ESPN: Stewie NPOY, Geno COY, KLS FOY! (merged threads)

[johnnyc]

In a statistic besotted universe I find KLS's selection refreshingly thoughtful and entirely to my liking.

Exactly. All you have to do is look at Stewart who was never in the top 10 in scoring or rebounding but pretty obvious she was the best player.

 

[chrissaran]

Based on numbers Breanna should not be the player of the year. It's not just about numbers. Lou scores when she needs to, just like other UConn greats. That's the sign of a great player. They're there when you most need them to do what you most need them to do: score, rebound, play defense, make a great pass, steal the ball, etc.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Other freshmen might have put up better numbers than Lou, but what other freshman in the land could start for this UConn team?

Probably Anigwe.

BTW - Samuelson didn't start until well into the season and only after Auriemma had tried starting a couple of other players.

 

[JordyG]

I love KLS and I believe she'll easily be a future AA and possibly NPOY. She is currently my favorite Husky to watch when she's on the court, and yes I watch and analyze her every dribble. But the award should be for Player Of The YEAR, not Player Of The Half Year or Player Of Right Now. This should have been Anigwe's, hands down.

 

[Orangutan]

Based on numbers Breanna should not be the player of the year. It's not just about numbers. Lou scores when she needs to, just like other UConn greats. That's the sign of a great player. They're there when you most need them to do what you most need them to do: score, rebound, play defense, make a great pass, steal the ball, etc.

Stewart's numbers are outstanding. 19.2, ppg 8.3 rpg, 125 assists, 2.65 A/TO ratio, 107 blocks, 53 steals, 58.2 FG%, 41.2%, 82.2 FT%. All of those numbers are great and for one player to do all of that is ludicrous. So I actually think that she IS the player of the year from a numbers standpoint.

Using Stewart as an example of a player whose greatness is inadequately measured by stats doesn't work at all for me.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

May be they should rename the award Freshman of the last Month then.

Maybe they should rename the National Champions the Champions of the Last Six Games.

 

[feste]

Truly amazing, seeing as how she didn't get a single vote in her own conference!

Did I hear correctly that Ms. Laksa was a unanimous choice for AAC FOY? If so, astonishing that Samuelson was the unanimous choice for National FOY.
There'll be more opportunity for comparison when post-season play occurs. Looking forward to it.

 

[Charlie]

Congratulations to Lou!!! She deserves FOY and more. I am glad the votes realize there so more to a complete player. Lou is great at passing, playing defense, sharing as a team player with a high basketball IQ and of course scoring. She does this on the best team in the nation against some of the highest level completion in less than full minutes like all the UCONN starters. I would take Lou hands down over any other freshman and I am glad to see the votes also appreciate her talents.

 

[Charlie]

It is sad to see some fans do not appreciate her or are they other fans with sour grapes??

 

[Tonyc]

http://espn.go.com/womens-college-b...or-breanna-stewart-espnw-national-player-year

 

[Kaizen]

Did I hear correctly that Ms. Laksa was a unanimous choice for AAC FOY? If so, astonishing that Samuelson was the unanimous choice for National FOY.
There'll be more opportunity for comparison when post-season play occurs. Looking forward to it.

3/8/2016, UConn 77, USF 51
KLS, 34 mins, 7 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 13 pts
Laksa, 24 mins, 0 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl, 3 pts

 

[Charlie]

I don't think Laksa could start on UCONN -- I was not impressed at all when I saw her play against UCONN!! Also how did she get unanimous FOY in the conference when Lou destroyed Temple (that couch should have given her at least one vote amount others) and Lou got 4 Freshman of the weeks compared to 3 for Laska??....also Laska does not play all aspects of the game at a high caliber!! What coach in the American conference would not take Lou over any other freshman - including Laksa?? Perhaps that explains why they are getting beaten by so many points when they play UCONN!

 

[huskeynut]

I was surprised than Lou was named FOY. But I'll take it. Her growth over the season has been stunning. Her all-around game is really starting to show. Lou is not a one dimensional player as many thought.

And everyone should read the comments on the ESPN article. Someone actually suggested that Silvia Hatchell should be COY! A lot of UCONN haters coming out of the woodwork.

 

[OldAlum]

I wonder if the writers don't deliberately make at least one controversial choice. Last year they had Loyd as POY - everyone else had Stewie. It got their little award talked about.

So either they are trying for more controversy or.... The decided that they better stop voting against UConn players as it never works out well for them!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Player GP-GS Min Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg

31 Anigwe,Kristine.... 31-30 929 30.0 233-409 .570 0-1 .000 169-224 .754 108 181 289 9.3 107 3 19 114 37 33 635 20.5

Team Record 15 – 17

30 Brianna Stewart 32 17 746 23.3 124-256 .484 68 176 .386 30-36 .833 16 90 106 3.3 40 0 75 39 5 35 346 10.8

Team Record 32 - 0

Perhaps the impact on team performance and the level of competition trumps individual player stats.....Anigwe is a terrific player but if I'm a college coach or WNBA GM my $$$ are on Lou.

