Article: UConn’s Gabby Williams shows off expanded game in exhibition win

[StarMan]

http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20...ams-shows-off-expanded-game-in-exhibition-win

 

[Bonpland]

It was hard not to be impressed with her performance last night. As the article points out, she showed things in her twenty-five minutes that weren't a part of her game last year.

 

[EricLA]

LOVE seeing this information about her. Sprinting coast to coast with the ball, 15 foot jumpers, and hitting FT's indeed was something she did not have in her arsenal last year. It's easy to forget - before her injuries that sidelined her for 2 years in high school, one recruiting service had her as the #2 kid in the class... She and Nurse are special!!

 

[EricLA]

Side note - Morgan was taken out of the game for knee issues, not something else like possibly speculated by some. I always hold my breath when anything about Morgan's knees are mentioned, but what can you do?

“Rosemary (Ragle, UConn’s athletic trainer) took Morgan out because she was complaining about her knee, that she felt something on one of her layups but she is fine.”

 

[BroadwayVa]

LOVE seeing this information about her. Sprinting coast to coast with the ball, 15 foot jumpers, and hitting FT's indeed was something she did not have in her arsenal last year. It's easy to forget - before her injuries that sidelined her for 2 years in high school, one recruiting service had her as the #2 kid in the class... She and Nurse are special!!

I missed the bit of Gabby hitting 15 footer's --I was impressed with her FT improvement but to me the 15 footer is the headline news. This says --COMPLETE player.

 

[huskyd]

Side note - Morgan was taken out of the game for knee issues, not something else like possibly speculated by some. I always hold my breath when anything about Morgan's knees are mentioned, but what can you do?

“Rosemary (Ragle, UConn’s athletic trainer) took Morgan out because she was complaining about her knee, that she felt something on one of her layups but she is fine.”

Yup, I agree, eric. In fact the first thing I looked for this morning was something about Morgan's condition. She started the game w/out her brace, put the brace on after she took a break, then was gone for the rest of the game. You may recall that Morgn's season-ending surgery utilized a new medical technique; it was far from assured that she would return as she did in great shape. I'm afraid we may have gotten complacent about her return to complete health. Women suffer from more knee injuries in sports than do men, according to a surgeon friend. Because she's made herself so important to the team, losing her would be the worst possible blow to the team's core of stars. Some players are irreplaceable.

 

[BJLfromBK]

Yup, I agree, eric. In fact the first thing I looked for this morning was something about Morgan's condition. She started the game w/out her brace, put the brace on after she took a break, then was gone for the rest of the game. You may recall that Morgn's season-ending surgery utilized a new medical technique; it was far from assured that she would return as she did in great shape. I'm afraid we may have gotten complacent about her return to complete health. Women suffer from more knee injuries in sports than do men, according to a surgeon friend. Because she's made herself so important to the team, losing her would be the worst possible blow to the team's core of stars. Some players are irreplaceable.

Do you have info on the medical technique used? I'm studying pt and curious

 

[BroadwayVa]

Yup, I agree, eric. In fact the first thing I looked for this morning was something about Morgan's condition. She started the game w/out her brace, put the brace on after she took a break, then was gone for the rest of the game. You may recall that Morgn's season-ending surgery utilized a new medical technique; it was far from assured that she would return as she did in great shape. I'm afraid we may have gotten complacent about her return to complete health. Women suffer from more knee injuries in sports than do men, according to a surgeon friend. Because she's made herself so important to the team, losing her would be the worst possible blow to the team's core of stars. Some players are irreplaceable.

Knee issues, I can attest to 2 years after surgery still in lingering, bad, pain, doctors can't always fix and can't always see the crux of the pain.
So some pains, if you won't be grogged up with drugs, you just have to live with. Tuck may be in that category--pain reduction, not elimination. It is no fun---especially if you are a highly talented, aggressive, hard playing young woman. Love Tuck. Tell your Surgeon friend to do a follow up study of MEN who ran, played sports like Football or basketball, or jogged to far into life- the-cushion the knee joint rests upon with pounding takes on a lot of wear and tear. Today they replace that "pad" for young people.

