Adamec: Faris in land of the lost

[pap49cba]

Nice article as usual from Carl:

LINK

 

[PacoSwede]

Nice article as usual from Carl:

LINK

Last night on ESPN3 coverage of opening night, at one point a graphic was put on the screen as Doris, or someone, was commenting about UConn returning four starters and Doty returning. Pictured were Tiff, Bria, Stef, and Caroline. SOOO, they put only 3 of the starters in the graphic, and instead of showing all 4, they bump her in favor of a 'let's hope she can return' kid.

Yeah, y'all are gonna say 'no big deal' and it ain't. But it is definitely showing disrespect for Kelly ... and it's weird because, as noted in Carl's article, she had a VERY strong season last year.

Any ideas on why KF doesn't get the notice her play warrants?

Nice piece by Adamec.

 

[MilfordHusky]

This candid comment explains their assessment and expectations:

“What was hard last year was that we made it that far and then we screwed it up."

 

[Icebear]

Probably some desk jockey pulling up the graphics saw that the four you mentioned all had starts (remember Caroline was a starter) and stopped when they got to 4 including Caroline completely blowing that it was four plus a returning starter in Caroline. No disrespect, just incompetence.

Kelly was fantastic at all aspects of the game as needed last year.

 

[EricLA]

great article. i know we have discussed it before, but these are eye popping stats in total... She averaged 7.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals while establishing herself as one of the best, if not the best, one-on-one defenders in the league.

the thing is, scoring points gets the most hype, but to be as good a defender, rebounder, play maker as she was last year, with maya snatching rebounds all over the place, is nothing short of amazing. this year, there will be no Maya, so i really expect her rebounding #'s to increase. she could easily average 8 boards per game. if her PPG gets up above 10 and her assists and steals stay the same, i believe those are Big East 1st or 2nd team numbers.

but i still think part of the perceived "lack of respect" that she gets is due to the fact that a large portion of what she does doesn't show up in stats, or at least not in the kind that people really pay attention to (points scored). she has said she needs to be more aggressive in scoring this year, but if she plays the "4", she really won't be posting up much or scoring in the paint as there will always be at least 2 defenders bigger than her. so IMHO, if she really wants to pump up the scoring, it will need to come from her mid range and outside shooting.

she really is one of my favorite players on the team. super fit, super strong, super athletic, and a tenacious defender who does ALL the little things and many of the big things. it's no surprise she was on several USA national teams for her age group. and she keeps getting better...

 

[UConnCat]

but i still think part of the perceived "lack of respect" that she gets is due to the fact that a large portion of what she does doesn't show up in stats, or at least not in the kind that people really pay attention to (points scored). she has said she needs to be more aggressive in scoring this year, but if she plays the "4", she really won't be posting up much or scoring in the paint as there will always be at least 2 defenders bigger than her. so IMHO, if she really wants to pump up the scoring, it will need to come from her mid range and outside shooting.

Kelly talked about working in the off-season on taking the ball to the basket so she will be looking to score in the paint. Given the make-up of this year's team I expect Geno to play a lot of 4 out/1 in motion offense which will give Kelly the opportunity to get to the basket.

 

[bruinbball]

Last night on ESPN3 coverage of opening night, at one point a graphic was put on the screen as Doris, or someone, was commenting about UConn returning four starters and Doty returning. Pictured were Tiff, Bria, Stef, and Caroline. SOOO, they put only 3 of the starters in the graphic, and instead of showing all 4, they bump her in favor of a 'let's hope she can return' kid.

Yeah, y'all are gonna say 'no big deal' and it ain't. But it is definitely showing disrespect for Kelly ... and it's weird because, as noted in Carl's article, she had a VERY strong season last year.

Any ideas on why KF doesn't get the notice her play warrants?

Nice piece by Adamec.

Agreed Paco. I read the initial articles and tidbits from Media and not one mention of Faris but there was about EVERY other player. If Faris scored over 12 per game, everyone would know her name.

 

[Scotter]

she has said she needs to be more aggressive in scoring this year, but if she plays the "4", she really won't be posting up much or scoring in the paint as there will always be at least 2 defenders bigger than her. so IMHO, if she really wants to pump up the scoring, it will need to come from her mid range and outside shooting.

