Something learned about KLS, besides the obvious:

[OldAlum]

KLS has been a bit of a surprise. I thought she would be a great long-distance shooter. But it took her a while to find her shot - even when she was left open. I thought she would be soft (I mean the girl wears mascara to a BB game!). But she surprised me with her toughness. It has been great to watch her start to put it all together.

 

[huskyd]

In 27 games KLS has a grand total of 4 block shots. Can you see why this would be a bad idea?

Valid point. But while we can't dispute what Lou has done so far, we also can't assume that she won't be able to do more going forward. Bre as a freshman was not who she is today. From Geno's comparison of KLS's skill set to Brianna's, I think it's reasonable that his expectations will follow. You're right about the physical abuse; I've written about that often, but it seems that Stewart has adjusted w/out a debilitating injury (thank God). Gabby became a front court player out of necessity. It may not be ideal to use Lou inside, but w/out a Wilson or a Cox it may be what happens. Let's wait until next year. I do appreciate and share your confidence in Kayla.

 

[UcMiami]

Anyone else notice the difference in play since the Cinci game? Seems to me the experiment was a success! Lou has taken a more active role on the court as has Collier and to some degree Butler. They aren't being quite so deferential to their older teammates and are asserting themselves more.

(This coaching staff actually might know what they are doing! )

 

[JordyG]

Valid point. But while we can't dispute what Lou has done so far, we also can't assume that she won't be able to do more going forward. Bre as a freshman was not who she is today. From Geno's comparison of KLS's skill set to Brianna's, I think it's reasonable that his expectations will follow. You're right about the physical abuse; I've written about that often, but it seems that Stewart has adjusted w/out a debilitating injury (thank God). Gabby became a front court player out of necessity. It may not be ideal to use Lou inside, but w/out a Wilson or a Cox it may be what happens. Let's wait until next year. I do appreciate and share your confidence in Kayla.

KLS sees herself as a wing/guard, and plays that way. Effective post play is a mindset as well. Yes, she is hard nosed and yes as her game develops she will learn to use her height and arm length inside to her advantage. And yes as time goes on she will be more effective offensively down low. Unless she's caught in a switch her strength is not defending post players because her body type puts her at a disadvantage. As it stands now she's a nightmare for the 2's and 3's she covers. Let's keep it that way. Geno by the way has often compared her to Abrosimova, not Stewie.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Geno over 2 months ago: "If we are going to win a national championship this year Katie Lou is going to have a lot to do with it."

 

[ochoopsfan]

I know I mentioned this in the past. Geno was at a game that KLS played for Mater Dei. I am pretty sure it was her sophomore year. She was knocked down by an elbow or an arm bar to the back. Nobody helped her up. In about the next minute she scored 3 times, the first two were drives to the basket(over the player who knocked her down) and the third was a 3 pointer, to dot the exclamation point. I think then, Geno knew she was tough.

As for Anigwe, a freshman who plays for Cal she has a stat that is a very unique and poor number, IMO. How does a post or PF have 93 turnovers. She gets the ball under or near the basket, a high percentage shot. So how can you turn the ball over so much? She only has 18 assists, so she isnt passing the ball to a teammate either. I think she has potential to do more but not sure how she is turning the ball over so much. By the way, Lou has 35 turnovers.

 

[UcMiami]

I know I mentioned this in the past. Geno was at a game that KLS played for Mater Dei. I am pretty sure it was her sophomore year. She was knocked down by an elbow or an arm bar to the back. Nobody helped her up. In about the next minute she scored 3 times, the first two were drives to the basket(over the player who knocked her down) and the third was a 3 pointer, to dot the exclamation point. I think then, Geno knew she was tough.

As for Anigwe, a freshman who plays for Cal she has a stat that is a very unique and poor number, IMO. How does a post or PF have 93 turnovers. She gets the ball under or near the basket, a high percentage shot. So how can you turn the ball over so much? She only has 18 assists, so she isnt passing the ball to a teammate either. I think she has potential to do more but not sure how she is turning the ball over so much. By the way, Lou has 35 turnovers.

