Laimbeer: Stokes is DPoY

[Buzzyboy]

Kiah is now of course now #1 in blocks after the big night against the Sun.

The problem though with stating rankings is that as you know Kiah gets a lot less minutes than Tina, and Stef, and Maya. If you look at either per-minute or efficiency ratings or shooting percentages, Kiah is actually ahead of all three players in a number of categories, some like Offensive Rating that you would not think possible. She has a better rebounding average per minute over all three players, which you probably would expect. And of course on something like blocks she is above everyone else in the WNBA except Griner's bpg and bpm rates.

Kiah does not get enough minutes yet to qualify for being listed in the Top 10 of many categories, but it will be interesting to see what happens if she starts getting the same kind of minutes as Stef (4 or 5 mpg more), let alone the 30+ mpg that Tina and Maya have earned in the pro's..

It's kinda weird because it seems like there's some Boneyarders that are seeking to DIMINISH how well Kiah has started her WNBA career and not consider that she is evolving and that the WNBA is more conducive to her style play and her abilities. Strange indeed!!!

 

[pinotbear]

Couldn't disagree more. Stokes is an elite athlete and defensive player. She was never given a chance to develop offensively at UConn. Time will tell.

"She was never given a chance to develop offensively at UConn"

How do you figure?

 

[DobbsRover2]

It's kinda weird because it seems like there's some Boneyarders that are seeking to DIMINISH how well Kiah has started her WNBA career and not consider that she is evolving and that the WNBA is more conducive to her style play and her abilities. Strange indeed!!!

As with the players from every school in their rookie WNBA season, you can generally tell pretty quickly if they're going to stick and whether they will have a major impact in the league. All indicators for Kiah are looking very promising at this point, though it has always been a BY split-personality reaction to either get out the already dripping worry towels to chew on before every big game or to predict that the Huskies will beat a top team like Texas by some outlandish and impossible 50+ points. With every player the story revolves in a great part around the coach, and Kiah is supremely blessed to have had a college coach who put her in a great spot where her awesome abilities could shine, and a current WNBA coach who is boosting her big time and may be pushing her to provide some stuff that UConn didn't need so much but that the Liberty certainly do. Two great places to grow, and fortunately she is not in the land of the black Sun at this point or we would not be having a half dozen threads raging about her.

 

[easttexastrash]

You think this year or next Stokes is going to be a "go-to" player because of her fg%? Isn't it possible her high fg% is in part because a player like Tina gets so much attention?

Not really seeing where I said that she is going to be a go-to player because of her shooting percentage. I think I said that if she runs the floor and works hard to establish position that Laimbeer could establish her as a go-to player. I did make reference to her shooting percentage, and Griner's, but my point was that if she works to get position that she should get the ball fed to her.

"Hopefully Laimbeer will address this with the Liberty and will establish Stokes as a go-to player when she has worked to get position in the paint. Big girls like Stokes and BG who run the floor and then work hard to pin their defenders behind them need to have the ball fed to them. BG and Stokes rank 3 and 5 in FG% so if they are open they need to be getting the ball."

 

[bschwartz]

 

[hoophuskee]

Not really seeing where I said that she is going to be a go-to player because of her shooting percentage. I think I said that if she runs the floor and works hard to establish position that Laimbeer could establish her as a go-to player. I did make reference to her shooting percentage, and Griner's, but my point was that if she works to get position that she should get the ball fed to her.

"Hopefully Laimbeer will address this with the Liberty and will establish Stokes as a go-to player when she has worked to get position in the paint. Big girls like Stokes and BG who run the floor and then work hard to pin their defenders behind them need to have the ball fed to them. BG and Stokes rank 3 and 5 in FG% so if they are open they need to be getting the ball."

I don't get what you're saying. I don't want to make a big deal over it but in the 1st para you're downplaying fg% and the 2nd para you're building it up. So I don't get your point. You specifically cite fg% in your 2n para.

So you think in the NBA every team that Tyson Chandler played for blew it? His fg% is usually spectacular.

 

[easttexastrash]

I don't get what you're saying. I don't want to make a big deal over it but in the 1st para you're downplaying fg% and the 2nd para you're building it up. So I don't get your point. You specifically cite fg% in your 2n para.

So you think in the NBA every team that Tyson Chandler played for blew it? His fg% is usually spectacular.

Good Lord! I am saying that if she runs the floor well and posts up hard that the ball should be fed to her as I think she can be a successful scorer. I do think her FG% will continue to be good as she has the athleticism, size and length to score against most WNBA players.

 

[easttexastrash]

The dynamics between her and Geno is why Laimbeer has the player she is.

It doesn't explain why Stokes didn't perform as well under Geno. Maybe she just clicks better with Laimbeer or in the Liberty system.

 

[HuskyNan]

It doesn't explain why Stokes didn't perform as well under Geno. Maybe she just clicks better with Laimbeer or in the Liberty system.

