Stewart Impresses

[Wbbfan1]

DougFeinberg - Link

 

[MilfordHusky]

Stewie already has 5 Golds with Team USA. And looking forward ..

"She's on pace to be the first player ever to win a gold medal for the U.S. at every major international competition. All she's missing are the World University games, World Championship and Olympic golds. She could conceivably get all three in the next three years."

 

[Phil]

Nice.

 

[ThisJustIn]

Gold Hog.

 

[Wbbfan1]

Missing a 3 X 3 Team Gold Medal as well.

Stewie already has 5 Golds with Team USA. And looking forward ..

"She's on pace to be the first player ever to win a gold medal for the U.S. at every major international competition. All she's missing are the World University games, World Championship and Olympic golds. She could conceivably get all three in the next three years."

 

[Phil]

I think that's why "major" was used.

 

[Tonyc]

I don't know of a combo that is better then Stewart and KML. Maya and Tina come to mind. We have 2 years to watch them. NCs for the next 2 seasons should be foregone conclusions if we stay healthy.

 

[easttexastrash]

This camp will only make Stewart better, playing against the best in the world. Her confidence will be sky high next season

Glad to Griner, Sims and Young at the camp. I am thrilled to have BG getting some coaching from Geno. I think he is the one women's coach that will know how to coach her up and utilize her talents to the fullest.

 

[Tonyc]

This camp will only make Stewart better, playing against the best in the world. Her confidence will be sky high next season

Glad to Griner, Sims and Young at the camp. I am thrilled to have BG getting some coaching from Geno. I think he is the one women's coach that will know how to coach her up and utilize her talents to the fullest.

Like what your sayin. There are to many girls with potential that are not coached by Geno for their own reasons. Griner IMO could have been a SuperStar if Geno had coached her. JMO folks. When you have a coach and staff that can develop you, its your loss for not taken advantage of it.

 

[UCONNfan1]

I imagine all UCONN fans feel this way, but I'm looking forward to seeing how Stewart plays this coming year. I think opposing teams were a bit surprised how incredible she was during the NCAA run after having a really solid, but unspectacular, regular season campaign.

If anyone was surprised by her play, or what she can do, they certainly aren't now. Reminds me a bit of Griner - you KNEW what she was going to do, but it was very hard to stop her.

 

[UCONNfan1]

Like what your sayin. There are to many girls with potential that are not coached by Geno for their own reasons. Griner IMO could have been a SuperStar if Geno had coached her. JMO folks. When you have a coach and staff that can develop you, its your loss for not taken advantage of it.

How much better could Griner have been in college? She averaged 18, 23, 23.2 and 23.8 PPG over her college career. 3,208 or so points. That's about 200 more than Maya scored in college.

I would argue that Griner would have scored less points had she come to UCONN because UCONN had so many other scoring options, but I realize you can never know for sure. My point is that Griner was always skinny and thin in college. I'm sure she got stronger over her 4 years, but I really don't think there's much Mulkey could have done to "gotten more potential" out of Griner.

This is not to say I don't think Geno is a better coach. I do. I'm just not sure how much better Griner would have been if Geno had coached her for 4 years.

 

[VAMike23]

How much better could Griner have been in college? She averaged 18, 23, 23.2 and 23.8 PPG over her college career. 3,208 or so points. That's about 200 more than Maya scored in college.

I would argue that Griner would have scored less points had she come to UCONN because UCONN had so many other scoring options, but I realize you can never know for sure. My point is that Griner was always skinny and thin in college. I'm sure she got stronger over her 4 years, but I really don't think there's much Mulkey could have done to "gotten more potential" out of Griner.

This is not to say I don't think Geno is a better coach. I do. I'm just not sure how much better Griner would have been if Geno had coached her for 4 years.

I think Geno would have ridden her harder on her rebounding, which remains average at best given her size/length.

Tina did not come in with the kind of inborn intensity of a Maya Moore (very few do) so she had to get there the hard way, acquiring it in the crucible under Geno. Not a lot of fun at times. I think it would have been similar with BG. By her junior/senior year I think we would have seen much more assertive player on the glass, as we did with Tina.

