Badass Awards for UConn vs. Kansas State. . .

[Kibitzer]

. . . go to Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier.

 

[msf22b]

Not to disparage Pheesa
I thought it was the quietest 22 points, I've just about ever seen.
And she was open on the elbow all afternoon and made some ill-advised passes instead.
Bet she doesn't do that again.

 

[alexrgct]

. . . go to Katie Lou Samuelson and Napheesa Collier.

Easy call-huge game, especially for those two. KLS is making her case for WBCA AA...or at least inching towards it.

 

[Kaizen]

Katie Lou and Napheesa should be in the final AA team, they are so consistent.

 

[Kibitzer]

Not to disparage Pheesa
I thought it was the quietest 22 points, I've just about ever seen.
And she was open on the elbow all afternoon and made some ill-advised passes instead.
Bet she doesn't do that again.

In addition to her quiet 22 points, she had some noisy stats: 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Were you not paying attention?

 

[Buzzyboy]

Not to disparage Pheesa
I thought it was the quietest 22 points, I've just about ever seen.
And she was open on the elbow all afternoon and made some ill-advised passes instead.
Bet she doesn't do that again.

So agree! Some people see the stat sheet and judge this person played well and this person stunk and yet the reality is SOMETIMES quite different. Despite a high shooting percentage and a nice amount of points, I had the impression it was less than a stellar performance for Napheesa!

 

[Buzzyboy]

In addition to her quiet 22 points, she had some noisy stats: 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals. Were you not paying attention?

Sometimes the official scorer is a bit generous and insofar as rebounds occasionally you might be completely out of position or whatever and a round ball takes some crazy bounces and it ends up in your hands. Napheesa is exceptional and we're lucky to have her and everyone here knows that but numbers don't always speak for what happens on the court.

 

[iamcbs]

The Wonder Twins do it again, what was Mittie thinking zoning Connecticut? He should have watched more film, he would have seen that the Wonder Twins are too good inside/outside. 5'11' Gabby Williams defending a 6'5" All-Big 12 Center for most of the game is the epitome of Badassery.....

 

[rugbymate]

So agree! Some people see the stat sheet and judge this person played well and this person stunk and yet the reality is SOMETIMES quite different. Despite a high shooting percentage and a nice amount of points, I had the impression it was less than a stellar performance for Napheesa!

Hi Buzzboy...just checking to see if we were watching the same game and player. Napheesa is the 6'1" forward with the baby face and wears # 24. That Napheesa played a great game.

 

[Bronxjeff]

I thought the team played great through the obvious tiredness and terrible calls. The refs really deserve a badass for tilting this one to the home team.

 

[Florida Fan]

A win is a win, and being up over 20 demonstrated that the Huskies are wonderfully capable of runs in packed, hostile houses. They looked tired, as we might expect, and we missed more chippies than usual. Gabby finally gave herself permission to drive successfully to the rim, ending her exclusive role as a facilitator. We continue to grow individually and collectively. Chong's injury, Crystal's concussion, and Gabby's throat chop shed light on our vulnerability as teams have been given permission to play roughly in the paint, really going after Lou who doesn't get near the basket without a bruise.

 

[Kaizen]

So agree! Some people see the stat sheet and judge this person played well and this person stunk and yet the reality is SOMETIMES quite different. Despite a high shooting percentage and a nice amount of points, I had the impression it was less than a stellar performance for Napheesa!

???
Don't understand what you are talking. Am I missing something?

 

[weyuo]

I thought Napheesa(as well as the others) played a good game but she and some of the others looked tired/gassed. They need a break. They are logging a lot of minutes. Once they get to January(and the brunt of the AAC schedule) Geno should be able to work more of the bench in towards the end of games as the competition most weeks should drop off a bit. There are a couple good teams in the AAC but for the most part UConn's conference games should be over by halftime. They will need fresh legs come March because lets face it, there aren't many in the first place. That bench is short.

 

[eebmg]

I think Lou should get the award alone. While Naphessa played a nice consistent game and she definitely hits the open shots, Lou took the heart out of KS with Bad Ass shooting, All other players played well but not out of the ordinary.

 

[pvdoggy]

If the players were so tired, was it really necessary for most of the starter to play that many minutes today ? Was the game really ever in doubt despite only 17 points MOV.

 

[ocoandasoc]

If the players were so tired, was it really necessary for most of the starter to play that many minutes today ? Was the game really ever in doubt despite only 17 points MOV.

Take away the first quarter and the game played even. That's not to say that UConn couldn't have turned it on if they had to, but K State is a pretty good team. If KLS hadn't busted their zone in the first quarter, things might have played out a lot closer.

 

[tonehill68]

Man....what a weird game all around. Katie Lou (outside) and Napheesa (inside and elbow) were definitely deserving of he Badasses. Good call on that Kibs.

 

[HuskyNan]

Not to disparage Pheesa
I thought it was the quietest 22 points, I've just about ever seen.
And she was open on the elbow all afternoon and made some ill-advised passes instead.
Bet she doesn't do that again.

She was suffering neck spasms during the game.

 

[pvdoggy]

Take away the first quarter and the game played even. That's not to say that UConn couldn't have turned it on if they had to, but K State is a pretty good team. If KLS hadn't busted their zone in the first quarter, things might have played out a lot closer.

But most of the starters were still playing almost to the end when the game was never in doubt. Why not let some of the younger players or even Butler get some time to learn in game condition.

 

[StephStorrs]

I'd like to give a shoutout to Katie (and by extension, Kia) for playing a full 40 minutes against ND only to turn around and play 39 (according to ESPN boxscore) against K-State. Katie is, without a doubt, a true Badass this week. That's determination and endurance despite running on fumes with everything going on in their lives (meaning the exhaustion following the ND game, finals, and travel).

Napheesa was also quite the badass, playing the way she did with neck spasms! It wasn't pretty all the time, but I personally thought she had a good game with the numbers she put up. She was very quiet and didn't quite play like herself, but the numbers she posted and the game she played were - for the most part, in my opinion - good.

 

[oldude]

5 players over 30 minutes each, with Geno using only a 6 player rotation with Nat to try to buy a few minutes of rest for Gabby & Pheesa. I thought Gabby looked like she had tired legs, particularly on her jump shot.

A win is a win. I am sure they'll be ready to go against the Buckeyes.

 

[msf22b]

She was suffering neck spasms during the game.

I heard....saw something, couldn't tell what...seemed a little hesitant, unlike her.
That's the explanation.

 

[cookie447]

Here's hoping Saniya will be healthy enough to be a Badass before too long.....

 

[MJL243]

Here's what Mechelle Voepel had to say about Napheesa's game: "Despite dealing with some neck spasms, she had 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists, six steals and five blocked shots. Oh, and she shot 10 of 15 from the field. (Good grief, imagine the game she could have had without neck spasms)."

 

[Carnac]

A win is a win, and being up over 20 demonstrated that the Huskies are wonderfully capable of runs in packed, hostile houses. They looked tired, as we might expect, and we missed more chippies than usual. Gabby finally gave herself permission to drive successfully to the rim, ending her exclusive role as a facilitator. We continue to grow individually and collectively. Chong's injury, Crystal's concussion, and Gabby's throat chop shed light on our vulnerability as teams have been given permission to play roughly in the paint, really going after Lou who doesn't get near the basket without a bruise.

The team will now enjoy 7 whole days without having to play a basketball game. This rest period could not come at a better time. Several of the girls are nicked up, and need some TLC from the training staff, and some rest at home. They'll be ready when Ohio State comes a calling on Monday Dec 19 at the XL Center.