Nerves Getting to Kia?

[Sonny44]

Early in the 2nd half the announcers said: "looks like the nerves are still getting to her". I've never heard anything about Nurse being nervous. Has this been mentioned befiore? Any evidence of nerves affecting her game? I not aware of any and I'm inclined to doubt it with all her experience on many stages.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

How

Early in the 2nd half the announcers said: "looks like the nerves are still getting to her". I've never heard anything about Nurse being nervous. Has this been mentioned befiore? Any evidence of nerves affecting her game? I not aware of any and I'm inclined to doubt it with all her experience on many stages.

How can anyone play a sport and never feel "nervous"?

 

[VAMike23]

'Auriemma has been impressed with the play of freshman Kia Nurse, who has shown poise in her first NCAA Tournament. Nurse had six points and five rebounds against Dayton, sinking a three-pointer in the second half: "You can't tell but she's nervous as hell," Auriemma said. "Rightly so, because this is her first time. She doesn't necessarily show it but she plays so hard. She's so competitive, she's so tough that she plays right through that stuff. She doesn't allow that to get in the way of her game." '

http://www.ctnow.com/sports/hc-uconn-women-dayton-notebook-0331-20150330,0,6826036.story

I think she played a little tight in the Dayton game, but less tight than a lot of other freshmen would have , due to her aforementioned experience. Still, it is a different experience for her and a different kind of pressure.

 

[cookie447]

What Doris Burke twice said is nonsense, pure NONSENSE! Kia is fine, especially for a freshman. The problem here is Doris feels an obligation to say something; sometimes just to say anything. Like it's been said, Doris has fallen down and can't shut up!

 

[HGN]

I think she did fine for a freshman at her first NCAA Tournament.....This is a big stage for her. Games are being shown back in her native Canada and all over the world. Naturally she should be nervous even if she's not. Her confidence will grow and she will be a valuable player in UConn's march to a 10th NC.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Just because Kia has been on the international stage and seen some high-level action doesn't mean as a freshmen she should be impervious to being nervous. The Canadian team is not at the level of UConn and was not expected to win a championship. UConn is, and that's a challenging position to be in. Doris motor-mouthed about how Kia has to play a lot better in the FF, but though we all hope she'll be a little more settled down and not pick up some quick fouls, I'm not really sure that she does have to play "a lot" better. She's doing fine enough and just needs to supply solid support to the top four, knock down some random 3s, dish a few assists, lock up a few defenders, and bust in for some lay-ups. The usual stuff from her.

 

[hussybulldog]

I think she did fine for a freshman at her first NCAA Tournament.....This is a big stage for her. Games are being shown back in her native Canada and all over the world. Naturally she should be nervous even if she's not. Her confidence will grow and she will be a valuable player in UConn's march to a 10th NC.

NCAA is bigger than world championship? LOL, it might be a bigger event here in US. But I wonder if it is a bigger event in Canada in comparison to world championship.

 

[meyers7]

NCAA is bigger than world championship? LOL, it might be a bigger event here in US. But I wonder if it is a bigger event in Canada in comparison to world championship.

What Dobbs said.

 

[PacoSwede]

What Doris Burke twice said is nonsense, pure NONSENSE! Kia is fine, especially for a freshman. The problem here is Doris feels an obligation to say something; sometimes just to say anything. Like it's been said, Doris has fallen down and can't shut up!

Like every time Saniya gets a mention, it's to declare that she's a defensive liability. Yes, she's had some lapses -- but so has every other player. I'm sure Geno or another coach at one point bitched about Saniya's d to Doris, and now it's gonna dog her throughout her career, thanks to Doris' endless repetition. She'll have to turn into the next Kelly Faris, then she might change the Burke narrative line.

I've actually seen her being very effective on defense. She certainly has the quickness, and she could develop consistency, but she's now been assigned to the "poor d" category. A life sentence!

 

[Wbbfan1]

Not sure if its Tournament Nerves for Kia or its just that she's a Freshmen and hasn't learned how to be consistent in every game. There were numerous games during the season that Kia looked out of sync for long stretches of the game. Just like Moriah or Stewie in their Freshmen year, Freshmen need to learn how to be consistent on a game by game basis.

Kia is a talented player, but she's not a superstar or as talented as Moriah and Stewie are or for that matter Morgan. Kia is going to be matched up against guards that are more talented then she is or just as talented. Kia needs to learn to recognize what skills she has that she can use against players that are just as talented as she is. When she does she'll have more consistency in her game. I suspect Kia will be a four year starter averaging around 10-12 points a game and a valuable team member.

 

[sarals24]

I think Kia's in a different position, though. This competition is being watched by a ton more people (I assume, could be wrong) and nationally televised in the US...she's a starter on the team that has lost one game in two years and is expected to blow everyone out by 40. Anything less is considered a "challenge" by the media. For Canada, she was the youngest player on a team that was not expected to challenge for medals. Different type of pressure.

 

[Frodo]

Early in the 2nd half the announcers said: "looks like the nerves are still getting to her". I've never heard anything about Nurse being nervous. Has this been mentioned before? Any evidence of nerves affecting her game? I not aware of any and I'm inclined to doubt it with all her experience on many stages.

Chalk this one up to Doris just being Doris. She has developed an unnerving tendency to want to get inside the heads of the players and tell us what they're thinking and feeling. Most of the time it's just stuff she made up. Frankly, I wish she'd just stick to telling us what defense they're in or why the ball screens aren't working.

