Aarnisalo

[FanaticHeel]

I haven't been able to post during games as I've been wrapped up in my son's baseball activities. Very hard to watch live so I just stay away from any outlet that will give away the outcome and watch replay.

Back on topic, I said this in a previous game thread that I thought this girl should shoot more and that is exactly that she has been doing. So glad CB saw the same thing I saw in that aspect and whatever encouragement, green light, ultimatum, kick in the rear, whatever she said with her heart sign that got her to be more aggressive, I praise her for doing so because she is out there working with a short memory. I thought she had a little bit of that in the beginning and than it kind of vanished with her pt stepped it up another level and girl is balling.

And while this is title Aanisalo. LG is starting to look different. She is starting to look like those workout vids she use to put out. Might need to give a new jersey ....... 23. just saying

 

[kyleheel30]

Aarnisolo is the key to our success recently.

 

[6string]

E needs to be smarter with the ball and not throw it away so much but without her scoring this team would not be where they are.

 

[1stGenerationHeel]

Aarnisalo and Grant are the reasons why Harpring won't have to be a do-everything type of player for us next year. Keeping the two of them in "free-agency" is a must.

 

[BoomerHeel]

Elina is my neighbor. As is Nate1972 who helped me with this research. I wanted to learn the Finnish word for shooter so I could call Elina that. I googled "Finnish Shooter" and the name Simo Hayha came up. Simo was a sniper for the Finnish Army in their Winter War vs. Russia as part of WWII. The fighting was in the snow. The Finnish Army wore white camouflage and the Russians wore dark uniforms. Easy targets. Simo was credited with over 500 kills and his nickname was The White Death. That is my nickname for Elina in our home white uniforms. I have not had the opportunity to tell her that yet. I hope Liza will not be offended.

 

[Gio2dahouse]

While I disagree that she is the MVP, I say Harris takes that by a long shot but she is extremely important at suring up the backcourt. Lets be honest RK took a huge step backwards and her inability to score was hurting the team. Elina was balling earlier in season if you remember but went to thr bench for RK. This team has tons of offensive talent next year. Just NEED a dominant post player and its ACC title

 

[TarHeelAlum05]

Elina is my neighbor. As is Nate1972 who helped me with this research. I wanted to learn the Finnish word for shooter so I could call Elina that. I googled "Finnish Shooter" and the name Simo Hayha came up. Simo was a sniper for the Finnish Army in their Winter War vs. Russia as part of WWII. The fighting was in the snow. The Finnish Army wore white camouflage and the Russians wore dark uniforms. Easy targets. Simo was credited with over 500 kills and his nickname was The White Death. That is my nickname for Elina in our home white uniforms. I have not had the opportunity to tell her that yet. I hope Liza will not be offended.

You may have the best or most innocent intentions, but I think this nickname is in poor taste. Historical references, particularly associated with war and a sniper may not translate to the intentions you have. Just my thoughts.

 

[3397char]

Elina is my neighbor. As is Nate1972 who helped me with this research. I wanted to learn the Finnish word for shooter so I could call Elina that. I googled "Finnish Shooter" and the name Simo Hayha came up. Simo was a sniper for the Finnish Army in their Winter War vs. Russia as part of WWII. The fighting was in the snow. The Finnish Army wore white camouflage and the Russians wore dark uniforms. Easy targets. Simo was credited with over 500 kills and his nickname was The White Death. That is my nickname for Elina in our home white uniforms. I have not had the opportunity to tell her that yet. I hope Liza will not be offended.

Her nickname on the team (other than E) is The Finnisher. It captures her dribble drive well and the occasional threes.

A more recent war reference she would immediately get is Sisu. If you like a good Rambo-type movie I HIGHLY recommend. The protagonist in Sisu is a fictional Finnish war hero from WWII but he is loosely based on Simo Hayha. The word sisu means extreme grit with stoicism in Finnish. Not a bad nickname and also fits Elina. pronounced SEE-soo

 

[Nate1972]

the OSU has a Finnish player, and the announcers in the Notre Dame game said the Finns describe themselves as gritty. Not sure how reliable the source is though.

