Butler. 19 Straight. Fifth longest streak ever.

[Roger G]

19 consecutive double doubles for Natalie Butler. They are some good cupcakes she's feeding on, but to eat that many, you better be big and you better have the stomach.

Not saying she should have stayed or that she didn't make the right move for her or UConn, but I'm happy for her success and I think no matter who you are playing, you have to be consistently good to get nineteen straight double doubles.

 

[EricLA]

Rooting for her big time. Hope she gets DD's the rest of the season. She deserves every good thing that happens to her. Just loved that kid when she was at UCONN.

 

[tomcat]

Me, too. She wasn't a superstar, but she did what she could for the team. It's good to see her enjoying her third BB career.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Me, too. She wasn't a superstar, but she did what she could for the team. It's good to see her enjoying her third BB career.

But isn't great to be a superstar on a lessor ranked team, and have your entire WBB team appreciate having you as one of them?
I'm sure she was liked by her Uconn teammates too--the difference is she performing up to the expectations and beyond their coaches had for her
Keep up keeping up Natalie, you have a cheering section here.

 

[JordyG]

but to eat that many, you better be big

Unless you're Joey Chestnut.

 

[Shorty Dee]

I am happy for Natalie. She is playing closer to home, and having an outstanding season. I miss her at UConn.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

You know, I suspect that to do what she's doing, she must be playing much better than she played at UConn. Whether it is greater self-confidence, or whether her skills have improved, or whether the coach simply went to her and told her that they need her to be the center of the team, I don't think one accomplishes what she is accomplishing while playing like she did at UConn.

It would be an excellent question for a journalist to pose to Coach Geno.

 

[Roger G]

You know, I suspect that to do what she's doing, she must be playing much better than she played at UConn. Whether it is greater self-confidence, or whether her skills have improved, or whether the coach simply went to her and told her that they need her to be the center of the team, I don't think one accomplishes what she is accomplishing while playing like she did at UConn.

It would be an excellent question for a journalist to pose to Coach Geno.

From what I've seen, (and others have said pretty much the same thing) other than being a bit more svelte, she is really the same Natalie, which includes the same negatives, if she gets the ball too close to the defender, it gets taken away, etc. But if you look at her numbers at UConn, her per 40 was pretty good. Now in her new situation, she is definitely the focal point of her team, so that is helping her a lot, but she is definitely the same young woman.

 

[EricLA]

You know, I suspect that to do what she's doing, she must be playing much better than she played at UConn. Whether it is greater self-confidence, or whether her skills have improved, or whether the coach simply went to her and told her that they need her to be the center of the team, I don't think one accomplishes what she is accomplishing while playing like she did at UConn.

It would be an excellent question for a journalist to pose to Coach Geno.

I don't think she's playing much better (I have not seen any of her games)... She's the 2nd leading scorer on the team tallying almost 18 PPG and just over 15 RPG. But she's playing over 32 MPG. At UCONN she averagead 16 MPG and 5.4/5.0. But she was also playing behind 3 AA's, an Olympian, and a 1st round WNBA draft pick (not that she was behind "guards" on the depth chart... She came off the bench for UCONN spelling Napheesa or Gabby. When she was in, she was the 5th option on offense.

Now she's a starter and probably the 1st or 2nd option on offense, on a team with far less talent. My point is, you could take almost any player who got little PT and transferred and look at how much better their stats are when on a team with far less talent. Courtney Ekmark - now a starter for ASU averaging 26+ MPG and 9.5 PPG, 2.5 APG and 4.5 RPG. It's not that she's playing so much better, she's just getting a chance to be a starter on a team with less talent than UCONN and she's much more a scoring option than at UCONN, even when she got into games.

This is my little "point" I generally make - UCONN has so much AA and potential AA talent that it's very hard for 2nd tier recruits (really, anyone ranked below 20-25) to get traction at UCONN. Leaving aside for the moment the struggles that freshmen always have, unless you were a top 20 kid coming out of HS, it's unlikely you will earn PT at UCONN as a starter or high MPG reserve off the bench. Just look at how much success Butler, Johnson, Banks, Emkark, Edwards and Boykin have had at their new schools.

Banks and Edwards were highly ranked recruits - I think Banks could have earned significant PT her senior season at UCONN, and Edwards is a very good player who I believe was just not a good fit - both of them could have contributed IMHO, and depending on injuries, Johnson/Butler could have had some good PT too, but all those kids have had great careers at the schools then transferred to.

