I think I would feel a little better if the award was called "Most Valuable Player" which to me implies most valuable to her team, where "Player of the Year" implies (to me at least) an emphasis on the individual, not the team. Naama is definitely a team player and she makes everyone around her better.

(03-08-2013 12:50 PM)T-Town Wrote:  I think I would feel a little better if the award was called "Most Valuable Player" which to me implies most valuable to her team, where "Player of the Year" implies (to me at least) an emphasis on the individual, not the team. Naama is definitely a team player and she makes everyone around her better.

I agree. There can be a big difference between POY and MVP.

(03-08-2013 11:12 AM)sterling1man Wrote:  

(03-08-2013 11:09 AM)Rocket_Fanatic Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 10:39 PM)H2Oville Rocket Wrote:  

(03-07-2013 10:28 PM)sylvaniarocketsfan01 Wrote:  Bradford is good, but no way does she match Naama's ability to spread the ball around and involve the team, doesnt take charges, doesnt do the little things that dont show up in the box score.

Nope. And I'd take her in a heartbeat.

Bradford is the better athlete, a scorer who is very hard to defend. Naama is the more valuable person to her team incorporating defense, scoring, and assists. If Bradford is coachable, i'd take her in a heartbeat as well...

Which one has a better GPA?
Which one is a better role model?

Clearly Naama. Don't get me wrong, I prefer Naama over anyone else because that kid is incredible on and off the court. But, Bradford has unbelievable talent on the basketball court. If she is coach able and stays out of trouble, I'd take her on my team.

Tricia Cullop is coach of the year. Andola Dortch is defensive player of the year. Rachel Tecca is player of the year. Nathalie Fontaine is freshman of the year and Shanee Jackson is sixth player of the year.

I think its difficult to argue with any of these picks. I repeat Tecca's stats are 19.4 points/game, 54% field goal percentage, 77% free throw percentage, and 8 rebounds/game.

(03-08-2013 12:51 PM)MidnightBlueGold Wrote:  

(03-08-2013 12:50 PM)T-Town Wrote:  I think I would feel a little better if the award was called "Most Valuable Player" which to me implies most valuable to her team, where "Player of the Year" implies (to me at least) an emphasis on the individual, not the team. Naama is definitely a team player and she makes everyone around her better.

I agree. There can be a big difference between POY and MVP.

Yes, but it depends on how the voters chose to look at it each year.
I also prefer MVP.

(03-12-2013 08:11 AM)temoxley Wrote:  Tricia Cullop is coach of the year. Andola Dortch is defensive player of the year. Rachel Tecca is player of the year. Nathalie Fontaine is freshman of the year and Shanee Jackson is sixth player of the year.

I think its difficult to argue with any of these picks. I repeat Tecca's stats are 19.4 points/game, 54% field goal percentage, 77% free throw percentage, and 8 rebounds/game.

Rachel Tecca certainly is impressive. Six foot one inch height, very tough, 3.89 GPA, graduated in three years, will spend her Senior year doing an MBA. Led Akron to a best season.

Crystal Bradford is a six foot sophomore with national athletic talent.
Clearly the best is yet to come, for both those very impressive players.

This year in MAC womans basketball belongs to Toledo and Naama.
Next year may well be decided by either Rachel Tecca or Crystal Bradford.

(03-12-2013 09:15 AM)sterling1man Wrote:  

(03-12-2013 08:11 AM)temoxley Wrote:  Tricia Cullop is coach of the year. Andola Dortch is defensive player of the year. Rachel Tecca is player of the year. Nathalie Fontaine is freshman of the year and Shanee Jackson is sixth player of the year.

I think its difficult to argue with any of these picks. I repeat Tecca's stats are 19.4 points/game, 54% field goal percentage, 77% free throw percentage, and 8 rebounds/game.

Rachel Tecca certainly is impressive. Six foot one inch height, very tough, 3.89 GPA, graduated in three years, will spend her Senior year doing an MBA. Led Akron to a best season.

