KLS named finalist for the ANN MEYERS DRYSDALE award

[Mister2]

Samuelson Named Finalist for Ann Meyers Drysdale Finalist

Well deserved!

 

[EricLA]

So funny since Kia is our shooting guard, but either way, Lou should win the award, even tho the other finalists are very talented as well (Durr, Ogunbowale, Laska, Vivians).

Heck, I agree with Geno that Lou is NPOY, so certainly she should win the award competing her against the best SG's in the nation

 

[Mister2]

While all five finalist are certainly talented, I'd argue that KLS, Durr, and Vivians are on a somewhat higher level. I doubt the other 2 actually has any chance of winning this award this year.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Outstanding that Lou is a finalist for this award... she is after all listed as a G/W...and was included in this Shooting Guard Category from the beginning of the season.

The following stats compare the five finalists in categories that I would think are logically associated with Shooting Guards...there may be others, but these seemed to make sense to me:

Leader in each category in bold: (wrestled with keeping this table formatted, but had a little trouble)

Lou | Durr | Ogun | Laksa | Viv | Category
18.3 | 19.5 | 20.3 | 21.0 | 19.7 | Pts/game
49.0 | 44.5 | 36.8 | 38.4 | 39.8 | 3pt %
54.4 | 45.9 | 44.9 | 39.7 | 49.7 | FG %
81.9 | 82.6 | 79.5 | 96.3 | 82.9 | FT %
2.78 | 1.12 | 1.7 | 0.73 | 1.23 | A/TO Ratio

28.5 | 30.0 | 33.4 | 34.1 | 30.3 | Min/Game

Lou leads 3 of 5 categories by a good margin in each...and she's nearly a 50 / 50 / 80 type scorer (shooting % / 3PT% / FT %) and none of the others come close. She trails in Points/game, but not by a lot and largely because she plays the fewest minutes per game (more than 5min/game less than Laksa) coupled with UConn's balanced scoring among 5 or 6 players each game. She trails in FT% only because Laksa is out of the world in that category....while she is comparable to the other 3.

By this rather simplistic statistical comparison, I have to believe the award will go to Lou. But, that's just my humble opinion.

 

[HGN]

PAHuskey, I agree with you......Based upon pertinent numbers , Lou should win it. With only Laska and Vivians giving a little chase. Laska being the scoring leader of the 5 Finalists , and Vivians the leading scorer for an undefeated and Conference winning team. However , Lou is the leading scorer for an undefeated
and Conference winning team also. A team that has held the #1 ranking from wire to Wire and she's doing it in less min/game than all the others.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

PAHuskey, I agree with you.Based upon pertinent numbers , Lou should win it. With only Laska and Vivians giving a little chase. Laska being the scoring leader of the 5 Finalists , and Vivians the leading scorer for an undefeated and Conference winning team. However , Lou is the leading scorer for an undefeated
and Conference winning team also. A team that has held the #1 ranking from wire to Wire and she's doing it in less min/game than all the others.

Thanks HGN....
One other "stat"... points per minute:
Lou: .642
Durr: .650
Ogun: .607
Laksa: .615
Vivians: .650

This stat shows all 5 players produce at similar per minute rate, and convince me that the top 3 for this award are Lou, Durr and Vivians... and using the other stats, Lou...IMHO...is the clear Ann Meyers Drysdale award winner for 2017/18

 

[HGN]

Thanks HGN....
One other "stat"... points per minute:
Lou: .642
Durr: .650
Ogun: .607
Laksa: .615
Vivians: .650

This stat shows all 5 players produce at similar per minute rate, and convince me that the top 3 for this award are Lou, Durr and Vivians... and using the other stats, Lou...IMHO...is the clear Ann Meyers Drysdale award winner for 2017/18

Good point.....

 

[MilfordHusky]

I like Lou a lot and think she should win.

