UCOnn stats...why isn't the 6'5" center tops in rebounding...

[BroadwayVa]

Fake news! Bogus stats again, spun to support an opinion. If you want to compare individual player stats then PT has to be part of the equation.

Yea, but ain't they fun!! I'm not a stats person but David does wonders with them. Aside from Davids informative works on Uconn kids--I believe my eyes and emotions more than I build my thoughts about Uconn kids on STATS or hanging banners .(no disrespect to David) In this case David Stats and my Emotions are a kinship.

 

[BroadwayVa]

Meg has been a unexpected (and welcome!) surprise. I think we all expected her to be better this year, but if anyone says they expected her to be THIS good, they are lying. And as good as she has been, she still has room to improve. She can make more of her layups, and improve her shot selection. She takes too many off balance shots... when she squares up on balance, she is lethal!

Probably by some 'UNEXPECTED but a surprise to many. She arrived at Uconn as a #1 pick--and we were thrilled to get her and the thrill goes on!!

 

[Zorro]

Buster Keaton!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Is Liv 6-4 or 6-5?

Yes.

Seriously, I agree with DEpup. Liv is a full 6'5" at this point, perhaps even in bare feet.

 

[meyers7]

Walker is playing 7 min/game more than ONO and has 0.5 more rebounds/game.

Yep that's it. I was gonna look that up yesterday, but didn't get the chance.

 

[HopJim]

View attachment 49447

UConn has an up and coming 6'5" center who is starting to dominate play at both ends of the court. But, she doesn't lead the team in rebounding, for now... The Huskies also have a diminutive point guard who currently ranks 12th all-time at UConn in assists and has a chance to replace Sue Bird in 5th place on that list. But, she doesn't lead the team in assists. Both the rebounding and assist leader is Megan Walker, who has remade her body and refined her game. Consider:

1. Rebounding - Megan leads Olivia 99-94 for total rebounds. Her defensive rebounding edge is even more startling at 86-52.
2. Assists - Walker has a team-leading 34 assists vs 31 for Crystal, who is just 74 assists from replacing Sue Bird in 5th place all-time. (Crystal has 2 less games.)
3. Points - Megan's 216 points in the first 10 games gives her a sweet 21.6 points per game average. If she keeps that average, it would be the 3rd highest total ever at UConn.
4. 3 point shooting - Megan has quietly raised her three-point accuracy to 47% on 22-47 shooting. That ties Crystal for the most made threes on the team.
5. Free throws - Megan gets fouled more than any other player (35) and has made more free throws than anyone else (26). Overall, that is 74.3%.
6. Minutes played - Walker has logged 375 minutes of court action, more than any player. Her 37.5 per game average means she rests only 2.5 minutes per game.

Last season, Napheesa Collier averaged 20.8 points & 10.8 rebounds per game for an entire season and ended up an All-American. Through just 10 games, Collier had 189 points, 36 assists, and 79 baskets. Megan's averages are at 21.6 ppg and 9.9 rpg. She has 216 points, 34 assists, and 84 baskets in the first 10 games. Lots of games still to play, but maybe Geno is right, the #1 player on the #1 team is playing like an All-American. The rest of the season should be fun..!!

Go Huskies..!!

Great post. Perfect example why Boneyard the best basketball blog. While other sites have small bits of information, you bring interesting facts, trends, and projections for the future.

 

[chrissaran]

What's most surprising is Olivia has more steals than Megan.

 

[MD#12Fan]

many of her off balance shots are early in the shot clock.... I love the way Meg is playing, but pointing out how she might improve is valid...

True for role players which she has been up until now. Probably everyone on the team follows your rules except for Meg and maybe Crystal. The game is not so easy that every shot a team takes is open and unforced. Sometimes you’re just looking for an advantage, like when Meg gets a half step on someone driving to the hoop. Remember 50% is a good number for shooting percentage, especially taking into account 3s.
Basketball is not a perfect world, where everything is open shots. The game is harder than that. I know we‘re all spoiled. We can admire tough, hard-nosed star players that are willing to take contested, difficult shots under pressure. Come March those can be the best shots available. I for one want the ball in Meg’s hands at these moments. If you’ve ever played the game competitively, you know the player(s) on your team that you wanted to take those shots. It wasn’t me. I could hit the open shot. (50% of the time)

 

[CTtoSanDiego]

