Luuuc
Years ago

Whitcomb highlights video

I love my basketball, and I'm an unabashed fan of women's basketball as well as many of you probably know.
It's a different style of game, I get why it's not everyone's cup of tea, and I don't begrudge people who aren't into it.

I don't want to be preachy, but I don't like people missing out on a good thing either, and there's a player running around in our own WNBL who I think a lot of "not into it" people might appreciate.

She plays nowhere near the rim, she's not especially athletic, but she gets buckets. If you enjoy shots in a defender's face, or from deep, or a sweet step-back, then you just might enjoy some Sami, so I'm asking for 4 minutes of your time:

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Luuuc  
Years ago

Reply #630531 | Report this post


Dave  
Years ago

I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty Impressive.

What percent is she putting those up at?

Reply #630535 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

She's such a great story too, almost like a Redhage on steroids. Such a shame the WNBL is so invisible at the moment.

Also the great story of Suzy Batkovic winning yet another MVP going all but unnoticed, a real shame.

Reply #630537 | Report this post


Luuuc  
Years ago

What percent is she putting those up at?


She was 105/254 = 41.3% from outside the arc this season, which IMO is pretty freakin impressive considering the degree of difficulty of many of her attempts, and the fact that opposition defences are geared around making life tough for her.
Her 105 makes this season is a WNBL record.

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Dave  
Years ago

I knew it must be high, based on the fact she walked away as soon as she released most of them...

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Luuuc  
Years ago

almost like a Redhage on steroids


:/

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Bear  
Years ago

Saddest thing about the WNBL is the way the free to air TV dropped it, nice highlights though!

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Isaac  
Years ago

I liked the steal at 1:02. She's like a shark. Opponent just plodding along and had no idea it was coming.

Some really impressive plays and obviously great shooting.

Has she been the main reason the Lynx have improved dramatically? I know they have been battlers in the past.

For every person that wished there was more WNBL or WNBA content on Hoops, I wish they'd join Luuuc and start more topics or comment. Increases the chance of getting a discussion going.

Reply #630545 | Report this post


paul  
Years ago

Problem is Isaac, what do you talk about when the competition is so invisible?

Had it still been on ABC, someone like Whitcomb who has worked her way through lesser competitions and now signed in the WNBA out of the WNBL would be one of the stories of the season, but as it is she is just a name rather than a face.

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Luuuc  
Years ago

Btw I intentionally left the topic title vague, in the hope that doing so might reduce the amount of "oh, a women's topic, I'll just scroll past that one"


Has she been the main reason the Lynx have improved dramatically? I know they have been battlers in the past.


The main reason was the Wildcats taking over the team, and actually spending some money on the roster. Previously, BWA ran it and had a shoestring budget to work with. They were financially responsible (unlike Logan/SEQ) but it meant a decade of on-court strugglesville.

Having said that, Sami was tearing it up here in the SBL for Rockingham, and the West Coast Waves did not sign her up. I'm yet to hear why.
She has been a big reason for the team's success, but it's really a better team from top to bottom than the Waves were ever able to assemble.

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paul  
Years ago

I think the Lynx were the first full-pro team in Australian club sports, which is a credit to the Wildcats (even though some in the media have given that mantle to NSW cricket) and has obviously paid dividends on court.

There is plenty of talk around the NBL is going to get more involved in the WNBL, so hopefully that will have a big positive impact.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

The reality is when you put up the most shots in the entire league let alone in your team and over half of them are 3 pointers ( 254 3pt attempts, next nearest in the league was Mijovic with 179) it stands to reason your going to be a high scorer
Her percentage is not the best in the league
She actually took over 100 more shots than anyone else in her team

Reply #630550 | Report this post


Luuuc  
Years ago

Problem is Isaac, what do you talk about when the competition is so invisible?

Hang on though. In the ABC era we basically had one game per week viewable.
This past season, Dandenong streamed all of their home games on YouTube with commentary, Perth did maybe half their games with commentary and replays, Adelaide did most home games - some with commentary and some without, Sydney did a few, Canberra did a lot, with commentary, although also with a fair few technical glitches ... but if you wanted to watch WNBL it was the best season ever to do so.

Not that I wouldn't love the league to be back on TV as well, but YouTube is a pretty good and easily accessible platform.

There are some great stories coming out of the league, but even in the ABC TV era nothing really went mainstream. People knew about Lauren Jackson and that was about it.

