How Ashlynn Shade became UConn's best rebounding guard: 'The kid works pretty hard'

[BRS24]

Article link here.

Shade finds herself in her third new role in her third year in Storrs. Due to UConn’s carousel of injuries her freshman year, she was thrown into the lineup and forced to be a dependable scorer out of necessity. Last year, with the Huskies’ health back, she was one of their energy sources off the bench.​

​

This year, Shade finds herself back among the starting five – yet thanks to Strong and Fudd, the guard no longer needs to be one of the top scorers every night. And while her own shot may not be falling as consistently as she’d like, Shade has carved out her own unique impact as one of UConn’s most dependable rebounders.​

 

[oldude]

I have said this before. On a team where everyone works hard, Ash works harder than anyone.

 

[Bone Dog]

Ash is very much what she was in high school, just with the intensity ratcheted up to eleven. She did whatever her team needed in those days, always with a team first emphasis. This has allowed Geno to ask so much of her, to tap into the vast resources her athleticism makes possible.

When I first heard about her recruitment, I searched for video of her games. Surprisingly, Noblesville HS televised all their games. Not just highlights, but full games. I’d bet these videos can still be found online, including one game against Ayanna’s high school team. Spoiler alert: Ash took Ayanna’s team apart.

The first thing you notice about these games is that Ash plays full court defense — a one-woman press — for entire games. I imagine this caught Geno’s attention. She was also the best scorer on the team, with a remarkable midrange jumper. And yet, she was relentless in creating opportunities for her teammates to score. One notable example is from the closing seconds of the state championship game, which she was in a position to seal with an open jump shot. But she spotted a teammate with a better shot and found her with a pass to close out the win.

And she was a ball-hawking rebounder, chasing down loose balls with fervor. I remember thinking at the time that Jim Flanery at Creighton would know exactly how she might contribute to his team. She’d have fit their style and team culture very well. South Dakota State too.

But Geno wanted her more, and Ash was willing to take a chance, go far from home, and try a place where she would no longer be the star. She even transferred to an out of state private school for her senior year simply to get comfortable with living away from home. Geno saw a key cog in a championship team in her, and she saw an opportunity to expand her game in every direction under the greatest coach in the country. Neither one shrank from the challenge.

PS: Ash played in at least one national allstar game. And as you can imagine, her full range of talents couldn’t find much expression in such games. All there was for her to do was hit a few 3s. I think this is how she got the reputation of being a perimeter shooter.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Told y'all from DAY ONE. She’s a paint bully.

 

[Next 12]

I have been saying from day one that Ashlynn was special, especially as a freshman , with AA talent because of her never stop hustle. I believe Ashlynn would start on any team she was on. There isn't any thing she doesn't do well and her tenacity is outstanding.She amazed me with some of the saves she made to save the ball from going out of bounds and being 5'10" , she has come into her own in rebounding. Ashlynn is an integral part on the team.Her hustle is the core of Uconnj. Ashlynn's best days are ahead of her and she will make her mark of excellence in Uconn history. GO ASHLYNN!!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!!

 

[Henry]

She's probably the fittest player on the team, which allows her to play extended minutes without a let-up in her defensive intensity.

 

[MooseJaw]

I have said this before. On a team where everyone works hard, Ash works harder than anyone.

On the nose. I have said this before; Ash is a better version of the Energizer Bunny.

 

[Huskee11]

Shade is the ultimate team player. She is a relentless defender and has an amazing ability to get offensive rebounds by reading the shot off of the rim. Always in motion, but rarely in the wrong spot. Classic example of a player who does positive things that don't show up in the box score. I have great admiration for her.

If you were to chart paths that players take on the offensive end, you would see a lot of semi-circles and weaving, snake-like patterns with Paige and Azzi. Shade's patterns would largely be straight lines, similar to Evina Westbrook. Her drives are mostly straight lines to a spot, stop and pop. Her passes are crisp and rarely risky.

Her offense is best as a complementary spot up shooter. She is good at getting to open spots if her teammates can find her. That may have occurred more with Nika and Paige involved.

