Marisa at Saniya's game today (Fri 2/10)

[TimeWillTell]

My wife and I went to see Saniya Chong play for the second time in two weeks today (Fri 2/10). Early In the first quarter, the P.A. announcer welcomed representatives from St. Johns, Boston College and UConn (I saw Marisa Moseley arrive a little after we did).

Saniya’s team, Ossining, won the game 89-64, to go undefeated in their regular season 18-0. The team they defeated, Pearl River, finished their regular season 16-2. (non league game)

Saniya’s line was: 37 pts, 10 assists, 10 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocked shots. NICE LINE!!

Click on the following for a short article about the game: LINK

I'll try and link to a larger article, sometime tomorrow, in Saturday's sport section .

 

[DaddyChoc]

thanks for the report

I thought coaches recruited to who they work with in practice. Marissa is a post-player coach.

Maybe Geno wants everyone to get a look at her.

 

[TimeWillTell]

thanks for the report

I thought coaches recruited to who they work with in practice. Marissa is a post-player coach.

Maybe Geno wants everyone to get a look at her.

If Marisa comes back with a thumbs up, then I guess Chris and/or Geno will be making a trip to lower NY to see Ossining during the sectionals.

 

[JS]

I'm trying to get a handle on the strength of Ossining's competition. We discussed that they've defeated a traditional power or two, like Archbishop Malloy (which isn't having an especially great year).

Ossining is an AA school. The team they defeated is class A. Both teams will be seeded first in their respective tournaments.

Can also see that AA is the largest size in an association that includes "many" schools in NY. The sections (IIRC Ossining is in section 3, Central New York) do not appear to include New York City, where national powers like CTK, Bergtraum and the recently national #1 ranked (pre-Apache's death) Nazareth, reside.

What I don't know, among other things (some would say a vast and nearly all-inclusive number of other things) is whether the size rankings are based on absolute numbers of students or relative size within the sections. If the latter, which seems logical for tournament balance, AA in these sections could be much smaller than the largest big-city schools.

Not that size always matters. A charismatic coach can sometimes develop or even implant a dominant program wherever he goes. See Apache. See Geno.

 

[MilfordHusky]

It seems as if there is continuing interest. I don't understand her HG rankings. She sounds like a top 20 kid.

 

[Blakeon18]

Here's hoping Ossining gets to Troy the weekend of March 16 and plays Cicero with Breanna in the semis or finals of the NYS tourney. Ossining's Paul Westhead type style would be a challenge for Cicero. Accoring to one mention on the Ossining site they are #3 in New York State....presumably behind Cicero and Nazareth.

 

[Blakeon18]

Say....Time: since you are our unofficial Saniya guru at this point, do you have a player comparison for us?

 

[speedoo]

thanks for the report

I thought coaches recruited to who they work with in practice. Marissa is a post-player coach.

Maybe Geno wants everyone to get a look at her.

I think Marisa and CD work with the posts and Geno and Shea work with the guards.. But they all can work with anyone on the team as well.. I saw Marisa speaking directly with Tiff in a time out during the Ville game, and on the ensuing offensive play, Tiff posted up, so that's probably what Marisa was talking about.

Tne division of labor above has been in place for a long time, it was Geno/Tonya - guards, and CD/Jamelle - posts.

As for the HG ranking re. Saniya, I think the consensus is throw it out the window because she has not played in any high profile tourneys or camps.

 

[Wonkster]

... Maybe Geno wants everyone to get a look at her.

.
Geno's providing continuous coverage of the Chong phenomenon. He's leaving no turn unstoned.
.

 

[UcMiami]

Definitely coaching is specialized, but scouting/recruiting is not. They all know the type of players they are looking for, and with time and distance restraints you aren't going to limit a trip to California for example to just front court or back court if there are a mixed group of kids you are looking at. At the moment, contact is not permitted on these visits - when it is permitted then it would be more likely (but not fixed) for a position coach to make that contact.

 

[AboutWeston]

http://www.lohud.com/article/201202...egular-season-18-0?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

Thanks for posting about this - I add this link in case you hadn't seen it(?)!

 

[EricLA]

It seems as if there is continuing interest. I don't understand her HG rankings. She sounds like a top 20 kid.

first, a comment on JS's questions about the level of competition - Bree plays for Cicero - i don't think they have any really intense competition do they? i know their team went to a tourney and were able to play teams like Bolingbrook, etc, but locally, i'm not sure they face any serious threats. do all the NY teams have a chance to play in the "post season" for the "state" championship? if so, then Saniya's team will have a chance to play against the best AA teams in the state.

as to Mil's comment - IIRC, Saniya has never played on the AAU circuit, or at least not in any of the Nike or Adidas tourneys, so i'm not sure they "experts" have ever had a chance to see her play. her last few games, she was averaging a triple double with points, assists, and steals. this game it was points, assists and rebounds. it would be cool to see her get a quadruple double.

