Geno shows Kiah some love....

[pap49cba]

“Listen, no one has complained more than me about Kiah Stokes,” Auriemma said. “It has gotten to the point, and I am not exaggerating, that I would say in her three years here that for 90 percent of the time all she’s seen is me roll [my] eyes at her."

“But one day, I had a conversation with the coaches and I admitted, ‘You have to give Kiah Stokes credit for this: When we put her in the game, we know what we are going to get. Last year, that wasn’t the case; even in November and December that wasn’t the case. Her effort was iffy, haphazard. This last month, I know if I put her in the game she is going to play defense, rebound and block shots.”

Posted by John A.

 

[DaddyChoc]

I love Kiah

 

[alexrgct]

I love Kiah

. <five year old voice> then why don't you marry her? </five year old voice>

 

[alexrgct]

Kiah will be starting at the five next year, and I feel good about that. I bet Geno does too.

 

[jsloanjr]

Sometimes it takes kids time to realize their true potiental.......GO KIAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'm a big Kiah supporter. She still needs a more aggressive mindset on offense, but that should come next year when Stef and Bria are gone. I think she may be the best defensive "big" I've seen this year, even better than her frontline teammates.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Good job Kiah! Really like watchin' her play. Go Kiah!

 

[EricLA]

Kiah played really well today when she was in the game. The same cannot be said for Brianna and Saniya. I can now TOTALLY understand why Geno has been playing a 6 player rotation.

 

[Bigpetunia]

The contribution from the entire bench, at least on offense, was, lets face it, pretty minimal. Four points in 47 (!) minutes....on four free throws. Yes, the starters are sensational, but I'm not yet convinced that without more bench production that the final against ND is going to be much more than a squeaker.

 

[McHuskyFan]

I absolutely love Kiah ... and the effort she's put out this season. When I read that she'd made 2nd team All Conference, I actually got goose bumps!! It was soooo great to see her go out to midcourt today to accept that award before the game!!!!

 

[2ndCity]

I have already penciled Kia in as my fave for next year.

 

[RegisteredUconn]

The contribution from the entire bench, at least on offense, was, lets face it, pretty minimal. Four points in 47 (!) minutes....on four free throws. Yes, the starters are sensational, but I'm not yet convinced that without more bench production that the final against ND is going to be much more than a squeaker.

If the starters are sensational, what's your concern with bench production in the final? Are you worried that one or more will get into foul trouble? If so, you didn't say so. "I think the final against ND is going to be a squeaker because some of our starters will be benched for fouls." You didn't say that so I'm left to conclude that , while it may be a worry, it's not what you believe will happen. Do you think the starters will tire in the last game of the season and ND will use a relatively fresh 8+ player rotation to keep things close? Will fatigue tarnish our sensationalism?

 

[ABachelor6CR]

. <five year old voice> then why don't you marry her? </five year old voice>

"DaddyChoc and Kiah sittin' in a tree...."

 

[Forty_four]

Sometimes it takes kids time to realize their true potiental..GO KIAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She still has not realized her potential. Unless her potential is limited to just defense.

 

[EricLA]

I agree the UCONN bench is a concern, but they've practiced their butts off this season and a rotation of 6 does not scare me at all. If UCONN makes it to the final 4 as they should, they will have a week off leading up to the semifinal game on Sunday and then the NC game on Tuesday.

There's no reason to think the entire starting 5 couldn't go 40 minutes if needed, and while ND excels at getting people into foul trouble, Mo Jett and Bria are too quick to get caught flat footed against ND's slower guards, and I don't see where Achonwa is the equal of Stef. KML vs. McBride? Kayla may be slightly more athletic than KML, but not by much, and I don't see how Bracker comes close to Stewie's athleticism or skill.

ND can bring in several reserves - Reimer, Maybrey, and Cable, but I don't see them going deeper than that, and honestly, I'd stack up Stokes, Banks and Chong against those 3 reserves any day. Banks is a superior defender, and while Chong is not as good as either of those guards, I don't see where ND has matchups that favor them over UCONN at any position.

