Next years team could be better...

[DobbsRover2]

Quit calling non-haters, haters.

Nah, calling anyone who supports Chong's skills as being "delusional" is no-way being a hater. Just wow, and just another reason why it's good the players don't have to deal with UConn "fans" on that close a basis very often. Of course these fans would never have the guts anything close to what they spew here in the presence of a player.

As for "hanging with any big dogs" and a starting position, both Chong and Stokes did show they could very much hang with big dogs when they were called in to shut down opponents who were scoring at a pace Geno thought might be too high, along with providing a ton of sub minutes during the regular season. Everything changes during Tournament time when he rides the starting 5 as much and as long as he can, with the obvious exception in recent years of Doty in her senior year.

 

[JonB]

Even though several posters have mentioned the fact that Butler has practiced with UConn for a year, I think some are undervaluing that experience. It's an axiom at UConn that the hard work is done during practice, and from the admittedly sketchy reports I've seen, that seems to be going well for Butler.

Regarding KML vs KLS, I think we should keep in mind that KML, great as she has been, was not the only one shooting 3-pointers this year. Take her 3-pointers out of the stats and the remaining players still made more 3's than their opponents. That's in a situation where they often deferred to KML to shoot, too. So while I don't expect KLS as a freshman to put up anything like senior-KML numbers, teams that pack the inside on defense are likely to find that's no answer against UConn next year. Plus, KML's defense, while not the liability Doris Burke would have you think, was subject to getting blown by from quicker guards. The bigs inside helped hide that fact, and still would next year, but I won't be surprised if the overall perimeter defense is a bit better.

 

[MilfordHusky]

In terms of our lack of depth at guard, Geno will take steps to address that. I think Saniya will step up. Beyond that, Geno played Gabby at guard on defense some this year. Napheesa says that Geno wants to play her at guard. Also, Lou can play the SG position. I think Kia will be the backup PG often, with one of the others noted above moving to SG. Look for Lou at SG on offense and Gabby or Napheesa on defense. As I thought about Tuesday's game, Moriah Jefferson is a HUGE key to our success. She needs to stay healthy and out of foul trouble.

By the way, there was a nice moment in Tuesday's game between Geno and Gabby. Gabby got a nice feed and missed a point-blank layup that she made all season. When he took her out, Geno stopped her and gave her some encouragement. He was coaching for the next 3 seasons.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Even though several posters have mentioned the fact that Butler has practiced with UConn for a year, I think some are undervaluing that experience. It's an axiom at UConn that the hard work is done during practice, and from the admittedly sketchy reports I've seen, that seems to be going well for Butler.

Regarding KML vs KLS, I think we should keep in mind that KML, great as she has been, was not the only one shooting 3-pointers this year. Take her 3-pointers out of the stats and the remaining players still made more 3's than their opponents. That's in a situation where they often deferred to KML to shoot, too. So while I don't expect KLS as a freshman to put up anything like senior-KML numbers, teams that pack the inside on defense are likely to find that's no answer against UConn next year. Plus, KML's defense, while not the liability Doris Burke would have you think, was subject to getting blown by from quicker guards. The bigs inside helped hide that fact, and still would next year, but I won't be surprised if the overall perimeter defense is a bit better.

As a freshman, Kaleena played 28 mpg and led the team in scoring (over Tiffany, Bria, Stef, Kelly, and Caroline). I don't expect Lou to play that much, nor will she lead the team in scoring. But I expect her to match or exceed Kaleena's .383 shooting from the arc and may approach Kaleena's 93 treys. I'd cautiously put the over/under on Lou's made 3-pointers at about 75. The following year, she goes over 100.

 

[CocoHusky]

Chong was asked to fit certain roles at the end of the season, such as lockdown defender to go in when Kia needed some settling down like in the Dayton game, a role she played extremely well, as anyone who was actually watching the games from February after would have seen. .

I am not a hater of Chong, in fact I don’t like hate anyone & dislike the use of the word to describe someone you disagree with. I have watched and re-watched every game since the beginning of this season and last season. Chong struggles defensively-specifically in closing out on shooters and staying in front of perimeter ball handlers. Additionally as a perimeter defender she loses focus of principle of knowing where the ball is and where her man often caught gazing. More significantly she allows her defense lapses to carry over to her offensive game which sometime results in a snow ball effect for her game and a lack of trust from the coaching staff. Lack of trust for the coaching staff is not consistent with Chong being assigned a role as "lockdown defender" as you claim. In the Dayton game you cited Chong logged a total of 5 minutes and had 0 across the entire box score. Three of the 5 minutes were in the first half when If UCONN ever needed a defensive stopper it would have been that half. Dayton was on fire shooting over 70% from 3. If you go to the 8:58 mark of the game you will see a clear example of the latter Chong defensive breakdown. She was out of position to defend a cross court pass (lob really) from Dayton. The coaching staff’s reaction was immediate. Shea not Geno - a big surprise to me- immediately tapped Nurse to replace her on the floor. Chong did not return to the game until less than 2 minutes left in the game when UCONN was up by 21. As long as she is wearing a UCONN uniform I will simultaneously cheer for, encourage her, and fairly criticize her. That is the opposite of hate IMO

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

The Chong fan club is extremely loyal. Delusional, but loyal.

