KIA NURSE: JUMP OR SLUMP?

[Dougie]

What kind of sophomore year might Kia Nurse have? Will we see that big, important freshman to sophomore jump that Geno often refers to or, as one Boneyarder worried in another thread, could she suffer the sophomore jinx?

With certain players, like Gabby Williams, for example, you just feel that there is the potential for that "great leap forward". But is Kia that type of player?

What will the trajectory of her career be? Dramatic improvements or a slow and steady development?

And finally, what type of freshman year might she have had if she wasn't playing alongside the likes of Moriah, Breanna, Morgan, and Kaleena?

I have my own ideas, but am interested in hearing what my fellow Boneyarders think.

 

[Sonny44]

I think shell show slow and steady improvement.

 

[UcMiami]

I think she was so good as a freshman because she already had so much international experience coming in, so I just don't see a huge jump - it already happened a few years ago. I think she will show steady improvement and will be better this year because she will be coming in with system knowledge and confidence. My biggest concern for her is that she get some down time - she is already working to a schedule not dissimilar to that of a pro player - a full summer season the last two summers with team Canada and a full winter season with Uconn. She needs some 'recharge' time.

 

[rugbymate]

Jump...this young lady is an uber competitor, gifted athlete, has a high basketball IQ and fundamentally sound. Oh, i forgot...she is also the ultimate team player. Nothing but upside. Given the star quality of our starting team she is probably the most under appreciated and underrated.

 

[Orangutan]

I think she'll show improvement but maybe not huge improvement because she was already quietly very good last year. Her efficiency numbers could go down a little but I expect her counting stats to go up significantly as she fills the void created by KML's graduation.

 

[HuskiesU]

I think this was the wrong name for this thread I'm mainly worried about Courtney Ekmark.
If she has a down season then her confident will be shatter and so will Geno although he won't ask her to transfer she will be in his dog house and than she might want to transfer. This is a important season for her.
#rooting4ekmark

Now I seen the brilliant of Courtney basketball IQ. OK she didn't shoot the ball all that great last year but I think and hope she can come in and knock down couple 3s a game because other than that she also rebounds make plays for teammates and believe it or not she the other huskies to drive to the hoop other than Mo and Kia.
#shewillshow

 

[Carnac]

I think she was so good as a freshman because she already had so much international experience coming in, so I just don't see a huge jump - it already happened a few years ago. I think she will show steady improvement and will be better this year because she will be coming in with system knowledge and confidence. My biggest concern for her is that she get some down time - she is already working to a schedule not dissimilar to that of a pro player - a full summer season the last two summers with team Canada and a full winter season with Uconn. She needs some 'recharge' time.

I completely agree with UcMiami word for word. He covered ALL the bases.

 

[Carnac]

I think this was the wrong name for this thread I'm mainly worried about Courtney Ekmark.
If she has a down season then her confident will be shatter and so will Geno although he won't ask her to transfer she will be in his dog house and than she might want to transfer. This is a important season for her.
#rooting4ekmark

Now I seen the brilliant of Courtney basketball IQ. OK she didn't shoot the ball all that great last year but I think and hope she can come in and knock down couple 3s a game because other than that she also rebounds make plays for teammates and believe it or not she the other huskies to drive to the hoop other than Mo and Kia.
#shewillshow

This will be a "make or break" season for Ekmark. Why? Next year she'll be a junior, and more guards will be coming then that Geno will want to look at. He's not going to waste those "limited" minutes on Ekmark if he still has doubts about her at that time.

She got a slow start out of the gate last season. She had health issues when she arrived on campus last summer. By the time she was cleared to play, the ship had sailed. We never saw her completely healthy. If she can begin the season 100%, and having a year's experience under her belt to boost her confidence, we should get a better idea of what we can expect from her this season.

She's on the clock. She's got 9 1/2 months from right now to impress Geno and staff. If she starts lighting things (opposing players) up during on-campus pick-up games this summer and before official practice begins in October, Geno will hear about it. She must regain the posture and swag she had when they recruited her.

