Kia Gives Me Confidence

[RockyMTblue2]

I frankly have not seen this in Gabby's game, because mostly I've been amazed at her quickness near the basket.

"Gabby comes in and does some incredible things for us," Nurse added. "One of them is her ability to defend outside the three-point line. And she uses her athleticism and her strengths to the best of her ability."

Williams looks for fresh start in final game

 

[Henry]

Interestingly even though your post is about Gabby this is the first mention of Kia I have read. We keep forgetting about her. She was only the star of the Canadian team this past Summer and is solid all around. She plays good man to man defense and can score. She may be the one X factor we have that everyone is forgetting about.

 

[Jimbo]

Yeah, Gabby has become a good enough perimeter defender that Geno even matched her up against Courtney Williams at times during the last USF game to give her a different look, rather than having Moriah guard her 100% of the time. I think on offense we may see Stewie on the perimeter more than usual, in an attempt to somewhat replace Lou's outside shot, but I expect Gabby to join Moriah and Kia out around the 3-point line when it comes to defending Syracuse's shooters.

 

[sarals24]

Gabby is great everywhere. She disrupts pick and rolls, and can switch onto a guard or a post easily. We're super lucky to have someone so versatile.

It's amazing that Kia is overlooked. She always seems to hit a three at a key moment, or make a great defensive play, or jump on a loose ball. She's like Kelly Faris a bit in that regard.

 

[Plebe]

Gabby is great everywhere. She disrupts pick and rolls, and can switch onto a guard or a post easily. We're super lucky to have someone so versatile.

It's amazing that Kia is overlooked. She always seems to hit a three at a key moment, or make a great defensive play, or jump on a loose ball. She's like Kelly Faris a bit in that regard.

I second this energetically. Kia Nurse is a tenacious defender and that ultimate "glue" player that every team needs. And she is more than capable of getting points when the team really needs that from her. If she is overlooked, it's only by people who aren't paying close attention or who only appreciate the more superficial aspects of the game.

 

[BigBird]

Yeah... I think on offense we may see Stewie on the perimeter more than usual, in an attempt to somewhat replace Lou's outside shot, but I expect Gabby to join Moriah and Kia out around the 3-point line when it comes to defending Syracuse's shooters.

Why do so few seem to talk about a strategy of asking more 3's from Mo and Kia? It's not like they can't shoot them. We'll see Stewie at the arc some, as we always do, but she's needed too much at the rim to park her on the outside all night. That would put excessive pressure on Morgan.

 

[j66kicker]

Would be great if Kia is the star of the game tonight!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Would be great if Kia is the star of the game tonight!

Her D I guarantee will be one of the stars. But if she hits 3-5 3s and gets couple/three run out lay ups I'm more than satisfied!

 

[Jimbo]

Why do so few seem to talk about a strategy of asking more 3's from Mo and Kia? It's not like they can't shoot them. We'll see Stewie at the arc some, as we always do, but she's needed too much at the rim to park her on the outside all night. That would put excessive pressure on Morgan.

I certainly agree with you that Mo and Kia have more than proven that they can inflict major damage from behind the arc. (Remember how Notre Dame's game plan last April was to give them those shots? That didn't work.) I think the problem with Lou out, which Geno mentioned when he was interviewed during halftime of the second semifinal, is that ideally he'd like to have three guards on the perimeter to stretch out the Syracuse zone. He hinted that Lou's unavailability might force him to move Stewie out to the perimeter more, even though he'd prefer not to do that. I don't think that would be my first choice either, but given the available options, it makes sense to me. If Stewie, Morgan, and Gabby/Napheesa all spend most of their time inside, it makes it much easier for Syracuse to pack in their zone and clog up the middle. And of those players, Stewie is the most dangerous and versatile perimeter offensive player. I'm sure she'll move around plenty, don't get me wrong, but it may be important to have somebody be a third shooting threat on the outside, and spreading the floor that extra amount may also make it easier for Mo and Kia to get clean looks at 3-pointers. I think the only other realistic candidate to park on the outside for extended periods of time is Chong, but while I wouldn't rule out seeing her tonight, she hasn't played meaningful minutes in a while, so it's unclear whether Geno would go that way.

Also, the more I think about it, given Syracuse's history of trying their best to beat up our post players in the lane, having Stewie float outside a little more often may not be such a bad thing.

 

[bags27]

Huge, huge, huge Kia fan. Absolutely no but about that! BUT: she often can't finish her drives and that creates the perception that she's a bit out of control, which she is not.