You rang!!!

 

[rvwsleep]

In terms of our lack of depth at guard, Geno will take steps to address that. I think Saniya will step up. Beyond that, Geno played Gabby at guard on defense some this year. Napheesa says that Geno wants to play her at guard. Also, Lou can play the SG position. I think Kia will be the backup PG often, with one of the others noted above moving to SG. Look for Lou at SG on offense and Gabby or Napheesa on defense. As I thought about Tuesday's game, Moriah Jefferson is a HUGE key to our success. She needs to stay healthy and out of foul trouble.

By the way, there was a nice moment in Tuesday's game between Geno and Gabby. Gabby got a nice feed and missed a point-blank layup that she made all season. When he took her out, Geno stopped her and gave her some encouragement. He was coaching for the next 3 seasons.

NC at guard would alleviate some of the log jam at the wing/small forward/etc. position next year. I assume that you think she would back up Nurse at the #2 ?

 

[DobbsRover2]

I am not a hater of Chong, in fact I don’t like hate anyone & dislike the use of the word to describe someone you disagree with. I have watched and re-watched every game since the beginning of this season and last season. Chong struggles defensively-specifically in closing out on shooters and staying in front of perimeter ball handlers. Additionally as a perimeter defender she loses focus of principle of knowing where the ball is and where her man often caught gazing. More significantly she allows her defense lapses to carry over to her offensive game which sometime results in a snow ball effect for her game and a lack of trust from the coaching staff. Lack of trust for the coaching staff is not consistent with Chong being assigned a role as "lockdown defender" as you claim. In the Dayton game you cited Chong logged a total of 5 minutes and had 0 across the entire box score. Three of the 5 minutes were in the first half when If UCONN ever needed a defensive stopper it would have been that half. Dayton was on fire shooting over 70% from 3. If you go to the 8:58 mark of the game you will see a clear example of the latter Chong defensive breakdown. She was out of position to defend a cross court pass (lob really) from Dayton. The coaching staff’s reaction was immediate. Shea not Geno - a big surprise to me- immediately tapped Nurse to replace her on the floor. Chong did not return to the game until less than 2 minutes left in the game when UCONN was up by 21. As long as she is wearing a UCONN uniform I will simultaneously cheer for, encourage her, and fairly criticize her. That is the opposite of hate IMO

You obviously see a completely different three minute stretch in the first half of the Dayton game then I see.

Couple of points. Citing the 0 points is really not that sensible at that point because that was not what she was sent into the game to do. Nurse had just picked up two very quick fouls and Dayton was lighting UConn up at a 60 point a half rate. Chong was sent in to make sure that at least one defender got shut down, which she did fabulously, denying her man the ball all over the place, even tipping a pass off her man's hands to cause a turnover late in her sequence on the floor. As mentioned before, when KML threw a bad pass up court it was Chong who charged back to seal off a pass to the trailer that made the ball handler end up charging into KML. The two 3s that were scored in the three minute span were by players that either MoJeff or KML were supposed to be guarding.

When Chong came out she was given a big congratulatory pat as Nurse went back in, Geno hoping she had been settled down. But she wasn't, so Geno yanked her inside a minute and put Gabby and Kiah in to try to slow the Dayton attack. Points by Dayton while Nurse was in were 24 in 9 minutes. For Chong, Williams, and Stokes were 20 in 11 minutes. And again, as for her 0 points, Chong was not sent in to score, and when the starters do not pass you the ball to set you up, you are not going to score, but she knew that was not her role. In the second half, all was sorted out and Nurse came out stronger and had a solid half.

So not exactly sure what game you were watching? Maybe the Stanford game? But even there if you watch it you'll note that there's a general breakdown in the UConn defense and it cannot all blamed on Chong, much as her critics would like to believe. And at least she was glad to fulfill her scoring role that night with 20 points as the only Husky hitting 50% with her 8-13 shooting.

 

[CocoHusky]

You obviously see a completely different three minute stretch in the first half of the Dayton game then I see.

Couple of points. Citing the 0 points is really not that sensible at that point because that was not what she was sent into the game to do. Nurse had just picked up two very quick fouls and Dayton was lighting UConn up at a 60 point a half rate. Chong was sent in to make sure that at least one defender got shut down, which she did fabulously, denying her man the ball all over the place, even tipping a pass off her man's hands to cause a turnover late in her sequence on the floor. As mentioned before, when KML threw a bad pass up court it was Chong who charged back to seal off a pass to the trailer that made the ball handler end up charging into KML. The two 3s that were scored in the three minute span were by players that either MoJeff or KML were supposed to be guarding.

