Replace Kia in the starting lineup with ........

[Intpseeker]

 

[Fiftyish]

The thing Geno seems to forget is that you win games by SCORING more points than your opponent.

My head hurts when I try to imagine the margin of victory this team would be amassing if Geno hadn't forgot that you win games by scoring more points. Really???

 

[Fiftyish]

So maybe Gino should have benched at the beginning of her sophomore year, a player who went 0-11 in the last half of the final game of the previous year, costing UConn a chance to play for another NC? Wonder what ever happened to that kid.....

Bags, just wondering why you choose to spell the coaches name the way you do. Again, just curious.

 

[Gus Mahler]

I don't expect to see a fight, but perhaps some other payback from the Ontario hockey playbook.

After all, she's a"nasty piece of business" !!

 

[Woof 101]

I hope the UCONN players do not read the boneyard. While most comments are very positive, to be said to "throw up bricks" would be a hurtful read for anyone. We are so fortunate to have such personable, talented women to support. Any negativity directed towards them is really unfair since they are all exceptional.

No slander here carpe diem as I see you are new to the sport. These are college aged women and throwing up bricks is something they use themselves I am sure. It is a common term for a ball that does not have proper rotation and usually clanks off the rim or misses it completely. Any shooter good or bad gets a small percentage of their shots simply from a shooters roll created by good ball rotation which often keeps the ball around the rim or bouncing up and falling through.
As you spend more time watching the game try to take in some of the many Geno shows and practices available. If you have a hard time here with someone using this term the players might read you are really going to have a hard time warming up to Geno. They are very personable and talented as you say but they are a heck of a lot tougher than you think. I don't agree with the poster but he or she has the right and do realize if someone goes over the line the Mods would step in. I like your bold stance though!

 

[01Neaggrad02]

Kia and Gabby both have played in 18 games.

Gabby 178 points, 37 steals, 9 blocks, 22 assist- 22 turnovers , 112 rebounds, 80-130 shooting for a .615, 18-26 free throw for .692
Kia 175 points, 30 steals, 5 blocks, 53 Assist -29 turnovers, 41 rebounds, 63-153 shooting for a .412, 26-36 free throw for .722 , 23-72 from 3. .319

So when you look at it.... points, steals, and blocks are pretty even. Gabby is a better rebounder and Kia is a better ball handler.

 

[Geno-ista]

Kia is tough as nails, but sometimes too aggressive and forces things a bit too much. That said, she is a good ball handler, who can make the occasional three (she needs to get more consistent with that) and play terrific D. I do, however, cringe a bit whenever she puts her head down and drives the lane. She misses open team mates when she does that, and usually commits a charging foul.

She also finishes most of the time strong with the basket and one or a 2 shot foul. Yes she certainly has mad some bad decisions- but she's still undefeated as a starter.

 

[Lynx23]

I've been a Kia Nurse fan before she even put on a UCONN uniform. Like many of you, I would like to see her threes find the net more often. She hasn't been called for many charges lately so that part of her game seems to be improving. What I see on the court is a very unselfish player who controls tempo well and engages her teammates. The different is noticeable when she's not on the court. I doubt there is any team in the country she wouldn't start for. Kia doesn't have to provide a lot of offense on this team; there's plenty to go around. As much as I'd like to see her break out as she did with Team Canada it appears she sees her role on this team a bit differently. Canada needed a "go to" player when a championship was on the line and she took the team on her shoulders. That's not likely to happen at UCONN as long as Stewie, Tuck, and MoJeff are still playing. That may change next year. I love her grit, leadership, and intelligence on the court, not to mention her aggressiveness. She's tangled with a few opponents this year and she doesn't back down. I would guarantee that if one of her teammates got into a scrum with another player Kia would be the first one on the scene. You know, it's not always about offense. Sometimes it's more about being a good teammate.

 

[Geno-ista]

Forget about position strategy; go with the best athlete who can best help the team in different kind of ways. Some teams have a 4 guard system, don't they? Why not a 2 center, 2 forward, one guard or different other combos depending on the team played or particular time in the game being played? Let's think outside the box, or maybe NO box at all?

I'm surprised Geno hasn't figured this out yet- imagine how many more NC's he would have if he thought outside the box- like you???

