Mo and Sue Bird?

[UConn82]

Notice I did not post Mo vs. Sue Bird.

I did not see Sue Bird play at UConn. Hence the post.

Can BYer's "compare and contrast" them (as the Literature professors would say )?

Please try not to be influenced by Sue Bird's career as a pro.

I am not so much interested in who was better as a freshman, but more how they compare/contrast once they were really, really good at UConn. (E.g., for me that is Mo's junior and senior year, especially after she came back from Christmas break her junior year. After that, until she graduated, me says she was the 2nd best player in college.)

I am most interested in people's reasoning, including giving examples.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance.

 

[meyers7]

Bird was probably a little better floor general than Jefferson - although Jefferson is #1 in assists, Bird missed most of her FR year and played 2 years with the #2 Assist leader in DT
Bird was a better shooter than Jefferson. Bird .459 career 3 pt. and .892 FT (#1 all time). Jefferson .420% and .818%
Bird was more clutch than Jefferson (Bird at the buzzer)
Jefferson was quicker and could get the basket better than Bird. A one person fast break. Better FG% (more layups) .550% to .481%
Jefferson was light years better defensively than Bird - a lock down defender and #2 in steals
Jefferson had a better A/TO ratio. 2.65 to 2.11

Can't go wrong with either one in your starting 5.

In the BY poll they tied as #1 PG.

 

[HuskyNan]

Notice I did not post Mo vs. Sue Bird.

I did not see Sue Bird play at UConn. Hence the post.

Can BYer's "compare and contrast" them (as the Literature professors would say )?

Please try not to be influenced by Sue Bird's career as a pro.

I am not so much interested in who was better as a freshman, but more how they compare/contrast once they were really, really good at UConn. (E.g., for me that is Mo's junior and senior year, especially after she came back from Christmas break her junior year. After that, until she graduated, me says she was the 2nd best player in college.)

I am most interested in people's reasoning, including giving examples.

Thoughts?

Thank you in advance.

You can watch replays from Sue’s college years by going to the post tacked to the top of the board and watching a game from the archives. The link to the archives is in the rules post, which is also labeled “game replays”.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Sue's coast to coast buzzer beater against ND is still one of my favorite highlight plays.

 

[diggerfoot]

While I echo Meyers assessment, and Jefferson's defensive capabilities may give her the overall edge over Bird, the A/T ratios must be taken in context. A few guards in the "modern era" have better A/T ratios than Bird, the reason being the different context that they play in, not that they all are better passers. Many of Bird's passes were in the post to Cash, Williams or Jones. She fed the post well even during her freshmen and sophomore years, but there's no way her A/T ratio was going to be as good as guards that have a plethora of sharpshooters on the perimeter to feed. I have a similar recollection of Jefferson turning a corner her junior year, but for me the greatest distinction was she could finally feed the post decently, whereas she had trouble with that her first two years. She still prioritized the 40%+ sharpshooters on the perimeter, as well she should, which helped her A/T ratio as it has with all recent guards in the UConn system. Consider that when we won the 2002 championship it was despite 0-9 shooting from beyond the three point line.

 

[Blakeon18]

Kinda off-topic here but the mention of Sue missing most of her frosh year reminded me of another frosh guard from that same year who wound up missing most of her whole career....Keirsten Walters...from Colorado who was darn good....a shame her career was so limited.

I remember...at least in my eyes....when that season started both Sue and Keirsten shared point guard duties and while their styles were different both were effective given their youth. Sue perhaps smoother....Keirsten a bit more physical and feisty....kinda like Jen Rizzotti.

I had a friend who lived in Denver and who was aware of my UConn fandom. She sent me article from the Denver paper after a game in Keirsten's senior high school year....after she had committed to UConn.

Some guy who was a basketball fan in general had read about Keirsten's exploits and he decided to go see her play. He got home after the game and rushed over to his wife and sat her down and kinda burst out with his 'wow' evaluation of what he saw....his take on her game was so fantastic that he felt he just had to tell someone.
It was a very cool article....a great tease for any UConn fan for what was to be in the next four years.

BTW: Not sure but I think Keirsten attended the same high school as Ann Strother.

 

[CocoHusky]

Please try not to be influenced by Sue Bird's career as a pro.

If you go strictly by the UCONN careers the numbers would favor Moriah Jefferson mainly because Sue missed a bunch of games due to injury. @meyers7 nailed the difference between the players "Jefferson was light years better defensively than Bird" . Moriah defensively changed some huge games for UCONN defensively: At Baylor her sophomore year, at Maryland her Junior year, Against Courtney Williams of USF, Mabrey of ND and Kelsey Mitchell of tOSU as a senior resulting in her being named National Defensive Player of the year.

