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Message: [QUOTE="diggerfoot, post: 3031626, member: 1673"] The fan battle between Samuelson and Collier supporters is more intense than I've seen for any other two UConn players. Because they bring two completely different things to the table I personally do not know, nor care, which one really is "better." However, I can make a prediction about who conventional wisdom will claim is the best at the end of the year based on what I've seen. I believe Samuelson, because of her, um, photogenic nature, as been overhyped, or Collier neglected, by the media. In contrast, perhaps as a reaction, Samuelson has been unfairly criticized more than Collier. I think Mater Dei must have a special coach, because both KML and Samuelson came in with advanced understandings for how to play within the team framework. Samuelson critics seem to ignore that completely. Collier has one of the best motors and most consistency of any Husky player ever. While neither is in the class of Stewart or Moore, they remind me of a similar contrast. Freshman through senior year Moore was the best UConn player in terms of individual performance, but Stewart's senior year was the single best year for what she brought both offensively and defensively. Something similar occurs with Collier and Samuelson. Collier is more consistently great, but Samuelson's best, when it occurs, is a little bit better. Consider that the best quarter we played against an elite team, the fourth against Notre Dame, Collier was not even in the lineup. The team's pinnacle depends on Samuelson's pinnacle more than Collier's. We can assume Collier will play great throughout, but we will win it all only if Samuelson is firing on all cylinders. Here's my prediction then. If we win it all this year, the conventional wisdom will be that Samuelson was our best player this year. If we come up short again, the conventional wisdom will hold that Collier was our best player this year. I know neither end results nor conventional wisdom will sway champions of either player, nor will my mind ever be made up as to who was the better player in a Husky uniform. Nor will this change Collier being underhyped or Samuelson over criticized, but one can hope. And yes, I tend to be bothered more by errant criticism than being unfairly overlooked, which is why I find myself often defending Samuelson. [/QUOTE]

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