Piath Gabriel

[freshler40]

I hear what you’re saying, but I’m not willing to give up on Piath just yet, for several reasons. I start with Kiah Stokes, another big girl who could run the court. Admittedly, Kiah had a much better HS resume, and she played on a UConn team with very little depth. But for 2+ seasons Kiah had terrible hands, and I never thought she’d be a factor at UConn. But starting midway through her jr season, Kiah started to provide meaningful minutes off the bench and that carried on through her senior year in college right into a pro career.

Liv will move on to the pros after next season, and UConn’s front court will be some combination of Aaliyah, Aubrey, Amari & Ice. Against most UConn opponents that should be more than enough. But when I think about the multiple BIGs at Stanford, OR, SC and perhaps others, the thought of having a physical 6’5” presence in the paint who can just play defense and rebound has a lot of appeal.

No doubt Piath has a very long way to go to become a factor for UConn WBB. But she’s already come so far, starting out as a refugee in war torn Sudan. I know she’s a project, but there’s a really talented contractor by the name of Jamelle who’s pretty good at building basketball players. I’m going to keep pulling for Piath, hoping that she achieves her goal.

Well said, we need to remember these students in context. Good to see she is now from Manchester, NH. We have few NE players anymore.

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

Ok, the simple math regarding Piath Gabriel is this:

Next Season's Front Court will be predominately: ONO, GRIFFITH, EDWARDS, WESTBROOK & DEBERRY
Next Season's Back Court will be predominately: BUECKERS, FUDD, WILLIAMS, MUHL, & MAKURAT

The Rest of the Team will consist of: CAROLINE, SAYLOR, MIR, PIATH, & AUTUMN

That is 15 Players in total for 60 Minutes of Playing Time on the court with only 5 Players allowed on the court at any given time. DO THE MATH !!!

 

[donalddoowop]

Ok, the simple math regarding Piath Gabriel is this:

Next Season's Front Court will be predominately: ONO, GRIFFITH, EDWARDS, WESTBROOK & DEBERRY
Next Season's Back Court will be predominately: BUECKERS, FUDD, WILLIAMS, MUHL, & MAKURAT

The Rest of the Team will consist of: CAROLINE, SAYLOR, MIR, PIATH, & AUTUMN

That is 15 Players in total for 60 Minutes of Playing Time on the court with only 5 Players allowed on the court at any given time. DO THE MATH !!!

That is the coaches concern, not ours. Do you know how well DeBerry will work out and how quickly she will learn the system? Or if Mir will not improve enough to get more playing time? Also, I am surprised BYers did not know that only 5 players are allowed on the court at any given time. Thank you for that information.

 

[Geew1992]

Ok, the simple math regarding Piath Gabriel is this:

Next Season's Front Court will be predominately: ONO, GRIFFITH, EDWARDS, WESTBROOK & DEBERRY
Next Season's Back Court will be predominately: BUECKERS, FUDD, WILLIAMS, MUHL, & MAKURAT

The Rest of the Team will consist of: CAROLINE, SAYLOR, MIR, PIATH, & AUTUMN

That is 15 Players in total for 60 Minutes of Playing Time on the court with only 5 Players allowed on the court at any given time. DO THE MATH !!!

Why would Westbrook be in the frontcourt? And that's if she comes back

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

That is the coaches concern, not ours. Do you know how well DeBerry will work out and how quickly she will learn the system? Or if Mir will not improve enough to get more playing time? Also, I am surprised BYers did not know that only 5 players are allowed on the court at any given time. Thank you for that information.

True, I don't know how well DeBerry will fit it. This is strictly speculation on my part. Some of the pieces of the puzzle could indeed move around. Mir could move into the Top 5 Front Court Players and DeBerry to the "other 5", Likewise Piath could move to the Top 5 Front-Court and DeBerry to the "Other 5". Same could be true for say Saylor moving up to the Top 5 Back-Court and say Anna Makurat moving to the "Other 5" - As you said, this is totally Geno and the Coaching Staff's job to sort everything out. MY POINT IS "The Coaching Staff will certainly be TASKED to come up with the best combinations, with "15 Total Players" while trying to keep everyone happy. Just my two cents

 

[DEpup]

Ok, the simple math regarding Piath Gabriel is this:

Next Season's Front Court will be predominately: ONO, GRIFFITH, EDWARDS, WESTBROOK & DEBERRY
Next Season's Back Court will be predominately: BUECKERS, FUDD, WILLIAMS, MUHL, & MAKURAT

The Rest of the Team will consist of: CAROLINE, SAYLOR, MIR, PIATH, & AUTUMN

That is 15 Players in total for 60 Minutes of Playing Time on the court with only 5 Players allowed on the court at any given time. DO THE MATH !!!

