Molly Bent To See Expanded Role?

[BroadwayVa]

How about we give her a soft drink. I believe Molly is underage as far as alcohol is concerned, and as we all know, you shouldn't drink and drive...to the hoop.

The wife say take her to the UConn ice cream store. She chimed in cuz I was giggling over ---don't drink and drive --to the hoop!! Actually you are correct---beer/booze weakens the muscles, and slows reactions even in minute quantities--
SHE shouldn't period.

 

[Blakeon18]

I had the good fortune to see a practice in early December. When the doors opened Molly was already on the floor practicing her perimeter game.
Lots of threes....mid-range shots....foul shots. Her form looked great and she was hitting a very high percentage. My bet is that she just needs to
take open shots in games [and they will be there given the defensive pressure exerted elsewhere....when she is out there with the starters] and see a couple go in.
When that happens I see her getting regular back-up minutes...against all teams.

 

[Blueconn]

May I smugly say, "I told you so"?

I've seen numerous posters say that Molly was miles and miles behind Crystal, close to Kyla at the end of the bench, and that would never change especially when next year's freshmen show up. Meanwhile, watching her when she plays (particularly recently), I see her play with very few mistakes and (for the minutes involved) a lot of stat-stuffing in every category but scoring -- kind of like a certain Hoosier from a few years ago.

The difference between Crystal and Molly -- and it is a significant one -- is that Crystal will regularly make spectacularly good plays (an amazing pass or an amazing shot) that Molly will never make. Other than that, they are both freshmen who make freshman mistakes, but for both players there are fewer and fewer of those.

On offense in the last few games, I have seen Molly spot up in the weak side corner and (generally) never receive the ball. I wouldn't be surprised if Geno is coaching the other players to find her if the defense is ignoring her, and is coaching her to take the shots that she is given. If that happens in games and she makes a reasonable percentage of those shots, and continues with the rest of her Faris game, she will become the 8th player in the regular rotation and will see a number of minutes even in competitive games.

Respectfully disagree a bit with your first paragraph but very much agree with the rest of your post. Simply watching how Molly moves around is impressive...quickly and smartly. And her ball-handling and passing is also reassuring. More minutes will mean greater confidence which will mean more shooting...and if/when she misses a few, so what ? For Molly Bent the best is yet to come. No guarantees and no two players are ever exactly alike, but I'll wager a modest amount that in the near future the comparisons with Kelly will be a regular thing.

 

[NewCorn]

Maybe give her a beer and send her out there.

What a creative idea! Now if Molly scores 20 against USF, there 'll be an NCAA investigation.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

The wife say take her to the UConn ice cream store. She chimed in cuz I was giggling over ---don't drink and drive --to the hoop!! Actually you are correct---beer/booze weakens the muscles, and slows reactions even in minute quantities--
SHE shouldn't period.

Use to do wonders for my golf game.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Use to do wonders for my golf game.

I too have tried it on occasion---but I didn't inhale.

 

[oldude]

Use to do wonders for my golf game.

Nothing can help my golf game, but drinking does numb the pain & frustration.

 

[Chong-Master]

The thing with Geno is that he is a very hard guy to read. The extra Molly minutes could mean:

1) She is getting comfortable with the speed of the game and he is grooming her to spend time at the point in the post season;

2) He is is sending a message to Chong and Crystal Dangerfield to step up their games;

3) He has the opportunity to develop her game during the AAC season, so she is getting more time in practice; or

4) More time for Bent is less time for his key players and he wants to be able to cut back their minutes to make sure they are healthy for post season.

It may well be a little of each.

I totally disagree with # 2 - No messages required to be sent to either Saniya or Crystal. Saniya Chong "ISN'T" losing her starting job on this team - PERIOD. and sorry, but Crystal Dangerfield is NOT going to lose time on the floor to Molly Bent. What I will agree with you 100% on is # 3 - You will see much more significant time on the floor for Molly Bent, Kyra Irwin and Natalie Butler, during this stretch of games within the AAC Conference. The floor time will come at the expense of KLS, Kia Nurse, Collier, Gabby and Saniya. - This will be valuable experience gained for all 3 AND it will give the Starting 5 time to rest up, because EVERYONE knows , come the Conference Tournament and especially the NCAA's, Geno will certainly shorten the bench again and will probably go 6 or maybe 7 deep.

