Samuelson Impression

[diggerfoot]

There is something I think I've been noticing about Samuelson lately, but not I'm not quite sure and am tossing it out to my esteemed colleagues on the BY.

Samuelson, being tall with decent hops (no Stewart, but no Dolson either) and a quick release, can get a shot off on the perimeter with hardly any space needed. In the first halves of games she'll do precisely that, but in the second halves she'll pass the ball up more even when there is plenty of space. This is one expression of how I see a similarity with Taurasi. Both Samuelson and Taurasi deliberately pass up shots to get offense going in others. The difference between the two is that Taurasi often tried to get the offense of others going right from the start, if her teammates weren't responding she would then take over the game herself. Samuelson appears to start out wanting to be the offense to make sure things are in hand, then concentrates more on the offense of others.

Anyone else notice this?

Live well.

 

[Jim]

Sometimes having a teammate make shots early takes the pressure off the other players. Dee seemed to like getting everyone else involved and would take over games at the end if need be. Lou seems to like to blow the doors off the other team early then not look back.

 

[oldude]

Lou has that ability to take big shots whenever needed. I’m amazed how often after the other team makes a 3 that Lou answers with one of her own. Other than that, UConn is a pass happy team that thoroughly enjoys dropping dimes so their teammates can score.

 

[Oldbones]

 

[Bronx23]

There is something I think I've been noticing about Samuelson lately, but not I'm not quite sure and am tossing it out to my esteemed colleagues on the BY.

Samuelson, being tall with decent hops (no Stewart, but no Dolson either) and a quick release, can get a shot off on the perimeter with hardly any space needed. In the first halves of games she'll do precisely that, but in the second halves she'll pass the ball up more even when there is plenty of space. This is one expression of how I see a similarity with Taurasi. Both Samuelson and Taurasi deliberately pass up shots to get offense going in others. The difference between the two is that Taurasi often tried to get the offense of others going right from the start, if her teammates weren't responding she would then take over the game herself. Samuelson appears to start out wanting to be the offense to make sure things are in hand, then concentrates more on the offense of others.

Anyone else notice this?

Live well.

I like your post and it makes a point I hadn't thought of.
I think it may well have some validity. I clearly saw a difference in KLS play in the second half than the first but attributed it to their usually having a big lead and her not pushing it for herself.
I think her play this year has been elevated significantly and as of right now she has my vote for player of the year. But my only concern is that she's so unselfish and seems to enjoy passing as much or more than scoring, that in the really close tough games she hasn't yet taken over the game. Last year they needed that in the loss to MS and it may well surface again this year. The star player (and she can well be that) when necessary takes over. I wonder if it's in contradiction to whom she is as a player and human being.
I hope I am wrong for a few reasons. It might be the difference in winning another NC. While I think she's already a top 10 all time U Conn women's player, I think she has the potential to be a top four or five.
I love her game and ability to continue to improve. She's tough as nails and when hurt never seems to pour or be about herself. She already taking on leadership responsibilities.
Bronx23

 

[UcMiami]

Interesting take, but I go a slightly different direction. While watching games this year, I keep remembering a report about a practice a few years ago when they were running scrimmage and after a stretch of about 7 minutes Geno blew the whistle and stated that for those seven minutes Stewart had not touched the ball on offense and THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!
The relevance is that Uconn can go almost a whole quarter seemingly forgetting to once look for Lou in a good spot for an open shot. Last game she had I think 9 shots in the first half and 3 in the second half and it wasn't that the defense was significantly different or that Lou was passing up shots, but rather that no one was passing the ball to her when she was open. Same kind of thing happened today - and again not that she was just passing up shots or trying to get others shots - she had 6 of her 9 assists in the first half as well as 15 points. There were a number of times when Lou was wide open and waving for the ball and either the pass never came or the player with the ball waited a few seconds until the defense had plenty of time to recover and get out on her before the pass arrived.

One of the great things about Lou's passing at the moment is that it is incredibly fast- she is seeing the openings and getting the ball to the shooter before windows close - I think she leads the team in the touch pass and catch and pass in one motion. (She also leads in A/TO at 2.96 - one assist short of 3.0)

I do think she is perhaps the best on the team at the moment at choosing when to shoot vs. pass - she almost never takes a forced or bad shot, nor do I see her passing up many shots she should take. She does pass up some open looks early in the shot clock, but I like most of those decisions.

 

[eebmg]

Katie Lou is shooting / passing so well lately that she is not really doing my favorite play which is her tight screen assisted curl into a 2 pt jump shot at the foul line. I know it is weird but I miss it. I suppose against Louisville when the 3pt shot is defended better, and we bog down a bit, Lou will do a few.

