AP Preseason All-America Team

[Buzzyboy]

Stokes for her career averages 4.5 points per game and has started 3 games. Williams is a 3x AP All American, 3x ACC Defensive POY, and averages 14ppg for her career. Both are talented players who have a lot of potential, but even with all the flack she gets, Williams is a much more established, talented player than Stokes.

Williams numbers are distorted against horrible mismatches. When she's playing someone with some real athletic abilities and it's crunch time, she is totally MIA. We've seen it time and time again, not only against UConn but against other teams who play defense and have mobile interior players. Very overrated though probably a wonderful kid. She can't help how people evaluate her. I'm sure she's just trying to be the best she can be but in my mind, it certainly isn't at an All-American level.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Stokes for her career averages 4.5 points per game and has started 3 games. Williams is a 3x AP All American, 3x ACC Defensive POY, and averages 14ppg for her career. Both are talented players who have a lot of potential, but even with all the flack she gets, Williams is a much more established, talented player than Stokes.

I didn't directly compare them as players, but rather said both are supremely talented and both have a rep of not playing to their full potential.

But let's compare their numbers using a fair marker:

Elizabeth Williams has averaged 30 minutes played per game over her career with these stats:

14.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.2 blocks, and 51% shooting


Kiah Stokes' career numbers extrapolated over 30 minutes:

8.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, and 61% shooting


I would suggest it's no certainty that Williams is a much more talented player than Stokes.

 

[Orangutan]

Williams numbers are distorted against horrible mismatches. When she's playing someone with some real athletic abilities and it's crunch time, she is totally MIA. We've seen it time and time again, not only against UConn but against other teams who play defense and have mobile interior players. Very overrated though probably a wonderful kid. She can't help how people evaluate her. I'm sure she's just trying to be the best she can be but in my mind, it certainly isn't at an All-American level.

Dunno if you consider Achonwa someone with "real athletic abilities" but Williams did ok against her at times. In three games last year: 20 pts, 6 reb; 17 pts, 16 reb; and...4 pts, 7 reb.

My observation is that she struggles with consistency. She is talented enough to put up 20 and 10 every game but she doesn't seem to have the mindset to do it.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Here are Stokes' numbers from her junior season per 30 minutes played:

7.3 points, 11.6 rebounds, 3.7 blocks


These are the stats I'm looking/hoping for from her this year with 28-30 minutes per game.

 

[PalPa]

What does it say about point guards that Niya Johnson, who led the nation in assist to turnover ration last year is not on the list? It is hard to get recognized for efficiently running the offense but not scoring a lot of points.

She needs to play on a better team, like TAM for example.

 

[DavidinNaples]

Kayla Woodward, a 5'11" forward from Wyoming, was one of the "other players receiving votes" for AP Preseason All-American. I was curious to see a player from Wyoming getting votes, so I worked up a little stats comparison to MoJeff. I don't want to pick on Kayla, but I can't help think the committee looks for someone (anyone) from different schools to round out the "other players receiving votes." In any case, the comparison isn't even close, even though they play different positions. She is a senior, playing on a team that went 20-11 and had no other All-Americans. Let's see how her stats compare to Moriah Jefferson.

Points - Kayla led her team & scored 519 points (16.7 per game), taking 473 shots from the field and making 40.4%. MoJeff scored 400 points (10.0 per), but took only 273 shots, making 57.5%. (If MoJeff took 200 more shots and only made 40%, she would have scored 160 more points, at least.)

Three pt shots - Woodward took 208 3-pt shots, making 38%. Moriah took only 79, but made 42%.

Rebounds - Woodward grabbed 221 rebounds, which was 2nd on her team to a 6 foot guard. Jefferson had 136 rebounds, 6th on her team. MoJeff competed w/ Stef (371), Breanna (324), Kiah (278), among others for rebounds.

Assists, steals & blocks - Kayla had 53 assists, 40 steals & 11 blocked shots. MoJeff had 195 assists, 106 steals & 9 blocked shots. Total domination by MoJeff of the "individual stats." (Yes, I know passing to Stewie & KML helps)

Turnovers - Woodward has 74 turnovers vs. 66 for Moriah, who handled the ball far more, against better competition.

Summary: Woodward had the edge in rebounds and scoring. However, MoJeff competed w/ Stef, Stewie and Kiah for rebounds. In scoring, Kayla took 200 more shots and 129 of those were 3's. The extra 119 points were attributable to taking far more shots since MoJeff was more accurate from the field (57.5% vs 40.4%), from 3 pt arc (42% vs 38%) and the free throw line (77% vs 68%). Assists, steals & turnovers were totally dominated by Jefferson. Not even close. I think MoJeff got screwed by geography....

Go Huskies..!!

