Adamec: Gabby's summer....Rio [no]...2020 [who knows?]

[Blakeon18]

http://snyuconn.com/uconn/uconns-williams-ready-to-raise-the-bar/#more-15963

The link is to Carl's article on Gabby's year and her summer plans regarding hoops.
It sounds like the high jump in Rio is off the table....with it unlikely but possible for 2020.

46% from the free throw line....yikes!

She has been a delight to watch around the basket....my bet is that delight will extend to mid-range next year.
Go Gabby!

 

[Wbbfan1]

Reads like she wants to go back to being a guard.

“I absolutely have my goals, that’s for sure,” Williams said. “I’m hoping that I can improve my shooting. I know that’s something I need to work on. Maybe they’ll pull me off the block a little bit next year and I can get some guard play back in my game. It’s about being able to expand my game. This year a lot of my shots were around the rim. If I can add more range, I’ll be tougher to defend.”

If Gabby is to have a future at the next level, it has to be as a guard or possibly a Wing due to her size. I would also think De'Janae Boykin will get minutes at the PF doing all the dirty work of rebounding and guarding other teams PF's that Gabby was forced to do this year.

 

[tonehill68]

I love her competitive spirit and her willingness to improve. She did play point guard in high school and there should be no reason why she can't be a guard/forward combo player. If she does improve her distance shooting and free throw, she will be unstoppable.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The broader her skills, the harder Gabby will be to guard.

 

[BRS24]

So, is it easier for post player to learn the skill of facing the basket, or for guards to learn how to post up?

 

[Boreifs]

Reads like she wants to go back to being a guard.

“I absolutely have my goals, that’s for sure,” Williams said. “I’m hoping that I can improve my shooting. I know that’s something I need to work on. Maybe they’ll pull me off the block a little bit next year and I can get some guard play back in my game. It’s about being able to expand my game. This year a lot of my shots were around the rim. If I can add more range, I’ll be tougher to defend.”

If Gabby is to have a future at the next level, it has to be as a guard or possibly a Wing due to her size. I would also think De'Janae Boykin will get minutes at the PF doing all the dirty work of rebounding and guarding other teams PF's that Gabby was forced to do this year.

So, you are also of the opinion that Nina Davis has no future in the WNBA or playing professionally overseas? Height is like velocity on the pitcher's mound; raw tools aren't always the determining factor. Just ask any PF who had to guard Charles Barkley.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Didn't mention Nina Davis, but I think at the next level she will also have to expand her game. She did come into college playing a forward in High School and she is 6'1" tall vs Gabby's 5'11" That's two advantages that she has over Gabby She'll be over matched as a PF and will probably end up being a Wing or Scoring Guard. She has Significant quickness and basketball IQ over most of the college players she plays against, both will be lessen at the next level. She has a future in the WNBA, but will she end up as an All Star who knows.

So, you are also of the opinion that Nina Davis has no future in the WNBA or playing professionally overseas? Height is like velocity on the pitcher's mound; raw tools aren't always the determining factor. Just ask any PF who had to guard Charles Barkley.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I love her competitive spirit and her willingness to improve. She did play point guard in high school and there should be no reason why she can't be a guard/forward combo player. If she does improve her distance shooting and free throw, she will be unstoppable.

Gabby is good to better guard, and acceptable at small fwd. He leaping ability gives her a notch up. She has shown she runs the floor well, defends pretty good (better with more big game experience), has quick hands and good hands for catching, got a bit rattled in the big NCAA games but that too will pass with experience---I think her UP side is so high--I think her proper position is floater, ie, to play the position needed against specific teams--those are rare but usually perform well. (floaters that is)--I think Gabby's jumping ability allows her to defend Nina Davis (I love this kid too) and I think Gabby can score on her too--one on one I think the plus goes to Gabby.

 

[BroadwayVa]

So, is it easier for post player to learn the skill of facing the basket, or for guards to learn how to post up?

Posting UP must be the harder to learn -- so few Bigs do it well. New Bigs to College ball are lost "down on the blocks", Gabby seems to do it Naturally--the kid has a great IQ.

 

[NewCorn]

My hope is that Gabby makes a big leap in her outside shooting, and returns to guard where she would be a terror on defense. On offense, she will be able to post up and beat any guard around.

 

[Jonathan Husky]

I would not be surprised to see Gabby play guard next year. We are very strong in the post next year and weaker at guard. Moriah and Kia will start but I think Gabby would be a stronger player than either Chong or Ekmark. If she develops a pull up jumper she would be impossible to cover for most opposing guards. She would also be another strong rebounder from the guard position and a great defender, particularly when we press. She played guard in high school so probably has a good handle to go with her other skills.

 

[UcMiami]

It all depends on her shooting. If she can be consistent from 15' out and confident enough to shoot those shots, then she can be a wing/guard. If not, she will be limited to working the lane as an undersized forward. What impressed me so much with her game this past year was how good she was not just getting her shot off, but doing so with incredible accuracy against taller defenders. I don't think I have seen a freshman that good at playing the angles off the backboard and doing it frequently under duress.

 

[Bonpland]

If she can develop a shot from 12-15 feet she will become the third guard. She has so much to offer physically. If she keeps shooting the way she did this year then she'll be our next Ashley Battle ( a player we all loved). Amazing physical skills, great defender, scoring primarily in transition and on put backs under the basket. Still an important player to have, but with an outside shot she could be AA material.

 

[meyers7]

She did come into college playing a forward in High School and she is 6'1" tall vs Gabby's 5'11"

They are both listed at 5-11.

 

[iri10]

They are both listed at 5-11.

Yeah, they're basically the same size, which is part of why I'm quite impressed with Nina. I mean, Gabby is already impressive, but Nina is basically like a more refined version.

She's got a surprisingly broad set of tools down there - various hooks and floaters and such to go along with her speed and jumping ability. More importantly, she has a good grasp of which tactic to use for a given situation.

Gabby has the athleticism (probably edging out Nina in that category, though not by a large amount), and surprisingly good instincts of her own, especially for someone who wasn't a post in high school. Her overall bag of tools is, for the moment, not as large as Nina's.

That said, I do believe that Nina won't look as effortless in the post in the WNBA as she does now. I think she's good enough to stick around the league as a regular, but not as anything like a star/franchise player. (this assumes she doesn't broaden her own skill set over the next few years)