So why didn't Geno & staff correct it? Slipping? | The Boneyard

So why didn't Geno & staff correct it? Slipping?

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‘Nothing more you can ask of her’: Why the Lynx’s Naphessa Collier should be the WNBA’s rookie of the year | MinnPost A really good article.
"WNBA teams lack scouting staffs, so the coaches themselves spend the fall and winter on the road evaluating draft prospects. That duty took Lynx assistant coach Shelley Patterson to the U.S. Virgin Islands last November for the women’s Paradise Jam, an early-season tournament featuring 11-time NCAA champion Connecticut and seven other schools."
'Patterson’s scouting list included Naphessa Collier, the star UConn forward. As the games unfolded, the 6-foot-1 Collier showed WNBA-level speed and skills in every department except one. And it was a big one. “The one thing she can’t do,” Patterson remembers thinking, “is shoot.”'
Patterson, in her 10th season with the Lynx, saw three issues for the right-handed shooting Collier. Her left hand covered so much of the ball that she shot almost two-handed, her left thumb pushing shots left or right — a common mistake coaches call “thumbing the ball.” Collier’s right elbow also flared out, affecting her aim. And she shot the ball on her way down. All that explained why Collier’s 3-point shooting percentage plummeted from .431 as a sophomore to .344 as a junior, and dropped further to .283 as a senior.
Collier was stunned when Patterson showed her video and still photos of her shot. “I would see pictures, and it would look ridiculous,” Collier said. “I knew it was something I had to change.”
(So why didn’t Coach Geno Auriemma or anyone else at UConn correct this? Excellent question. Reeve jokingly blamed Collier’s Missouri-based skills coach, Alex Bazzell, a good gag if you know Bazzell and Collier are dating. “The first thing we said to her the first day was, ‘Get rid of that guy,’” said Reeve, who was kidding.)
What is NOAH basketball?
 
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How dare Geno not develop his primary 4/5 player’s jump shot better. I mean it’s bad enough she only shot 60% from the field for her UConn career. Come on now Geno, you’re better than this :rolleyes::D
 
'Patterson’s scouting list included Naphessa Collier, the star UConn forward. As the games unfolded, the 6-foot-1 Collier showed WNBA-level speed and skills in every department except one.
Hmmmm, maybe they were working on all those????
 
I repeatedly mentioned the change in her shot after her sophomore year. It was so frustrating to see her performance decline--yes decline--when it didn't have to, and when she should've been getting better. Great as she was, she could've been even more dominant her last two seasons had that shot been fixed.
 
Naphessa was needed at the 3 and the 4 so, consequently shooting 3s wasn't a UConn priority. However, at the next level...Naphessa is a solid 3 and three point shooting is more of a priority. At UConn they had the sharp shooting Katie Lou Samuelson, decent three point shooter in Crystal Dangerfield and both Christen Williams and Megan Walker could shoot the three if needed. With the loss Breanna Stewart who gobbled up rebounds and blocked shots Naphessa needed to get back to playing under the basket.
 
Naphessa was needed at the 3 and the 4 so, consequently shooting 3s wasn't a UConn priority.

The problem wasn't just her 3-pt shot even if that's what the article focuses on. Her form on anything outside 12 feet changed after her sophomore season. And that bled into her free throw form too which developed a timing issue for a while.
 
I wonder if any WCBB programs (UConn) will buy the hardware and incorporate NOAH into their training programs.
 
So why didn’t Coach Geno Auriemma or anyone else at UConn correct this? Excellent question.
A simple & maybe somewhat unpopular answer is that you can't fix everything therefore you have to prioritize.
The team priorities going into Napheesa Junior year were 1) Establish Crystal as the starting PG 2) Incorporate some more size on the front line aka Azura who happen to play the same position as Napheesa. As good as Napheesa's Sophomore season was, AP 1st team AA while putting up UCONN all time numbers in FG accuracy, it would have been irresponsible of UCONN to prioritize "correcting her shot" because shooting in general was not an issue. As a team UCONN actually shot slightly better in Napheesa's Junior season than it did in her Sophomore season.
 
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I should have seen it and voiced the issues here. :rolleyes:
 
Actually I think some of you are correct when you talk about in the concept of the team's need and a limited amount of coaching time, it just wasn't the most important thing in the @UconnWBB universe.
 
Hmmmmm I didn’t know that they were dating :)
 
Next to Mikayla’s shooting stroke, Pheesa’s shot was a thing of beauty...:confused:

The truth is it is extremely hard to break down and rebuild a shot. It can take hundreds of hours of work and there is no guarantee of success.

As some have alluded here, there is only so much time available in college to work on shooting mechanics. With Pheesa now a professional, it’s her full time job to work on all aspects of her game.
 
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Yup. Coach Auriemma and his coaching staff don't know a thing about coaching and developing players.
 

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