Katie Lou

[MilfordHusky]

Interestingly, Asia Durr, Shak Thomas, and Brittany McPhee were all 2-time ESPN POWs.

 

[donalddoowop]

I would like to see KLS win it. However, no POY discussion should take place without Kalani Brown's name being mentioned, imo.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

YaHoo Katie Lou!!! Extremely well deserved.

As for the discussion of NPOY... There will be an announcement of the results of a secret committee making their selection using secret criteria. None of our opinions will matter to the secret committee...except the 5% that the Citizen Naismith Player of the Year voting will count... but that will be a battle of "wills" as to who can motivate their fan base to "vote" multiple times for their player. No "objective" criteria for most voters, just "home town player" likes...

Not to be a "debbie downer"... I want Lou to win NPOY as much as the next guy, but I, like Lou and most of us on the BY, believe the National Championship is the main goal...and that will be won on the court, not by secret vote.

 

[FridaFriend]

I think that Lou would win NPOY if it were not for a crucial misunderstanding of one of Geno's instructions. He said, "Take charge and face up to the challenges." Since that time she has tried hard to take charges with her face.

 

[DefenseBB]

Also of note, Wilson has not been named POW this season yet, which may mean she has not been dominant any week, which is a bit surprising.

When I initially red this, I chuckled as I thought P-O-W: prisoner of war and that led me to M-I-A: Missing in Action which got me to your point on not being dominant.

 

[DefenseBB]

I would like to see KLS win it. However, no POY discussion should take place without Kalani Brown's name being mentioned, imo.

Ok, you just did, now we will go back to our regularly scheduled programming of KLS, Durr, Wilson and Vivians...

 

[chrissaran]

UConn is going to have to run Baylor up and down the court. Brown and Cox, especially Brown, tire easily. They'll need to rebound, get the ball out quickly, and get it up the court without dribbling.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Geno calling out "players being anointed POY before the games were even played"

 

[HoopsFan21]

Geno doing some serious lobbying for Lou in the post-game

 

[eebmg]

Geno skipped over NPOY and is lobbying for National Player of the Decade

 

[MilfordHusky]

Geno talks about Lou almost the way he talked about Stewie. And I think it is deserved.

 

[HoopsFan21]

Geno was right though, what other player in the country does as much as Lou does and has that kind of impact on both ends of the floor? At this point the way Lou's second half has gone, I think she is the best player in the country and in my mind it's not even really close.

 

[Bronx23]

I love many of all of your comments and thoughts about KLS and her winning the national championship. Obviously and most importantly the NC comes first, second and third. Unfortunately the voting comes before the FF.
I love watching KLS play as much or more as I used to love watching DT. I also believe that she is clearly the best player in the country. BUT, she needs to actually take over, control and help her teammates and her win that championship. And hopefully another next year. I believe she is ready and very capable of doing so!
Now I'm waiting to see it in the truly big games when all is on the line. While I'd love to see her score a ton in those games it doesn't matter as long as she passes superbly, rebounds offensively and defensively, is all over the floor defensively and wills her team and herself to do IT!
As I've said quite a few times here on various threads I think she's already the fourth best player to ever play here. I have her up there just shy now of the big three, DT, Maya and Stewie. Her place amongst those greats of the woman's game is awaiting to see her ensure this NC and the one next year! Now we have to wait and see how it plays out!
Bronx23

 

[Mister2]

I could be wrong on this, but today I heard for the first time announcers on SNY used the word "swagger" to describe KLS's demeanor. Now, whenever a player develops a swagger, more often than not it means she is about to take over the game.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I could be wrong on this, but today I heard for the first time announcers on SNY used the word "swagger" to describe KLS's demeanor. Now, whenever a player develops a swagger, more often than not it means she is about to take over the game.

Geno has commented on more than one occasion how he would be tearing his hair out over something the team did, and Lou would reassure him saying "coach don't worry we got this."

 

[scubadog]

IMO KLS is clearly the best player in WCBB. It's finally nice to see Geno do some complaining about the officiating. Such a big turn around from his earlier season comments. What took so long ? KLS especially, has been smacked around all season !

 

[HopJim]

I love many of all of your comments and thoughts about KLS and her winning the national championship. Obviously and most importantly the NC comes first, second and third. Unfortunately the voting comes before the FF.
I love watching KLS play as much or more as I used to love watching DT. I also believe that she is clearly the best player in the country. BUT, she needs to actually take over, control and help her teammates and her win that championship. And hopefully another next year. I believe she is ready and very capable of doing so!
Now I'm waiting to see it in the truly big games when all is on the line. While I'd love to see her score a ton in those games it doesn't matter as long as she passes superbly, rebounds offensively and defensively, is all over the floor defensively and wills her team and herself to do IT!
As I've said quite a few times here on various threads I think she's already the fourth best player to ever play here. I have her up there just shy now of the big three, DT, Maya and Stewie. Her place amongst those greats of the woman's game is awaiting to see her ensure this NC and the one next year! Now we have to wait and see how it plays out!
Bronx23

Well thought out post but not sure I understand the comments about "taking over a game." In the past month or so, there have been times in ALL games when KLS has contributed to very large percentages of points, rebounding and assists. If she has scored or assisted on 50% or more of the points in a half, has she "taken over?"

