Kia is rocking Indiana!!!!

[MilfordHusky]

Kia changed her hair style and scored 34. Don't tell me there isn't a hairstyle mojo!!

 

[JordyG]

I like your thinking, but it ain't gonna happen. The Liberty has a first year coach (Katie Smith) who is trying desperately to win every game she can. Lou should go very high in the draft as should Collier. How high, I'm not prepared to say at this time. I do predict they'll both go in the 1st round. The good thing is that no matter where Lou goes, there's a real good chance there will be another UConn player on the roster.

I just hope that wherever she goes, it's a good fit for her, they let her play, and take full advantage of her skill set. Remember, Teaira McCowan (Miss St) and Kalani Brown (Baylor) are coming out next year. They may fit a team's needs more than Lou.

Really though the Liberty needs another scorer than Tina. Now hopefully Kia can fill that from the back court, but more from upfront would be the key.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kia is now TENTH in the league in scoring. Here are the players BEHIND her:

Chelsea Gray
Kelsey Mitchell
Diana Taurasi
Odyssey Sims
Tiffany Hayes
Maya Moore
Sylvia Fowles
DeWanna Bonner
Kristi Toliver
Angel McCoughtry
Alyssa Thomas

 

[JordyG]

Mercy Kia. 34 points, 9 rebs, 4 assists.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Mercy Kia. 34 points, 9 rebs, 4 assists.

Plus 2 steals and 1 block. She had more blocks than the Terminator.

 

[Carnac]

Kia is now TENTH in the league in scoring. Here are the players BEHIND her:

Chelsea Gray
Kelsey Mitchell
Diana Taurasi
Odyssey Sims
Tiffany Hayes
Maya Moore
Sylvia Fowles
DeWanna Bonner
Kristi Toliver
Angel McCoughtry
Alyssa Thomas

That stat is very impressive!!

 

[JordyG]

Plus 2 steals and 1 block. She had more blocks than the Terminator.

Have mercy! If she improves her game off the dribble then we're talking all star in 2 to 3 years. Yeah, yeah, don't go overboard just yet. But she's just the type that won't rest on the laurels of her game.

 

[j66kicker]

This is flashback to early in Kia’s freshman season. 40 minutes & 34 points off the bench? Right. “Bench” is history very soon.

 

[eebmg]

Surprised no real mention of her ability to get to the line and make them under pressure. She iced the game with 2 clutch free throws near end of OT (along with Tina Charles) and if nothing else, has ensured that she will always be in the game at crunch time.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Easy. The pro game isn't called as close. She can push off for shots and lower her shoulder a bit inside. As I've said, her aggressive style of play is better suited to the pro game than the college. Just wait until her opponent overreact to her style. She's only going to get better. She has Russell Westbrook's aggressiveness, but she doesn't depend on the refs to make calls and put her at the line, and she doesn't need the ball to be effective. However at UConn she wasn't required to come off of screens since that was Lou's job. Now she's showing that's part of her game. Nasty.

She was pretty darn good at UConn too.

This past team is going to end up with 6-7 good pros and not win a title. I'll bet the Irish will end up with 1-2 pros.

 

[trb123]

This past team is going to end up with 6-7 good pros and not win a title. I'll bet the Irish will end up with 1-2 pros.

Is it Geno's fault that UConn cannot win a title with 6-7 good pros? And ND does it with 1-2 pros?
Can we trust your numbers?

 

[Lynx23]

This is the best I've seen Kia ever look on a basketball court. She's been the dominant player on the floor offensively and/or defensively for much of the game.

Kia opened her senior college year very strongly, and was leading the nation in three point shooting percentage in January. But she didn't really sustain it, and faded somewhat in the second half of the season. Nice to see her back on an upward glidepath.

Kia began to fade at precisely the same time Crystal went down with an injury and she had to take over the point guard role. Even when Crystal returned Kia often took over for her at the point to spell her a bit. Kia always said she was more comfortable as a shooting guard and went into her Senior year looking forward to playing that position. It didn't work out that way and may have cost her both AA and WOF. Interestingly, I've watched all the games (thank you MSG+) and Katie Smith often has her playing the point in the 4th quarter. I've always been a big Kia fan and figured she's do fine in the pros. However, she looks like one of the better players on the Liberty at this point in time and it's so obvious Smith puts a lot of trust in her. Maybe this is Kia when she doesn't have to defer to four other players.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Have mercy! If she improves her game off the dribble then we're talking all star in 2 to 3 years. Yeah, yeah, don't go overboard just yet. But she's just the type that won't rest on the laurels of her game.

She's a nasty piece of badass.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Is it Geno's fault that UConn cannot win a title with 6-7 good pros? And ND does it with 1-2 pros?
Can we trust your numbers?

My numbers? Gabby, Nurse, Stevens, KLS, Collier, Dangerfield, Walker.

Six to seven seems plausible.

What Irish will be good pros? Young possibly. Mabrey I doubt. Shepard very questionable. Ogunbowale maybe.

 

[JordyG]

My numbers? Gabby, Nurse, Stevens, KLS, Collier, Dangerfield, Walker.

Six to seven seems plausible.

What Irish will be good pros? Young possibly. Mabrey I doubt. Shepard very questionable. Ogunbowale maybe.

ONO, C.Williams....

 

[MilfordHusky]

I just watched the replay. Tina hit 2 key FTs very late in regulation, then 2 more late in the OT. Kia made 2 key FTs late in the OT, then 2 that affected only the MOV. She started her career by shooting 20-20 on FTs and is now 25-26. That's EDD-like! She's 4th in the league, behind Bentley, Montgomery, and Loyd.

