Breanna Stewart

[sarals24]

I think her transition to college ball is a little tougher than anyone thought it would be. That said, she is playing post (for the most part) and it takes a long time to get acclimated to the physicality of the game.

I know she played internationally and with older players on the Pan Am team, but she's never had this kind of sustained, night in night out physical play. Plus, every day in practice she's going against Stef, Heather, Morgan and some male practice players, all of which are (I'm sure) bigger and stronger than anything she faced in high school.

I think that's why Maya had a much smoother transition...she played more outside, where she was bigger and stronger than the guards and forwards she was facing. I think Stewart is adjusting well though. Her athleticism is off the charts...watch her get up for rebounds. Unreal.

I think part of her issue is that she jumps too soon, though. If you watch her she doesn't always time her rebounds correctly and relies on her long reach to grab balls. She picked up a cheap foul on a block against Oakland because she jumped way too soon and ended up blocking the ball cleanly but going into the girl with her body.

That said, I think with Bria back and hitting from the outside, things are going to open up a bit more for Ms. Stewart. I can't wait to see her against Stanford and Baylor.

 

[HGN]

I agree wholeheartedly Sarals...... I think Stewarts transition has been a little more difficult than she first thought , but I think she's coming along well. Most incoming freshmen need an adjustment period. But she is going to be TERRIFIC.

Against Stanford and Baylor she gives us one more weapon they have to worry about. Griner won't be able to sit down there and wait for everybody to bring it in there. Now she may have to come out to guard Stewie , leaving the lane open for drives. And may the Force be with them if we are hitting on all cylinders ( KML; Bria; Stewie; CD) that night from the outside. And with Tuck , BB , and Stokes coming in , Baylor , nor Stanford, can match up talent for talent.

LET'S GO HUSKIES !!

 

[Husky68]

How do you know what she first thought?

 

[earl the pearl]

I think her transition to college ball is a little tougher than anyone thought it would be. That said, she is playing post (for the most part) and it takes a long time to get acclimated to the physicality of the game.

I know she played internationally and with older players on the Pan Am team, but she's never had this kind of sustained, night in night out physical play. Plus, every day in practice she's going against Stef, Heather, Morgan and some male practice players, all of which are (I'm sure) bigger and stronger than anything she faced in high school.

I think that's why Maya had a much smoother transition...she played more outside, where she was bigger and stronger than the guards and forwards she was facing. I think Stewart is adjusting well though. Her athleticism is off the charts...watch her get up for rebounds. Unreal.

I think part of her issue is that she jumps too soon, though. If you watch her she doesn't always time her rebounds correctly and relies on her long reach to grab balls. She picked up a cheap foul on a block against Oakland because she jumped way too soon and ended up blocking the ball cleanly but going into the girl with her body.

That said, I think with Bria back and hitting from the outside, things are going to open up a bit more for Ms. Stewart. I can't wait to see her against Stanford and Baylor.

Give her a break, she just got here.

She will be one of the greats before she is finished.

 

[Shenandoah]

Really? The kid is a freshman, averaging 15.8 points and 7.2 rebounds/game. Most seniors across the country would gladly take those numbers...We are privileged to have her as one of "our girls", and she will, as Earl the Pearl said, be one of the greats before she is done...

 

[johnnyc]

Leading in rebounds and blocked shots and second leading scorer.

 

[sarals24]

Nothing I said about her was negative! I think she's phenomenal. The expectations were sky high.

 

[Kibitzer]

Nothing I said about her was negative! I think she's phenomenal. The expectations were sky high.

Permit a polite reminder. Comments short of a nomination for sainthood for Breanna (among a very select few others) are perceived as negative on this board. Hall of Fame projections are marginal.

[I'll save this post for likely use after Ms Ekmark arrives.]

 

[Bigpetunia]

