Katie Lou

[RockyMTblue2]

The saying "the biggest improvement in athletes is between their freshman and sophomore years" is true in KLS' case. She is showing that she is more than just an outside shooter. She is also starting to get used to the physicality which is also a plus. (Not sure why teams continue to think that if you get physical with UCONN, you have a chance of winning).

This really was in the works in the second half of last season, but let's face it, most of the game time she'd just gum up the works by getting in there last year. But, when opportunity presented itself she had grown her game to include going inside. BTW she had it in HS, just had to get it back at the next level speed.

 

[NewCorn]

The reason Collier and gabby will have great seasons is because teams are going to worry more about kls which will give them more opportunities to get open looks. If kls carries this team to a NC she will be one of the greatest uconn players not named Maya.

It will be a team effort. Collier and Gabby are elite talents in their own right. Any team that ignores either will lose. Collier can put up 25 any night. And we don't call Gabby Gabulous for no reason. Along with Lou, they are the new big 3, and they need each other. And while we are at it, we must give due respect to the steadiness of Kia, especially defensively. And she remains a threat to hit the 3-pointer. This is a very strong team.

 

[Kaizen]

What does that mean?

I was eating Italian dumpling when I posted the message... good catch LOL

 

[StephStorrs]

It will be a team effort. Collier and Gabby are elite talents in their own right. Any team that ignores either will lose. Collier can put up 25 any night. And we don't call Gabby Gabulous for no reason. Along with Lou, they are the new big 3, and they need each other. And while we are at it, we must give due respect to the steadiness of Kia, especially defensively. And she remains a threat to hit the 3-pointer. This is a very strong team.

I completely agree. It's easy to get enamored with what one singular player has done - not that I'm saying anyone here has, but it is very easy to focus on the accomplishments of only one player - but now more than ever, this is a team effort. Every member of this team right now is playing a crucial role. They're all individual parts of a very big, well-oiled machine. Without one of those parts, the machine wouldn't be the same. Without one of the members, this team wouldn't be the same. Whether it's Napheesa consistently tearing it up, KLS delivering big buckets when we need it, Kia running the floor on defense and keeping the energy and passion up, Gabby being, well... Gabulous and doing things not many people expected her to do when she came here as a freshman, Saniya being a calm and steady role model to the younger players on how to handle big and tense situations with ease, to the bench that comes in to deliver and perform to the standards Geno has set for years. It's a team effort this year, and they're proving that they work really, really well as a team.

 

[hoophuskee]

I see the similarities in the way teams try to defend the sophomore Lou and the way teams defended the sophomore Stewie, the knock on them at the point in their respective careers is be physical with them because they don't like contact. The new "freedom of movement" rules are supposed to clean up that type of play but it varies official to official and game to game. Lou will have to learn the lesson Stewie learned, she has to improve her ball-handling skills to be able to get to wherever she wants to go on the floor with the ball in her hands. Coaches will will start defending her with smaller players to get into her when she's out on the wing and disrupt her timing, Maya Moore was the past master at beating defenders off the dribble from the wing or the top of the key,still is, I saw this with Texas and DePaul, smaller players guarding her on the wing make her uncomfortable and Connecticut's post entry passing needs work, especially from the wing. Last night Lou was had her defender buried in the post and showed her numbers on at least four plays and didn't get the ball. Those play would have resulted in buckets, fouls or both. I'm sure Shea is working with her on the handle as she did with Stewie and like Stewie once Lou improves her handle to the point that she's comfortable putting the ball on the floor against smaller defenders, she too will be unguardable....

The minute we got Lou and saw "what she was" - it is coming to fruition. She is a brutal mismatch. I thought Young was struggling a lot with Lou . She missed some highly makeable shots. It looked like when she caught the ball at the elbow she was really really good.

The beauty of this team is that they have special qualities. I know some downplay Nurse because she isn't a supreme athlete or scorer or shooter but she is a scorer. You could have her as a top-tier scorer. You set her picks. And she knows what she's doing when she gets in the lane. They just have four terrific players that are very aware of what they are/ i.e. know their strengths.

With Lou-- absolutely you want someone up tight on her. The problem with "small" is that she is 6'3. That is an exceptional size for an outside shooter that moves well w/o the ball who can low post and score on the inside. The point is - if her defender is 6'0 or maybe even 6'1 or shorter and she gets picked even for a second - Lou can shoot easily over the top. Whether it be from 3 or 2. Remember when Kara Lawson was speaking of the Texas defense right on Lou with those curls, they could do nothing to bother the shot. She kept saying "That was good defense" as we kept watching Lou drain the curls. A small player can't really stop that. A small player gets bumped a little bit on a pick - it's enough for Lou to get her shot comfortably off with the size she has.

