Japanese NT 2017

  • Thanks Brahmin for such a great insight. I always knew (and obviously can see) there's something wrong with the current MB line up but really, numbers do speak for themselves. Literally have no idea what Iwasaka is doing at the moment. Either Kana Ohno or Araki would be a far better choice than Nana, period.


    Anh big big applause for sitenoise to make this topic alive :heart: . Im pretty head of heels about Japan's team as much as you are but definitely not able to express and follow them as detailed and closely as you do now. Keep it up :drink: .

    I think Araki is having a break if I'm right. Or not been called for this wgp to give way to some younger MB's to gain more experience. Also Kana Ohno is still recovering from her injury. And I guess it's time for some MB's like iwasaka to have the opportunity to play. But unfortunately she seems to be struggling with her attacks. Also she doesn't use slide/running attacks. That's why she's a bit more predictable. But I'm impressed with okumura. She delivers when it's needed. She's very fast and have good sliding attacks. It was a very nail biting game.. But congrats to nippo team. :thumbsup:

  • I think Araki is having a break if I'm right. Or not been called for this wgp to give way to some younger MB's to gain more experience. Also Kana Ohno is still recovering from her injury. And I guess it's time for some MB's like iwasaka to have the opportunity to play. But unfortunately she seems to be struggling with her attacks. Also she doesn't use slide/running attacks. That's why she's a bit more predictable. But I'm impressed with okumura. She delivers when it's needed. She's very fast and have good sliding attacks. It was a very nail biting game.. But congrats to nippo team. :thumbsup:


    Iwasaka was already in national team during 2011-2013 period but did not show any improvement over the years so she wasn't chosen up till now.
    Talking about potential MB, apart from Kana Ohno, Riho Otake who is in ProjectCore 2020 and had an amazing season in V-challange league, would be a great option but was not gotten any attention. Instead of Otake, Nakada decided to bring Jackie aka Matsumoto from Ageo Medics to her new team. And the thing is, Matsumoto is just another Iwasaka' i.e tall, slow and basically useless :down: !

  • Iwasaka was already in national team during 2011-2013 period but did not show any improvement over the years so she wasn't chosen up till now.
    Talking about potential MB, apart from Kana Ohno, Riho Otake who is in ProjectCore 2020 and had an amazing season in V-challange league, would be a great option but was not gotten any attention. Instead of Otake, Nakada decided to bring Jackie aka Matsumoto from Ageo Medics to her new team. And the thing is, Matsumoto is just another Iwasaka' i.e tall, slow and basically useless :down: !

    Yes iwasaka has been in the NT before. But I guess why she was brought in again has something to do that she's playing for hisamitsu with Kumi Nakada as their coach. Hoping to see an improvement since she has the height. But yes you are right, she seems not and have a limited attacking pattern.

  • 21 blocks in 21 sets for the middles as a total.


    That's Kill Blocks, right? Where they get a point? I think Japan is actually doing pretty well blocking, maybe not getting kills--don't know if they count those. I wonder how many blocks Koga has. You heard it here first, folks, Koga is going to be a blocking machine someday. As for her # of swings, yeah, I'm a fan of more balanced offense, but I wonder how many others got in comparison. If it's 40, that's not so unbalanced. They lost the game, DOM, she didn't swing much. And, oh yeah, against Serbia, but they're Serbia. And outside of that DOM game, Koga is the only one who's playing the whole game so her # of swings is going to be larger.


    I'm pretty gosh darn happy with Koga's growth. She's got to better figure out the Tall Blocker thing, but what I'm liking (besides my perceived uptick in her own blocking) is that she seems to be digging very well when she's in the backcourt. If you want me to be happy, dig well and be quick when you're in the backcourt.

  • What is a Sleepy Sister? Care to elaborate?


    A Sleepy Sister is anyone who isn't YANAGITA Mizuki or OUMI Akari or some other NEC Red Rocket :D


    But seriously, I think I can kill two birds with one stone here ...

    has something to do that she's playing for Hisamitsu with Kumi Nakada as their coach.