But I want to give props to Laksa. She was the AAC FOY over Lou. She’s the only Division I player with two 40-point games this year. When we see her, Kia et al. are harassing her, and she has to shoot off balance. Her insane, EDD-like FT stats show what kind of a shooter she is when set. She dropped to 96+% last night when she suffered her 4th miss of the season.

I’d love to see those candidates in a 3-point contest. Lou would hold her own, and I think Durr and Laksa would provide the toughest competition.

 

[Mister2]

The truth of the matter is awards are NEVER based on stats alone: stats play an important but never the whole part in the process. Otherwise choosing award winners can entirely be automated.

Obviously I believe KLS should win, based on the totality of her play, and I hope she does. However, I won't be surprised if it goes to Durr or Vivians (I'd be if it goes to either of the other 2).

 

[chrissaran]

MilfordHusky, sorry no props to Laksa. Have you ever seen her set a pick for one of her teammates? Maybe she has, but I haven't seen it. Does she make her teammates better? No. Lou should win, although Lou would take the NC trophy over any other trophy.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

The truth of the matter is awards are NEVER based on stats alone: stats play an important but never the whole part in the process. Otherwise choosing award winners can entirely be automated.

Obviously I believe KLS should win, based on the totality of her play, and I hope she does. However, I won't be surprised if it goes to Durr or Vivians (I'd be if it goes to either of the other 2).

Yep, you are right. That's why I said the statistical analysis I did was some what simplistic. But, IMHO, based on stats that we all want to see in a SG, Lou should win. But I know the voters will look for the player who is most consistently a producer, the player who comes through when her team needs it, the player who can manage to score some way despite what the defense is doing to her, the player who fights through elbows to the eye or other adversity to help her team, the player who can handle the ball (A/TO ratio). Yes, props to Laksa for scoring 40 pts in 2 games this year...but she scored 0 vs UConn in the 1st meeting. And she plays nearly the entire game most nights... if we assign points to the stats I provided, such as 1 point for best in category and 5 for worst... then take the overall total points, with low total score being best, Lou comes out best.
It will be interesting

 

[Los24]

I would be shocked of Laksa was the winner based on on name recognition but more importantly she is shooting under 40% not just on 3s but for overall FG% (39.7%)? I get she is not surrounded by the same talent but that is surprising to see.

Its not all about the numbers, which I was actually surprised to see that Lou leads by so much in key stats for the position. However I do not think anyone would say Lou does not pass the eye test either

 

[HoopsFan21]

Give it to Katie Lou!!!!!!

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

I would be shocked of Laksa was the winner based on on name recognition but more importantly she is shooting under 40% not just on 3s but for overall FG% (39.7%)? I get she is not surrounded by the same talent but that is surprising to see.

Its not all about the numbers, which I was actually surprised to see that Lou leads by so much in key stats for the position. However I do not think anyone would say Lou does not pass the eye test either

Laksa is a prolific 3pt shooter... if I remember she has put up the most of the 5 finalists...and maybe most in the country, she just isn't the most prolific 3pt shot maker... VERY low percentage compared to 3 of the other finalists.

 

[connie]

Samuelson Named Finalist for Ann Meyers Drysdale Finalist

Well deserved!

I have not completed my homework, and am looking for assistance. According to Wikipedia, since 2012 the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is the name give to what was previously known as the USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award. I cannot locate anything specific as to the rules and criteria applicable to the award. I see nothing on Wikipedia tending to limit the award to shooting guards. Any help?

 

[JoePgh]

How do they compare in total Assists? If they played the same number of games, I suspect KLS would lead that stat by a mile, but since she missed 5 games, that may not be the case. Even so, I wouldn't be surprised if she leads in total assists.

 

[connie]

But I want to give props to Laksa

I like Laksa just fine. But from what little I've seen of her, she does not involve her teammates nearly as much as Lou. And her stats w/r/t ORB, DRB, TRB, APG and SPG are nowhere near to Lou's. Granted, Lou arguably has better players surrounding her. That certainly helps load up other statistical categories.

Durr . . . same result; Lou's stats other than shooting exceed Durr's in every basic category.

