Diana in top form, Maya out of this world! | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Diana in top form, Maya out of this world!

Status
Not open for further replies.
msf22b said:
Reading this thread gives one the uneasy feeling that there is an anti-Skylar bias remaining from her collegiate career.

I think it's splendid how much she improved this season and especially after a relatively undistinguished initial campaign.
That she is even under discussion for exalted honors is a credit to her ability and her dogged stubbornness to succeed.

A refreshing if not entirely political correct concept is the willingness of attractive female-type athletes, (those with big press reps and world-class agents, loads of endorsements and barrels of money thrown at them win or lose) to compete like heck this year, like their life depended upon it, loads different from the Kourinkova syndrome of a decade ago; especially thinking of Wie, Sharapova, even Ivanovic as well as Skylar.``
Expand ...
I haven't seen her under discussion for MVP (exalted honors?) anywhere EXCEPT this thread.
 
Another one for the books for Maya in today's game against Tulsa. 32 points, 5 assists, 9 rebounds. Her 9th 30+ game of the season on 10-18 shooting. I am really enjoying watching her this season!
 
Reading this thread gives one the uneasy feeling that there is an anti-Skylar bias remaining from her collegiate career.

I don’t agree. I think it is more the anti-theses of UCONN basketball that gets posters going. Many of us love the idea of balance, sharing the ball and winning (that’s not to say others don’t.) and that these are valued traits for a MVP.

In this case while Skylar is having a tremendous year relatively speaking, it should be considered ridiculous for many that consideration given to a player on a team at the bottom be in any conversation for MVP. In some ways I get the uneasy feeling that she is getting more consideration because of her college days and because of her good looks. Though I also believe it is because she is among top 6 players or so in terms of performance and if one to look at let’s say “5” vs “2” it doesn’t seem too far off.

The poster that created this thread laid out a question who do you think MVP should be? While Skylar has had a sensational year and she is a definite top-tier player in the league, her distance between the MVP’s and where she should be considered because her team is at the bottom, should mean she doesn’t belong “in the conversation.” It sounds harsh but imo it is mind-boggling to give a MVP to a player that is leading their own team into a last place finish. It goes against everything I value and respect about basketball regardless if she came from UCONN or ND. I can recognize her super play but can’t accept her being MVP for this year thus far.

Thus the discussion is “more” than just about “Skylar” it’s how does one value “MVP” and the game overall? Someone can put her “5th- fine. But-- “on the dance floor but nowhere near the band” is more appropriate.
 
.-.
Maya is having a spectacular year. However, I credit DT with much of BG's improvement this year and for showing her teammates how to compete. It was stated on the broadcast during the last Phoenix game that DT had a long talk with BG before the season started and that BG had "taken it to heart." I am not sure what DT said to BG but apparently it had an impact on her. This is what DT does for her team, which is bring the best out of her teammates. You just cannot put a statistic to that.

What Maya IS doing is keeping her team in the race while she waits for all of her teammates to return to the floor. She is carrying the offensive load for a team that would be in deep trouble without her, so in that sense, she is equally valuable to her team, and there is a lot to be said for that.
 
easttexastrash said:
Maya is having a spectacular year. However, I credit DT with much of BG's improvement this year and for showing her teammates how to compete. It was stated on the broadcast during the last Phoenix game that DT had a long talk with BG before the season started and that BG had "taken it to heart." I am not sure what DT said to BG but apparently it had an impact on her. This is what DT does for her team, which is bring the best out of her teammates. You just cannot put a statistic to that.

What Maya IS doing is keeping her team in the race while she waits for all of her teammates to return to the floor. She is carrying the offensive load for a team that would be in deep trouble without her, so in that sense, she is equally valuable to her team, and there is a lot to be said for that.
Expand ...

I agree that DT brings huge intangibles and leadership to the equation, and that given her long and illustrious career---not to mention her intensity--her words and actions would have a real effect on BG.

However, in a different way, Maya's intangibles outside of the game's 40 minutes are also tremendous. She isn't going to be the one to sit down with new players for long one-on-one meetings, a la DT. She's not that far along yet and she's never been (to my understanding) a "long-form" leader like DT, Sue, or even Renee was at UCONN. Her biggest contribution--noted numerous times by Coach Reeve at Minny and also by the UCONN coaches after her departure--comes via a contagious drive that pushes the whole team forward, every hour, every minute. She lifts everyone; not every talented player does. True, Minny had a lot of talent when she arrived and in that one could say she put them over the top. But she is the master of 'preparing to win' and of keeping everyone's eye on the prize during the small moments--during drills, in workouts, practicing sets--when no cameras are present. One of my B-school professors liked to quote his college football coach, who said: "What is most important is not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win." This is Maya in spades. She changes the culture of the teams she is on. Not that other greats like DT don't have similar effects, but the magnitude of Maya's effect on teams is a cut above, and this cannot be overlooked. Jordan had a similar effect on the Bulls in his day. It was not just his obvious talent and greatness in competition. The Bulls practices became almost as legendary among the players as the games themselves. This kind of intensity and will to prepare to win sets the great apart from the very good. When you have someone who can also impart this to others and weave it into the culture of the entire group, you have someone truly special.

