Natalie Butler continues to tear it up | The Boneyard

Natalie Butler continues to tear it up

Roger G

Roger G

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Natalie recently had a 35 point, 20 rebound performance. She also hit the 1,000 point mark. And she leads the nation in rebounding with 14.2 per game. She has led George Mason to a 10-3 record so far.

Merry Christmas, Natalie.
 
Charliebball said:
interesting what some UConn training and a starting role can do for a player
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A lot of that was in her before she arrived at UCONN. Her injury was a big factor in preventing her from showing her best talent at UCONN as it did a few others who were injured their first year at UCONN. UCONN certainly helped her refine it.
 
donalddoowop said:
A lot of that was in her before she arrived at UCONN. Her injury was a big factor in preventing her from showing her best talent at UCONN as it did a few others who were injured their first year at UCONN. UCONN certainly helped her refine it.
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Thank you donald. I was thinking much the same. I'm sure she also had to fight through a certain amount of self doubt. I can't hear enough about her success.
 
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Roger G said:
Natalie recently had a 35 point, 20 rebound performance. She also hit the 1,000 point mark. And she leads the nation in rebounding with 14.2 per game. She has led George Mason to a 10-3 record so far.
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That was against AAC foe Houston, a game won by the Cougars 82-73.

Butler showed some dominant stretches in the past against that type of competition so this isn't that surprising, especially when she's leaned on so much by GM. Plus, she's averaging 4+ offensive rebounds a game, likely leading to a lot of putbacks. Her teammates shoot a collective 35% from the field leading to all those opportunities.
 
G Mason takes 35% of their shots from behind the arc so it isn't like Butler is getting fed for shots. In fact I'd guess that her presence in the low post draws extra attention from the defense and gives her team mates more good looks from outside. But the key thing to me is that her team hasn't had an above .500 seasom in at least 5 years and has languished among the dregs of the A-10. Now with Natalie they have a fair shot at winning the conference title this year and making it to the dance.
 
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Is Butler playing much better this year? Or is simply a matter of her playing against much weaker competition?
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Is Butler playing much better this year? Or is simply a matter of her playing against much weaker competition?
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She''s also getting the opportunity to play. The teams in her conference are just as good as the teams in UCONN's conference with the exception of UCONN and maybe USF. Butler played against the weaker teams in the AAC and did not accomplish what she is accomplishing this season in theA10. She is playing better this season but does not have to play in a system as complicated as UCONN's. Also, the overall competition is not as good.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Is Butler playing much better this year? Or is simply a matter of her playing against much weaker competition?
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Fairfield, why pee in her kool-aid, or poke the bear? Regardless of the competition she's playing against, can we just be happy for her, root for her, and hope she continues to play well, and have the success the rest of the year that she has had thus far? Did she not pay enough dues during her 3 years at UConn to have earned the playing time, respect and notoriety she's now receiving?

She didn't throw rocks or shade at anyone, or say anything negative about the time she spent in Storrs as she was leaving. She went out the same way she came in, with class. She gave UConn her best while she was there. She never quit or complained. She's obviously having fun and enjoying her new role and environment. Can we continue to wish her all the best the remainder of the year and really mean it? Can we do that?!? :rolleyes:
 
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Fairfield Fan said:
Is Butler playing much better this year? Or is simply a matter of her playing against much weaker competition?
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Yes and yes.

I think it's easy to forget that players Natalie's size are a rarity outside of the power conferences. Even DePaul and Marquette, which are both strong teams, have no one taller than about 6'1". Being 4 to 5 inches taller than everyone is an undeniable advantage.
 
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Scoop said:
Fairfield, why pee in her kool-aid, or poke the bear? Regardless of the competition she's playing against, can we just be happy for her, root for her, and hope she continues to play well the reminder of her last year of college athletic eligibility? She didn't throw rocks or shade on anyone, or say anything negative about the time she spent in Storrs when she left. She's obviously having fun, and enjoying her new environment. Can we do that?!? :rolleyes:
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Just asking simple questions. I'm curious. Of course we are happy for her. But curious whether this represents her becoming a much better player...
 
Fair enough. Perhaps I was guilty of reading between the lines of your post. :oops:
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Is Butler playing much better this year? Or is simply a matter of her playing against much weaker competition?
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I'd put more merit into what her current coaches are saying about changing her from being a role player at UCONN where she was to grab rebounds and pass vs GM wanting her to be a lead. Per her current coaches:

But after her Connecticut experience as a reserve, Butler, had to get reacquainted with playing major minutes and putting up big numbers as she did in high school and at Georgetown, where she averaged 13.9 points and 13.4 rebounds four years ago.

