KML opinion piece

[vtcwbuff]

USA Basketball has no problem posting weights.

2013 U19 Roster

and neither does the WNBA.

 

[phil sampieri]

She did fall in love with the 3 point shot against UC Davis. 13 attempts from behind the arc and none from inside made me think, "hey, she is on fire from three, but she doesn't look aggressive on offense to get in the lane and get to the line." I think that was an issue maya had at one point, or a small criticism in her game.

I would argue that her game hasn't expanded because tell me one thing she is better at now than she was as a sophomore, when she was an AA. You could argue rebounding, but otherwise, or in terms of offensive production, I think her game has regressed or stayed the same. It's debatable, but I don't think she is exponentially better than she was then. She doesn't seem to have the quickness to take guards off the dribble, or the repertoire or post moves necessary to take them to the block. Her defense hasn't been up to speed, at least this season and part of last and many said she was a liability out there on the defensive end.

I agree, she is the best 3 point shooter in the country and should be taking the outside shot. Trust me, I understand well that just having her on the floor means they have a scoring threat at all times. Yes, I understand that having her outside the arc forces defenses to expand and creates more room in the post. There is nobody else on this team that I would rather take a 3 point shot. However, when she doesn't look to be more dynamic on offense, I could argue that she becomes an easier cover, especially on a team that struggles to screen for her. Any top talent team can cover her with a quicker player when she just lurks around the arc. Her motion needs to increase and her looks will come as a result.

I am not personally attacking her. I understand that boneyard fellows have a maternal and paternal instinct for players. I do too. I have watched every game since the 93 season. However, I think stating personal opinions based on in game observations are completely understandable. I'm sorry if I offended you, and I'm sorry our opinions differ.

However, after watching stanford, I would be saying as a WNBA GM, if a player like samuelson, not even on the radar of top 25 in the country could shut her down so easily, why couldn't any WNBA player do the same. Her ability to shoot will never diminish, but I am looking for her to expand her game this year and step into a leadership role. At this point, she should be commanding the ball, much like stewie. Teams now know her strengths and know them well. I have confidence that she will respond and react. Thats what good players do, and thats why I don't think she will have another game like this. But if she doesn't respond and react, it could be an up and down season for sure.

 

[phil sampieri]

You're right just like Kareem with the hook shot, Bird from the baseline, Jordon crossover etc./ etc. 1) By her standing out past the 3 pt line draws a defender 2) her 3 pt % is better than almost all the other players from 2 pts. so tell me wherer is the problem ? By the way she does have a nice floater when they guard her too closely. News flash , she is not fast, semi- quick all she does is play like the AA she is.

 

[Striper69]

She's deceptively quick and has an uncanny innate instinct to be where she needs to be.

Noone in basketball I'd rather have take the last shot if the game is on the line.

And no, she hasn't "lost a step"...

 

[mauconnfan]

She's deceptively quick and has an uncanny innate instinct to be where she needs to be.

Noone in basketball I'd rather have take the last shot if the game is on the line.

And no, she hasn't "lost a step"...

You're right, it may be 2 steps.

But I also agree about taking the last shot, the girl can flat out shoot the ball. But she couldn't get away from Samuelson so against a good team she may not get the last shot and therein lies the problem!

 

[Bgillon]

You ARE able discuss KML. You aren't able to discuss her without someone disagreeing with you. Such is life on the Internet.

I have no problem with opposing views. my qualifier was "without the PC police". We strive to have equality with regard to the treatment of men and women. That's fine until someone comments on a woman BB player appearing to be overweight. Then people want to jump to the woman's defense but not on a performance basis. Then we hear about different body types, lack of sensitivity, etc., etc. It does seem odd that KML has lost a step (per Geno) as she starts her senior season.

 

[meyers7]

USA Basketball has no problem posting weights. 2013 U19 Roster

you beat me to it.

