Pheesa dropped 27...

[NFHusky13]

and 6 boards on a big opening win... let the ROY chatter begin.

 

[Rema64]

Way to go Pheesa!!!!!!

 

[eebmg]

Little blurb on ESPN

Rookie Collier scores 27, Lynx drop Sky 89-71 in opener

Napheesa Collier scored 27 points, the second most in WNBA history by a rookie in her debut, and the new-look Minnesota Lynx pulled away from the Chicago Sky in the second half for an 89-71 win in the season-opener for both teams Saturday night.

So who scored the most as a rookie???

 

[Huskyfan63]

Candace Parker with 34 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists (Wikipedia).

 

[JordyG]

Holy Draymond Green. Whatta gal! Bring on the league.

 

[Carnac]

and 6 boards on a big opening win... let the ROY chatter begin.

Pheesa dropped it like it was hot!! Wow, she had her “breakout game” opening night. You think head coach Cheryl Reeve and the Lynx management was happy? She's happy to be there. She's joining a team that doesn't need her to come in and do everything but will give her an opportunity to be a difference-maker.

Granted, there are 33 games left in the season. She’s going to have more great games and a few stinkers, but you’ll have to admit she’s off to a great start. "Head coach Cheryl Reeve said pregame that she was looking for the Lynx to play around Collier rather than through her, giving the rookie a chance to find her rhythm and impose her will on the game. It’s safe to say that was a success—though the Lynx didn't run many plays explicitly for Collier she found a way to have an incredibly effective and efficient night." I wonder how far into the game they got before Reeve re-thought THAT notion?

What a boost for her confidence. She along with everyone else in the league now know she can play at this level, and that she belongs here. Nice to see Collier begin her professional career with an epic performance.

Here’s the scary part, she’s going to get better and gain more confidence as the season goes along, and Maya Moore will return next season fresh and ready to resume her all star career, then teams will have to deal with both of them at the same time.

 

[eebmg]

Nice article by one of the Lynx reporters.

Napheesa Collier Catches Fire In WNBA Debut - Minnesota Lynx

Interesting fact.

Collier got the start tonight after Karima Christmas-Kelly was a late scratch. She certainly made her case to hang on to the job. Collier showed tonight why the Lynx were so excited to get her in the draft and she proved definitively not only that she will have a long WNBA future but that she is a potential star.

The article has so many superlatives, the author must be a BY member.

Also a few embedded clips

I like this twitter line in particular.

@UConnWBB GENO DIDN'T TELL US SHE HAD A STEPBACK

 

[BobbyJ]

Pheesa dropped it like it was hot!! Granted, there are 33 games left in the season. She’s going to have more great games and a few stinkers, but you’ll have to admit she’s off to a great start. What a boost for her confidence. She along with everyone else in the league knows she can play at this level, and that she belongs here.

Here’s the scary part, she’s going to get better and gain more confidence as the season goes along.

Her ability to improvise and improve is tremendous. It took her no more than a month to get her left hand on the side of the ball and quicken her shot release. No hitch and hesitation on that stepback 3. Her ceiling as a pro is even higher than college because of her ability to play physically without worrying about little cheap fouls getting called.

 

[JordyG]

There's a reason folks why she was chosen by Dawn last summer folks.

 

[MilfordHusky]

We'll see if she can keep the starting job, but Pheesa's upside is stratospheric. I want to see her play with Maya.

 

[msf22b]

I had the impression (from press reports), that she was a little lost in pre-season.
Wouldn't have been surprised given her (slightly) demure and retiring nature.

Seems to have picked up the essence of the pro game (and a new position) pretty quickly.

Of course...look at her pedigree and the level of instruction she received the last four years.

I still remember her appearance during her freshman season at a regional in Bridgeport, where she entered a game in which the starters were flat and strangely ineffective.
A few quick buckets from Phee turned that all around.

Now it's happened again...in spades.

Go, Naphessa.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Yes, go Napheesa!

 

[FanHam]

Pheesa was everywhere, just like always. It's going to be a good summer...

 

[Urshurak]

It was sooooo strange watching Lou guard Pheesa. Plus, Pheesa’s teammate is Jessica Shepherd who grabbed a lot of boards and dishes some assists to Pheesa. They actually played well together.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Napheesa channeling Maya...this was the promise when I saw her play in high school!

