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3.7.02
By AJ LISA WILLIS
Game watched: Narbonne vs. Hart, CIF Southern California Division I Regionals.
Outcome and score: Narbonne 65, Hart 32
Willis' production: 3 points, a few steals (exact total not known), a few assists (exact total not known), a few rebounds (exact total not known), defense and leadership on the court.
Averaging: 7.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists on the year. WILLIS didn't score much for Narbonne during its 65-32 win over Hart in the CIF Southern California Division I Regionals, but what the 5-10 guard provided for her teammates was pinpoint no-look passes to set up her teammates as well as stellar defense, which helped shutdown Hart freshman phenom Ashley Trebilcock, who scored just 9 points in the game.
WILLIS plays with a lot of confidence and her demeanor is never changing. She always appears serious and approaches the game in business-like fashion on the court. She seemed to play within the game and never tried to force things. She is also a pretty good rebounder and her strength seemed to be in her defense and passing abilities.
As for her shooting, she was the leading 3-point shooter for the Gauchos last season from what I have been told, but this season she seems to be off a bit. She does have a beautiful stroke from beyond the arc, however, but she was only able to make 1 out of about 5 3-pointers that I saw her take. At least two of those misses were right on, but seemed to rattle in-and-out or swirl around the rim and drop off.
I dont know if she has the ability to penetrate to the basket or even the quickness to do so, since she roamed mostly around the perimeter either waiting to shoot the three or find the open player cutting to the inside. It was obvious that Narbonne coach James Anderson has confidence in Willis leadership on the court and that the two very good and quick point guards, sophomore Camille Lenoir and junior Camille Brox, looked to get the ball into the hands of Willis once they were set up in the halfcourt.
Overall, it was hard to really see the full potential of what Willis will bring to UCLA next season, since the Gauchos are such a deep and talented team and she doesnt have to do a whole lot on the offensive end of the court. They do not depend on just one or two players, offensively. It is amazing to watch this team play because every one of the players that Narbonne put on the court was able to score and they played very good team ball and recognized that balance by passing the ball around quite well until they found the open player.
One thing is for sure, Willis is a great get for the Bruins. I had been told that she might be a bit on the slow side once she gets to the next level, where most likely she will play the small forward/shooting guard spot. I do have to say I don't agree with that description of her. On one play, I watched her run coast-to-coast with Hart sophomore Brandi Kimble, who is pretty quick on the fast break, and Willis not only kept up with her, but she also got back on defense to knock the ball away from Kimble as Kimble went up for the shot.
Willis seems to be a smart player who helped run her team with a cool and confident demeanor on the court and really never forced anything and played very well within the offense. Good get for KO and the Bruins in my opinion and will definitely be a great addition to the team next season. She may need some time to adjust to the next level, but I think she will contribute a lot next season. She'll do the little things that don't appear in the stats. If she can get back her efficiency from 3 point range, she'll help out there too.
JULIA PITTS
Game watched: NorthTorrance vs. Redondo Union, CIF Southern Section Division II-A title game.
Outcome and score: Redondo Union 42, North Torrance 30
PITTS' production: 11 points, 12 rebounds, a few steals (don't know exact amount)
Averaging: A double-double (don't know exact stats) I had a chance to see Pitts play in the championship game of the CIF Southern Section Division II-A playoffs against Redondo Union on Friday, March 1, 2002 at Long Beach States Pyramid. North Torrance lost to its Bay League rival Sea Hawks, 42-30.
I arrived around the 3 minute mark of the first quarter and the score was Redondo 3, North Torrance 0. Actually, the first half total was only 9-8 in favor of North.
However, as I arrived and looked down onto the court, I could already make out which player Pitts was, and the reason for that was obvious in that she was the only player on her team over 6-0.
As I moved along the west side of the gym looking for a seat, the more I watched her, I immediately tried to think of another player not necessarily a Bruin player just another player in which I can make references to in regards to her game. The first person that popped into my mind was Kristee Porter. Honestly, this didnt have anything to do with the fact that I know that, like Porter, Pitts plays basketball, volleyball and competes for the track and field team at North. The similarities, to me, were striking.
For one, Pitts wears her ponytail exactly the way Porter wears hers hair parted down the middle and the same length in the back. The other thing is that Pitts moved like Porter and her frame was similar too. Though she isnt as toned and conditioned as Porter, she does have the same build and frame. Her swagger after a play was also like that of Porter and like Porter, once she put the ball on the floor, her quick first step to the basket allowed her to get past her defender where she was almost always fouled on the play. With a little more strength in her legs and upper body, it might possibly be the case that at the next level on a those particular plays, shed get the foul and-one!
Pitts is a raw athletic type who is very, very quick and can get up and down the floor very fast and with what appeared to be with ease. She was very effective in Norths trapping defense up top on the Redondo guards and she was also able to recover fast enough to defend the post. She did have trouble defending once the bigger Redondo post players got position down low, but at times she was quick enough to get around them and steal the ball. She was constantly double-teamed and was only able to finish with 11 points, but she did have 12 rebounds. She does get up pretty high for the boards too.
Her weaknesses appear to be dribbling, posting up effectively against bigger-framed players, and just being the raw athletic type. Picture Porter when she first began playing basketball at UCLA. I love these types of players. You can never go wrong with players who are just pure athletic types because my belief is if they dedicate themselves 100 percent to any sport they play, they can be great at that sport. Natalie Williams, for example or even Kristee Porter. Pitts has a long way to go before she is included in this group, but she has loads of potential in my opinion.
Her strength has got to be her quickness. A few times, she was able to get out ahead of everyone on the fast break and she does finish her shots.
Overall, I like this kid for coach KO and the Bruins. She will be a player to reckon with once she leaves Westwood. |