    The Sleepy Sisters are Yuki Ishii, Risa Shinnabe, and Miyu Nagaoka. Three of the best currently playing Japanese women, but they are almost invisible to me. Nagaoka can be a little explosive but only when she's making a kill. I was concerned when Nakada was named Head Coach that she was going to favor her Hisamitsu players (and that she didn't draft YANAGITA) and that they were lacking that winner's strut. I still think those three lack the little something that elevates the spirit and brings the team on the court alive. Hence, The Sleepy Sisters. :sleeping: There's nothing sassy or violent, like Oumi, in their work. Nothing free-spirited or fun loving like Yanagita or Yamaguchi. They don't seem like inspirational leaders who make the others around them better, like Saori.


    But I'll eat some crow here. Shinnabe makes others better because she receives the ball well, and passes it even better. Ishii might look like she could doze off at any moment :sleeping: but she's reliable. And that's what I'm learning from watching this WGP. Reliable ain't so bad :D


    Ironically, what I truly love about the Japanese teams is that they are peaceful. No crying or whining or beotching or moaning. They seem genuinely happy and at peace. Sleepy isn't far from that.


    If you throw Iwasaka into the mix, another Nakada pick she made Captain, it might look more concerning. But I think Nakada is being fair in her rotations. Bottom line: I have no idea what she's doing, but as I often say: This is the Internet so I get to pretend like I do. :lol:


    I'll serve myself another dish of crow. Uchiseto ain't bad. She's got a nice strong attack and can receive the serve well. But she doesn't move around like a Japanese volleyball player, so I don't like her too much. It's digging and diving that flips my pancakes.


    As @Rains_of_Castamere pointed out in the WGP thread in response to my befuddlement over activating Uchiseto over Horikawa:

    Quote

    Nakada took great receivers/defenders and dropped Mari from the line up. I think that was great managing since Brazil can serve really hard at them. For a small team like Japan, every mistake is crucial so passing has to be great at all times.


    I accept that explanation.
    Edit - but what was up with Sato's defense last night? Miyashita would had most of those we saw bouncing off Sato's hands.

  • I checked the stats and Koga has 7 blocks.


    Against -


    Thailand - 3
    Dominican Rep. - 0
    Netherlands - 2
    Thailand - 2
    Serbia - 0
    Brazil - 0


    I don`t think Japan can beat Serbia, China has not been playing their best if Japan can play their best MAYBE they can beat China but I would think consider China a favorite to win, they probably can beat Russia.


    Unfortunately I don`t think they will make it....I think Brazil will take the last spot :S :S


    I will keep my fingers crossed.

  • Unfortunately I don`t think they will make it....I think Brazil will take the last spot


    Brazil's got BEL, USA, NED. Winning two of those might be as hard as JPN taking two against SER, CHN, RUS (unless Zhu takes a night off). If JPN loses two they better be five-setters in case it's a tie.


    That loss to DOM in four might haunt them (as well as not finishing off BRA in four).


    It's weird. Seems like all the games up to BRA, Nakada was changing lineups throughout the games. She stuck to her horses against BRA. (or I just missed it). I don't agree with some around here and over there who suggest Ferhat is the coach and Nakada is ... whatever. I think she's got her hands on everything. Ferhat is (I imagine) the guy who tells the girls at timeout "Don't serve to #4" and the like (which he may have been told by Nakada). I don't know who might tell, for example, Koga: "you need more wrist in your shot" or "start from further outside the court" and the like. I also don't think of Nakada as "serious", I think she's just quiet. I wouldn't like her if she were serious 8) She does shout a thing or two at the girls when they are on the court, just not much in the timeouts. I hope she is going to turn out to be a great strategist with a long game. Let Ferhat tweak the details. But I don't know squat about either of them. :lol:



    I checked the stats and Koga has 7 blocks.


    Is these blocking stats Kills, where they get a point. And no blocking stat if you block it but it stays in play?

  • I thought I'd mention that after that JPN v BRA game last night ended, around midnight my time, I had to go out and grab a drink. I haven't felt this kind of emotional attachment to sports enthusiasm since my turn-of-the-century Sacramento Kings couldn't get past the Lakers (or Utah, for that matter). Sorry to my non-USA friends for the local reference.

  • Yes, the "block" is when they get a point. There`s no blocking stat if you block but stays in play.


    I notice on the download stat sheets there is "Blocking faults" and "Rebounds". I assume that a blocking fault is if you block it and it goes out of bounds off you. And a "Rebound" is if you block it and it remains in play?


