PJ Brown: Stepping back into the arena
Observations from SMU
Dallas, Texas — This basketball season has been a time of transition for me.
I am no longer a beat reporter after nine years and have no real connection to one team.
As a beat reporter, I practically lived at McKale Center – the arena where the Arizona basketball team plays. I was in McKale an average of four to five times a week during the season with games, practices, press conferences and interviews. During the offseason, it did slow down quite a bit to maybe once or twice every other week.
I used to joke with my mom that I went there so much, my car knew the way.
For the last 10 months, I have been inside McKale maybe five times and that’s being generous. That’s a drastic change.
I still watch lots of basketball and when I write about an athlete or a coach, this viewing is even more focused. That’s just how I am.
Last week I was in Dallas and took in two SMU games at Moody Coliseum as part of the media. These really are my first in person games since last March. That’s a long time between games. It’s also a long time not watching practices all summer, fall and throughout the season.
Practice is where I learned a lot more about basketball. Everything slows down in practice and I can see and hear the teaching that goes on, as well as understanding coach Adia Barnes’ system.
I definitely feel like I caught up this week, watching shootarounds and practices. A big thanks to the SMU and Miami programs for their hospitality and for letting me observe.
It felt like home. The people and the environment. It didn’t matter who I was talking to (the scoreboard operator, SMU or Miami staff or anyone else on SMU’s campus) all week long I kept thinking folks, were, as we say: Midwestern nice. It turns out that many of the people I met in Dallas were originally from the Midwest! (Sidenote: I am from Wisconsin and I lived in Chicago for many years)
I quickly slipped back into reporter mode (keeping a running score and notes during the games) even though there were no deadlines to meet and no news to seek out. However, I was coming up with plenty of story ideas and interviewing folks. Just at a more relaxed pace.
It all started out by attending Mustangs MIC’D UP where a number of SMU coaches were interviewed.
I met a handful of Barnes’ players (a few I had interviewed before) including sophomore sensation, Zahra King, junior Elise Hill and freshmen Jazzy Gipson and Roxy White.
I also reconnected with Mailien Rolf, who transferred to SMU from Arizona after Barnes took over as the Mustangs’ coach. Rolf tore her ACL last summer when she was playing for her German National Team. She is medically redshirting this season and will be back on the court playing next year. Rolf is in the midst of her rehab and looks even stronger than before.
Walking into SMU’s arena, Moody Coliseum, you notice how intimate it is. Some may call it small, but I like an arena where you feel like you are on top of the action. There isn’t a bad seat in the house. The last time the facility was renovated, they added boxes up top – something I haven’t seen in a college basketball arena.
The facility is amazing. Both SMU’s men’s and women’s basketball play in this arena. It is just a hallway away from the locker rooms, as well as where they lift, get treatment and practice in Crum Basketball Center. Each team has their own practice court across from their locker rooms. This stood out to me as most women’s programs don’t have their own practice court. It shows that SMU cares and is investing in women’s basketball.
The first game at SMU was against Florida State (FSU). I attended shootaround, which was a first for me. I have been to practice between games, but never a shootaround just hours before a game.
It was a chance for the team to walk-through some last-minute items and yes, get more shooting in. Afterwards they went through the scout one more time.
For the Mustangs, it’s just one of those seasons where they got caught by the injury bug. Seven players are out, including three of their most experienced: Tyi Skinner, Kyla Deck and Rolf.
People are playing out of position. The Mustangs don’t have real point guard or even a backup, and they just can’t get on a roll. The two games I watched, against FSU and Miami, were tough losses. This pretty much sums up their season.
However, I always look for the little wins. And there are plenty for the Mustangs.
Looking at the stats, SMU is third in the ACC in steals with 11 per game.
SMU is sixth in the ACC in blocked shots averaging 4.7 per game behind two players in the Top 10: Anaya Brown (8th in the league) with 1.5 per game and Grace Hall (10th in the league) with 1.4 per game.
King is averaging 14.8 points per game (11th in the ACC) and her field goal percentage is 48.1% (8th in the ACC).
Here’s what I saw:
The 6-foot one-inch Brown, who is a senior forward, stuffing the stat sheet. She had a bounce to her step and was flying in to grab a rebound and timing her blocks perfectly. She was getting steals and scoring. In both games, she was one rebound shy of a double-double.
In the first quarter against FSU, she took over with seven points, two blocks, one steal and four rebounds. Brown is another one who has been injured, working through muscle spasms in her back this season. However, over the last four games, she is averaging 16.8 points and nearly eight rebounds per game.
King, who put up a 40-piece against Pitt on January 18, had to earn each of her 11 points against FSU. Every time she drove to the hoop, two or three defenders collapsed on her.
After the game, Barnes said, “When she comes off an on-ball action, there’s a lot of feet in the paint, like literally no one was out of the key.”
Barnes went onto to say that when this happens, King stalls because she’s “a young player and she’s looking where to go … it’s like they were icing her.”
“I have to teach her that when she comes out of stagger to use an on ball. She has to use the on ball fast, because in a dynamic situation, it’s very hard to ice.”
One thing I learned about Barnes early on, is that she’s always teaching. It’s not only during the summer months, team practice and film sessions, but also with individual skill sessions during the season. You can bet King is spending a lot of time watching film and working on how to use that on ball situation to her advantage.
With all this skill work, you can see the growth in Barnes’ players, especially King, who is more efficient, consistent and confident as the season has progressed.
Against Miami, King put up 18 points and dished eight assists. She is one of the Mustangs who is playing out of position. Naturally a shooting guard, she has been playing at point guard, which isn’t easy in Barnes’ system.
The other Mustang who stood out is the freshman, Gipson, a 6-foot forward. She started off the season with an injury and didn’t start playing for a few minutes until December. Since the Virginia Tech game on January 15, she’s been in the starting lineup. She totally earned it as Barnes said that she works hard in practice, especially on the defensive end.
Gipson really uses her long arms to her advantage. She picked five steals against Miami and in both games was just not giving her opponent much space.
For me, there is nothing like watching a game in person. Especially courtside, which I was for both of these games. While we typically have great camera angles on TV, there is something about the eye test. That’s when I can really see a team or a player up close, focus on them and truly get what makes them special.
I was in my element over the past week taking in lots of basketball. While it was in a slightly different way, there was time to process, analyze and yes, ask Barnes even more questions.
Thanks to my founding sponsor, Elevated Sports Group, and to all my subscribers for the support.
Love this article. You make us feel like we are sitting next to you watching the game - AND - that’s a very rare feeling. Thank you. I would love to see you back as a beat reporter. And I also love your stories about coaching and strategy.