 

[easttexastrash]

Sounds like Williams could become the 5th starter based on her performance compared to that of KLS?

 

[TitleTown]

Do you have info on the medical technique used? I'm studying pt and curious

I believe she had micro-fracture surgery.

 

[magic]

Sorry, but I just did not see that much difference in Gabby's game. When she begins to make shots " consistently " from 15-18 ft., then she will make a big jump.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Sorry, but I just did not see that much difference in Gabby's game. When she begins to make shots " consistently " from 15-18 ft., then she will make a big jump.

Hey Magic - You are right--there wasn't much difference in GAbby's game. She just had her typical double-double with good defense. I was surprised that no one else had a double-double last night.

 

[Kibitzer]

Sorry, but I just did not see that much difference in Gabby's game. When she begins to make shots " consistently " from 15-18 ft., then she will make a big jump.

She has made the big jump. IIRC, she had six double-doubles last year. She will double that this season.

And she will smother whomever she defends. Take it to the bank.

 

[johnnyc]

Sounds like Williams could become the 5th starter based on her performance compared to that of KLS?

She could definitely start but I think she would be more valuable being the first player off the bench. Imo.....it really doesn't matter who the fifth starter is (with Butler injured) with the likes of Stewart, Jefferson Tuck and Nurse on the floor. In that way UConn can keep the momentum going into the first substitution with a relatively experienced player.

 

[CocoHusky]

Do you have info on the medical technique used? I'm studying pt and curious

Morgan's had microfracture surgery designed to increase circulation, reduce pain and inflammation in her right knee.
http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...necticut-huskies-season-microfracture-surgery

 

[Geno-ista]

Gabby looked seasoned out there. She looked like she knew where she was supposed to be on both ends of the court. That wasn't always the case last year. She was nailing her foul shots and developed a beautiful soft stroke. She was hitting soft pull up jumpers. She played every second with a purpose. Snared every rebound near her. She was directing traffic and vocal with the freshmen out there. She was absolutely the brightest thing that we saw on the court- as far as the huge sophomore jump that we all hoped for. Morgan was 100% correct. Kia Nurse looks like a first team all American in my opinion. Her 3pt shots were going in before the ball left her hands. And the rest of her game with these pull up jumpers off the backboard- omg! She can finish at the hoop. She now is deadly on the pull up mid range jumper. And her three pt stroke looks automatic. Mo Jef was unreal, driving the hoop. And her 3 pt shooting is or was a last resort and lights out. Collier is a player already. Her body is ready to bang the bigs under the boards already. KLS handles the ball better than I imagined she would at 6-3". She was off on her 3 pt shooting obviously then drained a few. She's going to be something when she relaxes a nit. Nice release and seamed to be in the flow of the game pretty well too.

 

[Geno-ista]

Morgan did not look like Morgan last night. Her first 3-4 shots were blocked. Then she made a beautiful reverse layup from a really slick move. But she wasn't herself.
Stewie was awesome. Then she started to take and drain threes later in the game- at will.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Gabby looked seasoned out there. She looked like she knew where she was supposed to be on both ends of the court. That wasn't always the case last year. She was nailing her foul shots and developed a beautiful soft stroke. She was hitting soft pull up jumpers. She played every second with a purpose. Snared every rebound near her. She was directing traffic and vocal with the freshmen out there. She was absolutely the brightest thing that we saw on the court- as far as the huge sophomore jump that we all hoped for. Morgan was 100% correct. Kia Nurse looks like a first team all American in my opinion. Her 3pt shots were going in before the ball left her hands. And the rest of her game with these pull up jumpers off the backboard- omg! She can finish at the hoop. She now is deadly on the pull up mid range jumper. And her three pt stroke looks automatic. Mo Jef was unreal, driving the hoop. And her 3 pt shooting is or was a last resort and lights out. Collier is a player already. Her body is ready to bang the bigs under the boards already. KLS handles the ball better than I imagined she would at 6-3". She was off on her 3 pt shooting obviously then drained a few. She's going to be something when she relaxes a nit. Nice release and seamed to be in the flow of the game pretty well too.

