"She's a Nasty Piece of Business"

[RockyMTblue2]

This tickled me so I pass it on, because for us fans no info about our Huskies is stale, right? If previously posted I apologize. Kia Nurse's hockey besotted hometown paper on Kia and the National Championship.

http://colorofhockey.com/2015/04/08/kia-nurse-joins-big-brother-darnell-with-a-championship-victory/

Dad certified "nasty"!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Here's another oldie I don't recall, which gives some UConn recruiting goal insights from Shea:

"In communicating with Huskies Assisstant coach Shea Ralph, she says, “The two things that Coach Auriemma tells us we have to have in recruits is ultra-confidence and ultra-competitiveness,” two traits that Nurse undoubtedly possesses.

“Aside from that, the things we look for are things that we can’t coach; being good teammates, being coachable, having a good work ethic and a high basketball IQ.”

The Huskies were lucky in sealing the deal with the Canadian phenom.

“We found out about Kia late. The way we found out was in an AAU tournament in Washington D.C. and she wasn’t even supposed to be playing because she was supposed to be playing with the Canadian National Team,” Ralph told NPH. “We were really pretty lucky because we got involved later in the process.”

Coach Shea recalled a time that the legendary Auriemma had watched Kia play and texted Ralph saying ‘she’s perfect’. With everything on her current basketball resume, what wouldn’t make Kia the perfect player?"

http://northpolehoops.com/2014/02/06/kia-nurse-future-canadian-womens-basketball/#.VXcNqtLbLIU

 

[Sonny44]

Nice. Maybe after UCONN BB she could switch over to hockey.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Here's another oldie I don't recall, which gives some UConn recruiting goal insights from Shea:

"In communicating with Huskies Assisstant coach Shea Ralph, she says, “The two things that Coach Auriemma tells us we have to have in recruits is ultra-confidence and ultra-competitiveness,” two traits that Nurse undoubtedly possesses.

“Aside from that, the things we look for are things that we can’t coach; being good teammates, being coachable, having a good work ethic and a high basketball IQ.”

The Huskies were lucky in sealing the deal with the Canadian phenom.

“We found out about Kia late. The way we found out was in an AAU tournament in Washington D.C. and she wasn’t even supposed to be playing because she was supposed to be playing with the Canadian National Team,” Ralph told NPH. “We were really pretty lucky because we got involved later in the process.”

Coach Shea recalled a time that the legendary Auriemma had watched Kia play and texted Ralph saying ‘she’s perfect’. With everything on her current basketball resume, what wouldn’t make Kia the perfect player?"

http://northpolehoops.com/2014/02/06/kia-nurse-future-canadian-womens-basketball/#.VXcNqtLbLIU

Thanks Rocky - those past "recruiting goal insights" are invaluable in terms of understanding UConn's system. I enjoy seeing the congruence or incongruence of the evaluations after the first season (and beyond.) This great post also validates my view about Geno/Shea/CD. Those 6 things they look for ARE ALL INTRINSIC and things one can't coach. Everyone might talk about it, but it's like a singing voice. You either have it or you don't. Every current UConn player (including new recruits) fit the bill on all six traits. The only trait that can diminish (in an obvious manner) is Ultra-Confidence. They all had it in high school. When push comes to shove and the real game time pressure-cooker heats up---the confidence can slip. Chong is the best example and her game as a whole suffers. As we all know, Stokes lost the offensive confidence while being ultra-confident in her rebounding and blocks.
Final thought - How many of the other D1 coaches would not have offensive or defensive skills high on the list.?

 

[MJL243]

Kia does play like a hockey player. Remember when she collided with Tulsa's Ashley Hughes and broke both of her two front teeth?

 

[MilfordHusky]

I love that quote, coming from her father. She is one tough person and player!