How Can a Not-That-Tall Team Dominate the Boards?

Warren Grimes

There’s a lot to like about this season’s edition of Women’s Hoops.  A perfect record and a number 1 ranking are among the team’s achievements.  We’ll see how long these can be sustained.  Meanwhile, one feature likely to endure is the team’s impressive rebounding. 

At this point, the team is at the top of the conference in boards (48.9 per game average) with a 16.6 average margin over opponents.  These numbers will decline as the team matches up against tougher conference opponents.  Still, it was impressive that Stanford out-boarded UCLA, the third best rebounding team in the conference, by an impressive 14 rebounds.

What’s the secret?  It’s obviously not simply a matter of height.  Stanford has started a team with no one taller than 6’1”.  Yes, one of the starters is Fran Belibi with her 6’5” reach.  But Belibi is not the leading rebounder on a per game basis (that’s Haley Jones) nor on a per minute basis (that’s Cameron Brink). 

On last season’s team, taller players were in the starting lineup, including Maya Dodson and Nadia Fingall, but that team averaged 8 fewer boards per game, and had only a 6.2 rebounding margin over opponents.  Stanford’s offense is faster paced this season, putting up more shots.  That explains some of the difference, but there’s more going on. 

A lot more than height goes into rebounding. 

It’s blocking out.

It’s strength.

It’s leaping ability.

It’s court sense and positioning.

It’s quickness to the ball.

And, perhaps more than anything else, it’s focus and desire.

The best rebounders have a combination of these strengths.

Let’s start with Haley Jones, who leads the conference with an average of 10.1 boards per game.  For Jones, it’s strength, court sense, and desire that stand out most.  Yes, Jones can jump and is reasonably tall, but those traits alone do not make a great rebounder. 

Jones is averaging .372 boards per minute.  That’s impressive, but falls short of Cameron Brink’s .431 boards per minute.  Brink’s numbers may go down as she gets more defensive attention, but, for now, she’s amazing.  Brink is averaging just 15.6 minutes per game, but is the 10^th leading rebounder in the conference on a per game basis (6.7 boards per game).  I’ve been impressed with Brink’s good hands, quickness, and desire.  When Brink cannot grab the ball, she keeps it alive for other teammates to grab.  And she’s a defensive presence.  Her 15 blocks lead the team on both a per game and per minute basis.

Then there’s Fran Belibi, who is the conference’s 19^th leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per game.  Her rebounds per minute (.347) are just below Jones.  Belibi draws a lot of defensive attention that opens rebounding opportunities for others.

There’s still more.  Lexi Hull is averaging 5.7 boards per game, the 22^nd highest of any player in the conference.  That makes four Stanford players among the conference’s best rebounders.  Hull, like Brink, is in the right place, battles for position and control, and keeps the ball alive when she cannot grab it.

Yes, Stanford’s rebounding may be the best of any Stanford team.  Stanford also leads the conference in points, in steals, and is second in assists.  And Brink, Jones, and Belibi are among the conference’s top 5 players in field goal shooting percentage. 

That said, this is a very competitive conference.  Stanford’s edge over other top conference opponents is not large.  For example, 49.8 boards per game is only slightly ahead of second place Oregon (45 boards per game).   There are multiple challenges ahead.

Meanwhile, the biggest challenge of all to a successful season remains Covid 19.  More games are likely to be cancelled or postponed before the vaccine is available.  Keep safe everyone!

Pandemic Cannot Dull the Sophomore Shine

 

Warren Grimes

Last weekend, playing in Las Vegas, Stanford scored 2 key victories – any game that is played in this pandemic is a victory. 

Oh, and the team also defeated two opposing teams, one an improving Pac-12 team – the Washington Huskies. 

Stanford has lots of warts, but even more potential.  Among the warts – a decidedly mediocre free throw shooting percentage – 59% for the season’s first three games.  Three point shooting was a decidedly mediocre 23% against its toughest opponent so far – Washington.

Lots of other things are going very well indeed.  The team’s 4 sophomores (Haley Jones, Fran Belibi, Ashten Prechtel, and Hannah Jones) are lighting it up.  Against UW, the sophomores scored 60 of the team’s 83 points and had 31 of the team’s 58 boards. 

Leading the charge is Haley Jones, who terrorized last weekend’s opponents with a career high 25 points against UNLV on Saturday, then another career high 29 points against Washington on Sunday.  In Sunday’s performance, Jones shot 14-15, with the sole miss being a three point attempt.   As an afterthought, Jones had a career high 13 boards.

When Jones was on the floor, the team was simply better.  With Jones in the game, Stanford scored more efficiently (2.22 points per minute versus 1.77 points per minute when she was on the bench).  Stanford also defended better (UW had 1.15 points per minute with Jones in the game versus 1.46 points per minute she was seated).   

These stats are a bit misleading, because when Jones was seated, so were many of the other starting players.  Still, you can’t watch Haley Jones in action without noticing the spark she provides.  Jones is smooth, she’s strong, she has great court vision, and that’s just the beginning.  Jones has a wonderful and difficult to defend pull up jumper, she picks out teammates who are freed up by her drives, and those same drives to the basket demonstrate a remarkable array of scoops, hooks and other improvised shots.  Against UW, Jones was a remarkable 14 for 14 from inside the three point line.

It is unrealistic to expect that level of performance against talented and well prepared opponents.  Jones, however, has demonstrated that she can quickly adjust to any defense.  If she is doubled or tripled, she’ll find open teammates.

All of these gifts were present when Jones took the court last season.  The difference is that, after her mid-season injury last year, Jones has come back renewed, with a purpose and resolve that wasn’t evident last season.  If she can stay healthy, opponents will have a tough time this season.

The team is averaging 97.3 points and 51.3 rebounds per game.  Meanwhile, Stanford has held its opponents to an average of 48 per game.  That’s a winning margin of nearly 50 points.  These averages will look less stellar against tougher opponents, but word is out that Stanford will score a lot of points this year.  And scoring will be a challenge against Stanford’s defense. 

The credit for strong defense has to be spread widely.  Kiana Williams leads the team with 7 steals while Ashten Prechtel and Cameron Brink each have 5 blocks.  And Haley Jones is a part of the defensive presence with 4 blocks and 3 steals.  Not to be forgotten, Fran Belibi has 5 steals, making her the second most prolific thief.  Two other defensive stalwarts are Lacie and Lexie Hull, who were team leaders in steals last year.  Watching Stanford play defense is a treat because of cooperation that comes only with communication and teamwork.  The defensive plays generate exciting transition offense.  

There are some surprises.  For all three games, the starting five for Stanford had no one taller than 6’1”, albeit Fran Belibi has the reach of a 6’5” player.  That lineup emphasizes speed and athleticism.  Then again, both Ashten Prechtel and Cameron Brink (who lead the team in blocks) are getting lots of playing time and could well see some starts.

Another surprise – Hannah Jump is averaging 10.7 points per game (the fourth leading scorer so far) and is getting rebounds and assists.  And still another – the player with the least playing time so far is Alyssa Jerome, averaging 9 minutes per game.  Jerome is a gamer who had starts last year, and will likely see time in crucial games ahead. 

The toughest short term opponent for Stanford remains Covid 19.  The games between now and New Year’s could all be relocated, postponed or cancelled.  The drive of the players and the creative skills of the coaches and their staffs will be tested.  But this group will endure.