If you watch the game closely you will see that she rarely gets more than a shot or two in the first six or seven minutes of the game. There was that crazy game at Mohegan Sun against Iowa State last season when she scored 20 in the first quarter, but Azzi was out that game and Iowa State's transition defense was non-existent.

With this team, there is usually an effort to get Serah involved early, and not surprisingly, Azzi and Sarah get most of the early shots. Shade is there to keep the defense honest because they can't leave her alone. Her lower percentages this year may be due in part to not getting into a rhythm early.

 

[Centerstream]

"And while her own shot may not be falling"
I have been wanting to post this in many of this season's postgame threads because I was spoiled by her freshman year performances and then last season especially against ISU and in the SoCar game in Columbia.
But d*mn if she isn't doing so much more for this team this season.

 

[Bone Dog]

Geno paid her the ultimate UConn compliment: it’s very difficult to take her off the floor.

 

[AmeriConn]

Article link here.

Shade finds herself in her third new role in her third year in Storrs. Due to UConn’s carousel of injuries her freshman year, she was thrown into the lineup and forced to be a dependable scorer out of necessity. Last year, with the Huskies’ health back, she was one of their energy sources off the bench.​

​

This year, Shade finds herself back among the starting five – yet thanks to Strong and Fudd, the guard no longer needs to be one of the top scorers every night. And while her own shot may not be falling as consistently as she’d like, Shade has carved out her own unique impact as one of UConn’s most dependable rebounders.​

Thank you for this post. Total respect for Ash! She's a work horse who does many things and totally loves her teammates. Don't anybody throw "shade" on her! She deserves more recognition.

 

[PacoSwede]

Geno paid her the ultimate UConn compliment: it’s very difficult to take her off the floor.

true . . . nika-like.

 

[Happydad745]

Ash is the perfect "TEAM" player...she supports everyone and helps them play their game. She is not a ball hog, I don't think anyone on this team is, but she makes everyone a little better. She is relentless on defense, always hustling, and like KK, will not go away.

 

[mordecai]

I have said this before. On a team where everyone works hard, Ash works harder than anyone.

100% agree.. Absolutely love watching Ash play basketball..

 

[Skeets]

She is a hard-nosed, hardworking kid. They grow them tough in Indiana. Love her game even when she's not putting up big scoring numbers. So does Geno.

 

[Next 12]

Thank you, every poster above , for giving Ashlynn the recognition she so greatly deserves..I know EVERY major team out there wishes Ashlynn played for them but Uconn has her. GO ASHLYNN!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!!

 

[Kat]

She always makes the smart move, on offense or defense. Her basketball IQ is off the charts.

 

[towerman]

She takes me back to Kelly Ferris

 

[Bigboote]

Shade is the ultimate team player. She is a relentless defender and has an amazing ability to get offensive rebounds by reading the shot off of the rim. Always in motion, but rarely in the wrong spot. Classic example of a player who does positive things that don't show up in the box score. I have great admiration for her.

If you were to chart paths that players take on the offensive end, you would see a lot of semi-circles and weaving, snake-like patterns with Paige and Azzi. Shade's patterns would largely be straight lines, similar to Evina Westbrook. Her drives are mostly straight lines to a spot, stop and pop. Her passes are crisp and rarely risky.

That's a cogent observation. Regarding both paragraphs, she does a lot of diagonal movement -- she'll be out by the three-point line halfway from the baseline to the top-center, then cut toward the opposite corner. She'll stop in the paint and I'll think "she's getting in a big's way". But the big is cutting to the basket, and Ash is perfectly positioned to pick off the big defender.

Regarding the thread title, I'll say it for probably the fifth time -- the numbers only tell half the story of Ashlynn's rebounding. Tips, box-outs, etc., lead to as many rebounds as she snags.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

She exudes confidence on the floor, especially on defense, and she plays the game with such JOY. As I say... Ash is Cash!!!!

