Mike DiMauro Opens Mouth......Kicks Kelly Selection

[EricLA]

The thing about Kelly is she would be a great fit anywhere. She knows how to win. She will do all the little things it takes. I thought she should have gone even earlier. I believe you will have to eat your words Mike. Give 'em hell Kell !

I was thinking she should have gone sooner as well, but I can see why Clarendon and Mathias went ahead of her. I think it was a mistake and Kelly will end up a better pro than them, but time will tell. I think Indiana and LA went for the "bigger name" than the better player.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

It will all be determined when play begins. UConn players always have an advantage at the beginning, as they have played with first rate talent in a first-rate system, however, when they get to the W, the competition will be much better than they faced in college. Every player on the teams is as good as the top 3 players on any team they faced in college. For someone who is ultimately a supporting player, the challenge will be to do enough to shine.

 

[HGN]

DiMauro is looking at it from a very narrow perspective.... Scoring.... The Sun obviously wanted and needed someone to stop the other teams guards from getting easy and open looks. Kelly can , and will , do that.

Also , he is not a UConn fan.........Or at minimum , not a Kelly Faris fan. WINNERS often have detractors. Look at the Boston Celtics ; New England Patriots ; NY Yankees , etc. They all have detractors. Because they Win. ..... If he was a Kelly Faris ( Winner) fan he would know what she brings to the table and know the value of those talents. The Connecticut Sun management knew what they were doing. They knew they were picking a winner at No. 11..... I for one concur with management.

 

[connboy77]

I could be wrong but, didn't ESPN have Kelly as the best player available starting with the 7TH or 8TH pick?

 

[vtcwbuff]

Ah Yes! The quarterly "Mike DiMauro" is a jerk rant. BYers rush en masse to defend one of their own. Or at least one that used to be . . . .

DiMauro said two things. He asked "is she what the Sun need?" I would argue that she isn't, but the point DD made about them taking the best of what was left on the table was probably the decider. BYers might consider that if Faris sticks with the Sun, will that put Greene's job in jeopardy?

His second comment about her being a B- shooter depends on how you define shooter. IMO had he said a B- scorer he would have been more correct. Faris has proved that she is a very good shooter, but depending on where you put the yardstick, she is not a very good scorer. If KML is the "A" scorer at 17 ppg, calling Faris a B- scorer is probably generous. Maybe he grades on a curve.

 

[vtcwbuff]

So, mr. Dimauro, and all those criticizing the pick, who was taken after Faris that would have been a better pick?

THEN we can debate this.

Here's what I think of the pick. The Sun did not get what they needed. They need a power forward. I also think that if the Sun trade Faris they are stupid. I don't think Donovan is stupid and if she's any kind of a coach she knows exactly what she's getting with Faris and she'll make sure the team benefits from what Faris brings.
Donovan has coached against Faris and I'm sure that she and Auriemma have discussed what Faris brings.

 

[vtcwbuff]

Here's what I think of the pick. The Sun did not get what they needed. DiMauro is correct here. They need a power forward.
I also think that if the Sun trade Faris they are stupid. I don't think Donovan is stupid and if she's any kind of a coach she knows exactly what she's getting with Faris and she'll make sure the team benefits from what Faris brings.
Donovan has coached against Faris and I'm sure that she and Auriemma have discussed what Faris brings.

After all, Auriemma had some success playing a small forward and a wing.

 

[vtcwbuff]

DiMauro is looking at it from a very narrow perspective.... Scoring.... The Sun obviously wanted and needed someone to stop the other teams guards from getting easy and open looks. Kelly can , and will , do that.

Also , he is not a UConn fan.........Or at minimum , not a Kelly Faris fan. WINNERS often have detractors. Look at the Boston Celtics ; New England Patriots ; NY Yankees , etc. They all have detractors. Because they Win. ..... If he was a Kelly Faris ( Winner) fan he would know what she brings to the table and know the value of those talents. The Connecticut Sun management knew what they were doing. They knew they were picking a winner at No. 11..... I for one concur with management.

How do you know thias? Are you and DiMauro buds? More important, do you think that a reporter covering a team should be a fan of the team? When that happens you get suck up journalism. Fine for some, but not what I want to read.

 

[HGN]

How do you know thias? Are you and DiMauro buds? More important, do you think that a reporter covering a team should be a fan of the team? When that happens you get suck up journalism. Fine for some, but not what I want to read.

I don't know it for sure , just expressing my opinion. Just like he was expressing his opinion on the Sun's pick of Faris. And DiMauro and I certainly are not buds. Nor do I think he has to be a fan of UConn's or of the player. No one is asking for suck up journalism , as you put it. But since he ,nor I , were in the Sun's management office when the pick was being considered , he doesn't know anymore than I do. And neither do you . Therefore , we all are expressing thoughts and opinions.

