Saniya Reflects

[psconn]

From Jim Fuller...

Former UConn guard Saniya Chong reflects on first WNBA season

 

[Kaizen]

Chong signed to play in Israel for Elitzur Holon which will give her a chance to see significant playing time which is just what Pettis believes she needs to continue her development.

 

[eebmg]

To stay in the WNBA, you need to develop an offensive game and have confidence in that game. You cant always defer to your teammates.
I hope she goes to Israel with that attitude and gets a little more selfish.

 

[YellwJcket999]

Eebmg. I agree with you. I've said this from the start of her WNBA career. "She must score" to justify staying in the league. Aerial Powers coming back into the starting lineup has drastically limited her minutes. Powers plays because she posts numbers.

Gray plays because she posts numbers. Plum continually got the benefit of the doubt because she had posted and is now posting numbers. I love Ms. Chong as a person/player but only being a great defensive and pass first guard won't last long in the W.

 

[eebmg]

Eebmg. I agree with you. I've said this from the start of her WNBA career. "She must score" to justify staying in the league. Aerial Powers coming back into the starting lineup has drastically limited her minutes. Powers plays because she posts numbers.

Gray plays because she posts numbers. Plum continually got the benefit of the doubt because she had posted and is now posting numbers. I love Ms. Chong as a person/player but only being a great defensive and pass first guard won't last long in the W.

I never had any doubt that Plum would come out as a gunslinger and shooting confidence is the least of her problems. In the WNBA, defense is not that critical with all the switching and double teaming and you can grow into that since defense is mainly being smart, understanding tendencies etc.

I really can't put my finger on why Soniya is so timid. It's not like she cant get shots (she is athletic enough) or make big ones (like the 2 MD games). Maybe in her case, the UConn pass first system is too deeply ingrained.

 

[Bigboote]

Agree with all that's been said. Bridget Pettis said, “We saw she could get to the basket and create her own shot and she can hit open shots.” Against the Sun, she drove hard to the basket and got fouled soon after she entered the game. I think as long as she continues doing that, preferably more frequently than she has of late, they'll keep playing her, and the more she does it, the more likely it will be more than 5 minutes a game.

I think the Wings really could have used Saniya in the 4th quarter against the Sun. Skylar looked pretty bad for a stretch -- three trips down the court, one prayer of an airball and two turnovers. Powers had a few hiccoughs, too. And the whole team had the usual defensive lapses.

And if they ever print that picture as a poster, I'll buy one.

 

[Gus Mahler]

And if they ever print that picture as a poster, I'll buy one.

I always thought that picture would look great on a billboard promoting the team or the next game.

 

[Striper69]

I think Saniya will do whatever it takes to stay with this team for the long haul.

Powers deserved to get her position back. Saniya can bide her time with little pressure.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Saniya talks life in the WNBA here: Chong living the dream with Dallas Wings

 

[JRRRJ]

Eebmg. I agree with you. I've said this from the start of her WNBA career. "She must score" to justify staying in the league. Aerial Powers coming back into the starting lineup has drastically limited her minutes. Powers plays because she posts numbers.

Gray plays because she posts numbers. Plum continually got the benefit of the doubt because she had posted and is now posting numbers. I love Ms. Chong as a person/player but only being a great defensive and pass first guard won't last long in the W.

Yeah. It's a problem. Pass-first guards can't last more than 7 or so years in the W...

 

[eebmg]

Yeah. It's a problem. Pass-first guards can't last more than 7 or so years in the W...

Courtney Vander Sloot is a perfect example of what it takes for a pass-first guard to excel in the WNBA. She became a fearless offensive threat that other teams (and her teammates) have to respect. She is one of the best drivers to the hole and an excellent 3 point shooter. This is the trajectory that all great point guards must take (ask Mo). Also nice when you have some of the smartest players in the league to pass to with respect to movement. (Quiqley, Dolson)

CVS natural ability is certainly not better than Saniya's. It is attitude. She suffered these mental blocks by her own admission at UConn before finally getting some much needed confidence her senior year. She needs to find it again but the WNBA will not give her 4 years to grow. If she is not markedly better by next year, I am not sure she will have a roster spot. This international season in Israel is very important for her in my opinion.

