How come KML has only taken 26 free throws..??

[DavidinNaples]

So far this year, UConn has taken 516 free throws. Stewie has taken 125 of the team's free throws or 24.2%. That makes sense. But then UConn's free throw stats get weird. Consider:

1. The next two players in free throw attempts are two freshman, Kia Nurse w/ 91 and Gabby Williams at 78..?
2. Mojeff has 47 attempts, about 1/2 as many as Kia..?
3. KML has 26 free throw attempts in 32 games..??
4. Morgan has 68 free throw tries, 10 fewer than Williams, but has played 263 more minutes..?
5. Gabby has made 44.9% of her free throws. Without her stats, UConn goes from 71.9% made to 76.7%.
6. Courtney Ekmark, one of the best shooters on the team is 1-5 or 20% from the line..?

The KML stat is the strangest one for me. However, last year she only had 33 attempts, so I guess that is just the way it is....

Go Huskies..!!

 

[Shenandoah]

nobody can catch MoJeff to foul her...

 

[DobbsRover2]

nobody can catch MoJeff to foul her...

Nobody can catch her for sure, but on her drives for a lay-up her shooting motion is so quick and guarded that almost no one fouls he on the arm, and usually it's just with the body.

As for KML, 54% of her shots are 3s which shouldn't draw fouls unless, as Geno says, the defender is stupid. And on her closer in shots, KML tends to keep the defenders off her a distance with her ample size, and then she shoots that quick, beautifully balanced, high-arcing jump shot that just doesn't draw many fouls. And on her lay-ups, the defenders are just not as happy banging into her as with Stewie, and unlike a number of solid posts like maybe a Courtney Paris, KML has never sought out the fouls.

 

[sarals24]

Gabby is great at drawing fouls, so is Nurse. A very underrated skill, IMO. Nurse reminds me of Shea when she drives, she's always looking for the and-one.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Gabby also has the advantage that she's whirling back toward the defender and the rim when she does her specialty jump hook shot from three feet out, and that give the defenders a lot of chances to give her a whack as they stretch out to try to stop the shot.

 

[Sonny44]

KML rarely drives to the basket where many fouls occur.

 

[hussybulldog]

Gabby is great at drawing fouls, so is Nurse. A very underrated skill, IMO. Nurse reminds me of Shea when she drives, she's always looking for the and-one.

Nurse runs into walls quite a bit. more than one would like to. Gabby is really good at drawing fouls, she just moves so quickly at post position, like a gazelle!

 

[geneticrex]

KML spends the overwhelming majority of her court time on the perimeter and of the 3 players that see the most minutes on the perimeter, those being KML, Jefferson and Nurse, KML is the least likely by FAR to dribble drive from the arc to the rack.

Even when KML posts up, her shots are of the short pull up variety, not the typical "take it to the hole".

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think that K's shot selection, as noted, is the big key. But I think there are 2 other factors: (1) she's so strong that, when she is hit, the players bounce off her (as they did with Maya), so fouls are not as noticeable; (2) she shoots such a high percentage, that minor contact is ignored (though a foul should have been called) because she made a basket.

 

[HGN]

So far this year, UConn has taken 516 free throws. Stewie has taken 125 of the team's free throws or 24.2%. That makes sense. But then UConn's free throw stats get weird. Consider:

1. The next two players in free throw attempts are two freshman, Kia Nurse w/ 91 and Gabby Williams at 78..?
2. Mojeff has 47 attempts, about 1/2 as many as Kia..?
3. KML has 26 free throw attempts in 32 games..??
4. Morgan has 68 free throw tries, 10 fewer than Williams, but has played 263 more minutes..?
5. Gabby has made 44.9% of her free throws. Without her stats, UConn goes from 71.9% made to 76.7%.
6. Courtney Ekmark, one of the best shooters on the team is 1-5 or 20% from the line..?

The KML stat is the strangest one for me. However, last year she only had 33 attempts, so I guess that is just the way it is....

Go Huskies..!!

David, I think if she is not one of the top 3 in the WNBA Draft , this will be one of the reasons why. She is not a good enough ballhandler to get her own shot , or in this case , get into the lane and get fouled. And at 5'11 or 6'0 , she should be a better ballhandler. She is such a good shooter she never put in the time to be better.