Just a note on the post turnovers, especially when a post is the best scoring option on a team - it is quite usual for them to have a lot of turnovers - they are frequently being double teamed, and will have guards reaching in all the time. I suspect she also gets quite a few offensive fouls called which are recorded as turnovers. Tina for example had 87 TOs and only 63 assists as a senior on a very well balanced team.

 

[Gate81]

Chiney Ogwumike has stated that Anigwe has moves in her freshman year that she didn't develop for a few years. That plus seeing Anigwe play gives her my vote. I HIGHLY recommend people stay up late and watch a Cal game. The rest of the team has been one disappointment after another, and she as a freshman is carrying the team on her back. NOT having time to improve her skills and be mentored by the best player in WCBB. KLS may be all around better than Anigwe in 1-2 years given the superb coaching + potential, but this year Anigwe has meant everything to her team.

 

[huskyd]

KLS sees herself as a wing/guard, and plays that way. Effective post play is a mindset as well. Yes, she is hard nosed and yes as her game develops she will learn to use her height and arm length inside to her advantage. And yes as time goes on she will be more effective offensively down low. Unless she's caught in a switch her strength is not defending post players because her body type puts her at a disadvantage. As it stands now she's a nightmare for the 2's and 3's she covers. Let's keep it that way. Geno by the way has often compared her to Abrosimova, not Stewie.

In an ideal world, Jordy, putting Lou inside might be a bad idea. I'm not advocating it (as if my opinion mattered). Using Bre inside wasn't that pleasant to watch, given the pummeling she got; same issue as KLS (wrong body type). Geno spoke often of "freeing Stewart up" by getting her some help in the post. But as "necessity is the mother of invention," Bre wound up doing what the team needed. The fact that she is so darned good at it, is a bonus. Let's keep it that way? Obviously Geno will figure it out. We're just having fun speculating and flapping our lowers . . .

 

[JordyG]

In an ideal world, Jordy, putting Lou inside might be a bad idea. I'm not advocating it (as if my opinion mattered). Using Bre inside wasn't that pleasant to watch, given the pummeling she got; same issue as KLS (wrong body type). Geno spoke often of "freeing Stewart up" by getting her some help in the post. But as "necessity is the mother of invention," Bre wound up doing what the team needed. The fact that she is so darned good at it, is a bonus. Let's keep it that way? Obviously Geno will figure it out. We're just having fun speculating and flapping our lowers . . .

I agree. But freeing up Stewie can also entail hitting shots on the perimeter which Geno has stated many times. This prevents teams clogging the lane allowing Stewie to post isolate and/or get easier post entries which in turn allows open perimeter shots.

 

[bags27]

Maybe this is too heavy a burden to put on someone, but Geno is the one:
"She has been really good the last two weeks or 10 days,” Auriemma said. “She has a different kind of presence out there. She reminds me so much of Stewie (Breanna Stewart) when Stewie was a freshman. There is a lot of great stuff going on and during the game there will be a lot of (times) when you go ‘wow’ and then there are things that she still struggles with.”
http://www.nhregister.com/sports/20160224/uconn-women-clinch-third-straight-aac-crown

 

[MilfordHusky]

Anyone else notice the difference in play since the Cinci game? Seems to me the experiment was a success! Lou has taken a more active role on the court as has Collier and to some degree Butler. They aren't being quite so deferential to their older teammates and are asserting themselves more.

(This coaching staff actually might know what they are doing! )

I thought Courtney got assertive after the TO last night too.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

You don't have to be Stewie to be terrific. Lou has had a fine frosh trajectory and we are going to enjoy this career path very much.