Her time is NOW!!! This scenario reminds me of an old Elvis Pressley song. "It's now or never". I won't use the term "Dog house" to describe her status, but if she fails to impress this coming season, Geno won't have any confidence in her, and thus she'll assume the same exact role Breanna Banks had in HER junior year, i.e. very limited playing time.

She'll be relegated to (end of the bench) mop-up duty the last 2-3 minutes of a game once the outcome is no longer in doubt. I think it's a little premature to mention the possibility of a transfer at this time.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I largely agree with Miami (as usual). Her toughness and international experience allowed her to play like an upperclassman most of last year, so the improvement may be modest. But she will be more experienced with Geno's system and more familiar with her teammates, so those will help her. She also will start the season by shooting foul shots more effectively than she did for the first month or so last year. One area where I look for improvement is late in the season. I think Kia hit a freshman wall late in the year and had some lack of confidence in the Final Four. Those hiccups are behind her.

 

[mkwstar23]

I think the sky is the limit for this young lady...she is intense and passionate in her approach to the game...watch out if she becomes consistent from 3pt line she could be a star especially the way she attacks the basket...that will make the posts much more affective...personally can't wait to see her progress and Williams too...if Collier and Samuelson are as as good as their hype then could be a yet another banner year///think that Boykin might be a beast inside in time...like i always say, players go to college to become better, they come to Storrs to become legendary

 

[HuskiesU]

This will be a "make or break" season for Ekmark. Why? Next year she'll be a junior, and more guards will be coming then that Geno will want to look at. He's not going to waste those "limited" minutes on Ekmark if he still has doubts about her at that time.

She got a slow start out of the gate last season. She had health issues when she arrived on campus last summer. By the time she was cleared to play, the ship had sailed. We never saw her completely healthy. If she can begin the season 100%, and having a year's experience under her belt to boost her confidence, we should get a better idea of what we can expect from her this season.

She's on the clock. She's got 9 1/2 months from right now to impress Geno and staff. If she starts lighting things (opposing players) up during on-campus pick-up games this summer and before official practice begins in October, Geno will hear about it. She must regain the posture and swag she had when they recruited her.

Her time is NOW!!! This scenario reminds me of an old Elvis Pressley song. "It's now or never". I won't use the term "Dog house" to describe her status, but if she fails to impress this coming season, Geno won't have any confidence in her, and thus she'll assume the same exact role Breanna Banks had in HER junior year, i.e. very limited playing time.

She'll be relegated to (end of the bench) mop-up duty the last 2-3 minutes of a game once the outcome is no longer in doubt. I think it's a little premature to mention the possibility of a transfer at this time.

She will be a sophmore like Kia and Gabby

 

[j66kicker]

Kia doesn't seem like the "slump" type. Very consistent, high expectations, high confidence, and doesn't sweat the small stuff. Sometimes I think the UCONN thing may not even be that big of a deal to her. A big deal, yes, but at the end of the day more of a means to improve herself (albeit a terrific means) for her Canadian national team (the big deal). I expect her to take on some leadership - not even on purpose, she's just more worldly and mature for her age than most.

 

[Bonpland]

At UCONN we've seen so many players fall into the status that will be the one that Courtney occupies this year. It's hard to succeed if you get a slow start when competing with thoroughbreds. I can think of others but Banks may be the best example of what can happen to a player who gets sidelined while trying to earn a spot in the regular game rotation.

I liked everything about Banks but she was competing with Kelley, Bria and Mo for playing time and once she went down with her injury she had little hope of gaining a significant role when she returned.

Courtney has Jefferson, Nurse, and Chong ahead of her at guard, with three swing players ( Gabby, KLS and Collier) capable of handling the ball, with Dangerfield and Bent coming in the future.

Unless she suddenly shows that she can shoot the lights out from the perimeter I don't see her finding much PT in the next three years.

I liked her alot coming in, but I felt the same way about Nicole Wolf for her entire time here. If only she hadn't been injured. Nicole was injured and re-injured, but even when she came back healthy in what was her class' senior year, she was no longer part of Geno's thinking. She was a popular teammate, a once great shooter, who got mop-up minutes in that last year.

We're all pulling for Ekmark but she has a tough road ahead to become a significant contributer.