 

[DobbsRover2]

How do you know thias? Are you and DiMauro buds? More important, do you think that a reporter covering a team should be a fan of the team? When that happens you get suck up journalism. Fine for some, but not what I want to read.

Nah, we just ask that the reporter have a clue. As always when you wipe up for Mikey you have to go changing his words for him and try to explain what he's "really saying" instead of what he plainly said. He wrote quite clearly that a guard who had a 53% FG% and 41.5 3-pt FG% was a B- shooter. Totally clueless. Skylar Diggins, ye of the 42% FG and 36% 3-pt shooting, let you know that Mikey D. has anointed you as maybe a D+ shooter if he is feeling generous. Feel his all-knowing contempt.

Most of us who are not too tan-nosed to read what is written got the point. A writer who has not been following what has really been happening in the WCBB this year trotted out an old canard that he vaguely half remembered from a few years back when he was deep into dripping the bile on some other diatribe about the Husky fans' character weaknesses. But why should we not be surprised that Mikey cannot get the facts straight on UConn when he wrote them off and closed down their season back in mid March? But I will defend to the death Mikey's right to yell "Fire!" while he rides a tsunami breaker during monsoon season, and it's great to see that his fan club still has a member.

 

[meganmatthews]

Ah Yes! The quarterly "Mike DiMauro" is a jerk rant. BYers rush en masse to defend one of their own. Or at least one that used to be . . . .

DiMauro said two things. He asked "is she what the Sun need?" I would argue that she isn't, but the point DD made about them taking the best of what was left on the table was probably the decider. BYers might consider that if Faris sticks with the Sun, will that put Greene's job in jeopardy?

His second comment about her being a B- shooter depends on how you define shooter. IMO had he said a B- scorer he would have been more correct. Faris has proved that she is a very good shooter, but depending on where you put the yardstick, she is not a very good scorer. If KML is the "A" scorer at 17 ppg, calling Faris a B- scorer is probably generous. Maybe he grades on a curve.

Grades on a curve? I'd like to put him on a mountain curve doing 80 without a guardrail! Just kidding. But I won't stand for anyone bad mouthing Kelly Faris. She is on of my favorite players. She is courage wearing sneakers. She will prove herself. Trust me. Now, I would love to debate what DiMoron . . oops . . I meant DiMauro . . . said about Kelly, but I have some more important things to do right now. I have an 11 oclock appointment to watch my grass grow, and my neighbor just painted his fence and I want to be at his house by 1pm to watch it dry.

 

[hoophuskee]

Mike DiMauro ‏@BCgenius 48m
Is Faris really what the Sun need? I mean, a wing who is a B-minus shooter at best? #wnba

What say you, Boneyarders? Is this man totally lacking in grace, tact, comprehension and class? To criticize her on her biggest night, just after the national championship? Or is he really just whacking away at Sun management and Anne Donovan? If so, he could have taken another path to do it.

And to those who may say it is a legitimate question - could it not have been phrased better by a man who is a professional wordsmith?

I am holding back, because I would love to call him more than a few names this program won't let me type. Jerk.

Mike DiMauro ‏@BCgenius 48m
Is Faris really what the Sun need? I mean, a wing who is a B-minus shooter at best? #wnba

What say you, Boneyarders? Is this man totally lacking in grace, tact, comprehension and class? To criticize her on her biggest night, just after the national championship? Or is he really just whacking away at Sun management and Anne Donovan? If so, he could have taken another path to do it.

And to those who may say it is a legitimate question - could it not have been phrased better by a man who is a professional wordsmith?

I am holding back, because I would love to call him more than a few names this program won't let me type. Jerk.

 

[hoophuskee]

I don't see why Mike made this reply. And I don't understand why vtc or pino are defending him on this. His comment is like tweeting "2 points is 2 points." What's the point? The Sun needed a pf. They told all of us - they would probably take best player available if they didn't fill a need. So why make the comment? The bigs were taken early. From about the number 9 pick on, all that was drafted for many picks were guards and wings. That tells us what they all thought of the posts after the number 8 pick. So what makes Ct Sun so special to ignore taking the best player available? It's just logical ot take the best player available just as it is is logical to say "2 points is 2 points." It's not "news."

As far as needing a wing scorer- please anyone identify the team need on here that the Sun needed a wing scorer?

http://www.wnba.com/draft/2013/preview_2013_sun.html

So I ask the question again to Mike, to vtc, and pino- what's the big deal about taking the best player available? When your team is tops in the league and draft pick is so low - what need of getting a big were the Sun going to get with this pick?

