H2H Competition Ultimate Litmus Test

[nomdoux]

Meant to post this a few weeks ago, corresponding with NFL Draft. Impetus was actually spirited BY debate about merits of mid-major standout Lou Lopez Senechal’s speculated UConn transfer prior to actual announcement, given Fairfield’s inferior competition level. Since crux is more general, starting independent thread.

Head-to-head competition should always be the ultimate, defining litmus test for player evaluation, regardless of sport, level, gender, country, etc.

When LLS scored 17 @ Texas in NCAAT opening round, that confirmed what she did earlier in the season @ Indiana— another top-level major D1 team on road. At that point, the fact that she starred in the MAAC was irrelevant, b/c she proved herself against the best. And she did it twice to eliminate any fluke assessment— the 2nd time with her team’s season on the line against an elite D in their barn, to keep the game respectable given lopsided matchup.

The same principle applies annually in the Senior Bowl showcasing the best college football prospects, regardless of school/conference/level. Before said game, entirely fair question whether a standout from a small or mid-major program can compete at the top level. But once they do it in that equalizer game, scouts shed such question marks, & rightfully so.

Playing well against the best competition is the entire point. Once a prospect, transfer, etc does it, you know they can. The rest is moot, past, prologue to what comes next.

 

[CocoHusky]

Meant to post this a few weeks ago, corresponding with NFL Draft. Impetus was actually spirited BY debate about merits of mid-major standout Lou Lopez Senechal’s speculated UConn transfer prior to actual announcement, given Fairfield’s inferior competition level. Since crux is more general, starting independent thread.

Head-to-head competition should always be the ultimate, defining litmus test for player evaluation, regardless of sport, level, gender, country, etc.

When LLS scored 17 @ Texas in NCAAT opening round, that confirmed what she did earlier in the season @ Indiana— another top-level major D1 team on road. At that point, the fact that she starred in the MAAC was irrelevant, b/c she proved herself against the best. And she did it twice to eliminate any fluke assessment— the 2nd time with her team’s season on the line against an elite D in their barn, to keep the game respectable given lopsided matchup.

The same principle applies annually in the Senior Bowl showcasing the best college football prospects, regardless of school/conference/level. Before said game, entirely fair question whether a standout from a small or mid-major program can compete at the top level. But once they do it in that equalizer game, scouts shed such question marks, & rightfully so.

Playing well against the best competition is the entire point. Once a prospect, transfer, etc does it, you know they can. The rest is moot, past, prologue to what comes next.

Very dangerous to base player evaluation on a single game or a couple of games. LLS will be playing for UCONN soon enough and there are enough other indications that she will do very well in the UCONN offense. For starters she moves well without the ball and she shoots the ball well from deep. The fact that she starred in MAC is not irrelevant compared to two games against Texas and Indiana because you could just as easily have based the evaluation on her two games against Rutgers and FGCU where her performance was not as good playing against lesser teams.

A recent UCONN transfer, also from Europe, also dominated her conference and was not able to make an impact upon her arrival at UCONN. Interestingly enough if you look at that player's UCONN biography you will find this item " Made career-high 28 points at Tennessee (12/28) ... grabbed career-high 20 rebounds vs. Eastern Illinois (2/7) " .

The leap from playing at Fairfield to playing at UCONN is a significant leap and we are all hoping that LLS is able to make the leap successfully. Using your Senior Bowl analogy, this leap is the equivalent of going from dominating your conference to playing in a senior bowl every practice, every game, every day. I'm not saying LLS is not going to be successful-I think she will be. What I'm saying is you should probably treat her performance against IU and TX the same way we should have treated 28 Points against TN a few years back-it was a good performance on that team.

 

[Bone Dog]

The problem with the senior bowl analogy is that it’s a game with no significant practices prior to the game. No complex defensive or offensive schemes, just a flat zone or man-to-man on D. The games against Texas and IU are good indicators, and a trained eye like Geno’s probably saw something then. But they aren’t proof of anything in the strong sense.

Personally, I was quite moved by watching those games because she played well as the primary scorer on a slower smaller team and could easily have folded under the defensive pressure focused on her. I’m sure we’re all eager to see what she might do on a team with size and speed and a much higher skill level, especially at guard.