2008 Woodie Awards
Basketball: Learning time for new style
Mike Gillmeister, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 12/3/08 Section: Sports
Say goodbye to traditional basketball in the Atlantic 10 Conference as you know it. No longer do teams abide by the 1-5 position system, instead, matchups are created based on a particular team's best players that fit its style of play.
The Massachusetts women's basketball team uses this lineup strategy as well. While competing in the A-10, a conference that is very strong in women's basketball, the Minutewomen (3-3) face at least five other teams in the conference who utilize alternate lineup strategies, most often, a three-guard set.
In the A-10 specifically, there are five teams without a true center. Two of said teams have a forward that is listed as a center as an alternate position. The other three teams don't even so much as have center position listed on their roster.
All positions are getting bigger and, because of this, players are being called upon to adapt to newer styles of play in which they have untraditional duties. While redshirt sophomore Diatiema Hill is listed as a five-foot, eight-inch guard, she has 17 defensive rebounds and 26 total rebounds. Dacko uses Hill as a defensive stopper and her 10 steals is third-most on the team but she has 22 assists to her credit as well.
With Hill (guard), Wright (forward), Stefanie Gerardot (guard), Mosgrove (guard) and Kim Benton (guard) in the starting lineup, the question arises as to the whereabouts of another forward and the center. Gerardot is a five-foot, 10-inch shooting guard who leads the team in scoring (101 points), steals (12) and is second behind Wright's 46 rebounds with 31.
Gerardot shoots like a shooting guard, steals like a point guard and rebounds like a power forward. What the Minutewomen lack in the defensive prowess of a large center, they receive in the hybrid playing style of a Gerardot and a Mosgrove.
However, there are three young players waiting for their chance to have a more prominent role on the team. Freshmen Christina Danella and Nicole Jones - UMass' only true center - will be behind sophomore forward Valerie Avebe in terms of playing time. While all three players still have things to learn, their size alone - all three players are at least six-feet tall - gives them an advantage in today's style of basketball.
The Massachusetts women's basketball team uses this lineup strategy as well. While competing in the A-10, a conference that is very strong in women's basketball, the Minutewomen (3-3) face at least five other teams in the conference who utilize alternate lineup strategies, most often, a three-guard set.
In the A-10 specifically, there are five teams without a true center. Two of said teams have a forward that is listed as a center as an alternate position. The other three teams don't even so much as have center position listed on their roster.
All positions are getting bigger and, because of this, players are being called upon to adapt to newer styles of play in which they have untraditional duties. While redshirt sophomore Diatiema Hill is listed as a five-foot, eight-inch guard, she has 17 defensive rebounds and 26 total rebounds. Dacko uses Hill as a defensive stopper and her 10 steals is third-most on the team but she has 22 assists to her credit as well.
With Hill (guard), Wright (forward), Stefanie Gerardot (guard), Mosgrove (guard) and Kim Benton (guard) in the starting lineup, the question arises as to the whereabouts of another forward and the center. Gerardot is a five-foot, 10-inch shooting guard who leads the team in scoring (101 points), steals (12) and is second behind Wright's 46 rebounds with 31.
Gerardot shoots like a shooting guard, steals like a point guard and rebounds like a power forward. What the Minutewomen lack in the defensive prowess of a large center, they receive in the hybrid playing style of a Gerardot and a Mosgrove.
However, there are three young players waiting for their chance to have a more prominent role on the team. Freshmen Christina Danella and Nicole Jones - UMass' only true center - will be behind sophomore forward Valerie Avebe in terms of playing time. While all three players still have things to learn, their size alone - all three players are at least six-feet tall - gives them an advantage in today's style of basketball.
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