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The games of drizzly November are a fading memory. The mid-season doldrums are over. We're in the post-season. It's March. And this UConn team has become dangerous!
Phees, Our Lady of Grace. She brings size, length, great footwork and inside positioning, intelligent shot selection, reliability, consistency, and possibly the best hands and the best touch on the team. And now she's elected to also shoot from outside (which is about as fair as Sandy Koufax adding a split-finger fastball to his arsenal). She is so efficient, so poised. And a sophomore. (Re-read last sentence.) You never know. But we could be watching someone who years from now may be looked back upon as one of the all-time greats.
Gabby. To say she has athleticism is like saying Ella Fitzgerald had a good voice. Gabby brings energy, leaping, rebounding, smothering defense, a quick step, explosive drive to the basket, and a reliable in-between shot. Her work ethic is second to none. A guaranteed double-double (pick your categories) almost every game. "When Gabby guards you, you're guarded!" The LT of Women's College Basketball.
Lou Legend: Katie Lou's outside shot has come out of hibernation and must be respected and feared. Meanwhile, she has significantly developed many ways of getting to the basket. She uses her length. She finishes. She gets to the line. She curls and hits. She goes coast-to-coast on the steal. She drives the baseline, including the wrap around. Her defense is greatly improved. She runs the UConn fast break impeccably. She has a Tom Brady arm. She has matured in many ways, and as a result is taking pleasure in her own success and the success of her teammates. She could be playing the best basketball of her career.
Kia. Our most experienced player, and with Gaby our best defender. Our heart. And (when one is needed), our leader. She plays tough, always. (I'm reminded of what Ray Arcel once said of Roberto Duran: "Would you want to meet him in a dark alley at night? Neither would I"). She runs the floor hard, finishes layups, knows how to draw the foul, hits her free throws, and hits the three.
Saniya is playing the best basketball of her career. Period. She can run the offense. Her work ethic on defense is great (a real pest!). She reads the passing lanes as good as anyone on the team (it's just that Gabby can get there faster!) . She hits the three. She has developed excellent situational awareness; she knows when to push, when to slow things down, when to play for a last shot, etc. And (coach's dream): she doesn't commit turnovers.
Crystal Blue Persuasion: She showed today that she is gaining confidence in running offense. She is a
tenacious defender. She can shoot the three. And her passing and drives to the basket are terrific for a player in their first year. What she showed today is every bit as good as anything Moria showed in her first year. Easily one her 2-3 best games of the year.
Natalie. Also played one of her best games of the year today. She has become better at holding her position on defense, staying with the play, and using her size and length without fouling. She is also good at the two-man game, and can hit a pretty damn undefendable 15-footer. She gives the team time. And I like her seriousness and intensity. Even when things don't go well for her, she plays hard. There isn't another player on this team who gives me more pleasure when she plays well.
Kyla. Certainly not a reliable 6th man at this point. And we don't expert her to be. But you can see that she is becoming a solid product of Geno's system. She is learning what works well for her and how to use that to contribute. This includes getting into the post, using the glass, and hitting shots from a comfortable range. You can also see her defensive intensity has picked up as the season has gone on. With a bit more time, she will be reliable enough to give us a solid 8 minutes a game, with a dependable 4 to 6 points.
Molly. Still a long way from where Geno would ideally like to see her. But she is clearly a better player -- including better team player -- now than she was 2 months ago, and certainly since the beginning of the season.
Probably as important as all the above is this team's intelligence, its unselfishness, its ability to move the ball, and its knack for finding a way to get different players involved in different ways, game in and game out. Unlike almost every other team in college basketball, no one player consistently leads in the same way each game. And quite often we find two to three different players providing the unique contributions on a given night resulting in a win. That is what sets this team apart, from the competition and from other UConn teams of the past.
What a pleasure.
Phees, Our Lady of Grace. She brings size, length, great footwork and inside positioning, intelligent shot selection, reliability, consistency, and possibly the best hands and the best touch on the team. And now she's elected to also shoot from outside (which is about as fair as Sandy Koufax adding a split-finger fastball to his arsenal). She is so efficient, so poised. And a sophomore. (Re-read last sentence.) You never know. But we could be watching someone who years from now may be looked back upon as one of the all-time greats.
Gabby. To say she has athleticism is like saying Ella Fitzgerald had a good voice. Gabby brings energy, leaping, rebounding, smothering defense, a quick step, explosive drive to the basket, and a reliable in-between shot. Her work ethic is second to none. A guaranteed double-double (pick your categories) almost every game. "When Gabby guards you, you're guarded!" The LT of Women's College Basketball.
Lou Legend: Katie Lou's outside shot has come out of hibernation and must be respected and feared. Meanwhile, she has significantly developed many ways of getting to the basket. She uses her length. She finishes. She gets to the line. She curls and hits. She goes coast-to-coast on the steal. She drives the baseline, including the wrap around. Her defense is greatly improved. She runs the UConn fast break impeccably. She has a Tom Brady arm. She has matured in many ways, and as a result is taking pleasure in her own success and the success of her teammates. She could be playing the best basketball of her career.
Kia. Our most experienced player, and with Gaby our best defender. Our heart. And (when one is needed), our leader. She plays tough, always. (I'm reminded of what Ray Arcel once said of Roberto Duran: "Would you want to meet him in a dark alley at night? Neither would I"). She runs the floor hard, finishes layups, knows how to draw the foul, hits her free throws, and hits the three.
Saniya is playing the best basketball of her career. Period. She can run the offense. Her work ethic on defense is great (a real pest!). She reads the passing lanes as good as anyone on the team (it's just that Gabby can get there faster!) . She hits the three. She has developed excellent situational awareness; she knows when to push, when to slow things down, when to play for a last shot, etc. And (coach's dream): she doesn't commit turnovers.
Crystal Blue Persuasion: She showed today that she is gaining confidence in running offense. She is a
tenacious defender. She can shoot the three. And her passing and drives to the basket are terrific for a player in their first year. What she showed today is every bit as good as anything Moria showed in her first year. Easily one her 2-3 best games of the year.
Natalie. Also played one of her best games of the year today. She has become better at holding her position on defense, staying with the play, and using her size and length without fouling. She is also good at the two-man game, and can hit a pretty damn undefendable 15-footer. She gives the team time. And I like her seriousness and intensity. Even when things don't go well for her, she plays hard. There isn't another player on this team who gives me more pleasure when she plays well.
Kyla. Certainly not a reliable 6th man at this point. And we don't expert her to be. But you can see that she is becoming a solid product of Geno's system. She is learning what works well for her and how to use that to contribute. This includes getting into the post, using the glass, and hitting shots from a comfortable range. You can also see her defensive intensity has picked up as the season has gone on. With a bit more time, she will be reliable enough to give us a solid 8 minutes a game, with a dependable 4 to 6 points.
Molly. Still a long way from where Geno would ideally like to see her. But she is clearly a better player -- including better team player -- now than she was 2 months ago, and certainly since the beginning of the season.
Probably as important as all the above is this team's intelligence, its unselfishness, its ability to move the ball, and its knack for finding a way to get different players involved in different ways, game in and game out. Unlike almost every other team in college basketball, no one player consistently leads in the same way each game. And quite often we find two to three different players providing the unique contributions on a given night resulting in a win. That is what sets this team apart, from the competition and from other UConn teams of the past.
What a pleasure.
