Where has Jia gone?

[schooner2]

Talk about Tech is at an all-time low here on HoopScoop - no doubt since the team is in a bit of a slump now. But when I read what people are saying about the team - it's always the team didn't have intensity, or know how to close a game, or fill in the blank here. There's been no talk about Jia. I don't mean to pin the losses on one player - I'm sure one can't do that. But where has she gone lately? It's as if she has totally disappeared.

Against Oklahoma State she was 2 of 9 for 4 points.
In the loss to Baylor she had 14 points, but on 5 of 16 shooting.
In the loss to Colorado, 12 points on 5 of 19 shooting.
In the win over Texas, she was high point. That's good, but again only on 4 of 14 shooting. Drags down her Hoopla! score. That's for sure.

Last year she was a 45.8 percent field goal shooter. This year, it has dropped to 41.7 percent. In Jia's last 4 games she is shooting just 27.6 percent.

Hope Tech can get back on track before the NCAA Tourney.

[Bball Girl]

We're asking ourselves the same thing. Jia made a couple of costly errors at the end of the OSU game. Publicly she said at the CU game, she missed her first shots, got down on herself and never got back in the game. She hustled against Texas even though her shots weren't falling...she continued to play good defense.

Coach Sharp is the best, but I questioned having Jia start at the point at the beginning of the season. Jia is not a PG. It tied her down, took away her freewheeling intuitive style of ball. When White took over the point, I expected to see Jia break out and she did for a few games. But she hasn't quite found her niche again, she's made some bad decisions with the ball and gets the deer in the headlights look on the court from time to time like she doesn't know where she's at. She hasn't been able to find her groove..

[two cents]

Earlier in the season, I think intensity was a problem. I don't really think that's still an issue, but I've only heard the last couple games on the radio, so it's hard to say for sure. The team seems tight as a drum. The turnovers and shooting percentages are probably indicative of that.

Jia was shooting a little over 50% before the slump hit. I certainly would not pin the losses on her, because she contributes on defense even when she struggles on offense. She may be taking too much of a burden on herself. Amber seems to have gotten her game back. Hopefully, Jia will get back in the groove soon.

[Press]

I think the pressure cooker of losing some games, coaches looking for a leader and a go-to player is starting to mount on this team and it shows. Tech has ALWAYS had a go-to player to rely on to lead and score and that's usually a post player. This year, they don't have that, so the pressure is pushed out to the guards, ie, Jia and Amber. Amber has typically been a streaky shooter, but has been better down the stretch. Jia, IMO, has been the go-to player when a score is needed, even last year, but this year, she's tight, can't create and I'm not sure what's going on in her head.

This team just hasn't found it's stride this year after all that's happened. Maybe there is locker room problems, who knows, but I hope they get it worked out. You can just tell on the look of Sharp's face she's as frustrated as ever and I understand the tension is running at an all-time high.