 

[Crossover]

Katie Lou is shooting / passing so well lately that she is not really doing my favorite play which is her tight screen assisted curl into a 2 pt jump shot at the foul line. I know it is weird but I miss it. I suppose against Louisville when the 3pt shot is defended better, and we bog down a bit, Lou will do a few.

I also miss that curl play and am surprised by its absence of late. I think you are right that it will reappear in a tight game against a team that does a good job of closing out on 3 point shooters and of closing the back door. Louisville perhaps, but certainly in the final rounds of the NCAA tourney.

 

[Bronxjeff]

Wow, great analyses all around!

I too love watching her one touch passes, and I think she maybe the best inbounder the team has ever had.

 

[MSGRET]

Wow, great analyses all around!

I too love watching her one touch passes, and I think she maybe the best inbounder the team has ever had.

I do not remember anyone else having so many under the basket assists from an in-bounds pass as much as Lou.

 

[Charliebball]

I do not remember anyone else having so many under the basket assists from an in-bounds pass as much as Lou.

it seems to be something of a lost art for most teams..............

 

[ochoopsfan]

She is doing all of what she does on one good foot.
If she isnt POY then stop giving out the award.

 

[diggerfoot]

Interesting take, but I go a slightly different direction. While watching games this year, I keep remembering a report about a practice a few years ago when they were running scrimmage and after a stretch of about 7 minutes Geno blew the whistle and stated that for those seven minutes Stewart had not touched the ball on offense and THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!
The relevance is that Uconn can go almost a whole quarter seemingly forgetting to once look for Lou in a good spot for an open shot. Last game she had I think 9 shots in the first half and 3 in the second half and it wasn't that the defense was significantly different or that Lou was passing up shots, but rather that no one was passing the ball to her when she was open. Same kind of thing happened today - and again not that she was just passing up shots or trying to get others shots - she had 6 of her 9 assists in the first half as well as 15 points. There were a number of times when Lou was wide open and waving for the ball and either the pass never came or the player with the ball waited a few seconds until the defense had plenty of time to recover and get out on her before the pass arrived.

One of the great things about Lou's passing at the moment is that it is incredibly fast- she is seeing the openings and getting the ball to the shooter before windows close - I think she leads the team in the touch pass and catch and pass in one motion. (She also leads in A/TO at 2.96 - one assist short of 3.0)

I do think she is perhaps the best on the team at the moment at choosing when to shoot vs. pass - she almost never takes a forced or bad shot, nor do I see her passing up many shots she should take. She does pass up some open looks early in the shot clock, but I like most of those decisions.

Perhaps both observations are valid. I do think Samuelson shoots with less space until the game is in hand; I agree she touches the ball less frequently in the second. Maybe both observations are a consequence of Auriemma wanting the team as a whole, not just Samuelson, to get offense from others once the game is in hand.

 

[rugbymate]

Her game increasingly is like Larry Birds....LB was the best touch passer ever

 

[Bronx23]

Interesting take, but I go a slightly different direction. While watching games this year, I keep remembering a report about a practice a few years ago when they were running scrimmage and after a stretch of about 7 minutes Geno blew the whistle and stated that for those seven minutes Stewart had not touched the ball on offense and THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN!!!
The relevance is that Uconn can go almost a whole quarter seemingly forgetting to once look for Lou in a good spot for an open shot. Last game she had I think 9 shots in the first half and 3 in the second half and it wasn't that the defense was significantly different or that Lou was passing up shots, but rather that no one was passing the ball to her when she was open. Same kind of thing happened today - and again not that she was just passing up shots or trying to get others shots - she had 6 of her 9 assists in the first half as well as 15 points. There were a number of times when Lou was wide open and waving for the ball and either the pass never came or the player with the ball waited a few seconds until the defense had plenty of time to recover and get out on her before the pass arrived.

One of the great things about Lou's passing at the moment is that it is incredibly fast- she is seeing the openings and getting the ball to the shooter before windows close - I think she leads the team in the touch pass and catch and pass in one motion. (She also leads in A/TO at 2.96 - one assist short of 3.0)

I do think she is perhaps the best on the team at the moment at choosing when to shoot vs. pass - she almost never takes a forced or bad shot, nor do I see her passing up many shots she should take. She does pass up some open looks early in the shot clock, but I like most of those decisions.

Another very good response! Surely think it's at least part of the issue / problem.
My question would be what's the reason this seems to be a fairly regular occurrence. Somehow it has to be more than coincidence. So many games this year she has a very strong first half statistic wise and then less in the second half. I do think some of it is what you pointed out and some they often have a big lead and KLS plays less, maybe partially to protect her foot / ankle / health.
I'd say this needs to be watched as she's too valuable offensively to get lost.
Bronx23

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree with the Larry Bird comparison. Earlier, I was thinking she looked like Magic Johnson with some Ray Allen thrown in, but I'll simplify it to Larry Bird.

