Most Surprising Husky this Season?

[oldude]

The success of this year’s UConn team has surprised the pundits, the fans and even their coaches. This remarkable, surprising team is made up of a number of players who have surprised all of us as well. Which player is the most surprising? Here’s my case for each of the 5 starters.

Kia – I think everyone expected Kia to be the tough floor leader of this team. If there was any surprise, it was that Kia stumbled a little at the start of this season. After she exploded for 33 pts vs Depaul, Kia has been the “ROCK” that we all expected.

Lou – Everyone had high expectations for Lou since the day she announced she was heading to Storrs. Once she established herself as a starter last season, Lou has been a tremendous offensive weapon. This year Lou is the “go to scorer” when the Huskies need a bucket. She has expanded her game to score in a variety of ways. She has improved her defense, passing and rebounding as well, and is now playing at an AA level.

Saniya – Most of us have been hoping for Saniya to emerge as a steady player since she arrived at UConn. There have always been glimpses of her talent, but her inconsistency and perhaps lack of confidence often seemed to consign Saniya to mop-up duty. This year, there is no choice. Saniya has to be a player, and she has delivered. She is becoming more confident on offense and she is a much better defender.

Gabby – Like Ron “Jaws” Jaworski, I’ve gone back and watched 500 hrs of film on Gabby. Just about everything she is doing this year, she did on a limited basis in her freshman & sophomore year. She has always been a good passer, rebounder & defender. She’s always been a great athlete. She has improved her shooting. The most surprising aspect of Gabby’s play this year is her remarkable ability to defend much bigger post players. Gabby’s post defense has been critical to the Husky’s success this season.

Pheesa – We saw brief glimpses of Pheesa’s talent early last season and then she almost disappeared from the rotation through the middle of the season, getting mostly mop-up minutes. It wasn’t until tourney time that Pheesa earned Geno’s trust by working really hard in practice. She started getting meaningful minutes in the tournament and she played well. When Lou went down in the 1st half of the National Semifinal, Pheesa was ready to provide a greater contribution and the Huskies never missed a beat. After the season, we learned that Pheesa had played the entire season with a painful hip injury that required surgery, generating considerable speculation as to her performance this season. We got the answer on opening night when Pheesa went off for 28 pts. She’s been playing at an AA level ever since.

IMO, the most surprising player this season comes down to Gabby & Pheesa. I give a slight edge to Pheesa, for the reasons stated above. With the current trajectory of this team, a 12th championship banner may become the least surprising event we witness this season.

 

[UcMiami]

Other - each individual player had the potential to rise to where they are right now, but I just didn't expect the TEAM to rise to the level they have. It is really phenomenal how well they are playing as a team, and that is what has surprised me most.

 

[Carnac]

A re-post from earlier this week......
ericsandiego said: ↑
Well I was flat out wrong. The team put the finishing touch on surpassing the previous record, held by several former UCONN classes. This streak has extended over 3 seasons but we wouldn't be talking about it if not for the tremendous play of the current team, in a year that many thought would be a "rebuilding" year, and a "season to finally get UCONN"... So incredibly impressed!!
The likelihood of what this team has accomplished to this point, was just not fathomable for any of us back in June. PhillyCoach nailed it saying:
"many of us posters came up with a loss of two-- not so much from saying we have less talent and depth--but observing 6-8 teams loaded with talented returning starters (more than UConn), gaining elite transfers who were becoming eligible, and recruiting 24 out of the top 25 players in the country (we got CD, the super 8 teams got many of the rest.) Simply put, IMO, we over estimated the productivity and effectiveness of these 8 loaded teams. Those elite 8 teams did not come through and UConn as a team over compensated to our surprise".

Carnac: We over estimated the competition (and their anticipated success), and under estimated our girls. The odds of them going 16-0 to begin the season, was just not reasonable to a rationally thinking and informed fan. The odds were just too great to fathom and run like this. Surely one or two of the Goliaths on the OOC schedule would prevail. They had the size, experience and depth to overcome any resistance UConn could mount. After all, UConn lost its 3 best players. If you remember last year, we would get glimpses of next year's team when Geno would clear the bench in garbage time, and usually it didn't look promising. So, based on that (the eye test), what were we to think? The core of this year's team was unproven coming into this season. Several posters said that THIS YEAR, Geno would have to do some of his finest coaching, they were right, and he has.

