Elizabeth Williams WNBA Most Improved Player | The Boneyard

Elizabeth Williams WNBA Most Improved Player

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CocoHusky

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Congrats to Elizabeth. Can't help but mention two other former Duke players (Chelsea Gray & Haley Peters) that seem to becoming better basketball players the further they get away from JPM.
p
 

ThisJustIn

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Sugar:
2015 NYL 33 5 18.7 34.0 32.0 88.1 0.7 1.5 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.2 1.0 2.1 8.1
2016 NYL 33 33 30.5 40.5 41.3 84.2 0.4 3.2 3.7 2.4 1.0 0.4 1.7 2.6 14.5
 

triaddukefan

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Sugar:
2015 NYL 33 5 18.7 34.0 32.0 88.1 0.7 1.5 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.2 1.0 2.1 8.1
2016 NYL 33 33 30.5 40.5 41.3 84.2 0.4 3.2 3.7 2.4 1.0 0.4 1.7 2.6 14.5


She was robbed :cool:
 
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She really looked good last night against the Storm. It is hard to believe she is the same player that played at Duke. Congrats to her for continuing to work on her game.
 
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I'll never forget how deeply I lamented the fact that she wasn't coming to UConn when I watched her performance in the McDonald's AA game...clearly the best player on the court. Then she went to the ultimate graveyard for talent under the "tutelage" of JPM and actually fell backward. Not surprising to see her current reemergence.
 

MilfordHusky

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Sugar:
2015 NYL 33 5 18.7 34.0 32.0 88.1 0.7 1.5 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.2 1.0 2.1 8.1
2016 NYL 33 33 30.5 40.5 41.3 84.2 0.4 3.2 3.7 2.4 1.0 0.4 1.7 2.6 14.5
Sugar was on MY short list for Most Improved Player. I think I still had Elizabeth at the top, though.
 

Carnac

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I noticed the improvement in her play during the season. She's good!!. This major metamorphosis taken place since her departure from Duke. This makes me question the coaching she was getting at Duke (Joanne P. Mcallie) the last 4 years. :rolleyes: She also looks happier playing in the W.
 

Carnac

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Congrats to Elizabeth. Can't help but mention two other former Duke players (Chelsea Gray & Haley Peters) that seem to becoming better basketball players the further they get away from JPM.

Yeah!! kinda like Superman and Kriptonite. :p
 
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CamrnCrz1974

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Congrats to EWill! Interesting that Jasmine Thomas finished fifth in the voting, while Karima Christmas was sixth.

In other words, three McCallie players finished in the top six in the "most improved" category. She is quickly becoming the Ben Howland of women's basketball...players who are ranked highly coming out of high school, but whose collegiate teams do not achieve the success the rankings would indicate and whose players improve dramatically in the pros.
 

CamrnCrz1974

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Sugar:
2015 NYL 33 5 18.7 34.0 32.0 88.1 0.7 1.5 2.2 1.5 0.7 0.2 1.0 2.1 8.1
2016 NYL 33 33 30.5 40.5 41.3 84.2 0.4 3.2 3.7 2.4 1.0 0.4 1.7 2.6 14.5

Williams raised her scoring average from 3.3 points last season to 11.9 this season and increased her rebounding average from 3.2 to 8.1 (fifth in the WNBA). She ranked second in the league in blocks with 2.3 per game, up from 0.9 as a rookie with the Sun in 2015.

Now, both played more minutes than they did last year, which does account for some increase in the numbers. Looking deeper, Sugar has an edge in three point shooting, as that was a tremendous area of improvement, going from 32.0 percent to 41.3 percent in 2016, while making 2.6 threes per game this year. Williams improved at the free throw line, going from 56 percent to 70 percent and attempting four free throws per game.

Whereas this was Sugar's fourth year, this was Williams' second. Sugar had started only five games last year, but was at least a solid "sixth woman" off the bench. But Williams went from a "ninth woman" off the bench who missed many games because of injuries to becoming one of the leaders in the WNBA in minutes and anchoring the entire Atlanta frontcourt. For that reason, I would have given the award to Williams.

My second choice would have been Jewell Loyd, who only played 6 more minutes per game, but whose scoring went up by six points and who doubled her assists. Yes, having Breanna Stewart there helped. But she also upped her shooting percentages and became a much better player on both ends of the floor.

I would have had Sugar Rodger third. But it is not like Sugar would not have been a worthy candidate had she won, IMHO. Williams, Loyd, and Rodgers could all have won, and each would have been deserving in my opinion.
 

EricLA

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I think it's fantastic to see the improvement from several of these players, but I would also caution (in general) that it's not always about the college coaching (although in McCallie's case, I would agree that it IS).

As a "for example", I do think that at some point KML will get a most improved player award as well (or some serious consideration). Her first 2 years have had some fine moments, but she's averaged eerily similar 5 or so PPG in 12 or so MPG. I have a feeling that as she continues to grow her game and improve her fitness that she will have a break out year and perform much like she did in college. If she went from 5 PPG to 11-12 PPG that would certainly earn her a lot of consideration for most improved.

Believe me - I'm not trying to defend McCallie, who excels at getting the least out of her best players, but trying to point out that the W is a far cry from college for most players not named Stewie or Moriah. Diggins had a forgettable first season only to have a terrific 2nd season. Jewell Loyd increased her scoring average by 6 points from her rookie to sophomore seasons. Angel went from 13 PPG to 21 PPG from her 1st to 2nd season. Even Maya Moore's first 4 years of scoring averages went from 13 to 16 to 18.5 to 24 PPG. She certainly had to grow and improve as well. Tolliver went from 7 to 8 to 11 to 17...
 
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In respect to Williams career at Duke. She was really beginning to play well during her Soph season and dominate until she began to feel the effects as the season wore on. That fracture injury got worse with each progressive game. I do think if even if they would have beaten Stanford ( and Williams injury played a major part - she had no elevation) she would not even have been able to play in the next game against Baylor. Her next season she wasn't even a shadow of the player she was the year before. I think she never recovered for multiple reasons for the remaining of her career at Duke. Part of it may have been her focus on her medical studies as well.
 

Orangutan

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Somebody mentioned this on twitter - in terms of advanced stats, her numbers actually went down. It raises the question: did she get better or was Atlanta just smart enough to actually play her?

I didn't realize until I looked that Kelsey Bone won it last year. Maybe they can give her a Most Regressed Player award for her "efforts" this year.
 
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