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Isaac  
Years ago

Obviously it's made harder, but game threads, notable stats, etc. The WA state league is presumably without a broadcast, but it gets insane amounts of chat about off-season things, games, etc. I'd be keen to see a thread for each WNBL round (which is often started), especially ones which invite discussion (asking for tips on round results, etc).

SA ABL used to get loads and loads of talk but is pretty pitiful these days. A lot of it is a matter of having a few regulars providing a base to build from. Back in those days, there are a few of us doing that, whereas I no longer go to ABL games and I don't feel like the Premier League does much to help themselves.

IMO any of these leagues should be seeding content on Hoops to draw in fans, especially ABL level.

Btw I intentionally left the topic title vague
I know you did, but I don't like making thread-specific concessions on things like this. I can change the topic if you think of another way to do it, because I really like the approach to get outsiders checking out her play and I think there might be a good way to attract people.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

I agree with such a license to shoot it is not hard to see why her confidence is high. Not sure between her an Mijovic who would be labelled the most selfish. In the end individuals win nothing as the finals showed.

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Luuuc  
Years ago

I think the Lynx were the first full-pro team in Australian club sports, which is a credit to the Wildcats (even though some in the media have given that mantle to NSW cricket) and has obviously paid dividends on court.


Absolutely. That was a huge step forward that the Wildcats initiated, and it went pretty much unnoticed. It should have been celebrated by all those pushing women's sport. Today you've got all the hype about AFLW, WBBL, the new netball series, etc, and meanwhile basketball was at the forefront, yet is being ignored because it's not the shiny new thing. Which is a bit ironic, because as an established league it is full of players who have been doing this all their lives, as opposed to say AFLW, which has a lot of players just now having a crack for the first time - and that is quite obvious when you look at the skills and the feel for the game.

Just shows what some good marketing can achieve. It's a pity BA has such a small budget and can't hope to compete with the AFL in terms of promotion.

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paul  
Years ago

"Not that I wouldn't love the league to be back on TV as well, but YouTube is a pretty good and easily accessible platform."

Only for the converted. The numbers watching are massively lower than when it was ABC, and the club youtube broadcasts are done in isolation rather than telling the story of the season, which the ABC coverage did quite well.

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Luuuc  
Years ago

Oh for sure!
You're not going to grow the fan base by being on YouTube.
I guess what I meant is that for existing fans it's actually not a bad situation at the moment. But it's far from ideal, and a few hundred people tuning in would barely make it worthwhile to produce a quality live stream for these clubs. I applaud Dandenong in particular for sticking with it and giving the fans a good one. Perth's was even better - a really good production - but would certainly not have been cheap or easy to do, and I guess that's why they pulled the plug halfway through the season.

One good thing about the ABC was that the coverage was at a regular time each week, which made it very easy to tune into.

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paul  
Years ago

Absolutely, and usually at a time when there wasn't a lot of sport on. For a little while there, Saturday arvo was a great block for women's sports fans to tune into WNBL and W-League and the ratings were solid for both.

Hopefully LK can get involved, get more games on TV and more of our best women playing back home like he did with the NBL.

Reply #630564 | Report this post


Isaac  
Years ago

I don't follow WNBL games (just the season loosely from afar) but when games were on ABC and I still watched some FTA, I would tune in now and then. I really like the NBL on SBS for Sundays for the same reason - gets in front of occasional or non-fans. FTA is such a wasteland that remotely decent sport stands out against a backdrop of rubbish.

With the broadening of individual channels, ABC/SBS should absolutely have an allowance for broadcasting under-served sports if the sports handle the production themselves.

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Luuuc  
Years ago

The reality is when you put up the most shots in the entire league let alone in your team and over half of them are 3 pointers ( 254 3pt attempts, next nearest in the league was Mijovic with 179) it stands to reason your going to be a high scorer
Her percentage is not the best in the league
She actually took over 100 more shots than anyone else in her team


I'm not really sure what point you're trying to make, but yes, generally lots of shots = more points.

