Understanding Natalie Butler's play in 3 programs

[carpe diem]

How is one to understand Natalie's differing performance in 3 different programs? Clearly she is very talented and beloved by all here at the boneyard, but comparing her play in each of the 3 programs raises the question in my mind as to why she shines so brightly at Georgetown and her current program, but not so much at UCONN.
Her history at UCONN is familiar to all at the boneyard, and I am sure her hand injury and year of waiting to become active will be held as responsible. But can we examine if there is some other factor at work given that players who transfer from the UCONN program do not usually become stars with their new team. Why is she doing so well in rebounding and especially scoring this year when this did not happen at UCONN? We have the best coaches, stellar facilities and support staff, and the best brand in WCBB. Yet she thrived at both programs before and after UCONN in ways not seen while here.

I am truly perplexed. Even with the emphasis on team, individuals still stand out at UCONN. There probably is no clear cut reason I can come up with. If she had stayed with UCONN for this year would she have had as good a year? Lets assume she got playing time even though it is likely it would not be assured given the player additions. Let the speculation begin.

 

[Centerstream]

As I implied on a different thread, and this is not a slam against anyone, but I felt that Nat never really believed in her abilities when she was surrounded by all of her excellent UConn team mates. I always had the feeling that she was looking over her shoulder, waiting to be taken out of the game if she made a "mistake". A couple of games, like in the AAC Tournament Final I believe, she didn't seem to act in this manner and she had a good game. Also I believe she was treated differently by the refs. In yesterday's game, she made several block attempts that were foul free, at UConn, she would have been whistled up immediately. Also against GW, they let them play a more physical style game, at UConn, no such luck. Just my opinion.

 

[CBear01]

This is only my opinion and tbh I don't feel like looking at stats. But I don't think she necessarily "underperformed" at UCONN. Her per minute averages were pretty good weren't they? I think (imo) it comes down to the chess piece she plays at the 3 universities. We all know the master chess player is Geno and he definitely used her in a way she would not be used at the 2 other programs. Here at UCONN she still never had to surrender her queen or give up her rooks or castles. Those pieces were still in play and performing at a level you would not find in her other programs (and those pieces have names like Lou and Pheese and Gabby). But what about the other programs? Their queens were sacrificed long ago and now it's the NB show to win the match. She is in a position where she HAS to perform this way simply bc no one else on her teams (sans UCONN) can support her in the way she was supported at UCONN.

Does this make sense to anyone? In my head it does, then again I haven't been thinking so clear lately with the brain freeze I experienced this holiday season in CT. Returning to sunny CA in a week to give myself a good thaw...

 

[rbny1]

Natalie is a wonderful person and player, but I don't think her skills fit especially well with UConn. I always felt she lacked some of the quickness and agility to mesh well with the fast-paced game UConn plays. Her talents shine when the game is played at a less hyper and less demanding pace. Just my two cents. Others may have different thoughts.

 

[ConnFanInMich]

Not to minimize all of Butler's hard work but the improved stats can probably be attributed to playing against lesser competition in the A-10. Being one of the tallest players in the league is an advantage for grabbing rebounds.

I saw her in person against Michigan and while she looked great, her hands still seemed to be a point of weakness and she didn't dominate Big Ten quality posts. So I'm skeptical she'd be having that level of success consistently against better competition.

She's also probably the focus of the GM offense, giving her more opportunities to score. So even if she stayed with UConn, her stats would go down since she'd be the 5th option basically everytime on the floor. Which says something about the quality of UConn's other players!

 

[Roger G]

I think all of the posters above made good points. The fact is, it isn't one thing. It's several things. One thing not mentioned, though, is that she is in better shape than she was at UConn. That helps. But whatever the cause, after yesterday's game she is only the 11th player to record 16 straight double doubles in NCAA history and I am very happy for her. Her current situation is a better fit for her and so she flourishes.

 

[diggerfoot]

Butler's rebounding per minute numbers are good for all three programs. If we are to pay attention to stats rather than developing narratives we should conclude that Butler can rebound well against any competition. However, UConn is a program that relies on versatility more than specialty. There are even a few players that are "masters of all trades" rather than "jack of all trades" in their versatility. If Butler player for a major program that blended specialties rather than versatilities Butler would probably do fairly well.

 

[oldude]

I don’t think the difficulty of integrating into UConn’s system is perculiar to Natalie Butler. Lots of players struggle to be effective and have an impact at UConn.