    And yikers! Miya Sato had 14 Dig Faults. I'm not sure how they judge that, but she was a serious black hole. I think it was after she would :serve: serve and be in Zone 1 (I think that's what you call it) . Brazil would just hit it back to her and she'd miss it. Oh Haruka Haruka wherefore art thou? (I think that means "Why have you come here", but you get my drift)

  • More Koga love. Not a particularly flattering photo so I've purposely kept it small. It's a still frame screen cap of the YouTube Video. You get the gist.


    Set 5 against Brazil, tied at 13-13. Three plays after the 47.7 seconds rally at 12-11*. The teams are threatening another extended rally so Sarina says "I'm going to put a stop to this. Right now." Bang! She cracks one across court to take them to Match Point.


    I haven't seen this kind of emotion from her before, and I've watched a lot of her. This is big league.

    It's adrenaline, it's joy, and it's conquering. And it's giving. "Look what I got, girls. Have some". The way Saori used to give. If you have the time or inclination, watch the end of that 5th set. It's outstanding. The Japanese are the team with confidence. And in that moment, after that kill, you'll see the spirit--and the face--of our beloved Saori in Sarina. Blink and you'll miss it. It's kind of freaky. And quite lovely.



    *If you want to see what Kumi Nakada looks like when she smiles, watch that rally. It's full of keystone cops, great digs, and big swings.

  • Block rebound is a ball that stays in play after it is blocked. I add rebounds plus block kills to get block touches. Japan tries to have balls deflect off the block to keep plays alive. Instead of blocking over the net, you angle your hands slightly backwards to hopefully be playable by the defense. Without a strong block, it is a different method.


    Dig fault is where the digging player touches the ball, but it cannot be kept in play.

  • I think Koga still needs some work in attacking. She only hits cross line, and her power is quite average.
    Sometimes I can feel the lack of confidence in her performing.
    Iwasaka needs some serious footwork training.
    I like Okumura's style, she is fast, she might not have the height but her timing is good.
    Also she and Inoue's defense system worked very well while against Brazil.

  • Koga's biggest obstacle is herself. And tall blockers. I imagine her fondness for the cross court shot in this tournament is her way of hitting around them. She's got work to do. Still seems like a kid compared to a lot of other players her age.


    Okumura is the probably the biggest surprise for me. I didn't notice her so much individually in the handful of JT games I've seen but I liked their team play.


    Tominaga is also a welcome surprise, if a little bittersweet, as it's come at the expense of Miyashita.

  • Koga is placed by the Japanese press as a star after her performance in the 2015 World Cup. She's young and does well.


    She is still young and needs someone to help carry her together. Nakata without Nagaoka due to the injury probably feels that Koga can take on the challenge. It may help for 2020, but right now I question it. For the outside hitters, they are a decent bunch, but the height issue will continue to be a problem against bigger teams. As I mentioned earlier, the middle is a big hole except for Okumura right now. If Araki was playing, they would still have a backup problem.

  • throughout the 6 matches, imho the most important player in Japan is Shinnabe! I dunno if I have missed some moments of the match but rarely can I find Shinnabe make a mistake in reception. She can defend in any of position 1,6 or 5 in the back row. She is almost the shortest OH (OP) in the world but she can still score effectively with her skills. If she is not there, the other 2 OS and the libero would never be able to ensure reception in such a high quality.

  • Shinnabe has been solid this tournament. What I like about her is she is so elegant in her passing. Almost always puts it right where the setter can do the most with it. I often mention player A or player B being good at receiving/passing, but I'm really just talking about the passing part. The receiving part should go without saying. I'm not sure I understand why receiving a serve should be a problem for any one of the 10-20 women chosen as the best volleyball players in their country. Other skills, I guess. It's like Shaquille O'Neal, a Hall of Fame NBA star who can't dribble a basketball, can't shoot a basketball, can't even make a free throw. Why role model that?


    I'm coming to appreciate Shinnabe more. She's reliable. As I mentioned up thread, I'm learning that reliable ain't so bad. And Shinnabe's made me happy with some of her digs.


    Tangentially, I understand that tall players have a certain advantage over smaller players, but the undying optimist in me hears that as: "A jump shooting team will never win an NBA championship".

  • Is Ebata retired? Thanks.