Aubrey Griffin Making an Early Impression

[BroadwayVa]

Griffin has a tremendous upside, but as you indicate, we all need to be patient while she figures things out.

You are right about her UP and UP and UP side. Why do we need to wait to have encouraging words or good word of her possibilities ? I think she'd rather read or be told of BY fans belief in her. Positive words like positive re-enforcement go a long way (at times) to propel good player to near greatness. An Aw Crap words can easily deflate some balloons.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Sorry, but when I first saw Gabby she was raw as raw can be. Time will tell if Aubrey can shoot, has a handle, has a drop step and can finish with either hand from either side. Diamond, whom she has been compared to, although lacking a drop step, walked onto UT with all of that. So did Evina.

Yep as a frosh Geno saw potential in Gabby and Phee but neither showed greatness then a frosh both took 2 years to show any level of what they did become. But raw they were.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Others can comment on this, but I thought Aubrey was a more than capable FT shooter and an average 3-point shooter. I would guess the respective percentages were (75-80% and 30-35%). Her strength is getting to the hoop, which for her is only 1 dribble from the arc.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Yep as a frosh Geno saw potential in Gabby and Phee but neither showed greatness then a frosh both took 2 years to show any level of what they did become. But raw they were.

Collier's best season was arguably her sophomore season. It did not take her long to get going once she was out of Tuck's shadow. She was always going to be great no matter what school she went to or what coach she played for.

 

[Vowelguy]

A taller, right-handed version of Tiffany Hayes.

With hopefully less falling down.

 

[Biff]

A taller, right-handed version of Tiffany Hayes.

With hopefully less falling down.

Although Tiff did hit the floor often, you have to admit, she was really, really good at it.

 

[Alydar]

Sorry, but when I first saw Gabby she was raw as raw can be. Time will tell if Aubrey can shoot, has a handle, has a drop step and can finish with either hand from either side. Diamond, whom she has been compared to, although lacking a drop step, walked onto UT with all of that. So did Evina.

I remember DD's freshman year as a lot of shots for not so many points and a lot of standing around without the ball, zero defense and an attitude that screamed entitlement. And it continued at Tenn. Talented? Athletic? To an extreme. Much netter suited to the pro game. I never wanted her on my team when she was in college. A poor choice as a comparison to Griffin, who Geno says "goes and goes".

 

[Alydar]

With hopefully less falling down.

From my memory Tiff went to the line over half the times she went down. And I thought it was better fall than to stick out a leg and tear an ACL. And if I remember Geno never said don't fall, he told her she had to get up immediately or she was coming out of the game.

 

[eebmg]

If Aubrey plays like Tiffany Hayes the second half of her freshman year, that is good enough for me.

 

[Alydar]

Sorry, but when I first saw Gabby she was raw as raw can be. Time will tell if Aubrey can shoot, has a handle, has a drop step and can finish with either hand from either side. Diamond, whom she has been compared to, although lacking a drop step, walked onto UT with all of that. So did Evina.

DD was an academic junior when she first played for Tenn. Try and find a complete UNC game from her freshman year and you'll see a totally self-absorbed player, obvious talented and athletic but lacking in "team skills". She was a gunner who shot a mediocre 30% from 3 during her college career and the only shot she hit with any regularity was her mid range shot, which was excellent. She left college with basically the same game she came with. She has done well in the W and I have to wonder if she ever really took college ball seriously.

As for Griffin's shooting, her last HS game was in the finals of the NY Federation Cup against Christ the King. Her team lost, 81-76 after losing to CTK 91-50 earlier in the season when Griffin was out, hurt. In the second game she had 38 points, half of her team's scoring and made three 3pters. Oh, she also had 18 rebounds (9/9) 4 assists and 3 steals. Natalija Marshall (ESPN 2020 #32 N Dame) played for CTK a school that regularly sends players to D1 schools (Tina Charles, Sue Bird).

 

[VAMike23]

Although Tiff did hit the floor often, you have to admit, she was really, really good at it.

The court underneath the basket at Gampel has never been so clean as it was from 2009-12....

 

[Plebe]

The court underneath the basket at Gampel has never been so clean as it was from 2009-12....

Ha this made me chuckle because I have never in my life seen a player lose her balance and fall down while driving more frequently than Tiffany Hayes did while at UConn. Holy mackerel with the out-of-control drives.

 

[JordyG]

I remember DD's freshman year as a lot of shots for not so many points and a lot of standing around without the ball, zero defense and an attitude that screamed entitlement. And it continued at Tenn. Talented? Athletic? To an extreme. Much netter suited to the pro game. I never wanted her on my team when she was in college. A poor choice as a comparison to Griffin, who Geno says "goes and goes".

