Revisiting the Molly vs. Mikayla Debate

[Go/huskies]

I don't have anything to add about her offense, but Mikayla has shown the ability to be disruptive on defense. And Geno pointed out, she gets her hands on a lot of offensive rebounds.

One more thing: She is a whole notch ahead of everybody else regarding quickness.

Unless it’s Irwin, Mikayla could be starting next year, I could see her playing a similar role to the one Ashley Battle played.

 

[Longtime fan]

@Longtime fan; No argument; what brought you to the conclusion Coombs outside shot, however, is not redeemable or she'll never have that. What do you see that I don't??
Unless she had eye depth issues or physical deficiencies I would think nearly anyone can be taught to shoot even at a low percentage.

What brought me to that conclusion was observation. When I first saw her take outside shots, I noticed that her shot begins at " waist level" and is " flicked" toward the basket. Reminiscent of those old-style two handed set shots. As a result, her eyes and the ball never line up together with the basket. When I first saw her take these shots, I predicted; " she will never hit a three at UCONN." I was proven wrong in that she has., apparently, converted one ( though I did not see it occur ).

She is clearly troubled by this as well and has stopped even thinking about a three. As to " can it be redeemed?" ...I suppose anything is possible. But I conclude " no" in that, she is a sophomore at UCONN......the highest level of the college game. And she has made zero progress as far as we can see.

Certainly, the coaches are working with her. But a style is a style....and hard to change. We all hope she can do so. Clearly she is a fine athlete. She might surprise us. As you can tell, I retain my skepticism.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Unless it’s Irwin, Mikayla could be starting next year, I could see her playing a similar role to the one Ashley Battle played.

I don't think this is very likely, but it's not inconceivable that Geno might go with a three-guard lineup along with MW and Liv.

 

[JoePgh]

I don't think this is very likely, but it's not inconceivable that Geno might go with a three-guard lineup along with MW and Liv.

And if he does, who will the three guards be? Crystal and Christyn for sure, but will the other guard be Mikayla or Molly?

At this moment, my money is on Molly.

 

[CocoHusky]

And if he does, who will the three guards be? Crystal and Christyn for sure, but will the other guard be Mikayla or Molly?
At this moment, my money is on Molly.

My money would be on Aubrey.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Geno speaketh to the subjecteth:

Added Auriemma: “When we recruited her, I thought, you know, any kid that works really, really hard, you root for them and you hope that they continue to get better, and that you can find a spot for them. Usually in our program, there’s always been a kid like that. We’ve always found a spot for them.

“I’m hopeful that, going forward, this could be pretty good for her."

Article in which Lou says Molly has notched it up in practice. Bent gave Huskies much-needed boost

 

[HopJim]

Aside from the shooting mechanics which have been harped on Mikayla's other major liability in the UCONN offense is that she is a reluctant shooter from the deep wing or long corner. In the UCONN offense those are the shots that have to be taken because it impacts the UCONN floor balance, enables the defense to recover more easily, and messes up the timing of UCONN players to crash the offensive boards.
She is not the first UCONN guard that had to learn to take and make those shots at a reasonable clip. Kelly Faris, Moriah Jefferson, and Kia Nurse all improved their marksmanship form those spots and turned themselves from a liability into deadly shooters from those spots.

Apples and oranges. All three you noted had strong fundamentals with a lack of confidence the only common characteristic. Love Mikayla but know of no other player with so many mechanical issues that have ever improved their shooting to the point of being adequate. Suspect guard is one area we will see a transfer or international player.

 

[cohenzone]

What’s really hard to understand about Mikayla is how a player who was a McD AA, which a player does not make without some sort of serious offensive ability, shows nothing close to that. If it’s a matter of confidence, it usually isn’t that glaring.

Molly, I don’t know. One game doesn’t tell you much although I’ve always thought it’s hard for a player to look good when all they get to do is play with reserves in blow outs.

 

[Huskee11]

Molly and Mikayla will be complementary players whenever they are on the floor for UConn. Whether one is more valuable than the other in that role depends upon a number of factors. I can speak with authority on this subject since my lengthy but undistinguished basketball "career" was spent entirely as a complementary player.

First, defense. A complementary player absolutely has to play good defense. Why? Because there are others who are asked to score. If you are not helping keep the other team from scoring, then, there is really no reason to keep you on the court. Mikayla is a very good defender and her 10 steals in 146 minutes is by far the best ratio on the team. Molly is a good defender but not as disruptive as Mikayla. Neither is expected to get a large number of rebounds but Mikayla is somewhat better in that regard as well. Neither of them foul much.

Second, ball handling/passing/running the offense. If you are not going to score a lot, you at least have to be able to hang onto the ball and to get it to those that will put it in the hoop. Both know the offense. Somewhat surprisingly, Molly only has 6 turnovers this season and her turnover per minute rate is identical to Crystal`s. Mikalyla has 11 and a slightly higher turnover rate per minute. Molly has 10 assists in 96 minutes, Mikayla 9 in 146 minutes. So statistically Molly has a slight edge, although the eye test suggests to me that Mikayla may have the edge. At a minimum, both are adequate.

