This year's Freshmen ?

[magic]

Thoughts on this years freshmen ?
Kia Nurse- Love her toughness. Just scratching the surface of the player she will be .
Gabby Williams - Off the charts athletic ability. She could be a sensational 2 or 3 if she works on
skills.
Courtney Ekmark- I still don't feel as if I've seen her play eough because of injury. I have
concerns . Wonder if she regrets not playing last year ?

 

[Glenn]

Kia Nurse quickly became an important part of the team, probably played more at the sophomore level than like a freshman owing to her summer with the Olympic team. I think she got worn out by the end of the year.

Gaby William was a huge surprise. I had assumed that she would have shown more effects from her injuries--recall how they decimated Caroline Doty. She is going to be terrific.

Courtney Ekmark was a big disappointment. Her shot was off all season, from 3 and even from the free throw line. Moreover, she looked really slow. I don't think that her lost month in December can explain her low performance.

I would also add, that of the non-freshmen, Tuck was a pleasant surprise--she looked really rusty her first couple of games, but by the ND game she as awesome. And Stokes was disappointment that her offensive capabilities never developed.

 

[chrissaran]

I'm curious about Saniya and Courtney's future with UConn. With the freshmen coming in, they could get buried on the bench.

 

[Goodgood]

I'm curious about Saniya and Courtney's future with UConn. With the freshmen coming in, they could get buried on the bench.

Not enough guards for that. They both will play at least as much as this year.

 

[chrissaran]

Don't forget that Kia is a point guard. KLS can play the 2 or 3 and so can Collier. They're not going to play just because they don't have enough guards. Also, with all the up front players, Gabby could swing between the 2 and the 3.

 

[UcMiami]

Folks forget back to the first game of the season - Geno and the coaches obviously felt that Courtney was the most ready freshman - she was first off the bench and played 19 minutes. And then it went south quickly with the injury and she never got back into rhythm. It is going to be a big off season for her.

Williams really needs to work on her foul shots and the 15 ft' shots from everywhere. Until she gets at least 60% on FTs she will never play in a close game because teams will seek out fouls on her.

Kia - not a freshman, but I really hope she can get some rest between now and the start of practice - the Canadian National team schedule looks full from June through the end of August.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Williams really needs to work on her foul shots and the 15 ft' shots from everywhere. Until she gets at least 60% on FTs she will never play in a close game because teams will seek out fouls on her..

UConn's only played in about two close games the past two years and none where they've had a small lead in the last minute where intentional fouling became an issue. I don't think this is likely to be a factor for Williams.

 

[HGN]

They all will be just fine......Heck, they were freshmen guys. Give them a chance. And other than Nurse (who had International experience) they all played like freshmen most of the time making mistakes. With offseason work they will all be better next year.

Geno has said that its the sophomore jump he looks at. That if a player doesn't show good improvement during their 2nd year is when he worries. So let's follow his lead on this.

 

[JellyBean]

Kia Nurse- Very impressive. Huge upside. She is not shy. I hope that she keeps that assertive nature with her going into her sophomore year. I believe that she is going to be another great UConn women's basketball player. Solid on defense with her quick feet and hands and aggressive nature. Confident on the offensive side to attack the rim. Just needs to improve her jump shot. But I like this young lady.

Courtney Ekmark- Was a shocker. But I think nerves played a factor with her this year. She has one of the purest shots in the game. Great release on her shot. If she comes back with some confidence, she is going to be special. With her size I think that a year under her belt with boost her confidence and she will compete for some minutes next year. She has too much basketball IQ to fall off like she did this year. I really like this kid's potential.

Gabby Williams- Like magic said, Gabby has some athletic ability!!! I like that she is not afraid to attack the rim and look for her shot. She provided help on the rebounding side. Pretty decent defensive help. Just has to improve on the shot selection and ball handling. But I like this young lady.

Overall, Kia and Gabby were very effective as freshmen. Courtney was a shocker but I think nerves played a factor. She is going to step it up next season.

Go, Huskies!!

10x National Champions!!! I love it!!

Geno Auriemma and Chris Dailey: Coaching Excellence.
Shea Ralph & Marisa Moseley: Heart and Soul

 

[JellyBean]

I'm curious about Saniya and Courtney's future with UConn. With the freshmen coming in, they could get buried on the bench.