 

[Frodo]

it was totally predictable that Williams would be on the 1st team, and equally nuts. She just plain isn't that good. I don't know if I'd have her on my honorable mention list.

 

[huskeynut]

Great for Stewie and KML. Both deserve the recognition and have earned it.

But, I believe it was two or three years ago that we played Duke and Kiah cleaned Williams clock. It was total domination on Kiah's part. So I am surprised and disappointed that Williams is on the first team.

No MoJeff is just nuts.

We'll see what the end of the year brings. Another national championship cures a lot of ills.

 

[Vowelguy]

career numbers extrapolated over 30 minutes:

I'm NOT talking about Stokes but I can't stand "extrapolated over 30 minutes" measures. If a player is playing only 5 minutes, there's a reason. And to just wipe that away and average the data is very misleading. I think by the "per minute" criteria, Christine Rigby would be the greatest Husky ever. She played about 2 minutes per game and usually scored a couple of baskets. Extrapolated over 30 minutes, that's 60 points/game.
Again, not about Stokes, just a soap box issue for me.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I'm NOT talking about Stokes but I can't stand "extrapolated over 30 minutes" measures. If a player is playing only 5 minutes, there's a reason.
And to just wipe that away and average the data is very misleading. I think by the "per minute" criteria, Christine Rigby would be the greatest Husky ever. She played about 2 minutes per game and usually scored a couple of baskets. Extrapolated over 30 minutes, that's 60 points/game.
Again, not about Stokes, just a soap box issue for me.

Five minutes, sure. Notice above I extrapolated using Stokes' 18.5 per game from last year, a number that certainly would've been higher if not for Dolson. That's 61% of Williams' PT which I think is enough to give us a decent estimation.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Or if you want, simply average William's numbers out over 18.5 per game.

 

[pap49cba]

These lists are USELESS. The only lists that matter are the ones at the end of the season.

 

[Kibitzer]

Clearly, there is an unwritten rule within media that decrees that no team is to have more than two AA's. Moriah is a victim of this bias.

I am old enough to remember a similar "rule" in the NBA: Never start more than two black players.

Red Auerbach (who else?) was the first coach to see how stupid this "rule" was.

And we know how that turned out.

 

[HGN]

Jewell Loyd: "The only person who knows how to guard me is my brother," Loyd said. "I think guarding me, it's tough because I'm not just a shooter or a driver; I switch it up at times. A lot of people haven't seen me pass, so that's another aspect of my game that's coming to life definitely more this year. I don't know. I wouldn't guard me. I would not want to get embarrassed by myself." Humility

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...ish-reload-another-shot-national-championship

That's why she shot 27% from the field in the NC game instead of her season average 52%. And the passing she mentions -she got 2 assists, so I guess that's something...

You know , I like Jewell's statement.....But for a different reason......Shows a lot of confidence but instills a lot of motivation to opponents , ... a la UConn guards. Loyd is going to try to have a big game when ND plays UConn early this season , and she just may have a good game. Win , lose , or draw. But I will bet that the UConn guards put the clamps on her if they meet in the NCAA's.

No one denies that she is good. But it's something else to say that you're totally unguardable by anyone. The Huskies will file this statement back and pull it out when the teams meet when the Trophy is on the line.

Words , when stated with no humility , can be a powerful motivator.

LET'S GO HUSKIES!!

 

[Sonny44]

Wonder how we got away with that? I'm going to have to go back and watch the NC game again, I must have missed him.

He was behind the scenes as a consultant, mostly at our practices.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Jewell Loyd: "The only person who knows how to guard me is my brother," Loyd said. "I think guarding me, it's tough because I'm not just a shooter or a driver; I switch it up at times. A lot of people haven't seen me pass, so that's another aspect of my game that's coming to life definitely more this year. I don't know. I wouldn't guard me. I would not want to get embarrassed by myself." Humility

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...ish-reload-another-shot-national-championship

That's why she shot 27% from the field in the NC game instead of her season average 52%. And the passing she mentions -she got 2 assists, so I guess that's something...

Between MoJett and Gabby, I'm looking for a dismal game by Jewell at the FF. Especially if Geno keeps the scheme under wraps during the regular season game.

 

[bballnut90]

Williams numbers are distorted against horrible mismatches. When she's playing someone with some real athletic abilities and it's crunch time, she is totally MIA. We've seen it time and time again, not only against UConn but against other teams who play defense and have mobile interior players. Very overrated though probably a wonderful kid. She can't help how people evaluate her. I'm sure she's just trying to be the best she can be but in my mind, it certainly isn't at an All-American level.

She had 28 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks against UNC last year, 17/11, 3 blocks and 4 steals against Maryland, 20/6 against Notre Dame, 17/16 against Notre Dame, etc. She is inconsistent, but she can put up big numbers. If she finds consistency this year, she could be one of the better players in the nation.

