|
TJSweens -> RE: Minnesota Lynx (7/9/2021 10:49:12 AM)
|
Here is an interesting nugget from Souhan's column about McBride today.
Reeve and her staff coach minute details. McBride always was valued for her quick-release shooting and three-point range. She also favored a one-footed, one-handed bank-shot floater that she would release from as far as 15 feet from the basket.
Here's an example of Reeve and her staff — in this case, lead assistant coach Katie Smith — demanding efficiency:
"It's been a point of education with Kayla,'' Reeve said. "We wanted her to use it where it would be more efficient. She likes to use that thing from 15 feet, and we don't like that. So, if you notice, Katie has worked really hard on this with Kayla. When you come off a screen and you're 15 feet away, that's a two-foot stop. Two-foot stop and shoot it. You feel the defender behind you, but you don't fear the contact. You want the contact. You have to go over the screen with KMac, so you have them right where you want them.
"The tendency is to abandon the ball quickly. I want them to ram into you, so you go to the foul line. KMac shoots 98%, so we want the contact.
"That's a part of the game that we targeted, and here she's midway through her first season with us, and she's getting better at that.''
This the level of comprehension of the players skills and teaching them how to maximize it that Reeve possesses that was beyond Ryan Sanders comprehension. Reeve brought Katie Smith in with the idea that she would be a head coach again in the not too distant future. The upside is that Reeve got a hell of an assistant. The downside is that Smith will probably be gone within a year or two and even take someone else from Reeve's staff with her.
|
|
|
|