My Crystal Ball

[magic]

I love the way the husky defense performed against the guard oriented lineup of OS. And I know everyone is
" Giddy about Gabby ". However, I also loved the flexibility of Stewie and Morgan. I can see Morgan sliding into KML's old slot , when Natalie comes back, and anchors the center position. Did no one notice how many times the huskies had to physically protect the ball against OS, not really known as a physical team ? Or the way they tangled up Stewie, causing the 4th foul ? Having an enforcer in the middle will keep Stewie and Morgan on the floor, and really allow the floor to open up and the Huskies to display their versatile talents. As the 6th man , Gabby will get tons of minutes, and a great spark off the bench, while Saniya backs up both MoJeff and Kia. In the mean time, Napheesa, KLS, will get plenty of early season experience.

 

[Kaizen]

I thought you are going to talk about our Crystal Dangerfield, LOL.

 

[magic]

I thought you are going to talk about our Crystal Dangerfield, LOL.

All in good time , my pretty. Ha,HA,Ha,Ha,HA. !

 

[CL82]

It will be interesting to see what happens with Butler. Gabby's making a case that she should be the starter regardless, although starting Butler a more traditional "big" and switching to Gabby to change the pace of the game is appealing.

 

[EricLA]

It will be interesting to see what happens with Butler. Gabby's making a case that she should be the starter regardless, although starting Butler a more traditional "big" and switching to Gabby to change the pace of the game is appealing.

I'm with you. Gabby has not only made her case, but closed the sale IMHO. I have never seen Butler play. I have no idea how she practices or what she brings, but if you listen to Geno's quotes after the game, he specifically mentioned Gabby's play and called her "terrific" or "sensational" (forget which).

He said people have no idea just how quick AND athletic she is until they play against her. They knew they wanted her at the top of the zone for that reason exactly, and she did not disappoint getting 2 or 3 steals in the first 10 minutes...

I think Butler will be terrific off the bench, as will Chong and the freshman tandem of KLS and Napheesa.

 

[msf22b]

Just watched the game (for the 3rd time)
When Gabby came out with the two fouls...was the one time the team seemed sluggish
She's made herself almost indispensable.

 

[chrissaran]

When UConn goes against a bigger lineup, Natalie will have much more of a role. Cooper wouldn't have scored all those points with Natalie in the center. However, after Gabby's showing in the first game, how do you not start her? If she continues to play as she did, it's a no-brainer. I had Natalie starting and not Gabby. Right now the point is moot. Hard to complain after Monday's result. Still looking forward to Natalie and De'Janae's return.

 

[huskyd]

I'm with you. Gabby has not only made her case, but closed the sale IMHO. I have never seen Butler play. I have no idea how she practices or what she brings, but if you listen to Geno's quotes after the game, he specifically mentioned Gabby's play and called her "terrific" or "sensational" (forget which).

He said people have no idea just how quick AND athletic she is until they play against her. They knew they wanted her at the top of the zone for that reason exactly, and she did not disappoint getting 2 or 3 steals in the first 10 minutes...

I think Butler will be terrific off the bench, as will Chong and the freshman tandem of KLS and Napheesa.

Everyone has correctly, I think, been very impressed with Gabby. Last year, too, her FG% and her ability to rebound against larger players was impressive. The reason some (including me) have wondered about her presence as a starter is because she is a HYBRID: too short to play forward and too shot-challenged to play away from the basket. This year UConn has enough height with Butler, Stewart, Tuck, Lou, and Collier, etc. Also, the Huskies have 2 quality guards and one experienced guard coming off the bench in Saniya. So what to do about a problem named G. Williams? Perhaps the answer lies in the famous comment about the bumble-bee: it's aerodynamically unfit to fly--but it does anyway. Explains the buzz, too.

 

[Bgillon]

What

When UConn goes against a bigger lineup, Natalie will have much more of a role. Cooper wouldn't have scored all those points with Natalie in the center. However, after Gabby's showing in the first game, how do you not start her? If she continues to play as she did, it's a no-brainer. I had Natalie starting and not Gabby. Right now the point is moot. Hard to complain after Monday's result. Still looking forward to Natalie and De'Janae's return.

What a cogent and positive analysis. Done without playing down one player to make another player look better.

 

[Huskies Rule]

Everyone has correctly, I think, been very impressed with Gabby. Last year, too, her FG% and her ability to rebound against larger players was impressive. The reason some (including me) have wondered about her presence as a starter is because she is a HYBRID: too short to play forward and too shot-challenged to play away from the basket. This year UConn has enough height with Butler, Stewart, Tuck, Lou, and Collier, etc. Also, the Huskies have 2 quality guards and one experienced guard coming off the bench in Saniya. So what to do about a problem named G. Williams? Perhaps the answer lies in the famous comment about the bumble-bee: it's aerodynamically unfit to fly--but it does anyway. Explains the buzz, too.

Gabby was outstanding against OSU; she did everything well, defended and rebounded great, gazelle-loped up and down the floor, and brought incredible, seemingly contagious energy. It's early yet, but she appears to have made that big freshman-to-sophomore year improvement leap Geno speaks of. Mostly.