 

[MilfordHusky]

David, I think if she is not one of the top 3 in the WNBA Draft , this will be one of the reasons why. She is not a good enough ballhandler to get her own shot , or in this case , get into the lane and get fouled. And at 5'11 or 6'0 , she should be a better ballhandler. She is such a good shooter she never put in the time to be better.

Sorry to disagree, but Kaleena is an excellent ball handler. She may not have the quickness, height, or elevation to score inside regularly, but she is a great dribbler. She has world-class hands.

Remember the threads about Maya not getting to the foul line enough when she was in college? How did that work out? I'm not saying that K will get as many FTAs as Maya now does, but she'll be fine.

I'm betting that Sue has input into the Storm's draft selection. I think they pick Kaleena in the top 3, probably at 1. She'll be the best shooter in the league.

 

[DobbsRover2]

KML has proven herself quite able to dribble in with a few nifty moves and either take it to the hoop or shoot those high percentage short jumpers. But again, if you can shoot 3s at more than 50% and get the extra point for them, why would you feel a big urgency to drive in to the post, especially after getting flipped and missing a lot of games last year due to action in the paint? I don't get all these requests for a player like KML to take all the risks inside without any regard to the higher chance for injury, especially when she's got such a sweet deal outside.

 

[Bigpetunia]

Gabby is great at drawing fouls, so is Nurse. A very underrated skill, IMO. Nurse reminds me of Shea when she drives, she's always looking for the and-one.

I fully concur with your positive assessment of Gabby's and Kia's ability to get to the line, but even more with your observation of what an underrated skill it is. When fouls are drawn, either good things or very good things result, depending upon whether or not the subsequent charity shots are canned. That is why, in fairness, despite the fact that KML has the sweetest stroke in the game from the perimeter, and we all love her contribution, her failure to get to the stripe more often constitutes a fair indictment of her overall game. She definitely has the ability to drive into the key, take short jumpers, draw a lot of defensive attention down low that might result in fouls....she just doesn't seem to like to mix it up inside as much as I, for one, would like her to. And, of course, who better to convert the free throws than she? This is also reflected, in my opinion, in rebounding. Despite the disparity in playing time, I think Gabby, a different kind of player to be sure, has 50-60 more total rebounds than KML. Sure we UConn fans are spoiled, and it's not easy to find things about which to complain, but since much has been made by the announcers about Kaleena's having transformed herself into a much more complete player than just a 3pt artist, I'd love to see that reflected in more fouls drawn and rebounds.

 

[Icebear]

I think that K's shot selection, as noted, is the big key. But I think there are 2 other factors: (1) she's so strong that, when she is hit, the players bounce off her (as they did with Maya), so fouls are not as noticeable; (2) she shoots such a high percentage, that minor contact is ignored (though a foul should have been called) because she made a basket.

She has gone inside a great deal this year but her strength like Maya's allows her to finish strong. Of course, that doesn't mean she shouldn't go to the line just that it is less likely.

 

[VAMike23]

Just for reference, in her freshman campaign, KML averaged one FTA every 12.8 minutes. This year, she is averaging one FTA every 34.9 minutes.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Just for reference, in her freshman campaign, KML averaged one FTA every 12.8 minutes. This year, she is averaging one FTA every 34.9 minutes.

Interesting comparison. Puzzling.

 

[EricLA]

KML rarely drives to the basket where many fouls occur.

Very true, as you and a few others pointed out, but also when she does play in the post, she backs down her defender, then turns and hits a jumper. It seems that most fouls occur when the player is driving to the basket. KML is strong and deceptively deft, but she's not a "driver" to the hoop...

