Who Goes Higher In The Draft: Gabby or Kia? | The Boneyard

Who Goes Higher In The Draft: Gabby or Kia?

RockyMTblue2

RockyMTblue2

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I posited the issue of Gabby's hip, but I don't think that effort garnered a response. Couple of months ago Gabby was projected higher and I believe she still is (4th) to Kia's then 6th/9th-11th. Kia's the better shooter with more range. Gabby is superwoman and we don't have to beat that to death, but I wonder if that is somewhat discounted in the WNBA because of general superiority of the athleticism and speed. Kia has been almost injury free. Gabby has surgically repaired knee(s?) aand she certainly taxes her physique in her style of play. Kia has a better a/to ratio. Gabby may be a better passer.

I'm just throwing out food for thought. I don't chose to chose between my heroines, but I'd sure like reading the thought of those that do.
 
Gabby. She is a fine scorer, an explosive athlete, and a great jumper. I think Gabby has the opportunity of being an All-Star from year one. Kia should be solid, but I'm not convinced that she's a top echelon pro. The pros look for scoring and individual excellence. Kia is more a team player. I think, as we saw with Kelly Faris, that sort of player tends to get lost in the shuffle.
 
I also agree that Gabby will go higher. She has more upside. Not only does she have the otherworldly athleticism, but she's turned herself into an elite all around hoops player. Having said that, the reason I believe her upside is higher is that she needs ONLY to work on her mid range and deep shooting game (and turnovers)...

Kia is already an elite shooter - both mid range, pull up and 3 point shooting. But Gabby is better at virtually every other guard type aspect - she's a better defender (tho not by much), passer, rebounder, etc. I think ball handling is about equal - yeah I know Kia is more "guard", but I've seen Gabby go coast to coast, faking out defenders with the ball to make a layup with her off hand. So I do think her ball handling is at least as good as Kia's...

Gabby's other problem, besides deep shooting, is her turnovers. She's a truly terrific passer, but often she tries to make a pass that is just too difficult, resulting in a TO. She's shown she can play against elite and big post players, but that was few and far between in college, In the pros it's virtually on every team.

So I do believe Gabby needs to develop even more guard skills and fashion herself as more of a 3, or small forward type instead of a post player. If she can do that, the sky's the limit for her in the pros. IMHO...
 
EricLA said:
Gabby's other problem, besides deep shooting, is her turnovers. She's a truly terrific passer, but often she tries to make a pass that is just too difficult, resulting in a TO. She's shown she can play against elite and big post players, but that was few and far between in college, In the pros it's virtually on every team.

So I do believe Gabby needs to develop even more guard skills and fashion herself as more of a 3, or small forward type instead of a post player. If she can do that, the sky's the limit for her in the pros. IMHO...
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I wonder if she might have a little less trouble on passes to the interior since in the pros, there is the defensive 3-second rule and not so much of the packed-lane syndrome that you get in college at times. Those seem to be the times that Gabulous gets her passes lifted: trying to fit between 2 defenders when she has no business doing so. (When she makes it work anyway, it's magical!)

Not saying this is a a 'yuuuge' difference at the pro level, but there is a little more spacing in the W which could make it easier.

OTOH, most of the defenders are better, too... :rolleyes:
 
Most of the mock drafts have Gabby going in the top 8 picks of the 1st round & Kia going in the 2nd round -several have her going to the Sun...
 
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If it weren't for the injury concern, then (IMHO) Gabby would clearly go higher in the draft. But WNBA teams have to be concerned with how long Gabby will be able to play at or above the level that she has at UConn. If she is going to miss 5-10 games a year because of physical issues, and maybe only be able to play for a few years, that would be a big problem for her team (compared to others whom they might draft).

Except for a better 3-point shot, Kia appears to me to be a clone of Kelly Faris from the standpoint of a WNBA GM. She won't be able to get her own shot in the WNBA (she really hasn't done that at UConn), and that is an expectation for a high draft choice. Kelly went late in the first round, and I would expect the same for Kia.
 
JoePgh said:
She won't be able to get her own shot in the WNBA (she really hasn't done that at UConn)
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I have read this several times from several people and I don't understand it. How do you define "get her own shot"?
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
I have read this several times from several people and I don't understand it. How do you define "get her own shot"?
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"Getting her own shot" means not needing a screen or a scoring threat elsewhere on the court to get open. When Kia scores in UConn games, it is either on the fast break because the opponent turned the ball over or failed to cover the court in transition defense (which will happen a lot less in the WNBA), or she takes a 3-point shot after somebody else has drawn two or three defenders, including her defender who helped off her to stop KLS / Napheesa / Azura, so that when Kia gets the pass from that besieged teammate, she has a wide open shot.

Whereas Gabby (and really everyone else among the Top 6) can wriggle through a slight crevice in the defense, blow by a taller/slower post player, or fake a defender out of her gym shoes to get open, Kia has to rely on the play of teammates to get herself open. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is something that distinguishes Top 6 WNBA draft choices from those slightly lower in the draft sweepstakes.
 
The Pros are salivating over Gabby’s athleticism and all around game. She gets drafted in the top 5. Kia goes off the board a few spots later.
 
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JoePgh said:
"Getting her own shot" means not needing a screen or a scoring threat elsewhere on the court to get open. When Kia scores in UConn games, it is either on the fast break because the opponent turned the ball over or failed to cover the court in transition defense (which will happen a lot less in the WNBA), or she takes a 3-point shot after somebody else has drawn two or three defenders, including her defender who helped off her to stop KLS / Napheesa / Azura, so that when Kia gets the pass from that besieged teammate, she has a wide open shot.