 

[meyers7]

I would argue that her game hasn't expanded because tell me one thing she is better at now than she was as a sophomore, when she was an AA. You could argue rebounding, but otherwise, or in terms of offensive production, I think her game has regressed or stayed the same. It's debatable, but I don't think she is exponentially better than she was then.

Well you yourself told us "one thing". Rebounding. Also her inside post up game has improved significantly. We haven't seen it yet this year but we certainly saw it last year. It's only been a couple games this year, so can't really say anything about that yet. At least intelligently.

Not sure why someone would need to improve exponentially though?

 

[phil sampieri]

I have no problem with opposing views. my qualifier was "without the PC police". We strive to have equality with regard to the treatment of men and women. That's fine until someone comments on a woman BB player appearing to be overweight. Then people want to jump to the woman's defense but not on a performance basis. Then we hear about different body types, lack of sensitivity, etc., etc. It does seem odd that KML has lost a step (per Geno) as she starts her senior season.[/QU

 

[phil sampieri]

Would you at least concede there is a difference in saying someone has lost a step and she is overwieight, out of shape etc. etc. ? Also
Lobo was the worst center in America until Walters, who couldn't jump over a small phone book, Maya dribbled like
a disfunctionable person and so on. So by quoting Geno allows some of the BYers to constantly and I do mean constantly
bring up K's weight. If I am overprotective , so be it. 2 things you should never say about or to a women is about their age or their weight. I defended Maria Comlon because of the comments about her weight and I'll do the same until this BS stops.

 

[CL82]

DiMauro rattling the fan's cages again. It gets him attention.

No, no you don't understand. He's not being deliberately provocative, he's just at the wrong "volume level."

 

[Tenspro2002]

None of you who getg it. It's not the critisism of her ability to guard someone quicker than her or quotes from Geno. It is the unsensitive constant comments about her weight that bothers me anf like Rady I become embarassed by some of that insensitivity.

But the two issues (1. her weight, 2. her quickness/defense) are intimately related! You can't separate the two.

Why is it that Red Sox fans can express concern about Pablo Sandoval's weight as it may affect his performance, but we can't express concern about KML's weight as it may affect her performance?

As someone said earlier, this argument right here, about whether a female athlete's weight should be off-limits for discussion, is emblematic of why women's sports doesn't get the respect that all of us here want it to get.

 

[phil sampieri]

But the two issues (1. her weight, 2. her quickness/defense) are intimately related! You can't separate the two.

Why is it that Red Sox fans can express concern about Pablo Sandoval's weight as it may affect his performance, but we can't express concern about KML's weight as it may affect her performance?

As someone said earlier, this argument right here, about whether a female athlete's weight should be off-limits for discussion, is emblematic of why women's sports doesn't get the respect that all of us here want it to get.

Oh that's why ? Now I know. Thanks for enlightening me.

 

[Zorro]

You're right, it may be 2 steps.

But I also agree about taking the last shot, the girl can flat out shoot the ball. But she couldn't get away from Samuelson so against a good team she may not get the last shot and therein lies the problem!

Other teams should have such a problem!!

 

[wallman]

If you had not lost to Stanford are some of you still having this conversation! Or does someone have to be the scapegoat and some of you decided that KML needs to be taken to task for what she looks like as opposed to identifying the problems Uconn had as a team with screens, team defense, liabilities on offense that don't require a defender and allowed Stanford to concoct a game plan that left certain players open. If someone isn't a threat on offense and it is certainly not KML as she had the respect of a defender to stay with her at all times and not help, then why is that not being discussed? Or is that persons weight at a normal BMI!

 

[Zorro]

This has been a long thread, and in some places has gotten a little rancorous. So, just to show y'all that there are no hard feelings, I am going to share some of my favorite recipes with you, specifically for those of you who feel honor bound to call Super-K out for her supposed lack of conditioning, drive, resistance to hot fudge sundaes, etc. I know that it is a long way to the end of the season, so, lest we forget, please save this site to whatever application you use to save sites. And please give us some feedback on which recipe you selected and how you liked it. We will be waiting to hear from you.