"I thought we had to maybe reprogram her a little bit," Milleson said. "We told her we need her to be a scorer. Her first instincts were to pass. She's not getting doubled quite as hard as she was early. She's a great passer.

"But if she's down there one-on-one or has two feet in the paint, she's got to score. There are still times we have to say, 'Nat, demand the basketball and score.'"

Butler has a complete package of low post moves and can hit outside shots. She also fires strong outlet passes, runs the floor well and is a defensive force. "She's solid and she keeps it simple," says assistant coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba, a former post player at GW and the 1997 A-10 Player of the year. "She's very unselfish. She's constantly looking to get her teammates involved. That's so unique.

"Coming in here, she could have taken the it's-all-about-me role but she doesn't. She's unselfish, she's a great leader."
 
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Mainiac said:
I'd put more merit into what her current coaches are saying about changing her from being a role player at UCONN where she was to grab rebounds and pass vs GM wanting her to be a lead. Per her current coaches:

But after her Connecticut experience as a reserve, Butler, had to get reacquainted with playing major minutes and putting up big numbers as she did in high school and at Georgetown, where she averaged 13.9 points and 13.4 rebounds four years ago.

"I thought we had to maybe reprogram her a little bit," Milleson said. "We told her we need her to be a scorer. Her first instincts were to pass. She's not getting doubled quite as hard as she was early. She's a great passer.

"But if she's down there one-on-one or has two feet in the paint, she's got to score. There are still times we have to say, 'Nat, demand the basketball and score.'"

Butler has a complete package of low post moves and can hit outside shots. She also fires strong outlet passes, runs the floor well and is a defensive force. "She's solid and she keeps it simple," says assistant coach Tajama Abraham Ngongba, a former post player at GW and the 1997 A-10 Player of the year. "She's very unselfish. She's constantly looking to get her teammates involved. That's so unique.

"Coming in here, she could have taken the it's-all-about-me role but she doesn't. She's unselfish, she's a great leader."
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Even though she no longer toils for the Huskies, Geno, CD and Marisa's influence has been ingrained in her forever. For 3 years, she was coached and conditioned to do some things a certain way that she'll never forget.
 
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Fairfield Fan said:
Is Butler playing much better this year? Or is simply a matter of her playing against much weaker competition?
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My take is her reaction time was always a hair slow. So I'm guessing speed of play is the reason. Every UCONN game and practice was at top speed. Every other team at her level now are a hair slower. That seems to be all Nat needed, as well as playing time.
 
CMC'72 said:
My take is her reaction time was always a hair slow. So I'm guessing speed of play is the reason. Every UCONN game and practice was at top speed. Every other team at her level now are a hair slower. That seems to be all Nat needed, as well as playing time.
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And the freedom to do what she does best.
 
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I think what happened to NB is similar to the current freshman experience. You take top 10 players from HS who are head and shoulders above the rest of their competition and plop them into UConn where they are maybe the 7th or 8th best player and that can do alot to a psyche. It takes real confidence as Geno has said to deal with that and not just simple confidence built from stats. Now that NB finds herself back on a team where she is the best player, she can play freely. For example, why care if you make a mistake at GM when your teammates will more likely launch up a poorer shot. On UConn, if she made a mistake, it could be crippling since
she probably would think that if I passed it back to my teammates, they would do alot more than I could. Yes. Psycho-babble but so what.

It is probably harder than ever to identify true alpha personalities on the recruiting (or transfer) trail since the confidence of today's players seems to be more and more tied to offensive numbers and the historical nature of UConn grows in size every year from what used to be a simple National power to a mythical goliath whose standards can crush even elite players.
 
HopJim said:
Not sure what you are saying. You only play if you play Geno's way. No complaint here based on results but Nat may be the 1% exception.
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I’m saying that as a coach Geno has always wanted his players to do what they do best. If a player is a great rebounded, shot blocker, shooter, screen setter etc etc.... any coach would want them to do it to the best of their ability. However sometimes under the big lights players have not met the expections.
 
HopJim said:
Not sure what you are saying. You only play if you play Geno's way. No complaint here based on results but Nat may be the 1% exception.
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What do you mean by 1% exception? Exception to what?
 
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