And in the Texas game - we saw Lou run around a bit then settle into the low post on a play. The quicker but shorter defender tried to reach around Lou to knock the pass away but as any fundamentally sound player is taught - Lou Took a half step and used/extended her long arms "to meet the ball/meet the pass." The defender couldn't her hand on the ball, and because she was smaller, Lou did an easy drop step after catching and scored on a layup. The quick player just wasn't big enough to deny the ball. And once Lou gets the ball, she seems adept at taking long strides either to the basket or lateral all-the-while maintaining her balance.

It seems are team ahs "just enough" to be frighteningly extremely dangerous. They all seem to go off on one game here or there points wise all-the-while we heard last two coaches come out and say "we didn't want to have to play them zone."

I don't get nervous with these games. I'm just so excited to see how do you stop this team- force them to play bad. OFC they could and may very well have just a night nothing falls- but that is different than forcing bad play. It is just so beautiful to watch this team and what makes it so fantastic is that the prime 7 have all contributed in very big ways.

 

[DaddyChoc]

You have got to be *ing me!

me too

 

[DaddyChoc]

I completely agree. It's easy to get enamored with what one singular player has done - not that I'm saying anyone here has, but it is very easy to focus on the accomplishments of only one player - but now more than ever, this is a team effort. Every member of this team right now is playing a crucial role. They're all individual parts of a very big, well-oiled machine. Without one of those parts, the machine wouldn't be the same. Without one of the members, this team wouldn't be the same. Whether it's Napheesa consistently tearing it up, KLS delivering big buckets when we need it, Kia running the floor on defense and keeping the energy and passion up, Gabby being, well... Gabulous and doing things not many people expected her to do when she came here as a freshman, Saniya being a calm and steady role model to the younger players on how to handle big and tense situations with ease, to the bench that comes in to deliver and perform to the standards Geno has set for years. It's a team effort this year, and they're proving that they work really, really well as a team.

I was proud of Saniya in the ND game...

 

[MilfordHusky]

MilfordHusky you dog.

That's what she said!

 

[MilfordHusky]

That's why we need to get Batouly eligible just as fast as we can.

Or Luca Brasi.

 

[hoophuskee]

me too

Me too!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[TroyHouse66]

MilfHusky-
<<Geno said they have had to "Beat the California out of her." Lou has always been a tough kid....>>
You'd be tough, too, if you had two older sisters tenderizing you on the way to the hoop for ten years. She probably got into California dream'n, only when the bigguns went of to Pinetree City.
***********************

We may have entered into the Wonderful World of (great) interchangeable parts this year. Except for the cosmetic positioning of buns, (no, not those buns... keep it clean!)(Should have said hair style.) .... it is, sometimes difficult to distinguish one from another on the TV screen.
Except for the extremists... 5 and 51, the team sometimes becomes an indistinguishable whirling, darting, multi-positioning swirl of talent. Fake right and pass left, twitch for an up shot & drive to finish w/ either hand, and a GabPhee (mind-reading) pass ending in a pirouette to the hoop. The Team Work-Work Team at work.
"What hath Geno wrought?"... Interchangeability!
Only the Philly Shadow knows what is next.

 

[cbraarj]

Sometimes ending the rough stuff can only be accomplished in the most undesireable way...
Sending a message..."Dee getting punched by Auburn point guard" Geno whispering in Ashley Valley's ear...Ashley goes in...17 seconds later Auburn point guard leveled in front of Auburn bench, Ashley going hard for a steal...Ashley Valley back out...No more punching Dee rest of game...Bridgeport Regional...

You always need an enforcer to protect your teammates!

 

[Soxx]

I'll bash Doris. Towards the end of the game, she said, "This is a very talented, very deep Notre Dame team. But UConn is going to walk out of here with a win."

Huh? It's as if UConn got lucky, as if they didn't deserve it. I'm really tired of her constant cheerleading for Connecticut to lose.

There's another way to read this: They're walking out with a win because they just BEAT a "very talented, very deep" Notre Dame team.

 

[Soxx]

Last season Lou and Phees were always hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe and this year it is down to business baby. Freshman hehehehes are over and they have both come on strong. Assuming responsibility for some leadership on the team looks good on both of them.

Great post!

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

...showing her films of Richard "Rip" Hamilton...

In line with that note, I believe it is her stop-and-pop that has changed her game so much. The more she uses it, the more they get physical with her, but that means matching a post to her in MTM OR pulling a post out of their zone, giving Pheesa et al more room to play with.

Just like Rip, only taller (relatively speaking).

