Replace Kia in the starting lineup with ........ | Page 3 | The Boneyard

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

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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.
 
RunItUp! said:
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???
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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.
 
bags27 said:
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.....
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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.
 
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.
 
RunItUp! said:
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.
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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.
 
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xHunt3r said:
They don't play the same position....
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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.
 
JoePgh said:
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.
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I like your analysis and solid reasoning
 
Hongster said:
Kia is tenacious, not gracious but like a badger she's keep coming back for more. Love her tenacity.
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Oh I love that about her too minus the drive in your face misses or charges. Great addition to the team
 
CocoHusky said:
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.
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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
 
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.
 
Bgillon said:
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.
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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
 
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RunItUp! said:
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
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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.
 
HuskyNan said:
I know people are disagreeing with you in this thread but don't be discouraged. Keep posting!
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Actually I am the type of person that when I played in the other team's arena, I wanted to shut them up and most of the time I has the best time ever in silencing the crowd, rather than being in my own arena and everyone cheering for my team. Some how I did not like all the cheering for us but the thrill was the opposition's silence as we took control in enemy territory. So if you have not failed in the opinion of others then you have not done anything BUT then they have not thought outside of the limited parameters of their thoughts so maybe they are more mentally crippled than they think but I am not judging them, just a fruit inspector of human reasoning and logic. Let all statements be uplifting because we are not getting paid for this, just voicing an opinion
 
CocoHusky said:
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.
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I don't mind going there but will it translate into anything but wasted time which I don't have. But thank you for your opinion Stewie is great, great and many games would have been lost without her
 
RunItUp - congrats on starting a thread at the start of your posting career that has generated so much heated debate.

I will grant that Kia's offensive production, especially given her summertime production, is not where most expected it to be at this point in the year - she seems a little out of sorts in her shooting decisions. That said, a few stats that bear appreciation:
Assist 53, Turnovers 29, A/TO 1.83 (and if you backed out offensive fouls from her TOs, she would be above 2.0
Playing most of the time with four other really good scoring options on the floor, those numbers are at least as important as her own scoring statistics.

And they compare to Gabby's 22 A, 22 TO, 1.0 A/TO statistics very favorably. Defensively Gabby has more steals, but also more personal fouls and fouls are more important this year than ever - they are both good defenders so I am not knocking either.

The other options - Samuelson and Chong are not as good defensively and defense drives this team. Offensively they have put up comparable assist and A/TO numbers and comparable or better shooting stats. But one has been available on a very limited basis this season, the other is a freshman.

And none of the three has the bloody mindedness of Nurse, a quality that is somewhat lacking in the rest of the team, and is a positive that doesn't show in any particular stats.
 
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HairyDog said:
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.
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If you score you may win, if they don't score you will win.
 
RunItUp! said:
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.
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coco gave you the 0-11 example which was Diana Taurasi. So you would have benched DT after the bad shooting game (it would have had to have been next year if so but question applies at anytime)? When and how does assists and assists vs turnovers go into your thinking of playing time? You would take athleticism any day over superior passing? Do you think passing makes others better? And you seem to have no issue critiquing Nurse's flaws. Yet Gabby's flaw of passing - to have only a 1 to 1 assists to turnover ratio on this team isn't good at all, do you agree? And passing is a fundamental of basketball. SO how is it that Gabby is making others better as much as Nurse? Just use shooting % as the only stat and supreme athleticism as the only fan enjoyment? If that is the case - I wonder how you would have though of Farris especially her 1st few years. How many players were "more explosive" than her?

In terms of comfortable margin. UCONN wins by an obscene average year-over-year. You think it important to win by more? If so, then you think maybe we should keep the starters in longer such as the core 3 Stewie and MoJeff and Tuck when they are healthy? You think Pulido and Lawlor should never play? All these would result in higher margins, right? Just wondering about your "more comfortable margin" comment.
 
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So much heated discussion about nothing. We are lucky that we have both Kia and Gabby. Who starts does not matter according to Geno, who knows a thing or two about his players and the match up in a particular game. When games were won by 40-50 points it's pointless to discuss who is a better player. I cannot even think there is a discussion about DT being the best ever or not. And of course there is the MoJeff-Sue Bird comparison. This is nuts!!!!
 
warbler13 said:
So much heated discussion about nothing. We are lucky that we have both Kia and Gabby. Who starts does not matter according to Geno, who knows a thing or two about his players and the match up in a particular game. When games were won by 40-50 points it's pointless to discuss who is a better player. I cannot even think there is a discussion about DT being the best ever or not. And of course there is the MoJeff-Sue Bird comparison. This is nuts!!!!
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Heated? Overall- nah.
 
RunItUp! said:
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.
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[Mod edit: Religious discussion can and should be by private message. For newer posters, you can start that process by clicking on the person's avatar or handle at the left side of a post, then on "Start a Conversation." Recipients of messages will see a red flag at upper right of their screen where Inbox appears.]
 
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cohenzone said:
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.
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Very interesting, Mr. Cohen. You've written here what Geno has said: Coach would rather play a team with good bigs than with good guards. (A perfect description of SC.) BOINK: sound of hammer striking nail.
 
Interesting, given this discussion, that Kia and Gabby are classmates. I would imagine - given their respective and different talents - in the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons they will do a whole lot of starting, playing, and leading together, not jockeying for starting or playing time between them.
 
bags27 said:
[Mod edit: Religious discussion can and should be by private message. For newer posters, you can start that process by clicking on the person's avatar or handle at the left side of a post, then on "Start a Conversation." Recipients of messages will see a red flag at upper right of their screen where Inbox appears.]
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Thanks, Moderator. I guess I thought that when we are talking basketball, we are also always talking religion. :)
 
Woof 101 said:
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!:)
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Thanks Woof . Growing up I saw Bill Russell and Oscar Robertson play in person (Russell at NCAA finals in Kansas City) so through the years have had some exposure to basketball. The point of my post was not for a discussion of "throwing up bricks" but rather that if Kia read the posts on this thread (which is probably unlikely) no matter her many accomplishments, it would sting. Critique and discussion are a part of sport, but despite her skill and maturity, she is still an adolescent college student who deserves age appropriate civility.
 
I know this thread is about done to death. But about minutes....it's clear that Geno is trying to give his top 9 players as close to 20 minutes each as possible. There was a podcast:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/t...ts-and-the-possibility-of-jumping-to-the-nba/
around 25 minutes I think, where Geno admits that he may have miscoached the fabulous 2001 team because it was so deep and some of the great benchers didn't get enough time before the two devastating injuries. I think we need to appreciate what Geno's trying to do this year.
 
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