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

[Charliebball]

You explained it better than I did.
I actually think our guards do not do it much except for Kelis.
Azzi, never, Ash, never, KK, not so much. What's funny about KK is that she jump stops inside and goes up. I used to teach jump stops on layups as an option.

KK used to do it earlier in her career as she was always in a hurry and Heckel can sometimes be found dribbling through the lane under the basket with nowhere to go.........let's just say she's being "aggressively optimistic".......the jump stop is an easy and underappreciated move that works far more often than it doesn't......KK seems to be its number one proponent and it has helped her get some easy baskets on the fast break this season......

 

[From Canada]

Looks like an interesting chart. I wish I knew what all the column headings stood for.

The table presented by woof shows advanced statistics. As we can see from the yellow highlighting, BPM (Box Plus/Minus) is the advanced statistic that best measures a player's overall impact and contribution. It is calculated per 100 possessions and can also be divided into OBPM (offensive) and DBPM (defensive), taking everything into account, both positive and negative. The result is an estimate of the number of points a player contributes to their team per 100 possessions compared to the average NCAA player. In the NBA, a score of 10 indicates that the player is an All-Star. It should be noted that in the NBA, the difference between the best and worst teams is much smaller than in NCAA women's basketball. For women in the NCAA this year, Sarah Strong is first with 29.6, Joyce Edwards is 10th with 17.7, and between them in order we have: M. Fulwiley, A. Fudd, G. Kneepkens, A. Hidalgo, T. Cooper, M. Blakes, K. Rice, and M. Booker.

Two other advanced statistics that I appreciate are TS% (True Shooting Percentage), which measures shooting efficiency and gives us the player's true skill level, with 3-point shots being bonus shots (33% at 3 points = 50% at 2 points) and free throws also being counted. Finally, there is PER (Player Efficiency Rating). I have attached more information; just scroll down the page to Advanced Metrics in Women's Basketball Analysis. I have also included a link that takes us to the same table as woof. You can also scroll back up the page and click on the Leaders tab at the top to see the NCAA's best players.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

https://www.marygrovemustangs.com/analyzing-womens-basketball-key-stats-and-what-they-mean.html

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/connecticut/women/2026.html#all_players_advanced

 

[sun]

My question is," Is Fisher the last player in the game because of her stats or are her stats due to her being the last player in the game?"
If she's not playing with the starters then her opportunities to create better stats for herself are not as great or equal to all of the other players who do get to play with the starters.
Her lack of PT may also be considered to be an impediment to accumulating better stats for herself.
Perhaps in essence Geno allows her to hotdog it by putting her in at the end of the game when it doesn't matter except to Fisher, her teammate & the fans who are rooting for her to create some solo action.
I think Geno's mind is made up before the game that Fisher won't be playing much unless there's an urgent need.

 

[Dogdude]

We kind of keep drifting from the fact that she's supposed to be a point guard, and creating shots for herself is the last thing the team looks for. Down the road, sure, if there's an opportunity, great. But for now, while learning the plays and the defense, every drive to the basket is a lesson not learned.

 

[BRS24]

My question is," Is Fisher the last player in the game because of her stats or are her stats due to her being the last player in the game?"
If she's not playing with the starters then her opportunities to create better stats for herself are not as great or equal to all of the other players who do get to play with the starters.
Her lack of PT may also be considered to be an impediment to accumulating better stats for herself.
Perhaps in essence Geno allows her to hotdog it by putting her in at the end of the game when it doesn't matter except to Fisher, her teammate & the fans who are rooting for her to create some solo action.
I think Geno's mind is made up before the game that Fisher won't be playing much unless there's an urgent need.

IMO, the issue isn't creating stats for herself, it's what she's doing on the court in practice and games that will impact her PT. If Geno cared about status, there is a years long list of Huskies that wouldn't have started or garnered as much PT as they did.

 

[1974yankees]

How is everyone suppossed to get significant playing time when our team is loaded? We have too many good players lol.

And there are only 40 minutes in a game as far as I know.

I like what I see from Fisher and yes she does look like a "Ferrari"...

Give her time. Very few players learn the "system" as freshman.

Her time will come. She could be another Ketia Swanier.

 

[From Canada]

We kind of keep drifting from the fact that she's supposed to be a point guard, and creating shots for herself is the last thing the team looks for. Down the road, sure, if there's an opportunity, great. But for now, while learning the plays and the defense, every drive to the basket is a lesson not learned.

I think your comment is excellent. When we look at Woof's table of advanced statistics, we can see one of the reasons for Kelis' low usage. I draw your attention to the USG% (Usage Rate %) column, which determines the percentage of team possession that ends up in the player's hands when you are on the court. If this distribution were equal, everyone would have 20.0. As you can see, Kelis has the highest percentage at 28.1, yet she is the lowest in the TS% (True Shooting %) column for a PG. unless her name is Caitlin Clark, I don't think this statistic helps her. She needs to learn to evaluate herself. She has a USG% similar to Paige last year, except that Paige had the efficiency to get the shot that ended a possession. This year in the NCAA, Audi Crooks (Iowa State) has the highest USG% at 39.2.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/connecticut/women/2026.html#all_players_advanced

 

[Linart]

I think one of the reasons people are puzzled about Kellis's playing time is that she was Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, following in the footsteps of some incredible UConn players who hold that honor. (Just for comparison, on the men's side, the preseason freshman of the year is the phenom, Braylon Mullins.) She hasn't lived up to the BE coaches' expectations. She could be rushing everything because she's thinking, "Wow, I've got to live up to expectations. They thought I was the best. I have to be the next Sarah Strong or Paige Bueckers." I don't think getting that award did her any favors.