Her percentage is indeed not the best in the league. However when you look at the types of shots she takes, compared to what other players are taking, her percentage is super impressive. She's taking deep threes, step-backs, and still shitting on Cotton, Lisch, Ware, etc. for accuracy. Prior to last weekend there were articles about what a great job Dandenong's guards were doing on her, so she came out and dropped 41 on them the next game.
She might not even be in the top 3 shooters on her own team. For a feet-set, open look at a 3 with my life on the line, I'd probably have Carley Mijovic take the shot, with maybe Tessa Lavey 2nd and Brianna Butler 3rd. But in real game conditions, different story. She is damn good, and entertaining to watch as well because she is non stop energy at both ends of the floor.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Great video, Luuuc, that really showcases Sami's skills and how enjoyable she is to watch. I believe she’s also about to become an Aussie citizen, so I hope we can keep her in the league for many more seasons to come.

To the posts re: following of the WNBL, it definitely feels to me (as a long time women’s basketball fan) that most basketball fans in Oz only tend to really focus in on the women’s side of things when its Olympic time. Asides from that, it struggles to even draw the attention of NBL fans, which I find perplexing (surely more basketball to watch is only a good thing?).

There are some fantastic players to watch in the WNBL, Sami definitely being high up on that list. Hopefully the Sami sizzle reel helps entice more basketball fans in Oz to tune in to the WNBL grand final series, which will feature some great talent including Leilani Mitchell, Asia Taylor and Steph Cumming (just to name a few).

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paul  
Years ago

That point is equally true for the SEABL too, which can produce some great games, but in sports all across the world people are more likely to watch the higher standard. That's just the way it is.

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RED74  
Years ago

note that whitcomb has signed for a training camp only, not a WNBA season.....yet.

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koberulz  
Years ago

Asides from that, it struggles to even draw the attention of NBL fans, which I find perplexing (surely more basketball to watch is only a good thing?)
I find five or six games every weekend to be plenty. If I only followed the Wildcats, I'd probably also pay more attention to the Lynx. But watching every NBL game, there just isn't the time to try and follow the WNBL.

I used to catch the occasional Waves game on ABC a couple of years ago, and watch the grand final, but that's about it. The extra effort required to find a stream is generally not worth it, although I tuned in for the home Lynx semi final.

I also find it's hard to get into the league given that I know almost nothing about the players or teams. I just don't have any reason to care. I spent some time away from the NBL a few years back, and it was largely finding online NBL communities that got me back into it.

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Luuuc  
Years ago

I think even the NBL struggles with that problem, and it's an important thing to tackle to get fan engagement. Having people to follow, as opposed to just players. (and yes, whatever challenges the NBL has with it, the WNBL has them on a whole other level)
Social media helps, but there has to be something to catch the attention of people in the first place before you can work on retaining it.

And yes, we are now blessed with a heck of a lot of basketball to watch. It makes the WNBL's job harder, but it's a nice problem for us fans to have.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

Basketball is a volume sport. The more games to choose from the more chance of a quality contest and highlights. The amount of games played in NBL is extremely low. Only if you are OCD and have to watch everything is it "enough"

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Anonymous  
Years ago

... but in saying that NBL fans don't follow WNBL because, well frankly, it sucks. Sorry but that's why I and many others don't follow it. Bring it back as a a double header with the men and that could work.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

but not going out of my way to watch it.

Also she looks like a chucker, is that sustainable over a whole career? Heal comes to mind...

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Haz  
Years ago

Good thread this one!

Unfortunately the WNBL is out of sight, out of mind for most people. I also understand why its not followed well, as I dont really take an interest unless it gets mentioned on the news. Thats not because I dont care, but probably because its so invisible that I forget about it. So its good to get reminders on this forum now and again, and through the Wildcats involvement I at least knew that the Lynx were having a good year with bits of news coming out via them.

Its interesting that the Lynx only got any form of real media attention when Andy Stewart spoke up and critisised the AFLW for being substandard and getting a ton of media exposure, while his team (and therefore league) was invisible despite having being a superior product.

It was also at that time that the Lynx and Whitcomb got noticed a bit more, however, due to the story being linked to AFLW.

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Camel 31  
Years ago

It was friday evening . I watched a softball south australia game on fta. I thought there's room for basketball if they wanna do it, also...
I caint articulate it as well as isaac . He says what I think.

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Anonymous  
Years ago

community channel?

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Camel 31  
Years ago

Yes , I think so . I'd grown accustomed to flicking around the various fta channels without finding anything watchable. So , there is room for basketball on one of them , with some good self production.

Reply #630870 | Report this post


James Harvey fan  
Years ago

Whitcomb is no chucker. She is also a very, very good passer and was high on the assists list. A highlights video is always going to focus on scoring rather than sensible passes but Whitcomb isn't some ball hog.

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