Why Gabby sat vs USCar

[PalPa]

John Altavilla article.

http://www.courant.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/hc-uconn-women-0219-20150218-story.html

Geno said the starting five had something really good going and he didn't want to disrupt it.
Gabby agreed but also said "

"I understand you have to wait your time, make way for the experienced players.But at the same time, I'm not going to be satisfied to just sit on my butt and wait for it to happen. I'm going to do what's necessary to change it."

 

[reno tony]

I like her attitude. It is very refreshing to hear someone not feel entitled to something.

 

[Aluminny69]

I like her attitude. It is very refreshing to hear someone not feel entitled to something.

I like her attitude too, but I think she has a problem. She is a bit undersized to be a forward, and hasn't exhibited the skills to be a guard. She shoots a high percentage, but rarely takes a shot from more than three feet from the basket. With SCs tall front line, Gabby wasn't going to get a shot off. I hope that during the off season, she works on shooting away from the basket. There are four kids coming in next year that are all taller than her, and she may have trouble finding a niche.

BTW, I thought that Kia Nurse's performance in the SC game was a bit underwhelming, maybe freshman nerves. Geno must have agreed, as she only played 19 minutes.

 

[Suggie]

She should have been groomed as the starting 2 from the start of the season...I have said over and over on the forum..but all defend the coach,who is GREAT...BUT!...This girl is a 2,always was... She should have been groomed as the starting 2 ,from the first step on the campus this past summer...Why Nurse ..I can't say..I truly cannot say..... She is a starter,a starter at the 2 ...

 

[Boreifs]

I like her attitude too, but I think she has a problem. She is a bit undersized to be a forward, and hasn't exhibited the skills to be a guard. She shoots a high percentage, but rarely takes a shot from more than three feet from the basket. With SCs tall front line, Gabby wasn't going to get a shot off. I hope that during the off season, she works on shooting away from the basket. There are four kids coming in next year that are all taller than her, and she may have trouble finding a niche.

BTW, I thought that Kia Nurse's performance in the SC game was a bit underwhelming, maybe freshman nerves. Geno must have agreed, as she only played 19 minutes.

I disagree with your comment on the SC frontline. Gabby matches up very well against Welch, as well as the great majority of fours in the elite WBB programs. If she were an opponent, she would match up very well against Tuck. If you see her standing next to Nurse, they are basically the same height; her vertical jump easily compensates for two inches.

 

[ndmb]

She should have been groomed as the starting 2 from the start of the season...I have said over and over on the forum..but all defend the coach,who is GREAT...BUT!...This girl is a 2,always was...

You seriously think Williams is a better option at shooting guard than Nurse?

 

[Tenspro2002]

Gabby strikes me as an Ashley Battle glue-guy sort of player. Hard to pin down a position, probably not going to be a starter, but a key bench player.

 

[Gate81]

not even next year as a starter? she's got too much talent...

 

[sarals24]

In no universe is she a starting guard over Nurse.

 

[HuskiesU]

When Gabby learns to face up and shoot it with consistency being undersize as a post player wouldn't matter cus now she'll be able to pump fake and go around players. I can see her game developing to a Carmelo Anthony type game once she can shoot it

 

[Vowelguy]

not even next year as a starter? she's got too much talent...

Starting instead of who?

 

[caramel]

Undersized for a forward,not polished enough to be a guard,scores mostly at or near the basket.I hear all these things about Gabby.

The short comings are all fixable with hard work and great coaching.

However,many seem to overlook two things that Gabby has,that many,many young women,and men,do not have,and that is her determination and leaping ability.This young lady ,not only has talent,but has the determination and heart to become relied upon,to be special,to excel.

We are looking at a potential,future AA here ladies and gentlemen,and with her attitude and desire,it will not surprise me,that she climbs that mountain,and surpasses her goals.

 

[Biff]

 

[RegisteredUconn]

I like her attitude. It is very refreshing to hear someone not feel entitled to something.

I like her, her attitude, her game, and her.

 

[iri10]

Starting her with stuff in the post was the right thing to do, IMO. There's tons of potential there, but after her long absence her guard skills had atrophied a ton. To be honest, we don't even know how refined her guard skills were at her HS peak. She self-described herself as a point guard, but it's pretty much standard for the most talented player on the typical HS team to run the floor if they have any mobility at all. You don't need hugely refined skills to drive to the hoop and play the perimeter if you're up against a bunch of limited talent shorties.

The UConn perimeter role is basically as complex as they get in college. If she had tried to be a UConn-style guard right from the get-go, she would have been bewildered. Perhaps her minutes might have suffered because of that lack of effectiveness, and who knows what that might have done to her confidence.

But with the way Geno used her, she now has a baseline to build up from. She's got a set of things she does well, and by adding onto that set, she will be able to properly expand her game, and do it with confidence.

The players coming in will put a squeeze on Gabby's current role; I think Napheesa is superbly suited to playing Gabby's current role. I would like her to improve her jump shot. Hundreds of shots a day, every day during the summer might help. With a mid-range jumper by the end of sophomore year, she would be well positioned to expand her potential on the floor. Plus maybe some work on being able to drive to the hoop from a starting position facing the basket.

 

[meyers7]

She should have been groomed as the starting 2 from the start of the season...I have said over and over on the forum..but all defend the coach,who is GREAT...BUT!...This girl is a 2,always was... She should have been groomed as the starting 2 ,from the first step on the campus this past summer...Why Nurse ..I can't say..I truly cannot say..... She is a starter,a starter at the 2 ...

 

[JS]

Familiar you say? With good reason.

One and done. Multiple handles rule invoked.