Was that great or what!?!

 

[Bigpetunia]

I am somewhat mystified by the reluctance of many of my fellow fans to embrace all that Gabby brings to the lineup and the unique talents she displays. Sure, we all tend to think about offensive production before anything else in player evaluation, and want our favorite players to be scoring machines. Certainly, such players are needed on every successful team, but I think many fans and posters tend to overlook the extent to which basketball is a game where specific roles matter greatly. Everyone wants to focus on whether or not Gabby is hitting 15 ft. jumpers while under-emphasizing the fact that she is a rebounding ball hawk and plays super-high-energy, smothering defense. This team is not, and will not be, short on offensive statistics. I sometimes have trouble understanding how fans who were treated to all the gifts that a player like Kelly Faris brought to the table fail to fully appreciate how much "roles" matter in this game.

 

[Kibitzer]

I am somewhat mystified by the reluctance of many of my fellow fans to embrace all that Gabby brings to the lineup and the unique talents she displays.matter in this game.

Let me help you understand the fans that have you mystified. The applicable term is low BB IQ.

 

[JoePgh]

I am somewhat mystified by the reluctance of many of my fellow fans to embrace all that Gabby brings to the lineup and the unique talents she displays. Sure, we all tend to think about offensive production before anything else in player evaluation, and want our favorite players to be scoring machines. Certainly, such players are needed on every successful team, but I think many fans and posters tend to overlook the extent to which basketball is a game where specific roles matter greatly. Everyone wants to focus on whether or not Gabby is hitting 15 ft. jumpers while under-emphasizing the fact that she is a rebounding ball hawk and plays super-high-energy, smothering defense. This team is not, and will not be, short on offensive statistics. I sometimes have trouble understanding how fans who were treated to all the gifts that a player like Kelly Faris brought to the table fail to fully appreciate how much "roles" matter in this game.

I think the reservations about Gabby arise from the fact that she is really not big enough (despite her leaping ability) to play predominantly in the paint, and if she plays on the perimeter on offense without being a credible threat to hit shots from there, she just becomes (like Kelly before her senior year) someone that the defense doesn't have to guard -- which then enables them to double-team Stewie.

From Geno's comments about her, I think he agrees with everything you said, but also recognizes what I just said. It is a conundrum, and (since neither Lou nor Napheesa looked quite ready to grab that 5th spot) may be something that he decides to live with, just as he lived with Kelly's lack of a perimeter game because of all her other contributions.

I hadn't been an enthusiast for the view that Natalie Butler should be the 5th starter, but with Stewie's 3-ball seemingly more reliable, that becomes a more viable option. If Stewie really can hit 38-40% from the 3-point line, then she can play the "3" on offense and the "5" on defense, and Gabby can become the third or fourth guard.

 

[wbfree]

It was hard not to be impressed with her performance last night. As the article points out, she showed things in her twenty-five minutes that weren't a part of her game last year.

She reminds me of Dennis Rodman as a rebounder. She goes hard for each rebound and she's fearless. Also, her perimeter D is excellent.

 

[Sonny44]

She has made the big jump. IIRC, she had six double-doubles last year. She will double that this season.

And she will smother whomever she defends. Take it to the bank.

If she doubles her double-double would that be a quadruple; first one in WCBB history?
One improvement I can see is to reduce her fouling.

 

[magic]

Hey Magic - You are right--there wasn't much difference in GAbby's game. She just had her typical double-double with good defense. I was surprised that no one else had a double-double last night.

Hey PhillyCoach, I would have hoped she would have improved her foul shooting in the off season. Now, let's see if she can put up those double doubles against Ohio State, The Irish, Maryland, and South Carolina. I hope she can. But she will need to expand her game beyond 8 ft. from the basket on a consistent basis.

 

[iamcbs]

Sorry, but I just did not see that much difference in Gabby's game. When she begins to make shots " consistently " from 15-18 ft., then she will make a big jump.

I agree 100%, she didn't anything differently than she did last year with the notable exception of making FT's.