UConn Scary Good

[Sonny44]

I would like to see Moriah with a nice pull up jumper like Bria. Since you are asking.

I think she is more likely to under the bigs, perfecting her lightning layups.

 

[Ozzie Nelson]

I have seen Saniya play nine times in person. IMHO she has the basketball skills and physical abilities, to be a solid contributor for UConn from day one………and down the road….who knows!

Geno and staff love the fact that Saniya enjoys being a facilitator first (9.1 asst/gm) and a scorer second. She IS a great passer……you’ll see.

Geno and his staff also love the fact that Saniya can put the ball in the hole very effectively (34.4 pts /gm) and do it in a variety of ways: deep, midrange, penetration layup (either hand), teardrop, free throws and create her own shot when need be.

As a 5’9” senior guard, Saniya jumped center for her team, averaged 5.6 rebounds/gm, 4.8 steals/gm and 2 blocks/gm. She’s fast AND quick and has all the physical tools to be a great defender.

My only concern for Saniya, when she arrives at UConn and begins to compete for playing time, is the same concern I have for any of our new freshmen, trying to compete at the elite, Div 1 level. Can she physically and mentally adjust to the speed and physicality of practice and games? What is her mental state like as she tries to absorb the ins and outs of Geno’s defensive & offensive philosophies/schemes? Will she be able to maintain a positive attitude and not be overwhelmed by school, basketball and hitting the freshman wall? Each freshman reacts differently to these situations and I’m hoping that Saniya can successfully navigate to the end of the 2013-2014 season, with a similar mental state as Breanna, Moriah and Morgan did at the end of their freshman season.

From an article on the WBCA all star game:
Her teammates were impressed with Chong’s game.
“She is a great player, very quick, a great shooter and plays really hard,” Reimer said.
“I expect her to do great at UConn.”

Great post TWT...thanks.

 

[EricLA]

I second that Ozzie - really liked TWT's post. I also wonder who her roomie will be since she's coming in as a 1 person class. Pope was already "part" of the team this year and sometimes it can be hard on the newbie in a 1 person class. I know the team will help make her feel welcome.

 

[TimeWillTell]

I would like to see Moriah with a nice pull up jumper like Bria. Since you are asking.

Good call reno tony!

Some people would say that developing a good, midrange to short, pull-up jumper is not essential for an elite, Div 1 guard, as long as they possess a decent outside shot and the ability to penetrate various defenses off the dribble. And I would say to those people……they’re wrong.

A well executed, quick, accurate, pull-up jumper, off the dribble/drive, is a devastating weapon for a guard to have in their repertoire, especially if they can execute it going right, or left. It’s an offensive option that is almost impossible for a defense to stop. A perfect example of someone who possesses a world class pull up jumper would be our own Sue Bird. Two other lesser examples, closer to home, that helped defeat us 3 times this past season are McBride and Diggins. Did you see the Louisville vs Cal game? Did you see Layshia Clarendon and the great pull-up jumper she has! The space it created so she could get the shot off!

My humble advice to ANY player that comes to UConn is, if you have the physical tools to develop a good pull-up jumper, please do so at your earliest convenience.

 

[VAMike23]

I second that Ozzie - really liked TWT's post. I also wonder who her roomie will be since she's coming in as a 1 person class. Pope was already "part" of the team this year and sometimes it can be hard on the newbie in a 1 person class. I know the team will help make her feel welcome.

IIRC, Morgan is in her own room, bc we hear funny stories about Stewie and Mo always ganging up on her with pranks and tricks, and and I believe those two are roomies. So maybe Saniya will room with Morgan? Or maybe they will switch things up and have the two point guards Mo and Saniya together, and put Stewie with Morgan.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Your memory and my memory really aren't the same on that.

Meyers... our memories are clickin on the same page

 

[sTu]

As time goes by I think we may see KML playing some at the 2. Improving her ball handling skills is sure to be a priority in preparation for the WNBA.

It is likely that Saniya's playing time in meaningful minutes will be linked to her progress in assimilating the team's defensive schemes.

 

[Icebear]

Don't forget you will probably have Banks to come in before Chong. But I would agree, I'd prefer not using KML at the 2 all that much.

I would, too, but I wanted to note what would be a really big and talented shooting team we can put out there. It would be unbelievable. 6'5", 6'4", 6'2", 6'0", 5'9" what a nightmare matchup every player capable of hitting the 3. Or go small and speedy with ballhandling using MoJeff, Banks, Bria, KML and Stewie. This will be interesting.

 

[Icebear]

What is almost always underestimated is the time it takes for freshemn PGs and Posts to absorb what UCONN is doing offensively and defensively. It is not enough to understand it and think your way through it, one must understand it to the point of not thinking about it.

We have seen numerous players over the years go through the progression of being completely lost; to understanding and thinking to the solution but executing a play a split second too late because of that thought delay causing the whole O or D to grind to a halt: to being a cog in the machine moving freely and changing gears like the transmission on high end luxary car, so imperceptibly smooth one never noticed the compensations and change of direction beginning with a downshift and a burst of acceleration.

It takes even great players to adjust to new offenses and defenses and to be in sync with everything. By the end of this season we were substitutingfreely from the bench and seeing fewer and fewer misfires. That is a great place to start next season.

Addendum: As I noted in an earlier thread. As a performer of magic as entertainment. I practice moves and techniques, just like players in drills, I then practice routines still focused on what must be done and when for the particular effect, just like the team practicing offensive sets and walk throughs, I then rehearse everything with all the lines and music and go from stop to finish even if I screw up to understand my outs and reentries and recoveries, just like the team in live play in practice, finally, when I think something ready I introduce a routine into my act and perform it knowing I am ready to ENTERTAIN with the piece because whatever else I am doing it is about entertaining and that means like fine jazz reacting to the others and enjoying the moment. Entertaining involves starting, stopping, laughing, teasing, and most of all sharing. That is where UCONN was during the tournament. It was like the Dave Brubeck Quartet playing Take 5 surging rhythms flowing seamlessly with every members sharing the spotlight in turn and in time.

 

[UcMiami]

Icebear - nice post.
I think what we tend to forget though is when needed we have had a lot of solid production at the guard position from freshman. BH, CD and Tiff are just the latest examples, but it actually goes back in my memory to Sue pre-injury.
The nice thing with Uconn is they aren't often needed. It also helps that the typical team has very strong team leaders that help freshman a lot.