 

[cohenzone]

Kia has been throwing up bricks for weeks now. Time for a change. You need another guard on the floor, either Chong or Samuelson. My vote is Chong. Like Geno said we know she can score points.
The thing Geno seems to forget is that you win games by SCORING more points than your opponent. If not constantly brow beaten Chong will score points in bunches.
Time for Kia to give the trowel and mortar a rest.

What Geno seems to understand is that our defense wins games. Our offense decides by how much. Over the last three games, UConn, with Kia dragging the offense down like a rusty anchor, has averaged 99 per game, while giving up 52. I guess we are in deep trouble if we can't average 101. When we finally play the 1 or 3 teams that might give us a run, I guarantee you that we need the best defensive guards on the floor a much as possible. It's a guards game and if we don't control tte guards, we might have a problem against a good team.

If we can't out score a team with our players including Kia, it will be because our defense failed. It's why Stanford beat us last year. We scored plenty enough to have won, and wasn't that the game that made Geno rethink which guards should see the most floor time? We haven't won by less than 10 since.

 

[baggerbob]

Until next year when Stewie is no longer around, and Gabby develops a reasonable shot outside 15 feet, the offense flows better with Gabby coming off the bench. At the beginning of the year when Gabby started , spacing wasn't good, Gabby is effective inside, but Stewie, and Morgan are too. Both Stewie , and Morgan are much better at passing out of a double team, something Gabby needs to improve on, and her assist to turnover ratio is at the low end. The Starting lineup is fine, with Morgan replacing Gabby when she gets back, and again we will have 5 starters with 100+ assists.

 

[hoophuskee]

With Gabby grabbing more rebounds, and being more athletic, we get more shots to put in, AND as Gabby's confidence grows, her shot will improve. Given a fair shot, an AA???

You think she is going to get more rebounds vs USC? Maybe. But because she is so small maybe she'll struggle vs the elite teams that pose a threat to us like USC too. And you realize Nurse has a near 2-1 assists to turnover ratio while with Gabby it is 1 to 1, right? SO for one thing you can count on Nurse to pass the ball well. We don't know what we can count on with Gabby vs USC, do we? So when Nurse is in the game there is a better chance she'll get the ball in good positions for players like Stewie and Tuck while you propose less ball movement and propose to take away better shots for Stewie and Tuck. I say that because- I'll reiterate-- the assists vs turnovers Nurse is far superior.

So you want to limit touches for Stewie and Tuck, want less ball movement so you can watch Gabby get more offensive rebounds? There was a coach down in Tennessee who believed in less ball movement (not necessarily but never ran much of a creative offense) and pound the glass telling everyone rebounds wins titles - but later on when UCONN started to become a bigger threat she sought out greater offensive ball movement, right? So you want us to go backwards and not play the style of two guards that we've done for so many years while winning many titles and then call your method "thinking out of the box?" IMO your box has been closed and become obsolete for many years. No reason to open it.

It's not "thinking out of the box" when you are limiting chances of getting Stewie and Tuck the ball in winning positions. Gabby's 1-to-1 assists to turnover ratio doesn't help Stewie or Tuck as much as Nurse's near 2 to 1. And now that you have taken away our 2nd best ball-handler - you've hindered our fastbreak potential because we only have one "very good" ball handler that can pass well on the run in the open court. Now you've turned us into a more halfcourt team thereby we take less shots and are a lot less exciting for both fans and recruits. I'm sorry but the box you are proposing is completely the wrong size and the material extinct like the dinosaur.

 

[RunItUp!]

So maybe Gino should have benched at the beginning of her sophomore year, a player who went 0-11 in the last half of the final game of the previous year, costing UConn a chance to play for another NC? Wonder what ever happened to that kid.....

Wondering about something has never PROVEN anything in real life.
I am not well versed in UCONN lore as you are, for my main interests are end-time Biblical related, but I would have gone with a better option in the next game, and maybe won by a more comfortable margin and inserting the 0-11 player as a substitute in the game as needed.

 

[RunItUp!]

They don't play the same position....

Katie can bring up the ball with MoJeff with Gabby in the game

 

[JoePgh]

The South Carolina game will be a good one to see where Gabby really stacks up against good competition. She was outstanding last year in the AAC, but that didn't translate into effectiveness against more serious competition. As Hoophuskee says, it remains to be seen if Gabby can rebound against Coates/Wilson with anything like the efficiency that she rebounds against AAC "talent".

Also, Gabby is capable of throwing some very bad passes, and doing so with greater frequency than Moriah, Kia, or Stewie (all of whom do that occasionally).

