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Message: [QUOTE="Scotter, post: 2090805, member: 53"] While it has been recognized that Gabby is leading the team in assists I think it has flown under the radar to some degree just how special Gabby's assist numbers are this season. If UConn plays through the national championship game she's right on pace to finish with 200 assists for the season. Renee Montgomery had a season with 199 assists, and Moriah Jefferson, Diana Taurasi. Jennifer Rizzotti, and Sue Bird each had one season with 200 or more assists. Gabby's 168 assists this season already puts her 12th on UConn's season single record list and only 5 assists away from tying Bria Hartley for the 9th spot. She already has the most assists in a season by a non-guard in program history. There's a stat that estimates what percentage of a team's field goals are assisted by a player, which accounts for a player not being able to pass to her self. Moriah Jefferson had a lot more assists, but Maya Moore actually had a slightly higher assist percentage for example when you compare the players. Gabby's assist percentage is 29.9% this season. Meaning on average Gabby's assists on 3 out of every 10 UConn field goals when she is on the floor. Sue Bird set the UConn record in 2001-02 at 30.4%. That's also the only assist percentage better than Gabby's this season in UConn history! It is safe to say that no one would have predicted that Gabby would be leading the team in assists before the season. And it is amazing how quickly her confidence grew. We saw her making the adjustment from picking up offensive fouls in the first few games to instead quickly kicking it out to shooters when she drove. We saw her quickly develop into the best post entry passer in the country. We saw her confidence in her ball handling continue to grow throughout the season as she more and more dribbled the ball up the court herself after a defensive rebound creating transition opportunities with her speed and then delivering the assist. In the SNY All-Access show Geno makes a comment during a practice that Gabby looks like she wants to be an All-American, and it fittingly was in response to Gabby jumping up to catch a post entry pass and then in one motion delivering an assist to a cutting Samuelson for a layup before her feet even hit the ground. The type of instinctual athletic play in the tradition of Maya Moore and Kelly Faris the only two other players whose primary position wasn't guard to lead UConn in assists. I've always loved passing,especially from front court players. Rebecca Lobo's passing ability was part of what made me become a UConn fan, and perhaps not surprisingly Maya, Kelly, and Gabby are probably my top three favorite UConn players. Three players who have a lot traits in common, and after this season by Gabby and the growth she has shown those traits include extraordinary passing ability. [/QUOTE]

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