Saniya Chong - post season impressions

[sTu]

Glenn MacGrady has been writing/reporting about NY talent for quite awhile. I would think folks from other "colored" teams think that he is pro UConn. He was a Bria Hartley advocate long before it was fashionable. It is difficult to find first hand reporting of H.S. players (always appreciated Bruinball's reports from her h.s. games).

Most likely well less than 5% of women's h.s. basketball players have the athletic abilities of Jefferson. DeShield's is one we have seen on video. Having not seen anyone in person I believe that the video only watchers do not know about future Division 1 predicitons for Chong. She probably is as quick as DT and appears to have some of DT's court awareness. It is possible she might make quite a backcourt mate after a couple of years growth and adaption to Division 1. Or not. I am really interested to see what her game looks like at the tail end of next season considering the rapid rate of her growth in the last couple of years and hope to catch a game next year.

 

[Blakeon18]

FWIW: I went to see the Ossining/Cicero match-up in Troy in mid-March. Based on how Ossining torched all opponents during the season [undefeated...no wins less than double digits] I had high expectations that they would be competitive with national top 5 Cicero. Based on the reports we had about Saniya I had very high expectations
for her. Qualifier....this is based on a one-time viewing:

Ossining had a terrible first quarter....the game was over after three minutes or so. Cicero led 29-6 after the quarter. A lot of that was
due to Breanna being spectactular....she had 14 and about 8 boards after those 8 minutes. Some of it was due to Ossining's undisciplined play and poor shooting.
Saniya was around 0-11 from the floor after 8 minutes. After that mini-disaster Cicero was never headed and romped.....Breanna wound up with 42/23.
Saniya wound up with 21 or so.....maybe 7-25 from the floor. She played pretty decently the last 3 quarters....is pretty tall and smooth....nice handle...good athleticism. She shot with her off-hand a fair amount....didn't hit but looked like she was comfortable doing it.
She wasn't what I expected to see by a lot.....but I also could see why all 4 UConn coaches had gone to see her play late in the season.

I hope there is still mutual interest and that we wind up with her in Storrs....she looked like she has a high ceiling with a lot to work on to achieve that. The 18U trials should be a great experience for her whether she makes the team or not. I would not be one bit surprised to see Ossining back in Troy next year...and better...and not have to face a Breanna Stewart type to boot.

 

[speedoo]

The guy has an agenda pure and simply, nothing more.

It's not at all that simple. I think he has an agenda that includes self-promotion and some anti-UConn/Geno/Boneyard stuff that apparently comes from some experience from years ago that I know little about.

But he also is a serious student of basketball, particularly the women's game and invests a lot of time in observing HS players in the NY area. Bria and Stef are two players that he saw a lot of in addition to Breanna and Saniya. I found his videos of these players very illuminating, but I have not het seen anything he did of Saniya's play.

And he understands the game pretty well, particularly the type of game UConn coaches. He once talked about the old NY Knick championship teams very positively and for that I applaud him.

One problem I have with what he does is when he gets into unnecessary specualaion about what kids like Saniya are thinking, and what Geno and staff might be thinking about kids like her.. That undermines the other good things he does.. But folks here on the BY do that a lot too, for reasons that I'll probably never understand.

 

[Husky WBB Fan]

It's not at all that simple. I think he has an agenda that includes self-promotion and some anti-UConn/Geno/Boneyard stuff that apparently comes from some experience from years ago that I know little about.

But he also is a serious student of basketball, particularly the women's game and invests a lot of time in observing HS players in the NY area. Bria and Stef are two players that he saw a lot of in addition to Breanna and Saniya. I found his videos of these players very illuminating, but I have not het seen anything he did of Saniya's play.

And he understands the game pretty well, particularly the type of game UConn coaches. He once talked about the old NY Knick championship teams very positively and for that I applaud him.

One problem I have with what he does is when he gets into unnecessary specualaion about what kids like Saniya are thinking, and what Geno and staff might be thinking about kids like her.. That undermines the other good things he does.. But folks here on the BY do that a lot too, for reasons that I'll probably never understand.

If he wanted to be perceived as a serious student of the game and a voice with opinions worth listening to, then he should stick to that representation of himself. When he makes silly statements insinuating that Chong is/might be better than the highest ranked PG ever, then he sells out any credible side of himself that he might have established. When he suggests that UConn made a mistake in taking MJ when they had a chance for Chong, then he is so blatantly pushing an agenda that all his opinions gather no traction and it is hard to view him as "serious." He can't have it both ways - who does he want to be? AND, when the evidence in video of MJ vs. Chong is so clear in differentiating the skills of MJ vs. Chong (together with the relative rankings), it feels like he is also treating us like idiots. It is a noble statement that most on the Boneyard are able to accurately peg this guy while retaining a positive and hopeful perspective on the athlete he is doing a disservice to.

 

[speedoo]

If he wanted to be perceived as a serious student of the game and a voice with opinions worth listening to, then he should stick to that representation of himself. When he makes silly statements insinuating that Chong is/might be better than the highest ranked PG ever, then he sells out any credible side of himself that he might have established. When he suggests that UConn made a mistake in taking MJ when they had a chance for Chong, then he is so blatantly pushing an agenda that all his opinions gather no traction and it is hard to view him as "serious." He can't have it both ways - who does he want to be? AND, when the evidence in video of MJ vs. Chong is so clear in differentiating the skills of MJ vs. Chong (together with the relative rankings), it feels like he is also treating us like idiots. It is a noble statement that most on the Boneyard are able to accurately peg this guy while retaining a positive and hopeful perspective on the athlete he is doing a disservice to.

Where are you finding all this negative stuff in his comments re. MJ? I just looked and could find nothing more than he finds it hard to believe she's better than Chong and he explains that it's because he has only seen highlights of MJ while he has seen Chong live several times. If you want to seriously criticize someone, at least be accurate, and it appears almost everything you are saying is incorrect.