Assessing Our Returning Players

[CTtoSanDiego]

Each of our returning players has definite weaknesses. (Don't worry, they all have strengths, too.)

First, here's what's wrong with each of them, as I see it (and I watched pretty much every minute of every game):

Crystal: She’s too short! Though she is generally a good shooter from distance, she takes too many 3pt shots from WAY beyond the arc… and she is frequently off balance on deep shots. She is also not very good at running down the clock and getting or creating a good shot in end of quarter situations.

Christyn: She has been wildly inconsistent. Defense is a challenge – her man gets by her much too easily. Her passing needs improving.

Megan: She has bad hands. Frequently fumbles passes, and loses control of the ball when she drives into traffic. She is very poor at finishing at the rim – I think her bad hands are much of the problem here.

ONO: She doesn’t finish strong at the rim, especially through contact. Her inconsistent free throw shooting compounds this problem. She fouls much too frequently. Needs to get stronger (duh).

Molly: Gets too frantic much of the time, leading to unnecessary turnovers. Seems to think too much.

Kyla: Slow afoot, no leaping ability. Both make defense a challenge for her.

Mikayla: Disjointed shooting form means she almost never makes a shot other than a layup.

Batouly: Can’t stay healthy enough to contribute even a little.

Now, here’s what right with each of our players:

Crystal: Fantastic court vision. Electrifying passer. Good pull up jumper. Tenacious defender. Great speed.

Christyn: Fearless when she wants to be. Creates her own shot better than anyone else on the team. Good offensive rebounder. Attacks the hoop well. Pretty good 3pt shooter.

Megan: Strong rebounder and interior defender (especially for her size). Good 3pt shooter.

ONO: Tremendous defender, both on and off ball (when she doesn't foul). Excellent rebounder. Fast and agile for her size.

Molly: Excellent 3pt shooter. Hard worker. Good passer when she stays under control.

Kyla: Good passer. Good shooter when open. Works hard, does the dirty work (draws charges, etc)

Mikayla: Tremendous defender. Excellent ball handler. Extremely athletic. Always hustling.

Batouly: Very strong. Good around the rim. Underrated mid-range shot. Great teammate (from all reports, one of the most popular players on the team).

 

[winlots]

CTto: Interesting from top to bottom. Appreciated here.

 

[BostonCanuck]

I expect a lot to change before this fall with some of our starters.

As the playoff season showed, Crystal really needs to work on her general basketball IQ over the off season. Her shot clock and game clock management lags far behind her electrifying passing and playmaking abilities. And the occasions when she calls her own number are often a head scratcher, such as when heaving up a three ball out of nowhere early in possessions.

Megan made enormous strides this year. She has ice water in her veins, and the kind of mental toughness that the three most recent senior classes have unfortunately lacked. But I just don't know what to make of her lack of touch around the rim, especially from the player who had the sweetest 3-point jumper on the team. I think she needs to get leaner and more nimble over the post season. I'd recommend she take the Kyra Irwin crash program in fitness and conditioning. And practice, practice, practice those layups!

With respect to ONO, if she fixes only one thing, it should be to stop bringing the ball down from above her head on o-boards and passes into the post. I'm sure her strength and conditioning will be at another level, and so her sophomore leap could be huge.

I'm not the least bit worried about Christyn. She'll be an absolute beast next year.

Go Huskies!

 

[PacoBlaze]

Interesting...I don't think that I have ever seen these attributes discussed on WBB forum before, so it's appreciated.

 

[Argonaut]

Molly, Kyla, & Mikayla - Be more confident.

 

[HopJim]

Each of our returning players has definite weaknesses. (Don't worry, they all have strengths, too.)

First, here's what's wrong with each of them, as I see it (and I watched pretty much every minute of every game):

Crystal: She’s too short! Though she is generally a good shooter from distance, she takes too many 3pt shots from WAY beyond the arc… and she is frequently off balance on deep shots. She is also not very good at running down the clock and getting or creating a good shot in end of quarter situations.

Christyn: She has been wildly inconsistent. Defense is a challenge – her man gets by her much too easily. Her passing needs improving.

