Piath Gabriel

[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.