Sarals has made some excellent points about Breanna's transition to the college game at the highest level. As has been pointed out by others, Sara, one cannot comment objectively and fairly about any of our female players without risk of being accused of excessive negativity, etc. But the fact remains that your perceptions are right on. Breanna's freshman numbers are a bit misleading, because her performance has been so different against the weaker, less physical opponents, than it understandably has been against better and more physical squads. As I pointed out elsewhere on our Board, the Oakland game was, essentially, just another high school game for her, the type where her height advantage, combined with all her other abundant skills, allowed her to put up big numbers. Contrast that performance with those against Maryland and PSU, and your point becomes obvious. Clearly, when we play the likes of Stanford, Notre Dame and Baylor, she's going to see physicality the likes of which she never faced in high school. Her effectiveness against such teams will obviously be marginal until she learns better how to cope with that aspect of the game, along with some physical development in the off-season...both of which are inevitable. I am highly impressed with our coaching staff in their ability to help this process along. Yes, Tina, for example, was a different type of player, but do you remember how, both in her Freshman and Sophomore years, her game suffered from a tendency toward a certain physical meekness? And, how in time, she learned to become something of a beast in the paint, blocking out aggressively, terrorizing competition in rebounding, etc.? Well, I am confident that Breanna will get there as well, but we cannot realistically expect that from her in her Freshman year....so, while I understand that you "can't wait" to see her perform against those better teams, I'd suggest tempering you expectations, for this season, at least.

 

[sarals24]

Thanks for the support, Bigpetunia I am an avid UConn fan, and I don't think that pointing things out about players' skills, etc, makes me any less so. That's what a message board is for, isn't it?

I am excited to see her play against Stanford and Baylor because I think she can help UConn beat those teams. The Baylor game last season was so winnable, and I think having her as a scoring option and extra defender will go miles. I'm not saying she's going to put up 25 against them, but I think she can help, for sure. And I love seeing young players get better and better against top competition.

 

[easttexastrash]

Thanks for the support, Bigpetunia I am an avid UConn fan, and I don't think that pointing things out about players' skills, etc, makes me any less so. That's what a message board is for, isn't it?

I am excited to see her play against Stanford and Baylor because I think she can help UConn beat those teams. The Baylor game last season was so winnable, and I think having her as a scoring option and extra defender will go miles. I'm not saying she's going to put up 25 against them, but I think she can help, for sure. And I love seeing young players get better and better against top competition.

I agree with our assessments. Stewart is finding it much harder to be dominant in the paint against teams with big, physical players. BG experienced the same in her freshman year, especially against Charles, although she still had a decent game. I had said after watching Tuck in international play that I thought she would have a tough transition in college because she was able to out muscle most of her opponents and get easy baskets under the goal, which would not be easy to come by at the college level. Although she has good height at 6-2, she does not have great height. Another poster posted that she seemed to be trying to find her niche with this team, which I agree with. She just needs to figure out how to most effectively utilize her all-court skills.

 

[sarals24]

I agree. Watch the semifinal against Baylor when BG was a freshman, she looks like a completely different player these days. It's just an adjustment to the game, and it takes a while.

 

[VAMike23]

Geno on Stewie: "Get mean..!"

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno on Stewie: "Get mean..!"

I think he said the same to Tina Charles. That seems to have worked out pretty well. Oh-so-sweet off the court. Oh-so-good on it.

 

[baggerbob]

Geno correctly expects more from Breanna, but as a freshman with so many great upperclassmen she will naturally defer to them. When Geno was in Syracuse last year he stated , I have to get used to Breanna and she has to get used to me. Don't expect great things from Breanna until her junior year, then she'll be one of the upperclassmen.

 

[UConn990411]

I'd say she's coming along just fine.

 

[earl the pearl]

I think her transition to college ball is a little tougher than anyone thought it would be. That said, she is playing post (for the most part) and it takes a long time to get acclimated to the physicality of the game.

I know she played internationally and with older players on the Pan Am team, but she's never had this kind of sustained, night in night out physical play. Plus, every day in practice she's going against Stef, Heather, Morgan and some male practice players, all of which are (I'm sure) bigger and stronger than anything she faced in high school.

I think that's why Maya had a much smoother transition...she played more outside, where she was bigger and stronger than the guards and forwards she was facing. I think Stewart is adjusting well though. Her athleticism is off the charts...watch her get up for rebounds. Unreal.

I think part of her issue is that she jumps too soon, though. If you watch her she doesn't always time her rebounds correctly and relies on her long reach to grab balls. She picked up a cheap foul on a block against Oakland because she jumped way too soon and ended up blocking the ball cleanly but going into the girl with her body.

That said, I think with Bria back and hitting from the outside, things are going to open up a bit more for Ms. Stewart. I can't wait to see her against Stanford and Baylor.

Yep, she jumps too soon....imagine what she could do if she knew when to jump......oh, wait, she seemed to jump at the right time with those blocks today.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

I agree wholeheartedly Sarals...... I think Stewarts transition has been a little more difficult than she first thought , but I think she's coming along well. Most incoming freshmen need an adjustment period. But she is going to be TERRIFIC.