 

[Rb335]

One of the biggest complaints about KLS this season has been her shooting from beyond the arc. I think we often compare incoming freshman to outgoing seniors when they are asked to fill someones role. KLS has been compared to KML by nature of their shooting.

KML Freshman Shooting- 93-242 3pfg for 38.4% over 38 games, 6.36 att/ game
KLS through 27 games- 52-145 3pfg for 35.9% over 27 games, 5.37 att/game

KLS shooting projected out to 38 games at her current pace she would be 73-204. If you projected her shooting to equal the same number of attempts as KML as a freshman, Lou would be 87-242.

Looking at it like this, KLS has proven that she is a good shooter and can really contribute. KML was forced to take on a large offensive role but if Lou was in that same position, scoring 6 less threes on the same number of attempts is a pretty minuscule number over the course of the entire season.

Just looking at this, and her 40% shooting percentage from 3 in conference has made me realize that with a larger offensive load over the next three years, KLS will be right up there with KML for career 3 point makes and remembered as one of the better shooters to come through the program.

 

[MilfordHusky]

In terms of Lou and her shooting, Geno's presser shines more light on what he said and meant.

http://the-boneyard.com/threads/geno-auriemma-postgame-press-conference-smu.88367/

He notes that the guy whom Lou replaced made 5 threes per game--"with her eyes closed." He then says that Lou needs to do more. Kaleena didn't do more her freshman year and, therefore, didn't win a national championship. I think Geno would agree that Kaleena did more her next 3 seasons. If Kaleena had boxed out at the end of regulation in the semi-final game in 2012, she probably would have won 4 championships. Attention to detail, as Geno and CD preach! That one play motivated K for the next 3 seasons.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

In an ideal world, Jordy, putting Lou inside might be a bad idea. I'm not advocating it (as if my opinion mattered). Using Bre inside wasn't that pleasant to watch, given the pummeling she got; same issue as KLS (wrong body type). Geno spoke often of "freeing Stewart up" by getting her some help in the post. But as "necessity is the mother of invention," Bre wound up doing what the team needed. The fact that she is so darned good at it, is a bonus. Let's keep it that way? Obviously Geno will figure it out. We're just having fun speculating and flapping our lowers . . .

The same with Tina Charles. When she was playing under the basket in the WNBA, the other teams all triple-teamed her. Her shooting percentage went south, her scoring was mediocre. But now she's been permitted to move out about ten feet, and it made all the difference last season. She was quoted as saying that she far prefers playing as a forward compared with post.

 

[Jimbo]

Of course Lou is tough—just look at the uniform number she's wearing! Meg Pattyson, Jamelle, Shea, Barbara Turner…all tough as nails! Great to see KLS carrying on that tradition!

What's really impressed me about Lou's game of late has been how many of the scrappy, non-box-score plays she keeps making. It seems at least a couple times a game she'll dive on the floor to force a tie up, bat a loose offensive rebound to keep it alive, take a charge, all the little things that lead to extra possessions and help win games. Oh, and by the way, her shot's come around too. Can't wait to see what she has in store for us fans over the next 3+ seasons!

 

[bags27]

What's really impressed me about Lou's game of late has been how many of the scrappy, non-box-score plays she keeps making.

Lou leads the team in charges taken. I wish that were a statistic. It's more important blocked shots, because it IS a blocked shot, but it also: 1. guarantees possession of the ball, and 2. adds a personal foul to the other side. It is an inspiring play that gets your team juiced.

 

[hoophuskee]

I Love Lou C. Everyone above seems suitably excited by the progress she has made, but there's even MORE. Geno has said that KLS has all of Bre's tools (not her ability yet). He should know. While dropping those 3's is money, Lou's assists are a wonder to behold; she was a great passer almost from the get-go. Next year I believe she'll slide into the middle more, much as Stewart did in her second go round. AND she's begun to obstruct, deflect, and block opponent's shots. Sorry she got her dimples dented last night but love how she checked her teeth and shrugged it off. California Dreamin.

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