Megan: She has bad hands. Frequently fumbles passes, and loses control of the ball when she drives into traffic. She is very poor at finishing at the rim – I think her bad hands are much of the problem here.

ONO: She doesn’t finish strong at the rim, especially through contact. Her inconsistent free throw shooting compounds this problem. She fouls much too frequently. Needs to get stronger (duh).

Molly: Gets too frantic much of the time, leading to unnecessary turnovers. Seems to think too much.

Kyla: Slow afoot, no leaping ability. Both make defense a challenge for her.

Mikayla: Disjointed shooting form means she almost never makes a shot other than a layup.

Batouly: Can’t stay healthy enough to contribute even a little.

Now, here’s what right with each of our players:

Crystal: Fantastic court vision. Electrifying passer. Good pull up jumper. Tenacious defender. Great speed.

Christyn: Fearless when she wants to be. Creates her own shot better than anyone else on the team. Good offensive rebounder. Attacks the hoop well. Pretty good 3pt shooter.

Megan: Strong rebounder and interior defender (especially for her size). Good 3pt shooter.

ONO: Tremendous defender, both on and off ball (when she doesn't foul). Excellent rebounder. Fast and agile for her size.

Molly: Excellent 3pt shooter. Hard worker. Good passer when she stays under control.

Kyla: Good passer. Good shooter when open. Works hard, does the dirty work (draws charges, etc)

Mikayla: Tremendous defender. Excellent ball handler. Extremely athletic. Always hustling.

Batouly: Very strong. Good around the rim. Underrated mid-range shot. Great teammate (from all reports, one of the most popular players on the team).

Excellent post, particularly for early in off season. Little to add other than Danger's defense, particularly late in big games, has often been suspect. I actually saw improvement in William's defense. She has a solid body and don't let others overpower her. The biggest issue is ONO's tendency to slap down on blocks, drawing fouls. Not sure we can rate her defense as "good" until she proves she can stay in games.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Each of our returning players has definite weaknesses. (Don't worry, they all have strengths, too.)

First, here's what's wrong with each of them, as I see it (and I watched pretty much every minute of every game):

Crystal: She’s too short! Though she is generally a good shooter from distance, she takes too many 3pt shots from WAY beyond the arc… and she is frequently off balance on deep shots. She is also not very good at running down the clock and getting or creating a good shot in end of quarter situations.

Christyn: She has been wildly inconsistent. Defense is a challenge – her man gets by her much too easily. Her passing needs improving.

Megan: She has bad hands. Frequently fumbles passes, and loses control of the ball when she drives into traffic. She is very poor at finishing at the rim – I think her bad hands are much of the problem here.

ONO: She doesn’t finish strong at the rim, especially through contact. Her inconsistent free throw shooting compounds this problem. She fouls much too frequently. Needs to get stronger (duh).

Molly: Gets too frantic much of the time, leading to unnecessary turnovers. Seems to think too much.

Kyla: Slow afoot, no leaping ability. Both make defense a challenge for her.

Mikayla: Disjointed shooting form means she almost never makes a shot other than a layup.

Batouly: Can’t stay healthy enough to contribute even a little.

Now, here’s what right with each of our players:

Crystal: Fantastic court vision. Electrifying passer. Good pull up jumper. Tenacious defender. Great speed.

Christyn: Fearless when she wants to be. Creates her own shot better than anyone else on the team. Good offensive rebounder. Attacks the hoop well. Pretty good 3pt shooter.

Megan: Strong rebounder and interior defender (especially for her size). Good 3pt shooter.

ONO: Tremendous defender, both on and off ball (when she doesn't foul). Excellent rebounder. Fast and agile for her size.

Molly: Excellent 3pt shooter. Hard worker. Good passer when she stays under control.

Kyla: Good passer. Good shooter when open. Works hard, does the dirty work (draws charges, etc)

Mikayla: Tremendous defender. Excellent ball handler. Extremely athletic. Always hustling.

Batouly: Very strong. Good around the rim. Underrated mid-range shot. Great teammate (from all reports, one of the most popular players on the team).