 

[magical2]

Super props to Time for following up with wife in hand to go watch Saniya for the 2nd time! I am glad that she is getting the attention recently. It will be very interesting to see where this all ends up
As to the competition,sections,sizes I used to know this much better than I do these days.The private schools and elite schools are where we are finding alot of the known kids,which in many cases gravitate during spare time and summertime to sponsored teams. They get to know one another,they get recruited,and move up the chain. They become more well known and get written about,obviousely some earlier than others, They get ranked with Nike,Adidas,Reebok and their associatiations having alot to do with how that gets plays out. The USA teams of different ages impact rankings,and attention.

 

[JS]

I thought coaches recruited to who they work with in practice. Marissa is a post-player coach.

Maybe Geno wants everyone to get a look at her.

You do recall, don't you DC, that Shea saw her first?

My guess is Geno wants a second opinion, maybe with instructions to focus on something that didn't come through clearly one way or the other in Shea's report.

 

[Scotter]

You do recall, don't you DC, that Shea saw her first?

My guess is Geno wants a second opinion, maybe with instructions to focus on something that didn't come through clearly one way or the other in Shea's report.

Geno has said that they do not divide along position coach lines when recruiting. They also do not have a point person the way many schools assign a specific coach to mainly recruit a specific player. They want every coach to have contact with the players they are recruiting. I would also guess, which assistant goes to see a recruit play also has to do with their scouting duties. According to one of Rich's blog posts, Marisa had the scouting duty for Louisville. That made her the logical choice to go out recruiting as CD was scouting for the Georgetown game today and Shea had the Oklahoma game on Monday.

 

[TimeWillTell]

http://www.lohud.com/article/201202...egular-season-18-0?odyssey=mod_sectionstories

Thanks for posting about this - I add this link in case you hadn't seen it(?)!

That's the same article that was in this mornings paper. Thanks for posting the online LINK. There are some nice pictures of Saniya in action that are included with the article too.

 

[sTu]

You do recall, don't you DC, that Shea saw her first?

My guess is Geno wants a second opinion, maybe with instructions to focus on something that didn't come through clearly one way or the other in Shea's report.

We can guess all we want, I would want it to be that Shea liked what she saw and that with all the attention Chong is getting from schools that UConn wants to demonstrate that they are seriously interested.

 

[speedoo]

We can guess all we want, I would want it to be that Shea liked what she saw and that with all the attention Chong is getting from schools that UConn wants to demonstrate that they are seriously interested.

Well, given the second visit by Marisa, it seems clear that Shea liked what she saw enough to at least keep UConn interested.

 

[JS]

We can guess all we want, I would want it to be that Shea liked what she saw and that with all the attention Chong is getting from schools that UConn wants to demonstrate that they are seriously interested.

Geno knows from the box scores that Saniya can put the ball in the hole. For this and other reasons I believe he wants more info on a lot else -- defensive capability if not accomplishment, apparent attitude, all kinds of physical factors, smart play, court vision, good hands, etc. etc. -- in short, upside.

IF he decides he likes the entirety of the feedback he gets from game evaluations, and IF the needs and prospects for that class are shaping up in the right way, then he'll go further.

As speedoo says, there's obvious interest. As Scotter says, if that interest is strong and/or gets strong enough, he'll wants everybody to see her and will probably set up a visit to Storrs.

I don't think he's worried about other schools.

 

[TimeWillTell]

Say....Time: since you are our unofficial Saniya guru at this point, do you have a player comparison for us?

As I posted last week, Saniya (5’9”) reminds me of a slightly shorter Tiffany and a taller Bria, when they were both freshmen. She is lean, wiry and stronger than she looks. Check out several pictures of Saniya HERE (last nights game). Saniya is #12.

Saniya is both quick, AND fast a foot, with a great change of direction and crossover. In one of the early plays last night, the opposing team picked up full court after a made basket and Saniya blew by all 5 players like they were standing in cement, for an uncontested layup. The first game I saw her play, she ran down what appeared to be an uncontested fast break layup and stuffed a shocked taller player from behind (like Maya)…..the crowd went NUTS!!

Saniya has good range on her jumper out past the 3 pt line. I was quite taken by her use of the left hand…she uses it unhesitatingly all the time (she’s right handed). She has very good hops and is a terror on defense with fast feet and quick hands.

