Natalie Butler

[carpe diem]

I think the biggest single factor is, as commented above, that she is liked and supported by the other players. She is now "one of them" and withing that shell of acceptance I think she will develop to her potential. We just need to be patient. Ligament injuries notoriously take a long time to fully heal, impacting her confidence in catching and holding on to the ball. I am sure she will improve because she likes belonging on the team, and that requires continued maximum effort to retain acceptance.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Not so optimistic on Butler but hopeful. East Carolina game she really looked out of it. When a tree like her gets the rebound don't bring it down where everyone get grab hold of the rock, keep it high, move your body , look for an outlet. Her hand/eye needs a lot of work and she needs to work on skills so she develops soft hands. Stand opposite a wall and pass the ball (hard) off the wall a thousand times and she'll see the hands start to develop. Foot speed is something else she needs to work on. Weights? Not so sure that's the whole answer as I think she needs focus on some other skills before putting on muscle. That's why the good lord gave some a wide butt - to stick into someone to gain space... Agree she's a project like Wolters, Dolson to some degree.

Now that I didn't know. Learn something every day on this board.

 

[Blue Huskie]

Now that I didn't know. Learn something every day on this board.

Amazing isn't it?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I remember the pre-season and all the talk coming from the coaching staff and players and writers were "wait till the season starts you won't believe how good Natalie Butler is." Quick feet, soft hands, good speed end-to-end, Good inside moves but also has a sweet shot from 12'-15', etc. Then she hurt her thumb and got operated on and recovery was delayed, and Natalie had to start back at square one and is now in the pre-season mode once again! It screwed her game, both physically & mentally, so we're not seeing the pre-injury Natalie yet! I really think if she were never hurt we'd be awed by her "game" now!

 

[Blue Huskie]

I remember the pre-season and all the talk coming from the coaching staff and players and writers were "wait till the season starts you won't believe how good Natalie Butler is." Quick feet, soft hands, good speed end-to-end, Good inside moves but also has a sweet shot from 12'-15', etc. Then she hurt her thumb and got operated on and recovery was delayed, and Natalie had to start back at square one and is now in the pre-season mode once again! It screwed her game, both physically & mentally, so we're not seeing the pre-injury Natalie yet! I really think if she were never hurt we'd be awed by her "game" now!

There's just no end to your brilliant insights.

 

[NVUConnFan]

Yeah, I agree. I'm a big time "Big Nat" fan (if I can coin a nickname for Natalie Butler). She is as much a "project" as Kara Wolters and look how she turned out! I'm going with Big Nat for the time being, future injuries not withstanding...knock on wood.

 

[Buzzyboy]

I remember the pre-season and all the talk coming from the coaching staff and players and writers were "wait till the season starts you won't believe how good Natalie Butler is." Quick feet, soft hands, good speed end-to-end, Good inside moves but also has a sweet shot from 12'-15', etc. Then she hurt her thumb and got operated on and recovery was delayed, and Natalie had to start back at square one and is now in the pre-season mode once again! It screwed her game, both physically & mentally, so we're not seeing the pre-injury Natalie yet! I really think if she were never hurt we'd be awed by her "game" now!

I don't know about "awed" but I don't think you'd have found some people "poo pooing" about her abilities or diminishing her potential growth. The hands of an interior player are a big part of who they are and what they do. Insofar as scoring or rebounding, what's that much more important than her hands to grip or rip the ball and of course, her potential shooting abilities. I do think she'll be a significant contributor before her UConn career is over and we might see that evolving sooner rather than later.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Yeah, I agree. I'm a big time "Big Nat" fan (if I can coin a nickname for Natalie Butler). She is as much a "project" as Kara Wolters and look how she turned out! I'm going with Big Nat for the time being, future injuries not withstanding...knock on wood.

I think she's far less of a project than was Kara. From reports I've heard, her mobility has always been ahead of where Kara was when she first came to Storrs. My understanding is her mobility coming on campus exceeded that of Stef Dolson, as well. We know how those two turned out, don't we!

 

[iri10]

Her mobility is not that bad for a pure center (though a bit more can never hurt a player, of course). She'll never run the hardwood like Kiah Stokes, but she has enough to do what she has to do. The biggest source of slowness is mental, IMO. Between the long absence, the season-shortening injury, and other factors, her on-court instincts are not yet finely tuned. Plus she doesn't have a great deal of versatility in her low post offensive toolbox yet. All this leads to hesitation which makes her look a lot slower than she actually is.

But the indications are that she's a tremendously hard worker, and probably also a smart human being. I feel confident that she'll start figuring it out eventually.