• AAC Defensive POY
• All-AAC Second Team
• Winner of the Senior CLASS award
• National Defensive POY finalist
• Holds UConn's shot blocking record at a program that had Rebecca Lobo, 6'8" Kara Wolters and Tina Charles, all National POYs
• Recorded only the 4th triple double recorded at UConn
• Was a major factor in at least 2 key games this year - at Notre Dame and vs Texas in the NCAA tournament. UConn wouldn't have won either game without her, and Geno gave her a heap of praise

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

 

[iri10]

It doesn't explain why Stokes didn't perform as well under Geno. Maybe she just clicks better with Laimbeer or in the Liberty system.

Thus far she isn't all that different yet. There's a few jumpers that she'll try on the Liberty that she generally would not have tried on UConn. On defense she's doing the same stuff that she did at UConn. The main difference is not in what Kiah has done, but in the value the coach places on what Kiah does. Laimbeer thinks she should have more minutes on his team than Geno wanted her to have at UConn.

I guess the most interesting thing is that she's made the transition to the pros so well on defense. I would have expected a much bigger dropoff in her defensive effectiveness, at least for her rookie year. But she seems to have gotten up to speed on that front very quickly.

That said, if the Laimbeer can continue to build her offensive confidence, I could see her averaging high single digits or low double digit scoring in a couple of years. That would be good enough to make her a starter on almost any team, which would be amazingly cool from my perspective.

Random thought: Can Kiah dunk? With her physical attributes it at least seems possible in a practice setting, if not in a game. Never heard a sniff of her attempting one anywhere, though.

 

[UConnCat]

It doesn't explain why Stokes didn't perform as well under Geno. Maybe she just clicks better with Laimbeer or in the Liberty system.

She's doing exactly what she did at UConn: block shots and play great defense. She lost her starting spot to Tuck last season because Tuck was and is a better offensive player and Geno didn't like playing 4 on 5.

Kiah's stats as a senior

18.3 minutes
3.7 blocks p/g
6.8 rebounds p/g
4.5 points p/g

Kiah's stats on Liberty (14 games)

24 minutes
2.6 blocks/gm
6.3 rebounds/gm
5.7 points/gm

 

[HuskyNan]

Thus far she isn't all that different yet. There's a few jumpers that she'll try on the Liberty that she generally would not have tried on UConn. On defense she's doing the same stuff that she did at UConn.

That 15' shot from the elbow was in Kiah's repertoire at UConn, too.

 

[UConnCat]

Thus far she isn't all that different yet. .

The key is yet. Basketball is now her job. She's a professional. She can work on her game as much as she wants. No more classes. No more limits on how many hours the coaches can spend with her.

One thing I want to see her do more as a pro is try to score off offensive rebounds. How many times would she grab an offensive board -- she has an uncanny nose for the ball, btw -- and be content to throw the ball back out to her teammates. She needs to look to score and draw fouls.

The WNBA runs more pick-and-roll offense than we see in college. Kiah is skilled enough to run that effectively with the Liberty guards.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'm just amazed at some posters thinking it's so easy to be a scorer and in addition thinking only offense is a way to analyze a player.

DO people realize how HARD it is to consistently get low post position and while you're getting bumped and pushed in the paint a bit to be able to convert? Not to mention the times you don't have perfect position and you need to put the ball on the floor and then maybe get doubled from areas you may not be totally aware. Yet how often is she low posting an scoring from a low post move now in the WNBA?

How many college teams could really destroy UCONN on the inside? The few that did - other than USC- Kiah played and usually did very, very well. The games which opposing teams didn't have much on the inside and she wasn't going to score why would you give her big minutes? To slow the game down? You have all these supreme recruits and you think it best to slow the game down to give the big a few more touches? In addition you think future recruits want to play slow-ball? The game is fast in the pros- why would you look to slow things down?

 

[HoopsFan21]

• AAC Defensive POY
• All-AAC Second Team
• Winner of the Senior CLASS award
• National Defensive POY finalist
• Holds UConn's shot blocking record at a program that had Rebecca Lobo, 6'8" Kara Wolters and Tina Charles, all National POYs
• Recorded only the 4th triple double recorded at UConn
• Was a major factor in at least 2 key games this year - at Notre Dame and vs Texas in the NCAA tournament. UConn wouldn't have won either game without her, and Geno gave her a heap of praise

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

I like Kiah Stokes as much as anyone, but I don't think she was the difference in the Texas game. It was a 51 point victory in which she played 19 minutes, had 4 points and 7 rebounds. The only chance Texas had in that game would have been if Stewie and Mo (combined 56 points) had gotten lost on their way to the arena.

 

[Gus Mahler]

The key is yet. Basketball is now her job. She's a professional. She can work on her game as much as she wants. No more classes. No more limits on how many hours the coaches can spend with her.

One thing I want to see her do more as a pro is try to score off offensive rebounds. How many times would she grab an offensive board -- she has an uncanny nose for the ball, btw -- and be content to throw the ball back out to her teammates. She needs to look to score and draw fouls.

You are so right. I never thought she got enough credit for that from announcers (or anyone else, for that matter).

