Maya Moore

[Skeets]

Breanna sometimes wilts in tight situations seems to me. but very rare (if ever) for d & maya

I agree with you on D and Maya, but talk about wilting? How about 4 NCs and 4 NC MVPs? I like that kind of wilting. (Also, it was only 1 game, but D did go oh-fer-15. However, I strongly discount that.)

 

[PacoSwede]

I agree with you on D and Maya, but talk about wilting? How about 4 NCs and 4 NC MVPs? I like that kind of wilting. (Also, it was only 1 game, but D did go oh-fer-15. However, I strongly discount that.)

guess i was thinking of her years after uconn, when there was some 'wilting.' u could say the same about D & maya, of course. occasionally, not chronically,

this was all about my response to a post that i thought made a great point about how performing best at game-determining moments separates very good players from the great ones.

i didn't believe stewie demonstrated that in college because she didn't get the opportunity. if she had, she very well may have done job (though i did not include that in my post, trying to be brief). also, stewie was a superior husky, rightly on Husky Mount Rushmore. that goes without saying, i figured. it's GD obvious!

someone said that she did come to the rescue at crunch time in a certain game. i don't recall that, but if the poster has a better memory, i shall withdraw my comments. don't want to smear breanna.

 

[Reypl21]

Maya Moore is my GOAT. She's an all-time great player, and an even better person.

 

[JRRRJ]

I love Sarah Strong - she is an incredible player and I’m so glad she’s a Husky. The praise for her is well-deserved. I just feel that people making some of the comments about smoothest freshman in 30 years, etc are forgetting the (I thought) unforgettable Maya Moore. Her first time in a UConn jersey was an exhibition against the National Team - Maya had 17 points and at times looked like the best player on the court. Below is a video reminder of Maya’s freshman season.

Let the praise for Sarah continue as she’s earned it but for me, I’m not forgetting the Marvelous Maya Moore.

Just to put some data in this discussion, here are the per-game and per-40 stats for Maya in her freshman year in the highlighted rows below. (Note that the 2007-8 per40 spreadsheet, which is available for download here, only has the year-end summary data.)(Also note Maya's efficiency rating!)

The per40 values for Maya and Sarah match up pretty evenly. Do remember that the Big East was much tougher then, and Maya's stats include the run to the NCAA semi-final.

 

[Wasn’t me]

I think this came up earlier in this thread about freshman being named Big East Freshman and Player in the same week. It doesn’t appear this was done much until Maya did it for the first time.

Moore was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week a conference record 10 times, passing former UConn standout Rebecca Lobo (7) for most selections in BIG EAST history, became the first-ever freshman in BIG EAST Conference history to be recognized as Player of the Week on March 4, she was also named Freshman of the Week, marking the first time the conference weekly honors have been swept by the same player.

 

[PvP]

I love Sarah Strong - she is an incredible player and I’m so glad she’s a Husky. The praise for her is well-deserved. I just feel that people making some of the comments about smoothest freshman in 30 years, etc are forgetting the (I thought) unforgettable Maya Moore. Her first time in a UConn jersey was an exhibition against the National Team - Maya had 17 points and at times looked like the best player on the court. Below is a video reminder of Maya’s freshman season.

Let the praise for Sarah continue as she’s earned it but for me, I’m not forgetting the Marvelous Maya Moore.

This thread was undoubtedly meant to offer perspective about any comparisons being made between Sarah Strong and the great Maya Moore. While obviously seriously intended, a video of highlights from, presumably, the entirety of Maya's freshman year is hardly a reasonable basis for comparison with a player whose entire college career is comprised of just 8 games.

In order to make a fairer comparison at the same point in their careers, I have compiled statistics from Maya's first 8 games and compared them with what Sarah has accomplished. They are as follows:

Maya Sarah

Points scored 132 130 Essentially identical

Rebounds 48 61 Significant

Assists 24 29 A 20% difference

Steals 12 20 Significant

Blocks 15 12 A 20% difference

Turnovers 13 11 Insignificant

Fouls 13 11 Insignificant

While I certainly concur that Maya is a giant in Husky history, in her professional achievements and her dedication to her values, I think this direct comparison of what their actual play for as many games as Sarah has had to achieve anything does not separate them meaningfully, and if any such separation is to be acknowledged, it would seem to favor Sarah, however slightly.

We can only give her a chance to make her mark in UCONN annals before we either enshrine her or demean her as I am sure we all can agree upon.

 

[HuskyNan]

This thread was undoubtedly meant to offer perspective about any comparisons being made between Sarah Strong and the great Maya Moore. While obviously seriously intended, a video of highlights from, presumably, the entirety of Maya's freshman year is hardly a reasonable basis for comparison with a player whose entire college career is comprised of just 8 games.

No, that wasn’t my intent at all. There was a poster talking about Sarah as the smoothest freshman in 30 years, and others making similar hyperbolic statements about best freshman, and IMO, while Sarah is fabulous in her own right and she will make her own mark on UConn lore, she is not the best or smoothest freshman in 30 years. It has nothing to do with statistical analysis and everything to do with my opinion

We UConn fans have been beyond fortunate to have seen freshman phenoms Nykesha, Diana, Tina, Maya, Stewie, Paige, and Sarah. Those are just the very top of the bunch. So many great players and yet the memories can fade when the next spectacular player comes along. Not me, I remember how incredible Maya was her freshman year. That takes nothing from Sara. It’s not a zero sum game

 

[Just.A.Fan]

No, that wasn’t my intent at all. There was a poster talking about Sarah as the smoothest freshman in 30 years, and others making similar hyperbolic statements about best freshman, and IMO, while Sarah is fabulous in her own right and she will make her own mark on UConn lore, she is not the best or smoothest freshman in 30 years. It has nothing to do with statistical analysis and everything to do with my opinion

We UConn fans have been beyond fortunate to have seen freshman phenoms Nykesha, Diana, Tina, Maya, Stewie, Paige, and Sarah. Those are just the very top of the bunch. So many great players and yet the memories can fade when the next spectacular player comes along. Not me, I remember how incredible Maya was her freshman year. That takes nothing from Sara. It’s not a zero sum game

I disagree with nothing you have said here Nan, but we can't truly rate Sarah at this point. She may yet prove to be the greatest freshman of them all. We are only 8 games into the season.

 

[Crossover]

I love this game. Syracuse coach Q Hillsman, when asked who on his team could guard Maya, said any one of his players could. Maya always let her game do her talking for her and this was her response (and didn’t Geno love it)

A classic example of FAFO.