Is There an Issue With Kristine Anigwe? | The Boneyard

Is There an Issue With Kristine Anigwe?

JoePgh

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Having watched the substitution pattern in the two Sun games (against the Liberty and then the Dallas Wings) in the last couple of days, I am extremely puzzled and a bit concerned with their use of their #1 pick, Kristine Anigwe. In both games, she was used very sparingly despite not appearing to be injured. In both games, the team's 2nd round draft picks entered the game earlier and played more minutes than Anigwe.

Given the lack of jubilation that she showed when she was drafted by the Sun, this has me thinking that maybe she has told the Sun's management that she does not wish to play in Connecticut and that she wants to be traded. And maybe they are minimizing her minutes so as not to risk an injury which would lower her value in a trade.

I hope that Kelli Stacy or someone else digs into this a little bit further to determine if there is really an issue here.
 

eebmg

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I thought I heard reports from the BY that she was not having a good preseason when she played. Nerves, mistakes etc. I think with my liberty, Asia Durr is a bit in that category although she is getting the playing time to work through it.

If she wants to leave a situation, the last thing the team or the player wants to do is put them on the bench and not show off her skills.
 

Orangutan

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Having watched the substitution pattern in the two Sun games (against the Liberty and then the Dallas Wings) in the last couple of days, I am extremely puzzled and a bit concerned with their use of their #1 pick, Kristine Anigwe. In both games, she was used very sparingly despite not appearing to be injured. In both games, the team's 2nd round draft picks entered the game earlier and played more minutes than Anigwe.

Given the lack of jubilation that she showed when she was drafted by the Sun, this has me thinking that maybe she has told the Sun's management that she does not wish to play in Connecticut and that she wants to be traded. And maybe they are minimizing her minutes so as not to risk an injury which would lower her value in a trade.

I hope that Kelli Stacy or someone else digs into this a little bit further to determine if there is really an issue here.

If I had to guess, they know Anigwe is making the roster. They want to get a better look at the 2nd round picks so they can figure out who to keep and who they might cut.

Still, it doesn't look like they are lining her up for a big role right away.
 

Carnac

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If I had to guess, they know Anigwe is making the roster. They want to get a better look at the 2nd round picks so they can figure out who to keep and who they might cut.

Still, it doesn't look like they are lining her up for a big role right away.

The Sun only play 3 preseason games, the last being on Sunday May 19. Your observations are probably correct.

Uncasville, Conn. (May 7, 2019) – The Connecticut Sun announced today that Brianna Kiesel and Ariel Edwards have been waived. As of this writing, the Sun's roster is down to 15 players. They have that last preseason game to look at those players on the bubble. All teams have to cut their final regular season roster down to 12 players by Thursday May 23. The regular season begins the next day on the 24th.
 
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Players often pick up bad habits at a certain level that bits them at the next. Anigwe played a lot of minutes for Cal. This necessitated her having to pace herself. She would often disappear a quarter at a time. At the pro level, she has to hit the court running whenever she gets in. She is no longer the star who will get her minutes no matter what. She might need to learn to crank up the intensity and keep it there for as long as she is on the court.
 

DefenseBB

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In my biased view, I had always thought she was over-rated without the serious skills required to match the same size type players with the skills. Her mid-range is suspect as is her full game running. Maybe our PAC12 brethren can offer some other compelling evidence for me to only "dislike her" vs. my current perspective of "extremely dislike"...naw, on second thought, I doubt it. :D
 
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In my biased view, I had always thought she was over-rated without the serious skills required to match the same size type players with the skills. Her mid-range is suspect as is her full game running. Maybe our PAC12 brethren can offer some other compelling evidence for me to only "dislike her" vs. my current perspective of "extremely dislike"...naw, on second thought, I doubt it. :D
Why do you "extremely dislike" her?
 

Rocket009

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In my biased view, I had always thought she was over-rated without the serious skills required to match the same size type players with the skills. Her mid-range is suspect as is her full game running. Maybe our PAC12 brethren can offer some other compelling evidence for me to only "dislike her" vs. my current perspective of "extremely dislike"...naw, on second thought, I doubt it. :D


If I remember correctly, Geno was double-teaming her for the whole first half of the Cal game. When they didn't she was able to out muscle Collier. So she's probably not that over-rated.
 
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Now that the season has started I believe Anigwe has not played a minute in a regular season game. In addition to what I think are some attitude issues as well as motivation I believe her skill-set while dominant at the college level doesn't translate well to the professional level. See Kawani Brown.

She was a local high school product in Phoenix was not recruited by Charli Turner Thorne and I'm not sure any of her issues were directly addressed while she was at Cal. In the four games played at ASU during her tenure at Cal she put up big numbers but as I recall ASU won three of the four games.
 
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Now that the season has started I believe Anigwe has not played a minute in a regular season game. In addition to what I think oare some attitude issues as well as motivation I believe her skill-set while dominant at the college level doesn't translate well to the professional level. See Kawani Brown.

She was a local high school product in Phoenix was not recruited by Charli Turner Thorne and I'm not sure any of her issues were directly addressed while she was at Cal. In the four games played at ASU during her tenure at Cal she put up big numbers but as I recall ASU won three of the four games.
She is buried behind J Jones, A Thomas, B Jones, and Tuck. B Jones and Tuck aren't exactly getting that much minutes either as it is. I'm not surprised Anigwe isn't getting that many minutes, she's a rookie for a team that doesn't "need" her to get a lot of minutes. When the she got drafted, the ESPN analysts were trying to reason CT by saying the pick is "one for the future."

Btw, I enjoyed Tuck in college and am rooting for her... But this season has been disappointing for her so far. Last season Miller hyped her up to have a great season, and this season the same happened.
 