You have Maya Moore.
 
Last edited:
VAMike23 said:
I agree that DT brings huge intangibles and leadership to the equation, and that given her long and illustrious career---not to mention her intensity--her words and actions would have a real effect on BG.

However, in a different way, Maya's intangibles outside of the game's 40 minutes are also tremendous. She isn't going to be the one to sit down with new players for long one-on-one meetings, a la DT. She's not that far along yet and she's never been (to my understanding) a "long-form" leader like DT, Sue, or even Renee was at UCONN. Her biggest contribution--noted numerous times by Coach Reeve at Minny and also by the UCONN coaches after her departure--comes via a contagious drive that pushes the whole team forward, every hour, every minute. She lifts everyone; not every talented player does. True, Minny had a lot of talent when she arrived and in that one could say she put them over the top. But she is the master of 'preparing to win' and of keeping everyone's eye on the prize during the small moments--during drills, in workouts, practicing sets--when no cameras are present. One of my B-school professors liked to quote his college football coach, who said: "What is most important is not the will to win, but the will to prepare to win." This is Maya in spades. She changes the culture of the teams she is on. Not that other greats like DT don't have similar effects, but the magnitude of Maya's effect on teams is a cut above, and this cannot be overlooked. Jordan had a similar effect on the Bulls in his day. It was not just his obvious talent and greatness in competition. The Bulls practices became almost as legendary among the players as the games themselves. This kind of intensity and will to prepare to win sets the great apart from the very good. When you have someone who can also impart this to others and weave it into the culture of the entire group, you have someone truly special.

You have Maya Moore.
Expand ...

I don't agree that Maya's effect on her team is a cut above Diana's... I love Maya, she is an unbelievably strong and gifted athlete and a wonderful person. she is carrying the scoring load, in effect, leading her team through this season in the WNBA. she deservedly is in the conversation for mvp, and top 2 at that.

To me it is very clear the on court leadership of Dee...it is obvious that this is her team and everyone is dialed in. this doesn't even include her extraordinary court vision or her scoring abilities.

what a coach she is going to be!!

Anyway she gets my vote for MVP for the completeness of what she is able to do in basketball and especially this season.
 
RadyLady said:
I don't agree that Maya's effect on her team is a cut above Diana's... I love Maya, she is an unbelievably strong and gifted athlete and a wonderful person. she is carrying the scoring load, in effect, leading her team through this season in the WNBA. she deservedly is in the conversation for mvp, and top 2 at that.

To me it is very clear the on court leadership of Dee...it is obvious that this is her team and everyone is dialed in. this doesn't even include her extraordinary court vision or her scoring abilities.

what a coach she is going to be!!

Anyway she gets my vote for MVP for the completeness of what she is able to do in basketball and especially this season.
Expand ...

I didn't mean that Maya's net effect on her team is greater than Diana's, I meant that with respect to those particular effects she *does* have on her team--which I attempt to describe in my post--she is a cut above the rest. (I could have made that clearer in a couple of those sentences.) Just as the two have different styles and different games on the court, they have different strengths in the intangibles area as well. Not to say that either of them are devoid of those characteristics that the other may be strongest in.

To my mind DT would be a cut above when it comes to being a General, to organizing and leading on and off the court, getting everyone dialed in as you say and on the same page, coaching them really, and also guiding/mentoring younger players like BG with the "long-form" sit-down meeting as just one example. She and Sue are really on a similar level to coaches in many ways. My post was meant as a response to ETT's implication (at least I read it that way) that DT's intangibles, overall, were greater than Maya's. I disagree and believe that they bring *different* intangibles but that overall Maya's are not less than Dee's.
 
Last edited:
RadyLady said:
I don't agree that Maya's effect on her team is a cut above Diana's... I love Maya, she is an unbelievably strong and gifted athlete and a wonderful person. she is carrying the scoring load, in effect, leading her team through this season in the WNBA. she deservedly is in the conversation for mvp, and top 2 at that.

To me it is very clear the on court leadership of Dee...it is obvious that this is her team and everyone is dialed in. this doesn't even include her extraordinary court vision or her scoring abilities.

what a coach she is going to be!!

Anyway she gets my vote for MVP for the completeness of what she is able to do in basketball and especially this season.
Expand ...
I am not sure why everyone keeps commenting about Maya carrying the scoring load like that is a bad thing. Minny is without their #2 and #4 scoring option. What would the proper response be? Don't leaders score when there aren't any other scoring options? Why is that commented on like it is a negative?

Coach Reeves named Maya as a captain THIS year, her fourth year in the WNBA. Why? Coach says Maya has made a tremendous jump in her leadership role and has become very vocal in the group. This isn't the Maya that let her actions on the court do the talking that the UCONN fans were used to. If you have followed the W for the past couple years, there is a clear difference in Maya's role on the team.

