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Post by gstring on Sept 21, 2006 21:32:04 GMT -5
Its just with Heidi...she gave me an evil look in class
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Post by 5100 on Sept 21, 2006 21:53:59 GMT -5
Its just with Heidi...she gave me an evil look in class hehe. she seems like such a nice person. and shoji was singing praises about her backrow play as a freshman.
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Post by gstring on Sept 21, 2006 22:01:57 GMT -5
She is a descent player i guess i was quick to respond because of the stink eye
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Post by IdahoBoy on Sept 21, 2006 23:55:02 GMT -5
Rooooowwwrr, cat fight! My money's on Heidi... even though she's super nice.
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Post by 5100 on Sept 22, 2006 0:00:04 GMT -5
Plus, she gave the Philippines a silver medal in the SEA games
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Post by PukaPants on Sept 22, 2006 10:11:55 GMT -5
I think I can safely assess Cubi-Otineru's abilities since I've seen her play more recently than any of you in Hawaii. All I have to say is:
- she is NOT as blocking liability. Aneli can block. - she is capable of being an elite player, but NOT in Hawaii's system. - she is versatile. She can play EVERY position, including setting. - she is one of the BEST backrow players I've seen in volleyball on any level.
Aneli should explore every option besides Hawaii, because the way it looks now, she'll return to a mess of a team in Hawaii (injury riddled, backrow problems, perhaps a stale coaching philosophy). She cannot be expected to be the savior of Hawaii's backrow. And all this talk about her walking on? Please. Not a player of that caliber. And then having to face all the backlash from vicious, overbearing fans if she doesn't meet expectations....that's too much.
What D1 school wouldn't want a player that can hit, can hit smart, has an uncanny court awareness, play every position, has a wicked jump serve, and can pass and dig better than most, if not all, liberos in the country?
You think Texas' Dariam Acevedo is good for a "short" player?
Aneli is better. And I think she's too good for Hawaii.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 22, 2006 12:26:54 GMT -5
Lucky for Hawaii fans then that she doesn't appear to be paying any attention to you. It was always her dream to play for Hawaii. Shoji himself has said that she plans on returning in '07. With Arnott redshirting, that means there in only one scholarship left for next year though. I know the coaching staff is still waiting on Klineman, we'll see what happens with that. I just hope that she can keep her academics in order, since that is why she couldn't go to Hawaii in the first place out of high school.
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Post by PukaPants on Sept 22, 2006 13:29:44 GMT -5
I'm sure as a local girl, her heart has been set on Hawaii.
That's fine and dandy, I'm just letting you Hawaii fans know what you are getting because I think some of you don't appreciate what she can fully bring to the Wahine court. She's not just a backrow player. She can do more than any of your current Wahine players on the roster this season.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Sept 22, 2006 16:25:54 GMT -5
How can we fail to appreciate what we haven't yet seen? Speculating on how she might contribute is just that... speculation. No one's saying she's a one-dimensional player. It's just that few have seen her play in a while....
That said, I think your assessment offers some great news. I for one haven't seen her play since high school days. You're right, HI needs more complete players ... and I'm excited to see her play.
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Post by PukaPants on Sept 22, 2006 17:04:23 GMT -5
Cubicle, I'm just responding to statements such "she'll be a blocking liability", she won't reach an elite level and the suggestion that she becomes Hawaii's next libero. Stabilizing Hawaii's back row she can certainly do, I'm just throwing in there that she can do much, much more. Another player that reminds me of Aneli - Utah's Airial Salvo. They both aren't too tall by VB standards, but they bring the whole package and know how to use it. I was watching one of her CSI games last year, and the other coach was livid at his team for hitting into Aneli's zone, which of course she popped back up with ease. The coach got up and yelled "Stop hitting it to her! Why are you hitting it to her? She's just going it get it up!" We were laughing. Now, if, and this is a BIG IF, Aneli and Klineman come to Hawaii next year, I say Hawaii is in national title contention. Remember, I said a BIG, and I mean BIG...... IF.
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Post by roy on Sept 22, 2006 17:30:58 GMT -5
Cubicle, I'm just responding to statements such "she'll be a blocking liability", she won't reach an elite level and the suggestion that she becomes Hawaii's next libero. Stabilizing Hawaii's back row she can certainly do, I'm just throwing in there that she can do much, much more. Let me clarify my statements regarding the blocking liability and "wont reach an elite level." I'll clarify my statement regarding the blocking liability. True, I have not seen her since she played high school. She has some great jumping abilities for someone her height and the last I saw, has some decent form in terms of blocking. But I have my doubts that some of the top teams will not be picking on her as opposed to other players Hawaii will have. Houston is a fair blocker on the left side and the fact that she is 6'2 makes her more intimidating as a blocker. Hittle is a smart player that can soft block a lot of shots. You don't see her getting tooled as often as other players. So, she'll be the blocking liability out of the rest of the outside hitters on the team. Regarding the won't reach elite level, I'll stand by that statement. I don't see her as the kill leader for the Wahine squad. I see her as the role player on the right side, meaning she probably wont get as many attacks. Her game, while very good, just doesn't have the potential of a Willoughby. She will be a good outside hitter, but not an elite hitter like other first team AA outsides would be. Of course, I have no problems with her proving me wrong. If she has improved that much since her high school days, good for her. As far as a libero, I do not want to see her as a libero. I completely agree that it is a waste of talent. However, if she does want to continue volleyball after college, libero might be her only option. Again, she is a great player but I don't think she has the game to become an elite international outside hitter.