 

[JoePgh]

I don't recall Napheesa doing much driving and penetrating at UConn, probably because she always set up in or near the paint on offense. Her first play in last night's game was to drive from the left corner and draw a foul. I think it was on Allie Quigley, but whoever it was clearly didn't expect any such move, and was beaten after the first step.

That's probably an example of a move that Napheesa always had, but didn't need to use at UConn since she was always playing inside.

On the other hand, her step back move was a staple of her UConn career, and could not have been missed by anyone who scouted her.

 

[Lawrence]

Go Phessa ! Amazing b ball player...

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Her ability to improvise and improve is tremendous. It took her no more than a month to get her left hand on the side of the ball and quicken her shot release. No hitch and hesitation on that stepback 3. Her ceiling as a pro is even higher than college because of her ability to play physically without worrying about little cheap fouls getting called.

Her ceiling is so high also because she's finally on the court where she belongs, not some undersized post (great as she was there). The only gripe I have about UConn - recruiting bigs failures and the need to tap a player or two to play out of position.

 

[Dokey]

Made is proud.

 

[Bigboote]

The thing I liked most about her game was that she played both inside and out. I think she'll be a much better pro if she can play both the 3 and 4, which she certainly demonstrated last night. She dropped three 3's last night and had a couple of really good sealoffs down low, and Shepard made some great entry passes to her.

 

[DeeHusky]

The ease and confidence at which she shot the three last night was unlike any of her time at UConn. At UConn she shot the three if open, last night she was calling for the ball behind the three point line. She’s going to be good right away and like said in another thread “I’m not surprised.” She was born for this. She just has a knack for to score and rebound, it’s unstoppable because of her fundamentals and motor.

 

[eebmg]

The thing I liked most about her game was that she played both inside and out. I think she'll be a much better pro if she can play both the 3 and 4, which she certainly demonstrated last night. She dropped three 3's last night and had a couple of really good sealoffs down low, and Shepard made some great entry passes to her.

She just needs to convince Reeves that she can do alot of damage in close because of her constant movement. I think last night's game helped alot but we should remember the Sky post play is not anywhere near the upper echelon and there will be many tougher tests along the way.

 

[Dillon77]

It was sooooo strange watching Lou guard Pheesa. Plus, Pheesa’s teammate is Jessica Shepherd who grabbed a lot of boards and dishes some assists to Pheesa. They actually played well together.

Shepard finished with 6 assists and 13 rebounds. That's a lot or rebounds. As a matter of fact,
Per @EliasSports: "Jessica Shepard had a game-high 13 rebounds, the most by any player in her @WNBA debut since DeTrina White (13 rebounds) on May 21, 2004 for New York at Indiana."

On offense, Jess was setting screens at and just offside the elbows and dishing passes on rolls and back out to three-point shooters. I counted two to Lexie Brown.

In any case, great job by Pheesa, Jess and Lynix newcomer Lexie Brown. (BTW, it does not surprise me at all that Pheesa and Jess would get along on the court -- Reeve knows exactly what she's looking for in on-floor dynamics.)

 

[DeeHusky]

Shepard finished with 6 assists and 13 rebounds. That's a lot. As a matter of fact,
Per @EliasSports: "Jessica Shepard had a game-high 13 rebounds, the most by any player in her @WNBA debut since DeTrina White (13 rebounds) on May 21, 2004 for New York at Indiana."

On offense, Jess was setting screens at and just offside the elbows and dishing passes on rolls and back out to three-point shooters. I counted two to Lexie Brown.

In any case, great job by Pheesa, Jess and Lynix newcomer Lexie Brown. (BTW, it does not surprise me at all that Pheesa and Jess would get along on the court -- Reeve knows exactly what she's looking for in on-floor dynamics.)

She’s back shooting the three too. Why did she never use it at ND?

 

[eebmg]

Even though Pheesa had 6 rebounds, most were late in the game. I seem to recall in a preseason interview that besides having to learn how to play on the wing offensively and dealing with a reconstructed 3pt shot, Reeves theory on rebounding is very different from UConn. At UConn, it was ingrained that you must box out but the Lynx want defensive rebounding to be more direct and just go for it to maintain aggressiveness. I suppose Sheppard is taking to that a bit better although I have no doubt Pheesa will get the hang of that as well.

and Pheesa's defense was fantastic.