Brianna Banks

[magic]

Brianna Banks is on the verge of being an impact player. AA potential!!

 

[cohenzone]

Brianna Banks is on the verge of being an impact player. AA potential!!

I think she crossed that line over the summer.

 

[UConnChapette]

She has to have the early lead for BE most improved player.

 

[Dove]

Each time she does something great my brain screams 'Kid Dynamite!!

Not sure why. It just does.

 

[alexrgct]

She and KML saved UConn's fannies tonight.

 

[Aluminny69]

It struck me tonight that Banks is a one-on-one type scorer. Go back and check most if not all of her scoring plays. No passes, no assists. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with that. But Geno must have mellowed. Because I remember Charde Houston as a great on-on-one type scorer (except for the traveling calls) and Geno tried to change her. Just my observation.

 

[OneTrickPony]

It struck me tonight that Banks is a one-on-one type scorer. Go back and check most if not all of her scoring plays. No passes, no assists. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with that. But Geno must have mellowed. Because I remember Charde Houston as a great on-on-one type scorer (except for the traveling calls) and Geno tried to change her. Just my observation.

The Flash can get her own shot...!

 

[Dove]

Man, that full court jeek and jive she did that ended with the floater was amazing. That was with about 14.5 mins to go in game.

 

[UcMiami]

Wouldn't mind her teaching the other players that nice soft floater on her dribble drive either - with all the offensive fouls (and even with flag blue tinted glasses most if not all were good calls) learning how to stop short of the defender elevate and float one in would be a nice addition to KML's and Bria's arsenal.
She was great again tonight, and probably should have gotten a few more minutes.

 

[Bigpetunia]

There was plenty that we did tonight, and against Maryland, to indicate that we still have a lot to work on if we are to make a championship run. But insofar as Brianna Banks is concerned, it's time to put the idea of "pleasant surprise" behind us in these posts. Her explosiveness and her athleticism have combined to make her a hugely impactful player from the getgo this season...anyone who fails to acknowledge that fails to understand the game. Henceforth, we can look to her contribution with confident expectation rather than with uncetainty.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Brianna has become a go-to player.

My guess is that she is still learning the offense, but her shot selection on the threes and drives this season has been quite good.

 

[jdubct]

It struck me tonight that Banks is a one-on-one type scorer. Go back and check most if not all of her scoring plays. No passes, no assists. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with that. But Geno must have mellowed. Because I remember Charde Houston as a great on-on-one type scorer (except for the traveling calls) and Geno tried to change her. Just my observation.

She was a one on one scorer. As I recall, Charde came to Uconn as an outside shooter/scorer. GA wanted her to be an inside scorer and did try to change her.

 

[UConnFan23]

She was a one on one scorer. As I recall, Charde came to Uconn as an outside shooter/scorer. GA wanted her to be an inside scorer and did try to change her.

Can someone pull BB's assist numbers for context before this one-on-one train goes any further? Yes, she had some opportunities and took them, but I would like to see assist data before an impression that "struck" someone gets locked in as accepted fact

 

[HuskyNan]

It struck me tonight that Banks is a one-on-one type scorer. Go back and check most if not all of her scoring plays. No passes, no assists. I'm not implying there's anything wrong with that. But Geno must have mellowed. Because I remember Charde Houston as a great on-on-one type scorer (except for the traveling calls) and Geno tried to change her. Just my observation.

1. Geno needed someone to spark the team and get some points (vs Maryland, too) so he gave her the green light
2. Brianna is still a sophomore. Plenty of time to develop her skills fully.
3. Another scorer can perhaps remove a double team from Stewie or Steph

 

[meyers7]

Can someone pull BB's assist numbers for context before this one-on-one train goes any further? Yes, she had some opportunities and took them, but I would like to see assist data before an impression that "struck" someone gets locked in as accepted fact

Banks had 32 last year for an avg of 1.0 a game. (also had 21 TOs - 1.5 A/TO)
This year she has 17 for an avg of 2.1 a game. (also has 8 TOs - 2.1 A/TO)

 

[PacoSwede]

Can someone pull BB's assist numbers for context before this one-on-one train goes any further? Yes, she had some opportunities and took them, but I would like to see assist data before an impression that "struck" someone gets locked in as accepted fact

Great post. You are so on the money! Not just here, but everywhere, folks just love to put people in a pigeonhole -- the facts be damned. There are so many examples (none of which come to mind ) of people being written off as just this or just that based on a perhaps undeserved reputation affixed by who knows who, or how. And sadly, sometimes the victim of this starts believing it herself, thinking: If everyone thinks/sez I'm this, then maybe I am.

 

[CL82]

Briana has reached the point where you feel like something good is going to happen whenever she has the ball. I think that is pretty close to the definition of an impact player.

 

[Blakeon18]

After watching BB shoot that floater in the high school all-star game she played in, I thought she looked like Jeremy Lamb of our guy-side.

 

[Zorro]

OK, you aroused my curiousity, so I went to the stats. This is not necessarily a meaningful stat, but here are the field goals attempted/assists to this point.
Stewart 77/10
KML 71/18
Stef 72/27
Banks 45/17
Kelly 41/36
Bria 37/11
CD 28/16
MJeff 35/17
Stokes 16/4
Tuck 54/11
Buck 5/2

 

[Zorro]

The Flash is also hitting 62.2% on all field goals and 55.6 on 3's.

 

[Tonyc]

BB is becoming clutch. She terrific on defense too. When Hartley gets her game ala shot back we're in business. BB is an AA in the making and she dosnt start? How scary is that ?

 

[UcMiami]

On this topic of '1 on 1' player. The thing I really like about BB is that she hasn't taken many if any bad shots all year. When she has chosen to dribble drive she has had a clear path to the basket, and has not dribbled into traffic and gotten trapped. When she has shot from the outside, it has been an open shot that has come in the flow of the offense and not jacked up early in an offensive set. And most if not all of them have had an assist from a teammate attached to them. She is just playing her game in the flow of the Uconn offense and it is great to watch.
Her shots/assists ratio is right in line with CD and MJ and better than Bria's, and she is hitting her shots at a higher percentage than anyone else on the team! Tough to call her a 1 on 1 player with those stats. Yes - she is very fast and one of her assets is the ability to beat just about any defender to the basket so some of her points will come on dribble drives which by definition are 1 on 1 plays.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Brianna is not only fast, but very strong...she's an asset when the refs are letting them play...

 

[UConnFan23]

Thanks everyone for the stats and analysis, especially the comment about Brianna being in the flow of the offense. Your comments match my impressions and it is nice to now have data behind them. I love watching her play - - the quick reactions of her athleticism and the torment she creates for the other team on defense are really excellent. And, I can't recall anyone who has made the magnitude of the transformation she has - a credit to her work ethic. According to the attempts/assists data elzo posted (thank you!), Stewart would be even more one-on-one. Illustrates the danger of coming to conclusions without fact checking and thinking about the context of the game. And, despite Geno's recent comments about the danger of having Brianna and MJ in the game at the same time, it looked pretty effective to me last night. Some bumps in the road, but it is early with a lot of new faces and blending players together - - I'm thinking by March we are all going to be pleased with the results.

 

[Icebear]

Or last year Brianna had an assist every 12.2 minutes of playing time.
And this year she has an assist ever 8.7 minutes.

Last year her Assist to TO ratio was basically 1 to 1 With 32 assists and 31 TOs.
This year to date she has a ratio of 2 to 1 with 17 assists and only 8 TOs as Meyers noted.

I, too, see her functioning much more within the offense and even though she can create for herself she is not dominated by that attitude of I have to do it.