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It is great all the nice comments about Kiah. One commentor said a non College starter now an WNBA Starter is unprecedented.
Another suggested she shall be a changed player after her stint, this winter, in Europe--I agree.
Geno was loaded with talent and Stewie was a loudly proclaimed talent as she arrived. Kiah never sought the lime light. She always has had the talent that Lambeer is pulling from her--He is no Henry Higgins!! Geno is no boogie man. But it took the right kind of environment and person to put her in a position and stay with her for her to shine so brightly. Because the WNBA teams need more than one player to be successful for the team to be successful--Kiah is in the right place at the right time.
I think Broadway Va has it right, Kiah's in the right place at the right time to show her talent. At another stop she might not have been given this chance to shine. She was easy to admire here, and now she is establishing herself as a potential force in the WNBA.
I think though that it is a mistake to try to compare the college game too closely to the pros and because of that I think the inferred criticizm of Geno for not turning her into a star has been off the mark.
I think that he has missed here and there with some players (I think more in the recruitment than the coaching) but I saw Kiah get her chances and I always felt that she shied away from asserting herself and so became a spot player used by Geno when she could most help the team.
For most of her career here she looked to pass whenever she had the ball and there were times when she was so open that she could easily have cut for the basket or taken an open jumper. I don't think that at those times that Geno was holding her back.
Now in the WNBA she is playing more minutes than anyone else on the team (at least lately) and using her strength and BB IQ to help her team to the playoffs.
Everyone seams to think that she'll return from Korea an improved offensive player, but I'm not sure that it's in her DNA to be one. I hope her other fans are right and that she one day becomes a double-double machine, but whether that happens or not I'm thrilled with the player that she has already become.