Another country heard from on Natalie Butler

[winlots]

Asked a contact for some pluses and minuses in their assessment of Butler. Let's get the minuses out of the way first.

MINUSES: a. Not Dolson in terms of mobility. (No, this was not from Bruno, who made a somewhat similar statement, which Geno countered by pointing out that Dolson was not Dolson as a freshman.) b. Somewhat surprising that UCONN took her, because not the usual UCONN "superstar" type of recruit.

PLUSES: a. A very good freshman year. b. The coming year of practice/coaching at UCONN should be VERY beneficial for her development. c. Very good rebounder. d. Can score under the basket. e. Nice shot within 10'. f. The type of player you can count on to be reliable and give you their best. g. Will improve.

(Don't mean to be mysterious here. I don't have the network of connections within women's basketball that many of you do. But given my very strong interest in and enthusiasm for the addition of Butler to our roster, I solicited this input from what could be described fairly as a very well placed source. Thought the observations would be of interest here, but am not at liberty to provide any identifying data about the "country heard from" in terms of role, gender, affiliations, etc. Not that there is anything earth-shaking or particularly controversial in this report, simply that it was provided with confidentiality assured. )

I was surprised at the two negatives. My impression (based on very little) was that Butler was perhaps even more mobile that Dolson.....especially when comparing Frosh to Frosh. And, also have the impression that she might turn out to be AA material as she gains experience at UCONN. Don't know if AA and superstar are one and the same.

 

[Zorro]

All we need her to be is solid, and that looks extremely likely.

 

[sparky]

First of all in women's ball it would be nice to have a superstar center, but it's not critical. The fact that she is a good rebounder, works hard and is teachable speaks volumes . Dolson was special, but she didn't arrive that way. Hard work and UConn coaching made her what she is. Women's ball is guard and forward centric and we have a plethora of those. Rebound hit the open mid range and play solid D. Butler will be a very good all round player when she leaves us.

 

[MilfordHusky]

At the beginning of her frosh year, Stef was a little slow. After the Stanford loss and a good talk with CD, she upped her workouts. She made it to the 6th draft pick. Stef improved a lot over4 years.

Natalie will be practicing against another rebounder extraordinaire in Kiah Stokes, plus Stewie and Morgan. That will help develop her.

 

[Icebear]

Milford, I was about to say the same things. Some considered Stef to be far less than an ideal UCONN recruit. We saw what happened with her development. It will be about Natalie's desire to develop. I'll take Geno and staff's evaluation over anything anyone else says. They have a track record worth banking on.

 

[winlots]

Inadvertently omitted one item: good dribbling ball (not sure how that ties in with the subpar mobility).

I remember comments from the Seton Hall coach after Butler signed; among other things, said something to the effect of her being the "best freshman seen in 14 years of coaching." But then her "maturity" seemed to be highlighted in that context rather than her ability to play the game, so I was not sure just what was being communicated. Perhaps others recall those comments more clearly.

 

[RadyLady]

Milford, I was about to say the same things. Some considered Stef to be far less than an ideal UCONN recruit. We saw what happened with her development. It will be about Natalie's desire to develop. I'll take Geno and staff's evaluation over anything anyone else says. They have a track record worth banking on.

In fact, there was intense scrutiny over at the now defunct ESPN board...She sure proved all of the detracters wrong

 

[Sonny44]

All we need her to be is solid, and that looks extremely likely.

Well put, anything more will be a highly formidable package.

 

[chrissaran]

Natalie proved she can play in her freshman year at Georgetown. With CD and Marissa coaching her, she will move way past what she did as a freshman. Remember, everyone has described Natalie as a gym rat. Oh by the way, does anyone remember the story of Kelly Faris, Ms. Effort Extraordinaire? Other coaches asked Geno why he recruited her. Enough said.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Asked a contact for some pluses and minuses in their assessment of Butler. Let's get the minuses out of the way first.

MINUSES: a. Not Dolson in terms of mobility. (No, this was not from Bruno, who made a somewhat similar statement, which Geno countered by pointing out that Dolson was not Dolson as a freshman.) b. Somewhat surprising that UCONN took her, because not the usual UCONN "superstar" type of recruit.

PLUSES: a. A very good freshman year. b. The coming year of practice/coaching at UCONN should be VERY beneficial for her development. c. Very good rebounder. d. Can score under the basket. e. Nice shot within 10'. f. The type of player you can count on to be reliable and give you their best. g. Will improve.

(Don't mean to be mysterious here. I don't have the network of connections within women's basketball that many of you do. But given my very strong interest in and enthusiasm for the addition of Butler to our roster, I solicited this input from what could be described fairly as a very well placed source. Thought the observations would be of interest here, but am not at liberty to provide any identifying data about the "country heard from" in terms of role, gender, affiliations, etc. Not that there is anything earth-shaking or particularly controversial in this report, simply that it was provided with confidentiality assured. )

I was surprised at the two negatives. My impression (based on very little) was that Butler was perhaps even more mobile that Dolson.....especially when comparing Frosh to Frosh. And, also have the impression that she might turn out to be AA material as she gains experience at UCONN. Don't know if AA and superstar are one and the same.

