Best Freshman Half

[j66kicker]

Just checked at und.com. On Saturday, Marina shot 10-13 and 3-3 from 3-pt. range, an overall 70% clip. For the season, she is shooting 60% overall, 47% from 3-range. She's got 26 steals, which have led to a lot of layups, which help that percentage. So, yes, hotter than usual on the threes, but not that much overall. In my experience of watching her in HS and her brief college career, she takes what is there...and she's pretty aggressive and decisive once she decides to do it.

That's not a bad combination

 

[donalddoowop]

You're comparing apples to oranges. One is a senior, one a freshman. It's going back to basics 101. That's why I compared freshman year to freshman year stats. Also note that what you referenced was Marina's worst game of the season. She also had a triple-double in the game before that: 18 points, 12 steals, 10 assists.

We can list stats all we want. The real reason for my post was to give credit where it's due. Marina played well. Moriah played well. But for some reason many people want to discredit Marina, and I assume it's mostly because she didn't have UCONN on the front of her Jersey.

The big left handed guard who came off the bench and hit two very late, long threes, Patberg, and Marina are going to make ND a very hard team to beat the next three seasons and maybe the rest of this season. Now that Marina performed so well against UCONN and much of women's basketball fandom watched it, teams will be better prepared to guard her. That does not necessarily mean they will stop her. ND has a bright future with the caliber of guards they have.

 

[Dillon77]

The big left handed guard who came off the bench and hit two very late, long threes, Patberg, and Marina are going to make ND a very hard team to beat the next three seasons and maybe the rest of this season. Now that Marina performed so well against UCONN and much of women's basketball fandom watched it, teams will be better prepared to guard her. That does not necessarily mean they will stop her. ND has a bright future with the caliber of guards they have.

That's Arike Ogunbowle, from Milwaukee. Irish would love to Patberg back this year, but her knee surgery will keep her out until next season. Looking forward to all three of them playing together, for sure.

 

[donalddoowop]

That's Arike Ogunbowle, from Milwaukee. Irish would love to Patberg back this year, but her knee surgery will keep her out until next season. Looking forward to all three of them playing together, for sure.

I saw Ogunbowle and Patberg play in their high school state championship games last season. They both played well. If they sign Walker, it will be hard to stop them from winning a NC.

 

[Dillon77]

I saw Ogunbowle and Patberg play in their high school state championship games last season. They both played well. If they sign Walker, it will be hard to stop them from winning a NC.

I saw Mabrey2 in the NJ State Tournament a few times last year and she raised her game to the levels you (probably) saw on Saturday, while also demonstrating good leadership skills. Looking forward to Patberg recovering well from her knee surgery. Walker, from everything I've read, would be a phenomenal addition (if it would come to pass), but Irish fans are excited about wing Jackie Young and "stretch 4" Erin Boley definitely coming aboard next year. (Did you get to see Young play?)

 

[ndmb]

It's data, even if it's an n of 1. I think Moriah is an exceptional defender. She did a great job guarding Marina (Marina agreed), but there are too many people on this board who discredit Marina's performance. She stepped back and nailed a three pointer over Tuck, took it down the lane for layups, and drained a contested three over Stewart.

Conclusion: If someone can claim Moriah shutdown Marina based on a single game, then why can't someone else make another claim based on a single game?

N of 1 means that you have a sample size of one. Not that you have a sample size of 39 and choose to select one data point out of them. But more importantly, you're complaining that the claim you're making about Moriah is just as valid as claims others are making about Mabrey. What exactly is your claim about Moriah? That as a freshman, Moriah was unprepared to contribute in a substantial way against Notre Dame? Yeah, absolutely, and I don't think anyone who saw those four games would contest you on that. So what?

What bearing does that have on whether Moriah as a Senior has the capacity to shut down Marina Mabrey now, which is demonstrably true?

Mabrey is obviously going to be a great player. As a freshman, she's also going to continue to have some bad halves/games, as freshman tend to. But in the meantime, maybe chill out about the fact that only some people on an opponent's forum are singing her praises?

 

[OldAlum]

Best half by a freshman? See Stewie any half in her final four!
Mabrey was impressive for that half. Look forward to seeing more of her.