It was not I who made the initial comparison.

 

[Charliebball]

I've heard a lot and seen some tape about her driving, defense, and rebounding. I haven't heard a lot about passing, mid range or 3 pt shooting so I'm looking forward to seeing her on the court and getting a feel for her game.

from what I have seen of her play in high school, AG is already a far better outside shooter then GW ever was............................it's more a matter of confidence and consistency at this point...............................initially she will shine in the open court and the rest is up to her..............

 

[DEpup]

from what I have seen of her play in high school, AG is already a far better outside shooter then GW ever was........it's more a matter of confidence and consistency at this point......initially she will shine in the open court and the rest is up to her....

Thanks for the info.

 

[Alydar]

It was not I who made the comparison.

No, but you described DD as having all sorts of individual skills, (which she did have), but without the ball she stood around on the perimeter and waited till she got it again. Never saw her setting a screen. Never saw her help out on defense. She shot 28% from 3 and still took 5/game. I admit she had a great handle and could finish with either hand but she took 15 shots a game and hit a mediocre 43%, which to me says she maybe needed to learn to actually make shots with one hand before becoming ambidextrous. I watch amazing videos of HS guards in dribbling drills that boggle the mind. But all that "tricky dribbling" is just flash unless the ball goes in the hoop. DD had polish to her dribbling game that made her look better than she was. Maybe that wasn't all her fault as that was the year Hatchell got sick I believe and the coaching at UNC never spent much time practicing defense anyway.
I just don't think I want any UConn player to ever use DD as a role model for how to play basketball.

 

[oldude]

I watched Aubrey’s last 4 HS games in the NY State Championship & the Fed Cup, all 30+ pt efforts. She can score from anywhere. She will need to improve her consistency on offense and her effort on defense. Both goals are very doable. The sooner she does, the sooner she will play.

 

[JordyG]

No, but you described DD as having all sorts of individual skills, (which she did have), but without the ball she stood around on the perimeter and waited till she got it again. Never saw her setting a screen. Never saw her help out on defense. She shot 28% from 3 and still took 5/game. I admit she had a great handle and could finish with either hand but she took 15 shots a game and hit a mediocre 43%, which to me says she maybe needed to learn to actually make shots with one hand before becoming ambidextrous. I watch amazing videos of HS guards in dribbling drills that boggle the mind. But all that "tricky dribbling" is just flash unless the ball goes in the hoop. DD had polish to her dribbling game that made her look better than she was. Maybe that wasn't all her fault as that was the year Hatchell got sick I believe and the coaching at UNC never spent much time practicing defense anyway.
I just don't think I want any UConn player to ever use DD as a role model for how to play basketball.

If you noticed at UT standing around for the ball was the offense, and so it was at NC. Neither school employed a motion offense, while UT's concept was the worst, using an archaic double post, dump it in tactic in the quarter court, and press/transition on the inbounds. No one set screens and helping on defense was optional. In fact, Holly's teams were one of the worst when in came to switching and getting back onto your mark. No one learned the little things like how to pass to a cutting team mate, how each person needs to receive the pass where they like it, effective motion away and toward the basket, how to attack a zone through either ball reversal or flooding the zone (and since Holly like Pat abhorred the 3 long shots for most where not an option), how to set a screen, how to cut off a screen, how to use your spots on the floor and on and on. Yeah, she shot poorly from 3, but Holly hated the 3 and Diamond was practically their only option. Holly's offense was dump it in and when that failed, create for yourself and your team mates. As Allan Iverson once said, "30 seonds on the clock, I pass it to one guy, he passes to another, he passes to another, 10 secs left on the clock the ball comes back to me. What do you want me to do?" Diamond frequently found herself in that situation at UT. I mean, Geno teaches there are 7 options off of every offensive position for Pete's sake.

Yes, she's a better pro, but not necessarily because it suits her game, but because she's received better coaching, for the first time, and constructive criticism on her game. When she was in college I constantly criticized her jump shot. I believed that in all the four years she played she never had a consistent jump which constantly changed her loft and release point. Watch her now and that's changed.

No one doubts Aubrey's talent. No one questions the fact that at UConn she's going to get the coaching she needs and every opportunity to fulfill her potential. But to deny my initial conceit that she is indeed raw seems nonsensical to me. In my eyes most players come out of HS raw, and few show polish in most areas. As I've said, time will tell.

