It’s sure not going to be easy, since there aren’t any bad teams left at this juncture of the season, but I don’t see the Sugar Bears’ season ending against Shaw. I just don’t see it. Coach Seals agrees with me on this since she “just doesn’t feel it in her bones”. Despite its’ gaudy record and ungodly stats, I think Shaw is the one that’s going to be overwhelmed here.

Yes, they play at a crazy tempo and wreak havoc on every opponent’s ballhandlers, but they haven’t seen anybody quite like the Sugar Bears yet. As a matter of fact, upon inspection of their schedule, it hasn’t even been close. Their 32-1 is much like Boise State going 11-1 in football. Impressive, yes … but against lesser competition.

The Sugar Bears have gotten done against some of the toughest competition there is, so they know what kind of battle they’re getting in to. Shaw hasn’t seen a team this good in a long time, if at all. My money is on the latter.

Shaw gets their impressive wins by trapping and scrambling around, disrupting the other team’s flow and getting a lot of open layups in the fast break. They will be the fastest team the Sugar Bears have seen. But is that going to matter? As Traci Graham said, “we aren’t a bunch of turtles”. 95% of the time the Sugar Bears are probably the fastest team on the floor, so this will be different to them. But, I don’t think they plan on running with Shaw. They might be able to hang better than everybody else has when they have to, but they’re going to slow it down some and take away Shaw’s strength.

When you break it down by players, UCA has a decided advantage if they can slow this down a little and get into half-court sets and get back on defense. In Carone Harris and Caronica Randle, UCA boasts two of the best players in the country. Both are finalists for All-American honors (to be announced Tuesday night) and you have to think they will, at the very worst, offset Shaw’s best two. But, that’s at worst. It would come to a big surprise to all if the Bears run out better players than do the Sugar Bears.

With Shaw’s best players being guards in the 5’6-5’8 range, they seem to match up at the same positions as Harris and Randle, and that can only work in UCA’s favor. If that’s not enough you’ve got a guard quick enough to handle anything Shaw throws out in Renita Dobbins, and inside-out players like Richards, Rose Loyd and Micaela Thomas to create mismatches.

Schematically, the Sugar Bears have the tools to give almost anybody fits. With the inside-out and outside-in players, they totally turn defensive plans inside out. If a team goes zone, the 3s start pouring in or Dobbins finds a way to run into the heart of it and collapse it to get her teammates open looks all over the floor. If teams go man, Harris and Randle do their routine of taking everything to the rack and drawing fouls. If you focus too much on them, you go back to those other perimeter shooters or you can throw it in to those same girls down in the paint for inside buckets.

There’s no good way to go about slowing down the Sugar Bears. They’re far too versatile. They win games even when they shoot 20 percent. With a group that talented offensively, you aren’t shutting them down. And they’re far too heady, experienced and athletic to fall victim to a press.

The way to beat the Sugar Bears is to make sure they don’t stop you. They don’t have just a whole lot of great post defense, but you have to watch the guards coming in. Harris is likely to steal the ball anywhere on the floor. Shaw’s strength is around the perimter, their quickness and slashing to the basket, which isn’t necessarily the best way to go about attacking UCA.

It’s going to be strength against strength for the most part, but the key is how much the game stays at Shaw’s pace. If they keep it a track meet for an extended time, the Sugar Bears’ frontline players are going to have to catch a blow at some point. How long they are out and how good the reserves play and how much Coach Seals is able to stagger the substitutions may wind up being pivotal.

Shaw’s good – most likely real good. Just probably not good enough.





		Shaw might be No. 1, but...

		It’s sure not going to be easy, since there aren’t any bad teams left at this juncture of the season, but I don’t see the Sugar Bears’ season ending against Shaw. I just don’t see it. Coach Seals agrees with me on this since she “just doesn’t feel it in her bones”. Despite its’ gaudy record and ungodly stats, I think Shaw is the one that’s going to be overwhelmed here. Yes, they play at a crazy tempo and wreak havoc on every opponent’s ballhandlers, but they haven’t seen anybody quite like the Sugar Bears yet. As a matter of fact, upon inspection of their schedule, it hasn’t even been close. Their 32-1 is much like Boise State going 11-1 in football. Impressive, yes … but against lesser competition. The Sugar Bears have gotten done against some of the toughest competition there is, so they know what kind of battle they’re getting in to. Shaw hasn’t seen a team this good in a long time, if at all. My money is on the latter. Shaw gets their impressive wins by trapping and scrambling around, disrupting the other team’s flow and getting a lot of open layups in the fast break. They will be the fastest team the Sugar Bears have seen. But is that going to matter? As Traci Graham said, “we aren’t a bunch of turtles”. 95% of the time the Sugar Bears are probably the fastest team on the floor, so this will be different to them. But, I don’t think they plan on running with Shaw. They might be able to hang better than everybody else has when they have to, but they’re going to slow it down some and take away Shaw’s strength. When you break it down by players, UCA has a decided advantage if they can slow this down a little and get into half-court sets and get back on defense. In Carone Harris and Caronica Randle, UCA boasts two of the best players in the country. Both are finalists for All-American honors (to be announced Tuesday night) and you have to think they will, at the very worst, offset Shaw’s best two. But, that’s at worst. It would come to a big surprise to all if the Bears run out better players than do the Sugar Bears. With Shaw’s best players being guards in the 5’6-5’8 range, they seem to match up at the same positions as Harris and Randle, and that can only work in UCA’s favor. If that’s not enough you’ve got a guard quick enough to handle anything Shaw throws out in Renita Dobbins, and inside-out players like Richards, Rose Loyd and Micaela Thomas to create mismatches. Schematically, the Sugar Bears have the tools to give almost anybody fits. With the inside-out and outside-in players, they totally turn defensive plans inside out. If a team goes zone, the 3s start pouring in or Dobbins finds a way to run into the heart of it and collapse it to get her teammates open looks all over the floor. If teams go man, Harris and Randle do their routine of taking everything to the rack and drawing fouls. If you focus too much on them, you go back to those other perimeter shooters or you can throw it in to those same girls down in the paint for inside buckets. There’s no good way to go about slowing down the Sugar Bears. They’re far too versatile. They win games even when they shoot 20 percent. With a group that talented offensively, you aren’t shutting them down. And they’re far too heady, experienced and athletic to fall victim to a press. The way to beat the Sugar Bears is to make sure they don’t stop you. They don’t have just a whole lot of great post defense, but you have to watch the guards coming in. Harris is likely to steal the ball anywhere on the floor. Shaw’s strength is around the perimter, their quickness and slashing to the basket, which isn’t necessarily the best way to go about attacking UCA. It’s going to be strength against strength for the most part, but the key is how much the game stays at Shaw’s pace. If they keep it a track meet for an extended time, the Sugar Bears’ frontline players are going to have to catch a blow at some point. How long they are out and how good the reserves play and how much Coach Seals is able to stagger the substitutions may wind up being pivotal. Shaw’s good – most likely real good. Just probably not good enough.