As long you are being honest: I see CW and Megan with more of an Up side than you do. CW will next year have lost the Frosh blues and be all she has the potential to be--and that is huge. ONO, you are right on her upside, the downside has gotten much less as this season ended, she was a force against ND, nuf sed.
If Geno can combine the upside of Bent, Touly, Kayla what a player that would be. Both Molly and Kayla have the POTENTIAL to be exceptional, but not the temperment, confidence-damn shame. Touly is all everyone says but (hope I'm wrong) I don't see much physical improvement next year. So as in this season Geno has CW, Megan, ONO, Andrea, Danger, Coombs (I see a huge leap coming there) and the new kids on the block.

 

[EricLA]

Not much to disagree with. I imagine the coaches would largely concur. I really hope each player works on their deficiencies in the off season. I'm looking for a fairly large sophomore leap for ONO and Christyn, and another healthy leap for Megan. If Mikayla can work on her shooting a TON (like take a million shots this summer), she could see a big jump as well.

Honestly, I could see Christyn as a legit NPOY contender. I believe she will at least be a 2nd team AA next year. Unfortunately Danger will be overshadowed by Ioenscu as the top PG, even tho this season Ionescu was the 2G. But nobody wanted her competing with Durr for the shooting guard award...

And... I believe we are not done with recruiting for the class of 2019. We will have more newbies showing up than just Aubrey Griffin.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Excellent post, particularly for early in off season. Little to add other than Danger's defense, particularly late in big games, has often been suspect. I actually saw improvement in William's defense. She has a solid body and don't let others overpower her. The biggest issue is ONO's tendency to slap down on blocks, drawing fouls. Not sure we can rate her defense as "good" until she proves she can stay in games.

ONO showed in 2 ND games she can give other teams fits with Defense, the swatting down is most easily fixable and shall be. Danger this year was worn to a spindle with all the minutes she was forced to play, give her an A for having extra tennacity to play all the minutes she had to play. This may be wishful thinking or pie in the sky: I see 4 Uconn players making leaps offensively and defensively (rated in levels of improvement) Ono, Coombs, Walker, CW
Here is the 72 million dollar question---As Seniors with those not Danger, will they become all we had hoped for when they arrived???

 

[BroadwayVa]

Not much to disagree with. I imagine the coaches would largely concur. I really hope each player works on their deficiencies in the off season. I'm looking for a fairly large sophomore leap for ONO and Christyn, and another healthy leap for Megan. If Mikayla can work on her shooting a TON (like take a million shots this summer), she could see a big jump as well.

Honestly, I could see Christyn as a legit NPOY contender. I believe she will at least be a 2nd team AA next year. Unfortunately Danger will be overshadowed by Ioenscu as the top PG, even tho this season Ionescu was the 2G. But nobody wanted her competing with Durr for the shooting guard award...

And... I believe we are not done with recruiting for the class of 2019. We will have more newbies showing up than just Aubrey Griffin.

EricLA---I personally think (maybe hope) Geno has a player or 2 in his Rabbit hat. Say what you want about Geno--he had pulled off some amazing years when everyone counted him out--Last year is a prime example. Realistically, last Nov how many truly believed an FF was coming. Sabrina, I'm in total agreement.

 

[tomcat]

I rea

I expect a lot to change before this fall with some of our starters.

As the playoff season showed, Crystal really needs to work on her general basketball IQ over the off season. Her shot clock and game clock management lags far behind her electrifying passing and playmaking abilities. And the occasions when she calls her own number are often a head scratcher, such as when heaving up a three ball out of nowhere early in possessions.

Megan made enormous strides this year. She has ice water in her veins, and the kind of mental toughness that the three most recent senior classes have unfortunately lacked. But I just don't know what to make of her lack of touch around the rim, especially from the player who had the sweetest 3-point jumper on the team. I think she needs to get leaner and more nimble over the post season. I'd recommend she take the Kyra Irwin crash program in fitness and conditioning. And practice, practice, practice those layups!