Maybe just a minor Freudian slip here?

BTW, as Kibitzer would say, ahem, its Breanna.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Truly amazing, seeing as how she didn't get a single vote in her own conference!

It is just a little odd, eh? (I threw in some Canadian, as Geno did when talking with Kia recently)

 

[MilfordHusky]

Compare Lou's numbers to Laksa's and there's no comparison, and Lou is so much more than the numbers. Laksa is a spot-up shooter, and unless she's open, she'll have difficulty hitting her shot. Her 3 pt percentage is 42.5 and overall 39.7. That means her two pt percentage is low. Lou on the other hand is hitting 48.4 overall and her 3 pt percentage is consistently improving. Rebounds Lou 106-64, assists Lou 75-20, steals Lou 35-10, and 6 fewer turnovers. Most importantly she is becoming a complete player who needs to increase her upper body strength, so she can be more effective on the glass and in the post.

All Lou needs to match Laksa is a 38-point game. But she'll have to do it fast, before Geno subs her out.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Yes, but when you have 3 AA's returning (one of them again the NPOY), plus the NFOY, plus Kia and Gabby, I mean come on. I think Geno is the lifetime greatest coach by a huge, huge margin. But if these folks were really looking to see what some coaches have done at schools that cannot recruit McDonald's AAs, it's kind of unfair to them. Like giving another Oscar [trade mark acknowledged ] to Meryl Streep: of course she's a great, great actress (my all-time favorite in fact), but she also commands only the very best parts.

Coach bemoaned the loss of a great defender/shot locker and an automatic 3-point shooter. This year's team is different and maybe even better, but its not as good at a couple of things as last year's team. Kiah and Kaleena were the best around at what they did.

 

[bags27]

All Lou needs to match Laksa is a 38-point game. But she'll have to do it fast, before Geno subs her out.

Yes, I think her "legal" limit is 21 points. She's not taken a shot after she reaches that point total. He's trying to keep her a bit undercover and a bit anxious, but that's not working very well for him....

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewart's numbers are outstanding. 19.2, ppg 8.3 rpg, 125 assists, 2.65 A/TO ratio, 107 blocks, 53 steals, 58.2 FG%, 41.2%, 82.2 FT%. All of those numbers are great and for one player to do all of that is ludicrous. So I actually think that she IS the player of the year from a numbers standpoint.

Using Stewart as an example of a player whose greatness is inadequately measured by stats doesn't work at all for me.

Agreed. Her scoring is clearly behind Plum, Banham, and K. Mitchell, for example, and the rebounding is behind Jenkins et al., but the breadth of stat stuffing that Stewie does is unprecedented. Look at the breadth as well as the depth.

 

[bags27]

Coach bemoaned the loss of a great defender/shot locker and an automatic 3-point shooter. This year's team is different and maybe even better, but its not as good at a couple of things as last year's team. Kiah and Kaleena were the best around at what they did.

I don't dispute, but as you suggest, this team might be better. It's always a moving target, and one can't look back to those types of losses and complain. But next year, well, with what Geno loses this year, that's a whole 'nother story. Geno pulls off something like this next year, and he gets the award named after him.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I don't dispute, but as you suggest, this team might be better. It's always a moving target, and one can't look back to those types of losses and complain. But next year, well, with what Geno loses this year, that's a whole 'nother story. Geno pulls off something like this next year, and he gets the award named after him.

Yep, each team has its strengths and weaknesses. Geno said all season that we are a work in progress. He also says he likes our chances.

 

[Kaizen]

If Geno let Stewie play 35-40 mins, Stewie's stats won't be only 19.3 pts. 8.3 rebs per game
But I think Geno and Stewie's focus is #4 NC not the ppg or rpg.
As for Lou, I am just so happy Geno recruited her. LouConn is our star next year.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Player GP-GS Min Avg FG-FGA Pct 3FG-FGA Pct FT-FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg PF FO A TO Blk Stl Pts Avg

31 Anigwe,Kristine.... 31-30 929 30.0 233-409 .570 0-1 .000 169-224 .754 108 181 289 9.3 107 3 19 114 37 33 635 20.5

Team Record 15 – 17

30 Brianna Stewart 32 17 746 23.3 124-256 .484 68 176 .386 30-36 .833 16 90 106 3.3 40 0 75 39 5 35 346 10.8

Team Record 32 - 0

Perhaps the impact on team performance and the level of competition trumps individual player stats.....Anigwe is a terrific player but if I'm a college coach or WNBA GM my $$$ are on Lou.

If Anigwe had numbers like only 19 assists and 114 turnovers for UConn would she be playing?
19 assists tells me the ball goes in to the post and rarely is kicked back. Perhaps Anigwe hasnt been introduced to the other 4 players on the court.

Another thing. How can a big, who basically shoots from 3-5 feet away from the hoop, turn the ball over 114 times?

 

[Kibitzer]

Maybe just a minor Freudian slip here?

BTW, as Kibitzer would say, ahem, its Breanna.

Yes, it's Breanna.