Why Is Kelis Always The Last Player To Enter The Game?

[JoePgh]

In the three games since the holiday break, Kelis Fisher has gotten about 5 minutes per game (in each case, the LAST 5 minutes of the blowout game). Since, as a would-be point guard, she has only 1 assist over those 15 minutes, I am not claiming that she has earned more minutes. But still, given her obvious size, speed, and athletic skill, you would think that she could have found a way to earn more minutes in blowout games than she is getting.

My hunch (and it's only a hunch) is that she has been slow to learn the offensive and defensive schemes. That can sometimes be a problem for highly talented athletes for whom the mental aspect of the game is more difficult than the physical skills.

Do others have other suggestions as to the cause of this minor mystery?

 

[EricLA]

Her ball handling, speed, and athleticism are really good. But her defense is just ok, her passing is ok, her shooting is ok, her court vision is ok, and her decisions at when to drive to the basket are suspect at times. I think she has a lot of potential, but she has a lot to learn about being the PG on an elite basketball team.

I'll be honest - she looks really smooth out there and I sometimes wonder the same thing until I watch and realize she has several areas that need a bit of work...

 

[Geew1992]

We don’t see what happens in practice

 

[Majic Hands]

I can’t recall seeing her setup anyone to score. Perhaps she has and I didn’t see it.

What I do see is her driving into the paint trying to make a hero move with maxim difficulty that typically results in a turnover.

Hopefully at some point her Dad, Aunt, Mom, Brother, Uncle, Postman. Just someone in her inner circle can ask her why she’s not listening to the coaches. Obviously she is an extremely likable kid.

Unless the coaches have told her to go out there and just have fun.

 

[hoophuskee]

In the three games since the holiday break, Kelis Fisher has gotten about 5 minutes per game (in each case, the LAST 5 minutes of the blowout game). Since, as a would-be point guard, she has only 1 assist over those 15 minutes, I am not claiming that she has earned more minutes. But still, given her obvious size, speed, and athletic skill, you would think that she could have found a way to earn more minutes in blowout games than she is getting.

My hunch (and it's only a hunch) is that she has been slow to learn the offensive and defensive schemes. That can sometimes be a problem for highly talented athletes for whom the mental aspect of the game is more difficult than the physical skills.

Do others have other suggestions as to the cause of this minor mystery?

The other players are better. Size, speed and atheticism is not enough while competing against other h/s all americans that are older and have those attributes and others, along with better fundamentals. This is the #1 team in the country in which Sarah and Azzi aren't even getting pushed to play more than 25 vs the opposition.

 

[Charliebball]

I think she's very talented and has shown flashes in her limited minutes but she's the third point guard in the queue, and Geno likes to keep some semblance of order in the lineup until the last five minutes of a game..........even in a blow out.....if she's willing to be patient and she works hard, her time will come......

 

[Centerstream]

I can’t recall seeing her setup anyone to score. Perhaps she has and I didn’t see it.

What I do see is her driving into the paint trying to make a hero move with maxim difficulty that typically results in a turnover.

Hopefully at some point her Dad, Aunt, Mom, Brother, Uncle, Postman. Just someone in her inner circle can ask her why she’s not listening to the coaches. Obviously she is an extremely likable kid.

Unless the coaches have told her to go out there and just have fun.

I was going to post basically the same thing.
I sit in my La-Z-Boy recliner and watch what seems to happen almost every time she gets the ball...she immediately dribbles to the basket and just chucks up a shot, regardless of what is happening around her. Of course the exception is when the 4th quarter game clock is under 30 seconds and we go on offense...then she will dribble out the clock.

 

[AzzisBraids]

I can’t recall seeing her setup anyone to score. Perhaps she has and I didn’t see it.

What I do see is her driving into the paint trying to make a hero move with maxim difficulty that typically results in a turnover.

Hopefully at some point her Dad, Aunt, Mom, Brother, Uncle, Postman. Just someone in her inner circle can ask her why she’s not listening to the coaches. Obviously she is an extremely likable kid.