 

[easttexastrash]

• AAC Defensive POY
• All-AAC Second Team
• Winner of the Senior CLASS award
• National Defensive POY finalist
• Holds UConn's shot blocking record at a program that had Rebecca Lobo, 6'8" Kara Wolters and Tina Charles, all National POYs
• Recorded only the 4th triple double recorded at UConn
• Was a major factor in at least 2 key games this year - at Notre Dame and vs Texas in the NCAA tournament. UConn wouldn't have won either game without her, and Geno gave her a heap of praise

I'm not sure what you're talking about.

Come on, Nan. I've been on this board for the entirety of Stokes UCONN career and the common thinking was that Stokes was not reaching her potential. She is a naturally gifted defensive player and I think most agree that she is already performing better after 14 games in the WNBA than she did at UCONN.

 

[easttexastrash]

She's doing exactly what she did at UConn: block shots and play great defense. She lost her starting spot to Tuck last season because Tuck was and is a better offensive player and Geno didn't like playing 4 on 5.

Kiah's stats as a senior

18.3 minutes
3.7 blocks p/g
6.8 rebounds p/g
4.5 points p/g

Kiah's stats on Liberty (14 games)

24 minutes
2.6 blocks/gm
6.3 rebounds/gm
5.7 points/gm

I think we would all agree that the talent in the WNBA is far greater than the NCAA, yet her stats are very comparable to the much weaker NCAA competition.

 

[HuskyNan]

I like Kiah Stokes as much as anyone, but I don't think she was the difference in the Texas game. It was a 51 point victory in which she played 19 minutes, had 4 points and 7 rebounds. The only chance Texas had in that game would have been if Stewie and Mo (combined 56 points) had gotten lost on their way to the arena.

I was at the game. Texas was playing UConn even, led by their two big girls in the paint. UConn gave up layup after layup and the Husky fans in the crowd started mumbling about it being the Stanford game all over again. Then, in comes Kiah. She played tough defense in the paint and swatted away layup attempts by the guards. Because she was so intimidating in the post, the UConn guards were able to play tougher defense on the guards on the perimeter. Yes, she was the difference in the game.

 

[easttexastrash]

I like Kiah Stokes as much as anyone, but I don't think she was the difference in the Texas game. It was a 51 point victory in which she played 19 minutes, had 4 points and 7 rebounds. The only chance Texas had in that game would have been if Stewie and Mo (combined 56 points) had gotten lost on their way to the arena.

Maybe UCONN would have only won by 45 points instead of 51 but saying that UCONN would not have won without her is quite a stretch.

 

[HuskyNan]

Come on, Nan. I've been on this board for the entirety of Stokes UCONN career and the common thinking was that Stokes was not reaching her potential. She is a naturally gifted defensive player and I think most agree that she is already performing better after 14 games in the WNBA than she did at UCONN.

Some, yes, most, no. I certainly don't. See the stats that Cat posted.

As for the talent level, during the entirety of her career, Kiah has played against some of the best players in the country, including some Olympians. That's a benefit of being a player at a UConn or a Tennessee, Standford, Duke, etc.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree.

 

[UConnCat]

I think we would all agree that the talent in the WNBA is far greater than the NCAA, yet her stats are very comparable to the much weaker NCAA competition.

She's was an exceptional shot-blocker and rebounder at UConn and she's an exceptional shot-blocker and rebounder in the WNBA. Isn't that how it should work? Why is this a surprise to anyone? She was not aggressive offensively at UConn and she still isn't in the pros. Again, no surprise.

 

[hoophuskee]

She's was an exceptional shot-blocker and rebounder at UConn and she's an exceptional shot-blocker and rebounder in the WNBA. Isn't that how it should work? Why is this a surprise to anyone? She was not aggressive offensively at UConn and she still isn't in the pros. Again, no surprise.

Great post. Great post. Irrefutable.

 

[hoophuskee]

I like Kiah Stokes as much as anyone, but I don't think she was the difference in the Texas game. It was a 51 point victory in which she played 19 minutes, had 4 points and 7 rebounds. The only chance Texas had in that game would have been if Stewie and Mo (combined 56 points) had gotten lost on their way to the arena.

I don't agree. I thought Kiah was huge in that game. We were getting pounded in the paint. The lead went up and up and up once Stokes came in and changed the momentum.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I don't agree. I thought Kiah was huge in that game. We were getting pounded in the paint. The lead went up and up and up once Stokes came in and changed the momentum.

It was a 51 point blowout. Unless your last name is Jordan, in a game like that, no one person is going to be the difference. Kiah came into the game at 12:35 with the score 17-12, then the score went to 24-14 before Texas closed back to within 5, all while Kiah was in the game. Then it became the Breanna Stewart show and the team couldn't miss from 3. Look at the start of the second half when the team really ran away with it and added 14 points to their lead. Kiah was on the bench for that entire stretch, so it is possible for the team to put a game against Texas away without Kiah. The team shot 56% and 42% from 3. It's gonna be hard to lose a game with those numbers with or without Kiah who played less than half the game. I like Kiah, but I seriously doubt UConn would have lost that game if not for her 19 minutes, 4 points, and 7 of the team's 42 rebounds.