Agree. If Butler will remind us Dolson with her play, UConn looks like a team that can handle the bigger teams out there (such as SC). If Butler plays like last year UConn will play a lot of small ball
We should encourage those young ladies to perform as sold as possible in the coming year, not to look back there not so good performance in the past.Until I see it I won't believe comparing Nat to Dolson. Dolson is a warrior. I have yet seeing Nat ever left her foot for a rebound nor going strong to the basket and softly kiss that backboard for 2 points. Until then I wont believe it.
Chong is very slashy with her moves but her problem is mental, until she can kick that mental out of her head she will be the same as she ever was for the last 3 years.
With all that said I still wish them the best and glad to eat them crows.
I concur with those thoughts...the much-longed-for demise (by other programs) of UConn's relative hegemony in the world of WCBB will not pan out quite as they hope, though I think a 2017 championship, or even a run as far as the Final Four, would pose a bit of a very temporary stretch. One cannot watch lots of last seasons's replays without being deeply sobered by the massive contribution made by the big three we lost...no team, in my opinion, can successfully suffer so huge a loss in the short term without paying a steep price. But I predict that all of us, however far the team goes in April (and they WILL be playing in late March, if not April), will be feeling extremely confident about a return to the winner's circle the following year. I expect a nice contribution from Saniya this year. Insofar as Nat is concerned, I have to admit to being a bit skeptical. I realize that on our forum even sober analysis is somewhat frowned upon...I'm pulling as hard as anyone else for Nat's success. My concerns fall in three areas: 1. Can she physically adapt to Geno's relentless up-tempo offense? 2. Considering that she will be playing on the most unselfish offense in the game, wherein great assists from unexpected angles will always be the hallmark, can her hand skills improve sufficiently to be a contributing factor? 3. Can her leaping ability improve sufficiently to make her a big-time rebounder?...she need not be a scorer, but she has to control the boards to earn major minutes on what is still a very talented team. I don't know the answers, but this team will be formidable one way or the other.Sorry, Hongster but we don't have to rely on Nat and Chong. With or without them the season will be (successfully) long. Like into April 2017.
I agree with you here Eric. I think she can easily get those numbers IF she can stay on the floor for 20-25 minutes. The problem I see is that I don't know if she can play aggressive defense without fouling out before she hits 20 minutes. She has a bad, ingrained habit of standing and reaching and smart posts will take the ball right at her and force her into contact. She's going to need a lot of help denying penetration or it could get messy.
No one expects to rely only on those 2. All they need to do is provide support when and where its needed. We have stars for the heavy lifting. They'll fit right in.