 

[Gael]

Focusing solely the rebounding reference in the topic, Ash is indeed the best rebounding guard on UConn at 3.1 per game. That's quite modest.

Actually, UConn is not a top rebounding team this year. Per game, they are currently 215th in O boards, 124th in D boards, and 153rd in T boards. Re T boards, LSU is 3rd nationally, S. Carolina 13th, UCLA 14th, and Texas 56th.

Last season, Paige had 4.4 RPG.

Currently, there are 269 DI guards who average 5 or more RPG. The national leader is Rhema Collins of FIU at 9.9. In the Big East, Halle Vice of Marquette is 5th nationally at 8.8. Of guards on the top 4 ranked teams, Kiki Rice of UCLA is the best at 62nd nationally at 6.7.

 

[bkart1978]

I don't think her rebounding number fully speaks to Ash's impact on the boards, though. I don't think there's anyone better in the country at letting the opponent get the board and then immediately grabbing it and forcing a jump ball. So even though she doesn't get a statistical point for it, she keeps the possession alive just as well as she would with an offensive rebound.

My only slight concern with Ash is that I hope she still plays with all the joy she did as a freshman; I miss when she used to break into a huge smile every time she hit a shot. Maybe now there's more pressure from the expectation (at least from some fans) that she be a primary scorer, and the makes are more of a relief than a thrill. I'd love to see her continue to celebrate the makes and stop worrying about the misses (and kudos to her for that possession the other day when she missed a three, had the rebound kicked out to her, and shot it again immediately - love to see it).

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Focusing solely the rebounding reference in the topic, Ash is indeed the best rebounding guard on UConn at 3.1 per game. That's quite modest.

Actually, UConn is not a top rebounding team this year. Per game, they are currently 215th in O boards, 124th in D boards, and 153rd in T boards. Re T boards, LSU is 3rd nationally, S. Carolina 13th, UCLA 14th, and Texas 56th.

Last season, Paige had 4.4 RPG.

Currently, there are 269 DI guards who average 5 or more RPG. The national leader is Rhema Collins of FIU at 9.9. In the Big East, Halle Vice of Marquette is 5th nationally at 8.8. Of guards on the top 4 ranked teams, Kiki Rice of UCLA is the best at 62nd nationally at 6.7.

I think the better rebounding metric to use is ORB%.

• ORB% is a cohort rebounding stat that shows a player’s share of “available rebounds” in offensive possessions (one player vs 9 others on the floor in a team’s offensive possessions);
• the “available rebounds” rubric &1 removes the penalty for teams being efficient in offense.

Ash is the best offensive rebounding guard on the team with significant minutes. Also better than Paige last year. Paige as a (4) in small ball defense was a better defensive (DRB%) guard last year.

• Per Torvik’s database, Ash is the 16th ranked combo guard based on ORB%.

&1 “Available Rebounds” only exist in missed FGAs on offense and missed opponent FGAs (when UConn fails to steal the possession). Per Torvik’s database, UConn is ranked 91st in team ORB% and 69th in team DRB%.

Geno and CD, it seems, strive to perfect the best shot offense and defense first before being too worried about rebounding. Rebounding margins only matter in close games, a point emphasized during practices about what to do when shots are not falling.

 

[Gael]

I focused on Ash's total rebounds because I think that was a rhetorical hook in the article linked in the OP. The writer alleges that, this year, "Shade has carved out her own unique impact as one of UConn’s most dependable rebounders."

It happens to be my personal opinion that 3.1 TRBs a game is not a "unique [rebounding] impact," so I researched and posted comparative TRB stats for other players.

I was not commenting on any of Shade's other skill contributions. Others have made all those points.

I think the better rebounding metric to use is ORB%.

Why? That seems like an arbitrary and overly selective cherry pick. Defensive rebounds count, too, so that's why I chose T boards to measure and challenge Ash's "unique impact" via rebounding. (But I have no objection to using TRB%, discussed below.)