When Chong came out she was given a big congratulatory pat as Nurse went back in, Geno hoping she had been settled down. But she wasn't, so Geno yanked her inside a minute and put Gabby and Kiah in to try to slow the Dayton attack. Points by Dayton while Nurse was in were 24 in 9 minutes. For Chong, Williams, and Stokes were 20 in 11 minutes. And again, as for her 0 points, Chong was not sent in to score, and when the starters do not pass you the ball to set you up, you are not going to score, but she knew that was not her role. In the second half, all was sorted out and Nurse came out stronger and had a solid half.

So not exactly sure what game you were watching? Maybe the Stanford game? But even there if you watch it you'll note that there's a general breakdown in the UConn defense and it cannot all blamed on Chong, much as her critics would like to believe. And at least she was glad to fulfill her scoring role that night with 20 points as the only Husky hitting 50% with her 8-13 shooting.

I’ll try my best to ignore the emotional words like "sensible” and haters” so we can effectively dialogue. My citing was not for Zero points it was for Zeroes across the entire box score. As in having no quantifiable impact on the game. I was watching the Dayton game and specifically questioning your statement that Chong was assigned a role as a “defensive stopper” by the coaching staff and that she carried out that role in her time on the floor in the Dayton game.

 

[j66kicker]

The immediate problem, 2015-2016, will be building a bench long enough for all the players.
***************
In order to solve the questions surrounding playing time for the player-talent we have...
could we join two conferences & field two rosters?
Maybe freshmen, and anyone rehabbing, playing in the American Conference and another group in the ACC or the Big (fill in a number).
By scheduling the teams on alternate days, we fans can have a televised UConn game virtually every night!
And, if we can get some good land deals...
set up a UConn Branch in Texas to help recruiting... like the players who don't really want to leave Texas, but do want high level competition. (We'd wind up like a University of Phoenix, with athletics!!)

Even the University of Phoenix has a big football stadium

 

[Waquoit]

My tweaks regarding Chong have clearly been directed to her supporters who appear to be watching her play with more of their hearts than their heads. It's gotten to the point where if she plays a few minutes of mistake-free ball, they consider it a major achievement. It makes me think of Judge Judy when she says don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. They started early, too. Last year we heard from these folks how she was going take PT away from MoJeff. And that she was faster, too.
Now this year, this same bunch has blamed her struggles on Geno. That's madness.
Believe me, I hope she becomes all they say she is next year. That would make for an even tougher squad and I would be thrilled.

 

[Icebear]

But only because it is shared with the NFL.

 

[CocoHusky]

My tweaks regarding Chong have clearly been directed to her supporters who appear to be watching her play with more of their hearts than their heads. It's gotten to the point where if she plays a few minutes of mistake-free ball, they consider it a major achievement. It makes me think of Judge Judy when she says don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining. They started early, too. Last year we heard from these folks how she was going take PT away from MoJeff. And that she was faster, too.
Now this year, this same bunch has blamed her struggles on Geno. That's madness.
Believe me, I hope she becomes all they say she is next year. That would make for an even tougher squad and I would be thrilled.

I agree with you completely. This notion of Chong being assigned as a "Defensive Stopper" by the UCONN coaches is also very puzzling to me.

 

[j66kicker]

But only because it is shared with the NFL.

Yes, U. of PHX does not have a football team, or much in the way of actual students attending physical classes, as it is an online university - the stadium is theirs in naming rights only.

 

[Teacherdeb]

It will be much harder to replace KML than people think by looking at the point production. She is such a great shooter that the defense always has to be stretched out to account for her, even if she is not shooting or making shots, and that leaves a lot of room for other people to maneuver. I also don't think that KLS is as good of a shooter based on what little I have seen of her play. While they made a lot of 3's in high school, Sanya and Courtney are no where the kind of 3-pt shooter that KML is.

KML is a huge loss! She was unique- a game

 

[Woof 101]

Natalie was a really solid player out of and in conference.


Butler, Natalie , conference
GP/GS 32-32 , 18-18
Min. 1157 , 666
Avg Min 36.2 , 37.0
shooting 168-342 , 96/191
shooting % .491 , .503
3s 0-0, o-0
% .000, .000
FTs 109-164, 59-89
FT% .665 , .663
OR 145, 88
DR 280 , 160
TR 425 , 248
Avg R/G 13.3 , 13.8
PF. 87 , 48
Fl Out 1 , 0
Ast 61 , 37
TOs 102 , 49
Bl 59 , 32
St 11 , 6
Pts 445 , 251
PPG 13.9 , 13.9

Holy husky poop Chilly Bear these numbers are UCONN like! Starting as a frosh, playing 36 a game and only fouling out once is remarkable. Another shot blocker that can do it clean. She will have to pick up the assist number though as she only had 98. It is still time to appreciate and savor this season but the future looks bright in the middle for sure.

 

[Teacherdeb]

I will try again- KML is as unique in her way as Taurasi, and will be sorely missed. There is no one in WCBB that can change a game like she did. I look forward to KLS, but she will go through freshman stuff in all probability. I think back to all the games over the past 4 years in which K killed the other team. Those threes were such daggers- totally demoralizing. She is one of the greats