Someone is very wrong about Kia Nurse...

[Carnac]

Thank you for posting this in a new thread. I decided not to comment on the other thread because I did not wish to give the ridiculous original post more attention than it warranted.

Kia will be critical to UConn in the upcoming season -- she will be the most "seasoned" returning starter. As young as she looked (sometimes) on the Canadian Olympic team (and I thought she was perhaps their most effective player over the entire tournament), she will be just that "senior" on the UConn team. And we will see (in the context of WCBB rather than the Olympics) just how seasoned and durable she looks, and how well she leads.

My prediction is that she will take the helm and run the ship very successfully. I think she is ready to do that. That doesn't mean she will be at the Moriah level or even particularly close, but she will be at a level that is sufficient for UConn to have a very successful season. (I predict Final Four but not an NC.)

David, since you are into stats, I'm sure that many of us would be interested in a statistical comparison of Kia's sophomore stats against Moriah as a sophomore. I bet they are closer than some people think, including the A/TO ratio. (I don't know that -- it's just a prediction.)

Another point: Who, if not Kia, will be the secondary 3-point threat behind KLS on next year's team? If opponents run a box-and-one against Lou, where will the secondary perimeter scoring come from? It won't be Gabby or Napheesa -- they aren't 3-point artists at all. It certainly won't be Natalie. Are we expecting Saniya, Crystal, or Molly to come off the bench and save the day? That seems like wishful thinking to me.

Thanks for this response Joe, you nailed it!!!

 

[BigBird]

Players evolve in both their skills and their attitudes. Kia is a great contributor whose game is still growing and improving. Her stats support the near-unanimous appreciation she receives here from the BY and from other fans.

Her scoring outburst in the Pan Am games might have been the worst thing for her olympic games performance. She raised the expectations within her country to such altitude and visibility that a "normal" performance looked somewhat pale. And the pressure on her was real. Canada is a good team, but not a great one. There isn't an abundance of talent to pick up the slack when Kia isn't scoring. I saw that. Surely Kia saw that too. That becomes more pressure. The pressures of playing for Geno and UConn are, I think, of a different sort.

But really, how can anybody critcize a player who hasn't lost a game as a starter for two years?

...Just absurd.

 

[lne001]

Why is it a "poor choice." I saw it happen. Show that video. I was also told that Bird signed autographs with his LEFT hand.Watch Saniya(smooth)!

Your "poor choice" was using Larry Bird as the poster-boy for someone who could not shoot left-handed, based on 'one' bad shot your saw. The video I embedded above, which I suspect you did not watch, showed a game where Bird scored 22 points with his off hand. And then you compound that error by comparing Saniya Chong to him. Please!

 

[JordyG]

I also have few concerns about Kia this year. However Kia, work on and be more consistent with your outside shot and the WCB world will be your oyster.

 

[SWHuskyFan]

I saw a special on the '86 Celtics yesterday. Bird apparently was bored so he decided to shoot as often as he could left-handed and see how many points he could score that way. He said he had to switch back to right-handed late because the game was close. Can you imagine the grief he'd take now for admitting to being bored and taking intentionally harder shots in a live game just to entertain himself.

 

[meyers7]

Troll is a relative term. In this instance when you don't post all that frequently (in comparison to most posters here) then start a thread with a negative connotation and follow that up by tooting your own horn in your own thread... you have left yourself to be labelled as a troll. Be it accurate or not these are the laws of the internet.

 

[Nuyoika]

The Law of Exclamation is the best.... by far.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

LMAO!!! But where is Meyers Law? Actually, they all sound like you Meyers. Good one.

 

[CL82]

Poor choice of an example. Bird was the best off-hand scorer I ever saw play basketball. I offer this game as an example.

Add to that that Bird announced to Portland that he was only going to shoot lefty before the the start of the game (IIRC he said through the end of the 1st half.) Just flat out told them.

Gotta say Larry Legend was kind of an [jerk]. He's my favorite NBA player of all time though.

 

[huskyblooz]

Just need her to stay out foul trouble.

 

[Huskee11]

Some interesting comments re Larry Bird, my favorite alltime player with the possible exception of John Havlicek, and his left handed skills.

Those skills did not come to him, or to anyone not left-handed, automatically. I remember reading somewhere that he spent an entire offseason while with the Celtics shooting and dribbling only with his left hand.

Practice doesn`t make perfect, but it does make pretty darn good.