At this point I would say that KLS is a better passer (clearly) than Gabby, and may even be a better rebounder against good competition (TBD). She can also shoot better and from greater range. Gabby has a clear advantage over KLS in defense and steals (which are a part of defense), and also in her ability to penetrate to the rim on offense.

Napheesa is also as good a rebounder as Gabby (at least), and is likely to be better against good competition. But she cannot defend on the perimeter like Gabby can, and is more limited on offense except at very close range.

Overall, Kia Nurse has an edge over all three of them.

 

[CocoHusky]

Wondering about something has never PROVEN anything in real life.
I am not well versed in UCONN lore as you are, for my main interests are end-time Biblical related, but I would have gone with a better option in the next game, and maybe won by a more comfortable margin and inserting the 0-11 player as a substitute in the game as needed.

UCONN lore would inform you that there was no better option in the next game or in the history of WCBB. Hint: Her initials are DT.

 

[RunItUp!]

They don't play the same position....

Granted they don't, but Katie can bring it up with MoJeff and the rest of the team can spread out in the corners and one near the basket. Take advantage of Katie's height. Just another option in case a team has quicker speed at the guard position where we can pass the ball up field instead of dribbling, and we do an excellent job of passing, and it gets down the floor quicker.

 

[RunItUp!]

The South Carolina game will be a good one to see where Gabby really stacks up against good competition. She was outstanding last year in the AAC, but that didn't translate into effectiveness against more serious competition. As Hoophuskee says, it remains to be seen if Gabby can rebound against Coates/Wilson with anything like the efficiency that she rebounds against AAC "talent".

Also, Gabby is capable of throwing some very bad passes, and doing so with greater frequency than Moriah, Kia, or Stewie (all of whom do that occasionally).

At this point I would say that KLS is a better passer (clearly) than Gabby, and may even be a better rebounder against good competition (TBD). She can also shoot better and from greater range. Gabby has a clear advantage over KLS in defense and steals (which are a part of defense), and also in her ability to penetrate to the rim on offense.

Napheesa is also as good a rebounder as Gabby (at least), and is likely to be better against good competition. But she cannot defend on the perimeter like Gabby can, and is more limited on offense except at very close range.

Overall, Kia Nurse has an edge over all three of them.

I like your analysis and solid reasoning

 

[RunItUp!]

Kia is tenacious, not gracious but like a badger she's keep coming back for more. Love her tenacity.

Oh I love that about her too minus the drive in your face misses or charges. Great addition to the team

 

[RunItUp!]

UCONN lore would inform you that there was no better option in the next game or in the history of WCBB. Hint: Her initials are DT.

Taurasi is one of a kind - the best ever!!! But who can take her place on this team? Stevie, well she is a pillar but not a leader like Tuck is on the court. DT displayed boldness, energy on the court. You could get fired up just watching her but Stewie just goes about her All-world, all-AA business in quiet fashion. but there is no one like DT

 

[Waquoit]

These are the dog days of the season and slumps aren't uncommon. No reason to hit the panic button. I would only think of making a change if the effort wasn't there.

 

[RunItUp!]

Gee I missed that we don't score enough! If there is an issue on offense, I think it is our shooting %. And Gabby in place of Kia does not solve that.

I respectfully believe that Gabby's energy and athleticism will translate into points but it is not a matter of scoring more just having a better opportunity to score when playing teams like SC and ND and Dayton when we need all the points we can get. The replacement issue does not take effect with teams that are getting blown out by 30-60 points

 

[RunItUp!]

These are the dog days of the season and slumps aren't uncommon. No reason to hit the panic button.

No anxiety here just tweaking

 

[RunItUp!]

i dont like Kia's decision making at times, but this is a really bad idea!

Only a bad idea when you tried it and found it wanting. But I do respect your opinion!

 

[CocoHusky]

Taurasi is one of a kind - the best ever!!! But who can take her place on this team? Stevie, well she is a pillar but not a leader like Tuck is on the court. DT displayed boldness, energy on the court. You could get fired up just watching her but Stewie just goes about her All-world, all-AA business in quiet fashion. but there is no one like DT

Stewie is as good a leader as any player to ever EVER EVER wear a UCONN uniform. If you really want to go there and compare her to DT just remember Freshmen DT came up short in the game previously referenced. Freshmen Stewie ripped the heart out of a Diggins ND team and ND has still not recovered almost 4 years later.