Crystal Bradford is a six foot sophomore with national athletic talent.
Clearly the best is yet to come, for both those very impressive players.

This year in MAC womans basketball belongs to Toledo and Naama.
Next year may well be decided by either Rachel Tecca or Crystal Bradford.

Actually Tecca is a redshirt junior so if she graduates this year it will be after 4 years of studies. But there is no doubt she excels in the classroom as well as on the basketball court.

(03-12-2013 12:54 PM)temoxley Wrote:  

(03-12-2013 09:15 AM)sterling1man Wrote:  

(03-12-2013 08:11 AM)temoxley Wrote:  Tricia Cullop is coach of the year. Andola Dortch is defensive player of the year. Rachel Tecca is player of the year. Nathalie Fontaine is freshman of the year and Shanee Jackson is sixth player of the year.

I think its difficult to argue with any of these picks. I repeat Tecca's stats are 19.4 points/game, 54% field goal percentage, 77% free throw percentage, and 8 rebounds/game.

Rachel Tecca certainly is impressive. Six foot one inch height, very tough, 3.89 GPA, graduated in three years, will spend her Senior year doing an MBA. Led Akron to a best season.

Crystal Bradford is a six foot sophomore with national athletic talent.
Clearly the best is yet to come, for both those very impressive players.

This year in MAC womans basketball belongs to Toledo and Naama.
Next year may well be decided by either Rachel Tecca or Crystal Bradford.

Actually Tecca is a redshirt junior so if she graduates this year it will be after 4 years of studies. But there is no doubt she excels in the classroom as well as on the basketball court.

Thank-you for the correction.
Seems allot more realistic as she spent her summer interning at a large insurance company.

Not sure why so much criticism of Bradford. I've watched her play against UT several times either in person or on TV, and I've never seen any poor sportsmanship or indication that she isn't a team player. I know that she got suspended last year, but that was for her peripheral involvement in a fight that started between two other players. I think it can be a tough call for a player whether or not to come to the aid of a teammate in that situation. I'm not saying that she did the right thing, but only that she should not be judged too harshly. Also, someone implied that her GPA isn't high. Is that because you have knowledge, or is that merely speculation?

I wouldn't trade Naama for Bradford or anyone else in the league. Naama's the best, in my opinion. But I'm just confused as to why Bradford attracts so much negativity. In contrast, I haven't heard any critical comments directed toward Tecca or Osborn, who also were contenders for the award.

(03-12-2013 01:27 PM)Dwight Wrote:  Not sure why so much criticism of Bradford. I've watched her play against UT several times either in person or on TV, and I've never seen any poor sportsmanship or indication that she isn't a team player. I know that she got suspended last year, but that was for her peripheral involvement in a fight that started between two other players. I think it can be a tough call for a player whether or not to come to the aid of a teammate in that situation. I'm not saying that she did the right thing, but only that she should not be judged too harshly. Also, someone implied that her GPA isn't high. Is that because you have knowledge, or is that merely speculation?

I wouldn't trade Naama for Bradford or anyone else in the league. Naama's the best, in my opinion. But I'm just confused as to why Bradford attracts so much negativity. In contrast, I haven't heard any critical comments directed toward Tecca or Osborn, who also were contenders for the award.

I saw twice this year in crucial games for Central (at BG and at home against Toledo) where Bradford was benched at crucial times late in the second half by her coach. If your coach doesn't have confidence in you when you need to win you do not deserve to be the conference player of the year. I could never imagine Coach Cullop
taking Naama out with the game on the line.

(03-12-2013 01:27 PM)Dwight Wrote:  Not sure why so much criticism of Bradford. I've watched her play against UT several times either in person or on TV, and I've never seen any poor sportsmanship or indication that she isn't a team player. I know that she got suspended last year, but that was for her peripheral involvement in a fight that started between two other players. I think it can be a tough call for a player whether or not to come to the aid of a teammate in that situation. I'm not saying that she did the right thing, but only that she should not be judged too harshly. Also, someone implied that her GPA isn't high. Is that because you have knowledge, or is that merely speculation?