I am not taking away from Diana, and she is among my favorites, but look at her surrounding cast. She is leading BG, P Taylor, C Dupree, etc. Each of those players would probably be the leading scorers on the respective teams if they weren't playing in Phoenix. I just think Maya has had to really earn everything she is doing in Minny right now.


When speaking of stats, Maya is the clear leader. Speaking of intangibles, Maya is right up there with Diana. VAMike said it best-the will to prepare to win. She doesn't just prepare herself, she expects that of her teammates as well. 3 WNBA champship games, 2 titles in 3 seasons. That isn't by chance.
 
.-.
I am waving the white flag! To love UCONN is to love DT and MM.
Both are deserving and I will celebrate with either winning MVP.
 
ctmom04 said:
I am waving the white flag! To love UCONN is to love DT and MM.
Both are deserving and I will celebrate with either winning MVP.
Expand ...
sue maya diana.jpg
 
ctmom04 said:
I am not sure why everyone keeps commenting about Maya carrying the scoring load like that is a bad thing. Minny is without their #2 and #4 scoring option. What would the proper response be? Don't leaders score when there aren't any other scoring options? Why is that commented on like it is a negative?

Coach Reeves named Maya as a captain THIS year, her fourth year in the WNBA. Why? Coach says Maya has made a tremendous jump in her leadership role and has become very vocal in the group. This isn't the Maya that let her actions on the court do the talking that the UCONN fans were used to. If you have followed the W for the past couple years, there is a clear difference in Maya's role on the team.

I am not taking away from Diana, and she is among my favorites, but look at her surrounding cast. She is leading BG, P Taylor, C Dupree, etc. Each of those players would probably be the leading scorers on the respective teams if they weren't playing in Phoenix. I just think Maya has had to really earn everything she is doing in Minny right now.


When speaking of stats, Maya is the clear leader. Speaking of intangibles, Maya is right up there with Diana. VAMike said it best-the will to prepare to win. She doesn't just prepare herself, she expects that of her teammates as well. 3 WNBA champship games, 2 titles in 3 seasons. That isn't by chance.
Expand ...

BOTH are incredible players. How fortunate were you at UCONN to have had the privilege of watching each play for 4 years and bringing home 5 NCAA titles between them. And now you have Stewart to carry on that tradition.

Maybe they can each have the MVP trophy for half of the year.
 
ctmom04 said:
I am not sure why everyone keeps commenting about Maya carrying the scoring load like that is a bad thing. Minny is without their #2 and #4 scoring option. What would the proper response be? Don't leaders score when there aren't any other scoring options? Why is that commented on like it is a negative?

Coach Reeves named Maya as a captain THIS year, her fourth year in the WNBA. Why? Coach says Maya has made a tremendous jump in her leadership role and has become very vocal in the group. This isn't the Maya that let her actions on the court do the talking that the UCONN fans were used to. If you have followed the W for the past couple years, there is a clear difference in Maya's role on the team.

I am not taking away from Diana, and she is among my favorites, but look at her surrounding cast. She is leading BG, P Taylor, C Dupree, etc. Each of those players would probably be the leading scorers on the respective teams if they weren't playing in Phoenix. I just think Maya has had to really earn everything she is doing in Minny right now.


When speaking of stats, Maya is the clear leader. Speaking of intangibles, Maya is right up there with Diana. VAMike said it best-the will to prepare to win. She doesn't just prepare herself, she expects that of her teammates as well. 3 WNBA champship games, 2 titles in 3 seasons. That isn't by chance.
Expand ...


Nothing in life is by chance.
Clearly Maya gets your vote. I see things differently.
And no where in my post did I even imply that Maya carrying the scoring load is a bad thing.
 
.-.
VAMike23 said:
I didn't mean that Maya's net effect on her team is greater than Diana's, I meant that with respect to those particular effects she *does* have on her team--which I attempt to describe in my post--she is a cut above the rest. (I could have made that clearer in a couple of those sentences.) Just as the two have different styles and different games on the court, they have different strengths in the intangibles area as well. Not to say that either of them are devoid of those characteristics that the other may be strongest in.

To my mind DT would be a cut above when it comes to being a General, to organizing and leading on and off the court, getting everyone dialed in as you say and on the same page, coaching them really, and also guiding/mentoring younger players like BG with the "long-form" sit-down meeting as just one example. She and Sue are really on a similar level to coaches in many ways. My post was meant as a response to ETT's implication (at least I read it that way) that DT's intangibles, overall, were greater than Maya's. I disagree and believe that they bring *different* intangibles but that overall Maya's are not less than Dee's.
Expand ...

It appears that my post elicited some strum und drang from some. I simply meant that Diana gets my vote for MVP for the reasons stated.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Forum statistics

Threads
167,988
Messages
4,548,499
Members
10,431
Latest member
TeganK


Top Bottom