Finally, shooting/scoring. Again, this is not the primary reason to be out there. I think Geno has confirmed this in his comments, although he has also wistfully wondered out loud who is going to score some points from the bench crew. What is important on the offensive end is keeping the defense honest. You cannot win playing 5 on 4. If your defender is going to cheat off of you and provide help elsewhere, then your presence on the court makes it harder for your teammates to score. At this point, the stats clearly favor Molly as she is 7 for 11 from the field including 4 for 6 from three point range. Unfortunately, Mikalyla has only made three baskets in 146 minutes and is 3 for 17, 0 for 3 from three. Molly has shown herself to be an adequate, if reluctant, shooter with pretty decent mechanics, maybe a slightly slow release. Mikalya`s offensive game, both taking it to the hoop and shooting from the outside, seems to be in a bad place at least for now. Other posters have covered that in detail already. (Note: there are teams where a bench player can come in and provide "instant offense", a la Vinny "microwave" Johnson or, for us older folks, Frank Ramsey. No such luxury here.)

So Molly seems to me to have the edge right now as the first guard off the bench. While Mikalya may be a better defender, the defense at least has to pay some attention to Molly. It is way too early to think about next season as that may depend in large part on the work that they put in during the off season.

As fans, we will continue to root for Molly to become less tentative and to react more and think less; and for Mikayla to stick with it, to not shy away from her offense, and to hopefully see some positive results on the offensive end that will improve her confidence.

 

[Gus Mahler]

And if he does, who will the three guards be? Crystal and Christyn for sure, but will the other guard be Mikayla or Molly?

At this moment, my money is on Molly.

I had in mind Mikayla. I neglected to qualify my statement by saying "if she were to ratchet up her offense a notch or two."

 

[eebmg]

TKO.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Molly and Mikayla will be complementary players whenever they are on the floor for UConn. Whether one is more valuable than the other in that role depends upon a number of factors. I can speak with authority on this subject since my lengthy but undistinguished basketball "career" was spent entirely as a complementary player.

First, defense. A complementary player absolutely has to play good defense. Why? Because there are others who are asked to score. If you are not helping keep the other team from scoring, then, there is really no reason to keep you on the court. Mikayla is a very good defender and her 10 steals in 146 minutes is by far the best ratio on the team. Molly is a good defender but not as disruptive as Mikayla. Neither is expected to get a large number of rebounds but Mikayla is somewhat better in that regard as well. Neither of them foul much.

Second, ball handling/passing/running the offense. If you are not going to score a lot, you at least have to be able to hang onto the ball and to get it to those that will put it in the hoop. Both know the offense. Somewhat surprisingly, Molly only has 6 turnovers this season and her turnover per minute rate is identical to Crystal`s. Mikalyla has 11 and a slightly higher turnover rate per minute. Molly has 10 assists in 96 minutes, Mikayla 9 in 146 minutes. So statistically Molly has a slight edge, although the eye test suggests to me that Mikayla may have the edge. At a minimum, both are adequate.

Finally, shooting/scoring. Again, this is not the primary reason to be out there. I think Geno has confirmed this in his comments, although he has also wistfully wondered out loud who is going to score some points from the bench crew. What is important on the offensive end is keeping the defense honest. You cannot win playing 5 on 4. If your defender is going to cheat off of you and provide help elsewhere, then your presence on the court makes it harder for your teammates to score. At this point, the stats clearly favor Molly as she is 7 for 11 from the field including 4 for 6 from three point range. Unfortunately, Mikalyla has only made three baskets in 146 minutes and is 3 for 17, 0 for 3 from three. Molly has shown herself to be an adequate, if reluctant, shooter with pretty decent mechanics, maybe a slightly slow release. Mikalya`s offensive game, both taking it to the hoop and shooting from the outside, seems to be in a bad place at least for now. Other posters have covered that in detail already. (Note: there are teams where a bench player can come in and provide "instant offense", a la Vinny "microwave" Johnson or, for us older folks, Frank Ramsey. No such luxury here.)

So Molly seems to me to have the edge right now as the first guard off the bench. While Mikalya may be a better defender, the defense at least has to pay some attention to Molly. It is way too early to think about next season as that may depend in large part on the work that they put in during the off season.

As fans, we will continue to root for Molly to become less tentative and to react more and think less; and for Mikayla to stick with it, to not shy away from her offense, and to hopefully see some positive results on the offensive end that will improve her confidence.

With all your wrote --I pick this out: "the defense at least has to pay some attention to Molly"
If that is true it seems the opponents haven't gotten the message. If you note in the games she has been in with the starters the opponents lay off her, knowing he won't shoot; they will accept a shot or three per game from her --but the real threats are Phee, Walker, KLS, Danger,Cw. That to me is still a liability.