Remember the old Nike commercial in the 90's with Michael Jordan and Spike Lee?...."It's gotta be the shoes"!! Thinking along those lines: It's gotta be the system, because the players keep coming and going through that revolving door, but the system reamains the same, as does the results. I'd really like to see them run the table right on through to next season. Just think of what the critics/naysayers would say if THAT happened.

UConn was NOT supposed to be a major player this year. Notre Dame, South Carolina or Maryland were the preseason front runners. You think one or two of them would say how bad for WCBB a 5th consecutive national championship for UConn would be?, and how "unfair" to the rest of WCBB that type of dominance is.

To me, it would just drive home the fact that Geno has figured it out, and the other coaches have not. Let's hope the "haters" have reason to express those thoughts and opinions after the season. For now, it's on to Tulsa, go Huskies.

 

[reno tony]

I'm the only one for Kia. I thought she would tear up the competition but not so. Still playing fine but I expected her to lead the charge.

 

[Carnac]

I voted for Saniya Chong. It's refreshing to see so many others agree with me. Most of us figured (during the summer) the other starters would blossom (and we were right) this season given an opportunity (more minutes, and time to jell). Before this season, Chong gave us no indication that she could/would elevate her play to this level on a consistent basis. Of the five current starters, Saniya was the biggest question mark. After 3 years, if a player is still having confidence issues, and has not improved their game significantly, it won't happen in year 4. Chong beat the odds. She did, that's why she gets my vote.

I, like other BY posters have been patiently waiting for her breakout. Her defensive limitations, self confidence along with her injuries limited her play last season. Because the BIG 3 were riding tall in the saddle, and leading the charge (vanquishing) against all comers, contributions from Chong were not needed, as she languished on the bench.

That is not the case this season. Her contributions are very much needed, and she has risen to the challenge. This past summer, there was an on-going debate in the boneyard as to who the 5th starter would be. Some said Chong, some said Butler, while others thought Dangerfield would come in and take over the starting pg duties. Chong's ability to consistently play defense at a level that is acceptable to Geno as been the difference. She has always been able to score. Her confidence level has gone through the roof.

Last night against Tulsa, Chong played 34 minutes, had 10 points, 7 assists, and ZERO turnovers. Her decision making has improved, and is improving daily, which is documented in her assist to turnover ratio this season. I'm very happy to see Saniya enjoy the success she's having thus far this year.

 

[Roundball fan]

I had to vote other, They have all surprised me. Our girls are all playing great basketball and best of all they pick each other up when needed. Who are you going to try and stop? Stop one and they will find the next option and the next after that. Geno is the man and our Huskies are the TEAM.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I think KLS's emergence as a super star is very surprising. She was a good outside shooter last year, and an adjunct to the Big Three. But this year she is far more productive, rebounding, scoring underneath, as well as hitting three's. I never thought she would emerge as a star as she has.

 

[chrissaran]

Gabby because you turned a 5'11" high school shooting guard into one of the best centers in college basketball. Gabby had to relearn everything, mostly playing offense with her back to the basket. Simply amazing!

 

[warbler1055]

Saniya is the most improved and she surprised me the most. I knew about the fabulous core 4.

 

[Carnac]

One more reason I voted for Chong..........................
Let's not forget that - ALL of the current starters got significant playing time last year. Kia & Lou were starters. Gabby & Pheesa were the first two off the bench, and got a significant amount of playing time the entire season. Chong did not. She was buried on the bench, just in front of the two former walk-ons Lawler & Pulido, and saw limited time the entire season.

Chong is the only current starter that emerged from the shadows (deep on the bench) to earn and maintain her place in the starting lineup.
We expected the "core four" to start and play well together. What they are doing now is not a surprise. We're surprised that they are doing it so well consistently at a high level. During the summer, when speculation was running rampant about who the 5th starter would be, Chong was not a no brainer to be the fifth starter. She was a viable candidate, but not the over whelming favorite.

 

[nyfanofwbb]

I voted for Saniya myself with no disrespect to the others. I knew this year that Lou, Pheese and Gabby given the minutes to step up to the plate would in did do so. She's worked hard this year, her defense has gotten soooo much better. She will always be the first one to sub out and Crystal will come in for her. She's usually not out long because she subs back in for Kia, at least that's what I have noticed up until Crystal went out with her foot. I feel like she's been Geno's scape goat for the loss at Stanford for the last 2 years. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about that loss. If the person she was guarding scored 30 points why didn't he put someone else on that player. I for one felt that as a whole they didn't play good defense in that game and that their defense got better as the year went along and they haven't let down since.

 

[Zorro]

Very, very close between Saniya and Gabby. I voted for Gabby because I expected Saniya to do just about what she IS doing, but that Gabby would become an assist machine!

