In Reply to: watching ESPN listing 3 POY candidates in WBB w/out Betts posted by barrya on January 05, 2025 at 12:49:59
(although yesterday was a huge exception). First thing most people look at is scoring. Betts doesn't have to put up big scoring numbers. But, beyond that, 2 of the 3 ladies in that conversation also play fierce defense** Juju works her butt off on the D end and is very good at it. And, Hidalgo is crazy. She is a monster on defense. Incredible. She's averaging 4 steals/game, and just totally D's up the opponent.
Getting back to the scoring, Hidalgo averages 24 points per game. I clicked on ND's ESPN page, and the headline was "Hidalgo scores 18 of her 24 points in the first half to beat (17th ranked) North Carolina"
I've watched Brueckers play twice, and I'm not impressed w/ her the way I am with Hidalgo, Juju, and Betts. But, two games is not much to go on.
If we shift to going to Betts allll the time, and she carries us like she did against Indiana, then she will certainly push her way into the conversation. But, I don't know if that's the best move for the team.
I'm a huge fan of Betts, and yes, her defense probably goes unnoticed (when UCLA was extending their defense yesterday, Lauren got her hands on several cross court passes that few other players would have touched). But, for a POY, they generally are going to have to have shiny offensive numbers. And, if Lauren starts scoring over 20 ppg, I don't think that's necessarily the best for the team. JMO.