Ogunbowale . . . non-shooting stats are close to Lou's, with slight advantage to Ogun on DRB and SPG (o.2 advantage) but 1.1 fewer APG.

Vivians . . . advantage as to RPG, even on SPG and BPG, but big advantage to Lou re. APG (1.9 vs. 3.8). The APG effectively adds almost 4 additional PPG.

I've seen every game Lou's played at UConn. Haven't seen any of this year's Louisville, ND and MSST games (except for the Louisville and ND games against UConn). So, can't really offer an opinion based on anything beyond what the stats show (and that is a dubious basis under the circumstances).

Does the Award consider at all defensive skills?

 

[Orangutan]

I have not completed my homework, and am looking for assistance. According to Wikipedia, since 2012 the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is the name give to what was previously known as the USBWA Women's National Player of the Year award. I cannot locate anything specific as to the rules and criteria applicable to the award. I see nothing on Wikipedia tending to limit the award to shooting guards. Any help?

This award (Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year) is a new award created by the WBCA. The Miller (SF), McClain (PF), and Leslie (C) awards are also new WBCA awards. The existing Lieberman award is also presented by the WBCA. So now there is an award for each position.

The USBWA's "Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's Player of the Year" is a different award.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

This award (Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year) is a new award created by the WBCA. The Miller (SF), McClain (PF), and Leslie (C) awards are also new WBCA awards. The existing Lieberman award is also presented by the WBCA. So now there is an award for each position.

The USBWA's "Ann Meyers Drysdale Women's Player of the Year" is a different award.

And, the first name of the award is "Shooting"... and while we all consider the entire game to be important, it would not be surprising if Offensive numbers are most important.... just saying

Either way... I still believe of the 5 finalists, Lou is the logical winner of this first time award... we shall see.

 

[HoopsFan21]

All awards to Katie Lou Samuelson!!!!!

 

[Golden Husky]

Laksa? Seriously? In two games head-to-head versus Laksa, Kia leads in points (18-14), shooting percentage (6-12 versus 5-30), 3-pt. shooting percentage (3-6 versus 2-15), rebounds (8-2), assists to turnover rate (7-1 versus 1-2) and steals (3-1).

I'm just saying.

 

[Orangutan]

The following stats compare the five finalists in categories that I would think are logically associated with Shooting Guards...there may be others, but these seemed to make sense to me:

You inspired me to make my own table, which pulls in slightly different data than yours:

All stats from natstat.com/wbb (the artist formerly known as WBB State). The last row is their all-in-one metric. I included usage because there is an inverse relationship between usage and efficiency. In this case, Samuelson's usage is not so much lower that it adequately explains her extraordinary offensive efficiency.

Samuelson is the clear choice.

Laksa is clearly 5th out of 5, statistically. Of course, she plays with by far the least surrounding talent. She also plays the weakest schedule.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

You inspired me to make my own table, which pulls in slightly different data than yours:

View attachment 28991

All stats from natstat.com/wbb (the artist formerly known as WBB State). The last row is their all-in-one metric. I included usage because there is an inverse relationship between usage and efficiency. In this case, Samuelson's usage is not so much lower that it adequately explains her extraordinary offensive efficiency.

Samuelson is the clear choice.

Laksa is clearly 5th out of 5, statistically. Of course, she plays with by far the least surrounding talent. She also plays the weakest schedule.

And your table is "nicer formatted" than mine too... similar info that proves who should be the selectee.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I’m not saying that Laksa should win or I want her to win. I’m just saying that, in terms of pure shooting ability, she belongs in that group and possibly in the upper half of it. The European nations produce some tall kids who are excellent shooters. She’s one of them. Anyone who shoots 96% on FTs deserves recognition.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Make a is a prolific 3pt shooter... if I remember she has put up the most of the 5 finalists...and maybe most in the country, she just isn't the most prolific 3pt shot maker... VERY low percentage compared to the other finalists.

Laksa’s 3-Point percentage is higher than Ogunbowale’s.