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Is it Not True

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That Napheesa Collier became a much improved player after she left UConn
I can think of few (any?) examples of that.

When they became pros...we knew what (for example) Sue, Maya, Stewie would bring...Phee has developed into a dominant player of that ilk...which in my mind, she was not quite in college.
 
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IMO: the Lynx depend on Napheesa more than did UConn....so it is not
surprising that her stats are up in the pros.

My bet is that the vast number of players in basketball do NOT
hit their ceiling in college. If they are good enough to play pro ball...and are willing
to work at it... they'll get better...though their stats might not reflect it since the level
of play is better. That would be true for UConn grads and other colleges as well.
 
IMO: the Lynx depend on Napheesa more than did UConn....so it is not
surprising that her stats are up in the pros.

My bet is that the vast number of players in basketball do NOT
hit their ceiling in college. If they are good enough to play pro ball...and are willing
to work at it... they'll get better...though their stats might not reflect it since the level
of play is better. That would be true for UConn grads and other colleges as well.
Agreed. Collier's team mate Carleton is a great example. From being cut in Connecticut to coming off the bench to being a starter for Minnesota, she's a great example of your point.
 
Pheesa was always a very good offensive player at UConn with a non-stop motor where she never took a play off. Where she has really improved is on the defensive end, particularly against taller/bigger posts (with much improved rebounding) and against smaller/quicker guards (with improved shot blocking.)
 
I’d say even Sue Dee Maya and Stewie improved in the W. It may not be so obvious because their skills were so complete in college. But they definitely raised their competitive intensity with the higher level of competition they faced.

I always marvel at the way bigs like A’ja or Jonquel or Azura are able to become much more mobile in the pros and improve their passing, handles and perimeter shooting. But Stewie, by contrast, already had great passing, handles, a good perimeter shoot and was very mobile in college. This is why she dominated D1, and why the only improvement she could make is in court vision (which was already very high) and competitiveness.
 
To survive in the WNBA, college players need to improve all of their skills otherwise they're gone.....
Exactly, and on a similar vein...Shepard, on the Lynx, has turned into a monster! She has reshaped her body and her post skills into a big-time performer! Players must improve and evolve in the W , cuz the next batch is breathing down their necks with fire!
 
Funny how a 2 time all American can get overlooked solid junior year playing out of position most people thought KLS was the better of the 2 only a few of us thought differently
I think a LOT of folks had no idea how good Collier was in college. I was stunned when she fell to sixth in the draft.

She’s certainly gotten better as a pro, but she was already great when she arrived.
 
Kiah Stokes, I think it's another good example.

I had a quasi related thought last night while watching the Minnesota Dallas game. As a general rule, it seems that Connecticut players are extraordinarily well prepared to play in the WNBA. They seem to have a high basketball IQ, have good individual habits, and be very coachable.
 
IMO, Gabby Williams and Tiffany Hayes made the biggest gains after leaving UConn.

Napheesa Collier has of course improved but I think she was underestimated due to her unfortunate play in Final Fours (it happens) . If she had risen to those occasions, I think she would be remembered far, far differently (at a school that now has 12 national titles and many greats).
 
Pheesa was a very good all around "interior" player in college. She was only drafted #6 her year, and behind Katie Lou because of questions about her ability to play the 3 or on the perimeter in the W. From a draft standpoint she was viewed as an undersized 4, or a 3 without a perimeter shot.

Katie Lou on the other hand did not have Pheesa's overall game, but with a great shot and 6-3 size, she would not have to make a positional change for the pros, and might have been considered a safer pick. Pheesa has excelled in that transition in many ways, in essence becoming a great 3/4. Improving her perimeter skills to be effective at the 3, and yet still being able to use her athletic ability and moves to score more in close than most scouts would have predicted, enabling her to be effective at the 4 as well.

Many players need to move down one position, both going from HS to college, and then to the pros. Some of those changes are more subtle, but others are major conversions. IMO the biggest adjustments are when an undersized interior player has to learn to play outside, and when a scoring guard because of their sized, has to learn to be a PG. Hailey Van Lith might be an example of the later, a very difficult transition at LSU, but looking like she was starting to get better in that position at TCU.
 
Collier was used as a 6’1” center at UConn. This did not hurt her offensive game, but her defense against other elite centers suffered from playing an unsuitable position for her. Being able to play a more natural position for her size in the pros allowed for greater development.
 
Every successful pro is better than they were in College! The difference may range from substantial to almost becoming a completely different player but they all get better. The amount of improvement that occurs is directly related to the longevity of their pro career. Wilson was a very good college post but now she would be generationally dominant to the point of it being unfairThe same is true of Phee and to a lesser degree, all of the Pros.
 
Based upon what I see, Pheesa moves better without the ball than anyone else in the W. Many of her points come that way. She didn't learn it there. She learned it here.
So none of her time overseas helped with that skillset? Have a hard time seeing that all of her ball movement came solely from her time at UConn considering some of the teams she's played with in Europe.
 
my recollection of the Phee/KLS days is that the offense revolved more around the KLS outside shot and that Phee somewhat deferred to that. I can remember her passing up 15+ footers to push it out to KLS. Whether that was a confidence thing or game plan strategy is hard to know.
Clearly Phee is relishing the first option role for the Lynx and has all world confidence off the court.
 
my recollection of the Phee/KLS days is that the offense revolved more around the KLS outside shot and that Phee somewhat deferred to that. I can remember her passing up 15+ footers to push it out to KLS. Whether that was a confidence thing or game plan strategy is hard to know.
Clearly Phee is relishing the first option role for the Lynx and has all world confidence off the court.
Phee also has a really good coach which helps.
 
So none of her time overseas helped with that skillset? Have a hard time seeing that all of her ball movement came solely from her time at UConn considering some of the teams she's played with in Europe.
Everything helped with that but she learned it here. She plays UCONN basketball in the W. Very fundamentally sound. She is constantly moving just like she did here.
 
For me it's the 3pt shot percentage in just the last year or so that has made her a real problem for defenders. That's a pick your poison that wasn't there in college.

As others have said, I think Reeve figuring out how to construct a pro scheme that puts her at the 4 has helped her defense.

Reeve is a good enough coach to get beyond forcing her into a 3 just because of her height.
 
For me it's the 3pt shot percentage in just the last year or so that has made her a real problem for defenders. That's a pick your poison that wasn't there in college.
In her senior year, her 3 pt percentage fell off a bit. But I remember her shooting upwards of 40% in her sophomore season. The more striking thing is how few 3s she attempted. Probably not much more than 50-60 in a season.
 

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