 

[Jingo]

I watched Aubrey’s last 4 HS games in the NY State Championship & the Fed Cup, all 30+ pt efforts. She can score from anywhere. She will need to improve her consistency on offense and her effort on defense. Both goals are very doable. The sooner she does, the sooner she will play.

As I said before, Aubrey is a natural scorer from every part of the court, inside and outside, and I believe she will lead the Huskies in scoring. She can score in so many ways and the numbers will add up, eh? I have seen her in action, up close.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

As I said before, Aubrey is a natural scorer from every part of the court, inside and outside, and I believe she will lead the Huskies in scoring. She can score in so many ways and the numbers will add up, eh? I have seen her in action, up close.

 

[JordyG]

As I said before, Aubrey is a natural scorer from every part of the court, inside and outside, and I believe she will lead the Huskies in scoring. She can score in so many ways and the numbers will add up, eh? I have seen her in action, up close.

This coming year or some vague time in the future?

 

[Alydar]

If you noticed at UT standing around for the ball was the offense, and so it was at NC. Neither school employed a motion offense, while UT's concept was the worst, using an archaic double post, dump it in tactic in the quarter court, and press/transition on the inbounds. No one set screens and helping on defense was optional. In fact, Holly's teams were one of the worst when in came to switching and getting back onto your mark. No one learned the little things like how to pass to a cutting team mate, how each person needs to receive the pass where they like it, effective motion away and toward the basket, how to attack a zone through either ball reversal or flooding the zone (and since Holly like Pat abhorred the 3 long shots for most where not an option), how to set a screen, how to cut off a screen, how to use your spots on the floor and on and on. Yeah, she shot poorly from 3, but Holly hated the 3 and Diamond was practically their only option. Holly's offense was dump it in and when that failed, create for yourself and your team mates. As Allan Iverson once said, "30 seonds on the clock, I pass it to one guy, he passes to another, he passes to another, 10 secs left on the clock the ball comes back to me. What do you want me to do?" Diamond frequently found herself in that situation at UT. I mean, Geno teaches there are 7 options off of every offensive position for Pete's sake.

Yes, she's a better pro, but not necessarily because it suits her game, but because she's received better coaching, for the first time, and constructive criticism on her game. When she was in college I constantly criticized her jump shot. I believed that in all the four years she played she never had a consistent jump which constantly changed her loft and release point. Watch her now and that's changed.

No one doubts Aubrey's talent. No one questions the fact that at UConn she's going to get the coaching she needs and every opportunity to fulfill her potential. But to deny my initial conceit that she is indeed raw seems nonsensical to me. In my eyes most players come out of HS raw, and few show polish in most areas. As I've said, time will tell.

Great description of Tenn's last 10 years. But we were comparing freshman years and DD's was at UNC, with what was the top recruiting class that year. IMO the best UNC guard that season was A Gray, who averaged 4 less than DD with 220 fewer shot attempts, and in my memory who was often open with 10 seconds on the clock only to watch DD toss up a 20 foot air ball.

DD had flash but I see those drill videos here all the time and those same players who look so polished getting to hoop never seem to be anywhere near as polished with their layups, which often never even touch the rim.
I don't disagree about her needing work but to label her "raw as Tartar" is way overboard. If she is that raw then there are some freshmen coming into programs that are "still in the womb".

 

[JordyG]

Great description of Tenn's last 10 years. But we were comparing freshman years and DD's was at UNC, with what was the top recruiting class that year. IMO the best UNC guard that season was A Gray, who averaged 4 less than DD with 220 fewer shot attempts, and in my memory who was often open with 10 seconds on the clock only to watch DD toss up a 20 foot air ball.

DD had flash but I see those drill videos here all the time and those same players who look so polished getting to hoop never seem to be anywhere near as polished with their layups, which often never even touch the rim.
I don't disagree about her needing work but to label her "raw as Tartar" is way overboard. If she is that raw then there are some freshmen coming into programs that are "still in the womb".

Po-TAH-Toe.

 

[oldude]

As I said before, Aubrey is a natural scorer from every part of the court, inside and outside, and I believe she will lead the Huskies in scoring. She can score in so many ways and the numbers will add up, eh? I have seen her in action, up close.

Jingo, I know you’ve been promoting that idea for some time. While, I would love to see Aubrey explode onto the scene this season, just like Christyn last season, I think it will take her some time to learn to play at the college level. Personally, I would be ecstatic if Aubrey could establish herself as a member of the regular rotation by the back end of the season.

 

[Shorty Dee]

I am looking forward to watching her play.