 

[Viking131]

Aarnisalo and Grant are the reasons why Harpring won't have to be a do-everything type of player for us next year. Keeping the two of them in "free-agency" is a must.

It's sad you have to use the term free agency for WCBB, but that's exactly what it is!

 

[BoomerHeel]

Aarnisalo and Grant are the reasons why Harpring won't have to be a do-everything type of player for us next year. Keeping the two of them in "free-agency" is a must.

I see why Elina and Lanie play so many minutes. We don‘t handle the ball very well when either is out of the game. I think there are plenty of minutes for the three of them to divide up next season.

 

[HOFcoachRoy]

You may have the best or most innocent intentions, but I think this nickname is in poor taste. Historical references, particularly associated with war and a sniper may not translate to the intentions you have. Just my thoughts.

We are so soft these days. Good grief.

 

[JCTarHeel]

We are so soft these days. Good grief.

I doubt many women want to be referred to as The White Death or anything involving death.

 

[uman1]

I doubt many women want to be referred to as The White Death or anything involving death.

Not to mention we have a Russian player on our roster. Kinda nonsensical is so many ways.

 

[BoomerHeel]

I doubt many women want to be referred to as The White Death or anything involving death.

It was a joke. Death to the opponent! Elina shot daggers on those two end of the quarter jumpers against Dook. And she looked calm and collected on those four clutch free throw vs. Maryland when everyone else on both teams were chucking up bricks. I'll keep the nickname to myself. Now I need to come up with a nickname for Nyla B for that killer three pointer when I was yelling "No! No! YES!!!"

 

[tarboy]

LOL Boomer on Nyla B's game cinching 3 point shot.

You could go with Nyla Killer B's but maybe we should skip the killer part Lol.

Go Tar Heel WBB

 

[BoomerHeel]

LOL Boomer on Nyla B's game cinching 3 point shot.

You could go with Nyla Killer B's but maybe we should skip the killer part Lol.

Go Tar Heel WBB

I think it was Pitt that had a player named Nyla that I hope we can recruit in the portal to replace Nyla H. Two years ago in soccer we had Bella Sember, who I called Bella Sr, and Bella Gaetino, who I called Bella Jr. Then Bella Sr graduated, Bella Jr became Sr and incoming Bella Devey became the new Bella Jr. It‘s confusing.

 

[tarboy]

I would like to see us recruit another Nyla Harris and Nyla Brooks. They are both great players.

Replacing Nyla H is IMO our biggest goal in the up coming Transfer Portal.

 

[BoomerHeel]

I would like to see us recruit another Nyla Harris and Nyla Brooks. They are both great players.

Replacing Nyla H is IMO our biggest goal in the up coming Transfer Portal.

I honestly think Nyla H has the size and strength to neutralize Sarah Strong if she can stay out of foul trouble. SS was a big loss. Best I remember SS wanted to stay local so her family could see her play. She was down to Dook or UNC. Then she chose UConn?

 

[tarboy]

I wish we had gotten SS. Glad as heck she did not go to dook. A great low post player like SS
would put us in the top ten next season maybe to 5.

 

[Jriv23]

If I remember correctly, it was a two man race for SS. It was us and UCONN. Duke was in 3rd. We can called NB the mad bomber because she can shoot it deep. Just a thought. Nothing personal.

 

[Chris13x]

whatever our best three-point percentage is for the year and the most made threes we’re gonna need that

 

[kystroup]

I wish we had gotten SS. Glad as heck she did not go to dook. A great low post player like SS
would put us in the top ten next season maybe to 5.

I'm not sure we would have dropped out of the top 10 from the second she walked on campus. I think she's that good

 

[tarboy]

I agree K, I think SS is that good also.

