KK Arnold appreciation

[H Dog]

There's a post on the board tht reads

50/40/90 if I recall so percentages are important. My answer was abt KKs shooting, just bcus she doesn't take as many shots as some of the others she makes a higher percentage whn she does. She's an above average shooter for a guard. Don't JUST concentrate on her misses and turn a blind eye to her other accomplishments...Sound familiar?

Agree with all your points. This was really the first bad shooting game KK had all year but she still played a brilliant floor general game and HH barely scored when she was in the game and on her. When it comes to assist to turnover ratio and defensive efficiency and your teams results and efficiency our PG and our team prevailed convincingly. How can anyone complain about a starting PG whose team is unbeaten and leads the nation in offensive and defensive efficiency and assists and assists to turnover ratio ?

 

[ME Husky Fan]

In the Norte Dame game they seemed to play off of KK, in effect giving her the shot and time after time she chose not to hoist it up. If I was So. Carolina I’d do the same thing, allowing them to play help defense on either Sarah or Azzi. We need either Ashlyn or KK to pose some sort of moderate threat to score if we’re going to move on.

 

[Dogstar]

Read the report or listen to the talking heads. Do you remember anyone ever open with the lead of KK Arnold lead the team by shooting 60% from the field. Nah,,, didn't think so. It points, points, points, rebounds and assists that grab headlines and win awards.

Did you leave out the award for DPOY on purpose to try and prove ur point?

 

[Dogstar]

In the Norte Dame game they seemed to play off of KK, in effect giving her the shot and time after time she chose not to hoist it up. If I was So. Carolina I’d do the same thing, allowing them to play help defense on either Sarah or Azzi. We need either Ashlyn or KK to pose some sort of moderate threat to score if we’re going to move on.

Yes they did but UConn does the same thg...in fact most teams do the same thg on defense, thts where double and triple come from, you play the percentages tht the player or players the are left open aren't going to hurt you. Thts basketball 101.

 

[Dogstar]

It's points, not percentages that are the stats that count.

Wht ur describing is called a "volume shooter" or "a gunner" or a" ball hog". Uconn doesn't recruit those type of players and thts why they're successful. Everyone has a role and sometimes it's not putting up lots of points and or shots. Classic examples...Nika and KK.

 

[Zarathustra]

Ohhhhhh...so it's ok to shoot ummmm... 2 for 15 and score 5 points...you cool with tht? Just asking for my statistician friend tht lives 3 houses down from me....and he's 5 years old.

"Context" is everything (IMHO).

 

[Tngamecock]

Every elite team needs a good floor general and there certainly is quite good list of Point Guards across the WCBB spectrum. On here, we know how valuable KK is to this team with her high energy, tenacious defense and infectious smile and bulldog mentality. That said, as an analytics guy who scours the internet looking for ways to better evaluate the players and understand the game, I find myself frustrated with the lack of acclaim for her and the poor assessment across the spectrum. The "pundits" seem blinded or deafened by either lights or sound bites coming from impassioned coaches elsewhere.

As a review, the HoopHallAwards had 10 players on their February listing

1. Hannah Hidalgo-Junior analytics rank #1
2. Tonie Morgan-Senior #8
3. Olivia Miles-Senior #3
4. Raven Johnson-Senior #7
5. Rori Harmon-Senior #10
6. Zoe Brooks-Junior #9
7. Britt Prince-Soph #5
8. Aaliyah Chavez-Fresh #11
9. Liv McGill-Soph #4
10. Kiki Rice-Senior #2

The first 5 are now the 5 finalists. For analysis, I collect from a few sites-HerHoopStats, Bart Torvik and use WinShares, PER, Points Over Replacement, Box Plus/Minus and calculate game efficiency scores for the season and combining their ranking of the 11 players across the 5 analytic scores, I listed that rank. Overall, KK would rank 6th on this list, While this does very little for this year, Geno needs to start the dialogue about KK for next year to get on the numerous pre-season watch lists as a top PG. Narrative evidently matters.

I had posted elsewhere that one of the reasons UCLA is having such a sustained season (under Cori, they always start strong but seem to plateau in January, never getting better) is due to how well Kiki Rice has played. Cori seems to just be touring Lauren Betts and not extolling how great a season that Kiki is having. Kiki is playing better than Betts and should clearly be on this TOP 5 list.

Anyway, for next year, KK is clearly the #2 Point guard stat-wise returning (though I still struggle calling Hidalgo a "point guard"). Her assist to turnover ratio is already an absurd 4.0 and if she can increase her scoring into the double digits, along with her defensive prowess, and the teams continued success, she should get recognized and receive numerous accolades.

I do hope Geno starts that media blitz this post season while all the "pundit" eyes are paying attention, especially if KK can face off against the likes of Raven, Kiki or Rori (or if any major upsets occur-Hannah, Aaliyah or Tonie).

To me, clearly Dawn and Vic have touted their PG to get acclaim despite their advanced analytics coming up short. They are fine leaders of their teams but not so sure they are warranting top 5 and or AA Honorable Mention.

Uconn is a great team. KK is fantastic. But ask yourself, does she go against the same kind of competition night in and night out as Raven Johnson or Rory Harmon? Raven controls games and doesn’t care about stats.

 

[Glenn]

Perhaps the worst "appreciation " thread ever. Many of the posts complaining about KKs offensive scoring, ignoring her shooting percentages-- which are decent and her key role distributing the ball, which is exceptional. Almost as comical as the thread trying to coect Azzi's shooting mechanics.

 

[Iluvacc2]

Hannah is aware of KK’s contributions.

 

[Doctor G]

Hannah is aware of KK’s contributions.

Respect. Gotta love when players recognize players.

 

[H Dog]

Uconn is a great team. KK is fantastic. But ask yourself, does she go against the same kind of competition night in and night out as Raven Johnson or Rory Harmon? Raven controls games and doesn’t care about stats.

All I can say is that the last time we played SC and Raven she had 2 points and 1 assist and her team lost in a blowout and had more turnovers than assists. Meanwhile in much less time KK had 9 points and played lock down defense. And she and the team are even better this year.