Giving Saniya her due

[EricLA]

Context is all. We're talking about the game on the floor, not the team on the bus.

Perhaps you should have clarified and said "scholarship freshmen". I get the point xHunt is trying to make, but the reality is UCONN has a team of 9 scholarship players and 2 walk ons. The walk ons are a great story. But in any meaningful game, they will not see the court at all. Even in blowouts, Geno will continue to work on things his core group of 9 needs to work on and then put the walk ons in for 4-8 minutes at the end.

The walk ons are great. We love seeing them score, and see the reaction of the core players on the bench when they do something well. I know they are treated similarly to the scholarship players. Nobody means any disrespect to the walk ons. But the reality is they will never see the court in any meaningful game.

 

[VAMike23]

One would have to think that this guy was awfully, awfully proud of Saniya's performance last night as well.

As well he should be.

 

[Coler]

I believe it could come down to Chong, and Tyler Scaife for AAC freshman of the year. Scaife had a really good debut for RU. 13 points on 5 of 9 shooting, and 2 steals. We'll see how these two continue to do over the season. But I believe it's a two horse race.

 

[doggydaddy]

I think that most of the lack of depth comments were earlier in the year before the walk-ons made the team. However, last night we saw how quickly an injury can affect depth. While we are all holding our breath until we get the official status for Mosqueda-Lewis, if you have been a UConn fan for long you have to be aware how injuries can and have impacted the team. IMO if not for injuries UConn would be working on at least #10 this year.

BTW - I think that some posters here consider "walk on" as a disparaging way to identify the team's newest members. I think it's just the opposite. Kudo's to them for having the guts to try out for the team and even more praise for making the roster of the number one WCBB team in the country.

I can't think of a team that isn't impacted when a star player is injured. Why would Uconn be different?

 

[psconn]

I remember in an early article, Saniya talked about how nervous she got in big game situations... to the point of actually feeling sick if I remember correctly. She and/or her coach said that it never hurt her play. I remember being concerned that this might not be a kid for UConn considering the kind of pressure Geno and championship expectations put on the players.

So glad to be dead WRONG!! What a memorable debut... those threes jump-started the whole offense. A lot of posters refer to her calmness... awesome to thing that she's a nervous wreck under the serene exterior. It would be interesting for one of the hoard to ask her about those statements... how does she feel on the big college stage, how does she supress (or use) her nervousness?

 

[Wbbfan1]

Depth is definitely a problem just like it was before KML's injury. The walk-ons help with the guards and in blowouts will allow Geno to limit the minutes for Bria and Moriah. However the front court is were there is a significant depth issue. Four players for the three positions. Stef, Stewie, Morgan and Kiah if KML is out for any length of time. Last night Stewie and Morgan had to sit major minutes because of foul trouble, but fortunately Stanford was unable to take advantage of the situation due to Kiah's great play and Stef stayed out of foul trouble. Also KML was able to play 20 minutes in the 1st half. Its going to be critical that the four players I identified stay out of foul trouble against Maryland and Penn State. That's why in another post, I made the suggestion of starting Saniya or Banks in lieu of the more talented Morgan.

 

[svetbird]

Indeed...yet, she has two National Player Of The Year Awards.

which is insane since it is true. I don't recall who else recruited her but I bet a lot of teams will be kicking themselves. how a girl with her skill and credentials dropped that low in the rankings is beyond me. Gotta love our recruter

 

[Biff]

But the reality is they will never see the court in any meaningful game.

Careful there Eric. That's almost an exact quote that BBall12345 made about maria a number of years ago!

 

[EricLA]

Careful there Eric. That's almost an exact quote that BBall12345 made about maria a number of years ago!

OK I admit it. Report me to the FBI. I'm a stealer of copywrite material!!

 

[WildEagle]

She was recruited by many towards the end, Ohio State was on to her in 10th grade as was Oklahoma and her final 4 list was UConn, Louisville, Ohio State and Maryland. Several local D1 like Hofstra and St John's were interested but knew they had no shot after seeing her put in 54 vs Molloy mostly in just 2 quarters early in her junior year.
Tony C, she scored I believe 37 points in the last 11:08 that day against Christ the King. Just one of the many truly amazing performances I had the pleasure to witness over the last 4 years. I think her career at UConn will be one for the ages once all is said and done, but that is just my opinion.

 

[VAMike23]

She was recruited by many towards the end, Ohio State was on to her in 10th grade as was Oklahoma and her final 4 list was UConn, Louisville, Ohio State and Maryland. Several local D1 like Hofstra and St John's were interested but knew they had no shot after seeing her put in 54 vs Molloy mostly in just 2 quarters early in her junior year.
Tony C, she scored I believe 37 points in the last 11:08 that day against Christ the King. Just one of the many truly amazing performances I had the pleasure to witness over the last 4 years. I think her career at UConn will be one for the ages once all is said and done, but that is just my opinion.

Great post !!!