 

[HopJim]

I don't think she's playing much better (I have not seen any of her games)... She's the 2nd leading scorer on the team tallying almost 18 PPG and just over 15 RPG. But she's playing over 32 MPG. At UCONN she averagead 16 MPG and 5.4/5.0. But she was also playing behind 3 AA's, an Olympian, and a 1st round WNBA draft pick (not that she was behind "guards" on the depth chart... She came off the bench for UCONN spelling Napheesa or Gabby. When she was in, she was the 5th option on offense.

Now she's a starter and probably the 1st or 2nd option on offense, on a team with far less talent. My point is, you could take almost any player who got little PT and transferred and look at how much better their stats are when on a team with far less talent. Courtney Ekmark - now a starter for ASU averaging 26+ MPG and 9.5 PPG, 2.5 APG and 4.5 RPG. It's not that she's playing so much better, she's just getting a chance to be a starter on a team with less talent than UCONN and she's much more a scoring option than at UCONN, even when she got into games.

This is my little "point" I generally make - UCONN has so much AA and potential AA talent that it's very hard for 2nd tier recruits (really, anyone ranked below 20-25) to get traction at UCONN. Leaving aside for the moment the struggles that freshmen always have, unless you were a top 20 kid coming out of HS, it's unlikely you will earn PT at UCONN as a starter or high MPG reserve off the bench. Just look at how much success Butler, Johnson, Banks, Emkark, Edwards and Boykin have had at their new schools.

Banks and Edwards were highly ranked recruits - I think Banks could have earned significant PT her senior season at UCONN, and Edwards is a very good player who I believe was just not a good fit - both of them could have contributed IMHO, and depending on injuries, Johnson/Butler could have had some good PT too, but all those kids have had great careers at the schools then transferred to.

Watch one of her games. She is playing MUCH better, good hands, great position under boards, significant number of blocked shots. Currently playing to be great rather than to reduce mistakes. She is doing this with poor guards who rarely get her the ball when open-making most of this happen totally on her own.

 

[Mainiac]

make that 20 DD's in a row, tonight Nat had 21 boards and 17 points
she breaks the school all time single season record with 9 games to go in the regular season
leads the nation in rebounds by more then 2 boards a game
leads the nation in total rebounds by more then 60 with 328 vs the next closest with 264, both with 21 games

 

[Roger G]

I didn't want this to be buried at the end of another thread, so as Maniac posted

make that 20 DD's in a row, tonight Nat had 21 boards and 17 points
she breaks the school all time single season record with 9 games to go in the regular season
leads the nation in rebounds by more then 2 boards a game
leads the nation in total rebounds by more then 60 with 328 vs the next closest with 264, both with 21 games

This is the third time this year that Natalie has posted more than 20 boards in a season. It sounds as if it was a thrilling game as the opponents, Saint Louis, tied the game with 2:25 to go and then George Mason went on a 10-0 run and won.

 

[Rayvin56]

Go Nat!!

 

[the Q]

Not surprised.

She dominated the big east.

It’s a shame it didn’t work out. She seemed like exactly what the team was lacking. But just couldn’t put it all together here.

 

[HGN]

I am happy for Natalie. She's back near home. She's confident and she's comfortable . And she's putting some of her UConn lessons and training to good use.
With her skills , training , and size , she's a load for that league. I hope she keeps it up and takes George Mason to the NCAA tournament this year.

I for one will be pulling for her.

GO NAT !!!

 

[HopJim]

I didn't want this to be buried at the end of another thread, so as Maniac posted

make that 20 DD's in a row, tonight Nat had 21 boards and 17 points
she breaks the school all time single season record with 9 games to go in the regular season
leads the nation in rebounds by more then 2 boards a game
leads the nation in total rebounds by more then 60 with 328 vs the next closest with 264, both with 21 games

This is the third time this year that Natalie has posted more than 20 boards in a season. It sounds as if it was a thrilling game as the opponents, Saint Louis, tied the game with 2:25 to go and then George Mason went on a 10-0 run and won.

If Nat had better than average guards, she would likely have 3-5 more baskets a game. Saw a couple of recent games and she was consistently open under basket but didn't see many passes. Many of her points were of her own creation on rebounds. Fun to watch her play so confident and relaxed.