 

[reno tony]

When I think of Moriah I picture her about 5 feet in front of the arc at center court reaching down, pulling up her shorts, squatting with her arms out and ready for business. What must have run through the minds of the opposing guards bringing the ball down court. When I think of Sue I picture her coming down court and after a few passes draining a three. Geno once said if you disagree with Sue "you better be righter than right." She knew the game and counts on that knowledge to lead the team. Moriah was quicker and tough to guard one-on-one and forget about it if she gets into open court with the ball. Pass the ball to D, Cash Williams and Jones or Stewie, Tuck and KML and you will get a lot of assists so that isn't relevant in my eyes. Both great guards with some different skills. IMHO

 

[MilfordHusky]

Sue's coast to coast buzzer beater against ND is still one of my favorite highlight plays.

And her halftime bomb in the SAME game.

Geno's coaching to Sue: "Get it and go!" So she did. And a book was the result.

 

[MilfordHusky]

If you want to see vintage Sue Bird, watch the 4th quarter of the deciding game between Seattle and Phoenix from September. Sue didn't have to do that at UConn much, but the option was always there.

 

[DefenseBB]

If I may ask those more in the know on the "W", why does it appear to me that Mo has not been as good a pro as some of her classmates or is it too soon to tell?

 

[MilfordHusky]

If I may ask those more in the know on the "W", why does it appear to me that Mo has not been as good a pro as some of her classmates or is it too soon to tell?

San Antonio sucked her first year, and she was recovering from injury after that. Give her time.

 

[JordyG]

Also people have failed to mention, that of all of Mo great qualities, she was perhaps the fastest player endline to endline to ever play at UConn. At her size she was a great leaper, and her change of speed dribble was a classic. Bird however was perhaps the best floor general UConn has ever had, and was one of the best clutch shooters at the PG position UConn has had.

 

[meyers7]

While I echo Meyers assessment, and Jefferson's defensive capabilities may give her the overall edge over Bird, the A/T ratios must be taken in context. A few guards in the "modern era" have better A/T ratios than Bird, the reason being the different context that they play in, not that they all are better passers. Many of Bird's passes were in the post to Cash, Williams or Jones. She fed the post well even during her freshmen and sophomore years, but there's no way her A/T ratio was going to be as good as guards that have a plethora of sharpshooters on the perimeter to feed. I have a similar recollection of Jefferson turning a corner her junior year, but for me the greatest distinction was she could finally feed the post decently, whereas she had trouble with that her first two years. She still prioritized the 40%+ sharpshooters on the perimeter, as well she should, which helped her A/T ratio as it has with all recent guards in the UConn system. Consider that when we won the 2002 championship it was despite 0-9 shooting from beyond the three point line.

Good points.

 

[bballnut90]

Jefferson>Bird when analyzing their UCONN careers IMO. Jefferson was a much better defensive player and has 4 titles to her name, Bird with just 2. She also consistently played great in the biggest games. It is overlooked on here but Bird played poorly against Notre Dame as a junior in the Final Four and they lost by 15 with the same lineup that ran the table the next year. Jefferson by comparison was always rock solid in big games and was magnificent against ND in the title game as a junior. Most feel deserved MOP over Stewart. I know it is one event, but it's a knock for Bird that Jefferson doesnt have.

Also, the 2001 season overall is a knock on Sue when compared to Jefferson's 4 years. 2001 was underwhelming by UCONN standards (even when Shea/Svet were healthy) where as the 3 years with Jefferson at the helm were the peak of UCONN's dominance.

I doubt Jefferson comes close to matching Bird's legacy as a pro, but in terms of UCONN career I think she clearly wins this battle.

 

[RogueDave]

Should Locker Room Leadership Be Considered...Sue was often mentioned in this context and on the floor with Diana they perfected the jersey covering the mouth after a disagreeable officiated floor event occurred.

 

[CPD016]

You can win a battle with Mo but you win the war with Sue

 

[hussybulldog]

You can win a battle with Mo but you win the war with Sue

Mo has four college rings, has more wins and less losses. So is it safe to say, she won more battles, and more wars as well?

 

[boontonbomber]

Talk stats, talk defense all you want; there's only one 3-time Lieberman winner. PG is about running an offense, and nobody( including Taurasi) has or does run an offense like Sue Bird. I mean, really, the Lieberman award should be renamed at some point.

 

[CL82]

If you want to see vintage Sue Bird, watch the 4th quarter of the deciding game between Seattle and Phoenix from September. Sue didn't have to do that at UConn much, but the option was always there.

That was just an unbelievably entertaining series. One of the best that I've watched, men's or women's, is quite a while.

 

[HopJim]

Excellent question and creative post. Short answer-Bird was great leader but particularly her Junior and Senior years, no one affected the game as positively as Jefferson. MoJeff as good offensively as any UConn POINT guard and totally changed game defensively. Saw her in numerous games totally shut down All Americans to the point where they didn't score at all.