Natalie Butler: Another player comparison

[MilfordHusky]

I was at the Mystics v. Storm last night and remembered Tiana Hawkins's history. She was the #133 player in the high school rankings when Brenda recruited her. She was raw and not all that impressive early on, but she became a force at Maryland by her last two years. She led the nation in FG percentage as a junior. She finished her career with about 1,600 points and 1,100 boards. She was All-ACC and honorable mention AA as a senior. She had several double-doubles as a senior, including 14 and 10 against us. For the first half of 2012-13, her stats were even better than those of Alissa Thomas, I believe. Tianna was drafted #6 overall by Seattle last year and is now playing for the Mystics.

From #133 in her class as a prep player to the #6 draft pick. Can Natalie follow a similar path? I don't know, but I'm not betting against her. It will be fun to watch Natalie develop.

 

[EricLA]

Oh for goodness sake - you are putting far too much pressure on that young lady and your expectations for a "role player" are way too high...

Seriously, tho, good one. She is really going to be a fun kid to watch develop no matter what she accomplishes at UCONN. I keep going back to the comments from her coach that she was the first kid in the gym and the last to leave. No matter what she does at UCONN, it won't be for lack of effort, that's for sure! Really looking forward to watching this kid develop.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Natalie is putting pressure on herself by how hard she works and by choosing UConn.

I don't recall posters citing Tianna in the few weeks since we heard about Natalie's interest in transferring. Tianna is another kid who may have been mis-ranked or maybe was just a late bloomer. Like Natalie, she was a post out of the general DC area who chose a college fairly close to home. Interesting similarities.

Many of us have high expectations for Natalie, but I don't want to put undue pressure on her. The Tianna Hawkins case shows what is possible.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I was at the Mystics v. Storm last night and remembered Tiana Hawkins's history. She was the #133 player in the high school rankings when Brenda recruited her. She was raw and not all that impressive early on, but she became a force at Maryland by her last two years. She led the nation in FG percentage as a junior. She finished her career with about 1,600 points and 1,100 boards. She was All-ACC and honorable mention AA as a senior. She had several double-doubles as a senior, including 14 and 10 against us. For the first half of 2012-13, her stats were even better than those of Alissa Thomas, I believe. Tianna was drafted #6 overall by Seattle last year and is now playing for the Mystics.

From #133 in her class as a prep player to the #6 draft pick. Can Natalie follow a similar path? I don't know, but I'm not betting against her. It will be fun to watch Natalie develop.

Does anybody remember that as a high school basketball player from Texas, Emeka Okafor was something like the 100th rated basketball player in the country coming out of high school? Didn't that work out pretty well for the men's team and didn't he not only become an All-American but was the number 2 player taken in the NBA draft? People who evaluate high school players in general do a pretty good job but there's also times when they miss the mark by a whole bunch! In the case of both of these players, it could be just that these players were somewhat late bloomers whose physical maturity was accentuated by their marvelous work ethic. There isn't an exacting formula for if and when players will have a surge in their development and at what rate. It varies and maybe Ms. Butler turned that corner in her senior year of high school when all those scouting reports and evaluations were obviously no longer valid.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Does anybody remember that as a high school basketball player from Texas, Emeka Okafor was something like the 100th rated basketball player in the country coming out of high school? Didn't that work out pretty well for the men's team and didn't he not only become an All-American but was the number 2 player taken in the NBA draft? People who evaluate high school players in general do a pretty good job but there's also times when they miss the mark by a whole bunch! In the case of both of these players, it could be just that these players were somewhat late bloomers whose physical maturity was accentuated by their marvelous work ethic. There isn't an exacting formula for if and when players will have a surge in their development and at what rate. It varies and maybe Ms. Butler turned that corner in her senior year of high school when all those scouting reports and evaluations were obviously no longer valid.

Good example. Yes, he was about #100. The men's game is presumably better scouted but also subject to mistakes.

The Dallas Cowboys of the 1970s had Cliff Harris at safety and Drew Pearson at wide receiver. Both were 1st Team All-Pro several times. Both were undrafted free agents. Credit to the Dallas organization.

 

[Sonny44]

Natalie is putting pressure on herself by how hard she works and by choosing UConn.

I don't recall posters citing Tianna in the few weeks since we heard about Natalie's interest in transferring. Tianna is another kid who may have been mis-ranked or maybe was just a late bloomer. Like Natalie, she was a post out of the general DC area who chose a college fairly close to home. Interesting similarities.

Many of us have high expectations for Natalie, but I don't want to put undue pressure on her. The Tianna Hawkins case shows what is possible.

I could name at least 100 people in the DC area whom we've mis-ranked and they don't seem to be late bloomers either.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I could name at least 100 people in the DC area whom we've mis-ranked and they don't seem to be late bloomers either.

I hope I'm not one of them.

 

[UConnCat]

Good example. Yes, he was about #100. The men's game is presumably better scouted but also subject to mistakes.

The Dallas Cowboys of the 1970s had Cliff Harris at safety and Drew Pearson at wide receiver. Both were 1st Team All-Pro several times. Both were undrafted free agents. Credit to the Dallas organization.

Can't remember the last time I saw the name Drew Pearson. Great player. My brother broke his own nose while tackling Pearson in a high school football game. Pearson succeeded Joe Theismann as quarterback in high school.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Can't remember the last time I saw the name Drew Pearson. Great player. My brother broke his own nose while tackling Pearson in a high school football game. Pearson succeeded Joe Theismann as quarterback in high school.

Sorry to hear about your brother.

Pearson was a QB at Tulsa, I believe. He became a great wide receiver who teamed with Staubach for a very successful duo.

 

[Sonny44]

I hope I'm not one of them.

Sorry 3rdbass, you don't qualify.

 

[Zorro]

Actually, Eric, nothing said on the BY is going to put any pressure at all on the young lady. We just ain't that important. Any pressure will come from the coaches and from herself.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Can't remember the last time I saw the name Drew Pearson. Great player. My brother broke his own nose while tackling Pearson in a high school football game. Pearson succeeded Joe Theismann as quarterback in high school.

My brother was an all-state defensive lineman for New Britain High way back in 1961 and he ended up MISSING Floyd Little "a lot", as did everyone else when Floyd led New Haven Hillhouse to an upset win against the Hurricanes that ruined what would have been a perfect season. It was that loss that spoiled a potential trip for NBHS to Miami to play following their season. Floyd was an unbelievable talent who excelled at Syracuse (wearing #44, as had Jimmy Brown and Ernie Davis) and ended up having a marvelous career for the Denver Broncos. That was my brothers little interlude with "greatness"!

 

[MilfordHusky]

My brother was an all-state defensive lineman for New Britain High way back in 1961 and he ended up MISSING Floyd Little "a lot", as did everyone else when Floyd led New Haven Hillhouse to an upset win against the Hurricanes that ruined what would have been a perfect season. It was that loss that spoiled a potential trip for NBHS to Miami to play following their season. Floyd was an unbelievable talent who excelled at Syracuse (wearing #44, as had Jimmy Brown and Ernie Davis) and ended up having a marvelous career for the Denver Broncos. That was my brothers little interlude with "greatness"!

Floyd made the journey from New Haven to Canton. Possibly the best football player to come out of Connecticut.

Jim Brown and Ernie Davis were a cut above their contemporaries. Or two.