Player comparison....Ashlynn Shade and ???

[Blakeon18]

Ashlynn is an excellent free throw shooter.
Ashlynn has a great mid-range pull-up jumper.
Ashlynn has a good trey shot.
Plus she makes lay-ups!
She isn't super quick and does not have great hops...but plays with great intensity and smarts.

There is a dude on our men's team who has a very similar skill-set. Who is it?

Clue: he had the biggest [offensive] rebound [of the season?] late in last night's game...followed immediately
by calling a timeout as he was falling out of bounds...followed by him making a clutch trey when the TO was over...huge
in a tight win over Butler at their iconic gym.

 

[my2cents]

Not a bad comparison, Spencer is a 5th year senior , and Shade hasn't had the opportunity yet to be clutch at the end of a game

 

[Blakeon18]

Differences in personality...Cam is more fiery on the court and I have read he can be that way in
the lockerroom as well...perfectly willing to get in teammates' faces.
Both teams need 'em for sure.

 

[Brewski]

I don't understand why people always have to add in that Ash is not quick or "super" quick when they describe her capabilities. She's quick period! She runs the full length of the court all the time and beats everyone. She plays really great defense and has great foot speed, and keeps her opponent in front of her because she's got great lateral quickness. No she's not as quick as KK but that doesn't mean she's not quick.

 

[PvP]

Actually, the player that Ash reminds me of is the one she has in effect been replacing....Azzi!

While no comparison is perfect, when I watch Ashlynn recently, she is fulfilling so many of the roles that we had expected to be provided by Azzi. As Geno might say, "where would we be without Ashlynn?"...

 

[Boreifs]

I don't understand why people always have to add in that Ash is not quick or "super" quick when they describe her capabilities. She's quick period! She runs the full length of the court all the time and beats everyone. She plays really great defense and has great foot speed, and keeps her opponent in front of her because she's got great lateral quickness. No she's not as quick as KK but that doesn't mean she's not quick.

Amen. She is an incredible athlete in unbelievably excellent condition for a Freshman.

 

[Lynx23]

I agree that Ash is quicker than most people (for some reason) seem to think. I liken her to Kia Nurse, but with a good mid-range shot. She can hit the three with regularity, make a layup. and she plays good defense. Like Kia, she made the starting lineup very quickly as a Freshman.

 

[Rowdy831]

Ashlynn is an excellent free throw shooter.
Ashlynn has a great mid-range pull-up jumper.
Ashlynn has a good trey shot.
Plus she makes lay-ups!
She isn't super quick and does not have great hops...but plays with great intensity and smarts.

Watching Ashlyn play I thought she was slow at first but she doesn't get beat up and down the floor too much. I also was impressed with the elevation she gets on her pull up shots in the lane. I think she is one of those players you don't see much looking at them but when you start playing they are a handful, similar to a young Larry Bird.

 

[Stinger92860]

First name which quickly popped into my head: Lindsay Whalen

 

[Majic Hands]

As I understand it quick, fast, & slow are often meaningless terms in basketball.

Geno is after Paige to not be so fast because going a little slower will allow her teammates to screen/block for a better shot.

How often do we see a really quick/fast player end up in a position where they are more likely to get a turnover instead of an assist or bucket?

It's about moving quickly under control. Understanding and anticipating the opponents options in any given situations.

My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with Ashes speed. She gets where she needs to be.

Besides, this version of the Ash is the worst we'll ever see.

 

[BRS24]

"Be quick, but don't hurry." - John Wooden

 

[Bigboote]

Ashlynn is Ashlynn. She’s committed to being the best Ashlynn she can be, which at this point is pretty damn good. I’m sure she’s not losing sleep over which player she reminds fans of or whether she’s perceived as “quick”

 

[Next 12]

Right now, Ashlynn is a VERY important player on Uconn . By the end of the year everyone will not say she is slow. Her conditioning is made for 40 minutes and her BB ability will be paramount to the team. Ashlynn is the prototype of player that is synonymous with who a Huskie is. Ashlynn is a wall candidate in my opinion. She is also a AA candidate. That's my opinion of her.Her defense is non-stop and from now on will only get better. I am not as verbose as a lot of posters are,BUT, Ashlynn right now is GREAT!!!!GO HUSKIES!!!!!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Ashlynn is a player that slips under the radar till the game ends and you see by her statistics how she was involved in every facet of the game on offense & defense!

 

[MSGRET]

Amen. She is an incredible athlete in unbelievably excellent condition for a Freshman.

There were some videos of her doing some workouts in High School with her dad. The stuff that she was doing would make a lot of basic training drill sergeants heads spin.

 

[Gordo]

Ashlynn is Ashlynn. She’s committed to being the best Ashlynn she can be, which at this point is pretty damn good. I’m sure she’s not losing sleep over which player she reminds fans of or whether she’s perceived as “quick”

Agree! She is simply getting the job done.