True for role players which she has been up until now. Probably everyone on the team follows your rules except for Meg and maybe Crystal. The game is not so easy that every shot a team takes is open and unforced. Sometimes you’re just looking for an advantage, like when Meg gets a half step on someone driving to the hoop. Remember 50% is a good number for shooting percentage, especially taking into account 3s.
Basketball is not a perfect world, where everything is open shots. The game is harder than that. I know we‘re all spoiled. We can admire tough, hard-nosed star players that are willing to take contested, difficult shots under pressure. Come March those can be the best shots available. I for one want the ball in Meg’s hands at these moments. If you’ve ever played the game competitively, you know the player(s) on your team that you wanted to take those shots. It wasn’t me. I could hit the open shot. (50% of the time)

I'm talking more about outside shots where she isn't squared up, rather than when she "gets a half step on someone driving to the hoop"... and remember, I said "early in the shot clock".... I do not know what her overall shooting percentage is, but by eliminating one or two bad shots a game, it can be even better than it is.

fyi, I was a shooter, having earned the nicknames "Machine" and "Money"... way back in the day... lol

 

[MD#12Fan]

View attachment 49447

UConn has an up and coming 6'5" center who is starting to dominate play at both ends of the court. But, she doesn't lead the team in rebounding, for now... The Huskies also have a diminutive point guard who currently ranks 12th all-time at UConn in assists and has a chance to replace Sue Bird in 5th place on that list. But, she doesn't lead the team in assists. Both the rebounding and assist leader is Megan Walker, who has remade her body and refined her game. Consider:

1. Rebounding - Megan leads Olivia 99-94 for total rebounds. Her defensive rebounding edge is even more startling at 86-52.
2. Assists - Walker has a team-leading 34 assists vs 31 for Crystal, who is just 74 assists from replacing Sue Bird in 5th place all-time. (Crystal has 2 less games.)
3. Points - Megan's 216 points in the first 10 games gives her a sweet 21.6 points per game average. If she keeps that average, it would be the 3rd highest total ever at UConn.
4. 3 point shooting - Megan has quietly raised her three-point accuracy to 47% on 22-47 shooting. That ties Crystal for the most made threes on the team.
5. Free throws - Megan gets fouled more than any other player (35) and has made more free throws than anyone else (26). Overall, that is 74.3%.
6. Minutes played - Walker has logged 375 minutes of court action, more than any player. Her 37.5 per game average means she rests only 2.5 minutes per game.

Last season, Napheesa Collier averaged 20.8 points & 10.8 rebounds per game for an entire season and ended up an All-American. Through just 10 games, Collier had 189 points, 36 assists, and 79 baskets. Megan's averages are at 21.6 ppg and 9.9 rpg. She has 216 points, 34 assists, and 84 baskets in the first 10 games. Lots of games still to play, but maybe Geno is right, the #1 player on the #1 team is playing like an All-American. The rest of the season should be fun..!!

Go Huskies..!!

View attachment 49447

UConn has an up and coming 6'5" center who is starting to dominate play at both ends of the court. But, she doesn't lead the team in rebounding, for now... The Huskies also have a diminutive point guard who currently ranks 12th all-time at UConn in assists and has a chance to replace Sue Bird in 5th place on that list. But, she doesn't lead the team in assists. Both the rebounding and assist leader is Megan Walker, who has remade her body and refined her game. Consider:

1. Rebounding - Megan leads Olivia 99-94 for total rebounds. Her defensive rebounding edge is even more startling at 86-52.
2. Assists - Walker has a team-leading 34 assists vs 31 for Crystal, who is just 74 assists from replacing Sue Bird in 5th place all-time. (Crystal has 2 less games.)
3. Points - Megan's 216 points in the first 10 games gives her a sweet 21.6 points per game average. If she keeps that average, it would be the 3rd highest total ever at UConn.
4. 3 point shooting - Megan has quietly raised her three-point accuracy to 47% on 22-47 shooting. That ties Crystal for the most made threes on the team.
5. Free throws - Megan gets fouled more than any other player (35) and has made more free throws than anyone else (26). Overall, that is 74.3%.
6. Minutes played - Walker has logged 375 minutes of court action, more than any player. Her 37.5 per game average means she rests only 2.5 minutes per game.

Last season, Napheesa Collier averaged 20.8 points & 10.8 rebounds per game for an entire season and ended up an All-American. Through just 10 games, Collier had 189 points, 36 assists, and 79 baskets. Megan's averages are at 21.6 ppg and 9.9 rpg. She has 216 points, 34 assists, and 84 baskets in the first 10 games. Lots of games still to play, but maybe Geno is right, the #1 player on the #1 team is playing like an All-American. The rest of the season should be fun..!!

Go Huskies..!!

Super post!
I just thought of it. Her defensive rebounding is helping conserve energy for Olivia.