 

[CL82]

I totally disagree with # 2 - No messages required to be sent to either Saniya or Crystal. Saniya Chong "ISN'T" losing her starting job on this team - PERIOD. and sorry, but Crystal Dangerfield is NOT going to lose time on the floor to Molly Bent. What I will agree with you 100% on is # 3 - You will see much more significant time on the floor for Molly Bent, Kyra Irwin and Natalie Butler, during this stretch of games within the AAC Conference. The floor time will come at the expense of KLS, Kia Nurse, Collier, Gabby and Saniya. - This will be valuable experience gained for all 3 AND it will give the Starting 5 time to rest up, because EVERYONE knows , come the Conference Tournament and especially the NCAA's, Geno will certainly shorten the bench again and will probably go 6 or maybe 7 deep.

I don't disagree with this for the most part. My point was simply that more time in practice for Molly can mean a lot of things. It wouldn't surprise me, however, if part of it was motivation for for Saniya and particularly for Crystal Dangerfield. Geno always pushes his players, and praising/rewarding someone else who shares the same position is SOP for him. I agree with you that Molly isn't likely to displace anyone in the post season.

 

[HardHatGuy#2]

Firstly, I LOVE that she's getting more practice minutes, and hopefully more game minutes. She could be BIG for us down the road, not only giving some pine-time to the starters, but also covering for potential foul trouble.

On offense in the last few games, I have seen Molly spot up in the weak side corner and (generally) never receive the ball.

That's the one real critique I could make; she doesn't move very well without the ball...yet. EXCEPT, and Butler is doing this also so it is likely being taught by a coach, when an offensive play is in progress; she will slide slightly away from the play. She does this not (necessarily) to set up for a rebound, but to draw her defender out an extra step, eliminating the effectiveness of help defense.

Face it, the kid is good. She's just a kid, that's all; she needs a little time and some confidence-building minutes.

 

[chuck.r]

Watching Bent get more sub minutes as her freshman season progresses, I can't help speculating what kept a similarly situated (my limited perception) Courtney Ekmark from acquiring similar playing time. Seem to recall she was hampered with injury recovery her 1st year, but would have thought at whatever time she was fully healthy she would establish a similar substitute role. It just never happened, beyond waning minutes like Polido & Lawler.

 

[JoePgh]

Watching Bent get more sub minutes as her freshman season progresses, I can't help speculating what kept a similarly situated (my limited perception) Courtney Ekmark from acquiring similar playing time. Seem to recall she was hampered with injury recovery her 1st year, but would have thought at whatever time she was fully healthy she would establish a similar substitute role. It just never happened, beyond waning minutes like Polido & Lawler.

Given the thinness of the front court bench this year (really just one player, Natalie), I am fairly sure that if Courtney Ekmark had stayed, she would have gotten very ample minutes (maybe 10-15 per game) as a backup on the wing, allowing KLS to spell Napheesa or Gabby at the 4 and 5 positions, or just get some recovery time on the bench. Natalie would probably have gotten the same minutes that she has gotten, but Gabby / Napheesa / KLS wouldn't be quite so heavily used in competitive games.

Having said that, my perception is that Molly is a better athlete (quicker and faster) than Courtney ever was or could be. Courtney wouldn't have had the learning curve that Molly has had, so she would have gotten more minutes than Molly so far, but Molly has a greater long-term ceiling, IMHO.

 

[TitleTown]

The thing with Geno is that he is a very hard guy to read. The extra Molly minutes could mean:

1) She is getting comfortable with the speed of the game and he is grooming her to spend time at the point in the post season;

2) He is is sending a message to Chong and Crystal Dangerfield to step up their games;

3) He has the opportunity to develop her game during the AAC season, so she is getting more time in practice; or

4) More time for Bent is less time for his key players and he wants to be able to cut back their minutes to make sure they are healthy for post season.