HOWEVER; I was troubled (as much as such an excellent team effort could be troubling) by the numerous times Gabby passed up wide-open, undefended shots from the elbow area. Those are the kind of 15-footers the team is going to need her to shoot and make moving forward this year. Otherwise other teams will play off of her and double up on another Husky, like they did to Moriah last year until Moriah shot lights out from the arc and made opponents pay dearly for that strategy.

C'mon, Gabby. Show that mid-range shot, and you will be one really really difficult Husky to guard.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Gabby was outstanding against OSU; she did everything well, defended and rebounded great, gazelle-loped up and down the floor, and brought incredible, seemingly contagious energy. It's early yet, but she appears to have made that big freshman-to-sophomore year improvement leap Geno speaks of. Mostly.

HOWEVER; I was troubled (as much as such an excellent team effort could be troubling) by the numerous times Gabby passed up wide-open, undefended shots from the elbow area. Those are the kind of 15-footers the team is going to need her to shoot and make moving forward this year. Otherwise other teams will play off of her and double up on another Husky, like they did to Moriah last year until Moriah shot lights out from the arc and made opponents pay dearly for that strategy.

C'mon, Gabby. Show that mid-range shot, and you will be one really really difficult Husky to guard.

I particularly like (at least) one word you used: "contagious." Yes, Gabby plays with a lot of energy. I think her teammates do as well, but watching Gabby has to further inspire the Huskies. Put a world-class athlete on a team of uber-competitive personalities, and the result is devastating to the opposition.

 

[cabbie191]

I'm with you. Gabby has not only made her case, but closed the sale IMHO. I have never seen Butler play. I have no idea how she practices or what she brings, but if you listen to Geno's quotes after the game, he specifically mentioned Gabby's play and called her "terrific" or "sensational" (forget which).

I think Butler will be terrific off the bench, as will Chong and the freshman tandem of KLS and Napheesa.

IIRC, Geno was quoted a few times last year as being very high on Butler based on her work ethic and skill set she showed during practices. No reason to believe that would have changed; just have to hope that her injury doesn't set her back very far.

 

[CTyankee]

My guess is that the starting job is Gabby's to keep or lose. Look at her performance against OSU: 10 points on 5/9 shooting, 11 rebounds including 9 on the defensive end, 4 assists and 4 steals; only one turnover and two fouls. I think Geno will continue to start her; his language after the game seems to support it.

 

[EricLA]

IIRC, Geno was quoted a few times last year as being very high on Butler based on her work ethic and skill set she showed during practices. No reason to believe that would have changed; just have to hope that her injury doesn't set her back very far.

Good points. I didn't mean to imply that she wasn't a terrific teammate or a super had worker - I think we've all been impressed with her hard work, reported weight loss, and overall fitness as well as attitude. I meant that I'm not sure how she will fare in the uber-uptempo game that UCONN tends to play at. It wasn't a problem for Dolson since on a fast break, it's almost never the center running the floor (unless you are Tina Charles). Will be fun to see the rest of the team contribute as they get healthy!!

 

[cabbie191]

Good points. I didn't mean to imply that she wasn't a terrific teammate or a super had worker - I think we've all been impressed with her hard work, reported weight loss, and overall fitness as well as attitude. I meant that I'm not sure how she will fare in the uber-uptempo game that UCONN tends to play at. It wasn't a problem for Dolson since on a fast break, it's almost never the center running the floor (unless you are Tina Charles). Will be fun to see the rest of the team contribute as they get healthy!!

Good grief, I'm just wondering how scary good this team will be when all the injured are set to go, and trusting there aren't any significant injuries later on this year.

Even with injuries we will still be tough to beat. Kind of like when KML went down with the elbow injury - you'd hardly know the team was missing a key starter.

 

[TroyHouse66]

Well. it seems Crystal clear the '15-'16 team is coming together well.
It looks like we're in no imminent Danger; we can Field a competitive team for several years while developing the new talent.
Our situation appears pretty solid at this point and I'd say put your Mo'Ne on UConn for some years into the future.

As far as sidestepping the potentially disruptive Gabby/Butler debate & ensuring the prospect of a year of competitive WBB...
perhaps we should, (for the time being), only start four players.
That would also help to statistically enhance our four players' game totals [100 pts / 4 players = 25 pts each] and keep Morgan's numbers elevated to the point where she can, undeniable, be rewarded First Team AA recognition this year.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Gabby was outstanding against OSU; she did everything well, defended and rebounded great, gazelle-loped up and down the floor, and brought incredible, seemingly contagious energy. It's early yet, but she appears to have made that big freshman-to-sophomore year improvement leap Geno speaks of. Mostly.

HOWEVER; I was troubled (as much as such an excellent team effort could be troubling) by the numerous times Gabby passed up wide-open, undefended shots from the elbow area. Those are the kind of 15-footers the team is going to need her to shoot and make moving forward this year. Otherwise other teams will play off of her and double up on another Husky, like they did to Moriah last year until Moriah shot lights out from the arc and made opponents pay dearly for that strategy.