 

[bags27]

As the season evolved with Napheesa starting, Geno saw that the lane was too clogged for Stewie to do her thing. Replacing Naphessa with Lou opened things up a whole lot (witness the spread offense against SC). And with Gabby coming off the bench with her extraordinary speed and agility, the emphasis this year on both offense and defense is attack, attack, attack. Natalie doesn't quite fit that mentality. Next year, he'll redesign things a bit, Natalie will have a summer to get her game back, and then she'll be a big part of it, IMO.

 

[Harry Mangurian]

Hasn't she been hitting the weights for the last 18 months during her red shirt time ? I love her enthusiasm and was excited to see she was transfering to UConn. Her stats as a freshman at Georgetown were very impressive, but " you're not in Kansas anymore Dorothy " !

After some solid games of rebounding, passing and shooting, I was at the ECU game and it was certainly not her best showing. Timing just seemed a little off. I dont want to compare her to other Husky greats. It is not fair to saddle her with any expectations. She has the potential and opportunity to be a solid contributor, and at some point we are going to need her to play quality minutes in a big game.

agree.............I am sure the staff has had her doing whatever is necessary over the last year and a half. Sometimes it does not work.

 

[Buzzyboy]

A couple of thoughts here -
I really don't think that Butler is particularly heavy - some folks just aren't quick, folks, and exercise, etc., won't change that a whole lot. Don't know that Nat falls into the "slow" category, but, you can't teach "quick". You can teach recognition, judgement, but not neuron speed. Plus, some folks just have a big frame - no matter what you do, they'll never be built to do certain things as well as some other kids.
Coaches can encourage, lead, direct - but, they don't have a magic wand. Geno/CD didn't change Dolson: Dolson changed Dolson. Geno/CD may have provided the plan & support, but, if Stef didn't want to do it, and put the work in, then, nothing happens. It depends more on the player than the coach & staff.
I think Nat will improve because she wants to. Think about what she's gone through, giving up being a "big frog in a decent-sized pond" to come to UConn. She's fought through that transition, and then dealt with a frustrating injury. She's got the guts and the drive. She needs patience, and we need to extend the same to her.

Stef wasn't very quick at all but spending a lot of time in the gym and losing weight, she got appreciably quicker though it's obvious quickness would never be considered a big attribute of hers. Improvement is what we'd like pertaining to Natalie and I'm sure she'll succeed in that area.

 

[BigBird]

I am a Nat fan too. But she plays so flat-footed. This is not unusual for a big just out of high school. But it seems a little odd that in her third year at the college level this bad habit hasn't been adjusted out by her coaches yet. As Stewie proves with every game, a big with long arms who can elevate will get rebounds that others won't. Natalie has major BB assets, but she needs to use them all, and more often. Jump, Nat... JUMP! You can be great.

 

[PhillyCoach]

When Natalie played at Georgetown she had 35 minutes or so each game to get used to Big East speed of play. If in her first 5-10 minutes of play she was slow to react or was not in the flow --she had 25 minutes or more to find the groove. Unlike GAbby, Nat seems to be a slow starter (similar to lots of bigs.) Last year as a practice player she had time to work on the same skill over and over and find a groove. Many people & players saw the talent and flow. Then Bingo--injury. She loses a lot of that groove and then when she is put into a game she has to rev up to speed in minutes. Not Big East Speed, but UConn speed & precision. Half a step short, pressure & indecision make life difficult. IMHO fast starting is not in her DNA, however, if she has time to adjust she would rise to the occasion. I don't care what conference you are in---if you average a double-double and can play 35 minutes a game, then there is talent involved.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Geno stays with the starters most of the night. Gabby will be the main sub and probably get 18-20 minutes. Collier gets 10-12 minutes. Chong could get 0 to 5 minutes. Based on big game trust - Butler will not get in the game at all.
Big games--big minutes for the starters. Lou's spot is where the most sub action takes place(that seems obvious) and Tuck could get a breather from Gabby most likely. If close, Stewie and Mo go 38 to 40 minutes.

Your S.C. pre-game calls were incredibly accurate, Coach. Nice job.

Moriah, Stewie, Morgan (and Kia) were outstanding. I was, however, very disappointed that Gabby didn't get the praise she had earned for her fabulous play. She rebounded (10!) fearlessly in the paint against the much taller SC bigs, played great defense, and brought her special kind of energy to the game.

I guess a kid can get overlooked when her teammates are the two best WCBB players in the country. But Gabby's game has shown tremendous improvement from last year, (especially that sweet mid-range jumper) and watching her rip all those defensive boards away from SC's 6'4" assembly line was just beautifully.