 

[Striper69]

With the competent scorers they already have on the Wings:
Skylar, Karina-Christmas and Gray - all penetrating threats
Glory has turned into a nice power forward
Plaisance can score off the rebound or hit threes, if need be, Saniya doesn't need to be a great scorer, much like the situation at UCONN.

 

[eebmg]

With the competent scorers they already have on the Wings:
Skylar, Karina-Christmas and Gray - all penetrating threats
Glory has turned into a nice power forward
Plaisance can score off the rebound or hit threes, if need be, Saniya doesn't need to be a great scorer, much like the situation at UCONN.

Great scorer no but offensive threat yes. No team can survive playing 5 vs 4. As you point out, for a team as penetrating and athletic as the Wings, she at least needs to show a willingness and ability to be a consistent 3pt shooter to stretch the court. She is shooting 23% from 3 which will not cut it on any team. Furthermore, the Wings as a team shoot 31% from 3 (second worst) so if she could get to a reasonable level (35%), she would become very valuable and is probably part of the reason she was drafted . We all know she is much better than what she is doing this year from 3pt range so it must be at least part mental (i.e confidence). I hope she figures it out.

 

[cbraarj]

Eebmg. I agree with you. I've said this from the start of her WNBA career. "She must score" to justify staying in the league. Aerial Powers coming back into the starting lineup has drastically limited her minutes. Powers plays because she posts numbers.

Gray plays because she posts numbers. Plum continually got the benefit of the doubt because she had posted and is now posting numbers. I love Ms. Chong as a person/player but only being a great defensive and pass first guard won't last long in the W.

Great defensive, Average at best

 

[eebmg]

As I opined earlier, with the speed of today's players, there really is no such a thing as a lock down defender (especially at the guard position). Defense in the WNBA is team defense and good team defense is mainly effort, intelligence and communication.

 

[Striper69]

Great scorer no but offensive threat yes. No team can survive playing 5 vs 4. As you point out, for a team as penetrating and athletic as the Wings, she at least needs to show a willingness and ability to be a consistent 3pt shooter to stretch the court. She is shooting 23% from 3 which will not cut it on any team. Furthermore, the Wings as a team shoot 31% from 3 (second worst) so if she could get to a reasonable level (35%), she would become very valuable and is probably part of the reason she was drafted . We all know she is much better than what she is doing this year from 3pt range so it must be at least part mental (i.e confidence). I hope she figures it out.

She just needs more paying time to get the chemistry down pat with her teammates. I don't think she necessarily needs to be great at shooting threes but really needs to develop a floater and step back jumper (after she penetrates and draws the defenders off their "man"). I saw Moriah using that technique (step back jumper) at the Minny game a few weeks back.

The Wings really need a good distributor to free up the others to move without the ball to get better shots. A good example of this is the NBA Rockets. Harden is a great scorer but they don't have a point guard to get him the ball. He can't be both (scorer and point). That made him easy to guard and the Rockets easy to beat this spring. Same thing with Westbrook and the Thunder. LeBron's trying to be kind of a point guard but you saw what happened.

Brianna Lewis is a diamond in the rough but needs a good point guard to get her the ball inside when she is in a position to score. Hopefully, Saniya will be that person.

 

[Roger G]

I never had any doubt that Plum would come out as a gunslinger and shooting confidence is the least of her problems. In the WNBA, defense is not that critical with all the switching and double teaming and you can grow into that since defense is mainly being smart, understanding tendencies etc.

I really can't put my finger on why Soniya is so timid. It's not like she cant get shots (she is athletic enough) or make big ones (like the 2 MD games). Maybe in her case, the UConn pass first system is too deeply ingrained.

I think one of Saniya's problems is that she is used to passing the ball and then getting it back.

 

[eebmg]

I think one of Saniya's problems is that she is used to passing the ball and then getting it back.

Perhaps a part of the problem. I think Moriah had an issue with that to some degree looking to deliver perfect passes but she quickly realized she needed to establish offensive scoring credentials to both her teammates and opponents. That is the reality of the WNBA.

I also think she just has confidence issues which she has been fighting for a long time. If KML or KLS or Bria Hartley misses 5 shots in a row, they don't lose confidence. I don't see that with Saniya.