What to expect from Kia Nurse?

[mhshuskies]

Will Kia's play in the world/Pan Am games translate into a prolific scorer in her sophomore season? Is this an indication of that big performance jump between freshman and sophomore year that Geno refers to? If so, does that take some pressure off Natalie to be a scorer and allow her to concentrate on defense and rebounding? Does that make it that much more difficult for other teams to put their defensive emphasis on Stewie, Mo and Morgan? This could just be astounding to watch what happens this season.

 

[ChicagoGG]

Kia is going to be awesome!!! The future's so bright we gotta wear shades....

 

[John Glass]

Kia will do whatever it takes to win. I do not see her role changing much, you will probably see a few more baskets and assists.

Together
Everyone
Achieves
More
Sunshine

 

[rbny1]

This year's team has lots of scorers, so whatever she scores is a bonus rather than something we desperately need. I think her big contributions will be defense, ball-handling, court awareness, big plays when they are needed and meshing well in the framework of the team. I would expect a scoring breakout her junior year when Stewie and Mo are gone and her points will be needed. Of course, she may prove me totally wrong and score 17 or 18 a game this year. If that happens, all I can say is wow; we will be incredibly difficult to defend.

 

[meyers7]

Kia is going to be awesome!!! The future's so bright we gotta wear shades....

Since you brought it up.

 

[VAMike23]

"What to expect from Kia Nurse?"

. . . lots of free throws !

 

[JoePgh]

Will her name be on the wall before she graduates?

Will she exceed Kelly Faris's achievements?

Oops, did I ask those questions once before?

 

[j66kicker]

Kia is going to be awesome!!! The future's so bright we gotta wear shades....

 

[uconn34]

To be a UConn women's basketball leader/player. That always seems to be enough and is a tough enough standard for any player.

 

[CTHUSKY74]

I wouldn't expect to see anything like the breakout performance that she had in the Pan-Am games final. She was unstoppable against a very talented US team. But I think we will see a very steady performance that fills the stat sheet in many areas. She handles the ball well, doesn't turn it over, can score through contact, and takes it to the hoop against anyone and at least draws a foul. Defensively, she is strong enough to guard any guards and usually can handle the quick guards as well. If her shot continues to fall as she has recently been shooting it, it will be very difficult to keep her out of the lineup. I expect the other talented players on the roster to have improved as well such as Ekmark and Chong but I don't think they will necessarily play the same type of overall game that Kia can/will. I don't think any of the reserve players has improved as much as Kia has this past year with the possible exception of Williams. Now if Gabby has returned from her summer workouts with the handle of a 2 guard, and the outside stoke of a two guard and can also take the play inside against centers and power forwards, that might tip some scales in her favor. We'll see. I'm very excited to see this team.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

For this season you not only have to wear shades, they have to be Wiley Xs!!! That's how bright it's goin' be in that gym, arena, palace, dome, etc when they are playing. Plus you can get the integral strap so they won't fall off when you're jumping up and down.

 

[wire chief]

What stays with me is the huge stage on which she excelled. Playing a final for queen and country vs. the U.S.
You just know that she commits as forcefully as any player and this fall will be beyond any soph in resume.

 

[Kaizen]

Gabby and Kia are two girls with no fear to play ..........wish Chong can learn this

 

[RockyMTblue2]

What stays with me is the huge stage on which she excelled. Playing a final for queen and country vs. the U.S.
You just know that she commits as forcefully as any player and this fall will be beyond any soph in resume.

In one of the videos I posted to another thread today she is seen playing what I believe is table hockey with Canadian men ballers and celebrating winning. In this she reminds me of Maya... she competes with a killer instinct in whatever she does. Balanced with an off court well spoken grace, it's a great trait they share. AlsoKia has more that a dash of goofy, happy. A complete package...No?

 

[alexrgct]

I expect her to be a starting 2G on the 2915-16 national champion UConn Huskies.

Bookmark this thread and thank me later. I have sources.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I expect her to be a starting 2G on the 2915-16 national champion UConn Huskies.

Bookmark this thread and thank me later. I have sources.

You are projecting VERY far into the future!