I have two minor criticisms ….on defense (man-to-man) she wanders a bit looking to steal/tie-up the ball, allowing her man to get free and score sometimes. My guess is she has the green light from her coach, because of her great defensive skills, to wander off her assigned man and try to make defensive plays. My second criticism would be that she gets a little sloppy/excited on offense. Sometimes she forces an offensive move against a double or triple team…like Tiffany does sometimes. She probably does that because of how often she is successful, making unbelievable moves/shots in tight confines. She made a left handed shot, driving to the basket, with two people hanging on her, that was amazing. I had the perfect angle to view the play and I don’t know how she even got the ball near the basket.

I assume if Marisa gives Geno a positive evaluation on Saniya (and I don’t see how she couldn’t) that Chris and/or Geno will be coming down to see what the fuss is all about.

 

[VAMike23]

The first lengthy clip I saw of her, the one thing the struck me right away was how comfortable she was in all phases with her off (left) hand. At one point early in the video, I was waiting for her next jump shot attempt to confirm that she was in fact right-handed. I seldom see young players who appear almost ambidextrous on the court.

And of course for a guard, this is huge; that kind of balance can buy you a good half-step from your defender on the perimeter.

 

[TimeWillTell]

Say....Time: since you are our unofficial Saniya guru at this point, do you have a player comparison for us?

I neglected to mention a couple of things in my previous post. Saniya has a very good handle. She’s the point guard for Ossining, bringing the ball up court 99 % of the time. She has her head up all the time, surveying the court for opportunities. In the two games I saw, she handled any full court press with ease. It’s hard for teams to deal with the kind of speed, quickness and change of direction she possesses. Even with no full court press she gets the ball to the front court VERY fast, running up the backs of the defense, looking to attack. It’s kind of like our UConn men’s team used to do……take the ball out of bounds and run it to the front court before the defense has time to set up….like a delayed fast break.

Saniya is also a fine passer. Her abilities on offense create situations where her teammates are going to be open…and she finds them, as her assist totals attest to….bounce passes, bullet passes, lobs, baseball passes etc. ect. she threw them all…In the first game I saw her play, Saniya had three or four assists, in the first three minutes of the game, connecting on long passes to her teammates running the floor ahead of the defense for easy fast break lay ups.

I’m looking forward to following UConn’s interest in this very talented jr. from Ossining, NY.

 

[speedoo]

As I posted last week, Saniya (5’9”) reminds me of a slightly shorter Tiffany and a taller Bria, when they were both freshmen. She is lean, wiry and stronger than she looks. Check out several pictures of Saniya HERE (last nights game). Saniya is #12.

Saniya is both quick, AND fast a foot, with a great change of direction and crossover. In one of the early plays last night, the opposing team picked up full court after a made basket and Saniya blew by all 5 players like they were standing in cement, for an uncontested layup. The first game I saw her play, she ran down what appeared to be an uncontested fast break layup and stuffed a shocked taller player from behind (like Maya)…..the crowd went NUTS!!

Saniya has good range on her jumper out past the 3 pt line. I was quite taken by her use of the left hand…she uses it unhesitatingly all the time (she’s right handed). She has very good hops and is a terror on defense with fast feet and quick hands.

I have two minor criticisms ….on defense (man-to-man) she wanders a bit looking to steal/tie-up the ball, allowing her man to get free and score sometimes. My guess is she has the green light from her coach, because of her great defensive skills, to wander off her assigned man and try to make defensive plays. My second criticism would be that she gets a little sloppy/excited on offense. Sometimes she forces an offensive move against a double or triple team…like Tiffany does sometimes. She probably does that because of how often she is successful, making unbelievable moves/shots in tight confines. She made a left handed shot, driving to the basket, with two people hanging on her, that was amazing. I had the perfect angle to view the play and I don’t know how she even got the ball near the basket.

I assume if Marisa gives Geno a positive evaluation on Saniya (and I don’t see how she couldn’t) that Chris and/or Geno will be coming down to see what the fuss is all about.

Great report! The two negatives you mentioned will be corrected quickly if she is as coachable as she appears to be.

 

[TimeWillTell]

The first lengthy clip I saw of her, the one thing the struck me right away was how comfortable she was in all phases with her off (left) hand. At one point early in the video, I was waiting for her next jump shot attempt to confirm that she was in fact right-handed. I seldom see young players who appear almost ambidextrous on the court.

And of course for a guard, this is huge; that kind of balance can buy you a good half-step from your defender on the perimeter.

I did the same thing when I watched her play live!! I had to double check myself to make sure she was right handed and not left handed. She unhesitatingly uses her left hand all the time. As I said in an earlier post, Saniya made a left hand, driving lay-up with two defenders hanging all over her, that was amazing! The crowd OOHED and AAHED!