About Nurse, she's solid and will improve, and will take more three's with KML gone, but I think that she will improve primarily in the supplemental skills; ballhandling, shot selection, off-ball defense, the things that don't show on a stat sheet but make for a great player. With the guns we have I think she'll continue to be an opportunistic scorer finding 8-10 points a game some nights, but it will be her toughness and her "complete game" that will most impress us this year. Something approaching Faris (which of course is asking an awful lot).

 

[HuskiesU]

I read in one of the threads their was an article that Geno had said so far Courtney looks like a completely different player.
#goodnews

 

[Bigpetunia]

The Freshman to Sophomore leap, which has yielded such dramatic results at UConn, will result in Gabby and Kia being the two most improved players on the squad.

 

[Bonpland]

Gabby is one of the most interesting players to have come here. She's a world class athlete, she was moved from guard to forward, and she played better than we might have hoped for considering the postion change and that she was still recovering from a high school injury. Everyone's excited about her, but what position does she play on this team and how will Geno use her?

Right now she reminds me most of Ashley Battle (who didn't love AB?) with keener instincts around the basket and a better scoring touch. But I'm not sure of her role and just how much her shooting has improved in the off-season. Obviously if she has developed a mid-range shot than she had AA potential, but is she Geno's first player off of the bench this year? I think that it's the four starters and then take your pick between Butler, KLS, Collier and Gabby for the fifth spot.

Nurse in my mind is set as a four year starter, so if Butler starts the season playing the 5, will Gabby be significantly better than everyone else and so become the first one in each game. We'll know in November but I think given the way that Geno has nursed (no pun intended) his star players in the past that Gabby will get a shot at a lot of playing time early on. I think that she will make the biggest sophomore jump.

 

[jsloanjr]

Attitude will lead her to new heights this season and beyond. She did not come 2500 miles to sit on the bench......Lets see if CE takes full advantage of her opportunities this season.......Cannot wait to see this team this season......

 

[CL82]

Jump or slump? Easy answer...

 

[BroadwayVa]

I think this was the wrong name for this thread I'm mainly worried about Courtney Ekmark.
If she has a down season then her confident will be shatter and so will Geno although he won't ask her to transfer she will be in his dog house and than she might want to transfer. This is a important season for her.
#rooting4ekmark

Now I seen the brilliant of Courtney basketball IQ. OK she didn't shoot the ball all that great last year but I think and hope she can come in and knock down couple 3s a game because other than that she also rebounds make plays for teammates and believe it or not she the other huskies to drive to the hoop other than Mo and Kia.
#shewillshow

Courtney has/had so much potential and desire to be a Uconn Husky I hope she comes out this year and gets a chance to be everything she hoped for. Same for Sanyia. Potential of 3 players and maybe two of the 3 newbies is tremendous--if they all develop as they have potential to do--WoW, it just WOW

 

[BroadwayVa]

Kia---is a 25 year old brain in a 19 year old kid with the BB IQ of a 30 year old. Her confidence, courage, abilities, skills are way beyond one would expect. Team Canada is great for her--it's bad for her. The tricks and experience she gains are superb. But the wear and tear on her body and legs and maybe a bit mental I worry about. The kid needs time away from BB just to breath fresh air of doing nothing.

 

[Carnac]

She will be a sophmore like Kia and Gabby

Pardon me. I did not articulate my thoughts clearly. THIS year she will be a soph. The season begins THIS year. Next year in 2016, when the season begins, she will be a junior. It's semantics.

When I referrer to THIS season, I mean the upcoming season that starts in 4 months. When I say NEXT year, I'm referring to the 2016-2017 season. I know she will be a sophomore THIS year. My rant was in reference to her sophomore season.

That's the 9.5 months (beginning now) that she has left to impress Geno and staff. The year AFTER that, is the "next year" I was referring to (2016-2017). That's the year the new guards come in, not this coming season. I know what I meant to say, but obviously it didn't come out that way. It made sense to me as I typed it. I hope I didn't confuse anyone else. I'll keep that in mind during my next blog.

 

[chrissaran]

Natalie starts at center. Gabby is first off the bench, and she will get a lot of playing time. Her rebounding was phenomenal.