 

[eebmg]

She is doing all of what she does on one good foot.
If she isnt POY then stop giving out the award.

"Since aggravating the ankle injury on Jan. 18 against Tulsa then sitting out against Temple three days later, Samuelson has played at not just an All-American level but a national Player of the Year level."


"I have a new, really good brace, and I haven't had any issues since I started wearing it," Samuelson said. "I'm good."

 

[Mister2]

I have another KLS impression: her substitution pattern seems to be distinctly different from her team mates. While other starters tend to get rotated in and out multiple times throughout a game (unless it is a super close game and all starters play close to full minutes), KLS's tend to follow a simple formula: one breather in the first half (usually in the Q2), and minutes played in the 2nd half depends on the point margin.

Of course I'm describing generalities; small variations do happen now and then, but the basic point is that she gets rotated a lot less often than others. Is my impression mistaken? If not, is there any significance to this? Just curious.

 

[DaddyChoc]

 

[UcMiami]

Couple more thoughts:
1. No question that minutes half to half vary drastically for all starters and especially for Lou - 18-20 minutes in the first half, but if the scoring margin is pretty large seldom more that 10-12 in the second half. That has an obvious effect on stats, but is not the issue I was mentioning above.

2. I think some of the issue is that the teams is very focused on getting the ball inside and sometimes forgets that a wide open Lou in the corner is as good (or better) an option as a entry pass in the lane.

3. Was interested in the latest Geno show that Lou and Danger were identified as the two players Geno is consulting with the most during game breaks. She still has that grin on her face most of every game, but she also is clearly very active in managing the team on the court.

4. And definitely agree that her out of bounds passes from under the basket are generally brilliant.

 

[MSGRET]

Couple more thoughts:
1. No question that minutes half to half vary drastically for all starters and especially for Lou - 18-20 minutes in the first half, but if the scoring margin is pretty large seldom more that 10-12 in the second half. That has an obvious effect on stats, but is not the issue I was mentioning above.

2. I think some of the issue is that the teams is very focused on getting the ball inside and sometimes forgets that a wide open Lou in the corner is as good (or better) an option as a entry pass in the lane.

3. Was interested in the latest Geno show that Lou and Danger were identified as the two players Geno is consulting with the most during game breaks. She still has that grin on her face most of every game, but she also is clearly very active in managing the team on the court.

4. And definitely agree that her out of bounds passes from under the basket are generally brilliant.

In the Wichita State game there were at least 5 possessions in the first half where everyone except her touched the ball and they never looked in her direction and on everyone of those she was wide open on the wing.

 

[veryolddog]

I like Katie Lou's parents who raised her and her sisters with the concept to continuously improve and pursue excellence.

 

[oldude]

In the Wichita State game there were at least 5 possessions in the first half where everyone except her touched the ball and they never looked in her direction and on everyone of those she was wide open on the wing.

How many of those 5 possessions did the Huskies get a good shot on and score? For instance, did they feed Pheesa down low, who I believe was 11-13 in the game. One of the things that Geno understands is that if your offense is built around 1 or 2 players, it’s much easier to defend. Think back to Kia’s stifling defense against USF’s Laksa when she held her to 0 pts. Watch what happens tonight against Durr & Hines-Allen. I would much rather have 5 scorers on the floor than 1 dominant player who puts up 30 ppg.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

I have another KLS impression: her substitution pattern seems to be distinctly different from her team mates. While other starters tend to get rotated in and out multiple times throughout a game (unless it is a super close game and all starters play close to full minutes), KLS's tend to follow a simple formula: one breather in the first half (usually in the Q2), and minutes played in the 2nd half depends on the point margin.

Of course I'm describing generalities; small variations do happen now and then, but the basic point is that she gets rotated a lot less often than others. Is my impression mistaken? If not, is there any significance to this? Just curious.

I think rotation has a lot to do with who may be in foul trouble.
It is not too much of a problem though.

 

[Bronx23]

I like Katie Lou's parents who raised her and her sisters with the concept to continuously improve and pursue excellence.

This is such a simple but yet profound comment.
Raising children is probably the most important thing one can do, although it's clearly not for everyone. Her parents deserve a ton of credit for this. Two of their kids went and excelled at Stanford(not too shabby) for Tara. KLS who has an independent streak chose Geno and U Conn, which says tons about them and her.
The comparison to Magic and Bird are amazing as they were two of the very best to ever play BB.
Bronx23