 

[Bronx23]

I agree with many of the comments but what I think is understated or often underplayed is any sport even or maybe especially for quality players is the mental / emotional part of the game / playing.
I'm sure her confidence is significantly increased and when one is feeling it, it gets better. Just as when one is struggling it often feeds on itself.
When I do training of new agents at my company I use a strange analogy that probably fits here too. My two closest friends are both married 10 years less than me. During those times, when they were both actively trying to meet someone here's what would often happen. When they were going through a rough, dry spell it would often go on for awhile and sometimes get worse. I think they were giving off a vibe of desperateness. Ironically when they met someone and things were going well, they'd often meet others. Feeling good about oneself and who you are and what you do, usually leads to more success.
This and the other points I think explain her current level of play.
Bronx23

 

[Kaizen]

So happy and congrats to Natalie.

 

[Carnac]

I am happy for Natalie. She's back near home. She's confident and she's comfortable . And she's putting some of her UConn lessons and training to good use.
With her skills , training , and size , she's a load for that league. I hope she keeps it up and takes George Mason to the NCAA tournament this year.

I for one will be pulling for her.

GO NAT !!!

Slide over HGN, I'll join you.

 

[easttexastrash]

Butler came into UCONN when UCONN did not have a game plan to play around her. Her success at two other schools proves that the problem with her at UCONN was not a problem with her, it was a problem with the offensive scheme that she was playing in.

 

[bags27]

Butler came into UCONN when UCONN did not have a game plan to play around her. Her success at two other schools proves that the problem with her at UCONN was not a problem with her, it was a problem with the offensive scheme that she was playing in.

how did you ever think of this one? that's really preposterous. Game plan for a big? Naw, UConn doesn't have one.

 

[Longtime fan]

Butler came into UCONN when UCONN did not have a game plan to play around her. Her success at two other schools proves that the problem with her at UCONN was not a problem with her, it was a problem with the offensive scheme that she was playing in.

I respectfully disagree. Nataly had bad hands and very little offensive presence. Her passing ability was average. Please keep in mind that she is now playing against a much more modest level of competition, and the expectations for her are far more relaxed. We are all happy for her success. That is why she left. But I don't think it is fitting to somehow blame UCONN for her mediocre performance at the top level of competition. She was over-rated when she arrived. She worked hard, developed a lot, and gave us 100%. But the reality is; she was not good enough to play full-time at UCONN and make a positive difference. That she transferred made sense for both sides.

 

[EricLA]

Actually, remember, what Natalie was majoring in was no longer offered at UCONN. I don't doubt that PT was a factor - knowing that Stevens was coming in, but IIRC, we no longer offered the program she was majoring in (International Business? I don't recall if that was it)...

 

[donalddoowop]

If Nat had better than average guards, she would likely have 3-5 more baskets a game. Saw a couple of recent games and she was consistently open under basket but didn't see many passes. Many of her points were of her own creation on rebounds. Fun to watch her play so confident and relaxed.

I watched some games also. There were times when a guard would look at her when she was open and then take an outside shot and miss. It seemed at times they were ignoring her.

 

[diggerfoot]

I respectfully disagree. Nataly had bad hands and very little offensive presence. Her passing ability was average. Please keep in mind that she is now playing against a much more modest level of competition, and the expectations for her are far more relaxed. We are all happy for her success. That is why she left. But I don't think it is fitting to somehow blame UCONN for her mediocre performance at the top level of competition. She was over-rated when she arrived. She worked hard, developed a lot, and gave us 100%. But the reality is; she was not good enough to play full-time at UCONN and make a positive difference. That she transferred made sense for both sides.

Not often do I side with ETT, but this warrants it. Her per 40 stats for rebounding are excellent everywhere, against any opponent. Her outlet passing was excellent, which for some programs would be the passing that matters most from a center. Overrated when she arrived? Seems to me there was more optimism for Camara because we recruited her and she played for big time Kentucky, but she also started her first eligible season injured and we can see how that affects opportunities to perform. I don't believe Camara's per 40 rebounding against any and all opponents was as good as Butler's but, hey, she played for Kentucky. Regardless, I hope we can keep Butler in mind and cut Camara some slack for the similar predicament she now is in.

UConn goes for versatility and Butler was not the type of player to best fit our system full time. But she was used for certain situations in our system with success that some seem to forget. In another good DI program that expects their center to play more of a typical center's role I see no evidence that Butler could not shine. The evidence to the contrary certainly does not lie in her rebounding stats, nor her ability to make outlet passes, nor the fact that we often played her against elite centers in other programs. Not being versatile enough to be a starter for our system is much different than saying a player is not good enough to make a positive difference. Nor is defending her blaming UConn for the system it has, that's a strawman argument. Her greatest value to us was providing some satisfactory minutes for the most challenging of situations. She may even have been able to play full time at UConn, certainly that would give her more confidence, and made a positive difference, just not as positive as a more versatile player.