News on South Carolina vs Mississippi State

[oldude]

At the start of the year, before we played our first game, if I had to rank our 5 starters in terms of NPOY or even AA potential I would have passed over Kia, in favor of our flashier athletes. But the stats don't lie and the eye test doesn't either. Lock down defender, due respect to KLS but best 3 point shooter (statistically), runs the court like mad, pulls her whole team up to her energy level, great team leader, I could go on and on and on.

In short anyone who doesn't regard her as an NPOY isn't looking at the on the court results, they're going on hype and flash. JMHO.

You left out “Tough as Nails.”

 

[Carnac]

Hate to put it all on Wilson, but she’s capable of dominating McGowan at both ends. If she does, SC has a very good chance to pull off the upset.

You were absolutely correct, good call. A 14 point win for the Bulldogs. I don't think that was an upset, not THIS year. Not the way MS has been playing and vanquishing all comers. You were right about Wilson possibly dominating McCowan. In the first half, Wilson abused McCowan repeatedly, then took her lunch money, to the tune of 20 points. McCowan couldn't do anything to stop her. It's easy to see that McCowan is not as far along in her development as Wilson is. Someone must have pulled McCowan aside at halftime, because she came out and played much better in the 2nd half, holding Wilson to 5 points, and finishing with 9 points and 20 rebounds.

As suggested last evening by Rebecca Lobo and Kara Lawson, MS should be able to run the table, and enter the NCAA tournament undefeated. This should guarantee that they will be placed on the opposite side of the bracket from UConn. Two undefeated teams entering the tournament should not meet until the final game for the national championship and not before. I would love to see a Baylor/MS match up at some point during the tournament.

Note - Anytime you can get $230 for a normally $5 general admission seat, that's proof positive that there is a rabid demand by local fans to watch your team play. Remember "Hoya paranoia" at Georgetown University during the Pat Ewing years? Those folks in and around Starkville have their own brand of Bulldog paranoia.

I didn't see any empty seats in the arena last night as the camera panned the arena. The announcers said that folks were lined up at 9 am (when they showed up for the shoot-around) to get in the arena for the game that evening. Ten minutes AFTER the game was over, they said that no one had left the building yet. That's Bulldog fever at its best.

 

[connie]

Nurse isn't a POY candidate. AA candidate, yes.

Disagree that Kia is not, minimally, a viable candidate (even if she does not receive the award). Kia may not be the best rebounder in Div. 1. She may not have the highest PPG average. She may not lead the league in shots blocked. She may not lead the league in 3pt FG% (though she presently is).

But in terms of contributions in all phases of the game--and I mean all--it is hard to find a guard in WCBB who makes a bigger contribution. As others have noted, Kia is a premiere lock-down defender unlike any other in Div. 1. She reads the floor exceptionally well. She knows how to get to the line as well as any guard (and she hits her FTs when she gets there). She works hard every minute. She dives for loose balls. She is a terrific passer. She controls tempo. She leads by example. In brief, there are very, very few guards in Div. 1 who do as much as she does. If we are talking about candidate for the Wade Trophy, then Kia arguably embodies the "spirit of Margaret Wade" ("best college women's basketball player in the country who not only excels athletically, but serves as a positive role model both on and off the court") as much as any of the current AA candidates.

 

[Carnac]

Well, I'm glad I didn't place any wagers. Congrats to Miss State.

Speaking wagers, congrats to those folks that had the $$$ and the onions to place a $1,000,000+ bet on the Eagles to win the game Sunday. They were already rich, now their rich-er.

 

[dogged1]

Disagree that Kia is not, minimally, a viable candidate (even if she does not receive the award). Kia may not be the best rebounder in Div. 1. She may not have the highest PPG average. She may not lead the league in shots blocked. She may not lead the league in 3pt FG% (though she presently is).

But in terms of contributions in all phases of the game--and I mean all--it is hard to find a guard in WCBB who makes a bigger contribution. As others have noted, Kia is a premiere lock-down defender unlike any other in Div. 1. She reads the floor exceptionally well. She knows how to get to the line as well as any guard (and she hits her FTs when she gets there). She works hard every minute. She dives for loose balls. She is a terrific passer. She controls tempo. She leads by example. In brief, there are very, very few guards in Div. 1 who do as much as she does. If we are talking about candidate for the Wade Trophy, then Kia arguably embodies the "spirit of Margaret Wade" ("best college women's basketball player in the country who not only excels athletically, but serves as a positive role model both on and off the court") as much as any of the current AA candidates.

Can't like this post enough. +10 to the 10th

 

[Charliebball]

You were absolutely correct, good call. A 14 point win for the Bulldogs. I don't think that was an upset, not THIS year. Not the way MS has been playing and vanquishing all comers. You were right about Wilson possibly dominating McCowan. In the first half, Wilson abused McCowan repeatedly, then took her lunch money, to the tune of 20 points. McCowan couldn't do anything to stop her. It's easy to see that McCowan is not as far along in her development as Wilson is. Someone must have pulled McCowan aside at halftime, because she came out and played much better in the 2nd half, holding Wilson to 5 points, and finishing with 9 points and 20 rebounds.