 

[cohenzone]

Absolutely on point.

Yes. Also, partly due to Liv’s presence, teams are taking a lot of 3s that often result in longer rebounds. But I’m not sure how much that boosts Megan’s totals because she seems to do most of her rebounding around the hoop.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Star players take most of the big shots and many of the end of the shot clock shots. We want Megan to take more shots than anyone even if it means a couple are forced.

I would love to hear Geno's comment on "forced shots." Probably this would be his take on forced shots. The assistants would be equally perplexed.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Yes. Also, partly due to Liv’s presence, teams are taking a lot of 3s that often result in longer rebounds. But I’m not sure how much that boosts Megan’s totals because she seems to do most of her rebounding around the hoop.

Exactly, Meg gets her rebounds near the basket. Rarely see her corralling a long rebound. The 3pt rebounds are long argument doesn’t explain Megan’s rebound numbers.

 

[UcMiami]

Liv is a shot blocker which means she is often drawn out of rebounding position to attempt to block a shot. People often noted Griner's moderate rebounding numbers because she was always trying for blocks as well. It is hard to challenge a shot and be in a good position for the rebound at the same time.

 

[DEpup]

I also think a lot of Liv's steals are actually blocks or at least half blocks but are categorized as steals especially when she sort of gets a hand on the ball before the shot is fully taken by the opponent.

 

[HuskyNan]

I'm talking more about outside shots where she isn't squared up, rather than when she "gets a half step on someone driving to the hoop"... and remember, I said "early in the shot clock".... I do not know what her overall shooting percentage is, but by eliminating one or two bad shots a game, it can be even better than it is.

fyi, I was a shooter, having earned the nicknames "Machine" and "Money"... way back in the day... lol

Tough crowd. Meg’s 3 point field goal percentage is 46.8%, 13th ranked in Division I.

Just as a side note - Taylor Robertson from Oklahoma is 63-128 for 49.2% and is ranked #8.

 

[chrissaran]

I also think a lot of Liv's steals are actually blocks or at least half blocks but are categorized as steals especially when she sort of gets a hand on the ball before the shot is fully taken by the opponent.

A steal is a steal; it's not a block. That's an absurd assumption.

 

[HuskyNan]

A steal is a steal; it's not a block. That's an absurd assumption.

I know what he means. Sometimes Liv puts up her hands and stops the forward motion of the ball but instead of swatting the ball from the shooter’s hands will occasionally snatch it away for a steal.

 

[DEpup]

A steal is a steal; it's not a block. That's an absurd assumption.

Your rudeness was uncalled for....... just because you don't have to say it to my face is no excuse for poor manners.

 

[DEpup]

I know what he means. Sometimes Liv puts up her hands and stops the forward motion of the ball but instead of swatting the ball from the shooter’s hands will occasionally snatch it away for a steal.

Thank you! Exactly what I was describing.

 

[DEpup]

A steal is a steal; it's not a block. That's an absurd assumption.

In my experience, life is not so black and white, there are shades of gray in between.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I would love to hear Geno's comment on "forced shots." Probably this would be his take on forced shots. The assistants would be equally perplexed.
View attachment 49485

Here’s my bet: Geno is thrilled beyond belief that he has a player with a star’s mentality. I would argue that he hasn’t had one since Stewie. He’s developed great players but he hasn’t had a star in a while. (I just watched “Hoosiers“ again the other night. Jimmy Chitwood was a star player. Remember: “I’ll make it.”) This post was so good because it perfectly illuminated everything that Meg is doing on the floor. And like Geno said and has been repeated, she is just scratching the surface.
I can’t wait for these tough January games in which we’ll see how good this team can get. I will bet those games will not be decided by wide open jump shots. Toughness and grit will prevail. I just feel like this team can take a punch and deliver a punch and be the last one standing.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Here’s my bet: Geno is thrilled beyond belief that he has a player with a star’s mentality. I would argue that he hasn’t had one since Stewie. He’s developed great players but he hasn’t had a star in a while. (I just watched “Hoosiers“ again the other night. Jimmy Chitwood was a star player. Remember: “I’ll make it.”) This post was so good because it perfectly illuminated everything that Meg is doing on the floor. And like Geno said and has been repeated, she is just scratching the surface.
I can’t wait for these tough January games in which we’ll see how good this team can get. I will bet those games will not be decided by wide open jump shots. Toughness and grit will prevail. I just feel like this team can take a punch and deliver a punch and be the last one standing.

You will go broke with such bets.

 

[MilfordHusky]

When Olivia becomes the team's leading rebounder, I will call her Livatron.