Unless the coaches have told her to go out there and just have fun.

I've seen her set up the posts for shots multiple times. Gave Gandy her first bucket, she's a really good post passer but at her best slashing to the rim.

 

[Bone Dog]

Kelis is not nearly as far along as freshman KK was when she started next to Nika Aaliyah Paige and Ash. That was a makeshift lineup and KK made mistakes and got support from some excellent teammates. How would Kelis do in a similar situation? To finish out the comparison, I’d say she is probably further along than Inês was and probably deserves more playing time than she got… and she currently does.

 

[HuskieDawg]

Kellis will be a good player but she isn’t ready for a bigger role right now (if she was Geno would give it to her).

Also whose minutes is she taking? She isn’t taking minutes away from KK or Shade. Kayleigh Heckel is ahead of her and offers more right now, so she isn’t taking minutes from her, same could be said for Allie as Allie’s shooting is very valuable and she surely isn’t taking minutes from Azzi.

Only so many minutes and so many spots. She just has to make the most of hers when she gets them.

 

[ConnMotors]

To much experience and right now just better players ahead of her. She will get her time.

 

[dtbtbtb]

IMO Kellis is very similar to KK (the Freshmen version)....more of a slashing guard with limited shooting but not as good as defender...KK came a long way in those 2 seasons and is now a top PG and i expect Kellis do have a similar jump in the next few seasons

 

[Urshurak]

I don’t think it’s a mystery at all. She has talent. It’s just raw. It will take some time. She will get there.

 

[sun]

If Fisher was allowed more PT and she played well enough to dazzle the crowd, then that could create a conundrum of sorts.
She has the ability to attack the basket with a lot more skill than most of the other veteran guards which is a testament to her talent.
She's enthusiastic and wants to impress the crowd which obviously Geno doesn't mind since I'm sure that she works hard in practice.
If she were given more PT I'll bet that she would show a lot of progress and be more of an asset to the team.
But as it is, she's never really able to lead the offense for more than a few plays.
So she takes it upon herself to try to leave her mark in a short period of time.
She has the support of the team and I'm sure that the coaches want her enjoy her short time in the spotlight.
Can she run the team if there was an injury?
Sure, I'll bet that she could.
She has explosive talent that needs to be harnessed the way that Geno wants to mold her.
She's only an injury or two away from getting more PT.
I hope that she gets enough experience so rhat she can be ready when needed.
Next year she'll probably have a leg up on the freshmen class.

 

[DEpup]

In the three games since the holiday break, Kelis Fisher has gotten about 5 minutes per game (in each case, the LAST 5 minutes of the blowout game). Since, as a would-be point guard, she has only 1 assist over those 15 minutes, I am not claiming that she has earned more minutes. But still, given her obvious size, speed, and athletic skill, you would think that she could have found a way to earn more minutes in blowout games than she is getting.

My hunch (and it's only a hunch) is that she has been slow to learn the offensive and defensive schemes. That can sometimes be a problem for highly talented athletes for whom the mental aspect of the game is more difficult than the physical skills.

Do others have other suggestions as to the cause of this minor mystery?

DEFENSE or the lack there of..... that is the path to minutes for her. IMO

 

[Stagnant]

I would bring her in before Caroline, but I think we just have more guards. And sometimes Geno is thinking he still needs to get minutes for Allie and Kayleigh. And that delays her appearance in the game.

 

[Blond D.]

I think maybe her nickname kinda gives us a clue to why shes last. BIG FISH. She was a big fish in a small pond before UCONN. Not now. She has skills but she needs to learn to use them in coordination with the other players instead of being the "Big fish".
Serah is having to learn the same thing but has 3 years of college to see what shes up against so her transition has been easier.

 

[oldhusky]

I think she's very talented and has shown flashes in her limited minutes but she's the third point guard in the queue, and Geno likes to keep some semblance of order in the lineup until the last five minutes of a game..........even in a blow out.....if she's willing to be patient and she works hard, her time will come......

