So What Does Saniya Need To Do?

[phil sampieri]

Like I said before I think it would be a huge mistake to tamper with her shot. That's the one thing that she does have confidence in and at which she is extremely adept. As has been said by other posters, there are many other things she needs to working on.

Exactly- Remember when some yarders wanted to change Tiffany Hayes stroke. Appears she is doing extremely well.

 

[sawxfan23]

Saniya was 18-year-old Freshman playing on the best team in the country, with 3 AA's in the starting line-up and a 4th that should have been. She was the only scholarship frosh. She was tentative and a bit overwhelmed at times. Plus her defense wasn't up to Husky standards, which is crucial to playing time with Geno. MoJet was similar last year. A players biggest improvement is generally between their freshman and sophomore years. Saniya working with Shea and CD will be fine. We know she can shoot and she can score almost at will, I'm sure she's working this Summer on getting stronger, which she obviously needs to do, but I anticipate she'll be fine, with a stroke like she has if she can avoid injury we'll be talking about another AA guard at UConn this time next year!!

We do? She was a below average 3 pt shooter last year and the ONLY time she scored was on fast beak uncontested layups or wide open uncontested 3 point shots. Another All American guard? Are you serious Clark? Why don't we let her prove she can be a solid player first and even maybe even start consistently before we start talking about All American status?

 

[genosguy]

So what does Saniya Chong need to do to take her game to the next level this year? In rewatching several games that I had taped last year, I was struck by a few things. At times she appeared tentative in her play and a little too deferential to her teammates. She seemed to stay on the perimeter and rarely penetrated or scored easy buckets. Was she overwhelmed by the speed of the game or by the strength of her opponents? While she did not commit a lot of turnovers, she seemed hesitant to take chances. I compare this with Bria Hartley who even as a freshman seemed to have ice in her veins and was very aggressive in taking it to the hole.

I like Saniya a lot and think its important for her to get off to a strong start this year. So what do you think Geno might have told her that she needed to work on during the offseason? And what do you think she needs to do to become a real contributor this year?

SONIYA was a FRESHMAN. She was intimidated when the season got underway--with big time teams (ala Steward a year before) with lessor teams she scored and penetrated. She looked like she was afraid to make a mistake. She was a good dishing guard, but didn't take any pressure off those inside. She has the ability to penetrate and to score the 3 in bunches. So now you know the problems Geno had ---she screamed , conjolled

 

[genosguy]

The last line should have said Geno Screamed , cajoled and pleaded with her---Geno is hard on Freshman (but harder or Juniors) it a cosmic shift from high school.
She's talented or Geno would not have recruited her. She is tough, good teammate or Geno would not have recruited her. If we the FAN believe in her she will feel the love and I believe she'll be everything we all thought she would be. Our next great Connecticut Uconn players , who will prove really good, is Edwards. Chong is a close by New Yorker--

 

[HoopsFan21]

Saniya just needs to not suck. Or, get used to coming in when UConn is up by 20 with 10 minutes left to play in the 1st half.

 

[OneTrickPony]

Saniya strikes me as the typical highly intelligent player who looks tentative when they start overthinking new things...this process takes about 18 months in general to become internalized and start becoming an autonomic reaction as opposed to a volitional process. My feeling is that she will have an epiphany during this season that will surprise even her. I'm anxious to see it play out...

 

[Aluminny69]

In regards to Saniya (and Brianna Banks for that matter): Last year, UConn started FIVE ( count 'em five) present and/or future All Americans. That's a pretty tough lineup for anyone to crack. Next season, UConn will start three AAs, but I wouldn't count out Morgan Tuck or any of the Freshmen from future AA status either. That's a very tall hill to climb.

 

[WesternPaFan]

Needs to improve her toughness to match up with the guards she will be playing .

Toughness.

 

[alexrgct]

Call me crazy, but I think it'll help her cause if she shoots the ball in the direction of the basket more often, and the ball makes it through the hoop with greater frequency than previously.

 

[UConnCat]

Call me crazy, but I think it'll help her cause if she shoots the ball in the direction of the basket more often, and the ball makes it through the hoop with greater frequency than previously.

It really is that simple. My first thought when seeing the question posed in this thread was: Saniya needs to make shots. If she does, she'll play a lot and probably start.