It took Kiah Stokes the better part of 2 1/2 seasons. Saniya took 3 years. Both players are now in the pros. When we look at the current crop of freshmen, as well as some of the sophomores, one of the things that occurs to me is that most would either be starting or at least playing significant minutes at other programs.

As an example, #1 recruit MW is slowly but surely learning UConn’s system and contributing as the 2nd player off the bench. Around the country, other freshmen like Westbrook has been a starter and major contributor at TN from the start of the season. The same is true for Carter at TX A&M, who is also the Aggies leading scorer.

It’s not that Westbrook & Carter are better than MW. It’s simply that they’re playing for teams that don’t require that they do much more than they did in HS. At UConn, the demands are greater and the learning curve much longer than anywhere else in the country.

Nat worked really hard, and got better during her time at UConn, but she never quite developed into the type of player we hoped she could be, because it’s really, really hard to be a UConn WBB player.

 

[bballnut90]

It mainly comes down to the fact that she's playing a different role on a very different team. Last year she had 2 All American front court players playing ahead of her, and the year before she had those 2, plus Stewart and Tuck ahead of her. UCONN always had better options than Butler and UCONN also played against higher quality competition. As a result, she was low on the depth chart and wasn't making a big impact which can definitely hurt a player's confidence. Not sure if that's the case, but I wouldn't be surprised.

When Butler has played at less prestigious schools, she's been a big fish in a small pond and she has excelled. She's putting up great numbers, but she's also played an incredibly weak schedule. Her team's SOS is 283 out of 349, where at UCONN she faced the #2 and #19 SOS. Very different caliber opponents combined with playing a very different role equals very different results. I think the larger role she's been given combined with playing easier opponents has given her a lot of confidence, and as a result, she's playing much better in games than she did at Connecticut.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I don’t think the difficulty of integrating into UConn’s system is perculiar to Natalie Butler. Lots of players struggle to be effective and have an impact at UConn.

It took Kiah Stokes the better part of 2 1/2 seasons. Saniya took 3 years. Both players are now in the pros. When we look at the current crop of freshmen, as well as some of the sophomores, one of the things that occurs to me is that most would either be starting or at least playing significant minutes at other programs.

As an example, #1 recruit MW is slowly but surely learning UConn’s system and contributing as the 2nd player off the bench. Around the country, other freshmen like Westbrook has been a starter and major contributor at TN from the start of the season. The same is true for Carter at TX A&M, who is also the Aggies leading scorer.

It’s not that Westbrook & Carter are better than MW. It’s simply that they’re playing for teams that don’t require that they do much more than they did in HS. At UConn, the demands are greater and the learning curve much longer than anywhere else in the country.

Nat worked really hard, and got better during her time at UConn, but she never quite developed into the type of player we hoped she could be, because it’s really, really hard to be a UConn WBB player.

Excellent post. Great analysis of the Frosh around the country.
Geno acceptance level is much higher than other coaches --with FROSH.
With Natalie--GT was with a new Coach, GM is a mid major league--serious difference in competition.
At both GT and GM Natalie received the confidence of the coaching staff--
Make no mistakes, Natalie had limitations and the system of Uconn demands speed in nearly every phase of the game. How would she have fared in the 4th qtr of the ECU game??

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I suspect that Natalie is playing far better now at George Mason than she did at UConn. The competition isn't so different for a lot of the schedule. Yet her output is dramatically different. There aren't physical or injury reasons that could account for the difference. I suspect that it is all a mind thing.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I suspect that Natalie is playing far better now a.t George Mason than she did at UConn. The competition isn't so different for a lot of the schedule. Yet her output is dramatically different. There aren't physical or injury reasons that could account for the difference. I suspect that it is all a mind thing.

Yes Natalie is, apparently, playing better---hard for me to tell because the competition isn't EXACTLY the same. Then she's a year older with another year of experience, she's intelligent and a learner.
The speed at which she now plays isn't anything like that expected at Uconn.
Absolutely it is a MIND thing--she feels comfortable being the focus and does not worry about a quick hook--that relieves the mind .
I can see times this year when Uconn could be happy to have her on this team; against tall teams if the foul thing raises it's nasty head. But all in all this is the best for Natalie, in every way.

 

[HuskyBandDad]

It is very simple. Playing time.
What player in the 7 man rotation would you substitute for Nat on this years team or last years to play meaning minutes?

 

[donalddoowop]

Some of the teams in her league are better or as good as the teams in the AAC. She would have done fine in the fourth quarter against ECU.