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From now until the WNBA draft on April 11, 2011, Swish Appeal will be providing you with information, quotes and audio clips on some of the top prospects. We hope you enjoy them, and they help you prepare for the new crop of WNBA players entering the league this summer!
The good news for Danielle Adams is the NCAA tourney run of Texas A&M brought her front and center for everyone to see. The bad news for Danielle Adams is the NCAA tourney run of Texas A&M brought her front and center for everyone to see. A player with tremendous skills, including the passing ability Coach Gary Blair described in our title, she also has the big question mark of her conditioning. The nation has seen both these last few weeks. Still, she played 39 minutes in the championship game, and dominated the 2nd half of the game, with 22 points.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A 6'1 post, Danielle Adams is adept down low, and stepping out and shooting the 3. A 1st team All-American, Adams came to A&M after being a two-time JUCO All-American and fit right in, coming off the bench at first, and then starting this season. She is a great scorer and passer, and an excellent rebounder. The natural comparison is to the young Charles Barkley, and even her coach makes that comparison: "She could be the next Charles Barkley-type player, with a large body but with so many basketball skills. She's the best passer for a big player that I've ever had the opportunity to coach."
STATISTICAL STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
- Scored 30 points in NCAA championship game, 2nd most in championship game history, along with 9 rebounds
- Averaged 22.1 ppg this season, 9th best in the country
- Averaged 8.5 rebounds per game
- Raised that in conference play to 23.8 ppg & 8.8 rpg
- Had 15 double-doubles, 22nd best in the country
- Scored 40 points in game vs. Kansas this season, and had at least 30 points in seven games
- Had 42 3-pointers this year, but shot only 30% from there
- Even though she played 30 minutes per game, stamina & conditioning is a definite issue. A post needs to run endline to endline, not just between the foul lines
STRAIGHT FROM THE PLAYER'S MOUTH
Earlier this year, I had Danielle on the Dishin & Swishin show. Quiet and reserved until she warms to you, she is very personable. I talked to Danielle about her game, and how much confidence she has in her teammates.
Dishin & Swishin: Danielle Adams On Her Game & Her Teammates
We also talked about the WNBA, and whether she was excited about the possibility of playing in the WNBA.
Dishin & Swishin: Danielle Adams on Playing in the WNBA
WHAT THE COACHES SAY
Gary Blair has been absolutely thrilled to have Danielle Adams on his Texas A&M squads, and he makes it very clear that A&M would not have advanced through the Big 12 season and tourney and on through the NCAAs without her post presence. She gives them a player that can score when the pressure defense doesn't generate layups.
Dishin & Swishin: Gary Blair on Danielle Adams
Sherri Coale of Oklahoma has coached against Danielle in the Big 12. She also had her own player that faced questions on conditioning and stamina, in Courtney Paris. So I talked to Coach Coale about Danielle Adams' game, and the similarities and differences between her and Courtney.
Dishin & Swishin: Sherri Coale on Danielle Adams
FROM ELSEWHERE ON SBNATION
NCAA Women's 2011 Final Four: How Texas A&M Took Down Stanford
Before the game, I said that Stanford is built such that they can tolerate turnovers if they establish their post game inside and thrive on post scoring and second chance points. Unfortunately, that didn't happen in the second half - TAMU kept Stanford off the offensive boards in the second half, limiting them to only four second chance points. A large part of that was the defensive rebounding effort of Danielle Adams.
Adams had five of her six rebounds in the second half to lead the Aggies' gritty effort and played a physical defensive game about Stanford's bigs. But she also came to life in the scoring column with 11 of her 16 points in the second half and displaying that beautifully soft turnaround jumper that has looked unstoppable this season whether it's Brittney Griner or anyone of Stanford's bigs guarding her. Of course, there were times when she did continue to rush shots or maybe settled for using finesse instead of her power, but on Tuesday night they were falling and that's all that matters.
WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY
Angela Taylor is the former General Manager of the Washington Mystics. We recently chatted on Dishin & Swishin,and Danielle Adams going to the WNBA came up. Angela came up with in my opinion, a great comparison to the type of player she can become.