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Why draft her then? I wish she would’ve went higher or lower to a better situation. The pick didn’t make since and at the time they also had Chiney which really didn’t make since. Lou to Chicago also bothers me, I wish she would’ve gone lower to a team with a good coach. Chicago is just all over the place.
 
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Now that the season has started I believe Anigwe has not played a minute in a regular season game. In addition to what I think oare some attitude issues as well as motivation I believe her skill-set while dominant at the college level doesn't translate well to the professional level. See Kawani Brown.

She was a local high school product in Phoenix was not recruited by Charli Turner Thorne and I'm not sure any of her issues were directly addressed while she was at Cal. In the four games played at ASU during her tenure at Cal she put up big numbers but as I recall ASU won three of the four games.
Kalani's skillset is there, but it's her conditioning. She still have to get into shape. Rookie centers don't exactly get the most playing time their rookie year. Especially if they're not in shape.
 
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So far in today's game Kristen has played 2 minutes. There's a good reason she's buried on this roster and I think it involves confronting her motivation and skill set. Of course Geno had to double team Kristen but the WNBA is filled with very powerful strong posts. Kristen cannot overpower them. She has to rely on fundamentals and as was previously mentioned in this thread a weak mid-range jumper. I suspect the reason she's buried on the roster is because of these factors. Speculation that Kristine didn't get what Kristine wanted sounds very true to me Her attitude starts and ends with her and not the team. I don't know that there's a reason to dislike her I think there's a reason to recognize her skill-set, lack of motivation andd inability to integrate into a real team concept. Just as Megan Gustafson could not find a place in the league I suspect that while Kristen may have one more chance her future is not in the WNBA.
 

Argonaut

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So far in today's game Kristen has played 2 minutes. There's a good reason she's buried on this roster and I think it involves confronting her motivation and skill set. Of course Geno had to double team Kristen but the WNBA is filled with very powerful strong posts. Kristen cannot overpower them. She has to rely on fundamentals and as was previously mentioned in this thread a weak mid-range jumper. I suspect the reason she's buried on the roster is because of these factors. Speculation that Kristine didn't get what Kristine wanted sounds very true to me Her attitude starts and ends with her and not the team. I don't know that there's a reason to dislike her I think there's a reason to recognize her skill-set, lack of motivation andd inability to integrate into a real team concept. Just as Megan Gustafson could not find a place in the league I suspect that while Kristen may have one more chance her future is not in the WNBA.

MG couldn't find a place this year because she couldn't make the position transition quickly enough. I have no doubt that she would have worked her tail off on any roster, and I imagine she'll do that in the off season to find a place on a team next year.

KA, however, just doesn't seem to be buying in. Her body language says more than anything anyone could say.

These are two very different situations.
 
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--------------------------------------------------------Speculation that Kristine didn't get what Kristine wanted sounds very true to me Her attitude starts and ends with her and not the team. I don't know that there's a reason to dislike her I think there's a reason to recognize her skill-set, lack of motivation andd inability to integrate into a real team concept. Just as Megan Gustafson could not find a place in the league I suspect that while Kristen may have one more chance her future is not in the WNBA.
The Cal coach Gottlieb pretty much catered to her, so that perspective sort of makes sense. This is probably the first time she has not been the big star on her team when she got totally what she wanted. Attitude from someone of her caliber of player will either get you cut or traded in the WNBA.
 
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So far in today's game Kristen has played 2 minutes. There's a good reason she's buried on this roster and I think it involves confronting her motivation and skill set. Of course Geno had to double team Kristen but the WNBA is filled with very powerful strong posts. Kristen cannot overpower them. She has to rely on fundamentals and as was previously mentioned in this thread a weak mid-range jumper. I suspect the reason she's buried on the roster is because of these factors. Speculation that Kristine didn't get what Kristine wanted sounds very true to me Her attitude starts and ends with her and not the team. I don't know that there's a reason to dislike her I think there's a reason to recognize her skill-set, lack of motivation andd inability to integrate into a real team concept. Just as Megan Gustafson could not find a place in the league I suspect that while Kristen may have one more chance her future is not in the WNBA.
When you have 30 posts on your team who are veterans and you’re the rookie, would you get minutes? Morgan barely gets minutes and she’s no slouch. It didn’t make sense to draft her..like at all...no sense
 

Orangutan

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I'm not really sure that there was anyone available at that pick that would have cracked their rotation right away. That's a very deep squad to begin with.

I think they took her on the basis that she was the "best player available" and are willing to let her sit on the bench and develop slowly.

It's a tough league for rookies and I think we're seeing that almost across the board (Collier being the exception).
 

JoePgh

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When you have 30 posts on your team who are veterans and you’re the rookie, would you get minutes? Morgan barely gets minutes and she’s no slouch. It didn’t make sense to draft her..like at all...no sense
The Sun have a lot of good forwards, but only one established center: Jonquel Jones. Anigwe and Brionna Jones are (or should be) competing to be JJ's backup, but so far Brionna is getting basically all the minutes. She is certainly more experienced than Kristine, but I think Kristine has a higher ceiling.
 
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The issue of an Anigwe's ceiling is certainly an interesting one. Experience shows that players with attitude problems or a me first attitude may have a high ceiling but never find a place on a team. I'm thinking Stephon Marbury who to me most resembles Anigewe in an attitude that places me first. I may be wrong. Having watched her play for 3 years in high school and four years at Cal I can report that her attitude is extraordinary consistent. And negative.
 
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No and neither did Stephen Marbury.

I suppose I might be channeling purists who recognize basketball as a team endeavor.

Anigwe and Marbury represent the antithesis of that ideal.

Anigwe's college coach, after failing to convince Anigwe of this ideal moves on to the NBA where she will certainly have many opportunities to fail.
 

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