 

[kjcooper]

If I remember correctly, it was a two man race for SS. It was us and UCONN. Duke was in 3rd. We can called NB the mad bomber because she can shoot it deep. Just a thought. Nothing personal.

Your memory serves correctly, at the time she wanted to play for the best coach and had inspirations of winning a National Championship. Since she and UCONN achieve that last year, and will more than lightly will do the same this year. The key thing to watch out for is if Geno will decide to retire after they win it this year. She still has the desire to have her family watch her play, and be close to home. As we all know the winters in Connecticut can be brutal.

 

[kingz213]

Aarnisalo and Grant are the reasons why Harpring won't have to be a do-everything type of player for us next year. Keeping the two of them in "free-agency" is a must.

I dont like the Aarnisalo and Grant back court to small. Grant struggles going against bigger guards and getting her shot off. Im starting Aarnisalo Harpring and Brooks

 

[1stGenerationHeel]

I dont like the Aarnisalo and Grant back court to small. Grant struggles going against bigger guards and getting her shot off. Im starting Aarnisalo Harpring and Brooks

You don’t start a freshman over a junior when said junior is your best shooter and already averaged 25+ minutes the prior year.

Luckily starting isn’t necessarily a big deal if you do your rotations properly

 

[kingz213]

You don’t start a freshman over a junior when said junior is your best shooter and already averaged 25+ minutes the prior year.

Luckily starting isn’t necessarily a big deal if you do your rotations properly

But shes not a game changer shes really a pg trying to play SG. The womens game is becoming more and more athletic she cant score at will vs wing players who are taller then her. Now I would make her my 6th man

 

[3397char]

You don’t start a freshman over a junior when said junior is your best shooter and already averaged 25+ minutes the prior year.

Luckily starting isn’t necessarily a big deal if you do your rotations properly

Agree that Grant is more likely to start than Aarnisalo, but that is because of her defense, not her years in the program.

I also agree that Aarnisalo, Grant and Harpring are likely to end up with pretty similar MPG regardless who starts. If Kelly is healthy than somebody in the 4 will likely play less.

 

[3397char]

But shes not a game changer shes really a pg trying to play SG. The womens game is becoming more and more athletic she cant score at will vs wing players who are taller then her. Now I would make her my 6th man

Grant is really good at getting her shot off, not sure where you are getting that. She is a high volume shooter (2+ 3pt made per game) averaging 40% from three. that is rare. And she will be the top defender on the team with Nivar gone.

 

[kingz213]

Grant is really good at getting her shot off, not sure where you are getting that. She is a high volume shooter (2+ 3pt made per game) averaging 40% from three. that is rare. And she will be the top defender on the team with Nivar gone.

A top defender please stop yes shes a nice player but there's levels thats what your missing

 

[3397char]

Banghart labeled her as the second best defender on the team in a press conference. (Behind Nivar). I will trust her judgement over yours.

 

[kingz213]

Banghart labeled her as the second best defender on the team in a press conference. (Behind Nivar). I will trust her judgement over yours.

That's fine u can trust her judgment all u want being the 2nd best defender on this team is cute lol bigger guards will shoot over here

 

[Jriv23]

I get what Kingz213 is saying. If you look at yesterday's game. LG could not get her shot off. She was not able to create separation against the top level guards that are guarding her. Case and point A. Fudd locked her down. Just look at the box score, the stats do not lie. Also, if the freshman coming in is ranked from numbers 1-5 in her class, that freshman is going to start. Kate H will be starting at the 1 or 2 coming in next year. Somebody is going to be coming off of the bench which could be LG or RK. Now, if CB puts Kate at the three than RK, EA, and LG are safe. IMO, Kate is two short to be playing the three. Two years ago, if SS would have chose us, I said that there was a possibility that AU could have been coming off of the bench depending on the position CB would have had her playing. Bottom line, whatever position SS would have been playing, one of the upper classman would have been coming off the bench and some of yall that I was crazy. I told yall then that AU was not a WNBA caliber player and yall that I was crazy. SS is a WNBA player, we all saw that last year when she was a freshman and she was killing our back line as a freshman and that was her first collegiate game. CB got so mad at the way AU and LD was playing that she put both of them on the bench and replace both of them with CT and LH. That was also the game that CT and LH kept us in it by hitting a lot of 3's. There is film you can go and watch to shows this. So yes, I do understand what Kingz213 is saying. Bottom line, to advance past the sweet 16, you must have at least one WNBA type caliber player on you roster. KH will be one for sure. That is the difference in the teams who have made it to the elite eight. HH is a WNBA talent and you can see it. When they add more next year, ND is going to be right back at the top of the league.

