KML and the WNBA

[UConn82]

I wonder why KML has not done better in the WNBA.

She was a truly excellent player at UConn, and was clutch.

Is it that she is just a bit slower than the fast players in the WNBA, and that little bit makes it hard for her to get off her shot, etc.?

Thoughts?

 

[JoePgh]

I wonder why KML has not done better in the WNBA.

She was a truly excellent player at UConn, and was clutch.

Is it that she is just a bit slower than the fast players in the WNBA, and that little bit makes it hard for her to get off her shot, etc.?

Thoughts?

Her defensive shortcomings make it very difficult for her not to give up more points than she scores. In the WNBA, there aren't any opposing players who can safely be left unguarded (for all practical purposes).

 

[BroadwayVa]

As a Uconn player, to start, she was a pure shooter. Few in the NCAA were as accurate. She developed into a basketball player. As JoePgh pointed out she was slow and slow because of her body type something near impossible to change. Kalana regardless of the opinion of coaches or the WNBA shall always be remembered by me as a Top UConn player, great step daughter, and nice person. She'll do well outside of being a Player and maybe well in Europe.

 

[CocoHusky]

Two years ago we had a thread started by @Fairfield Fan (?) which concluded that it was the coach that was holding KML back. @JoePgh has the right answer on this. In addition KML most remarkable skill set (elite shooting) which was supposed to translate to the WNBA has not panned out. In 4 WNBA season she is shooting 40% overall and 35% on -hardly elite numbers.

 

[eebmg]

Last season, she settled into a groove on the second unit for part of the season (at least offensively) and was shooting over 45% from 3pt land for extended periods. (42% for 2018 season) If you look at this stat link

2018 Seattle Storm Stats | Basketball-Reference.com


which provides not only stats but rankings in Advanced stats (no idea what formula), she ranks #7 on the Storm (regular season). Her production took a hit in the playoffs . Whitcomb seemed to play better at the end of season and definitely in the playoffs so their is some redundancy but I do not think she is out of the WNBA. Also, Hughes is smart, knows how to use his players and get them into useful positions and loves UConn players

 

[willtalk]

It is a combination of a number of things. One was the level competition in college verses the WNBA. Then add the fact that Uconn had the necessary players and ran the type of system which could utilize her strengths while also mitigating her weaknesses It was the best case scenario for her which was unlikely to be repeated on any other team in either the WNBA or college.

I constantly noticed fans on the Boneyard stating that Seattle was not using her correctly. While true, no team is going to adjust their team around any one dimensional player at the expense of other players. Uconn never had to adjust because their system was ideal for her and allowed her to maximize her potential operating within the already existing system.

 

[Carnac]

Her defensive shortcomings make it very difficult for her not to give up more points than she scores. In the WNBA, there aren't any opposing players who can safely be left unguarded (for all practical purposes).

Bingo!! While I love KML (I got a chance to meet her when the team came west to play UCLA last year), and I still follow and root for her, and for all the reasons other posters stated above, I too recognize that she was never a defensive stalwart. Unfortunately, her defensive shortcomings carried over to the W.

 

[msf22b]

like it or not...politically correct or not...
kLM’s primary problem is her weight.
Body type be darned, anyone can lose
I just lost 25 unwanted pounds and pondered if I could
Keep it off in Italy followed by cruise.
so far,so good ...and I’m in my 80.
she loses 25 or so and she is a different player.

 

[Willie E.Gold]

When was the last time Allie Quigley was praised for her defense?Quigley was drafted by Seattle because she could shoot. During her career she has been cut by Seattle, Sky, Mercury, Fever, Storm, and back to the Sky. What about Toliver, Becky, and Coleman ?They were drafted because of their Offense not Defense. There are others. KML will excel in the WNBA.with the right team. Just a matter of time. Take a look at the NBA,Ray Allen, Glen Rice, Harden(No D at all),Kovar, Kerr ,Bird were offensive weapons ,no one harped about their D.It seems like there is some people that doubted Tiffany, Stokes, Chong and Faris potential to play in the WNBA. KML can shoot and eventually the right team will give her the same opportunity Allie got.

 

[CocoHusky]

like it or not...politically correct or not...
kLM’s primary problem is her weight.
Body type be darned, anyone can lose
I just lost 25 unwanted pounds and pondered if I could
Keep it off in Italy followed by cruise.
so far,so good ...and I’m in my 80.
she loses 25 or so and she is a different player.

You seem to have a very precise and offensive barometer when commenting about these young ladies and weight.

It may be style preference, but often the Notre Dame woman seem bulkier than what might be considered optimum for elite woman's BB play.
I surmise that Mabrey for example might be a real demon -20 pounds.

Please stop.

 

[bballnut90]

@Willie E.Gold In response to your post in a different thread:
"When was the last time Allie Quigley was praised for her defense?Quigley was drafted by Seattle because she could shoot. During her career she has been cut by Seattle, Sky, Mercury, Fever, Storm, and back to the Sky. What about Toliver, Becky, and Coleman ?They were drafted because of their Offense not Defense. There are others. KML will excel in the WNBA.with the right team. Just a matter of time. Take a look at the NBA,Ray Allen, Glen Rice, Harden(No D at all),Kovar, Kerr ,Bird were offensive weapons ,no one harped about their D.It seems like there is some people that doubted Tiffany, Stokes, Chong and Faris potential to play in the WNBA. KML can shoot and eventually the right team will give her the same opportunity Allie got."