 

[HopJim]

Not sure why some rip Lou for not moving more. Granted, this is a typical UConn strategy but at times it appears she is waiting for others to make their cuts before going in motion. Each player seems to have their own special plays (i.e. Collier seems to get 50%+ of her points on back door cuts) and wheel route after Gab and Collier pick and roll is becoming KLS's go to motion play. Based on the pounding she is taking when she goes through middle and the desire to have her last the season, time spent outside the key is not always bad.

 

[iamcbs]

The minute we got Lou and saw "what she was" - it is coming to fruition. She is a brutal mismatch. I thought Young was struggling a lot with Lou . She missed some highly makeable shots. It looked like when she caught the ball at the elbow she was really really good.

The beauty of this team is that they have special qualities. I know some downplay Nurse because she isn't a supreme athlete or scorer or shooter but she is a scorer. You could have her as a top-tier scorer. You set her picks. And she knows what she's doing when she gets in the lane. They just have four terrific players that are very aware of what they are/ i.e. know their strengths.

With Lou-- absolutely you want someone up tight on her. The problem with "small" is that she is 6'3. That is an exceptional size for an outside shooter that moves well w/o the ball who can low post and score on the inside. The point is - if her defender is 6'0 or maybe even 6'1 or shorter and she gets picked even for a second - Lou can shoot easily over the top. Whether it be from 3 or 2. Remember when Kara Lawson was speaking of the Texas defense right on Lou with those curls, they could do nothing to bother the shot. She kept saying "That was good defense" as we kept watching Lou drain the curls. A small player can't really stop that. A small player gets bumped a little bit on a pick - it's enough for Lou to get her shot comfortably off with the size she has.

And in the Texas game - we saw Lou run around a bit then settle into the low post on a play. The quicker but shorter defender tried to reach around Lou to knock the pass away but as any fundamentally sound player is taught - Lou Took a half step and used/extended her long arms "to meet the ball/meet the pass." The defender couldn't her hand on the ball, and because she was smaller, Lou did an easy drop step after catching and scored on a layup. The quick player just wasn't big enough to deny the ball. And once Lou gets the ball, she seems adept at taking long strides either to the basket or lateral all-the-while maintaining her balance.

It seems are team ahs "just enough" to be frighteningly extremely dangerous. They all seem to go off on one game here or there points wise all-the-while we heard last two coaches come out and say "we didn't want to have to play them zone."

I don't get nervous with these games. I'm just so excited to see how do you stop this team- force them to play bad. OFC they could and may very well have just a night nothing falls- but that is different than forcing bad play. It is just so beautiful to watch this team and what makes it so fantastic is that the prime 7 have all contributed in very big ways.

Both Texas and DePaul defended Lou with smaller defenders when she was on the wing and they bothered her, she doesn't handle the ball well against smaller defenders, Higgs of Texas is an example, if you watch the replay. I said specifically that Lou is unstoppable on the foul line curl, I also emphasized that Connecticut, like most CBB teams, doesn't execute the post entry pass well. Most players in HS are not coached well in post entry fundamentals, because in HS in almost every case athletic ability trumps fundamentals and if you have a superior wing athlete they just drive or shoot and if you have a superior post athlete players usually just throw the ball over the top. Between her sophomore and junior seasons Stewie improved both her strength and her handle, you could she the difference in her junior season, by the time she was a senior she was unguardable and even leading the fast break something she never did as a freshman or sophomore. I'm simply saying Lou needs to do the same thing.

 

[drweo]

If they think they can distract Lou by bumping her, they have picked on the wrong person. Lou could have had an easy road in life: a 6'3" blond California kid who could have gone to Stanford with her sisters and fit in right away. But she always has been determined to push herself beyond what comes easy to her. She'll thrive on this challenge. With her height, her outside shot, her mid-range perfect form jumper, and her skills around the rim, she is quickly becoming a match-up nightmare.

Agree.
Some time last year, someone asked Lou about watching her sisters play and did she want to be as good as they were. Her reply: I want to be better than they are! Go Lou!!!!!

 

[hoophuskee]

Both Texas and DePaul defended Lou with smaller defenders when she was on the wing and they bothered her, she doesn't handle the ball well against smaller defenders, Higgs of Texas is an example, if you watch the replay. I said specifically that Lou is unstoppable on the foul line curl, I also emphasized that Connecticut, like most CBB teams, doesn't execute the post entry pass well. Most players in HS are not coached well in post entry fundamentals, because in HS in almost every case athletic ability trumps fundamentals and if you have a superior wing athlete they just drive or shoot and if you have a superior post athlete players usually just throw the ball over the top. Between her sophomore and junior seasons Stewie improved both her strength and her handle, you could she the difference in her junior season, by the time she was a senior she was unguardable and even leading the fast break something she never did as a freshman or sophomore. I'm simply saying Lou needs to do the same thing.

