11/27 Open Practice + Comments on Molly Bent

[Kibitzer]

She banged the finger pretty hard in the LSU game, I remember her stretching it out at the foul line when it happened ... she had the finger wrapped in the Dayton game.

Not everyone notices that Lou is more than a deadly perimeter shooter -- she is one tough kid. A real Badass!

 

[Buzzyboy]

Before this season is over Kia will be at or near the mvp of the team.Didn't Mojeff have a couple of years where her shot was less than spectacular and then from January on she was lights out from everywhere on the court?Kia plays "rip yer'head off and blank in the hole defense" every game every minute and is irreplaceable on this team.when her shot comes around it will be katie bar the door on the opponents and she could very well be considered for major post season accolades by national voters.

There is absolutely no way that Kia will be close to the MVP of this team or at least I surely hope not because if she is, then this UConn team will have had a really poor (by UConn standards) year. Though she may be a team leader (which is great) she is incapable of being an exceptional player. She is tough and solid defensively and though she can occasionally have a Bucky Dent moment and hit a couple of outside shots, she is limited on the offensive end. She has gotten better in that she very seldom tries to penetrate while tearing in, totally out of control and forcing up shots. She has a really good work ethic and is solid but team MVP or as someone suggested All-American??? No way, Jose! Everybody likes a hard nosed kid and she is but let's be real here!

 

[oldude]

Watch the games in Kias freshman year. The best guard on the team offensively. Moriah started slow that year because she had Hartley and Doty with her for 2 years but then it was her team. Coming into the season after 2 NCs there was alittle added pressure but she persevered and voila the best point guard in the country by the end of the season. That was Mos JR. season. Now it is Kias time and she might be feeling that extra pressure in her Jr. season. She will settle down and be that player we know she is. She is more relaxed with Crystal playing next to her. How do you bench a player that has Not lost a game as a starter yet in her career at Uconn? You Dont.

A minor correction on the guard rotation during Moriah's tenure:

2012-2013 - Doty & Ferris start, Hartley & Mo off the bench
2013-2014 - Hartley & Mo start
2014-2015 - Mo & Nurse start (after the Stanford game)
2015-2016 - Mo & Nurse start

 

[huskyd]

Molly should start over Nurse for tomorrow's game

I generally avoid predictions like the plague; just don't find them sensible. BUT here's one: if Kia Nurse starts a game, UConn will win. It's the only statistic I know that is absolutely unassailable: the Huskies have NEVER lost a game that Kia has started.

 

[bags27]

I generally avoid predictions like the plague; just don't find them sensible. BUT here's one: if Kia Nurse starts a game, UConn will win. It's the only statistic I know that is absolutely unassailable: the Huskies have NEVER lost a game that Kia has started.

huskyd: DaddyChoc has included the purple eye rolling of sarcasm, I think.

 

[cbraarj]

If I remember correctly, Molly was also a soccer player. Those kids can run all day. I have a son as an example.

During a soccer game you can run 5 to 6 miles in a regulation game. I played in school and was in good shape for BB season played 3 hours a night after soccer. Your son can run forever, boy, I miss those days!

 

[cbraarj]

A minor correction on the guard rotation during Moriah's tenure:

2012-2013 - Doty & Ferris start, Hartley & Mo off the bench
2013-2014 - Hartley & Mo start
2014-2015 - Mo & Nurse start (after the Stanford game)
2015-2016 - Mo & Nurse start

How did I miss Kelly! Thank you.

 

[oldude]

How did I miss Kelly! Thank you.

I don't know about you, but I'm and old dude, so I forget stuff, like what I had for breakfast this morning

 

[caramel]

I don't know about you, but I'm and old dude, so I forget stuff, like what I had for breakfast this morning

I don't have breakfast and I still think about what I ate for it.Old age sure plays tricks on my memory.

 

[uconnfan68]

That's a problem. Get some protein in yourself early in your day.

 

[Kibitzer]

I don't know about you, but I'm and old dude, so I forget stuff, like what I had for breakfast this morning

I don't have breakfast and I still think about what I ate for it.Old age sure plays tricks on my memory.

Remember (at least try!) that there are three phases in life:

1. When you're young;
2. When you're mature; and,
3. When your friends tell you how good you look.​

(I should know.)

 

[huskyd]

huskyd: DaddyChoc has included the purple eye rolling of sarcasm, I think.

Oops. I missed the purple eye. But I did not miss the repeated references to Mel Thomas, one of my all-time favorite Huskies. You may be interested to know that Mel wrote a book: "Heart of a Husky." Don't know if it's still in print . . . Next time you see her, ask if she's carrying around a copy. (Insert here a purple eye, please.)

 

[UcMiami]

Just for information sake - Moriah struggled a lot her freshman year as she learned the college game. She then struggled for November and December of her sophomore season until rediscovering herself during Christmas break and taking off - for most of the spring she was shooting about .650 from the floor and about .600 from the arc - just blazing, though she cooled some in the NCAAs (better defense, maybe) Her junior year also started off as a struggle but she found herself before Christmas and blazed from then on. And her senior year she started out hotter than she ever had before, but never got that mid-season jump (she actually struggled a little with A/TO her senior year, especially early, but her shot was great from the first tip.)

I think for guards, especially on teams that play a very integrated team offense, it can be a little difficult to figure out the rhythm of a new team each fall - the guards more than the post/wing players set and control that pace, and they also have a harder time determining when to assert their offensive game, and when to defer to teammates. I always thought that was part of Moriah's slow start to seasons as she was gauging the team and where she fit within it.

For all freshman the same issues are involved (unless they have no conscience like Maya or DT) And added to that, the game is so much faster and more intense - the ball moves faster, the players move faster, the defenders move faster, and it is really hard to translate all of that speed into maintaining the proper rhythm on a jump shot. We saw it last year with Lou and Napheesa, I think we are seeing it this year with Molly and Kyla. Surprisingly Crystal seems fairly oblivious to that in terms of her shot.

In another thread, I used the term 'selfish' in a positive way about players on age specific USA teams - someone agreed to the term but found it a funny descriptor for a Uconn player - but it is one thing that the coaches do struggle with. Geno and Co. have created a great team oriented style that is pretty well self sustaining, but how many times did Geno make a comment about Stewart not shooting enough or not getting enough shots. Sometimes good teams need their players to be less willing to pass and more willing to shoot - it is a nicer problem to deal with than it's opposite, but it can still be a problem. And for unselfish players to learn when to be 'selfish' is one of those learning curves that occur each new year.

Kia in the first few games seemed to be really struggling with indecision specific to when to shoot - there were numerous times when she would get a pass on the wing when she was wide open, and sort of wait until the defense adjusted before deciding to drive or pass off to someone else. It wasn't just that she didn't shoot, it was that she was almost frozen by the choice and lost the advantage of passing, driving, or shooting before the defense recovered. I expect that to improve rapidly.

 

[Blakeon18]

Just for the record: I meant that Molly would not beat Mel in shooting percentages....I agree that she would beat her running the court end to end.