I also had the impression that she was at least or likely more mobile than was Stef! I'm not sure what to make of your source's input. In any case, I am highly in agreement that the version of Butler that we get will be a pretty good talent who will enhance the team. How many players have come in that haven't improved a great deal in their time at Storrs. When you factor in that Butler is cut out of the same cloth as Stef in regards to work ethic, I'm quite optimistic that she's likely to exceed the expectations of a lot of Boneyarder's by the time she's done! I think there was a few people surprised when Geno took Stef because she wasn't considered to be a high value item when she came in here. Actually the same goes for Kara Wolters who was considered just a big girl with no quickness or mobility at all. Seems she became a player of the year or at least an All-American, didn't she! This coaching staff has done wonders with girls who are willing to work hard to improve. I'm inclined to think we'll see more of the same over the next three years.

 

[Tonyc]

Its great to see everybody excited about Natalie. I am and when I saw she transfered and read about her she is UConn material and at UConn with a year to get ready and with her stats at GTown I have no worries that Geno and the UConn coaching staff will make her another Stef. We all know it takes most post players about 2+ years to be developed and effective at the college level. Natalie's numbers already are better then most post players and a year at UConn working on and tuning her up well the skys the limit.

 

[jsloanjr]

Have we seen any game file on her yet?

 

[tomcat]

Hey, gang, I know the temptation will be to compare her to Dolson, but it's not really fair to her. She's not going to be Dolson, and that's fine. Wouldn't it be nice if Butler could average maybe 7 ppg, 10 rebounds and a few assists? I don't think those would be unrealistic expectations , and those numbers would complement the production of the other players.

 

[UcMiami]

Tomcat and others - yes. We do not need a superstar center or even an AA center to be a very good team. Natalie is not a Tina Charles type prospect, but I think she compares well to the freshman version of Stef from the reports we have been getting. Will she develop as well as Stef ... probably not, but will she perform like Jessica Moore, or Shuey? That would be just fine by me. And that is not to say that she will not follow a Stef type progression, but that we do not need her to for her to be a fabulous addition to the team.

 

[meyers7]

I also had the impression that she was at least or likely more mobile than was Stef!

From the video I have seen of her she seems as mobile as Dolson, "up and down the court". However in lateral quickness, moving the feet when defending, not at Dolson's level. Maybe with work she can get there??

 

[SallyH]

In fact, there was intense scrutiny over at the now defunct ESPN board...She sure proved all of the detracters wrong

Isn't there a new ESPN women's hoops board? I had it, upgraded to a new os and now I can't seem to find it.

 

[meyers7]

Isn't there a new ESPN women's hoops board? I had it, upgraded to a new os and now I can't seem to find it.

Quite a few of the old ESPN posters moved here

http://collegefans.proboards.com/board/176/women-basketball-all-levels

 

[SallyH]

Got it. Thanks, Meyers7.

 

[Buzzyboy]

From the video I have seen of her she seems as mobile as Dolson, "up and down the court". However in lateral quickness, moving the feet when defending, not at Dolson's level. Maybe with work she can get there??

Thanks for that. You just might be right in regard to the lateral quickness. Hopefully with the wonderful trainers (and coaching staff) we have, we will see improvements in both areas over her time at Storrs.

 

[Zorro]

Milford, I was about to say the same things. Some considered Stef to be far less than an ideal UCONN recruit. We saw what happened with her development. It will be about Natalie's desire to develop. I'll take Geno and staff's evaluation over anything anyone else says. They have a track record worth banking on.

Ya think?

 

[chrissaran]

Why are there so many pessimists. How do you know she's not going to be Dolson. As Geno said Stef wasn't Stef when she came to UConn, and if you say you saw how great Stef would become, you are full of it. Natalie is going to be incredible. Thanks to those of you who are being positive about a unique talent.

 

[meyers7]

Why are there so many pessimists. How do you know she's not going to be Dolson. As Geno said Stef wasn't Stef when she came to UConn, and if you say you saw how great Stef would become, you are full of it. Natalie is going to be incredible. Thanks to those of you who are being positive about a unique talent.

I take offense to that. I knew she was gonna be a very very good player first time I saw her (McD's game). Sorry you missed it.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Hey, gang, I know the temptation will be to compare her to Dolson, but it's not really fair to her. She's not going to be Dolson, and that's fine. Wouldn't it be nice if Butler could average maybe 7 ppg, 10 rebounds and a few assists? I don't think those would be unrealistic expectations , and those numbers would complement the production of the other players.

I agree with the fact that she's not going to be another Dolson, she'll be different but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. She may not be as good a passer but she may be a better rebounder. She may not be able to hit the 15 to 18 foot jumpshots but maybe she'll score more on the low blocks because she'll be a better offensive rebounder and get a lot of put back points. We won't know any of those particulars until 2015 but I venture to say, as you have, that she'll be a really nice addition to the front line.

 

[winlots]

Perhaps the issue it not will she be identical to or a clone of Dolson (obviously she won't), but might she be every bit as valuable as Dolson was over the course of her career, though in a different style and with somewhat different attributes.

 

[WesternPaFan]

So well said,winlots,I agree.