 

[DobbsRover2]

Interesting but understandable trends for KML:

2011-12: 38.4% on 3s, 1 FTA every 13 minutes
2012-13: 49.2% on 3s, 1 FTA every 16 minutes
2013-14: 41.3% on 3s, 1 FTA every 27 minutes. Injury in second game and a bout of mono causes her to miss 12 games completely and be limited in others.
2014-15: 51.0% on 3s, 1 FTA every 35 minutes

So after the injury when she skied for a rebound in the paint, got tangled up with Ogwumike, and then sat out basically a third of last season with the elbow and mono, KLM has not been banging in the paint very much and driving in for lay-ups or leaping up to grab a ton of boards. Instead she's perfected the most lethal weapon in WCBB.

Probably in the minority here, but I just think KML is a priceless asset with her 50+% outside shooting, and I would very much prefer to have her do just what she's doing and not take any extra risks just to get back to that 1 FTA every 13 minutes. 104 made 3s right now means far more than getting 104 FTAs, and there's no assurance that you can get both from her without greatly upping the wear and tear and chances for a major injury. A bucket of threes is way better than a foot in the bucket or an arm in a sling.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Interesting but understandable trends for KML:

2011-12: 38.4% on 3s, 1 FTA every 13 minutes
2012-13: 49.2% on 3s, 1 FTA every 16 minutes
2013-14: 41.3% on 3s, 1 FTA every 27 minutes. Injury in second game and a bout of mono causes her to miss 12 games completely and be limited in others.
2014-15: 51.0% on 3s, 1 FTA every 35 minutes

So after the injury when she skied for a rebound in the paint, got tangled up with Ogwumike, and then sat out basically a third of last season with the elbow and mono, KLM has not been banging in the paint very much and driving in for lay-ups or leaping up to grab a ton of boards. Instead she's perfected the most lethal weapon in WCBB.

Probably in the minority here, but I just think KML is a priceless asset with her 50+% outside shooting, and I would very much prefer to have her do just what she's doing and not take any extra risks just to get back to that 1 FTA every 13 minutes. 104 made 3s right now means far more than getting 104 FTAs, and there's no assurance that you can get both from her without greatly upping the wear and tear and chances for a major injury. A bucket of threes is way better than a foot in the bucket or an arm in a sling.

K really opens up the offense. If a team wants to play a true zone, she will destroy it. She's also an excellent passer.

 

[Scotter]

UConn players rarely get to the free thrown line in general. You can pretty much count on one hand than the number of UConn players that went to the FT line at a high rate. Shea Ralph, Swin Cash, Barbara Turner, Tiffany Hayes, and Breanna Stewart.

For UConn unless it is shooting a layup if a defender is close enough to foul then it is probably not the best available shot. And KML understands that shot selection incredibly well it's one of the many ways that people have already mentioned that she is similar to Maya, She's trying to play perfect basketball. And the players that try to play perfect basketball are incredible team players, but they aren't going to shoot a lot of FT's (They also almost never turn the ball over because they're always inc control). As UConn has gotten better as a team over her career she's shot less FT's, which is natural for her. And like Maya she'll make the adjustment eventually in the WNBA because the necessary play at that level is often to take the contested shot because there's not going to be a wide open shot.

 

[DobbsRover2]

UConn players rarely get to the free thrown line in general. You can pretty much count on one hand than the number of UConn players that went to the FT line at a high rate. Shea Ralph, Swin Cash, Barbara Turner, Tiffany Hayes, and Breanna Stewart.

For UConn unless it is shooting a layup if a defender is close enough to foul then it is probably not the best available shot. And KML understands that shot selection incredibly well it's one of the many ways that people have already mentioned that she is similar to Maya, She's trying to play perfect basketball. And the players that try to play perfect basketball are incredible team players, but they aren't going to shoot a lot of FT's (They also almost never turn the ball over because they're always inc control). As UConn has gotten better as a team over her career she's shot less FT's, which is natural for her. And like Maya she'll make the adjustment eventually in the WNBA because the necessary play at that level is often to take the contested shot because there's not going to be a wide open shot.

Great point, and another reason for UConn's general lack of FTAs is that they pass the ball so well, often times there's no defender near a UConn player as she is putting in a lay up or hitting a jump shot. For many other teams, much of the offense is predicated on dribbling around a lot at the perimeter looking to feed a post player for a contested shot in the paint, or finally having the guard just drive inside for a shot in traffic and hope that a foul gets called. UConn doesn't play that way.