Shade happens to be UConn's top guard in TRB per game, as I noted (and third on the team), but she's second best guard in ORB% (after Fisher's "insignificant"? minutes) as your stats show. When we get to DRB%, Ash is the fourth best guard (assuming BQ and CD are not guards) and 11th on the team. Why not use TRB% to capture her "unique impact" on all rebounding? With that more comprehensive rebound % stat, Ash is the second best guard on the team (after Heckel) and ninth on the team.

I think my use of TRB instead TRB% or the arbitrarily selective ORB% actually makes Shade look like a better statistical rebounder—but hardly "unique" in the grand scheme of WCBB.

You say Torvik has Shade as the 16th best combo guard in the nation in ORB%. Frankly, I'm unfamiliar with Torvik and don't know how to use all his variable parameters. But your linked table seems to show only conference play not national play. What are Torvik's national rankings for guards in ORB% and, more important for my focus, TRB%? HHS shows me that Shade ranks nationally 858th for guards in TRB%.

Geno and CD, it seems, strive to perfect the best shot offense and defense first before being too worried about rebounding.

Given UConn's success to date, I'm not "worried" either about the team rebounding. I just thought I'd point out where UConn ranks in ORB, DRB and TRB—none high.

BTW, @NycUcWbbFan, I enjoy your statistical posts and your interest in discussing and explaining them.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

I focused on Ash's total rebounds because I think that was a rhetorical hook in the article linked in the OP. The writer alleges that, this year, "Shade has carved out her own unique impact as one of UConn’s most dependable rebounders."

It happens to be my personal opinion that 3.1 TRBs a game is not a "unique [rebounding] impact," so I researched and posted comparative TRB stats for other players.

I was not commenting on any of Shade's other skill contributions. Others have made all those points.



Why? That seems like an arbitrary and overly selective cherry pick. Defensive rebounds count, too, so that's why I chose T boards to measure and challenge Ash's "unique impact" via rebounding. (But I have no objection to using TRB%, discussed below.)

Shade happens to be UConn's top guard in TRB per game, as I noted (and third on the team), but she's second best guard in ORB% (after Fisher's "insignificant"? minutes) as your stats show. When we get to DRB%, Ash is the fourth best guard (assuming BQ and CD are not guards) and 11th on the team. Why not use TRB% to capture her "unique impact" on all rebounding? With that more comprehensive rebound % stat, Ash is the second best guard on the team (after Heckel) and ninth on the team.

I think my use of TRB instead TRB% or the arbitrarily selective ORB% actually makes Shade look like a better statistical rebounder—but hardly "unique" in the grand scheme of WCBB.

You say Torvik has Shade as the 16th best combo guard in the nation in ORB%. Frankly, I'm unfamiliar with Torvik and don't know how to use all his variable parameters. But your linked table seems to show only conference play not national play. What are Torvik's national rankings for guards in ORB% and, more important for my focus, TRB%? HHS shows me that Shade ranks nationally 858th for guards in TRB%.



Given UConn's success to date, I'm not "worried" either about the team rebounding. I just thought I'd point out where UConn ranks in ORB, DRB and TRB—none high.

BTW, @NycUcWbbFan, I enjoy your statistical posts and your interest in discussing and explaining them.

ORB%/ DRB% and TRB% are rate stats (per possession stats). It’s good at normalizing comparisons. Just like per 40 stats, the picture can get distorted by players who don’t play a lot of minutes (e.g. Kelis) to impact games.

The reason why I didn’t include DRB% is that it is usually highly correlated to how that player is being used in defense. Paige as a (4) last year had better DRB%. This year, there’s plenty of taller players at UConn for DRB%. ORB% is one of the things that sets Ash apart this year and it’s noticeable.

Note: Torvik’s player database matches SRSCB for advanced stats. It’s convenient because it contains all players in a sortable database.

When I was a lurker during the drought years, posts expressing (tall/ athletic) player envy usually in the context of rebounds — usually made in the same possession — usually made my eyes roll. UConn does need to be competitive in rebounds, but it terms of training bandwidth, it has always been more of a “metamorphosis period” item.