Coach Mike Neighbors is guiding the Huskies to the top half of the PAC-12 since taking the role of head coach in 2013. Last year Washington punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years while also winning 23 games. This season the Huskies are off to another fast start with a 11-2 record. Here is a glimpse into their recent success.
By: @JLHemingwayPSB
UW head coach Mike Neighbors. Photo from Twitter
Chris Hansen, the managing editor of ProspectsNation.com, is a Seattle resident and a regular visitor to Husky games and practices. He had this insight on Neighbor’s practices, “Their LA Fitness Tuesdays is the coolest thing they do. It is an all skill development day designed to highlight player development all throughout the year.”
Neighbors talked about how this came about in his weekly newsletter last year. In his first year, the Huskies were short on bodies because of injuries and fatigue. He took an obstacle and turned it into one of the best parts of their program.
You can join Neighbors weekly newsletter by simply emailing him at nabes22@uw.edu. He has a reputation of a coach who is one of the most sharing and giving to coaches in the game of basketball.
Player Spotlight
Junior guard Kelsey Plum. Photo from @UW_WBB
Washington has one of the most prolific scoring guards in the country in junior Kelsey Plum. She is currently scoring 28.1 points per game, which ranks her as the top scorer nationally in NCAA Division -1 basketball according to NCAA.com. Plum was listed on the Early Season Watch List for the 2016 Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year. Given her play through 13 games, do not expect her name to eliminated any time soon.
Plum’s numbers show how much the Huskies rely upon her to score and carry the scoring load. While Plum does score more than half of her points in transition, she is actually a very efficient play-creator in the pick and roll situation. Her production falls in line with JumpOffPlus.com International Director of Scouting Keil Moore said in his evaluations when he saw her as a prep at La Jolla Day HS in California.
Moore said, “Plum has a great skill set and feel for the game. She is savvy and makes smart plays. Plum knows how to set up her teammates yet will puts points on the board. She reminds me a lot of Courtney Vandersloot of Gonzaga.“
Plum is currently the third ranked prospect in the 2017 WNBA Elite 10 Draft Board on ProspectsNation.com. You can see the full list here: 2017 WNBA Elite 10 Draft Board.
Play Breakdown
For a good portion of any game for the Huskies, Plum runs the team from the point position. Neighbors puts her in positions to create plays with the ball in her hands both at the top of the key and on the wing. However, in their PAC-12 match-up versus Washington State Neighbors moved Plum off the ball at times and got her moving before the ball got to her. See the entire action below:
Frame 1: Plum starts along the baseline and receives a pin down screen from one of the two post players on the court. She receives the ball near the top of the key.
Frame 2: She then receives a ball screen from the other post who has sprinted to set the screen in this area. Next you can see how Plum creates scoring opportunities because of her skill set. In this frame you can see that she is quick enough to slash and score at the rim.
Frame 3: If the defense plays the ball screen soft by either going under or with a passive switch – Plum is confident enough to hit the 3-point jumper off the dribble.
Frame 4: Plum is also quick enough to split a hard hedge and find open teammates with the pass.
Find more plays, sets and ideas for point guards by searching the CoachHemi.com Playbook: Point Guards
Start your search today and become a CoachHemi.com member and gain access to the library of plays, coaching notes and camp ideas.
Register today!
Jonathan Hemingway is the Director of Domestic Scouting for the JumpOffPlus.com International Scouting Report, is on the Naismith Trophy Board of Selectors and owns CoachHemi.com, the go-to source for coaches for X’s and O’s. He is the floor director of #TeamEBA camps, a site director for #TeamPSB tournaments and can be reached at jonathanhemingway@peachstatebasketball.com.