 

[CocoHusky]

Sorry but Napheesa is making WCBB look too damn easy!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

My vote, and happy to see I'm in the majority, is for Saniya. Big, hopeful fan for 3 years, wrote her off this year. Very happy to have her torch me on this.

 

[CocoHusky]

I'm the only one for Kia. I thought she would tear up the competition but not so. Still playing fine but I expected her to lead the charge.

I like how you flipped that. "Most surprising" could also be most unpleasantly surprising. Wish I had though of that, would have changed my vote.

 

[HoopsFan21]

How is it surprising that Lou is turning into a superstar? Wasn't she the top recruit in the country?

 

[AdamOwe]

I voted for Gabby. She's a random element. There's not enough time for anybody to figure out how to minimize her impact and not enough time for her to run out of "gas", for lack of a better word, and start wondering how the heck she is doing all of the things she's doing.

All of the other players could be MSP if there wasn't a GW.

 

[Oldbones]

Jonathan!

Workout-buffed, great sagged shorts, highest basketball-legal number, quadruped tendencies well-suppressed, has the head-nod and hands-on-hips moves down perfectly. Jonathan is the dog. Surprising-yes, but I am never disappointed in the performance of any of our Huskies.......................

 

[bags27]

Didn't know how I'd vote, so I first read all the above. Coco convinced me. I always thought Pheesa would be good (last spring, I posted that she would start every game her final 3 years, and I actually got blow-back to that prediction), but I never thought she'd be this good. Right now, she's also the best pro prospect on the team (unless or until Lou learns how to rebound).

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Didn't know how I'd vote, so I first read all the above. Coco convinced me. I always thought Pheesa would be good (last spring, I posted that she would start every game her final 3 years, and I actually got blow-back to that prediction), but I never thought she'd be this good. Right now, she's also the best pro prospect on the team (unless or until Lou learns how to rebound).

You, bags, should know that Lou knows how to rebound, but she's such a team player she just wants to leave something on the table for a team mate or 2 to clean up.

 

[oldude]

How is it surprising that Lou is turning into a superstar? Wasn't she the top recruit in the country?

So was Diamond Deshields.....

 

[RockyMTblue2]

So was Diamond Deshields.....

Oh, oh, oh ... now that was a nasty paper cut!

 

[Carnac]

I voted for Saniya myself with no disrespect to the others. I knew this year that Lou, Pheese and Gabby given the minutes to step up to the plate would in did do so. She's worked hard this year, her defense has gotten soooo much better. She will always be the first one to sub out and Crystal will come in for her. She's usually not out long because she subs back in for Kia, at least that's what I have noticed up until Crystal went out with her foot. I feel like she's been Geno's scape goat for the loss at Stanford for the last 2 years. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about that loss. If the person she was guarding scored 30 points why didn't he put someone else on that player. I for one felt that as a whole they didn't play good defense in that game and that their defense got better as the year went along and they haven't let down since.

In retrospect, the loss cannot be entirely laid at Chong's feet. She was not out there on the court alone. In reference to Saniya's man, Geno referenced her man (Lili Thompson) had 30 points, actually it was 24. (www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore ). Amber Orrange had a large hand in helping Stanford defeat the Huskies. She made a go-ahead jumper with 1:38 left in overtime and the tying 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation.

Auriemma: "We didn't just lose to a team that doesn't have any good players," UConn coach Geno Auriemma said. "Sometimes, because of who we are, the biggest story is that we lost, not that Stanford played great and won, and that would be unfortunate. That would be a disservice to Stanford, but that's the reality, that's the world that we're in. ... We lost to a really good team, a better team than people would probably give them credit for."

Orrange's basket in overtime made it 85-84, and then Stanford's smothering defense took over. The Cardinal forced UConn into several poor shots and a 5-second violation, and prevented the Huskies from getting off a final attempt. Orrange also came up big at the end of regulation to force the extra session, hitting her 3-pointer from the wing to tie it. If she misses that shot, UConn wins.

"I was surprisingly calm when I took the shot," Orrange said. "I really loved how resilient our team was at the beginning of the game." UConn looked out of sorts for much of the night at Maples Pavilion in a rematch of last season's NCAA semifinals -- and it didn't help that Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis never got going. Mosqueda-Lewis, coming off a 30-point, 10 3-pointer outing in the opener Friday night at UC Davis, struggled all night to find her shot.