With respect to ONO, if she fixes only one thing, it should be to stop bringing the ball down from above her head on o-boards and passes into the post. I'm sure her strength and conditioning will be at another level, and so her sophomore leap could be huge.

I'm not the least bit worried about Christyn. She'll be an absolute beast next year.

Go Huskies!

l really liked these onservations. As the season wore on, I became increasingly concerned about Crystal's judgment. On several occasions it seemed like her brain would just shut down, on defense and offense, for maybe five minutes at a time. Most of the time she played well, but during those times, she was a liability.

ONO needs to play taller, keeping the ball over her head.I agree with you about Christyn.

 

[veryolddog]

Sometimes when the senior players on any team leave, and it is time for the younger players to step, they seem to come out from under the shadow of the senior leaders and emerge must stronger when the weight is placed totally on their shoulders. Who knows, maybe the ills of the past will be overcome when they know that they have to get it right the first time.

 

[cohenzone]

Kyla and Molly will not be more than they’ve been. I like to see them do well when they get to play. But they are what they are. Against better teams we better hope they aren’t needed.

I think Christyn will shine. No upper class AAs to defer to. Same for Megan to some extent. I hope we pick up a grad transfer power player to complement ONO so that Megan can play a true 3, her natural position.

Crystal is going to have a heavy load. Hopefully whatever decision making issues she has will be minimized, but she’s pretty reliable. I hope she can be rested a bit more.

Obviously ONO needs to learn how to finish. She jumps so well but seems almost flat footed when she shoots layups in traffic. She is the kind of player who could live at the foul line and really needs to be able to at least shoot ft in the high 60%.

Geno obviously had no confidence in Coombs in the NCAAs. I didn’t quite understand why he didn’t use her to spell one of the guards from time to time.would’ve lost nothing on D, maybe less game end fade for the others. He might have to use her next year whether or not she improves her offense.

Is it realistic to think Batouly can contribute? She’d be the ideal power player.

If healthy, the starting team seems plenty good enough to be dangerous if not NC caliber. Obviously a reasonably talented newbie (including transfers) eligible to play right away will be an X factor.

 

[Gus Mahler]

ONO showed in 2 ND games she can give other teams fits with Defense, the swatting down is most easily fixable and shall be. Danger this year was worn to a spindle with all the minutes she was forced to play, give her an A for having extra tennacity to play all the minutes she had to play. This may be wishful thinking or pie in the sky: I see 4 Uconn players making leaps offensively and defensively (rated in levels of improvement) Ono, Coombs, Walker, CW
Here is the 72 million dollar question---As Seniors with those not Danger, will they become all we had hoped for when they arrived???

I think Kyla and Molly are rounding into the players Geno thought they would be. They're an asset to the team, broadly speaking. I think Molly can still get better. I'd like to see her get into the lane more and pop a midrange jumper.

 

[SLY63]

So many post wondering whether Batouly can get healthy and contribute next year. Most of us agree (I believe) that a healthy Batouly could fill the 4 slot very well. I wish there was more clarity on her knees and prognosis for next year.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Molly, Kyla, & Mikayla - Be more confident.

I don't believe Coombs lacks confidence, recovery was longer than expected, limiting her Div 1 esperience. I say this often: With Geno when he plays a player is more important in assessing his confidence in that player than how much time she gets. Except for the NcAA's Coombs saw time in most if not all top 20 teams games, I think Geno expects big things from her. As for Bent/Irwin----as Seniors, who have had 3 plus years without getting into any games of importance, should we expect any change from here to the end?? NICE KIDS

 

[mudcat]

Kyla and Molly will not be more than they’ve been. I like to see them do well when they get to play. But they are what they are. Against better teams we better hope they aren’t needed.

I think they CAN be more than they've been, simply by eliminating the errors that get them sent back to the bench (which are mostly mental errors). If they can slow down (esp Molly) and play their game, without the errors (turnovers, bad passes, etc.) I think they can provide more to the team than they have in the past.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Great thread. I can't remember such an honest BY discussion of players strengths and weaknesses without a bunch of posters rising up to attack anyone with the audacity to offer criticism of the players.