 

[Los24]

Well thought out post but not sure I understand the comments about "taking over a game." In the past month or so, there have been times in ALL games when KLS has contributed to very large percentages of points, rebounding and assists. If she has scored or assisted on 50% or more of the points in a half, has she "taken over?"

I bet Bronx23 was referring to a close game situation. I always liked to use Maryland from last year as an example. I think before Lou got hurt you could see some of it in ND game this year too. Now that I am thinking about it LV game could qualify but that was in Q1 and overall 1st half. The problem, if you want to call it that, is that these players do not get into many situations where the game is on the line in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter because they are so good. It's hard to show that (carrying a team in critical spots) throughout the year.

 

[Carnac]

Geno was right though, what other player in the country does as much as Lou does and has that kind of impact on both ends of the floor? At this point the way Lou's second half has gone, I think she is the best player in the country and in my mind it's not even really close.

I do know one thing about Lou. Her 3's are rally and "run" killers. She become a much better shooter than she was when she arrived. Before, she was just a "set" shooter, now she can drive to the basket, or come off a screen and pull up for a jumper. Watch her. If she takes that little hop step before she shoots, it's going in. Lou had to be transformed into the player she is today. It was not done overnight, but over time. Lou will be a high lottery pick next year. She'll have everything GM's and coaches want in a player.

The same is true with Megan Walker, not overnight, but over time. Once Megan has totally bought in to Geno's philosophy of how to play "UConn" basketball, which is different from the type of basketball she's played up to this point, she'll be fine. Where the mind goes, the body will follow. All of the sophomores, juniors and seniors have ran that gauntlet, and come through the other end.

Once she gets there, she will begin to play like the rest of her teammates. She'll play like an insider, not an outsider. Right now she seems to be like a salmon swimming upstream. Everyone goes through that metamorphosis at their own pace. Some quicker than others. No two players a alike. Soon, she will turn around and begin to swim downstream with ease.

 

[Mister2]

I didn't get to watch SNY's entire post-game show last night because of a dinner engagement, hence missed Geno's comments on KLS in the presser. Having watched it now, all I can say is WOW, just WOW.

I don't remember Geno has ever made that kind of glowing comments on a player in recent years, with the possible exception of Stewie. Watching KLS's development as a player over the last 3 years has been one of the most exciting and satisfying aspects of following UCONN women's basketball. If anyone still doubt the payoff from hard work and dedication, all one needs to do is to point to KLS.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Anti-UConn bias? Just looking at the AP NPOY I see Rebecca, Jenn, Kara, Sue, DT, Maya (2), Tina & Stewie (3).

I agree with you Oldude... based on past history of UConn players winning NPOY, the number of Coach of the Year awards Geno has won, 3AAs last year (2 of them sophs), DPOY last year, ....I'm not seeing a clear and convincing "anti-UConn bias" by the National Award voters.... Frankly if there were some voters inclined to go that way, they had a perfect opportunity to take some of the UConn #1 votes and give them to Louisville after they squashed ND earlier this year and MM said Louisville was "the Best Team in the country"... but no votes moved then, or since. I suspect these Voters have and will continue to vote objectively with no significant bias or anti-bias.... Just MHO as they say.

 

[ochoopsfan]

 

[ochoopsfan]

I wondered about the timing of why Lou wrote the above about her, and KML's HS coach, Kevin Kiernan.
Perhaps this mention of his future, in this OC Register article about Mater Dei's Semi Final playoff loss yesterday.

Whenever Mater Dei’s season ends might mark also the end of Kevin Kiernan’s coaching career.

Kiernan, Orange County’s all-time leader in girls basketball coaching victories, indicated the end is near.

“I don’t know how many games I have left,” said Kiernan, 58, who talked about approaching “the end of the road.”

Mater Dei girls can’t keep up with Windward in Open Division semifinals – Orange County Register

 

[Buzzyboy]

Interviewed after South Carolina win yesterday, Wilson told the broadcast team that she was proud of the assists she got in the game. She said it was something she has been working on recently. Do not know if that is merely something Dawn has talked about to her, or whether she just realizes that others, such as KLS, are getting a leg up on her. Or maybe she just woke up this month!

That's pretty strange that in the very end of a four year college career, she could state that is something she is working on recently! She should have been working on that in high school or even prior to that. When that mentality is not in your game after many years of organized ball, that says something about you and it isn't like an APP that you can download into your head. Samuelson is extraordinarily selfless and team oriented and as has been mentioned, she sometimes almost runs away from shooting in the latter parts of some games and really goes overboard in trying to find other teammates.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Anti-UConn bias? Just looking at the AP NPOY I see Rebecca, Jenn, Kara, Sue, DT, Maya (2), Tina & Stewie (3).

I do think that Wilson has had a reputation in women's basketball for just about the entirety of her college career and as a result coming into this season she was expected to be the likely NPOY and I don't think enough voters pay attention and that there is a likelihood that their votes were already on a ballot for her in November. Unless she had a simply awful year, those votes are probably not likely to change and that's a bit of a shame. KLS has been pretty awesome this year and that's despite having ankle issues that have kept her out of a couple of games and kept her at less than 100% in others. She is definitely more deserving that Wilson though it's not just a two person race for NPOY, as has been mentioned.