCONS!!! BEAT KENT!

For those that can't make it, the game is available for 7 bucks on MAC-Sports.com.

For Kent to win, they need a huge game from Kowalska and they also need to shoot very well from outside. If they don't have both, I don't think they'll hang with us very long. We all know what Achter does once she gets to Cleveland.

Another thing to consider is this--I was at all of the home games, and as far as I can recall, Breske won every opening jumpball. Compare this to last year, we almost always lost the tip. Tara needs to use her advantage, which is quickness and superior athletic ability.

But, I would think is Curt could get a 6'3" player to fit into his system, I don't think he would turn her down.

IMO, Kowalska looks like the first serious offensive and defensive force for Mac team to date. Usually a lot of 6'3-6'5 Mac posts are just stiffs but this Kowalska is not a stiff from what I've seen. The scary thing she's only a freshman and will be a force to deal with down the road. I would think that the games where Breske does not do well vs the taller opponents she's probably also in foul trouble too which doesn't help her when trying to defend. One thing I'm liking out of Tara is her improving turnaround jump shot , that'll help her when trying to score vs taller opponents if she learns to fake well ala Tim Duncan.

As for recruiting more "tall" centers in in the 6'3-'64 range like some one said earlier, Miller wants posts that can move well and shoot the ball well preferably from outside in addition. It seems Miller wants the most athletic 5 he can put on the court. I'll take a 6'0-6'2 post than can move wells is fairly athletic and can shoot the ball well over a slow , clumsy , unathletic 6'5 girl. If there's a tall post from any other Mac team that I'd take mabye one of its probably Kowalska for what potential she's shown for being just a frosh. Russell, Riana Miller and most of the others enter the stiff category.

Yeah , I fantasize about the day Miller gets a commit from one of those 6'4 studs who has above average athleticism and can dribble like a guard and has mad hops. But for now I'll take Breske who maybe more of a natural 4 but has simply has no equal in the Mac as far as plain physical talent and athleticism and strength at the center position.

I watched Breske put on a performance tonight...shooting, rebounding and all around hustle. Tonight was exactly what I was talking about when I started this thread.

Breske fits perfectly into the center position for Curt's offense. Howver, Kent's big, awkward, freshman Ellie Shields went off for 18 on us inside tonight. Tara played her pretty tough, but our other post players struggled against her.

OU has some size so I hope we can set the tempo and push the ball against them. Look for OU to pound it down low every chance they get.