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,crow,FF.html

 

[hjoerring]

And realistically, if Women's sports ever want to be taken seriously by general sports fans, you have to be able to discuss the players as athletes first (and everything that entails). Protective mother/father syndrome just sets them (and women) back imo.

The problem with this tongue and cheek discourse is that men are never discussed in the same way. And what you meant by the "general sports fans" is nothing short of MEN. That is, if women would like us (as in men) to take them serious then we must talk about their bodies- even go in the locker rooms (un-announced).

And I have not read where Geno stated that KML weight is a problem (and a problem for the team). I vaguely recalled something to the effect that she may have lost a step. (Perhaps that was attributed to him). Linking the latter (even if true) to weight from where we sit is just prejudice, as a loss of quickness could be the result of endless things.

 

[UConnCat]

So last week Geno reportedly told a group of fans at the open practice that KML has lost a step. This is what Geno said about Kaleena five weeks earlier (Oct 14):

'I think she has built on the success she had in the NCAA tournament," Auriemma said, "I think a lot of people probably overlooked her going into the NCAA tournament with the attention being on everybody else and she had a great NCAA tournament and she has picked up where that left off. It was a long summer, she put a lot of time in, a lot of effort and she is moving better than she has in a long time and she is getting things done that she struggled with a little bit at the beginning of last season. For what I have seen she looks really good."

This leaves me to conclude that a) Kaleena lost that step in the past 5 weeks; or b) it took Karlie Samuelson to reveal that lost step because the male practice players themselves are too slow; or c) Geno says a lot of stuff and sometimes the stuff he says one day contradicts what he says another day.

I'm looking forward to watching Kaleena play again.

 

[HuskyNan]

The problem with this tongue and cheek discourse is that men are never discussed in the same way. And what you meant by the "general sports fans" is nothing short of MEN. That is, if women would like us (as in men) to take them serious then we must talk about their bodies- even go in the locker rooms (un-announced).

Pablo Sandoval thread
http://forums.prosportsdaily.com/sh...eam-Option&s=096147c215c2aa20837ea53eb8f08f40

Discussion of fat NBA players on Reddit (warning - rude language)
http://www.reddit.com/r/nba/comments/27iklm/are_there_any_nba_players_who_are_legitimately_fat/

Fat Ronaldo
http://www.cnn.com/2006/SPORT/football/06/15/worldcup.ronaldoforum/

eddie Lacy (NFL) discussion
http://www.elitedawgs.com/showthread.php?3672-Good-God-Eddie-Lacy-is-a-fat-ass-now

 

[Biff]

This leaves me to conclude that a) Kaleena lost that step in the past 5 weeks; or b) it took Karlie Samuelson to reveal that lost step because the male practice players themselves are too slow; or c) Geno says a lot of stuff and sometimes the stuff he says one day contradicts what he says another day.

I'm looking forward to watching Kaleena play again.

Ummm C.

 

[baggerbob]

So last week Geno reportedly told a group of fans at the open practice that KML has lost a step. This is what Geno said about Kaleena five weeks earlier (Oct 14):

'I think she has built on the success she had in the NCAA tournament," Auriemma said, "I think a lot of people probably overlooked her going into the NCAA tournament with the attention being on everybody else and she had a great NCAA tournament and she has picked up where that left off. It was a long summer, she put a lot of time in, a lot of effort and she is moving better than she has in a long time and she is getting things done that she struggled with a little bit at the beginning of last season. For what I have seen she looks really good."

This leaves me to conclude that a) Kaleena lost that step in the past 5 weeks; or b) it took Karlie Samuelson to reveal that lost step because the male practice players themselves are too slow; or c) Geno says a lot of stuff and sometimes the stuff he says one day contradicts what he says another day.

I'm looking forward to watching Kaleena play again.

I think Geno says things at times to get certain people's attention, and it usually works.