 

[kingz213]

I get what Kingz213 is saying. If you look at yesterday's game. LG could not get her shot off. She was not able to create separation against the top level guards that are guarding her. Case and point A. Fudd locked her down. Just look at the box score, the stats do not lie. Also, if the freshman coming in is ranked from numbers 1-5 in her class, that freshman is going to start. Kate H will be starting at the 1 or 2 coming in next year. Somebody is going to be coming off of the bench which could be LG or RK. Now, if CB puts Kate at the three than RK, EA, and LG are safe. IMO, Kate is two short to be playing the three. Two years ago, if SS would have chose us, I said that there was a possibility that AU could have been coming off of the bench depending on the position CB would have had her playing. Bottom line, whatever position SS would have been playing, one of the upper classman would have been coming off the bench and some of yall that I was crazy. I told yall then that AU was not a WNBA caliber player and yall that I was crazy. SS is a WNBA player, we all saw that last year when she was a freshman and she was killing our back line as a freshman and that was her first collegiate game. CB got so mad at the way AU and LD was playing that she put both of them on the bench and replace both of them with CT and LH. That was also the game that CT and LH kept us in it by hitting a lot of 3's. There is film you can go and watch to shows this. So yes, I do understand what Kingz213 is saying. Bottom line, to advance past the sweet 16, you must have at least one WNBA type caliber player on you roster. KH will be one for sure. That is the difference in the teams who have made it to the elite eight. HH is a WNBA talent and you can see it. When they add more next year, ND is going to be right back at the top of the league.

Thank u your seeing more and more Nyla Brooks type players in women's basketball. Tall Athletic players on the wing that can do it all. She's the key to next season she has all the skills to take the next step. KH RK LG EA to me all are all PGs to me. You need a legit 2 guard on this roster

 

[3397char]

That's fine u can trust her judgment all u want being the 2nd best defender on this team is cute lol bigger guards will shoot over here

Except they didn’t. UNC was 2nd in the conference in opponent 3pt percentage. 6th national among P4 teams. That was all Nivar and Grant.

Conversely Grant was 2nd in the conference in 3pt percentage at 41.86%. (Behind Augustinaite of Clemson) combination of offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency was matched by literally no one.

Grant is 5-9. The vast majority of top shooting guards in D1 are under 6 ft. None of them are going to elevate to a shot release she can’t defend.

Grant has her deficiencies. She was outclassed by UConn, the top defense in the country. So was everyone on our team not named Nivar. But her deficiencies do not include shooting and perimeter defending.

She is also 18 years old. She will continue to improve.

 

[kingz213]

Except they didn’t. UNC was 2nd in the conference in opponent 3pt percentage. 6th national among P4 teams. That was all Nivar and Grant.

Conversely Grant was 2nd in the conference in 3pt percentage at 41.86%. (Behind Augustinaite of Clemson) combination of offensive efficiency and defensive efficiency was matched by literally no one.

Grant is 5-9. The vast majority of top shooting guards in D1 are under 6 ft. None of them are going to elevate to a shot release she can’t defend.

Grant has her deficiencies. She was outclassed by UConn, the top defense in the country. So was everyone on our team not named Nivar. But her deficiencies do not include shooting and perimeter defending.

She is also 18 years old. She will continue to improve.