I think every team has guarded her with smaller players though I believe Baylor may have guarded her with the longest one. Lou is 6'3 so to guard her with a taller defender is going to be extremely hard for a college team. As for "they bothered her" I guess that will be "in the eye of the beholder." In the DePaul game for example Lou was 4-6 from 3 and had 16 points with 7 assists and two turnovers. I can't recall anyone really "bothering her."

Texas I thought it was a function of her foul trouble. I just see her coming off those screens - the smaller player had no chance to stop it. Lawson imo was all but saying it. A long time ago Geno was talking about things that he likes to see - he gave an example even in blowouts he wants to see certain execution. He gave the example of a beautiful backdoor cut in which they showed the highlight for a layup. He spoke about how those type of plays he looks for that can be run and be successful vs any team. That's the same thing with the Texas game. You can't run a backdoor play every time and have it score - the same with Lou- not every time that curl will score/will work but it is a paly I think smaller defenders cant really consistently defend. It's not like every time you can run it and you'll score 100% of the time - but basically over the course of the game it is a play that the smaller Texas team couldn't stop. She got 12 points in the 2nd half for a reason, they couldn't stop her. I would agree that the team may have struggled to run plays but I wouldn't say Lou "struggled" in that game with her offense. That word "struggled" maybe we are agreeing in a way but I think it is more of the function of Texas as a team rather than a player. How many times did those wings get whistled for fouls just on her movement? I' wonder how many fouls Lou put on Taylor and Higgs in just her 25 minutes. So I don't agree "that she struggled offensively." That play could have been run a lot more and imo Texas had no answer. Just don't think we are ready to execute that play over-and-over-and-over for an entire game.

As far as "feeding the post" to some extent sure teams "struggle" to make good entry passes. They aren't pros. The break off plays etc. With that said this team is tremendous passing team- including the post. Their numbers aren't gaudy right now because they are playing good teams every night. But it also goes the other way, just because a player is open in the low post doesn't mean she should be fed unless she is wide open for a layup. There are times "low post" isn't "low enough." Or the shot blocker or a 2nd player is close by for help or the shot block is in good position to defend the post.

As far as Stewie I thought she was unguardable for a long time. In frosh year at the end she was. I can't recall specifically her soph year but her jr year I don't think she was guardable. I agree with you Lou needs to keep working on her inside. But I think the chances of a player below 6'1 - unless she is like Alana Beard who will also have freak quickness to bo along with very long arms- I think the opposing team is at her mercy which is in part why we're undefeated. We have players like Lou, Collier and Gabby that bring something unique in which collectively the defense is at their mercy.

I don't want to "overdue" the comment "at their mercy." These are young kids and as a result can go through some poor play patches. But Lou is "A freak great player." Collier is "a freak great player." These two kids are going on the wall. They are freak mismatches. And My God if Gabby hits her outside shots like she did vs ND and if we can get more consistency from Danger -- all these weapons have to be respected that there is no way Lou will "have trouble." Lou is special right now.

 

[MilfordHusky]

You always need an enforcer to protect your teammates!

Though she was undersized and a pretty girl, Caroline Doty was ready to deck anyone who crossed her or her teammates.

 

[cbraarj]

Though she was undersized and a pretty girl, Caroline Doty was ready to deck anyone who crossed her or her teammates.

In HS soccer a rival was playing dirty against one of her teammates and Caroline knocked her out! It was a Penn. newspaper I think I read it in,lol.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Though she was undersized and a pretty girl, Caroline Doty was ready to deck anyone who crossed her or her teammates.

Caroline must have heard a lot about Dave Shultz from friends and family.

 

[bags27]

Geno has added a little humor to his California refrain:

"Like, she goes, 'She fouled me. What do you mean I can't cut? That was a foul.' Once we got past that and got her to start playing like an East Coast kid, I think that helped her a lot. She is just confident right now."
Samuelson finding comfort zone inside the arc

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

I swear, some people will be offended if Geno simply says "please" or "thank you."

In the modern vernacular, it is called being "butthurt".

 

[rvwsleep]

Not sure why some rip Lou for not moving more. Granted, this is a typical UConn strategy but at times it appears she is waiting for others to make their cuts before going in motion. Each player seems to have their own special plays (i.e. Collier seems to get 50%+ of her points on back door cuts) and wheel route after Gab and Collier pick and roll is becoming KLS's go to motion play. Based on the pounding she is taking when she goes through middle and the desire to have her last the season, time spent outside the key is not always bad.

ND was guarding Lou very tightly 25ft from the basket. By just standing on the perimeter, Lou opened up the lane for either Gabby or Collier, whoever had the best mismatch. Even by doing nothing, her mere presence on the court had a positive effect on the game.