 

[NewCorn]

Moriah (as freshman vs. Notre Dame 4/7/13):
0 Points, 0 Assists, 0 Rebounds, 2 Turnovers.

Marina (as freshman vs. Uconn 12/5/15):
23 Points, 1 Assist, 3 Rebounds, 5 Turnovers.

Gee, clearly that Moriah is no good. Who told her she could play basketball?

 

[msf22b]

She had a wonderful game, she's a terrific player
And I'm delighted that she stepped up on the big stage, was fun to watch.
Hated that that she became so physically intimidating, and abusive just not necessary.
I hope that Muffit straightens her out about that.

 

[Monte]

Hey, you're starting catch on!! (I mean, this IS a UCONN board...)

In the last 6 days, there have been over 20 topics posted, all not mentioning Uconn. Maybe you should apply to be a moderator. I believe 99% of the posters here are Uconn fans. They just appreciate other things in life too.

 

[meyers7]

She had a wonderful game, she's a terrific player
And I'm delighted that she stepped up on the big stage, was fun to watch.
Hated that that she became so physically intimidating, and abusive just not necessary.
I hope that Muffit straightens her out about that.

She got lucky really. She could have easily fouled out or been thrown out with technicals.

 

[JoePgh]

She got lucky really. She could have easily fouled out or been thrown out with technicals.

What she was doing was whatever she thought the refs would not call. As soon as they called it, she stopped. Normal and rational competitive behavior.

 

[meyers7]

What she was doing was whatever she thought the refs would not call. As soon as they called it, she stopped. Normal and rational competitive behavior.

Wouldn't call it normal or rational. A couple of them could/should have been straight technicals, maybe or close to ejections.

 

[j66kicker]

In the last 6 days, there have been over 20 topics posted, all not mentioning Uconn. Maybe you should apply to be a moderator. I believe 99% of the posters here are Uconn fans. They just appreciate other things in life too.

Hey lighten up. I'm not one of the people who "want to discredit Marina" (see DECOLI's post I was responding to below). Just an attempt at humor (unsuccessful in your case - sorry. Hope DECOLI didn't take it like you did)
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We can list stats all we want. The real reason for my post was to give credit where it's due. Marina played well. Moriah played well. But for some reason many people want to discredit Marina, and I assume it's mostly because she didn't have UCONN on the front of her Jersey.

 

[Gus Mahler]

j66,

Off topic, but how did you make that free standing up arrow?

 

[Gus Mahler]

No idea - wondered how it got there myself....????

LOL

 

[Monte]

Hey lighten up. I'm not one of the people who "want to discredit Marina" (see DECOLI's post I was responding to below). Just an attempt at humor (unsuccessful in your case - sorry. Hope DECOLI didn't take it like you did)
↑

I guess I got carried away.........sorry............have a good day.

 

[j66kicker]

I guess I got carried away....sorry..have a good day.

No problemo. Message boards are like e-mail - easy to misinterpret, or communicate less than clearly more probably. Ciao

 

[Dougie]

Marina Mabrey: does anyone remember any Freshman having a better HALF than Marina did on Saturday?
I really can't, but I know she was completely shut down in the 2nd half. The kid will be a player to reckon with.

Somehow this thread seems to have gotten away from your original question. Perhaps some freshman somewhere, sometime had a better half than Marina did on Saturday. I certainly don't know of one. But more importantly, what was exceptional about her game was who she did it against. I've watched the game twice nice and her first half was jaw dropping. Props to her.

Then there was the second half.

 

[Dougie]

When all is said and done, do you expect Mabrey will have had a better college career than Jefferson has had?

Who knows, but I doubt it. Moriah effects the game in so many ways. She is the consummate floor leader. She controls the tempo and pace of the game. I can't avoid a cliche here: she makes everyone around her better. So much of what she does will never show up on the stat sheets. Just when the other team is starting to get some momentum she gets the big steal and lays it in, or makes the great 3 pointer, or sets up a teammate at the critical moment. So it's not just what she does but when she does it. And then there's her defense.

Marina Mabrey showed us some good things on Saturday but she's going to have to do a hell of a lot more before she even belongs in the discussion about Moriah Jefferson.