As suggested last evening by Rebecca Lobo and Kara Lawson, MS should be able to run the table, and enter the NCAA tournament undefeated. This should guarantee that they will be placed on the opposite side of the bracket from UConn. Two undefeated teams entering the tournament should not meet until the final game for the national championship and not before. I would love to see a Baylor/MS match up at some point during the tournament.

Note - Anytime you can get $230 for a normally $5 general admission seat, that's proof positive that there is a rabid demand by local fans to watch your team play. Remember "Hoya paranoia" at Georgetown University during the Pat Ewing years? Those folks in and around Starkville have their own brand of Bulldog paranoia.

I didn't see any empty seats in the arena last night as the camera panned the arena. The announcers said that folks were lined up at 9 am (went they showed up for the shoot-around) to get in the arena for the game that evening. Ten minutes AFTER the game was over, they said that no one had left the building yet. That's Bulldog fever at its best.

I think the folks down there realize that this is their one shot at the crown with Vivians, William, Schaefer and Johnson graduating

 

[JoePgh]

Anyone notice that Morgan William sat the entire 4th quarter of the game.

Is there a syndrome affecting players whose initials are "MW"?

 

[oldude]

Is there a syndrome affecting players whose initials are "MW"?

Don’t know. Off the top of my head, perhaps we should review the sports careers of:

Michelle Wie
Maury Wills
Mike Webster
Michael Waltrip
Mario Williams
Morgan Wooten
etc.

 

[Los24]

Disagree that Kia is not, minimally, a viable candidate (even if she does not receive the award). Kia may not be the best rebounder in Div. 1. She may not have the highest PPG average. She may not lead the league in shots blocked. She may not lead the league in 3pt FG% (though she presently is).

But in terms of contributions in all phases of the game--and I mean all--it is hard to find a guard in WCBB who makes a bigger contribution. As others have noted, Kia is a premiere lock-down defender unlike any other in Div. 1. She reads the floor exceptionally well. She knows how to get to the line as well as any guard (and she hits her FTs when she gets there). She works hard every minute. She dives for loose balls. She is a terrific passer. She controls tempo. She leads by example. In brief, there are very, very few guards in Div. 1 who do as much as she does. If we are talking about candidate for the Wade Trophy, then Kia arguably embodies the "spirit of Margaret Wade" ("best college women's basketball player in the country who not only excels athletically, but serves as a positive role model both on and off the court") as much as any of the current AA candidates.

I had written out a detailed post but will now just say that I think:
1) She exemplifies UConn Women's Basketball.
2) She is a tremendous competitor.
3) A true leader.
4) I think she deserves any award and honor she ends up receiving.

However (and this will not earn me any likes : - ), I do not think that she is a top NPOY candidate. I can tell you 2 guards right off the bat with out much thought that contributes more to their team's success, Durr and Sabrina do more for their respective teams hands down. Typically this is where folks now discount their numbers and contributions as if they do not count because they do not have a UConn uniform on. I watched a few of their games and not just going on "stats." Another hurdle for Kia is that many folks would not count her as the best player on her own team, so how are outsiders going to say she is the best in the country?

 

[oldude]

I had written out a detailed post but will now just say that I think:
1) She exemplifies UConn Women's Basketball.
2) She is a tremendous competitor.
3) I think she deserves any award and honor she ends up receiving.

However, I do not think that she is a top NPOY candidate. I can tell you 2 guards right off the bat with out much thought that contributes more to their team's success, Durr and Sabrina do more for their respective teams hands down. Typically this is where folks now discount their numbers and contributions as if they do not count because they do not have UConn uniform on. I watched a few of their games and not just going on "stats." Another hurdle for Kia is that many folks would not count her as the best player on her own team, so how are outsiders going to say she is the best in the country?

I don’t disagree with you on Durr & Ionescu, but I’ll take Kia any day of the week on defense. I’m looking forward to seeing what Durr does next Monday with Kia in her hip pocket.

 

[Centerstream]

I don't think it is that unusual for William to sit. She's not quite the player that the NCAA run might have suggested to folks.

I am glad that you mentioned this about her as a player. From games that I watched, it seems to me that if she isn't handling the ball, she just stands around waiting to see if she is gonna get it back. I think this is why she's been on the bench quite often.

 

[DefenseBB]

I was thinking about that this morning. The other “consensus” NPOY candidate that is equally flawed is Kelsey Mitchell.

A number of players merit serious consideration including: Durr, Ionescu, Brown, Vivians, McGowan, Gabby & Lou IMO.