 

[OldAlum]

I was more concerned with KML's mental quickness than physical quickness in the Stanford game. She just didn't look like the same decisive player we saw last year. And the end of the game was totally uncharacteristic..
Here's hoping it was a combination of a tough foe, new team mates not in sync and the start of an illness and we can see the "old" KML back!

 

[hoophuskee]

And realistically, if Women's sports ever want to be taken seriously by general sports fans, you have to be able to discuss the players as athletes first (and everything that entails). Protective mother/father syndrome just sets them (and women) back imo.

Does the general sports fan- post? Are they reallyinfleunced of taking a sport seriously by reading posts on the internet? So the protective mother/father syndrome influences many fans away from woemn's sports? I can tell you I have a lot of friends that are sports fans and they don't post that I know of. Nor do I believe they will be infleunced of being a fan because others are protective. I believe the majority of fans don't really care about if KML is struggling/is overweight/can't get off her shot. IMO - bottomline sports fans like the sport - this stuff of us posting and being protective just upsets pockets within a larger base and imo is a very minor issue.

I think what holds back women's sports is one main thing they can't overcome-- overall athleticism. There is no "Phi Slamma Jamma" in women's basketball. IMO that's what the general sports fan wants to see (freak athetlicsm/power/speed/phsicaility) . In baseball it's the home run. In football it's the speed and power. Of course other things here but imo it is so minimal to think womens sports is being held back in any signficant manner because there happens to be pockets of over-protectiveness.

 

[phil sampieri]

Y

Does the general sports fan- post? Are they reallyinfleunced of taking a sport seriously by reading posts on the internet? So the protective mother/father syndrome influences many fans away from woemn's sports? I can tell you I have a lot of friends that are sports fans and they don't post that I know of. Nor do I believe they will be infleunced of being a fan because others are protective. I believe the majority of fans don't really care about if KML is struggling/is overweight/can't get off her shot. IMO - bottomline sports fans like the sport - this stuff of us posting and being protective just upsets pockets within a larger base and imo is a very minor issue.

I think what holds back women's sports is one main thing they can't overcome-- overall athleticism. There is no "Phi Slamma Jamma" in women's basketball. IMO that's what the general sports fan wants to see (freak athetlicsm/power/speed/phsicaility) . In baseball it's the home run. In football it's the speed and power. Of course other things here but imo it is so minimal to think womens sports is being held back in any signficant manner because there happens to be pockets of over-protectiveness.

You know i suspect you are trying to restart this all over again. You couldn't be more wrong if you tried. If you were to poll UC fans as to what they like most about womens basketball the last thing they would say they want is Phi slamma jamma. The beauty of our game is the movement , the 5-6 passes to set up the shooter for an open shot.If you and your friends want to see mens basketball
especially the pros, they will love it.Hopefully we won't see that in our game.
John Wooden quote- Uconn womens basketball is basketball played in it's truest form.

 

[mauconnfan]

Y

"The beauty of OUR game in the movement"

Hilarious! There's plenty of good ball movement in the men's game but it's much more difficult to do that in the men's game. There are better defenders and also there are better one on one players so therefore they can get to the hoop or attempt to much more often. The UConn women move the ball wonderfully, especially when beating down an opponent by 60. Don't get me wrong, they pass the ball and their offensive preparation is better than anyone else's form what I see. But you have to admit when 2 good teams play, with similar athletes (like ND, Stanford etc etc) you will notice that wonderful free flowing offense gets much less efficient. So in a sense, the parity in the men's game doesn't allow great offensive flow and it would be much the same if the women were to play teams like ND and Stanford more regularly. I get the fandom but let's admit this is not apples-to-apples no matter what you believe John Wooden said! And from his standpoint he would believe it because when he coached the parity in the mens game was so similar - he got all the good players and had his way with the rest of mens basketball. It doesn't happen like that without Alcindor, Washington, Wicks, Rowe, Allen, Goodrich etc etc and the same for Moore, Taurus, Bird, Cash, Sales, Stewart and on and on.

Different games, different things to like and not like about each. But "truest form" is in the eyes of the beholder!