Colorado University Athletics
Brooks: Blythe Cherishes Her Role As 'Stopper'
January 25, 2011 | Women's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
A 5-foot-9 senior guard, Blythe came out of non-conference play with what Lappe hinted was maybe a lack of focus on the defensive end. Lappe is big into her players knowing and concentrating on their roles, so when there's slippage she's none too happy.
Blythe was doing a credible job defensively at the beginning of the season "then kind of went through a defensive slump - if you can have a defensive slump - in the middle of the season. But I feel like she's back now and she knows that's what's going to get her on the floor more than anything," Lappe said.
Blythe's defensive intensity picked up at the right time - the start of Big 12 Conference play - and it was never better than in CU's 58-48 weekend win against Missouri at the Coors Events Center. She was assigned to Mizzou's RaeShara Brown, who had been averaging a team-best 16.6 points. With Blythe hounding and harassing Brown, who managed just 13 points, the entire Tiger offense slumped to 28 percent shooting from the field.
"We need her to do that; that's her role and it's a really important role," Lappe said.
Blythe says throughout her basketball career, she's played for coaches who made tight defense a priority.
"Honestly, it's been drilled in my head," she said. "I think for a little bit I didn't take as much pride in my defense and Coach Lappe is always pretty much pounding in our heads 'defense first.' So I'm starting to pick back up on my defensive strategy and focus on player strength/weaknesses and our scout. I'm paying more attention; if you see a player (on tape) do something 10 times, more than likely you're going to see her do it 11, 12 or 13 more times.
"That's what we're all trying to focus on more. Our coaching staff has taken more of a studious approach, I guess you could say, to analyzing teams and not just coming out and playing . . . they want us to be students of the game now and pay attention to the details. That definitely helps on defense in trying to stop players. That's what really came through on Saturday."
That "studious approach" Blythe mentioned isn't new to her. At St. Ignatius Prep in San Mateo, Calif., Blythe "had a coach who thought defense before offense. So all these screens and different things I had learned in high school, which was definitely a bonus. But in college you learn different techniques, how to get around (screens) . . . but in college everything has speeded up."
While Blythe has gotten reacquainted with her defensive role, don't think she has been forgotten on offense. But in reality, she isn't at the forefront. The Buffaloes have a handful of scorers (Brittany Spears, Brittany Wilson, Chucky Jeffery, Meagan Malcolm-Peck) so Lappe isn't counting on nightly double figures from her "stopper."
However, when the ball swings to Blythe and there's an open three, you know what Lappe wants. And she isn't nervous when the ball is in Blythe's hands; he leads the Big 12 in fewest turnovers per minute. She has 16 on the year, with seven in the first two games. That means she's turned it over only nine times in the past 16 games.
Blythe doesn't believe her increased focus on defense has made her offense suffer, but she admits, "My teammates and I were laughing about it. My shot hasn't been as on as I'd like it to be, but I think by focusing on my teammates and defense I'm not so focused on how many shots I'm missing or what I might be doing on offense. I'm focusing on helping my teammates get going and doing whatever else I can do.
"Like Coach Lappe said, the most important thing on this team is to know our roles. If my role is to play great defense then my offense will come. We have great ball handlers and point guards, so they'll find you. I just need to keep getting open."
Lappe appreciates Blythe "buying in" to what is asked of her, and conceded Blythe's offensive productivity "maybe (suffers) a little . . . A lot of times people who play that tough a defense think they also should have a chance to shoot 15 times. And you would want her to if that was best for our team. But she knows as well as us that she has to do what she does and stay within herself.
"We don't need her to be an offensive threat really - hit the occasional three when she's open. But I'm perfectly fine with her shooting two or three times a game. We have other scorers on the team and other people who can create. I think in her role she has to take care of the ball - which she's been doing - and move the ball offensively. She gets the ball out of her hands pretty well on the wing. I think she can get a little more in transition just running her lanes."
The win against Mizzou improved CU to 11-7 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12. The game was the first of two at the Events Center, with Kansas State visiting Wednesday (7 p.m., FSN Rocky Mountain). The Buffs have an opportunity to pull into a fifth-place tie with the Wildcats (13-5, 3-2).
"That's a big deal for a lot of us who are returners because we've never been that high at all," Blythe said. "So, yeah, it's a big deal."
Added Lappe: "We're one game behind K-State in the standings . . . I know it's early, but a win ties us for fifth with them. It's a home game against a team in the North (Division). We're excited about it. We feel like we're coming off a good win and a couple of really good performances here and we want to keep it going."
The responsibility for that to happen falls largely on CU's defense. K-State, noted Lappe and Blythe, runs more offensive sets than any team CU has played thus far. Said Blythe: "They got about 25 to 30 sets and they have different calls for each in each game . . . so I think our strategy for this game is don't focus on the set they're running, but play principles - which is the smarter way because every down screen you can guard the same. Focus on the principles so we won't get beat. But yeah, we have to have a different approach."
One thing, though, won't change: Blythe will match up against K-State's leading scorer, Brittany Chambers, a 5-8 sophomore who averages 14.9 points.
"She realizes that the further we get into conference play, she's going to be guarding some of the top players," Lappe said. "The rest of the team has to help her out, but she's always going to have a big responsibility . . . I think she likes it."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