I think you mean 200 minutes?

Doing the math, it is 5 players on the court at a time multiplied by 40 minutes in a game results in 200 minutes to distribute.

With 15 players, I'm hoping the guard starters only have to average 25 min and the post players around 20 minutes so they can all really press and just wear down the top teams.

I also want to see an ability to rest someone when they have an injury and bench someone not working to their potential..

 

[dtbtbtb]

Next year will be the most difficult of Geno's career in trying to find enough minutes to so many deserving players.

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

Next year will be the most difficult of Geno's career in trying to find enough minutes to so many deserving players.

100% AGREE WITH YOU !!

 

[FridaFriend]

Proverbs 27:1 'Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knows not what a day may bring forth.'

Luther Whitney: "Tomorrow is promised to no one."

 

[BobbyJ]

You are 100% right. I have NO idea how much Piath will improve. As I've said about 5 times in this thread, I hope she becomes a regular contributor off the bench earning 15-20 minutes per game. But history is not on her side when you compare her lowly ranking with others, even ranked much higher, who never earned much more than end of game minutes in blowouts.

Side note, Piath started hoops pretty late - I thought I recalled reading she didn't even start playing until 7th grade or so. Given that post players take longer to develop anyway, it would not surprise me if she is the exception to history, especially given all the highly rated post talent that will be on the team during her tenure.

Just a guess on my part, but it will be interesting to see if Geno goes after a post transfer, JUCO post, or grad transfer post. That might tell us a lot about what he thinks about Piath's chances to contribute in a meaningful way.

Let me say it for a 6th time. I HOPE PIATH DEVELOPS INTO A SOLID/GOOD PLAYER AND CAN GIVE UCONN SOLID MINUTES IN MEANINGFUL GAMES.

I think this possibility might depend more on whether GA picks up a second forward/post in the '22 class. No way for us to know if he's involved deep with Patterson or not but either way I'd always want to cover myself. There aren't many UConn level bigs out there so if one is available I'd take her.

 

[JRRRJ]

... Anyway I tried to find stats for that season, but was not able to access it from the UCONN website...

Here's a link to the NCAA official stats search page -- every school, every sport, every year for which they have records.

Check out the scans of the documents sent to the NCAA by UConn in the very early years.

Surprisingly (to me) minutes played are not one of the stats kept. I had no idea.

Aargh! @EricLA: Added the link now.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Man, the dissension is overwhelming. Here are my thoughts:

Piath is a project, but Geno knew that, and we know that. She's still raw, but here are some positives:

First of all, she's 6'5" and strong. You can't teach 6'5".

Second, she runs the floor well.

Third, she is a relative neophyte at basketball. She's still low on the learning curve, but give her time.

Fourth, she has CD and Jamelle teaching her. It doesn't get any better than that.

Fifth, she has a good attitude and is a good teammate.

Sixth, anyone remember Teaira McCowan at Mississippi State as a freshman? She was really raw and very foul prone. I'm nor saying that Piath is as good as TM was at the same age or will become as good, but she shows what coaching and hard work can do.

We'll see how Piath evolves over time. Patience, my friends!

 

[dragon]

I am watching her brother play right now for Monmouth who are playing Rick Pitino and Iona on ESPNU.

 

[cbraarj]

And 11.5 minutes and 3.9 PPG her senior year.

Paige started her sophmore and Jr years. Halfway through their Sr. year Geno told Paige and Stacey he needed to start Kelly and play the 3 Sophmores more. Aisha, Tamika and Swin

 

[tower1]

Just wondering about Piath:

She obviously is not in the regular rotation but when she does get in I see an athlete.
She is 6'5"...or about that...correct? I think she runs the floor beautifully...given her height.
She runs very smoothly and with excellent speed....imo. Liv runs the court well for her size...my impression is that Piath exceeds that.

We know that 'bigs' tend to take longer to develop. Piath is raw in lots of areas but her occasional appearances show flashes of offense and defense.
UConn practices will help her develop. In terms of bigs...we have LIv back next year as a senior/Aaliyah as a soph/Amari as a frosh.
I wonder if Piath and Geno might have a chat about her taking a developmental redshirt next year....both for the team and her own benefit.
Practicing against the other bigs for another full year might put Piath in a great position to be in the regular rotation the following year with Liv gone...Aaliyah a junior...Amari a soph and Ice Brady coming on as a frosh. Obviously this is assuming both Piath and Geno think the redshirt a good thing. Any wisdom out there?