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Post by PukaPants on Sept 22, 2006 17:54:11 GMT -5
If you want to talk about "elite" level of volleyball players in the NCAA, we are talking about an extremely small group of people here.
Aneli might not become an "elite" but neither will 99% of the current volleyball players in DI NCAA volleyball.
Does Hawaii need an "elite" player right now?
You seem to have capable hitters. Perhaps what you need is a stabilizer so that sets can be distributed to every offensive weapon. Maybe Hawaii is injury plagued because the girls are doing too much to compensate for areas that are lacking.
Aneli is not the second coming of Willoughby, but she could sure pass better than Houston, block just as good (she can jump you know...and in the era of swing blocking, she is not a block liability) and not only can she hit, but she's smart about it. How many complaints have we heard about Houston hitting into blocks the past few games?
What happened to Hawaii's famed backrow/defensive game? That was one aspect of Hawaii's game that I loved. Local girls are renown in the national vball community for their ball handling skills.
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Post by roy on Sept 22, 2006 18:22:54 GMT -5
If you want to talk about "elite" level of volleyball players in the NCAA, we are talking about an extremely small group of people here. Aneli might not become an "elite" but neither will 99% of the current volleyball players in DI NCAA volleyball. Does Hawaii need an "elite" player right now? You seem to have capable hitters. Perhaps what you need is a stabilizer so that sets can be distributed to every offensive weapon. Maybe Hawaii is injury plagued because the girls are doing too much to compensate for areas that are lacking. Aneli is not the second coming of Willoughby, but she could sure pass better than Houston, block just as good (she can jump you know...and in the era of swing blocking, she is not a block liability) and not only can she hit, but she's smart about it. How many complaints have we heard about Houston hitting into blocks the past few games? What happened to Hawaii's famed backrow/defensive game? That was one aspect of Hawaii's game that I loved. Local girls are renown in the national vball community for their ball handling skills. Very true. In ways, it is completely unfair to compare Otineru with other elite players. There are only a handful of elite outside hitters in the nation. Unfortunately, with the possibility that Klineman may commit to Hawaii, Otineru will be compared to Klineman. Realistically, Hawaii will only get Klineman or Otineru, not both unless someone gives up her scholarship or Otineru walks on. Since Willoughby left, Hawaii has needed a high impact player who can take over a match. Klineman has that potential. And while that is completely unfair to compare Otineru to Klineman, that reference will stay until Klineman makes that decision. As I said, Otineru has a solid all around game. She is definitely a better back row player than Houston and brings that "local girl" defense to Hawaii. Blocking, let's not argue that. Serving is tough to judge considering how conservative Shoji is. But Otineru would definitely be a great compliment to Hittle in the passing rotations. It is really nice to know that if Hawaii doesn't end up with Klineman, there is another great player available. As far as Houston, fans love her because you can see the potential in her game. I feel that some fans are a bit too critical. Remember that Willoughby also made some careless errors as a sophomore. Houston's game is still very raw and there is a lot of potential for growth.
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Post by LanaiBoy on Sept 22, 2006 19:49:32 GMT -5
If I remember correctly Shoji awhile back stated that women's volleyball at the elite level of Division I is more and more going to the power game. Hawaii, by necessity, will have to try to recruit tall outsides and middles. Unless the recruit is exceptionally skilled, Hawaii would try as much as possible to recruit outsides who were six feet or taller. A couple of years ago Shoji mentioned that this was true of liberos too. Taller players have longer reach and range. The ideal libero would be someone like Tara Hittle, who is 6' tall, fast, quick, and athletic. Ironically, Shoji this year decided on Jayme Lee who at 5'1" tall is the shortest of Hawaii's half dozen libero candidates. She makes up for her lack of height by quickness and aggressiveness.
The problem with trying to recruit tall outsides with an all around game is that they have been going to other schools and not Hawaii. Top of the class recruits who can play defense such as Marcie Hampton, Jordan Larson, and Cynthia Barboza usually do not wind up in Hawaii. So Hawaii has been recruiting tall, "raw," athletic, players such as Jamie Houston and Amber Kaufmann. They need lots of work to bring their skills up to par, especially those related to the back row. Houston is easily an All American candidate if she can rid her game of unforced errors and improve her back row skills. Hawaii always have players such as Aneli Cubi-Otineru and Tamari Miyashiro (U Dub libero) who have great all around games, but who are unfortunately too often a bit short.
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Post by aaronic on Sept 22, 2006 20:06:16 GMT -5
Now, if, and this is a BIG IF, Aneli and Klineman come to Hawaii next year, I say Hawaii is in national title contention. Remember, I said a BIG, and I mean BIG...... IF. That would be super cool. Maybe then Shoji could try for a 6-2 offense for 2008!
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