Honestly, if the teams did play, I'd be surprised if ND were able to keep it under at 15 point UCONN win. When you look at the games that ND has played against similar opponents...

ND vs Maryland, 87-83 (4 point win)
UCONN vs. Maryland 72-55 (17 point win without KML or Tuck)

ND vs. PSU 77-67 (10 point win)
UCONN vs. PSU 71-52 (19 point win without KML or Tuck)

ND vs. Duke - 2 wins of 21 points and 9 points.
UCONN vs. Duke - 22 point win - KML came off the bench and UCONN started Banks in her place at Cameron

I just don't see where the similar head to head comparisons favor ND in any way. I get that fans are gun shy about ND given our history against them, but they start a freshman PG. Allen vs. Jefferson? Yikes for ND. And their starting forward - Bracker vs. Stewie? Yikes. I'd actually give the nod of McBride over KML at this point, and Loyd vs. Hartley basically even, and Dolson vs. Achonwa a slight advantage to UCONN. But the other 2 positions and bench heavily favor UCONN. I seriously have a hard time seeing how ND keeps it to under a 15 point loss from their perspective.

 

[Suebird10fan]

I agree the UCONN bench is a concern, but they've practiced their butts off this season and a rotation of 6 does not scare me at all. If UCONN makes it to the final 4 as they should, they will have a week off leading up to the semifinal game on Sunday and then the NC game on Tuesday.

There's no reason to think the entire starting 5 couldn't go 40 minutes if needed, and while ND excels at getting people into foul trouble, Mo Jett and Bria are too quick to get caught flat footed against ND's slower guards, and I don't see where Achonwa is the equal of Stef. KML vs. McBride? Kayla may be slightly more athletic than KML, but not by much, and I don't see how Bracker comes close to Stewie's athleticism or skill.

ND can bring in several reserves - Reimer, Maybrey, and Cable, but I don't see them going deeper than that, and honestly, I'd stack up Stokes, Banks and Chong against those 3 reserves any day. Banks is a superior defender, and while Chong is not as good as either of those guards, I don't see where ND has matchups that favor them over UCONN at any position.

Honestly, if the teams did play, I'd be surprised if ND were able to keep it under at 15 point UCONN win. When you look at the games that ND has played against similar opponents...

ND vs Maryland, 87-83 (4 point win)
UCONN vs. Maryland 72-55 (17 point win without KML or Tuck)

ND vs. PSU 77-67 (10 point win)
UCONN vs. PSU 71-52 (19 point win without KML or Tuck)

ND vs. Duke - 2 wins of 21 points and 9 points.
UCONN vs. Duke - 22 point win - KML came off the bench and UCONN started Banks in her place at Cameron

I just don't see where the similar head to head comparisons favor ND in any way. I get that fans are gun shy about ND given our history against them, but they start a freshman PG. Allen vs. Jefferson? Yikes for ND. And their starting forward - Bracker vs. Stewie? Yikes. I'd actually give the nod of McBride over KML at this point, and Loyd vs. Hartley basically even, and Dolson vs. Achonwa a slight advantage to UCONN. But the other 2 positions and bench heavily favor UCONN. I seriously have a hard time seeing how ND keeps it to under a 15 point loss from their perspective.

Great post Eric. I nominate this as the definitive response to those who tremble at the thought of facing ND's vaunted bench.

I might have said 8 to 10 instead of 15 but you hit all the key points. This idea that, yeah our top 6 is a lot better than theirs but they can make up for it at 7 and 8 is just absurd. Diggins really got into a lot of BYers heads and it has carried over.

Yeah we might get into foul trouble and yeah we could lose but the odds favor us by a ton.

