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

[Farney]

Its an article by the Phoenix newspaper about how Courtney is helping ASU this season as she sits out the year. But they had no problem tossing in this comment from Charli Turner Thorne about the UConn defense last year.

"She (Ekmark) brings a lot to practice," Turner Thorne said. "She'll talk to Kiara (Russell) about Moriah (Jefferson). You take that kid off UConn, their defense was probably pretty average. What she did for that team defensively was everything.


ASU's Courtney Ekmark waits, helps freshmen learn

 

[sarals24]

Hahahahahaha. OK. Sure.

 

[Nuyoika]

She contradicted herself at the end of the article while repeating things that Ekmark told her about UConn. I wouldn't put much stock into anything she says. I mean isn't this the same woman who decided to play man vs Tennessee in the NCAA tourney? Obviously she doesn't know as much as about defense as she thinks she does. While she is at it she can say adios to the Top 25.

 

[HoopsFan21]

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.

 

[EricLA]

Yeah, and if you take Stewie, Tuck, and Moriah off the team, we aren't that... oh wait a minute - so far this year I guess we are.

Side note - why would anyone comment about taking any or all of them off the team? We recruited them, we had them, we played with them, and we won when they played.

 

[j66kicker]

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

 

[Charliebball]

Obviously Coach Thorne didn't watch much UConn basketball the past four years.............I've got an idea, let's put Arizona State on the non conference schedule next year so that she can see exactly what a "pretty average" defense looks like in person....................

 

[UcMiami]

Really nice. Interesting and impressive that she is graduating this year - will get two years of law school completed if she plays out her eligibility.
I hope she has a successful time there - I think CTH is a good coach.

 

[UcMiami]

Come on - its coach speak talking to her guards and motivating them. And Moriah, not Breanna or Morgan was the DPOY last year and was a beast out top.

 

[StephStorrs]

Obviously Coach Thorne didn't watch much UConn basketball the past four years...I've got an idea, let's put Arizona State on the non conference schedule next year so that she can see exactly what a "pretty average" defense looks like in person.....

I wouldn't mind seeing a UConn / AZ State game next year though... doesn't sound like a bad idea to me!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Come on - its coach speak talking to her guards and motivating them. And Moriah, not Breanna or Morgan was the DPOY last year and was a beast out top.

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.

 

[tomcat]

Never much cared for CTT's coaching. ASU does not recruit well at all, and while Charli does get a lot out of the talent she gets, her defensive schemes rely more on chaos creation than anything else. On offense, the team is pretty mundane, and always seems to be one tall player away from being good.

 

[Charliebball]

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.........

 

[Frodo]

You take that kid off UConn, their defense was probably pretty average. What she did for that team defensively was everything.

Maybe that's why Thorne has never won a national championship and UConn has 11!!!!

 

[cbraarj]

Courtney being a great teammate and person still would not have cracked the regular rotation.

 

[MilfordHusky]

As noted, Moriah was the National Defensive Player of the Year, but Stewie, Morgan, Kia, and Napheesa are all well-above-average defenders.

 

[BigBird]

You take that kid off UConn, their defense was probably pretty average. What she did for that team defensively was everything.

Maybe that's why Thorne has never won a national championship and UConn has 11!!!!

Sure, it's a dumb statement by Thorne, but let's chalk it up to coach speak from a supportive, if not entirely objective person.

 

[Orangutan]

Come on - its coach speak talking to her guards and motivating them. And Moriah, not Breanna or Morgan was the DPOY last year and was a beast out top.

Coach speak or not, it's beyond preposterous. Stewart was 2nd in the WNBA in defensive rebounding percentage, 3rd in blocks, 4th in defensive win shares and 10th in defensive rating. She's already one of the best defenders in the WNBA. But sure Jefferson was the only difference between UConn and a "pretty average" defense.

Hey, if that works to motivate her kids, great, but I seriously doubt they are stupid enough to buy that Jefferson is the sole reason for UConn's defensive success.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

I'll ignore the thinly veiled crack about UConn's defense; it is so off-base that it isn't worth addressing.

I think Courtney may end up being the most successful transfer from UConn thus far. I consider that to currently be Samarie Walker, who helped take KY to the Elite 8 twice (making regional honors, if I am correct). I believe that Courtney will be more of a leader for her team, in addition to being one of their top scorers.

I couldn't have agreed more with her decision to transfer. A great kid who needed a change and a fresh start.

 

[tonehill68]

Since Thorne said "probably average", I'm going to assume that she didn't watch any UCONN games last year. I could have sworn that I saw a lot of block shots but may be I was hallucinating.

 

[huskeynut]

Some times, or maybe many times, coaches should just keep their mouths shut.

I think Charli has a case of "foot in mouth."

 

[divots]

I really appreciated Courtney's enthusiasm, effort and support of her teammates and and had hoped that everything would translate into meaningful and productive minutes but it didn't and I felt both relieved and supportive of her decision to find a program where she could make a difference in game results....that simply was not going to happen at UConn given the reality of her talent level and physical limitations (speed, quickness, leaping, release) and the competitive fire in her probably would of made it more than she could handle to be the high-fiver on the bench after a made 3....there is no doubt that every Boneyarder wishes great success on and off the court for every young lady who has an opportunity to wear the UConn uniform but we all understand how playing time is earned and rotations are set.... like most of us on this site, I continue to follow and cheer the careers of our transfers whether it be USC, Penn State, Kentucky or ASU and feel very confident that the work ethic, love of teammates and commitment to detail that Courtney learned in Stores and is bringing to her new teammates will only make them better athletes and better human beings and the ASU Women's Basketball program will take a big step forward as a result....great for us that Geno, CD, Shea and Marissa are able to attract the caliber of athletes and outstanding individuals that they do and with so much talent returning or locked in and committed to the 2017-2018 squad the writing was on the wall that Courtney would probably find only a bit more playing time than she is now getting as a Junior redshirt....I wish her well.

 

[reno tony]

I thought this thread was about Courtney and not Thorne. Oh well. I am glad Courtney is making a smooth transition into the ASU lifestyle and hope she has great success when she is able to play.

 

[Tidepool]

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).

 

[HuskyNan]

Its an article by the Phoenix newspaper about how Courtney is helping ASU this season as she sits out the year. But they had no problem tossing in this comment from Charli Turner Thorne about the UConn defense last year.

"She (Ekmark) brings a lot to practice," Turner Thorne said. "She'll talk to Kiara (Russell) about Moriah (Jefferson). You take that kid off UConn, their defense was probably pretty average. What she did for that team defensively was everything.


ASU's Courtney Ekmark waits, helps freshmen learn

Are you sure Thorne wasn't talking about Moriah's defense and not Courtney's? It's not clear to me.