I think you can narrow it down by eliminating Brown & McCowan. Brown disappears and is plagued by constant foul trouble and McCowan also disappears from scoring.
To me, the race comes down to the leading conference POYs

• Durr (ACC POY) is anyone else close-Thomas, Ogunbawle? I don't think so
• Ionescu (PAC12 POY), McPhee put on a game Sunday but she lags significantly behind Sabrina in all categories-hell the PAC12 website doesn't list McPhee because she missed 9 non-conference games! Jordin Canada/Billings good but not great.
• Wilson/Vivians (SEC POY) and this could come down to the wire with the history of pedigree towards Wilson (my vote is Vivians).
• Gabby/KLS (AAC POY) with my lean towards KLS as scoring still matters even if every other category has lots of crooked numbers. I see DPOY for Gabby
• Mitchell will win Big10 POY but as noted, her flaws and her teams struggles minimize it.
• Brown is the clubhouse Big12 leader at this point as McCarty has struggled all year. I think Brown's stats look better than she does as Wallace looks like the best player on the court far too much.

I think SC losing these games and Wilson sort of disappearing in crunch time hurts her chances -for those voters that actually watch the games vs. just stat hunting.

Should be an interesting last month...

 

[Los24]

I think you can narrow it down by eliminating Brown & McCowan. Brown disappears and is plagued by constant foul trouble and McCowan also disappears from scoring.
To me, the race comes down to the leading conference POYs

• Durr (ACC POY) is anyone else close-Thomas, Ogunbawle? I don't think so
• Ionescu (PAC12 POY), McPhee put on a game Sunday but she lags significantly behind Sabrina in all categories-hell the PAC12 website doesn't list McPhee because she missed 9 non-conference games! Jordin Canada/Billings good but not great.
• Wilson/Vivians (SEC POY) and this could come down to the wire with the history of pedigree towards Wilson (my vote is Vivians).
• Gabby/KLS (AAC POY) with my lean towards KLS as scoring still matters even if every other category has lots of crooked numbers. I see DPOY for Gabby
• Mitchell will win Big10 POY but as noted, her flaws and her teams struggles minimize it.
• Brown is the clubhouse Big12 leader at this point as McCarty has struggled all year. I think Brown's stats look better than she does as Wallace looks like the best player on the court far too much.

I think SC losing these games and Wilson sort of disappearing in crunch time hurts her chances -for those voters that actually watch the games vs. just stat hunting.

Should be an interesting last month...

Again can support either outcome between Gabby and Lou. I do want to throw some perspective on "other numbers being slanted."

- Everyone uses Assist to Turnover ratio as a measurement. Lou leads UConn and is #12 in the country
- However I like turnover to steals better as it really nets possessions value (similar to net +/- turnover in football.) Lou leads team with a +5 & Gabby is a -3
- Also Lou has less than 1/2 the fouls 19 vs 42. Even with the lesser amount of games played that is a big difference of putting (or pushing along the chance of) opposing players getting to the charity stripe.
- In my opinion Lou can avg as many assists as Gabby, meaning she can pass as good, but Lou is a much better scoring option (finisher) and her primary role is to score.

I can list a bunch of great Gabby attributes and she is a worthy candidate, one that again I could support. The reason I posted the above is we all talk about things that the (MAIN) stats do not show, I tried to use some less observed stats to show that Lou is a truly well rounded player and not just a scorer (not that DefenseBB was stating that.)

 

[cbraarj]

I don't think it is that unusual for William to sit. She's not quite the player that the NCAA run might have suggested to folks.

She only scored 13 pts against Uconn last year but hit the big one!

 

[cbraarj]

Let us see what Durr does Monday against Nurse!

 

[dogged1]

I had written out a detailed post but will now just say that I think:
1) She exemplifies UConn Women's Basketball.
2) She is a tremendous competitor.
3) A true leader.
4) I think she deserves any award and honor she ends up receiving.

However (and this will not earn me any likes : - ), I do not think that she is a top NPOY candidate. I can tell you 2 guards right off the bat with out much thought that contributes more to their team's success, Durr and Sabrina do more for their respective teams hands down. Typically this is where folks now discount their numbers and contributions as if they do not count because they do not have a UConn uniform on. I watched a few of their games and not just going on "stats." Another hurdle for Kia is that many folks would not count her as the best player on her own team, so how are outsiders going to say she is the best in the country?

Totally agree with your 4 points, but....
It isn't the Uconn uniform. It's that Kia plays on a team with other outstanding players. If she were on a lesser team then she would be "contributing more to" that teams success. It's easy to be the brightest star in a dim constellation. It's tougher when the stars around shine nearly as bright.

But consider for a moment: She is probably the best defending guard in the nation and she has the highest 3 point average in the nation. m Just on those 2 counts alone that doesn't put her squarely in the conversation for NPOY?

Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage | DI Women's Basketball Statistics - NCAA.com