Wow Christyn Williams (Putting in work work)

[UConnCat]

CW certainly did not play up to the potential that the fans had for her, but perhaps it was to her actual potential. Did it ever occur to any of you that your expectations might have been too high? Elevating her physical ceiling might make a difference but let's not put the cart before the horse. Last season was the second season in a row that she did not meet the UConn fan's expectations. You guys based your perspectives on her high-class rating and a good showing in the McDonalds game. Let's see what she does consistently at the college level before concluding that she underachieved. A player who knows to play within their capabilities is a very valuable player even if they do not achieve the star level of their fans' expectations.

No.

Last season was not the 2nd season in a row that she did not meet UConn fan's expectations. Christyn had an outstanding freshman season. She averaged nearly 12 ppg playing alongside 2 All Americans. She shot 50% overall and 36.7% on 3FG. She capped off her freshman season by averaging 17 ppg in 5 NCAA tournament games. I'm not aware of any UConn fan who was disappointed in her freshman season.

It was precisely because of her outstanding freshman season that I and other fans here expected more from Christyn as a sophomore, knowing she would be a featured part of the offense. Although her PPG and RPG improved, her efficiency and shooting %s declined. She also failed to play well in the biggest games.

I don't believe any of us here are prepared right now to lower our expectations for Christyn and, more importantly, neither is Geno.

 

[BBallF]

... and her freshman game against ND. She continues to have spurts of very high level play and individual physical plays only she can do but she also disappeared or let her shooting woes affect other parts of her game. However, a hopeful sign was the last 6 or so games of the year where she came alive and not coincidentally, UConn showed a rebirth in level of play and movement. This fan (perhaps naively) looks for her to be a 2nd or 3rd team AA next season.

I don't think that is naive at all. In fact, I think it is right on the money. I expect Liv to be no less than 3rd team and Evina to be first or second team with CW right behind. A lot will depend on where the ball is supposed to go and who has the green light for certain shots but with Paige and Anna passing the ball, all you have to do is get open for a nano-second. I don't think CW's change in play caused the team turnaround, I think the team turnaround caused the change in CW's play. Geno changed the defense, roughly contemporaneously with Jamelle's return, by pressing and trapping in the half court. It lead to an up tempo offense which led to movement which led to the "new" UCONN 2020.

 

[BBallF]

I have no problem with Christyn aspiring to be better. In fact, as a UConn WBB player, I would expect nothing less. I just don’t think it’s up to we the fans to decide that she had a “bad year.” If Christyn truly had a bad year, Geno would have sat her down. As I mentioned, Christyn played more mpg than anyone on the team. Could she have played better? Absolutely! I look forward to seeing her take the next step.

I disagree. Who would Geno have sat her for? She was still better than what we had despite the year she had and she was, after all, the National HS POY. In terms of mpg as proof of a "good" year in the eyes of her coach, I think Geno was playing her to the extent he did to try to get her out of her slump and that is why she was in at the end of games when the starters were mostly out and she was able to score more easily.
Also, of course fans are entitled to have opinions about how the players on their favorite teams are playing whether good or bad. Does that mean we can never say "she played great"? Or "she got beat" on defense. Or express any opinions about how the players are playing? Or can we only say good, but not objective, things? Why be a fan then?
We are the most knowledgeable fans in the country. The players know what the deal is here and what is expected. CW was very mature about her shortcomings this year and as pointed out above, came alive when the defense created a more up tempo offense. This isn't me talking, it's Geno being paraphrased. Don't worry about her. If she was just hanging out eating pizza and not working out like she has been, then worry. She still has one of the best pull up jumpers and best baseline drive moves in the country and now, finally, the eye of the tiger.

 

[oldude]

She didn't compare herself when she was interviewed about her play nor should we to the vast majority of D1 players. She was the National High School POY two years ago. She shot .333 from deep and was a no show against Oregon and SC where she scored a total of 10 points on 4-21 shooting. The bar for her is a heck of a lot higher than it is for the vast majority of D1 players because at UCONN we don't have the vast majority of players, we have the very best of the best. The point is that she was dissatisfied with her play and rightly so when compared to her own standards and is doing something about it. She knows she is expected to be great and I predict she will be this year.

I agree completely with this post. But I continue to disagree with any suggestion that Christyn had a bad year last season, and I’m reasonably certain that if anyone were to suggest such a notion to Geno they would get an earful back as only Geno can provide.

