Lindsay Gottlieb seemed to find some real solutions for USC’s offense against an elite opponent on Saturday. This could be the start of something big.
Lindsay Gottlieb might not play with a Rubik’s Cube, but that’s an apt metaphor for her work with this USC women’s basketball team. Gottlieb has to figure out not only how to make life easier for JuJu Watkins, but for Kiki Iriafen and, by extension, the whole team. If JuJu and Kiki are thriving, the whole team thrives. If Gottlieb can align one band of the cube, she will get closer to aligning all the bands on the Rubik’s Cube.
One of the tricky aspects of USC’s game against UConn on Saturday night was that it marked the first time in roughly a month that freshman Kennedy Smith was available to play. Gottlieb faced a challenge in the process of integrating Smith back into the rotation without disrupting the flow which had been established with other players. Smith obviously needs to play if she is able to; the point is simply that after a month off, rust might have been part of the equation, disrupting instead of enhancing what USC wanted to do in its halfcourt offense.
Smith did not get in the way. She improved the Trojans at both ends of the floor and showed why she is such an important player.
While Smith came back to the court, however, the bigger challenge for Gottlieb was to find ways to free up both Kiki Iriafen and also Rayah Marshall. You could really see the gears turning for Gottlieb and the USC coaching staff. You could tell they wanted to get Kiki and Rayah in some high-low actions, and to also get isolation situations and lob opportunities in the low post.
Two plays in the fourth quarter showed how Lindsay Gottlieb is trying to crack the code and make USC’s offense especially hard to guard.
UConn coach Geno Auriemma said after the game that JuJu Watkins simply can’t be guarded by one player. She will destroy opponents in 1-on-1 matchups. UConn sent help at JuJu and forced her to make a read and often give up the ball, daring other USC players to score. One time in the fourth qurater, JuJu was able to create an easy layup by positioning herself near the free throw line.
JuJu caught the ball at the right elbow, turned to her left, drew defenders, and dumped the ball to Rayah Marshall for a basket. If defenses are going to double- or triple-team JuJu, positioning herself near the free throw line makes a low post feed easier because of the shorter distance. If JuJu is 25 feet from the basket, that low-post dump-down is harder.
On another play in the fourth quarter, Kiki Iriafen stood near that same right elbow area, near the free throw line. She is tall and can throw passes over smaller defenders. She used that height advantage to lob the ball to Marshall, her tall teammate, for a bucket.
Lindsay Gottlieb really seemed to understand the geometry of the game against UConn. If defenses so preoccupied with JuJu will extend pressure and commit bodies to the perimeter, USC should have ample chances to lob the ball over the defense with Kiki and Rayah, also with JuJu positioning herself near the foul line.
Lindsay Gottlieb shows signs of being able to crack the code which, if solved, will make USC and its offense extremely hard to stop.