Against Stanford and Baylor she gives us one more weapon they have to worry about. Griner won't be able to sit down there and wait for everybody to bring it in there. Now she may have to come out to guard Stewie , leaving the lane open for drives. And may the Force be with them if we are hitting on all cylinders ( KML; Bria; Stewie; CD) that night from the outside. And with Tuck , BB , and Stokes coming in , Baylor , nor Stanford, can match up talent for talent.

LET'S GO HUSKIES !!

For a minute there, I thought you were TonyC. . .

 

[Scotter]

Breanna will be fine, but I disagree with the part below.

I think that's why Maya had a much smoother transition...she played more outside, where she was bigger and stronger than the guards and forwards she was facing. I think Stewart is adjusting well though. Her athleticism is off the charts...watch her get up for rebounds. Unreal.

Maya played the same position as Breanna until Kalana got hurt and even then she spent quite a bit of time at the 4 until Mel got hurt forcing Maya to place exclusively on the wing. Maya was much more comfortable playing the position Breanna plays now and that Maya played for the vast majority of her UConn career outside of the 2nd half of her freshman season. It was much harder for Maya playing on the wing both offensively and defensively as a freshman, and that showed up again as a rookie in the WNBA. I've looked at that season pretty closely in the past and UConn and Maya would have had an even more sucessful season if UConn had the guard depth that year to allow Maya to play the 4 during the second half of the season.

Maya's transition was smoother because she played with so much energy than Breanna. Maya was just so much more explosive to the ball, whether it was in transition, cutting in the halfcourt, or offensive rebounding. Maya created so much for herself just off of her inner drive. Breanna doesn't have Maya's energy and explosion. Few if any do, but she has other unique gifts with her combination of size. length, and skill level that give her a tremendous advantage even over Maya.

 

[EricLA]

I believe in spite of her "difficult transition to the college game", Breanna has the most points scored of any UCONN player in it's history after the 1st 1o games of their career. If that's Breanna "struggling", opposing teams should shudder at the thought of what she will do when she actually gets comfortable with her game at the college level.

Actually on edit i found this in the sports page wrap up... Stewart, who shot 9 of 13 from the field, set a team record for the most points after 10 games. She has 169, surpassing the previous mark held by Maya Moore (165).

From purely a scoring perspective, I guess she is the best of all time, at least thru the first 10 games of her career...

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewie has been our leading scorer in 5 of 10 games. Not bad!

Any frosh who ranks with or above Maya and Sveta is doing pretty well. Sure, she has a lot to learn, but she's already a really, really good player,

 

[easttexastrash]

I believe in spite of her "difficult transition to the college game", Breanna has the most points scored of any UCONN player in it's history after the 1st 1o games of their career. If that's Breanna "struggling", opposing teams should shudder at the thought of what she will do when she actually gets comfortable with her game at the college level.

Actually on edit i found this in the sports page wrap up... Stewart, who shot 9 of 13 from the field, set a team record for the most points after 10 games. She has 169, surpassing the previous mark held by Maya Moore (165).

From purely a scoring perspective, I guess she is the best of all time, at least thru the first 10 games of her career...

For a true comparison the level of competition would need to be analyzed. Also, how many shots were taken and what is the comparison in shooting percentages?

 

[Rb335]

I thought it was interesting that the graphic of players from the first 10 games scoring excluded KML. The lowest point total on the graphic was Tiff Hayes with 73 points through 10 games. KML had 158, which is now 3rd on the list behind Breanna and Maya. Were those just random names placed on the list or the highest outputs in order and SNY didn't do good research.

 

[doggydaddy]

For a true comparison the level of competition would need to be analyzed. Also, how many shots were taken and what is the comparison in shooting percentages?

Moore's freshman year UConn team played one ranked team in their first 10 games, #4 Oklahoma, who UConn beat by 28.

Stewart has played against 4 ranked teams, 9,10,14 and 16.

Moore took 138 shots and made 77 for 55.8%. 15-43 on 3's for 34.9%. 19-27 on FT's for 70.3%.

Stewart has taken 107 shots and made 64 for 59.8%. 10-26 on 3's for 38.4%. 31-37 on FT's for 83.8%.

Does that help?

 

[Biff]

I thought it was interesting that the graphic of players from the first 10 games scoring excluded KML. The lowest point total on the graphic was Tiff Hayes with 73 points through 10 games. KML had 158, which is now 3rd on the list behind Breanna and Maya. Were those just random names placed on the list or the highest outputs in order and SNY didn't do good research.

You mean this graphic? My vote is poor research by SNY.