Actually as I understand the covid impact on the NCAA rules Piath will be considered a frosh-eligible player next year so she would have potentially 4 more years anyway after this one..even without the suggested redshirt....just simply playing 4 more seasons after 20-21. Hmm...if desired by all parties...would a non-playing developmental redshirt year next season still allow her 4 playing seasons after that given the covid regs?

Basically I do see Priath being a defensive-oriented factor in her UConn years with at least the potential to play pro ball somewhere after she graduates.
I look forward to seeing her occasionally this season...and moreso down the road.

She seems like a great kid and I have noticed her improvement.

 

[donalddoowop]

Man, the dissension is overwhelming. Here are my thoughts:

Piath is a project, but Geno knew that, and we know that. She's still raw, but here are some positives:

First of all, she's 6'5" and strong. You can't teach 6'5".

Second, she runs the floor well.

Third, she is a relative neophyte at basketball. She's still low on the learning curve, but give her time.

Fourth, she has CD and Jamelle teaching her. It doesn't get any better than that.

Fifth, she has a good attitude and is a good teammate.

Sixth, anyone remember Teaira McCowan at Mississippi State as a freshman? She was really raw and very foul prone. I'm nor saying that Piath is as good as TM was at the same age or will become as good, but she shows what coaching and hard work can do.

We'll see how Piath evolves over time. Patience, my friends!

McCowan was just a tall player her freshman season but got the opportunity to play many minutes. I don't believe she would have been as good as a sophomore if she played only garbage minutes her freshman season. Piath shows more potential than McCowan showed as a freshman. If Piath played as much this season as McCowan did as a freshman I believe she would do even better. However, we know that is not possible on this season's UConn team.

 

[oldhusky]

Why would Westbrook be in the frontcourt? And that's if she comes back

I reacted to that as well, while generally agreeing with the rest of the analysis completely. Of course much of the Boneyard has favored the small/ball option of using Anna or Evina at the 4. I always have felt that was a short term solution, and ultimately AE and AG would warrant using true 4's instead of a wing there.

Next year Amari is expected to be part of that big rotation. Maybe she won't be, who knows, but I think most would predict she will be, and probably will be ahead of Mir (probable but not certain) and with a much higher probability ahead of Piath.

Geno could even use a three big rotation, but thinking he goes beyond 4 is IMO very unlikely. So two bigs out of six are on the outside looking in. They could show dramatic improvement, do all the right things, be capable of starting at 90% of the division 1 schools, and still get Pulido minutes on next year's team. Ultimately they have to beat somebody very very good ahead of them to achieve relevance on next year's team. Maybe they can do it! Great, but just saying it is a pretty big hurdle that they have to get over, and if they do then one of the other bigs is reduced to pretty meaningless minutes. so who would that be?

It is pretty much the same situation at the wings and guard. Some players could improve and still have their playing time reduced next year.

 

[Papa33]

McCowan was just a tall player her freshman season but got the opportunity to play many minutes. I don't believe she would have been as good as a sophomore if she played only garbage minutes her freshman season. Piath shows more potential than McCowan showed as a freshman. If Piath played as much this season as McCowan did as a freshman I believe she would do even better. However, we know that is not possible on this season's UConn team.

Game experience is very important, yes, but the time spent playing in games is a relative fraction of time spent learning under the critical eyes of coaches during practices, especially for "bigs," who can concentrate on and repeat one-on-one skills offensively and defensively.

 

[freshler40]

McCowan was just a tall player her freshman season but got the opportunity to play many minutes. I don't believe she would have been as good as a sophomore if she played only garbage minutes her freshman season. Piath shows more potential than McCowan showed as a freshman. If Piath played as much this season as McCowan did as a freshman I believe she would do even better. However, we know that is not possible on this season's UConn team.

Don't under estimate practice playing time for Piath. If you play against the best, and you have a future, you get better faster than playing during real games against inferior talent. She is also among the top college coaches to teach her position. Not a bad combination for a freshmen.

 

[donalddoowop]

Don't under estimate practice playing time for Piath. If you play against the best, and you have a future, you get better faster than playing during real games against inferior talent. She is also among the top college coaches to teach her position. Not a bad combination for a freshmen.

You are talking to the wrong person. I already believe Gabriel will get much better because of practice. Ono should also get better practicing against Piath with her height and strength.