 

[CocoHusky]

I agree completely with this post. But I continue to disagree with any suggestion that Christyn had a bad year last season, and I’m reasonably certain that if anyone were to suggest such a notion to Geno they would get an earful back as only Geno can provide.

Geno was very realistic and up front ( he always is) about Christyn struggles last season.

"She didn’t get here overnight, and it’s not going to change overnight,” Auriemma said. “Every day I’m looking for some progress, and there’s days when I see it, so I’m encouraged.”

'There's no magic formula:' Christyn Williams' shooting slump continues against UCF, but UConn needs her to pull herself out of it — and fast

This was February 2020 the season was almost over. By any standard, her own, Geno's, or us fans Christyn had a disappointing season. I'll bet she bounces back.

 

[oldude]

Geno was very realistic and up front ( he always is) about Christyn struggles last season.

"She didn’t get here overnight, and it’s not going to change overnight,” Auriemma said. “Every day I’m looking for some progress, and there’s days when I see it, so I’m encouraged.”

'There's no magic formula:' Christyn Williams' shooting slump continues against UCF, but UConn needs her to pull herself out of it — and fast

This was February 2020 the season was almost over. By any standard, her own, Geno's, or us fans Christyn had a disappointing season. I'll bet she bounces back.

Yes I also agree. The back and forth I’ve been having with BBall may be simply a nit. I take exception with the initial characterization of Christyn’s play last season as a “bad year.”

It’s been well over 40 years since I last laced up my shoes to play ball in college. These days, I’m like the vast majority of folks here on the BY. I watch most of the games from the comfort of my couch. As such, I would never posess the temerity to suggest a top caliber athlete and wonderful young lady had a bad season.

I get that Christyn’s season last year was disappointing to her personally and that she’s working incredibly hard to reach her full potential, something that both she and Geno expect her to achieve. I truly hope we have a basketball season this year so that we can all see just how far Christyn and her team have progressed.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Geno was very realistic and up front ( he always is) about Christyn struggles last season.

"She didn’t get here overnight, and it’s not going to change overnight,” Auriemma said. “Every day I’m looking for some progress, and there’s days when I see it, so I’m encouraged.”

'There's no magic formula:' Christyn Williams' shooting slump continues against UCF, but UConn needs her to pull herself out of it — and fast

This was February 2020 the season was almost over. By any standard, her own, Geno's, or us fans Christyn had a disappointing season. I'll bet she bounces back.

Exactly. Christyn had a poor shooting year last year, particularly with her mid-range jump shots which is her bread and butter. She did rebound better, but the view of her year is always going to be colored by her cold shooting for long stretches of the season.

 

[Go/huskies]

For someone who said in her own words she expects to be legendary, I would say Williams had a down year, she was a little inconsistent at times.

 

[willtalk]

My stock statement has always been you are never as good as your best game or as bad as your worst.

 

[willtalk]

My stock statement has always been you are never as good as your best game or as bad as your worst.

In response to the statement by some posters that Uconn fans not believed she underachieved or did not believe she did not play to her potential in her freshman year, many of you seem to have poor memories. Their expectations for her were through the roof. After her freshman season many declared that she would hreak out and fullfill her potential in her soph year.

I have an entirely different take on CW. I felt her best trait was her BBIQ. This in my eyes made her an opportunist who took advantage of what ever openings the defense gave her. This is what I saw her do during her most productive games. It is what she did in the McD All Star Game and also what she did against ND. She had good skills but her limitations were physical and that is why she is spending this off season raising her physical ceiling. We shall see how that works out.

Too many fans only find value in players who can take over games and do not realize that what a player does when they are not dominating the ball or scoring is also very important. Making good decisions helps the team. You can not have a team filled with ball dominant scorers.

The reason I quoted my own previous post was because I posted it by accident before I could finish and put it in context with my other statements. A player is what his average performance says he is. Every player has really good games and also conversely bad ones. What they are is what their average game reflects. You can not juge a players subpar games not should you judge them on their best games either. There best games are not always a measure of their potential. They might be a measure of what they might produce on any given day but certainly not what we should expect from them every day. We also need to consider the circumstances under which those games happened.

Again I believe and recognize that CW is a smart player. She realized she needed to up her physical ceiling. We shall see how this works out for her. You can not do much about quickness but your certainly can increase your strength and leaping ability via weight training. You can do well enough even if you are not that fast or quick as long as you have a quick first step and employ deception.