The Uconn defense had her in jail thats why shes chucking up 3s couldn't get her shot off. Her being 18 dosent move the needle for me she did nothing but start here eligibility clock early when everybody is reclassifiying lol coming into college a year older is a bonus that's why everybody is doing it. Theres a reason why your saying freshmen dominate. U better be a generational talent to be starting college a year early like Cooper Flagg and with all due respect she's not. Lani was better of RS her freshman year save her eligibility now shes a year older a freshman basically she did her reclass year vs College Competition. Instead she came in early and played she wasted a year in the front for maybe a dominate year on the back end of her career. Shes literally played her whole freshmen year at 17 because she has a April birthday smh. Now next season she will be 19 and majority of freshmen will be 18-19. I don't know starting college year early and having a April birthday is borderline criminal whoever advised this had to be thinking selfishly.

 

[Jriv23]

Well, here is another fact. I just speaking facts here. LG tried out for the USA team last summer and she did not make it. That team was mostly made up of incoming freshman who just completed playing high school ball which were freshman this year. I thought LG should have made it but she did not. The question I have it this, since she did not make that team last summer, was the freshman talent that good? Was their skill level that much better that hers? I do not know but it makes your wonder what Kings213 is saying. Also, her being the youngest does not matter. If you are good and very talented than age does not matter. I have two case and points to illustrate what I just said. Cooper Flagg played against the US team. He was the youngest one out there, but he was holding his own against them. Secondly, you have freshman in high school playing varsity and starting that are making a huge impact at an early age. So in my book, we can dismiss the age factor like some of yall are trying to use. I will say this one more time, I was dead wrong about Kate H. She can create her own shot and get buckets. DK was the player that could do this when she played for us. Right now, LG can not do this. I think NB can do this as well. Only time will tell. Go Heels!

 

[kingz213]

Well, here is another fact. I just speaking facts here. LG tried out for the USA team last summer and she did not make it. That team was mostly made up of incoming freshman who just completed playing high school ball which were freshman this year. I thought LG should have made it but she did not. The question I have it this, since she did not make that team last summer, was the freshman talent that good? Was their skill level that much better that hers? I do not know but it makes your wonder what Kings213 is saying. Also, her being the youngest does not matter. If you are good and very talented than age does not matter. I have two case and points to illustrate what I just said. Cooper Flagg played against the US team. He was the youngest one out there, but he was holding his own against them. Secondly, you have freshman in high school playing varsity and starting that are making a huge impact at an early age. So in my book, we can dismiss the age factor like some of yall are trying to use. I will say this one more time, I was dead wrong about Kate H. She can create her own shot and get buckets. DK was the player that could do this when she played for us. Right now, LG can not do this. I think NB can do this as well. Only time will tell. Go Heels!

They are trying to use her age as somewhat of crutch. I totally agree age dosent matter if your elite thats the issue she isnt elite. I read an article and it was Coach Banghart idea for Lanie Grant to graduate a year early haha how selfish of her to do that. She wasn't ready as freshman why rush her at 17 to play it makes zero sense. Lanie was a decorated high School athlete the goal is to come in dominate. Not waste a year as 17 year old because your college coach needed u off the bench a year early LOL

 

[Jriv23]

People on this board need to understand that we are not trying to bash any player but we are just starting the facts that are out there. Has LG improved this year? Heck yeah, I know she will continue to get better just like AU did each year. Is she an elite player? Right now, I would have to say no. Is she a good college player? I would say yes. As I have stated before, if we want to go beyond the sweet 16, we have to get some elite players in the program and WNBA talent players on your roster. This is what we are seeing in the tournament this year. Those teams that are advancing to the elite 8 and final four have at least one WNBA talent on their roster. That is the difference. With Kate H. coming in next year. She has the talent and the ability to be an elite player for us next year. She is the number 1 player in the nation in some publications and number 2 best player in the nation in other publications. She is the type of talent that we have been missing for some time now. Now if we can get an elite big 4or 5 from the portal to go with what we have coming back then we can knock the door down next season. Go Heels!