While she might be the third PG on a depth chart, it is a distant third since if KK and Kayleigh were unavailable Geno would probably use Azzi at the point and bring Allie in. It is no better at the SG position which I think Kelis could play, but beyond the obvious Azzi and Allie 1/2 punch, other options are using Ash, Kayleigh or Blanca there, and Morgan if she was healthy.

The talent is obvious, but fitting into the Uconn system seems like a work in progress at the moment. Too much create on my own mentality for now IMO.

 

[Bald Husky]

She did miss two layups yesterday. The "fish" needs to work on her pace of play, something KK, MJ, and Nika all had to deal with. Of course, more PT is needed to fix that problem. If she is the future PG for us, Geno needs to play her more to ensure that she Knows that. With the Serbian girl coming in next year, the position will have more competition than this year.

 

[Linart]

She is fun to watch. Reminds me of Kenitra Johnson. Her fastbreak was a thing of beauty.

 

[BRS24]

If Fisher was allowed more PT and she played well enough to dazzle the crowd, then that could create a conundrum of sorts.
She has the ability to attack the basket with a lot more skill than most of the other veteran guards which is a testament to her talent.
She's enthusiastic and wants to impress the crowd which obviously Geno doesn't mind since I'm sure that she works hard in practice.
If she were given more PT I'll bet that she would show a lot of progress and be more of an asset to the team.
But as it is, she's never really able to lead the offense for more than a few plays.
So she takes it upon herself to try to leave her mark in a short period of time.
She has the support of the team and I'm sure that the coaches want her enjoy her short time in the spotlight.
Can she run the team if there was an injury?
Sure, I'll bet that she could.
She has explosive talent that needs to be harnessed the way that Geno wants to mold her.
She's only an injury or two away from getting more PT.
I hope that she gets enough experience so rhat she can be ready when needed.
Next year she'll probably have a leg up on the freshmen class.

Geno doesn't give players PT to learn what to do. They have to learn and execute in practice. If they cannot do that on both the offensive and defensive ends, then they sit until they can.

 

[HuskyNan]

If Fisher was allowed more PT and she played well enough to dazzle the crowd, then that could create a conundrum of sorts.
She has the ability to attack the basket with a lot more skill than most of the other veteran guards which is a testament to her talent.
She's enthusiastic and wants to impress the crowd which obviously Geno doesn't mind since I'm sure that she works hard in practice.
If she were given more PT I'll bet that she would show a lot of progress and be more of an asset to the team.
But as it is, she's never really able to lead the offense for more than a few plays.
So she takes it upon herself to try to leave her mark in a short period of time.
She has the support of the team and I'm sure that the coaches want her enjoy her short time in the spotlight.
Can she run the team if there was an injury?
Sure, I'll bet that she could.
She has explosive talent that needs to be harnessed the way that Geno wants to mold her.
She's only an injury or two away from getting more PT.
I hope that she gets enough experience so rhat she can be ready when needed.
Next year she'll probably have a leg up on the freshmen class.

 

[HuskyNan]

She is fun to watch. Reminds me of Kenitra Johnson. Her fastbreak was a thing of beauty.

She reminds me of Lorin Dixon, who also zoomed around the court at 100 mph her freshman year.

 

[LuvBball]

Ok, but at least she gets to play... Gandyites, our time will come

 

[oldude]

Ok, but at least she gets to play... Gandyites, our time will come

During warmups yesterday I payed particular attention to Gandy. While she is definitely a “project”, she moves well and has impressive size. Gandy is taller than both Serah & Jana by an inch or two, putting her around 6’6” or so. In addition she has big hips and legs, that give me the hope that she’ll be able to dominate the paint once she figures things out.

The player I would compare Gandy to is SC’s Medina Okot who did not have a lot of experience when she showed up in the US. But she’s learned how to be effective and is now projected as a 1st round draft pick in the W.