 

[Kevin G]

Kiah is going to be very important to us in the NCAA tournament! I have confidence in her as well that she will provide her team with everything she can do to help win

 

[bschwartz]

Kiah is going to be very important to us in the NCAA tournament! I have confidence in her as well that she will provide her team with everything she can do to help win

She definitely is a key part of the defensive rotation, and I have a "feeling" she will have at least one standout game in the tourney. Today though she played like she had crisco on her hands.

 

[Bigpetunia]

So far in the tourney, the bench has played a total of 93 minutes, during which time they managed nine points total, achieved with one field goal and seven free throws. The five starters have played extraordinarily well, and the even distribution of their scoring is truly impressive. But we have to hope that once we get to the Final Four neither fatigue, nor foul trouble, nor, God forbid, injury pay this team a visit. Production from Kiah and the rest of the bench, at least on offense, has been non-existent, and while we can all hope, it's getting harder and harder to be very optimistic about short-term improvement.

 

[doggydaddy]

So far in the tourney, the bench has played a total of 93 minutes, during which time they managed nine points total, achieved with one field goal and seven free throws. The five starters have played extraordinarily well, and the even distribution of their scoring is truly impressive. But we have to hope that once we get to the Final Four neither fatigue, nor foul trouble, nor, God forbid, injury pay this team a visit. Production from Kiah and the rest of the bench, at least on offense, has been non-existent, and while we can all hope, it's getting harder and harder to be very optimistic about short-term improvement.

I just don't see fatigue being a factor. In the games preceding the FF they should be able to give the starters some rest. And there is always a day in between games. This team is in tremendous shape.

In regards to foul issues, it's not impossible it could be a problem. But considering they average less fouls per game than anyone in the country, it's doubtful it will be a problem.

We only need enough minutes from the bench to change things up and give the starters a little rest to keep them fresh.

For this year, we don't need their scoring.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I've been saying for 2 years the secret to beating ND is the BIGS! The Huskies will kill ND with their bigs they should go inside every chance they get early in the game! Stewart, Dolson, KLM, and Stokes are head & shoulders over ANY of ND's bigs, even without Morgan Tuck! Go inside soften them up then turn Hartley, Jefferson, Chong & Banks loose on them and we'll win by at least 20!
ND strength is their G's: McBride, Loyd, Allen, Mabrey & Cable are a handful. We have major talent with Bria and Moriah but sheer #'s favor ND! Play our usual great D on the G's get the ball out of their hands to their Bigs and let OUR Bigs dominate on Offense & Defense!

 

[Sonny44]

I've been saying for 2 years the secret to beating ND is the BIGS! The Huskies will kill ND with their bigs they should go inside every chance they get early in the game! Stewart, Dolson, KLM, and Stokes are head & shoulders over ANY of ND's bigs, even without Morgan Tuck! Go inside soften them up then turn Hartley, Jefferson, Chong & Banks loose on them and we'll win by at least 20!
ND strength is their G's: McBride, Loyd, Allen, Mabrey & Cable are a handful. We have major talent with Bria and Moriah but sheer #'s favor ND! Play our usual great D on the G's get the ball out of their hands to their Bigs and let OUR Bigs dominate on Offense & Defense!

Pretty good strategy. I especially like it when when the three are on the court together giving KML a rest, very effective when we do that.

 

[Forty_four]

I just don't see fatigue being a factor. In the games preceding the FF they should be able to give the starters some rest. And there is always a day in between games. This team is in tremendous shape.

In regards to foul issues, it's not impossible it could be a problem. But considering they average less fouls per game than anyone in the country, it's doubtful it will be a problem.

We only need enough minutes from the bench to change things up and give the starters a little rest to keep them fresh.

For this year, we don't need their scoring.

It's a good thing you dont need scoring because All Conference Stokes has not scored a point in 2 playoff games!

 

[doggydaddy]

It's a good thing you dont need scoring because All Conference Stokes has not scored a point in 2 playoff games!

At least you are a consistent troll.

 

[Forty_four]

At least you are a consistent troll.

Facts hurt!!