Hays & Voepel pick their Player, Coach, and Freshmen of the year. Plus AA's.

[easttexastrash]

To me, Williams was the obvious choice due to her defensive presence. She had a much bigger impact on defense than KML did. That is the same argument that I use when comparing Griner to Nneka and EDD. Like Griner, Williams also impacts the game on defense in ways that don't show up in the box score. Just her presence is at times enough to alter what the offense is willing to try.

 

[easttexastrash]

Have to agree. Martin did a great job making sure to surround Delle Donne with other players. Plenty of schools have one great player, but Martin did a good job managing the rest of the team and getting them to step up. Not quite sure that is COY-worthy, though.

Geno has done a great job. UConn does not really have a power forward. But the talent he does have were top ten players/All-Americans in high school. That will hurt him with some voters, despite the fact he has overcome a lack of a depth, the absence of a power forward, and the loss of one of the greatest players in the history of WCBB,

Mulkey might be a popular choice because her team is undefeated and ranked #1. But has Baylor really surpassed expectations? They were favored to be a Final Four team going into this year.

Just some random musings...

Just out of curiosity, how many coaches have taken their team into the NCAA tourney undefeated? I know that Geno, Pat and Conradt have, but not sure who else has accomplished that.

And yes, I believe that Baylor has surpassed expectations. I don't think that they were projected to be undefeated at this point.

 

[easttexastrash]

I'm sure that the GB player is a very good player, but no way I can put her ahead of Sims. Sims is the best on-ball defender in the nation, IMO, and against top 15 teams she averages 21 points a game. She has played against most of the best guards in the country and has proven that she is better as the competition increases.

 

[MilfordHusky]

After watching both CAA games over the weekend, I'm thinking that Martin did a better job of coaching than I said earlier in the thread. The passing against UNCW's man-to-man was very good. However, the Drexel zone was a problem and the press was something of a problem.

I'm still waiting for a screen for Elena. She gets to a spot and her teammates get her the ball. The passes are pretty good, not great. I don't understand why they don't set a screen at the top of the key or elsewhere. Too many of her shots are contested from one-on-one play. With space, she is perhaps the best shooter in the country. She was 2-3 on open shots yesterday, from 15' and 20'. She also missed from 24'.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I'm sure that the GB player is a very good player, but no way I can put her ahead of Sims. Sims is the best on-ball defender in the nation, IMO, and against top 15 teams she averages 21 points a game. She has played against most of the best guards in the country and has proven that she is better as the competition increases.

I was a little surprised to see Wojta selected, but she puts up nice points and rebounding numbers. Voters notice those more than on-ball defense. Like Hartley, Sims plays best in the tough games. Maybe she needs better stats in the other games. Early on, I had Odyssey in my top 5; then I saw that her numbers were lower than I expected; but she had at least two nice outings lately, so she's back as my #4 or 5 player. I'd take her over Skylar by a small margin. She's quicker and a better 3-point and FT shooter. Both get lot of steals. Skylar has a few more assists.

 

[ASweet3781]

Without KML, UConn does not get a 1 seed, win the BET, beat Stanford and Notre Dame, and lead Baylor in the 2nd half on their home floor.

 

[johnnyc]

Without KML, UConn does not get a 1 seed, win the BET, beat Stanford and Notre Dame, and lead Baylor in the 2nd half on their home floor.

Yeah...that's where I was going too but....for the whole season's work I think Williams gets the nod.

 

[Samanthabrown3]

Sorry, but her name was Felina! And the poor cowboy dies in the end.

Well, Marty Robbins got it wrong. It should have been Kaleena.