They will get some playing time. We are lite at the guard spot, if we are going with a traditional roster. If we are going non-traditional we are good. They will get some minutes.

 

[CallMeBruce]

Kia Nurse quickly became an important part of the team, probably played more at the sophomore level than like a freshman owing to her summer with the Olympic team. I think she got worn out by the end of the year.

Gaby William was a huge surprise. I had assumed that she would have shown more effects from her injuries--recall how they decimated Caroline Doty. She is going to be terrific.

Courtney Ekmark was a big disappointment. Her shot was off all season, from 3 and even from the free throw line. Moreover, she looked really slow. I don't think that her lost month in December can explain her low performance.

I would also add, that of the non-freshmen, Tuck was a pleasant surprise--she looked really rusty her first couple of games, but by the ND game she as awesome. And Stokes was disappointment that her offensive capabilities never developed.

I don't think Doty was ever anywhere near the athlete Williams is.

 

[BigBird]

I think that Geno has said, at various times and in various ways, that anything you get from any freshman class is a bonus. Well, UConn got some very substantial bonuses this year from our frosh. I have no doubt that all will show meaningful growth bewteen years one and two. Ek will improve most because she has some catching up to do. When she gets her shot in order again, look out.

 

[DICKG]

I think that Geno has said, at various times and in various ways, that anything you get from any freshman class is a bonus. Well, UConn got some very substantial bonuses this year from our frosh. I have no doubt that all will show meaningful growth bewteen years one and two. Ek will improve most because she has some catching up to do. When she gets her shot in order again, look out.

I am concerned about Gabby because Geno built her up in the newspapers, but chose not to use her in minutes that counted. She deserved better.

 

[Bayareahusky]

Courtney will be there, whenever whatever was holding her back runs its course..... Kia is a stud, always knew that she was the real deal from the start..... and Gabby, well, I think she is going to be one of the significant stars when her career is over..... I see tremendous talent, maybe sufficient to get her on the Huskies of Honor board in 3 years..... she has a helluvan upside

 

[bballnut90]

Nurse was better than advertised and seems primed to be the most likely to wind up as an All-American from this class. Didn't finish the season strong, but I don't doubt that she'll be improved as a sophomore and will be one of the nation's best guards by her junior year.

Williams is still a bit of an enigma for me. She was outstanding against weaker competition. She has great springs, rebounds well and can finish inside over smaller teams, but she didn't log big minutes against good teams, and in the limited chances when she didn't, she didn't stand out or have huge nights. I'm not sure how she fits into the rotation next year. Looking at the lineup, if Butler is as good as expected, the frontcourt is going to be loaded between her, Stewart and Tuck. On the wing there is another log jam with KLS, Collier, Nurse and Chong. Williams has huge upside and I think will develop into a very good player for UCONN, but I'm not sure she gets rotation minutes in big games again. That said, if she improves her guard/wing skills, I think she has potential to be a top prospect from this class.

Ekmark was a disappointment. I only saw a few games, but when she was on the court she just looked like she lacked confidence and was lost on the court. I know people say she had an injury that set her back a month, but she was never close to being a player who looked like she could compete anywhere close to the level that UCONN players compete. I think she could have a huge off season and come in confident and ready as a sophomore, but again, there is a lot of talent at the 2-3 position and I don't think she will be able to earn rotation minutes.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kia was solid most of the year and helped us to play great defense. She hit a bit of a wall and slump, plus she had issues with nerves in the post-season. She also shot the ball better than pretty much anyone expected. She ironed out her FTs by about midseason. I think she'll take a moderate leap and be very, very solid next year.

Gabby played a new position and did quite well. She made a point of improving after not playing at Stanford. She also defended some elite guards. As an ultra-elite athlete, she has an advantage over others. I think she has AA potential in time. Think Nina Davis.

I'm not sure what to make out of Courtney. She improved about midseason, but I think the speed of the game and demands of playing at UConn were challenges. I'm not sure that her HS senior year prep helped her. She didn't shoot well from the arc or even the FT line. I watched her in warmups in Tampa and was not impressed with her shot. I'm hoping she can find herself.