Scoop, do you realize what you just said?
I repeated the words "No Gabby or Kia next year" to myself and shouted "Wait, it's too soon. I'm not ready!" That's the stuff nightmares are made of. We are going to need a whole lot of something to replace a whole lot of their everything.
Oops, you're right.
Gabby and Kia leaving IS NOT what I can't wait for. I love those two, and will miss them dearly. I will of course continue to follow them as they transition into the professional ranks.
The season is already half over. I'm not trying to rush the season along. I want it to drag on as long as possible. Like the rest of the Nation, I'm really liking what I'm seeing right now, and I'm in no hurry to see it end. Ono, Williams and next season will get here in due time.
When it does, I'll be very interested to see Dangerfield and Williams together on the floor for the first time. Because of all the notoriety, accolades and press Williams has received, I'll be anxious to see how quickly she can transfer those skills and abilities up to the elite level that UConn plays at.
Williams has already proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that she is the real deal. She's got game. In high school, she's playing against other players that will not play at the division 1 level after high school. Will Williams hold her own once she gets to the next level? Absolutely!!!
Another poster suggested that Williams may be one of those rare players that is so gifted and has such a high BB IQ, that she may be ready and able to step in right away and help the team with significant and meaningful minutes as a freshman. That's what I want to see! Just how good is Christan Williams? Any peers she has at the high school level are few and far between. Right now she's playing like a 6'4" (with hops) player in a 5'10" and under league. Defense for the most part for some of her team's opponents is philosophy only. Nothing tangible.
I want to see her game at THIS level. I'm usually willing to give freshmen a pass their first year, because of what Geno has said every year for the past 25-30 years. Freshmen are not ready to come in, pickup and understand our system of play, rotations and defensive responsibilities right away. It takes a while. Also remember that some all world players coming from high school made their reputation on the offensive end of the court. Some of them are not necessarily defensive stalwarts.
You're not going to come in and start playing defense to suit Geno overnight, especially if you're not use to playing defense in the first place. I saw KML "in-person" in a CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) playoff game during her senior year in high school (the gym was packed/SRO). She was
unquestionably the best player on the floor that night.
She stood out on the offensive end of the floor, not the defensive end. Funny thing though, no one really paid any attention to her defense, because of the way she was lighting it up on the other end. She was making it rain, and smiling the whole time.
She learned to play defense to Geno's satisfaction once she arrived on campus.
Like everything else, it takes time. Usually that entire first year. There's defense, then there's UConn style defense.
Rare is the freshman that can step off the bus when they first arrive on campus, walk in to the gym and pickup Geno's system in a week or two. We haven't had one of those in years.
Admittedly I did a poor job of transferring thoughts to paper. I'll go back and clean that up.