 

[UcMiami]

This is not a specific knock on Kim or Sherri or the other good coaches out there, but Geno does not let players get away with only doing what they are comfortable with if they have the ability to broaden their game. I never felt C. Paris was challenged enough nor BG to expand their offensive arsenal. They were great in college because in different ways they were imposing and dominant, but Paris is gone from the WNBA and Griner struggled more than people expected because they had not gotten the work in college and were able to coast on what they could easily do very well. Maya playing for most other coaches in the women's game would have contentedly relied on her great outside shot - Geno challenged her to score in the paint, to build her low post game and to improve her ball handling and driving skills and her rebounds. Tina developed her mid-range game, her intensity, and her rebounding. They both would have had decorated college careers and good pro careers but they probably would not have had the instant success and awards in the W had they played for someone else.

 

[UCONNfan1]

I think Geno would have ridden her harder on her rebounding, which remains average at best given her size/length.

Tina did not come in with the kind of inborn intensity of a Maya Moore (very few do) so she had to get there the hard way, acquiring it in the crucible, under Geno. Not a lot of fun at times. I think it would have been similar with BG. By her junior/senior year I think we would have seen much more assertive player on the glass, as we did with Tina.

That makes sense. Rebounding is often about effort.

 

[rocky rococo]

I'm concerned to read that Bria is still struggling with her ankle. It's starting to sound like there may be permanent damage there.

 

[VAMike23]

I'm concerned to read that Bria is still struggling with her ankle. It's starting to sound like there may be permanent damage there.

Once sprained, ankles can be susceptible to re-sprains. It's a vicious cycle. I had a friend in hs who played hoops. Very athletic guy, no history of injuries. He sprained his ankle pretty good one time and then did it again a few months later after stepping on another player's foot in the lane. After that, it seemed like every year he was dealing with that ankle.

Not saying that Bria's ankle is going to be this way this season, but once sprained these ligaments can weaken and become problematic. I think Geno and Shea (and Rosemary) are going to manage her somewhat conservatively this year.

 

[UcMiami]

I'm concerned to read that Bria is still struggling with her ankle. It's starting to sound like there may be permanent damage there.

Sprained ankles happen to all basketball players quite frequently. Most of them are little tweaks that can be shaken off, some are more serious. The problem last year is that Bria had a fairly serious sprain and ignore it and continued to play on it making it worse and she didn't say anything until it started interfering with her play. She sprained it in August and she wasn't shut down until October as I remember it.
So she sprained her ankle again this past week (after having no foot problems from March - Sept) and being a little smarter this time she mentioned it to the staff and they shut her down and did not allow her to travel. She could still be playing on it and Geno was quoted as saying if he had allowed her to go to Vegas she would have tried to do too much (she is too competitive) and risked the same result she had last year. Instead she is probably resting it for 10 days so it does not become a chronic problem again. 3 days in Vegas wasn't worth maybe messing with her senior year.
I don't see this as a huge deal at this time - if it happens a few times during the season it might become one. We have a few players who had issues last year with Stef, Kiah, and Morgan as well as Hartley - with a short bench, we can expect the trainers and staff to be a little extra cautious with bumps and bruises especially before the season starts.

 

[Icebear]

How much better could Griner have been in college? She averaged 18, 23, 23.2 and 23.8 PPG over her college career. 3,208 or so points. That's about 200 more than Maya scored in college.

I would argue that Griner would have scored less points had she come to UCONN because UCONN had so many other scoring options, but I realize you can never know for sure. My point is that Griner was always skinny and thin in college. I'm sure she got stronger over her 4 years, but I really don't think there's much Mulkey could have done to "gotten more potential" out of Griner.

This is not to say I don't think Geno is a better coach. I do. I'm just not sure how much better Griner would have been if Geno had coached her for 4 years.

It isn't all about scoring. Imagine BG's presence on the court with even half of Kelly Faris's will to impact every play and every aspect of the game. Still as good as those scoring numbers might be there is no reason her scoring couldn't well have been 25 per game as an average throughout college with the will of Wilt Chamberlin or Bill Russell to impose herself on the game.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

How much better could Griner have been in college? She averaged 18, 23, 23.2 and 23.8 PPG over her college career. 3,208 or so points. That's about 200 more than Maya scored in college.

I would argue that Griner would have scored less points had she come to UCONN because UCONN had so many other scoring options, but I realize you can never know for sure. My point is that Griner was always skinny and thin in college. I'm sure she got stronger over her 4 years, but I really don't think there's much Mulkey could have done to "gotten more potential" out of Griner.

