Who will average the most PPG this season...

[Scotter]

This discussion about KML and Maya caused me to think back to early in Maya's freshman year. I seem to remember some observers of the high school basketball scene (I'm talking about scouting sites) saying that Maya was not a consistent 3-point shooter and would need to work on that part of her game. I just recall being surprised by how well she shot 3-pointers from the start of her career and that some of the scouting services seemed to underestimate that part of her game. Is my memory wrong?

Your memory is right. What I also find curious about that in relation to recent KML and Maya discussions is that those expectations of Maya's shooting ability somehow seem to be retroactively coloring people's memory of Maya's freshman season. I've seen multiple posters reference Maya not being a great shooter yet as freshman in comparison to expectations for KML, but that was Maya's best 3P% season and she attempted basically the same number of threes as a freshman that she did as a senior.

 

[DaddyChoc]

in HS Maya didnt NEED to shoot the 3 as much so fan may have not been aware of her range. She played in the post (defending Cain & Charles) after harrassing the inbounder on defensive and got tons of garbage points in HS.

 

[Scotter]

well we shall see. she scored more than Maya in high school. that's a simple fact. sorry if you disagree but the facts are what they are. you keep referring to her all around game and i'm simply stating she was a better pure scorer in high school than Maya. there's really no argument there as KML simply scored more. and apparently she was a better rebounder too. oh, and of her 2,744 total points in HS, only 1,011 of them came from 3 pointers so it's not like she sat beyond the arc and launched up the 3 ball. 1,733 of her points came from 2 point shots or FT's.

There's no argument there? So anybody that had 3000 points in HS is automatically a better pure scorer than both KML and Maya? If all you meant is she scored more points than Maya in high school, fine. But at least to me "pure scorer" implies to me quality as well as quantity.

so first you asked me what i based my opinion on - and i answered by stating her high school scoring was better than Maya's. then you follow up by saying you've seen her play and she's simply not as good. not trying to be contrary but i was not arguing she was going to have a better career at UCONN than Maya did. or that she was a better all around player.

No you said she was a better pure scorer which is what I explicitly stated that I disagreed with. And I did so based on actually seeing KML's ability to score, and I am comparing them against each other at the same point in their playing.

i'm not trying to argue for the sake of arguing, and you are clearly one of the more knowledgeable posters on the BY, but you sometimes seem to just want to be contrary. now where's that shrug emoticon when i need it??!!! lol

If a tendency to want to balance the boat is just being contrary then I'm guilty. I am selective about posting, and adding to the echo chamber is not something that entices me nearly as much as providing counterweight. Although posting to be contrary implies to me that I'm posting just to be argumentative rather than posting what I truly believe to be true. I never post just to stir the pot.

now will that all translate to the college game? will her lack of athleticism hurt her and make it more difficult to get her shot off? i have no idea. probably. but either way we get 4 years to enjoy this young lady. do i think she breaks Maya's scoring record at UCONN? no. but i think she breaks Tina's, or at least comes very close...

 

[EricLA]

well fair enough scotter. we'll just have to agree to disagree. KML was a better scorer and rebounder in high school than Maya was. hence my opinion that she's a better pure scorer/shooter. you disagree because you saw KML play a few games in person. and apparently KML was a better rebounder too. oh well! on to the season!!

 

[Scotter]

well fair enough scotter. we'll just have to agree to disagree. KML was a better scorer and rebounder in high school than Maya was. hence my opinion that she's a better pure scorer/shooter. you disagree because you saw KML play a few games in person. and apparently KML was a better rebounder too. oh well! on to the season!!

And she's a better rebounder than Maya too? And you wonder why we have these long back and forths? What a way to end an agree to disagree!

 

[Icebear]

Stating that KML is a better pure scorer than Maya is quite a statement. What are you basing that on?

A better pure shooter, I would probably agree, a better pure scorer is yet to be seen against college competition and defenses.

 

[EricLA]

A better pure shooter, I would probably agree, a better pure scorer is yet to be seen against college competition and defenses.

of course it remains to be seen. i never said i thought KML would outscore Maya in college. i still think, never having seen her play, that she has the potential to pass Tina. if she passes Maya, we'll all be in awe.

One other thing that some people seem to want to forget is that KML's high school teammates included Jordan Adams (2012), Niarra Fields (2012) and Alexys Vaioletema (2011), a trio of top 11 recruits in their own right. the fact that KML scored as much as she did with those three outstanding teammates is an indication of how awesome a scorer she is. it would be different if she "only" played with an all american PG who excelled in pushing tempo and dishing assists, but she played with a bunch of all american scorers.

anyway, i know she played with Jordan and Alexys, but i think Niarra might have just transferred to Mater Dei this past year so i'm not sure if KML actually played with her. and i'm not trying to put Maya down. i'm just pointing out that i think KML is a phenomenal scorer coming out of HS.

 

[UConnCat]

anyway, i know she played with Jordan and Alexys, but i think Niarra might have just transferred to Mater Dei this past year so i'm not sure if KML actually played with her. and i'm not trying to put Maya down. i'm just pointing out that i think KML is a phenomenal scorer coming out of HS.

KML did not play with Fields who transferred to MD for the upcoming school year.

 

[Kibitzer]

The most telling phrase in this back-and-forth is "never having seen her play...." I don't think it is possible to reliably evaluate a player from mere review of box scores and perusal of comments by rating services.

Also, just because Player A scores or rebounds more than Player B (any two players) does not mean that Player A is a "better" scorer, shooter, or rebounder than Player B. There are too many variables (especially in high school) that make direct comparisons unreliable.

Finally, I think some of us underestimate just how difficult it is to AVERAGE 15+ PPG for a season. If it weren't so difficult, more players would do it. How often did players like Catchings, Parker, Taurasi, Bird, Maya or McCaughtry actually average 15+ PPG for an entire season? I'll bet very few.

Once anyone digs up those stats, check out freshman seasons.

I expect that at some point during her freshman season (January or February) that KML will get into a groove and compete (maybe successfully, maybe not) for top scorer with Bria and Stefanie.If she does that, it's pretty good.

There are some enthusiastic posters who seem to expect as many as three Huskies to average better than 15 PPG. I believe their optimism to be admirable but over the top.

 

[EricLA]

not sure what difference that makes Kib. when someone tells you that Cheryl Miller, for example, was the all time leading scorer in California history, do you need to see her play to know she's special? and there are many videos of her out there on youtube, etc, that allows people to check her out and see what "kind" of player she is so while very few get to see her in person, many can at least see videos of her. and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of examples like that (Cheryl Miller). but when you combine her prolific scoring with the fact that she was named the #1 player in her class by most every service that made a list, it certainly gives one an idea of how good she is.

of course stats don't tell the entire story. sometimes they don't even tell a majority of the story. and people keep arguing about this magical 15 PPG average. no one on here (at least not me) predicted she'd score more than 15 PPG this year. my point is simply that as a phenom scorer/shooter in HS, and she has a chance to be special. i did predict she'd surpass Tina's scoring record tho.