 

[Reypl21]

ONO, C.Williams....

Last season's teams I assume are the team's being questioned. So yeah, UConn has 7- Williams, Nurse, Samuelson, Collier, Stevens, Dangerfield, and Walker. ND might have 3- Ogunbowale, Turner , .... Shepard? Mabrey? Young?.
Come on.
Be kind of reasonable. Why would anyone be speaking about some kids who haven't played any college ball yet?

 

[huskeynut]

Katie Smith knew exactly what she was getting with Kia. Determination, grit, high basketball IQ, non-stop motor and - of course - she's a UConn grad!

 

[Shorty Dee]

So far Kia is having an outstanding WNBA career. Kia could be Rookie of the year, if she continues to play like she is.

 

[Bronx23]

I was one of the doubters that Kia would be more than a solid sub. Certainly at this point, I was obviously WRONG! Her game seems to translate even better to the pro game. Her four years being an important cog in the U Conn wheel and the national women's Canadian team have prepared her quite well.
Unfortunately sluconnhusky's points about AA's on U Conn and ND, which were repeatedly used by some here against programs like Texas and others, is now turned on its head. Certainly seems that the greatest coach of all time in team sports got out coached by MM (whose probably the second, third or fourth best women's coach ever) but also by VS the year before. How could he not win with a definite six maybe seven AA's? Even the greatest make mistakes but not fully preparing and executing for two years in a row partially falls on Geno (who I tremendously admire and appreciate for all he's done for basketball).
Let's stop the bashing of the hated ND program and either give them their due or leave it alone at least.
But going back to Kia, you have showed me and others, not to doubt your abilities. I never doubted your toughness, grit, effort, etc. Kudos to you!
Bronx23

 

[Lynx23]

I was one of the doubters that Kia would be more than a solid sub. Certainly at this point, I was obviously WRONG! Her game seems to translate even better to the pro game. Her four years being an important cog in the U Conn wheel and the national women's Canadian team have prepared her quite well.
Unfortunately sluconnhusky's points about AA's on U Conn and ND, which were repeatedly used by some here against programs like Texas and others, is now turned on its head. Certainly seems that the greatest coach of all time in team sports got out coached by MM (whose probably the second, third or fourth best women's coach ever) but also by VS the year before. How could he not win with a definite six maybe seven AA's? Even the greatest make mistakes but not fully preparing and executing for two years in a row partially falls on Geno (who I tremendously admire and appreciate for all he's done for basketball).
Let's stop the bashing of the hated ND program and either give them their due or leave it alone at least.
But going back to Kia, you have showed me and others, not to doubt your abilities. I never doubted your toughness, grit, effort, etc. Kudos to you!
Bronx23

Well said re: Kia. It's weird, but after the Pan Am games, in which Kia exploded offensively following her Freshman year, I thought Geno would have a problem on his hands trying to figure out how to get Kia more involved in the offensive mix when it became obvious she was a scorer. However, it never happened. In fact her offensive stats diminished in her Sophomore year and all you heard was that she primarily there to play defense, which she did at the highest level. Regardless what happens the remainder of her first year in the pros, it's nice to see Pan Am Kia wasn't an anomaly. She shot 15 of 16 from the foul line yesterday in large part because she was taking the ball to the basket. She'll be the first to admit she's not the most talented or athletic player on the floor but one has to wonder, if what we've seen in the pros so far is truly who Kia is, why her abilities weren't necessarily maximized at UCONN. That being said, maybe having too much talent on one team works to the detriment of some players. Tiffany Hayes may be a good example.

 

[boontonbomber]

I wondered for 3 years why, after watching Kia in the Pan Am games, she did not show that penetration ability and shot making on a regular basis for UConn. It seemed like she was almost "under wraps". I began to think that the Pan Am thing was a fluke. And I doubted her ability to be effective in the WNBA. I'm shocked the ease with which she has adapted, and is really showing star qualities. It's really the first time since that Pan Am game that I've seen her take over a game like this. In my mind I see her standing on the wing or in the corner for UConn , waiting to shoot a three. I just have to wonder why she did not show this at UConn. I'm thrilled for her, and it just seems to me that she was short-changed by the coaches. Perhaps a problem with not being able to figure out how to make use of all the great players. I know the pro game is different, but it's still basketball. Makes no sense to me why we didn't see this Kia for the last 3 years.

 

[DeeHusky]

She needs to be starting over Coleman, Hartley, or Zellous; clearly playing better than all 3.

 

[UConnCat]

Kia is doing for the Liberty pretty much what she did for UConn. Fifty percent of her shots are 3s, while during her UConn career about 51% of her shots were 3s though that percentage was higher (55-57%) during her junior and senior seasons as she became a better shooter. Right now Kia is not shooting as well as she did at UConn but that's to be expected. I'm impressed with her adjustment to the professional 3-point line. She worked a lot last summer on improving the arc on her shot and extending her range. She'll never have an A/TO in the pros like she had a UConn but hopefully she can improve in that area. I hope Kia can continue to do for the Liberty what she did at UConn, i.e., spread the floor by making her 3s, get out in transition and bring toughness on defense.

Kia struggled to make shots in the losses to Miss State and ND, shooting a combined 6-21, but she was not alone.

 

[Rixxx]

It will be interesting to see how coach Smith uses Kia when Prince, Rogers, and Boyd are back.