 

[Waquoit]

You have to consider the source with this guy. On all matters UConn he's nothing but a troll. Period.

 

[pinotbear]

I don't see why Mike made this reply. And I don't understand why vtc or pino are defending him on this. His comment is like tweeting "2 points is 2 points." What's the point? The Sun needed a pf. They told all of us - they would probably take best player available if they didn't fill a need. So why make the comment? The bigs were taken early. From about the number 9 pick on, all that was drafted for many picks were guards and wings. That tells us what they all thought of the posts after the number 8 pick. So what makes Ct Sun so special to ignore taking the best player available? It's just logical ot take the best player available just as it is is logical to say "2 points is 2 points." It's not "news."

As far as needing a wing scorer- please anyone identify the team need on here that the Sun needed a wing scorer?

http://www.wnba.com/draft/2013/preview_2013_sun.html

So I ask the question again to Mike, to vtc, and pino- what's the big deal about taking the best player available? When your team is tops in the league and draft pick is so low - what need of getting a big were the Sun going to get with this pick?

Actually, I'm in agreement more with you than you might think. From the Sun's perspective, I can see making the pick, although it doesn't fill an obvious need (as you say, the bigs were gone, so, what other options did they have?).

From Kelly's perspective, however, I don't know that the Sun are her best fit, because the Sun have some depth at her niche.

And, I'm not in agreement with Mike's assesment of Kelly's shooting skills, and as I said, I think he phrased himself quite poorly. What prompted me to chime in were the comments about Mike not having seen Kelly play this year, or not knowing anything about the program. He is almost as wired into the program as it's possible to be, so, the folks who deride his knowledge qualifications are 100% off-base.

That doesn't mean he's correct in his asessment of Kelly. As I said in my first post, however, whatever his errors may be, they are not born of ignorance. That's all I was trying to point out: that the Sun may not be the best fit for Kelly, and that Mike isn't clueless about Kelly or UConn. He may well be wrong, but he's not clueless.

 

[DrewDog85]

Ah Yes! The quarterly "Mike DiMauro" is a jerk rant. BYers rush en masse to defend one of their own. Or at least one that used to be . . . .

DiMauro said two things. He asked "is she what the Sun need?" I would argue that she isn't, but the point DD made about them taking the best of what was left on the table was probably the decider. BYers might consider that if Faris sticks with the Sun, will that put Greene's job in jeopardy?

His second comment about her being a B- shooter depends on how you define shooter. IMO had he said a B- scorer he would have been more correct. Faris has proved that she is a very good shooter, but depending on where you put the yardstick, she is not a very good scorer. If KML is the "A" scorer at 17 ppg, calling Faris a B- scorer is probably generous. Maybe he grades on a curve.

Great Post vtcwbuff!!! The BY response to his post is way way over the top. Mikey is critical of the Farris pick, that's it. Kelly's a big girl, she doesn't need to be treated with kid gloves, that's the difference between the womens board and the mens board. If he made the same comments about Bazz or Boatright it would not have met with the same criticism.. Mikey D is the man when it comes to Sports journalism !!!

 

[Icebear]

No problem with Mike's piece even if I disagree with him. It's his negative style and defensiveness and insecurity that just like Glen (?) that drives me nuts.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Great Post vtcwbuff!!! The BY response to his post is way way over the top. Mikey is critical of the Farris pick, that's it. Kelly's a big girl, she doesn't need to be treated with kid gloves, that's the difference between the womens board and the mens board. If he made the same comments about Bazz or Boatright it would not have met with the same criticism.. Mikey D is the man when it comes to Sports journalism !!!

Yeah, Miley sure da' man in sports journalism, DeweyDog. Kelly the B- girl gotta prove herself, 'cause my man Mikey knows his stuff like no other sports journalist. Those softie women's BB fans don't know their stuff like Mikey, who just knew that UConn was goin' down back in March unless they played way better. And the reason only he knew that was he da' man, and he know more about sports journalism than anybody. It would be putting on kid gloves to say that she was a 50+% shooter and a really good 3-pt shooter. She's a big girl and she doesn't need that stuff to be said. And defense is way overrated. Case closed.

And no, I am not a writer for the CT Post and I did not pay anyone to write this.

 

[Waquoit]

The BY response to his post is way way over the top. Mikey is critical of the Farris pick, that's it.

You miss the point, SP. It's not just that he's critical or being a troll. It's that he's wrong. Again. When it comes to honest, well-thought sports commentary, he's a pretender.