Kelly primarily played the "4" in high school on offense and it wasn't that different from what that position does at UConn. The way she played the "4" in high school was just one of the many reasons I became a huge fan of hers immediately. From what I have seen it is still her most comfortable position. She brings a lot to the table at that position because it puts her the best position to contribute offensively. Kelly for the most part does not have the dribbling moves to get from the three point line all the way to the basket. If she can catch the ball fifteen feet and in she can get to the basket or get fouled. And it is the getting fouled part that she does have an aptitude for, and the leverage she can use against bigger defenders on offense.

I'm not sure what "pump up the scoring" means in terms of your expectations. If she averages 10 points per game that would be pumping up the scoring in my opinion. 2 more points per game may not seem like much, but it would actually be a 25% increase. That is a big jump in basketball. I'm not sure anything more than that is realistic as 10 points per game would actually be a significant achievement, especially if the four scorers on the team are doing their job. The game is played with only one ball.

 

[VAMike23]

Kelly primarily played the "4" in high school on offense and it wasn't that different from what that position does at UConn. The way she played the "4" in high school was just one of the many reasons I became a huge fan of hers immediately. From what I have seen it is still her most comfortable position. She brings a lot to the table at that position because it puts her the best position to contribute offensively. Kelly for the most part does not have the dribbling moves to get from the three point line all the way to the basket. If she can catch the ball fifteen feet and in she can get to the basket or get fouled. And it is the getting fouled part that she does have an aptitude for, and the leverage she can use against bigger defenders on offense.

I'm not sure what "pump up the scoring" means in terms of your expectations. If she averages 10 points per game that would be pumping up the scoring in my opinion. 2 more points per game may not seem like much, but it would actually be a 25% increase. That is a big jump in basketball. I'm not sure anything more than that is realistic as 10 points per game would actually be a significant achievement, especially if the four scorers on the team are doing their job. The game is played with only one ball.

I don't think that stats like "25% increase" mean much in and of itself as far as what is a 'big jump' or not. Would going from 1.0 ppg in one season to 1.5 ppg the next be a big jump? It's 50%.

When you've lost your leading scorer, going from 7.8 ppg to 10.0 ppg seems pretty doable to me, whatever the percentage is, just by advancing one more year in the program, gaining more experience and shouldering a bit more scoring responsibility that comes from being a third-year veteran on a young team. On the other side of the coin, Kelly already played a lot of minutes last year so the extra points would not automatically follow from significantly increased playing time. In any case, looking at the absolute value of the ppg in question, and the many factors that could potentially weigh on it (like losing Maya) is more telling than percentages. Statistically speaking, I don't think it would be a significant achievement for Kelly's scoring to be around 10 ppg this year, other than the fact that it's already a *very* significant achievement for any young woman to do all that she does for the nation's #1 WCBB program. IMO, it would be in line with expectations, both Kelly's and the coaches', for the upcoming season.

 

[EricLA]

i'm with you VA. my comments were echoing what Kelly herself said. she has said numerous times she wants to be more of a scorer this year. whether she gets her points at the FT line or in other ways, she's apparently going to be looking more for her shot. if she can drive and draw fouls, great. if she can drive and score even better. if she can shoot the mid range jumper great. players like Jones, Dupree and a few others kill with their mid range jumper.

kelly may have been successful driving into the lane in high school playing the 4. i think she will find the competition at an elite college level will be much more significant. in college, every single game she plays will be against teams with post players taller than 6' and stronger/faster than anything she faced in high school. not saying she can't draw fouls, but i'd be surprised if she makes a "living" this year scoring around the basket. pleasantly surprised, for sure.

 

[Biff]

Eh. Kelly's gonna do what Kelly's gonna do. One thing you can bank on is that she will find a way to be a factor....7 points, 10 point or whatever she scores.
Kelly is the kind of player that even if you rarely say you won because of her, you just about never will say you lost because of her.

 

[VAMike23]

i'm with you VA. my comments were echoing what Kelly herself said. she has said numerous times she wants to be more of a scorer this year. whether she gets her points at the FT line or in other ways, she's apparently going to be looking more for her shot. if she can drive and draw fouls, great. if she can drive and score even better. if she can shoot the mid range jumper great. players like Jones, Dupree and a few others kill with their mid range jumper.

kelly may have been successful driving into the lane in high school playing the 4. i think she will find the competition at an elite college level will be much more significant. in college, every single game she plays will be against teams with post players taller than 6' and stronger/faster than anything she faced in high school. not saying she can't draw fouls, but i'd be surprised if she makes a "living" this year scoring around the basket. pleasantly surprised, for sure.