 

[Monte]

Natalie is a good player with a great attitude. She brings some important skills to UConn, most notably taking up a lot of space, horizontally and vertically. She snags a lot of rebounds, more because of height than hops. She has a nice touch to her shot and makes dazzling home run outlet passes.

Boneyard expectations were unrealistically high (remember all those "fifth starter?" threads?) since they were based almost entirely on her Georgetown stats -- scant personal viewing. Nat almost forces Geno to go to a zone defense since her slow lateral movement does not permit her to participate in the standard man-to-man with five defenders constantly switching. She (like most mere mortals) is by no means comparable to Stokes, who set the bar so amazingly high.

I view Natalie as a player who will contribute to team success but only in limited situations. And from off the bench for the foreseeable future.

I think your last paragraph tells it all.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Geno stays with the starters most of the night. Gabby will be the main sub and probably get 18-20 minutes. Collier gets 10-12 minutes. Chong couldC get 0 to 5 minutes. Based on big game trust - Butler will not get in the game at all.
Big games--big minutes for the starters. Lou's spot is where the most sub action takes place(that seems obvious) and Tuck could get a breather from Gabby most likely. If close, Stewie and Mo go 38 to 40 minutes.

Coach----you were right on--like you just saw the game (which you didn't) . Natalie is a good ball player---she can't jump, is a wide body, can shoot well from the foul line, and closer in, not a good defender of size players. Her limitation are not small. Can she do better?? I hope.
A month ago after the MD game NAN took me to task for hoping Butler would get in the game --to which I replied with lots of "crazy facts" and to sum it up NAN was right.
You are RIGHT too Geno does not trust her in big games. Chong isn't up to speed for big fast games.
Collier nor Gabby cannot replace Tuck neither can defend truly bigs (Wilson and her cell mate), nor Jones from MD, and Uconn (at this time ) has no one coming in to fill that void. Wilson attacked and scored (rather) easily on Stewie--who will defend Wilson and Turner next year? Not Natalie, at least not the Nat we have seen so far.

Katie Lou in my (now more humbled opinion(NAN) has the greatest potential, talent, skills, athletism to fill Stewies void--and hopefully will break out of her cocoon prior to the NCAA's.

 

[BobbyJ]

If my advice mattered, which it doesn't, I would suggest to the UConn staff that they have Samuelson spend every possible bit of time between now and season's end having Tuck tutor her in every phase of post play. Both defense and offense. With confidence and serious drill work in there, she could supply a decent amount of Stewart's production next year. Certainly not replace her but at least assume some of Stewart's role at her position. Obviously, the best scenario would be Tuck returning to play with her and continue the education. But get Samuelson as much help now as possible. Tuck has a wealth of experience to pass along.

 

[JoePgh]

Collier nor Gabby cannot replace Tuck neither can defend truly bigs (Wilson and her cell mate), nor Jones from MD, and Uconn (at this time ) has no one coming in to fill that void. Wilson attacked and scored (rather) easily on Stewie--who will defend Wilson and Turner next year? Not Natalie, at least not the Nat we have seen so far.

Katie Lou in my (now more humbled opinion(NAN) has the greatest potential, talent, skills, athletism to fill Stewies void--and hopefully will break out of her cocoon prior to the NCAA's.

Assuming that Morgan is not on the roster when UConn plays South Carolina next year, and also ASSUMING that UConn plays a man-to-man defense (which is open to question), then I would expect that Butler will guard Coates and either Napheesa or KLS will guard Wilson. I would also expect that both Wilson and Coates will score more points than they did last Monday night, and that the game will be a lot closer.

Coates is a player quite similar to Butler, and with some seasoning, Butler should be able to defend her adequately (but not shut her down as was done on Monday night). Napheesa and/or KLS should be able to defend Wilson better than probably anyone in the SEC (who does Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi State, or Texas A&M have that can guard Wilson?), but Wilson will still get her 20 points.

Even next year, unless Davis and Gray can change the dynamic of the Gamecocks, the issue will be that they won't have enough outside firepower to prevent UConn's defense from sagging and helping enough to limit the threat from Wilson and Coates.

You mentioned Turner and Brionna Jones. I think Napheesa will probably get those assignments, with some help from Butler. They, too, will get their points, so the outcome of the game will be decided on the perimeter. I think UConn will have some losses next year to top 5 teams such as SC, ND, Baylor, and Maryland, but probably not to all of them. I think all of them would probably rather face each other in the tournament than face UConn.

All this could change if Kyla Irwin proves to be an amazingly skilled freshman. The probability of that is less than 10%, but it is not zero.

