Ekmark fitting in at ASU (and a comment about UConn)

[Charliebball]

The critiques of Thorne seem pretty forced. Here's Courtney trying to motivate and encourage ASU's freshman point guard by talking to her about UConn's point guard of last year and how and how much she contributed to the team. And Thorne is reinforcing that. Maybe Thorne's exaggerating a wee bit about what Moriah meant to our defense last year, but gimme a break, that hardly merits a mention on a list of things to criticize a coach about. She wasn't denigrating UConn's 2015-2016 team, she was trying to motivate her 2016-2017 freshman point guard. Who are we to say something bad about a coach who exaggerates on occasions ("she can't guard a chair" and "she runs around to no discernable end" and "she was the other team's best player" and so on).

So nobody is allowed to point out when another team's coach makes a stupid comment about UConn.......gee that seems to be right up our alley here.........not sure why there has been such heated reaction to this

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Thorne has been extended at AS through April 2021. She has averaged 20 wins a season in her 19 years there. She's a mediocre coach at a mediocre school. Courtney should help them out. Charlieball I'm with you on this ridiculous statement by her.

 

[osceola48]

Ya take Moriah away and we go all the way back to the middle of the pack....

View attachment 17329

j66kicker, this graph is really informative, and it is amazing to see where the UConn datapoint is! That is the utmost illustration of superiority!
What is the source, and how can we find similar graphs for other seasons?
Thanks!

 

[UcMiami]

Coaches say crazy things - Geno said Napheesa needed to score forty points a night to match her defensive assignment's scoring after a game in which the opponent scored a total of 43 points and no one player scored in double figures! He has called variously Lobo, Wolters, Charles, and Dolson the 'worst center in the country' in years where the first three were NPOYs and the last was DPOY.

Maybe we should all take reflected pride in her incredible praise for Moriah, rather than taking offense at her slight of the rest of the Uconn team. What was she going to say to her guards - Moriah was such a phenomenal defender that she shaved a few points off opponents scores against the rest of Uconn's great defense. Somehow it isn't quite as inspirational a message, nor as motivational.

BTW - who was the last guard to win a DPOY award? (Monica Wright 2010 - since then Griner, Dolson, Williams - all centers)

 

[UcMiami]

j66kicker, this graph is really informative, and it is amazing to see where the UConn datapoint is! That is the utmost illustration of superiority!
What is the source, and how can we find similar graphs for other seasons?
Thanks!

Source was 538.com - they did a couple of articles about Uconn being outside category in WCBB, also a very interesting one about WCBB vs. MCBB recruiting and athletes. Some of them might have been before they became independent of the NY Times.

 

[wallman]

CTT does get the most out of the players she gets but she still hasn't proved she can get her team over that hump. Not sure what the point of her comments were but anyone thinks that Uconn just wins because of their defense alone is missing some beautiful basketball at the other end

 

[j66kicker]

j66kicker, this graph is really informative, and it is amazing to see where the UConn datapoint is! That is the utmost illustration of superiority!
What is the source, and how can we find similar graphs for other seasons?
Thanks!

Old 538 article.

The Huskies Are Better Than The Wildcats Ever Hoped To Be

This and related graphs have been posted here before. 538 lists wbbstate.com as the source. Going there takes you to natstat.com/wbb, which asks you to register.

 

[triaddukefan]

Come on, this is UConn fan speak - Charlie you have pretty much always come up short, so use whatever you think you need, no matter how ridiculous.

Not sure what you are inferring...to say that UConn's defense would be average without Moriah is rather insulting as far as I'm concerned.....I'm pretty confident that MJ she would not agree with that statement.....as if Stewart was not a superb defender/shot blocker... or Tuck who shut down the inside game while usually being undersized...and we all know that Kia Nurse is just a pretty average defender right?

Obviously ASU and UConn aen't going to schedule a game over a petty statement but I had fun thinking about it....sorry if that offended your more mature sensibilities....

Im pretty sure the Charlie Rocky was referring to was Charlie the ASU coach.. not Charlie the boneyard poster

But I could be wrong though if i am...im blaming it on hunger..

 

[Buzzyboy]

I think she is referring to Moriah, and she's right. Take Mo off UConn and the defense is not nearly quite as good. Not sure I'd call it "average," but hey I also don't coach a college basketball team.

Moriah was great but I think Breanna did some seriously nice things in the interior, like blocking numerous shots with that incredible wing span of hers and of course, her remarkable timing. They hung their hats on defense long before Moriah came to Storrs and seemed to be pretty "above average" then. When is the last time they weren't in the top two or three in field goal defense, including guarding the thee point shot? When is the last time they weren't top five in fewest points allowed? Moriah was quite special defensively but it took her awhile to get there. She wasn't the defensive player in her first year and into her second season that she inevitably was. Easily one of my favorite Huskie's.

 

[Huskee11]

Wow, I am impressed that she is graduating in three years, then planning to go to law school and play for two years while there.

As a retired lawyer who endured three years of law school, my advice to her - look into cloning!

Wishing Courtney all the best.

 

[UcMiami]

Wow, I am impressed that she is graduating in three years, then planning to go to law school and play for two years while there.

As a retired lawyer who endured three years of law school, my advice to her - look into cloning!

Wishing Courtney all the best.

I was thinking about that - she may end up with only about a year and a half of her graduate law work completed even with a summer school course or two, as I doubt she could handle the full semester course work and play basketball at the same time!

 

[Nuyoika]

CTT does get the most out of the players she gets but she still hasn't proved she can get her team over that hump.

It's partially because she never taught her team how to play zone. Might be useful.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Coaches say crazy things - Geno said Napheesa needed to score forty points a night to match her defensive assignment's scoring after a game in which the opponent scored a total of 43 points and no one player scored in double figures! He has called variously Lobo, Wolters, Charles, and Dolson the 'worst center in the country' in years where the first three were NPOYs and the last was DPOY.

Maybe we should all take reflected pride in her incredible praise for Moriah, rather than taking offense at her slight of the rest of the Uconn team. What was she going to say to her guards - Moriah was such a phenomenal defender that she shaved a few points off opponents scores against the rest of Uconn's great defense. Somehow it isn't quite as inspirational a message, nor as motivational.

BTW - who was the last guard to win a DPOY award? (Monica Wright 2010 - since then Griner, Dolson, Williams - all centers)

Monica won the award? Good for her!

Mo is the best player of her size that I've seen.

 

[billnaples]

What will be interesting regarding playing time in the 17/18 season since as things stand now there will be two departures in Lawlor and Chong from a 10 player roster. We activate two transfers and unless something changes there will be a freshman class of four. Looks remarkably like a 14 player roster. Going to need quite a juggler from Geno to manage that.