Quigley isn't a great defender but she's head and shoulders better than KML right now. Quigley is MUCH quicker/faster than KML and moves much better off the ball. Quigley was a long shot when she was drafted, but she worked her tail off, got in tip top shape and now has become of the best in the league at running off screens to catch and shoot. Very similar to JJ Redick on the men's side where they both struggled early but have carved out a niche for themselves and both are peaking late in their career.

There are very limited spots in the league for players...it's not about finding the right team for her as much as it's about getting in better shape and becoming a more rounded player rather than a 1 trick pony. There are great shooters coming into the league every year, and a good GM will take a promising rookie over KML because the rookie will be cheaper and hasn't had a chance to prove herself. KML has had 4 years to try and earn a rotation spot (while playing on some bad teams) but hasn't shown much improvement.

 

[willtalk]

While it is certainly true that players can work to improve their physical conditioning, not everyone has the same genetic base to work with. You can improve on what you have but you genetic makeup will set limits to what you can achieve in that respect.

I for one am not going to make a judgement on how much effort someone has made in respect to getting in shape. I just have a suspicion, based on her physical development and changes that transpired between her high school days and her time at UConn that she might fall into the category of those with a more difficult set of genetic obstacle to over come rather than it being caused by pure laziness.

 

[Sonny44]

When was the last time Allie Quigley was praised for her defense?Quigley was drafted by Seattle because she could shoot. During her career she has been cut by Seattle, Sky, Mercury, Fever, Storm, and back to the Sky. What about Toliver, Becky, and Coleman ?They were drafted because of their Offense not Defense. There are others. KML will excel in the WNBA.with the right team. Just a matter of time. Take a look at the NBA,Ray Allen, Glen Rice, Harden(No D at all),Kovar, Kerr ,Bird were offensive weapons ,no one harped about their D.It seems like there is some people that doubted Tiffany, Stokes, Chong and Faris potential to play in the WNBA. KML can shoot and eventually the right team will give her the same opportunity Allie got.

Amen bro.

 

[WNBA 09]

Her defensive shortcomings make it very difficult for her not to give up more points than she scores. In the WNBA, there aren't any opposing players who can safely be left unguarded (for all practical purposes).

KML or KLS ?

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Willtalk's comments above about system are a lot to do with it.

Various players will thrive in certain systems, and Geno has a long history of tweaking his system to maximize the benefits of the talents that he has to work with. Other college teams do likewise, although the degree of success (and, perhaps, the impact on others on the team) varies depending on the talent.

In the WNBA, as he notes, her ability to fit into the system is not really being maximized, because she isn't (for better or worse, speaking to the team as a whole) that key of a player. It is not the coach's job to tweak things for anyone that they don't perceive as a huge contributor, and her downside that many have noted is going to limit her effectiveness.

Yet, as others have said, there may very well be a team where she would be more productive because she would fit into their schemes better.

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

When was the last time Allie Quigley was praised for her defense?Quigley was drafted by Seattle because she could shoot. During her career she has been cut by Seattle, Sky, Mercury, Fever, Storm, and back to the Sky. What about Toliver, Becky, and Coleman ?They were drafted because of their Offense not Defense. There are others. KML will excel in the WNBA.with the right team. Just a matter of time. Take a look at the NBA,Ray Allen, Glen Rice, Harden(No D at all),Kovar, Kerr ,Bird were offensive weapons ,no one harped about their D.It seems like there is some people that doubted Tiffany, Stokes, Chong and Faris potential to play in the WNBA. KML can shoot and eventually the right team will give her the same opportunity Allie got.

Quigley, Becky, and Toliver all adjutsed to the pace of the WNBA and demonstrated that they not just hit threes, but could create off the dribble and could pass. If you look at Toliver and Quigley, they have worked on their release points and speed so as to shoot the ball that much quicker against a closing defender.

KML has not demonstrated that her offensive abilities are as diverse as the players you named. She may get there in time, but after four years, that has not been the case.

And considering she was the #3 pick in the draft, a lot more is expected of her (by virtue of the draft position).

As an aside, the men's players you named - Ray Allen, Glen Rice, James Harden, Larry Bird, specifically - were beyond elite offensively. As I mentioned above, KML is not in close to that class offensively as of yet because she has not demonstrated (on the professional level) the ability to score in so many ways that they have.

 

[BostonFan]

I always remembered KML as one of the best spot-shooters in UConn history. But, she wasnt great at creating her own shots & was probably below average defender. I think this translates to a great wcbb player (especially on great UConn teams who could "cover-up" some of her short-comings), but not a very impactful wnba player.

 

[msf22b]

You seem to have a very precise and offensive barometer when commenting about these young ladies and weight.

Please stop.

Surely had to eat my unfortunate words re: ND.
In the case of KLM my views are surely self-evident.
And since my view has not attracted mod scrutiny.
May I suggest that the Boneyard adage of not telling each other what to do, applies.

 

[vtcwbuff]

The physical conditioning of a professional athlete, male or female, is fair game for discussion.

 

[nwhoopfan]

I'm sure someone at some point on this board has made a comment about Courtney Paris' conditioning. As noted above these are professional athletes. Is it taboo because they are women? Oliver Miller was constantly criticized for his weight during his playing days. Or Shawn Kemp in his later years. etc. etc.