I wouldn't trade Naama for Bradford or anyone else in the league. Naama's the best, in my opinion. But I'm just confused as to why Bradford attracts so much negativity. In contrast, I haven't heard any critical comments directed toward Tecca or Osborn, who also were contenders for the award.

I agree that I wouldn't trade Naama for any other MAC player. But, having said that, I am a little disappointed with her overall game this year. My major criticism of her in the past is that she sometimes plays too fast, getting out of control, resulting in unforced turnovers and off balanced shots. She has gotten that somewhat under control this year although the tendency remains, just not as prominent. What has been a bigger problem has been a noticeable deterioration in her shooting accuracy. She is down to 39% field goal percentage, which is the lowest of her four + year career. Her points/game are lower than her sophomore and junior years, I think. One could counter that her decreased point production is because she has a great supporting cast and she is distributing the ball (with which I agree). But the supporting cast is largely unchanged over the past 2-3 years includig Dola, Yoyo, and Lecretia as primary offensive options. She continues to work hard defensively. So in conclusion I think she certainly played well, and exceptionally well at the end of a couple of games where we really needed her, but not quite at the level I expected before the season began. And maybe not at the level to justify player of the year in a league with 3 or 4 other really exceptional players who were putting up better offensive statistics.

I think that those of us who see Naama play often come to appreciate the variety and intensity of her game. But for those voters who see her only a couple of times a year, she probably needed to average ~ 15 points/game to offset the differential between her and the others in contention for player of the year.

Naama is coming off a year rehab. I can imagine that could play heck with any number of skills. I can't relate what it would be like to have her injury but even minor knee surgery (Sadami), affected my gate, my running, and was felt for several years. Now I'm old enough to have so many pains I don't feel the knee anymore.

I just realized she wasn't wearing her leg brace the past few games, when did she give that up. I'm sure that slowed her down at the beginning of the season. Also did anyone count the number of times she hit the deck in the Ball State game, that girl was giving up her body for the good of the team.

(03-12-2013 03:49 PM)emanoh Wrote:  I just realized she wasn't wearing her leg brace the past few games, when did she give that up. I'm sure that slowed her down at the beginning of the season. Also did anyone count the number of times she hit the deck in the Ball State game, that girl was giving up her body for the good of the team.

She's left so much skin on that court they should rename it to Bob Nichols/Naama Shafir court."

(03-12-2013 01:27 PM)Dwight Wrote:  Not sure why so much criticism of Bradford. I've watched her play against UT several times either in person or on TV, and I've never seen any poor sportsmanship or indication that she isn't a team player.

I'm not sure you watched closely last year then. After the game at CMU last year, she refused to look at any of the UT players during the handshakes, and when the rest of her team gathered at center court to put their hands together she stood about 6 feet away not even looking at them.

This year she seems much more mature, not complaining to the refs as much and the like. But her coach sat her for the last 3 minutes or so of the UT game at CMU. It was hard for me to understand why you would sit your best athlete when you are playing essentially for the league title.

She's an absolutely incredible athlete and basketball player. If she keeps the other stuff in check, she will be known as one of the best, maybe even the best, the MAC has seen.

What sets Naama apart from the others is not so much her basketball skills or her athletic abilities, although those are both stellar. It's the fact that she is really a coach on the court. She controls the game, speeding it up or slowing it down as needed, keeping the other players motivated, taking over the game when needed and sitting back and let others shine when they are hot. I don't think you can say that about the other top players ... maybe Osborn, but I have only seen her play once or twice.

Naama is also a pretty fine defender and takes as many charges as anybody else in the league. That doesn't show up on the stat sheet.