 

[CocoHusky]

She should have been groomed as the starting 2 from the start of the season...I have said over and over on the forum..but all defend the coach,who is GREAT...BUT!...This girl is a 2,always was... She should have been groomed as the starting 2 ,from the first step on the campus this past summer...Why Nurse ..I can't say..I truly cannot say..... She is a starter,a starter at the 2 ...

Suggie,
I think you are mistaking our support of Nurse as a starter over Gabby as "Defending the coach". This coach needs no defense-IMO.
The numbers (Assists, Turnovers, 3pt Shooting ) and the required skill set of shooting guard in UCONN offense (ballhandling & transition ofense) overwhelmingly support NURSE as the starter.
Assists- Nurse is second on the team in Assists
Turnovers-Gabby has more turnovers than Nurse despite playing 9 less minutes per game.
3pt Shooting-46% for Nurse 0% for Gabby Don't underestimate the pressure that Nurse's 3Pt shooting puts on the defese of UCONN's opponents.

I love gabby and what she brings but NURSE is a better option at the SG.

 

[DobbsRover2]

I just don't get any of this, and why year after year on the BY there has to be these pointless discussions about whether a player is a guard or a forward, a point guard or a shooting guard, a power forward or a strong forward. I hope we do realize that on even the most structured team these are just convenient classification terms that have very little meaning once the opening whistle blows. And on a team like UConn the positions shift during the course of the game with different lineups and we are left wondering who really is the PG between Kelly, Bria, and MoJeff, especially in for instance in a game against Duke two years ago Bria gets more assists (9) than Kelly and MoJeff combined. Things are dynamic out there.

And Gabulous? She's a special talent that can fit in many different roles, though in her freshman year some of them aren't that polished yet. Baylor's Nina Davis at 5'11" is eating up the competition and getting more than 9 rebounds a game along with 21.0 ppg. Gabby also at 5'11" is a better jumper than Davis, though she still has a lot to learn about positioning herself for boards. Gabby could easily be a double digit rebounder in the years ahead, though part of that stat will depend on her teamwork with Butler, since a big center like she and Stokes pull in a lot of the type of boards that go to Davis at Baylor. But Gabby cleans up all around, and she is quick to react to gather in those crazy caroms that often end up as offensive rebounds for the opposition.

And as to scoring, everyone can tell what the main option is for the reserves in the final quarter of the game. Maybe look for a three, and if it's not there, toss it into Gabby for the unstoppable pivot and short banker for two. Could the Gamecocks have stopped it if UConn had thrown Gabby at them? No one else has, but when you're up by 20 why pour it on and show all your cards to an opponent you may meet again this year and will be seeing in the years ahead? Sure they know Gabby can hit those shots in her sleep, but there's a difference between seeing it on film and actually trying to defend it.

The Gabulous one is on pace to finish 3rd on the list of most rebounds by a UConn freshman behind only Maya Moore and Tina Charles, and is on pace to finish in the top 15 for points and steals. To think that anyone could believe that a player with those numbers can't find a ready place in even UConn's hallowed lineup is just mind boggling.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

When Gabby learns to face up and shoot it with consistency being undersize as a post player wouldn't matter cus now she'll be able to pump fake and go around players. I can see her game developing to a Carmelo Anthony type game once she can shoot it

Now there is a role model...NOT. Self centered volume shooter.

 

[Striper69]

I disagree with your comment on the SC frontline. Gabby matches up very well against Welch, as well as the great majority of fours in the elite WBB programs. If she were an opponent, she would match up very well against Tuck. If you see her standing next to Nurse, they are basically the same height; her vertical jump easily compensates for two inches.

She's a lot like Baylor's 5' 11" Nina Davis. You wouldn't expect her to be a good player in the paint but she somehow does it! She'll be OK next season.

 

[Aluminny69]

She's a lot like Baylor's 5' 11" Nina Davis. You wouldn't expect her to be a good player in the paint but she somehow does it! She'll be OK next season.

Except that she won't be competing with Nina Davis for playing time. She will be competing with Stewart, Tuck, Butler, Boykin, and Collier.

 

[Frodo]

She should have been groomed as the starting 2 from the start of the season...I have said over and over on the forum..but all defend the coach,who is GREAT...BUT!...This girl is a 2,always was... She should have been groomed as the starting 2 ,from the first step on the campus this past summer...Why Nurse ..I can't say..I truly cannot say..... She is a starter,a starter at the 2 ...

NONSENSE!!! Gabby Williams is a marvelous athlete who will be an All-American at small forward once she develops a solid 12-15 foot jump shot. And it's because she is such a great athlete that I have no doubt that the midrange jump shot will be forthcoming soon. Besides the fact that she doesn't have a reliable perimeter game now, her extraordinary talent would be wasted as a shooting guard. Besides having tremendous rebounding instincts, I'm pretty convinced that she will give a lot of 6'2" and 6'3" forwards absolute fits once she can make shots from the elbow or wing at 15'. I'm really looking forward to watching this kid the next couple of years...at forward.

 

[reno tony]

When I first heard Geno was moving Gabby to a post position I thought he was a genius. With her intensity hitting the offensive boards, her quickness and leaping ability she is creating nightmares for a lot of bigger post players. She seems to have overcome her initial reluctance to all the contact in the paint so she seems like a precedent for a new type of post player. Great leaper, quick, aggressive and can bang with the bigs. There are going to be coaches roaming the track and field meets looking for the next Gabby.

 

[Striper69]

Except that she won't be competing with Nina Davis for playing time. She will be competing with Stewart, Tuck, Butler, Boykin, and Collier.

I don't see that as a problem...

more like a +.