I would echo what Scotter said about Kelly and getting to the basket - she is not a shake&bake, blow by you from the perimeter and take-it-all-the-way type, at least that's not her forte. But she is an *excellent* cutter and she is also good at giving the up-fake from 10-15 feet, taking two strong dribbles and going hard to the rim. As long as she has the desire and a 'point of emphasis' of getting to the basket this year, I think we'll be seeing more of it from her....in addition to a few more outside shot attempts.

 

[Scotter]

On the other side of the coin, Kelly already played a lot of minutes last year so the extra points would not automatically follow from significantly increased playing time. In any case, looking at the absolute value of the ppg in question, and the many factors that could potentially weigh on it (like losing Maya) is more telling than percentages. Statistically speaking, I don't think it would be a significant achievement for Kelly's scoring to be around 10 ppg this year, other than the fact that it's already a *very* significant achievement for any young woman to do all that she does for the nation's #1 WCBB program. IMO, it would be in line with expectations, both Kelly's and the coaches', for the upcoming season.

I didn't make clear all that I meant by 25%. I did not spell out the assumptions I normally make when discussing basketball stats. You hit on the biggest one of those assumptions, minutes played. When I discuss basketball statistics I assume minutes played are being held constant. I'm interested in her scoring proficiency, not per pts/g. Going from scoring 8 pts/g in 25 minutes played per game to 10 pts/g is not a big job. But Kelly did not play 25 min/g last season. She led the entire team in minutes played. Realistically she's not going to play any more minutes and she may even play less depending on the contributions of other players. A 25% jump in scoring when done are over 33 min/g is a significant jump even if it is only going from 8 pts to 10 pts. Scoring one more basket in 33 min/g is harder than most people expect. That was the crux of my point.

Basketball statistics are something I obviously care about. And my point was also about how we as fans tend to inflate what is realistic in terms of statistics. Could Kelly potentially avg 12 or 13 pts per game this season? Yes, and since she is my favorite UConn player ever I hope she does. She has the ability to easily surpass that if that was her goal, but it is not her goal nor should it be since she is surrounded by more naturally gifted scorers. Will Kelly be more assertive as a scorer? I expect so, but I also don't expect her fundamental personality as a basketball player to change. I just want people to understand that scoring 10 pts per game would be a significant achievement. Scoring two more points per game is harder than people tend to imagine. Just as 15 pts per game is a much higher threshold for a star player at UConn than fans tend to realize. To use another example, when Tiffany Hayes made significant improvements each of the last two seasons those improvements get lost in the cries of disappointment because of unrealistic expectations for All-American seasons. If Kelly averages 10 or 11 points this season I want the significance of that accomplishment to be understood, rather than reading complaints about her not scoring enough. I know that is probably a fantasy world, but it sure would help my frustration level.

 

[UConnCat]

One of the ongoing themes on Chris Dailey's post-game show last year was getting Kelly to look to score before looking to pass. CD emphasized that looking to score first would actually open up more opportunities for assists to her teammates. Regardless of whether Kelly scores more points or gathers more assists, good things will happen if she aggressively looks to score. BTW, Kelly was second on the team in assists last year with 142 (to Maya's 151).

 

[Dairyair]

Nice article on a nice kid...Of course, even while doing the autographs last night, Kelly had her "game face" on! LOL

 

[Kibitzer]

"Game face" plus Bette Davis eyes.

Kidding aside, I expect that Kelly will shoot more and score more and 10+ a game is a reasonable expectation.

I don't much care if this is considered a super 25%+ increase or a modest 2+ per game. Stats can be informative and instructive or they can drive you nuts.

Think of five people in a room, one is aged 96, the other four are one year old (an unlikely "focus group," to be sure). You would be technically correct to say that the average age is 20. (Now you know how the fellows who write ad copy function. Or, worse yet, those who write stuff for political campaigners. )

 

[Cafe Poliziano]

“We didn’t come ready to play the right way. We had gotten used to playing with Maya bailing us out and Coach (Geno) Auriemma had told us all year that wasn’t going to work the whole season and it would come back and bite us. It did.

In a nutshell this describes last season, it is very good to see that they have taken this to heart, they should be a even more devastating a team to play against this season. We as fans are quite fortunate to have quality players and staff that learn. Kelly has the goods to be the player other teams don't want to go up against.