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BruisedOrange writes:

When someone as quick as Simmons gets beat off the dribble so easily, it's a technique problem. Instinctively (like every great offensive player) she's gotten rest on D by standing flat-footed while striking an aggressive pose--bent forward at the waist, arms out, weight shifted forward. Can't do that at this level.

Our girls have been coached correctly, so maybe bring in the tennis coach. (UT tennis players must shift their feet into position to return serves traveling well over 100 feet per second!) Sometimes players get it when they hear it from a new source using different language.

If your first reaction to a dribble drive is shifting your weight, you're already beat. Your first response HAS to be to move your FEET counter to the dribbler. But you've gotta be up on your toes, weight-neutral in every axis to do that.

Of course, it doesn't help that refs are making the "blocking" call so one sidedly in favor of the offensive player* these days. I wonder if that is why we haven't seen Glory moved to the perimeter. This season's refs would have her on the bench with 2 fouls in two minutes, regardless of how well she defended.
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* Guess the powers-that-be have realized there's little spectator excitement in the women's "vertical" game, so they've embraced the "lateral" emphasis of the dribble-drive--and educated officials accordingly.

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