Videos first with thoughts from Coach Ferrara and O’Mariah Gordon:
FSU Women’s Hoops 2nd exhibition thoughts and videos
- Thread starter ariya_massoudi
- Start date
Gordon has really been impressive as a scorer this preseason. Her being healthy will be huge for this team. Viegas looks like she will have the role of sniper from 3 as she took 9 threes in both games. Post play will be a concern for the season especially with Tennessee next week but hopefully the high potent offense can help offset that.
Hope to see Brooke back Monday for the first game.
Hope to see Brooke back Monday for the first game.
Observations and thoughts:
1. A healthy O'Mariah Gordon could be the key to the season. She was a former 5-star recruit and Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. We always saw it in flashes, but she always had a major injury that stunted the development or made her season's a pain to get through. She's wonderful with the ball in her hands and creates so well for others as well as herself. Bill Ferrara called it basically like getting an All-ACC caliber player in the transfer portal, OMG has been that much better this preseason. Looking forward to her stamping her name on this season.
2. Taniya Latson looks healthy from the injury she had last year that forced her to miss the postseason. She looks as confident as ever and is primed to challenge for ACC Player of the Year. I do think FSU needs to manage her minutes better this year and be efficient in how they use her. Hopefully a deeper bench allows them to give her more breathers and rest time in some of the early season blowouts.
3. Think the rebounding will improve. It was a weakness for the team last season and has typically been a hallmark of Coach Sue/Coach Brooke's programs. It's something FSU built its foundation on and I expect them to be stronger in that area. It's a smaller team and losing Mariana Valenzuela for the season hurts, but Timpson is an animal on the glass, and the Noles added some help with Sakyia White from JUCO, she has instincts for the glass and can grab 10 a game if she wants to. Snoop Turnage has natural rebounding skills too and Alexis Tucker rebounds well as a bigger guard (5-11). Need Latson and Bejedi to hold their own too as rebounders to help mitigate the size disadvantage FSU will have.
4. I really like this crop of newcomers FSU brought in. Alexis Tucker is a natural scorer and should be an upgrade over Jaz Massengill. Jaz really wore down as the year went on but Tucker seems like she's got something to prove coming from UCSB. She can fill it up from all three levels of the court. She will start and be a nice piece this team could have used last season. Amaya Bonner (Cal transfer) is much better than I thought she would be. Her numbers weren't gaudy at Cal, but she has been impressive in practice and through both exhibitions games. At first I believed she would be a good depth piece that could spell minutes for the starters. She's much better than that and will be a real rotational weapon for the Noles. She's also a bigger guard at 6-0, which is a real plus for defending some of these elite teams FSU will play. Carla Viegas can really stroke the ball from beyond the arc. Known as a sharpshooter in Spain, it's an element the Noles really needed and she's in the Sammie Puisis mold. How quickly she can adapt to the American physicality and pace will be the key to how effective she is in year one. I am optimistic.
5. Overall, you can tell this team wants to push the ball even faster than before. Bill wants his offense to score in the 90s and have 80+ possessions a night. They shoot early in the clock and try and get great looks quick. It's threes and layups. The team has even more depth and guard play to push the pace on teams. That will be this team's identity and they will have some nights with incredibly gaudy numbers, especially against overmatched foes. Bejedi will be a key factor in this and her speed and tenacity are a real asset, she's also still the same hungry, chippy and confident defender she's always been. The enforcer that every team needs.
6. Interested in this group. It's got real Sweet 16/Elite 8 potential if things break the right way and they stay HEALTHY. Early season is no joke with No. 11 Tennessee, UF, Northwestern, No. 15 Stanford, Arkansas, No. 4 UCLA. We will find out quickly how good this team is and can be.
1. A healthy O'Mariah Gordon could be the key to the season. She was a former 5-star recruit and Florida Gatorade Player of the Year. We always saw it in flashes, but she always had a major injury that stunted the development or made her season's a pain to get through. She's wonderful with the ball in her hands and creates so well for others as well as herself. Bill Ferrara called it basically like getting an All-ACC caliber player in the transfer portal, OMG has been that much better this preseason. Looking forward to her stamping her name on this season.
2. Taniya Latson looks healthy from the injury she had last year that forced her to miss the postseason. She looks as confident as ever and is primed to challenge for ACC Player of the Year. I do think FSU needs to manage her minutes better this year and be efficient in how they use her. Hopefully a deeper bench allows them to give her more breathers and rest time in some of the early season blowouts.
3. Think the rebounding will improve. It was a weakness for the team last season and has typically been a hallmark of Coach Sue/Coach Brooke's programs. It's something FSU built its foundation on and I expect them to be stronger in that area. It's a smaller team and losing Mariana Valenzuela for the season hurts, but Timpson is an animal on the glass, and the Noles added some help with Sakyia White from JUCO, she has instincts for the glass and can grab 10 a game if she wants to. Snoop Turnage has natural rebounding skills too and Alexis Tucker rebounds well as a bigger guard (5-11). Need Latson and Bejedi to hold their own too as rebounders to help mitigate the size disadvantage FSU will have.
4. I really like this crop of newcomers FSU brought in. Alexis Tucker is a natural scorer and should be an upgrade over Jaz Massengill. Jaz really wore down as the year went on but Tucker seems like she's got something to prove coming from UCSB. She can fill it up from all three levels of the court. She will start and be a nice piece this team could have used last season. Amaya Bonner (Cal transfer) is much better than I thought she would be. Her numbers weren't gaudy at Cal, but she has been impressive in practice and through both exhibitions games. At first I believed she would be a good depth piece that could spell minutes for the starters. She's much better than that and will be a real rotational weapon for the Noles. She's also a bigger guard at 6-0, which is a real plus for defending some of these elite teams FSU will play. Carla Viegas can really stroke the ball from beyond the arc. Known as a sharpshooter in Spain, it's an element the Noles really needed and she's in the Sammie Puisis mold. How quickly she can adapt to the American physicality and pace will be the key to how effective she is in year one. I am optimistic.
5. Overall, you can tell this team wants to push the ball even faster than before. Bill wants his offense to score in the 90s and have 80+ possessions a night. They shoot early in the clock and try and get great looks quick. It's threes and layups. The team has even more depth and guard play to push the pace on teams. That will be this team's identity and they will have some nights with incredibly gaudy numbers, especially against overmatched foes. Bejedi will be a key factor in this and her speed and tenacity are a real asset, she's also still the same hungry, chippy and confident defender she's always been. The enforcer that every team needs.
6. Interested in this group. It's got real Sweet 16/Elite 8 potential if things break the right way and they stay HEALTHY. Early season is no joke with No. 11 Tennessee, UF, Northwestern, No. 15 Stanford, Arkansas, No. 4 UCLA. We will find out quickly how good this team is and can be.
Similar threads
Latest posts
-
Baseball FSU stumbles in final midweek game against Stetson, 10-5
- Latest: Nolebra Kai
-
-
-