 

[Bone Dog]

She is also the very personification of stamina. I don't see her slow down in games, like she never gets tired or something. In HS, she routinely played a one-woman full court press for entire games.

 

[EricLA]

Ash seems to be a result of a love child between Shea Ralph, Mel Thomas, and Kia Nurse. I think it's fun to think of who current players remind us of. BTW throw in a little Jen Rizotti for good measure. As others have pointed out, she doesn't do anything that immediately wow's you, but she seems to be involved in plays all over the court, fills up the stat sheet, seems to be fit enough to play 80 minutes were that to ever happen, has very high BBIQ, and never seems to make a mistake.

KK makes the flashy plays, Geno says Q has unlimited upside, but Ash is not to be overlooked. Love that trio. Add in Ice, as she develops, and we will say our quartet of rookies is a major force to be reckoned with!

 

[Bigboote]

Ashlynn is a player that slips under the radar till the game ends and you see by her statistics how she was involved in every facet of the game on offense & defense!

I often watch one player, kind of a self-imposed isolation camera. Sometimes for most of a game, sometime for five minutes. If you do your own iso-cam on Ashlynn, she'll never be under the radar again. The hustle, the switching on defense, the threes, and that gorgeous pullup that she seemingly never misses. I thought I'd miss the midrange game with Grace Berger graduating, but Ashlynn has definitely filled that void.

 

[jazz]

It's a hard comp to make after 12 or so games. The one thing that strikes me the most is that she hits the mid or short range jumper with little hesitation. This shows up the most of me in transition, making it a harder shot to make.

I see a bit of S Bird in that. Now please, don't go off the deep end on the comp here with Bird; I'm just saying that she hits that short-mid range jumper quickly like Bird did. That is a lot harder shot than some might think.

She also has a knack for getting to the rim and getting her shot off and/or drawing the foul.

Unlike others, I do worry about her upside with regard to her quickness. She can certainly run and she is built like a tank, but I think she is a tad below quick which means in certain match-ups, she may struggle and at 5'9 she doesn't have the size/length to make up for it.

I can't wait to see how she does against SC.

But, it is 12 games in, and she has been awesome thus far!

 

[Brewski]

It's a hard comp to make after 12 or so games. The one thing that strikes me the most is that she hits the mid or short range jumper with little hesitation. This shows up the most of me in transition, making it a harder shot to make.

I see a bit of S Bird in that. Now please, don't go off the deep end on the comp here with Bird; I'm just saying that she hits that short-mid range jumper quickly like Bird did. That is a lot harder shot than some might think.

She also has a knack for getting to the rim and getting her shot off and/or drawing the foul.

Unlike others, I do worry about her upside with regard to her quickness. She can certainly run and she is built like a tank, but I think she is a tad below quick which means in certain match-ups, she may struggle and at 5'9 she doesn't have the size/length to make up for it.

I can't wait to see how she does against SC.

But, it is 12 games in, and she has been awesome thus far!

Shade is 5'10" so maybe she'll do better than you think.

Ashlynn Shade - Women's Basketball - University of Connecticut Athletics

Ashlynn Shade (12) Guard - CAREER HONORS 2024 BIG EAST Freshman of the Year 2024 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team As a Freshman (2023-24): Appeared in

uconnhuskies.com

 

[CTBballfan243]

Actually, the player that Ash reminds me of is the one she has in effect been replacing....Azzi!

While no comparison is perfect, when I watch Ashlynn recently, she is fulfilling so many of the roles that we had expected to be provided by Azzi. As Geno might say, "where would we be without Ashlynn?"...

IMO Shade is a better defender and plays with more grit.

 

[CTrefugee]

Ashlynn is an excellent free throw shooter.
Ashlynn has a great mid-range pull-up jumper.
Ashlynn has a good trey shot.
Plus she makes lay-ups!
She isn't super quick and does not have great hops...but plays with great intensity and smarts.

There is a dude on our men's team who has a very similar skill-set. Who is it?

Clue: he had the biggest [offensive] rebound [of the season?] late in last night's game...followed immediately
by calling a timeout as he was falling out of bounds...followed by him making a clutch trey when the TO was over...huge
in a tight win over Butler at their iconic gym.

motion, motion, motion..and all the rest. This Hall of Famer and Shade. Dollar Bill

 

[Notyetready]

There were some videos of her doing some workouts in High School with her dad. The stuff that she was doing would make a lot of basic training drill sergeants heads spin.

Got that right...

 

[Boreifs]

IMO Shade is a better defender and plays with more grit.

She is also a better rebounder, more athletic and a much more reliable shooter from midrange. The only thing she doesn't do as well is shoot from the arc, but she is rapidly closing the gap on that as well. If Azzi comes back next year, she is not going to shove Ash to the bench; they will be on the court together.