 

[MilfordHusky]

Kia may have had the highest level competition of any collegian this summer. I look for her to be more confident, more aggressive, and better in her sophomore season.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Kia seems to believe that basketball is a contact sport and we are all better for it

 

[winlots]

dtb: Am with ya, but.. ALL better for it?.....Jefferson not so much. ANybody hear anything about how she is doing?? Sure looked WAY out of it on the bench after the collision. Have been concerned since.

 

[Lynx23]

Kia seems to believe that basketball is a contact sport and we are all better for it

You mean like this?

 

[UConnCat]

Goes without saying that Kia will enter her sophomore season at UConn with a ton of confidence. Not only is she coming off a very productive freshman year at UConn, but she was a more productive player for Team Canada this summer than she was at last year's world championships. Part of that is explained by the tougher competition she faced at the world championships, but I think there were other factors at play. First, she gained invaluable experience playing for the best program and best coach in women's college basketball and she experienced success on the biggest stage (Final Four). Second, she was able to play the off-guard for Team Canada, the same position she played at UConn last season. Although Kia is not a natural point guard she played a lot of point for Team Canada last year. This year, because of the emergence of Marie-Langlois, Kia played most of her minutes at the shooting guard. This switch freed her up to do what she does best: attack the basket and score. Last year at the world championships Kia shot 3-13 (23%) on three-pointers; this summer she shot a combined (Pan Am and Fiba Americas) 12-28 (42.8%). The one-year improvement in her 3-point shooting in international competition has been remarkable, particularly considering she has yet to turn 20 years old. Also, the FIBA 3-point line is at 22 feet, 1.75 inches while the NCAA 3-point line is 20 feet 9 inches.

Last year UConn entered the season with questions at the shooting guard; this year, UConn enters the season with the shooting guard a position of strength.

 

[Bestiarius]

It's time to show a bit of off season sympathy to our friends who are fans of other teams. This is a time for optimism for all teams about the upcoming season. Yes, the off season enthusiasm has been wanting for other teams in recent years (say, about 20), but last season exploits of MoJeff, Stewie, Morgan and the UConn bench have finally begun to fade as the summer marches on.

But now comes an unwelcome reminder in the form of Kia Nurse, who perhaps was a UConn player dismissed by opposing fans in favor of the players named above. Kia's MOP exploits with the Canadian National Team have exploded onto the summer scene as a reminder of what is likely to come this fall. So much head shaking, so much depressing news. Will it ever stop!! Well, perhaps. Just not this year.

 

[meyers7]

I don't think any of the reserve players has improved as much as Kia has this past year with the possible exception of Williams. Now if Gabby has returned from her summer workouts with the handle of a 2 guard, and the outside stoke of a two guard and can also take the play inside against centers and power forwards, that might tip some scales in her favor. We'll see. I'm very excited to see this team.

You're not suggesting Williams might start over Nurse are you?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I really think Kia Nurse will take the experiences with her Canada National Team and just soar when school starts at UCONN!
She is just improving leaps and bounds, every game! She will be an equal in the starting lineup with Stewart, MoJeff' & Tuck!
With the improving Natalie Butler what a starting 5! If the Media & Coaches had any "stones" at all, all 4 of those first 4 will be 1st team All-Americans with Butler 3rd team (to be determined)!
Which 4 of the other players around the USA will be more talented than:
MoJeff PG
Nurse SG
Tuck PF/C
Stewart SF/PF/C
Unheard of but they, if they remain healthy throughout the season will clearly be the class of WCBB in 2015-2016!

 

[CTHUSKY74]

You're not suggesting Williams might start over Nurse are you?

No I'm not, but if she truly improved her game as indicated it might be a much harder decision. Based on the skill set we have witnessed so far Gabby won't be playing the 2 guard. But if she added the handle and the outside stroke to her game she would have a dynamite inside outside combo to offer. I'd love to see that because of the match up problems she would present, but she'd have to have improved quite a bit in those other areas. She is an incredible talent as it is, so I hope that her summer of practice brings some surprise improvements for HER soph year as well. God we are so lucky to be fans of this team!!