 

[CocoHusky]

If my advice mattered, which it doesn't, I would suggest to the UConn staff that they have Samuelson spend every possible bit of time between now and season's end having Tuck tutor her in every phase of post play. Both defense and offense. With confidence and serious drill work in there, she could supply a decent amount of Stewart's production next year. Certainly not replace her but at least assume some of Stewart's role at her position. Obviously, the best scenario would be Tuck returning to play with her and continue the education. But get Samuelson as much help now as possible. Tuck has a wealth of experience to pass along.

KLS as a full time post player is a bad idea because she is just not strong enough to defend down there.

 

[BobbyJ]

I realize she can't play in there full time. I meant that right now she has no idea how to use her lower body for positioning in the paint. She gets moved too easily and could use the tutoring to take advantage of size match ups on offense and on defense, not to get exposed when UConn is using a smaller lineup. It's obvious that she never had to learn any post play in HS and it just seems like it would be a good chance to learn from Tuck before she's gone.

 

[hoophuskee]

If my advice mattered, which it doesn't, I would suggest to the UConn staff that they have Samuelson spend every possible bit of time between now and season's end having Tuck tutor her in every phase of post play. Both defense and offense. With confidence and serious drill work in there, she could supply a decent amount of Stewart's production next year. Certainly not replace her but at least assume some of Stewart's role at her position. Obviously, the best scenario would be Tuck returning to play with her and continue the education. But get Samuelson as much help now as possible. Tuck has a wealth of experience to pass along.

Who taught Tuck? Why can't the same people that taught Tuck teach KLS (ie the coaches)?

Why can't Tuck teach Butler so right now - so Butler would be playing more minutes if Tuck was the caching answer? Why can't she teach Gabby? What's Gabby doing playing pf and grabbing ten rebounds in the paint vs a USC team if she can't guard bigger players? Draymond Green from Golden State is what- 6'6? Why can't we play a zone or a gimmick defense vs a MD or USC? Last year in the finals who was that much smaller player that was guarding Stewie? I can't recall- but she did pretty good. Though it could be she had two bigs to help.

I don't know the answer vs top tier teams with lots of size or certain type of player next year either. However the team needs to score too while playing very good defense. If KLS gets into foul trouble, now we only have two three point shooters in Nurse and Chong. We don't know that Dangerfield is a three point shooter. She looks like she can score from 2. Chong's health going forward is questionable. So as reassuring some might say "they aren't worried about that" - ignoring the issue doesn't make it go away. You still have to score enough to win. If KLS gets into foul trouble playing inside, you have Nurse's 3pt shot as questionable, and Chong not being a very good defender plus in this scenario we we're forced to have KLS in the paint and if in this scenario she does get into foul trouble vs a good top-tier team, and we only have Chong as a very good three point shooter - teams play zone, we're in a bit of trouble, right?

Right now KLS is a very soft rebounder. Do you think in one year she can change? If she doesn't change, the rebounds her opponent gets not only puts her in jeopardy of foul trouble but puts her teammates in jeopardy too.

 

[hoophuskee]

Coach----you were right on--like you just saw the game (which you didn't) . Natalie is a good ball player---she can't jump, is a wide body, can shoot well from the foul line, and closer in, not a good defender of size players. Her limitation are not small. Can she do better?? I hope.
A month ago after the MD game NAN took me to task for hoping Butler would get in the game --to which I replied with lots of "crazy facts" and to sum it up NAN was right.
You are RIGHT too Geno does not trust her in big games. Chong isn't up to speed for big fast games.
Collier nor Gabby cannot replace Tuck neither can defend truly bigs (Wilson and her cell mate), nor Jones from MD, and Uconn (at this time ) has no one coming in to fill that void. Wilson attacked and scored (rather) easily on Stewie--who will defend Wilson and Turner next year? Not Natalie, at least not the Nat we have seen so far.

Katie Lou in my (now more humbled opinion(NAN) has the greatest potential, talent, skills, athletism to fill Stewies void--and hopefully will break out of her cocoon prior to the NCAA's.

Only in terms of being a top scorer. Not defensively. And if Wilson scored as easily as you said - then they wouldn't have been down by 11 points when she left. It was hard for USC to run an offense and a bit of that has to do with Stewie denying the ball. SO it wasn't easy for Wilson to get the ball in positions to score. And I would have been interested to see if Wilson didn't get hurt if she could have sustained hitting jump shots. If she misses two in a row, is she still confident taking those shots vs Stewie?

