OT: Kelly Faris is a lot of fun to watch

[Gurleyman]

Wrong gender for this board, but she puts on a hell of a show without even being a big scorer. Wish I could have watched her more in her career. Can't think of a men's player like her - she's perhaps a hybrid of Nadav Henefeld's multi-faceted skillset and feel for the game, and Ricky's 1-on-1 defensive tenacity. I'd like to think even the most stubborn "men's only" UConn fans could appreciate what she does, if they appreciate the sport.

This was prompted by a UConn 30-point win over Duke that was two at the half. Faris finished with 18 pts (her career high), 12 rebounds, 7 assists and a handful of steals. Held Duke's All-American caliber point guard to two points and four assists.

Up by 30, she ended her playing time by hounding Duke's point guard on defense for basically an entire possession before deflecting a pass for a steal, and then diving all out on the floor for an offensive rebound in traffic. Neither possession meant anything with two minutes left.

 

[aboogieee]

She was great.. See the guys courtside? Hope they were taking notes. Defense!

 

[TheChamps990411]

not a huge womens fan but i respect their game and definitely watch whenever they get to the final four. so curious to see what gino could do coaching men.

 

[Inyatkin]

During the NBA lockout a year ago ESPN put the Breen-Van Gundy team on a UConn game, and Van Gundy basically could not shut up about how much he loved her game.

 

[msgordon]

faris is awesome fav player

 

[blackbird]

Best thing about Faris...she's not one of those players that's "good" at everyone. She's fantastic at everything, except scoring/shooting...she's only just good at that.

There aren't too many players who can say that.

 

[JustHusky]

I liked Boatright with the big Kaleena head. Nice.

 

[blackbird]

Yea, was it Giffy who had the Bria head?

 

[mcs333]

M Lewis is the best shooter at Uconn, men or women.. What a pure shooter with great range..

 

[HuskyNan]

She's fantastic at everything, except scoring/shooting...she's only just good at that.

She's scoring more this year since there are a lot of underclassmen on the teams, many of whom get the deer-in-the-headlights looks at times. Shooting 55.1% overall and 45.0% from three (she's second on the team in threes taken/made); averaging about 11 points a game.

 

[JustHusky]

It was nice to just see Boat and Daniels sitting next to each other, haha.

 

[superjohn]

I'm not even going to touch this thread.

 

[alexd]

It was nice to just see Boat and Daniels sitting next to each other, haha.

They're roommates...

 

[alexd]

Stephanie Dolson looks like an entirely different player compared to last season. I know it's not proper to talk about a woman's weight, but she is one mobile post player getting up and down the court.

 

[zyron]

I'm not even going to touch this thread.

Yup, even at that best shooter at UConn comment. hshfshkshfkhslflsfmsfksfhkh

 

[Dove]

I would guess that Kelly Faris is Geno's second favorite player he's ever had here.

 

[CL82]

Best thing about Faris...she's not one of those players that's "good" at everyone. She's fantastic at everything, except scoring/shooting...she's only just good at that.

There aren't too many players who can say that.

She's really developed her scoring this year as well. She's money on a open three and can drive the lane take a hit and finish. The woman's game is the woman's game, but Faris' hustle and unselfish play is a pleasure to watch. I wish her nothing but the best.

 

[stick]

She could average 5 pts a game and she'd be the best player on this year's team. You could see it in Duke's Gray after turning the ball over when defended by Faris that it wasn't worth trying anymore and just quit. Her only weakness prior to this year was her jump shot and now she's pretty consistent.

 

[Gurleyman]

She's really developed her scoring this year as well. She's money on a open three and can drive the lane take a hit and finish. The woman's game is the woman's game, but Faris' hustle and unselfish play is a pleasure to watch. I wish her nothing but the best.

That's kind of why Henefeld was the best men's comparison I could think of. Nadav only scored about 12 ppg, but was just omniprescent and could dominate a game without scoring a lot or demanding the ball. Faris totally dominated the second half tonight, with her scoring really being a small factor in that (she had 11-8-5 in the second half and held Duke's A-A point guard to zero, rendering her a puddle of useless). At times it looked like there were three of her out there.

I know not everyone likes women's basketball, and I can't fault anyone for their own tastes, but imo Kelly gave a spectacular basketball performance tonight, regardless of gender. Really entertaining. I'd pay to watch her play with no questions asked.

 

[UConnDan97]

She had an awesome game! And I really like how the bball teams seem to support each other. I love it when HuskyNation comes together!!!

 

[alexd]

Nadav certainly was the perfect definition of a stat sheet filler:

11.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.7 steals, and 2.9 assists/game in 1989/90.

 

[mauconnfan]

Good to see Boat, DD, Nolan and Niels having fun as fans of their women's team............Faris was super and the attempt of a chest bump by Geno after a deflected pass was hilarious!

Nice win, great 2nd half........

But the parity thing again rears its ugly head.....undefeated #4 loses by 30 and looks inept in the 2nd half???

 

[diggerfoot]

Wrong gender for this board, but she puts on a hell of a show without even being a big scorer. Wish I could have watched her more in her career. Can't think of a men's player like her - she's perhaps a hybrid of Nadav Henefeld's multi-faceted skillset and feel for the game, and Ricky's 1-on-1 defensive tenacity. I'd like to think even the most stubborn "men's only" UConn fans could appreciate what she does, if they appreciate the sport.

This was prompted by a UConn 30-point win over Duke that was two at the half. Faris finished with 18 pts (her career high), 12 rebounds, 7 assists and a handful of steals. Held Duke's All-American caliber point guard to two points and four assists.

Up by 30, she ended her playing time by hounding Duke's point guard on defense for basically an entire possession before deflecting a pass for a steal, and then diving all out on the floor for an offensive rebound in traffic. Neither possession meant anything with two minutes left.

I see others have doubled down on your Henefeld comparison; I'll double down on Moore. What struck me about watching Faris last night was she seemed possessed to the point of calling forth every ounce of energy in her. I almost expected her neck to do a 360 swivel (lol). Kind of like the possession I imagine overcame Secretariat, or Ricky Moore in one game that seldom gets mentioned.

The game was against St. John's, a great team that went on to the Final Four the year we won it. They were ahead in the second half by double digits (can't recall precise details) when Moore put the team on his back the same way Faris did last night. That game, in addition to his defense of Iverson and a few other games, convinced me that he was more valuable even than El-Amin. Sure, you want the confident El-Amin leading the team and taking that last shot. You want the tenacious Moore to bring you out of a hole and stopping that last shot. Faris is just like that.

 

[CL82]

That's kind of why Henefeld was the best men's comparison I could think of. Nadav only scored about 12 ppg, but was just omniprescent and could dominate a game without scoring a lot or demanding the ball. Faris totally dominated the second half tonight, with her scoring really being a small factor in that (she had 11-8-5 in the second half and held Duke's A-A point guard to zero, rendering her a puddle of useless). At times it looked like there were three of her out there.

I know not everyone likes women's basketball, and I can't fault anyone for their own tastes, but imo Kelly gave a spectacular basketball performance tonight, regardless of gender. Really entertaining. I'd pay to watch her play with no questions asked.

I can't think of a good comparision from the men's team. Ricky Moore for the lockdown defense, Donny Marshall for toughness and hustle, maybe plus Rashard Anderson's ability to knockdown the open three. She has been a decent role player who has just exploded this year.

 

[YearoftheHusky]

Wasn't Rudy the prototypical stat stuffer? If I had a dime for every time I heard an announcer say Rudy is the only player in America averaging Xpoints, Xrebounds, Xassists, Xblocks and Xsteals.