Whereas Gabby (and really everyone else among the Top 6) can wriggle through a slight crevice in the defense, blow by a taller/slower post player, or fake a defender out of her gym shoes to get open, Kia has to rely on the play of teammates to get herself open. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is something that distinguishes Top 6 WNBA draft choices from those slightly lower in the draft sweepstakes.
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Thanks for the clarification. I saw a video just recently involving the coach of Team Canada (might have been a year old for all I know) and she was talking about Kia being able to create her own shot and being good at it "but I realize that is not her role at UConn". If I run into it again I'll throw it up here.
 
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DishNSwish said:
This one just doesn't even make sense. Why would Chicago with Vandersloot and Faulkner under contract draft a PG at #4?
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Inside info on a trade for ... but that is why we'll know when we know. Things get strange in the draft. Why did they take Plum in Dallas last year and become team turmoil?
 
RockyMTblue2 said:
Inside info on a trade for ... but that is why we'll know when we know. Things get strange in the draft. Why did they take Plum in Dallas last year and become team turmoil?
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I've seen that site before, and I find it reaaaaaally doubtful they have any inside information.

Plum went to San Antonio. They just weren't very good, not really in turmoil.
 
Fairfield Fan said:
Gabby. She is a fine scorer, an explosive athlete, and a great jumper. I think Gabby has the opportunity of being an All-Star from year one. Kia should be solid, but I'm not convinced that she's a top echelon pro. The pros look for scoring and individual excellence. Kia is more a team player. I think, as we saw with Kelly Faris, that sort of player tends to get lost in the shuffle.
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But Kia is a better scorer than Gabby so I'm not following your logic here.
 
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chrissaran said:
Gabby doesn't have to shoot the 3; however, she needs to extend her range on the 2.
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She's probably a 3 in the WNBA and most 4s (and plenty of 5s) shoot three-pointers in the WNBA.
 
Orangutan said:
But Kia is a better scorer than Gabby so I'm not following your logic here.
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It goes back to getting one's own shot. In many cases, Kia scores because Gabby or someone else has beaten their defender and drawn Kia's defender away to provide help, and then Kia gets a wide-open shot after someone makes a pretty pass to her. Or she scores on a fast break because she is very good at bleeding out of her defensive assignment as soon as she recognizes that a teammate is going to get a rebound or a steal. She recognizes that two steps before the player she is guarding does -- a real skill that causes her to get a lot of touchdown passes from teammates that she converts into layups.

At the WNBA level, most guards will be able to do those things, and opponents are better able to stop them, so she will have to have good 1-on-1 moves to get a lot of her scores. In my opinion, that is where Kelly (unlike Tiffany Hayes) failed to make a dent in the WNBA -- she needed help from teammates to get a scoring opportunity. I thought Kelly had a more impactful UConn career that her classmate Tiff, but at the pro level the opposite has been the case.
 
DishNSwish said:
I've seen that site before, and I find it reaaaaaally doubtful they have any inside information.

Plum went to San Antonio. They just weren't very good, not really in turmoil.
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The site, suspect you are right. My bad on Dallas. But San Antonio coach and GM (Riley??) could not explain or implement a plan involving Plum and Mo Jeff, much to the consternation of the WNBA press. I would hope that Mo ends up on a different club than Plum this season. Lambier and Vegas , perfect together!
 
Gabby probably has the better upside, but I would not be at all surprised if Kia has the better rookie year...or maybe even the better 2-3 initial years.

Kia's game, while workmanlike and not very flashy, carries over more easily. She's a guard sized player who can shoot from distance, and who will not be badly shamed while defending the average WNBA guard (not the best guards, but then not many WNBA veterans can defend the best guards consistently).

Put her on the right team - e.g. an already good team that just needs more guard depth - and she will do her job well.

Gabby, on the other hand, is going to have a bigger adjustment period. She can do a lot of things at a high level - rebounding, passing, defending, etc. But the offense is gonna be a problem. She's simply not going to be able to live at the rim as much as she does in college. The spotty midrange and nonexistent 3-ball is going to be something that will need to be overcome. I suspect she'll focus that hard after leaving UConn, though.
 
JoePgh said:
"Getting her own shot" means not needing a screen or a scoring threat elsewhere on the court to get open. When Kia scores in UConn games, it is either on the fast break because the opponent turned the ball over or failed to cover the court in transition defense (which will happen a lot less in the WNBA), or she takes a 3-point shot after somebody else has drawn two or three defenders, including her defender who helped off her to stop KLS / Napheesa / Azura, so that when Kia gets the pass from that besieged teammate, she has a wide open shot.

Whereas Gabby (and really everyone else among the Top 6) can wriggle through a slight crevice in the defense, blow by a taller/slower post player, or fake a defender out of her gym shoes to get open, Kia has to rely on the play of teammates to get herself open. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is something that distinguishes Top 6 WNBA draft choices from those slightly lower in the draft sweepstakes.
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Agree 100%. I think Gabby is more skilled in every aspect besides perimeter shooting. She has the athleticism to play the 3 in the pros, but in a pinch she can slide to the 4 like how Maya does at times.

Kia can be a solid pro as a more specialized player but doesn’t have the same upside that Gabby does. If Gabby looks to score more and improves her outside shooting she could become a major star.
 
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