This is not to say I don't think Geno is a better coach. I do. I'm just not sure how much better Griner would have been if Geno had coached her for 4 years.

I think you are correct if points scored are the measure of development. However, passing, rebounding, defense, sense of team play, activity off the ball...these measures populate Geno’s World.

 

[diggerfoot]

This is not a specific knock on Kim or Sherri or the other good coaches out there, but Geno does not let players get away with only doing what they are comfortable with if they have the ability to broaden their game. I never felt C. Paris was challenged enough nor BG to expand their offensive arsenal. They were great in college because in different ways they were imposing and dominant, but Paris is gone from the WNBA and Griner struggled more than people expected because they had not gotten the work in college and were able to coast on what they could easily do very well. Maya playing for most other coaches in the women's game would have contentedly relied on her great outside shot - Geno challenged her to score in the paint, to build her low post game and to improve her ball handling and driving skills and her rebounds. Tina developed her mid-range game, her intensity, and her rebounding. They both would have had decorated college careers and good pro careers but they probably would not have had the instant success and awards in the W had they played for someone else.

UcMiami, I agree with you more often than with dd even , but I will make one little nitpick here. Moore does not have the personality to be content with anything. She would have tried on her own to build upon anything she perceived as a weakness in her game, and being as smart as she is would have addressed everything eventually. Auriemma's value in this case is guidance in the form he would rib her mercilessly about. Remember his jokes about her moving from spot to spot without a clue until she would get lucky (my words, but something to that effect)? Auriemma made her game more purposeful, reduced the learning curve for her towards the greatness she would have achieved one way or another. I think EDD might be the same player in this regards, one who would have benefited by having her learning curve reduced, but obviously is still on the way towards the same overall game and greatness. On the other hand, I do agree with all the sentiments expressed here that Griner's game would have been expanded if coached by Auriemma, in a similar fashion as Charles.

 

[meyers7]

Remember his jokes about her moving from spot to spot without a clue until she would get lucky (my words, but something to that effect)?

You probably mean this clip.

 

[UcMiami]

UcMiami, I agree with you more often than with dd even , but I will make one little nitpick here. Moore does not have the personality to be content with anything. She would have tried on her own to build upon anything she perceived as a weakness in her game, and being as smart as she is would have addressed everything eventually. Auriemma's value in this case is guidance in the form he would rib her mercilessly about. Remember his jokes about her moving from spot to spot without a clue until she would get lucky (my words, but something to that effect)? Auriemma made her game more purposeful, reduced the learning curve for her towards the greatness she would have achieved one way or another. I think EDD might be the same player in this regards, one who would have benefited by having her learning curve reduced, but obviously is still on the way towards the same overall game and greatness. On the other hand, I do agree with all the sentiments expressed here that Griner's game would have been expanded if coached by Auriemma, in a similar fashion as Charles.

Digger - I agree with the description of Maya's personality and intensity and I don't think we are in disagreement - what I am saying is that Maya would not have been as advanced in her development when she arrived in the W had she not had a staff pushing her and also giving her the road map and demanding she follow it. And other coaches might never have designed plays for her where she was the first option in the low post to force her to focus on that aspect in game situations, etc. BG has a sweet 15 ft shot, but how often did she take a foul line jumper in college? As soon as she moved out of the low post, defenses could ignore her as a scoring threat except on the drive and the Baylor offense became four on five until she moved back down there - that hurt BG's game and the game of every other player on the team. BG will develop that shot in the W because she has too against the better competition, but the learning curve as you say is slower because that wasn't added in college. Maya learned that even though she could be successful in college with her rise and fire move, against better competition she better have variations on that move because if she didn't she would be predictable and good defenders at the next level would make that a much harder shot if that was all she had. She would have figured that out herself but maybe not until she started getting it blocked in the W.

 

[katiecrum1992]

Once sprained, ankles can be susceptible to re-sprains. It's a vicious cycle. I had a friend in hs who played hoops. Very athletic guy, no history of injuries. He sprained his ankle pretty good one time and then did it again a few months later after stepping on another player's foot in the lane. After that, it seemed like every year he was dealing with that ankle.

Not saying that Bria's ankle is going to be this way this season, but once sprained these ligaments can weaken and become problematic. I think Geno and Shea (and Rosemary) are going to manage her somewhat conservatively this year.

Grant Hill had ankle problems for several seasons when he was in Orlando.