Talk About UConn Passion...

[JavaMan]

The Real Danger has it mastered, and she's still a year away.

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With the way the future is shaping up for UConn WBB, I'm thinking about buying a condo in Storrs so I can get to all of the games and the practices!

 

[EricLA]

I love this kid. Love her game, her attitude, her intensity, and her incredible ability. Not to mention she seems like just a great kid (no surprise there as that's about all UCONN recruits anyway!). I'm in no rush to see Stewie or Moriah leave, but at least getting a kid like Crystal lessens the loss of Moriah.

 

[Kaizen]

We are so proud to have a Tenn. girl to join the team.....

 

[Huskies Rule]

I love this kid. Love her game, her attitude, her intensity, and her incredible ability. Not to mention she seems like just a great kid (no surprise there as that's about all UCONN recruits anyway!). I'm in no rush to see Stewie or Moriah leave, but at least getting a kid like Crystal lessens the loss of Moriah.

Ditto on the Crystal comments! I'm just not sure that any kid, no matter how talented, could ever manage to lessen (for me) the loss of Moriah Jefferson. Moriah is pure excitement, relentless energy, unequaled quickness and unbridled passion personified, the likes of which I have never seen in WCBB. Nobody else plays the game like Moriah does, electrifying teammates and fans alike in a way even Stewie cannot match. Moriah makes watching UConn ever more special. Each time Moriah plays, I anticipate seeing her do something incredible, something only she can do.

A few statistics here, though Moriah's legacy will surely be about NCs, her indomitable spirit and a matchless will to win:
- Moriah has 455 career assists. The greatest Diana Taurasi has 648. Moriah has average 193 assists the past two years. If she does that this year, she will come close to or even surpass the legend!
- Moriah has 258 career steals. She has average 103 assists the past two years, if she does that this year she'll pass the great Jen Rizzotti (349) and will be behind only Nykesha Sales (447).

Both Stewie and Moriah are extraordinarily talented athletes who come along once in a decade, if that. Both possess singularly phenomenal abilities, and while Stewie gets all the Naismith, Wade, Wooden, NPOY and NC-MOP awards, it is the incomparable Moriah Jefferson who is the straw that stirs the drink.

 

[mhshuskies]

Ditto on the Crystal comments! I'm just not sure that any kid, no matter how talented, could ever manage to lessen (for me) the loss of Moriah Jefferson. Moriah is pure excitement, relentless energy, unequaled quickness and unbridled passion personified, the likes of which I have never seen in WCBB. Nobody else plays the game like Moriah does, electrifying teammates and fans alike in a way even Stewie cannot match. Moriah makes watching UConn ever more special. Each time Moriah plays, I anticipate seeing her do something incredible, something only she can do.

A few statistics here, though Moriah's legacy will surely be about NCs, her indomitable spirit and a matchless will to win:
- Moriah has 455 career assists. The greatest Diana Taurasi has 648. Moriah has average 193 assists the past two years. If she does that this year, she will come close to or even surpass the legend!
- Moriah has 258 career steals. She has average 103 assists the past two years, if she does that this year she'll pass the great Jen Rizzotti (349) and will be behind only Nykesha Sales (447).

Both Stewie and Moriah are extraordinarily talented athletes who come along once in a decade, if that. Both possess singularly phenomenal abilities, and while Stewie gets all the Naismith, Wade, Wooden, NPOY and NC-MOP awards, it is the incomparable Moriah Jefferson who is the straw that stirs the drink.

Best two players in the college game. No wonder Jewell went early, she knew she would only be third pick at best if she stuck around.

 

[UcMiami]

HR - love it!
The joy that is expressed on her face so often during each game she plays is the icing on the cake! She is as far from a Kelly type stone face as you can get - game face, nah, this is just too d__ much fun!!!
If they put a tracker on the basketball court the way they have started to do for soccer to record the distance run during a game, hers would be off the charts!
I watched the NC game last night and there was an ND possession where the ball was fumbled and bounced around for about 30 seconds, during which time Moriah deflected, tipped, or swatted the ball maybe five different times - one of the announcers was super impressed - she was everywhere on the court in such a compressed period of time. (And yes, she was the best player on the court in that game! Even with all that Morgan and Stewart were doing.)

 

[Kaizen]

HR - love it!
I watched the NC game last night and there was an ND possession where the ball was fumbled and bounced around for about 30 seconds, during which time Moriah deflected, tipped, or swatted the ball maybe five different times - one of the announcers was super impressed - she was everywhere on the court in such a compressed period of time. (And yes, she was the best player on the court in that game! Even with all that Morgan and Stewart were doing.)

Agree Moriah is awesome, but the key player is KML, who made two consecutive 7 pts in the NC game.

 

[TWG236]

Moriah is the wife's favorite player. We both agree that at the end of this season she will be regarded as being the greatest point guard in UCONN history. I don't know what her WNBA and Olympic career will bring, but as far as her four years at UCONN she is "THE BEST". But, I never believed we would ever see a point guard as good as or better then Sue Bird. So who knows what the future will bring. MS Dangerfield seems to have the pedigree that will allow her to be added to our list of all time great point guards. In any case it appears that we have several upcoming years of witnessing UCONN Women continuing in their quest for NC. Great times ahead for us fans. Let the season begin.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Agree Moriah is awesome, but the key player is KML, who made two consecutive 7 pts in the NC game.

Nahhh. Dunno 'bout that, Kaizen. In addition to the sick, total shutdown defense little Moriah inflicted upon a completely stymied Jewel Loyd, in addition to the 5 assists, the 4 steals and the same game-high point total as Kaleena (15), Moriah made THE play of the game.

With the score 56-50, 5:03 minutes left, and ND in desperate straits, it was Moriah who grabbed the loose ball following a driving Loyd miss, flew down the court, and set up Kaleena perfectly for that killer three-pointer with a beautiful pass to make it 59-50. Yes, two more KML baskets sealed the deal at 63-50, but Moriah's hustle to get that loose ball in the paint on the defensive end, dribble the floor, and then make THE pass that was delivered to KML in the perfect position for her to drill her shot... well, that was THE most important basket of the game (as per GA and MM), the dagger which crushed any hopes ND. Kudos to Kaleena, but it would not have been possible without Moriah's recovered ball, quick transition, and finding her teammate with the perfect pass.

As a tearful Stewie said, and I could not agree more: "I don't think I should have been Most Outstanding Player. I think, ya know, Moriah Jefferson deserved it." Stewie knew.

 

[alexrgct]

The best overall player in WCBB paired with the best point guard is a devastating 1-2 punch. Throwing in Nurse, Tuck, and Butler, may just make for the perfect 1-2-3-4-5 punch.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Tuck, Stewie, or Mo could have been the most outstanding player.

Final Four Stats MIN REB AST STL BLK PTS
Tuck, Morgan-- F 078 014 007 001 001 036
Stewart, Brean F 078 023 003 004 008 033
Jefferson, Mor G 078 005 006 010 000 029
Mosqueda-Lewis F 072 007 007 002 002 019
Nurse, Kia --- G 054 005 000 001 000 014

 

[UcMiami]

HoppsFan - nice. But I think the thing that clinched it for me was the defense in the second half against THE go to player for ND - it was team defense of course, but generally it was Moriah overplaying and denying the passes, and as always being where Jewel was going before Jewel got there.

(Moriah's anticipation on defense is amazing! - (Not bad on offense either ))