 

[vtcwbuff]

You miss the point, SP. It's not just that he's critical or being a troll. It's that he's wrong. Again. When it comes to honest, well-thought sports commentary, he's a pretender.

Exactly what did he get wrong? Not what the Sun needed? Not a B- shooter?
Have you looked at the Sun roster? If Faris is not a B- shooter, where would you grade her? Based on statistics (including this year) I thought DiMauro was being generous.

The funny thing is, none of the harsh DiMauro critics have bothered to present any counter argument to his tweet beyond "he's a jerk"

 

[vtcwbuff]

So I ask the question again to Mike, to vtc, and pino- what's the big deal about taking the best player available? When your team is tops in the league and draft pick is so low - what need of getting a big were the Sun going to get with this pick?[/quote]

You are absolutely right, the Sun picked the best player available. IMO Faris is a better player than some of the picks taken earlier. But you miss DiMauro's point. Faris did not fill the Sun's need. Look at their roster. By getting Faris the team now has the opportunity to either incorporate her skills or trade her for what they need - should that option happen.

DiMauro's job is to inform. Did anyone consider that he may have tweet followers that aren't aware of how Faris would fit in the Sun's roster. IMO he was doing his job by informing his readers.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Exactly what did he get wrong? Not what the Sun needed? Not a B- shooter?
Have you looked at the Sun roster? If Faris is not a B- shooter, where would you grade her? Based on statistics (including this year) I thought DiMauro was being generous.

The funny thing is, none of the harsh DiMauro critics have bothered to present any counter argument to his tweet beyond "he's a jerk"

Can I ask you bluntly when the last time you got any fact straight? Do you intentionally just upchuck on a page to bury your nose in it and say it smells sweet? Only a complete Mikey-tool or MD himself would bother typing the above.

Again, Faris raised her level of play and shooting ability this year to become an all-around player who can shoot 53% and throw in 3s at a 41.5% rate. I know that neither you or pal Mikey have been able to come to terms with that, but most of the people on the BY realize this is now 2013, not 2010. And no one on the Sun shot anywhere near Faris's percentages, and a post star like Tina Charles shot 50%. A 53% shooting touch puts you in the top 10 in the WNBA season stats. Though WCBB shooting does not necessarily equal WNBA (some players actually improve there, others go down), Faris's shooting level going in puts her at the very top among Sun shooters, the more so since she is not an interior post player.

And again you don't even bother to compare Faris to the other draft selections, the guards of who generally all have far lower shooting percentages along with most of the posts. So the draft this year was composed of all B- to D- shooters? And that invisible legion of WNBA stars who shoot maybe at the 55% level are where exactly? The "Mikey knows nada" crowd has given you big loads of facts and all you can do is close your eyes and whine that no one has "bothered to counter" his doodie pile of "generous" comments.

Really, think before you post. Even a tool from Mikey's shed should be a lot sharper.

 

[DobbsRover2]

You are absolutely right, the Sun picked the best player available. IMO Faris is a better player than some of the picks taken earlier. But you miss DiMauro's point. Faris did not fill the Sun's need. Look at their roster. By getting Faris the team now has the opportunity to either incorporate her skills or trade her for what they need - should that option happen.

DiMauro's job is to inform. Did anyone consider that he may have tweet followers that aren't aware of how Faris would fit in the Sun's roster. IMO he was doing his job by informing his readers.

Didn't "fill the Sun's need?" A lockdown defender who has developed the offensive skill set to help fuel her teammates' play like few other players. No team needs that. Since when does Mikey's judgment on this point get elevated beyond the flies buzzing around it? So now you're switching to maybe she's good trade bait? What a piece!

 

[Waquoit]

Exactly what did he get wrong? Not what the Sun needed? Not a B- shooter?

The funny thing is, none of the harsh DiMauro critics have bothered to present any counter argument to his tweet beyond "he's a jerk"

Hey, when someone says that DiMauro is a jerk, what are they getting wrong?

Where DiMauro is wrong is his implication that Faris is a bad pick for the Sun. Cherry picking the weakest part of her game while ignoring her strengths as his justification is lazy thinking. This isn't exactly the NFL draft when it comes to depth. Drafting a "reach" to fulfill a need is not how you build a team. Bypassing the best player on the board who was dropped in your lap is what losing teams do. The good teams get the best talent they can into the organization, than go from there. Besides Faris' shooting has improved over time, why would that stop now?

 

[baggerbob]

Funny thing is the guards selected ahead of Kelly wouldn't have played on UConn, or if they did they sure wouldn't put up all those shots with KML, Stef, Breanna, Bria on the team.