 

[msf22b]

Jewel Loyd is a great player.
She may have given a dumb interview but she can go off at any time.
I don't think it's a given that anyone stops her on a night she's hot.

But it'll be fun seeing Mo try.

 

[EricSD]

It's just a preseason list. Not sure if it "fires" up the players who didn't make it, or were lower than expected, but if it does, good for them. Moriah was one of 5 finalists for the Top PG in the land award, and could easily have won if not for some random player named Sims... but point is she probably was the 2nd best PG in the nation last year.

I honestly expect MJ to win the award this year and also to be a 1st team AA by the end of the season. I don't care how many UCONN players are on the team - she will likely earn her way on it.

 

[LadyVols9]

Williams over Harrison is a joke.

 

[EricSD]

Five minutes, sure. Notice above I extrapolated using Stokes' 18.5 per game from last year, a number that certainly would've been higher if not for Dolson. That's 61% of Williams' PT which I think is enough to give us a decent estimation.

I'm with you and couldn't disagree with Vowel more. There's "usually a reason"? Yeah - Stokes was playing behind an AA center who was taken 6th in the WNBA draft. How else can you compare players who play a disparate number of minutes? Any way agree with you 100% FWIW.

To use Rigby as an example is just silly. Anyway, keep on with your stats. Love em...

 

[j66kicker]

Jewel Loyd is a great player.
She may have given a dumb interview but she can go off at any time.
I don't think it's a given that anyone stops her on a night she's hot.

But it'll be fun seeing Mo try.

Agree Loyd is a great player. She may have a tendency to get hotter when playing inferior opponents. Would love to see Moriah shut her down twice - once in the regular season game (AA voting before NCAAs?), and again in the tourney.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'll be happy as long as Moriah makes the WBCA AA team. I would love for the name of all five starters from that transcendent 2013-2014 team to be on the Huskies of Honor Wall. Bria and Stef are already on it, KML and Stewie have secured their spots, and it's all about Moriah being considered one of the 10 best players in the country this season.

As for Kaleena, I thought she deserved AP AA honors in 2012-13, and it'd be wonderful if she made that cut in 2015.

I think Moriah makes a 10-player team this year. She's in charge of this team and she'll simply take over games. She had 19 points in the exhibition opener. She'll score a lot more than 10 ppg this season.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Jewell Loyd is athletic, talented, and confident, but not humble. She's missing a key trait, in my book.

 

[j66kicker]

Jewell Loyd is athletic, talented, and confident, but not humble. She's missing a key trait, in my book.

Some great players are not humble (Michael Jordan & Diana Taurasi, for example), but that doesn't mean they have to tell everyone how great they are. If JL was so great that nobody could guard her (except her brother), then we'd all be saying it without her having to point it out.

 

[Orangutan]

Jewell Loyd is athletic, talented, and confident, but not humble. She's missing a key trait, in my book.

Honestly, that quote is so out of character for her.

Not that it really matters, but I never thought I'd see the day when Loyd was criticized for a lack of humility.

 

[j66kicker]

Honestly, that quote is so out of character for her.

Not that it really matters, but I never thought I'd see the day when Loyd was criticized for a lack of humility.

She may have been taken advantage of, or taken out of context, by the interviewer (Michelle Smith). Being a Notre Dame payer, I'm sure she's really very humble. (Like Skylar Diggins)

 

[Buzzyboy]

She had 28 points, 7 boards, 5 blocks against UNC last year, 17/11, 3 blocks and 4 steals against Maryland, 20/6 against Notre Dame, 17/16 against Notre Dame, etc. She is inconsistent, but she can put up big numbers. If she finds consistency this year, she could be one of the better players in the nation.

I can tell you that getting big numbers against North Carolina and Maryland isn't overly impressive to me since neither of those teams come across as well coached teams defensively. They play basketball less like a team and more like they're playing playground basketball. I think there's a matchup issue with Notre Dame that helped amp up her stats against them. One of the issues with the defense of her making first team All-American that I think is silly is when people say she's very talented but totally inconsistent. If that's the case and has been for 3 years, then she is NOT an All-American! No one who doesn't bring it night after night after night should be considered for that type of accolade. Someone might have an off night but to be so totally inconsistent, particularly in big games, shouldn't even be considered. End of story!

 

[reno tony]

I can't wrap my head around a Nancy Lieberman top five finalist not getting any votes. She held the eventual winner, Sims, to 4 of 25 shooting last year. The only reasoning that makes some sense to me is they didn't want to vote for too many UCONN players. There will certainly be a large group of point guards that line up against Moriah this year that will wonder why she didn't get any votes.

45 TO GO​

 

[slug25]

It must have been that SID's at each school were limited to two nominees for the AA team and Moriah's name was left off the ballot as a result. Moriah has too great a reputation already to have been totally snubbed.