 

[Waquoit]

Chalk this one up to Doris just being Doris. She has developed an unnerving tendency to want to get inside the heads of the players and tell us what they're thinking and feeling. Most of the time it's just stuff she made up. Frankly, I wish she'd just stick to telling us what defense they're in or why the ball screens aren't working.

Nah, she was dead on with her observation. Reminded me of a quote from Ball Four that described a nervous player. It's a bit off-color so I won't write it verbatim, but it had to do with a needle and a tractor. Why wouldn't she be nervous? It was her 1st high stakes game under pressure. I assume she will adapt better with more experience.

 

[bellairehusky]

When I watched the game on TV, my first reaction in the first 10 minutes of the game was that it looked like Kia was playing nervous. I thought that in my head before Doris mentioned it, and I agreed with her. Again, folks, just observations and opinions.

She did play better as the game went on. I agree that it is normal for people to get nervous in these situations - heck I was really nervous and I am just watching!

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

Chalk this one up to Doris just being Doris. She has developed an unnerving tendency to want to get inside the heads of the players and tell us what they're thinking and feeling. Most of the time it's just stuff she made up. Frankly, I wish she'd just stick to telling us what defense they're in or why the ball screens aren't working.

I think she was correct.

 

[Biff]

...but though we all hope she'll be a little more settled down and not pick up some quick fouls, I'm not really sure that she does have to play "a lot" better. She's doing fine enough and just needs to supply solid support to the top four, knock down some random 3s, dish a few assists, lock up a few defenders, and bust in for some lay-ups. The usual stuff from her.

This

 

[DobbsRover2]

NCAA is bigger than world championship? LOL, it might be a bigger event here in US. But I wonder if it is a bigger event in Canada in comparison to world championship.

For the national team, obviously the Worlds has more importance and media attention, but again the expectations for Canada aren't as high as for UConn even if they are a pretty good team. But Canada does watch its players in the NCAAs, and for Kia this is no doubt a bigger experience.

 

[Jeff H]

Everyone gets nervous before the start of a big game, coaches included. What you learn is to shake that once the game starts and like everything else it comes with experience. I thought Kia wasn't quite her normal self at times, but I'd guess the exerience will help her and she'll be more relaxed against Maryland.

 

[John Glass]

What Doris Burke twice said is nonsense, pure NONSENSE! Kia is fine, especially for a freshman. The problem here is Doris feels an obligation to say something; sometimes just to say anything. Like it's been said, Doris has fallen down and can't shut up!

I agree- if Stewart misses a shot is she nervous ?- it is hard to be a consistent shooter when you only shoot a few times in a game.

Also, Doris sounds foolish when she calls Stewart Stewie. I know it is her nickname, however Burke uses it like she is a close friend

 

[xHunt3r]

Chalk this one up to Doris just being Doris. She has developed an unnerving tendency to want to get inside the heads of the players and tell us what they're thinking and feeling. Most of the time it's just stuff she made up. Frankly, I wish she'd just stick to telling us what defense they're in or why the ball screens aren't working.

I understand that people like to jump on announcers when they say something wrong but even Geno said Kia was nervous.... also it is not a big deal if someone was nervous or not. What matters is how they played and Kia played fined.

 

[Huskies Rule]

I think the Elite 8 proved to be a positive learning experience for Kia and one she will improve upon. Nerves or not, I'd gladly take 6 points, 5 rebounds, 0 turnovers and most importantly great defense from her in Tampa for two more games.

 

[JoePgh]

If I were Kia, especially after the first half against Dayton sent the message that the upcoming games could go down to the wire and might depend on one late-game play, I would be extremely nervous that I might make one mistake at a crucial point in the Final Four that could cost Stewie the chance to be the first player to have four national titles in her career. I hope that the games aren't close enough that this becomes a real possibility.

Does anyone remember how KML made a critical mistake at the end of regulation time in her freshman year in a game at Notre Dame that arguably cost her team the game? Or that she missed a corner 3 at Gampel at the buzzer that could have won another game against ND? It's natural for freshmen to worry about that -- more than upperclassmen.

I think it's possible that Geno will use the "big lineup" (with Big Kiah instead of "little" Kia) for a lot of minutes in the Final Four, and at the end of close games, to minimize this possibility.

Having said all that, can one of our statistics jocks please provide comparative statistics for Kia's freshman year vs. Moriah's? I suspect that Kia will have been more productive as a freshman than Moriah, perhaps significantly more so.

 

[rugbymate]

Dobbs got it right in that the Canadian team was not expected to win and thus the pressure is different than playing for a team that is expected to win. The UCONN team culture must be very difficult for a freshman in her first final four , particularly if you are heavy favorites. One suspects that the pressure Kia feels is of the nature of not letting her teammates down. She knows her role and has been well trained but she will probably play conservatively...almost playing as if not to make a mistake. My guess is that her offense will be more effected than her defense. If we get to play ND her role will probably be to lock down Allen which could be a key to the game.

 

[geneticrex]

I wil defer to Coach Geno on tis particular topic.

 

[FairView]

The most ridiculous Dorisism during the Elite Eight game was her repeatedly declaring that two seniors on Dayton had played UConn before and that the experience of that 40-point loss in Storrs was somehow helping them in this game.