 

[oldude]

Earlier in the season I made the point that Kelis is probably the most talented “6th guard” on any team’s roster in WBB. She would likely start or, at a minimum, get major PT on just about any other team.

But there are 5 talented and experienced guards ahead of Kelis, 2 of whom are primarily pg’s like Kelis. Geno’s goal is to prepare this team for a postseason run to championship #13. Under the circumstances, just how much time does he give to guard #6, keeping in mind that any PT Kelis gets is PT that KK, Kayleigh, Ash, Azzi & Allie don’t get?

My short answer is that 3-5 mpg seems about right. So far this season, Kelis has played in 14/16 games, averaging 6.4 mpg.

 

[GetReal2day]

We kind of keep drifting from the fact that she's supposed to be a point guard, and creating shots for herself is the last thing the team looks for. Down the road, sure, if there's an opportunity, great. But for now, while learning the plays and the defense, every drive to the basket is a lesson not learned.

I think she needs to follow what Blanca is starting to do, which is on those drives, pass out to open shooters before going too deep. Blanca is hitting Sarah and Azzi on the wings and I am sure the coaching staff have worked with her on that.

 

[BobbyJ]

Earlier in the season I made the point that Kelis is probably the most talented “6th guard” on any team’s roster in WBB. She would likely start or, at a minimum, get major PT on just about any other team.

But there are 5 talented and experienced guards ahead of Kelis, 2 of whom are primarily pg’s like Kelis. Geno’s goal is to prepare this team for a postseason run to championship #13. Under the circumstances, just how much time does he give to guard #6, keeping in mind that any PT Kelis gets is PT that KK, Kayleigh, Ash, Azzi & Allie don’t get?

My short answer is that 3-5 mpg seems about right. So far this season, Kelis has played in 14/16 games, averaging 6.4 mpg.

Yes, there seems to be a misconception among many about what constitutes readiness to get quality PT in Auriemma’s program as a PG. Fisher currently has no real concept of how to operate/utilize this offense. And that won’t change this season.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think one of the reasons people are puzzled about Kellis's playing time is that she was Big East Preseason Freshman of the Year, following in the footsteps of some incredible UConn players who hold that honor. (Just for comparison, on the men's side, the preseason freshman of the year is the phenom, Braylon Mullins.) She hasn't lived up to the BE coaches' expectations. She could be rushing everything because she's thinking, "Wow, I've got to live up to expectations. They thought I was the best. I have to be the next Sarah Strong or Paige Bueckers." I don't think getting that award did her any favors.

It has nothing to do with not living up to expectations. This is not a failing of Kellis if anyone thinks that. It's some combinanation of laziness and maybe a bit of incomeptence thet either the coaches or if it was one of their staff that voted. No way Kellis shold have been voted over Blanca.

 

[oldude]

Yes, there seems to be a misconception among many about what constitutes readiness to get quality PT in Auriemma’s program as a PG. Fisher currently has no real concept of how to operate/utilize this offense. And that won’t change this season.

I think Kelis is learning and, in a pinch, could probably do a serviceable job at pg for UConn. But if your goal is winning a national championship, you have to give the vast majority of the minutes to KK & Kayleigh, along with the rotations you plan to use in March.

IMO, KK is the 2nd best “pure pg” in the nation behind only Rori Harmon. One of the very positive developments for UConn over just the past few games is that Kayleigh is really starting to get comfortable with UConn’s offense & defense and her role in it.

Under the circumstances, carving out another 5-10 minutes for Kelis would be counterproductive. Her time will come.

 

[oldude]

It has nothing to do with not living up to expectations. This is not a failing of Kellis if anyone thinks that. It's some combinanation of laziness and maybe a bit of incomeptence thet either the coaches or if it was one of their staff that voted. No way Kellis shold have been voted over Blanca.

Blanca was truly an X-factor in every sense. The BE coaches knew very little about her when UConn signed her. That’s clearly no longer the case. 😎

Next year I fully expect the Big O to be the preseason BEFOY. But I would not be surprised if Popovic is the best freshman in the conference.

 

[hoophuskee]

Blanca was truly an X-factor in every sense. The BE coaches knew very little about her when UConn signed her. That’s clearly no longer the case. 😎

They shouldn't know very little though. This is their top team in their own conferencee. 😀

 

[oldude]

They shouldn't know very little though. This is their top team in their own conferencee. 😀

Well, Kelis was a well-known recruit from IMG, one of the top schools in the nation, and the #25 rated prospect. Blanca was a young, talented reserve for Campobasso, an Italian professional team. How do you pick between the two?

 

[cwh20]

They shouldn't know very little though. This is their top team in their own conferencee. 😀

I’m not directing this at you but you know, it’s a pre season poll. It’s just not that big of a deal. No BE coach is going to get questioned or fired for not getting the FOTY pick right. It doesn’t mean they won’t be aware of all the key opposing players once the conference games begin.

 

[hoophuskee]

I’m not directing this at you but you know, it’s a pre season poll. It’s just not that big of a deal. No BE coach is going to get questioned or fired for not getting the FOTY pick right. It doesn’t mean they won’t be aware of all the key opposing players once the conference games begin.

Yes - but I didnt say it was a big deal. It just shows laziiness and certain level of incompetence, It's not a big deal. Blanca was playing against pros.