It may well be a little of each.

I think Coach Auriemma's motivation more getting Bent more minutes stems from the fact that if injury or foul trouble were to hit the guard position at a critical time Bent would be needed. She needs to develop a familiarity with the offense so that when/if she is called on a bug situation she can just play and not have to think. Hopefully she can play well against some of the lesser competition in the AAC and develop some confidence as well.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Well, Geno speaks to this situation in his unshaven interview billed as pre-game in another thread. He says he needs someone capable of spelling Kia and KLS so they don't get worn down (my words) ad as to Molly she does well and then gets going too fast and it all turns to poo poo. She has to learn to not get going so fast.

 

[HopJim]

Well, Geno speaks to this situation in his unshaven interview billed as pre-game in another thread. He says he needs someone capable of spelling Kia and KLS so they don't get worn down (my words) ad as to Molly she does well and then gets going too fast and it all turns to poo poo. She has to learn to not get going so fast.

Agree. She can help team in future but currently tentative on both offense and particularly defense. If you can't play pure defense at UConn, should not expect many minutes.

 

[schmendrick]

I am not trying to "spread the love" when I say this, but I really believe Irwin's game has been pretty solid for a freshman. Nothing fancy and she has missed some bunnies. But she does not seem lost when she plays with her peers. Players that do not see a lot of playing time will inevitably look "lost" when they play with the starting unit, IMHO. It is just experience and being comfortable. I agree that her role maybe more important, given the strength of our primary opponents (Baylor, SC etc) is size and post play.

Agreed. Kyla does not seem the least bit cowed on the floor. She projects a certain breezy confidence. That can't hurt--considering she'll likely gain more fluidity with more playing time through the next seven weeks.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Crystal's foot injury just threw minutes at Molly. I hope she uses them well.

 

[hoophuskee]

May I smugly say, "I told you so"?

I've seen numerous posters say that Molly was miles and miles behind Crystal, close to Kyla at the end of the bench, and that would never change especially when next year's freshmen show up. Meanwhile, watching her when she plays (particularly recently), I see her play with very few mistakes and (for the minutes involved) a lot of stat-stuffing in every category but scoring -- kind of like a certain Hoosier from a few years ago.

The difference between Crystal and Molly -- and it is a significant one -- is that Crystal will regularly make spectacularly good plays (an amazing pass or an amazing shot) that Molly will never make. Other than that, they are both freshmen who make freshman mistakes, but for both players there are fewer and fewer of those.

On offense in the last few games, I have seen Molly spot up in the weak side corner and (generally) never receive the ball. I wouldn't be surprised if Geno is coaching the other players to find her if the defense is ignoring her, and is coaching her to take the shots that she is given. If that happens in games and she makes a reasonable percentage of those shots, and continues with the rest of her Faris game, she will become the 8th player in the regular rotation and will see a number of minutes even in competitive games.

IMO you've misread everything. It's okay we can agree to disagree. Molly will now get minutes due to Danger's injury.

And I don't agree with the tone of your issue with Bent in the corner on offense. UCONN is not going to go look for Molly Bent in the corner for a 3. In big games he wants his stars to shoot. Yes hit the open man- but if someone like Collier has a decent shot vs Bent having an open 3, the ball must go to Collier etc. Not every basket is a wdie open look by the star players. This isn't to say she shouldn't shoot or don't pass her the ball.

I understand Geno at the end of last season said to Tuck to paraphrase "you better start hitting those 3's otherwise you better stop taking them." Molly has a window of about 16 games to show she can shoot the ball. If she was drilling shots in practices the ball would have found her in these blowouts. Now with more minutes, she'll have more opportunities. With that said, the more games in which she plays 16 minutes and only takes one shot when we score over 100, that should tell us that her she isn't knocking them down well enough practices. If she was, and the way she plays defense, the players would be actively looking for her to get her going. I'm only guessing on this just like you and everyone else. I just think you're way offbase here.