 

[reno tony]

It seems to me that Natalie's soft hands are a rebounding problem. It appears that she gets the ball knocked out of her hands quite a bit in the paint. Probably a result from the thumb surgery and maybe another year in the gym will give her hands like most of the UCONN team. I also noticed that when she rebounds inside she doesn't go up with a shot that often, she seems to pass the ball out a lot. I guess when you play around guys like Stewie, Morgan, Kia and Gabby it stands out more. I would love to see the sophomore jump like Dolson had when she did her Zoomba classes during the summer.

 

[JordyG]

One issue next year is when Butler does sit, who replaces her in the post? KLS is not a full fledged post, but unless Irwin hits the weight room like a fiend this summer Katie is going to see some minutes there. She'll absolutely need to improve her strength and footwork to be effective both offensively and defensively. UCONN is real lucky Butler fell into their lap. Of course this point is moot if Morgan returns. But I think most of us feel that's unlikely.

 

[Bgillon]

Only in terms of being a top scorer. Not defensively. And if Wilson scored as easily as you said - then they wouldn't have been down by 11 points when she left. It was hard for USC to run an offense and a bit of that has to do with Stewie denying the ball. SO it wasn't easy for Wilson to get the ball in positions to score. And I would have been interested to see if Wilson didn't get hurt if she could have sustained hitting jump shots. If she misses two in a row, is she still confident taking those shots vs Stewie?

They were down by 15 when Wilson left.

 

[hoophuskee]

They were down by 15 when Wilson left.

Okay- 15. SO her offense wasn't much of an impact or she couldn't get the ball in very many positions to score.

 

[EricSD]

One issue next year is when Butler does sit, who replaces her in the post? KLS is not a full fledged post, but unless Irwin hits the weight room like a fiend this summer Katie is going to see some minutes there. She'll absolutely need to improve her strength and footwork to be effective both offensively and defensively. UCONN is real lucky Butler fell into their lap. Of course this point is moot if Morgan returns. But I think most of us feel that's unlikely.

Collier is undersized, but has a longer reach than most at her height. I think she sees time too. And of course, Tuck if she comes back.

 

[hoophuskee]

One issue next year is when Butler does sit, who replaces her in the post? KLS is not a full fledged post, but unless Irwin hits the weight room like a fiend this summer Katie is going to see some minutes there. She'll absolutely need to improve her strength and footwork to be effective both offensively and defensively. UCONN is real lucky Butler fell into their lap. Of course this point is moot if Morgan returns. But I think most of us feel that's unlikely.

Maybe she will - but vs what teams? Many of the teams we will annihilate in our weak conference and others don't have centers that can impact the game. So how many games are we talking about that this is such a huge concern? Maybe vs some of the teams we can play zone too? Or a gimmick defense like a box and one? And there is more to guard centers than just height. You need bulk. What does KLS have in terms of bulk? Plus she'll be our top scorer next year Do we want her pinned in the paint, having to guard much stronger players and picking up cheap fouls? This drives our top scorer tot he bench.

What she needs mostly is to knock down three's. That is 1st and foremost.

In one year as a finesse player she is suddenly going to turn into a serviceable post defender? What about the pressure she is going to cause her teammates if she gets outmuscled in the paint for offensive rebounds. She'll put them at more risk of fouling hen it comes to rebounding. Right now she is a bad defensive rebounder. That won't change in one year. Gabby got ten rebounds vs SC. Collier is rebounding magnet.

 

[JordyG]

Maybe she will - but vs what teams? Many of the teams we will annihilate in our weak conference and others don't have centers that can impact the game. So how many games are we talking about that this is such a huge concern? Maybe vs some of the teams we can play zone too? Or a gimmick defense like a box and one? And there is more to guard centers than just height. You need bulk. What does KLS have in terms of bulk? Plus she'll be our top scorer next year Do we want her pinned in the paint, having to guard much stronger players and picking up cheap fouls? This drives our top scorer tot he bench.

What she needs mostly is to knock down three's. That is 1st and foremost.

In one year as a finesse player she is suddenly going to turn into a serviceable post defender? What about the pressure she is going to cause her teammates if she gets outmuscled in the paint for offensive rebounds. She'll put them at more risk of fouling hen it comes to rebounding. Right now she is a bad defensive rebounder. That won't change in one year. Gabby got ten rebounds vs SC. Collier is rebounding magnet.

Not the issue. Odds are Butler won't play 40 mins. Therefore what? Collier clearly is a choice but the team will need a third option. KLS will either then see post minutes and/or move over to take Colliers place when Butler sits. Gabby is fine up front, but jumping ability (and good positional play) or not asking her to be a post is a bit much. KLS will see minutes down low and improvement in that area is necessary. Unless we forget the same things you've just said were said about Stewie when she hit these shores. We all know how that turned out.