The Cardinal hung tough on both ends of the floor in the first half and swarmed Mosqueda-Lewis, regularly getting a hand in her face. She went without a field goal until she made a 3-pointer with 9:40 left in the game, having a tough time getting open looks facing swarming defense by Karlie Samuelson. Stewart said "It seemed like there was a lot of disconnect on the court. It's up and down, our chemistry." It didn't help that Tuck and Nurse fouled out of this game, and Stokes had to grow alligator arms at the end, (which in affect lessened her aggressiveness) as she had 4 fouls herself.

I attended this game, and agree with these assessments. UConn was not ready to play that night. They had just come off a 59 point win over UC Davis 3 days before, and were still basking in the after glow of that blow out win. Standford head coach Tara VanDerveer had her team ready to play that night. They attacked UConn from tip to buzzer without any let up. They (the team) appeared to be in a zone. It seemed like everything they put up, went in. Stanford's resolve became more intense as the game progressed. Stanford shot 49.2 % from the floor and 50% (7/14) from beyond the arc. UConn shot 40.6 % from the floor and only 36.7% (11-30) from beyond the arc. Chong's name is often associated with that loss, but it was truly a group effort.

 

[eebmg]

Of course this was a very hard decision but I voted for Naphessa.

1) I expected Lou to be our dominant player and drain 3 after 3 She is probably more flexible scoring wise than I would have thought but not
that dramatic. Her physical resolve and drive to take over big games (while throwing up) is perhaps a surprise but you knew it was probably in there as the #1 recruit who wanted to go to a school that her sisters did not. I already thought she would be an AA.

2) I think I expected Gabby with starting minutes to do about 80% of what she is doing. The main surprise is her passing but again this is a nice surprise but not so dramatic. If she opened up her mid range game some more, perhaps I would add more "surprise" points. She had tried that during the OOC schedule with mixed results. Unfortunately, with the conference schedule, I think she is reverting to her "drive" game which she can do at will because she is so physically dominant. In this respect, she is too much a team player since I think she is doing the following calculation in her head.

What is the best shot?

a) Taking a 15 ft open shot or
b) Going hard to the basket and either scoring or making a nice pass to my inside or outside scorers.

I hope she gets more selfish since we do need her to keep trying her mid range game during conference play because some opponents will just not allow her drive game such as the SC game and in deep tournament games. Also, when she takes her game pro.

3) Kia is playing at the level I expected Kia to be playing so I do not see any surprise.

4) Soniya is playing with more consistency and making the big shot which I am pleasantly surprised. Her passing is improving and her overall confidence is definitely a nice surprise. However, as a senior, I expected her game to improve. I do think she will plateau and perhaps
lower her level with Crystal Dangerfield getting back in the mix (still my number 2 surprise)

That leaves me with Naphessa. I know she turned it up a bit in the tournament last year but I was just not sure what her upside was. She seemed too laid back and often lost on the court and what she did was totally on physical talent. It is clear she is extremely skilled with the best pure post moves on the team as well as having a nice face up game as well as being a good option on 3's. Her defense and rebounding is also improving and her consistency is really surprising.

I guess my feeling was that she got positive results last year mainly because the big 3 were taking 90% of the attention. So happy to be wrong.

 

[NewCorn]

I voted for Saniya myself with no disrespect to the others. I knew this year that Lou, Pheese and Gabby given the minutes to step up to the plate would in did do so. She's worked hard this year, her defense has gotten soooo much better. She will always be the first one to sub out and Crystal will come in for her. She's usually not out long because she subs back in for Kia, at least that's what I have noticed up until Crystal went out with her foot. I feel like she's been Geno's scape goat for the loss at Stanford for the last 2 years. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about that loss. If the person she was guarding scored 30 points why didn't he put someone else on that player. I for one felt that as a whole they didn't play good defense in that game and that their defense got better as the year went along and they haven't let down since.

I agree. Saniya certainly did not give up 30 points in that Stanford game. We must not take these Genoisms literally. The entire team played horrible defense that night. They seemed to go for every head fake. their feet were stuck in cement. Opposing guards ran around them as if they were telephone poles. At the end, no husky seemed to want the ball. They lost to an inferior team. Saniya has made a big move forward and is a big surprise this year. Still, I voted for Gabby as the biggest surprise. It's true that Gabby has flashed her stuff before, but the extent to which she has put it all together to become a nightmare for opposing coaches is astounding. Because she is not a prolific scorer, she will not be fully appreciated until she is gone. But, although fine players will continue to come to UConn, it will be many years before another Gabby comes along. There is no assembly line producing that model.