Class of 2015 Sophomore Leap

[Rb335]

We often talk about the sophomore leap that players make at Uconn. With both of our sophomores playing good basketball, I decided to look at the top 10 hs recruits plus other top 25 players we will face this season to see if they have made similar leaps. (This is a small sample of games and basic stats.)

1. Katie Lou Samuelson (uconn)- FR 11.0ppg, 3.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 39% 3FG, 49.3% FG 82 assists to 45 TO
SO 21.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.75 apg, 51.6% 3FG, 49.1% FG, 11 assists to 9 TO
2. Asia Durr (louisville)- FR 11.0 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 36.1% 3FG, 43.2% FG
SO 19.7 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 49% 3FG, 53.7% FG
3. Jessica Shephard (nebraska)- FR 18.5 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 51% FG, 58.1% FT
SO- 19.0 ppg, 11.0 rpg, 43.4% FG, 44.1% FT (8-15 from 3- expanded range?)
4. Cecilia Zandalasini- never committed to any school
5. Angela Salvadores- no longer playing for Duke
6. Napheesa Collier (uconn)- FR 6.8 ppg, 5.18 rpg, 1.23 bpg, 53.3% FG, 15.4% 3FG, 34 assists to 39 TO
SO- 17.0 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.0 bpg, 57.8% FG, 60% 3FG, 5 assists to 7 TO
7. Lashann Higgs (Texas)- FR 7.2 ppg, 1.11 apg, 2.9 rpg, 16.7% 3FG, 41.4% FG
SO- 6.0 ppg, 2.75 apg, 3.0 rpg, 1-1 3FG, 50% FG
8. Kristine Anigwe (Cal)- FR 20.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 57% FG, 19 assists to 114 turnovers (0.16 ratio)
SO- 18.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 56.7% FG, 3 assists to 14 turnovers (0.21 ratio)
9. Kyra Lambert (Duke)- FR 6.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.5 apg
SO- 9.9 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 4.85 apg
10. Arike Ogunbowale (Notre Dame)-FR 11.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 1.17 apg, 43% FG, 39% 3FG, 0.59 A/TO
SO- 17.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 52% FG, 53.3% 3FG, 0.7 A/TO
11. Kalani Brown (Baylor)- FR- 9.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 60% FG, 1.3 bpg, 22 assists to 51 turnovers
SO- 15.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 80% FG, 1.6 bpg, 12 assists to 7 turnovers
13. Ali Patberg (Notre Dame)- Redshirted
16. Jordan Hosey (Texas)- FR 3.0 ppg, 20. rpg, 47.4% FG, 3 assists to 32 turnovers
SO- 3.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 45.5% FG, 0 assists to 6 turnovers
20. Beatrice Mompremier (Baylor)- FR 7.2 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 25 assists to 69 turnovers, 53.5% FG
SO- 10.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 6 assists to 8 turnovers, 65.8% FG
24. Marina Mabrey (Notre Dame)- FR 10.7 ppg, 45.3% 3FG, 51.4% FG, 69 assists to 70 turnovers, 1.5 spg
SO- 13.6 ppg, 34.8% 3FG, 44.9% FG, 13 assists to 9 turnovers, 1.8 spg

(I did not include players from Maryland as I could not find the stats for their freshman seasons and did not feel like searching after compiling all of the stats above.)

I immediately noticed that a lot of players struggle to maintain more assists than turnovers, including Napheesa. However, overall most players look to have improved or stayed the same. From these on paper stats, it seems like our two Sophomores, Brown, Ogunbowale, and Durr have made the biggest strides. It will be interesting to see which players become more efficient over time. Spikes in ppg, rpg, apg etc. are expected as responsibility and minutes increase. The best players and All Americans of this class will be players who take care of the ball, shoot the ball well, and have a big impact on winning in an efficient manner. (For example, NFOY Anigwe is playing relatively similar to how she played last season and therefore may not be the front runner to be the first AA selection of the class. I do believe multiple players from this class will be included in the 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd team selections this season). My early picks are KLS, Ogunbowale, and Durr.

 

[bags27]

Wow! that took a huge amount of work and is really helpful.

Of course, Lou has improved, and now we look for a major leap over the next several weeks, as she's committed to moving better without the ball, scoring in the paint, and hitting the boards. But how illuminating is it in comparing season average last year to her first 4 games this year, since she's averaging way more minutes this year? (Her role has also changed, but that's probably true for lots of sophomores.)

 

[UcMiami]

really nice work - just a caveat though:
A lot depends on who graduated/left after freshman year on what happens, especially in terms of raw numbers - Lou and Napheesa are each playing 10+ extra minutes per game, and their team is looking to replace 50+% of most stats with the returning players. That is a bigger deficit of production across the board at Uconn than at any other school on this list - but some sophomores even on teams that graduated less, are still replacing a graduate, while others are sharing that load with teammates.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Miami is right about the impact of PT. Anigwe, for example, got major minutes last year, so her production was very good. Durr, who appears to be healthy, has had a nice jump of about 9 ppg. Lou and Napheesa have jumped by 10 ppg. Additionally, their shooting percentages have improved and their averages are very high by UConn standards.