C'mon, Gabby. Show that mid-range shot, and you will be one really really difficult Husky to guard.

Indeed, if you look back through the play-by-plays for last year, there is a recurring comment for Gabby, "Gabby Williams makes layup." It was an incredible weapon that she used to wondrous effect in the second halves of games when she was the best scoring option for the Huskies' second unit. And they were generally playing the opponent's first unit, but not many of the teams were top squads. How effective she will be as a scoring threat in the half court if that is basically her only weapon is hard to say, but it is very difficult to stop and some fans might just say that she should just keep running with it until other teams come up with a solution. All her baskets on Monday were lay-ups.

I was startled to see that Gabby was actually credited with making a jumper in the Tourney game against Texas to make the score 99-50, but let's say it was a baby jumper from two feet in front of the basket, almost a lay-up jumper. A nice 15-foot-jumper from her would indeed be wonderful to see.

 

[CocoHusky]

I love the way the husky defense performed against the guard oriented lineup of OS. And I know everyone is
" Giddy about Gabby ". However, I also loved the flexibility of Stewie and Morgan. I can see Morgan sliding into KML's old slot , when Natalie comes back, and anchors the center position. Did no one notice how many times the huskies had to physically protect the ball against OS, not really known as a physical team ? Or the way they tangled up Stewie, causing the 4th foul ? Having an enforcer in the middle will keep Stewie and Morgan on the floor, and really allow the floor to open up and the Huskies to display their versatile talents. As the 6th man , Gabby will get tons of minutes, and a great spark off the bench, while Saniya backs up both MoJeff and Kia. In the mean time, Napheesa, KLS, will get plenty of early season experience.

I want to echo Bigllion's comments about the positivity of the your post. But I happen to disagree. I think Gabby day's as a non starter are over. Geno does not like to change the starting lineup once it is working and this starting lineup is working like a well oiled machine. By the time Natalie gets back it will be around Christmas time and the only game on the schedule where a big UCONN frontline will be needed is the game against South Carolina. SC has 4 bigs Wilson, Coates, White & Imovbioh on the team but only 2 play at a time. None of the South Carolina bigs are capable of defending on the perimeter. If you put Natalie in the starting lineup you negate a huge UCONN advantage because you are allowing SC to have one of their bigs prepositioned near the basket at all times. This will hurt the UCONN post isolation game where the objective is to start the UCONN bigs on the perimeter space the floor and have 1 SC defender in the post. I can't speak to Imovbioh but White, Coates, & Wilson cannot cover Stewie, Gabby, or Morgan 1 on 1 in the post.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Several posters lament that Gabby does not have a shot outside of 10 feet (maybe 6 feet.) IMO the posters are just like Geno---he wants (and develops players) who continuously add a new skill or two each year. Gabby needs an outside shot. I get it. Sure, we can focus on this deficiency and beat it to death. Some believe there is merit to this focus.
I am wondering if we compare through the year -- Gabby and KML-- what the TOTAL picture will look like.
Will Gabby have more rebounds than KML? Yes
Will GAbby have more steals? Probably.
Will she be more of a shut-down defender? Absolutely.
How about assists? Could be close.
So far in this comparison does Gabby look like a good replacement? It is looking pretty nice IMHO.
Now let's get down to points. KML averaged (like all the starters last year over 10 and KML was 13?? - I am not exactly sure. So here is the clincher for me--Can Gabby do MORE than KML in some key areas? (read above again.) So if Gabby is the 5th starter and scores in double figures (11-12-13 ave,) Ask me if I care if every point is within 5 feet vs 20 feet.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Part two - (my wife interrupted me and threw me off the computer, but I am back to finish)
I realize that the outside shot draws people away from the basket and gives other options. It also keeps the shooter away from the basket and rebounds. I know that the 3pt shot is needed to score more and quicker at times.
1-Gabby will develop an outside shot (Geno?CD will expect it.)
2-Gabbys total value is clear even though she scores her points inside rather than outside--the key is "she scores points."
3-I'll take the rebounds and outstanding defense for the loss of an outside shot. By the way Turner-ND does not have an outside shot either and she is AA. There are many players without that weapon.

 

[CocoHusky]

So far in this comparison does Gabby look like a good replacement? It is looking pretty nice IMHO.
Now let's get down to points. KML averaged (like all the starters last year over 10 and KML was 13?? - I am not exactly sure. So here is the clincher for me--Can Gabby do MORE than KML in some key areas? (read above again.) So if Gabby is the 5th starter and scores in double figures (11-12-13 ave,) ASteven Krajewski me if I care if every point is within 5 feet vs 20 feet.

Coach I won't ask you a stupid question because I already know the answer. This is exactly what I was afraid of, that a comparison of Gabby =replacement for KML by looking at numbers and stats.
Freshmen KML lead UCONN in scoring and she was not a starter. Why? Because that team needed her scoring badly. What does this UCONN team need? Very very little! But if you put Gabby on the floor and she helps to create havoc which leads a bunch of layups then guess what- you don't need her to be hitting 3Pt shots or 15 foot jumpers.

 

[DobbsRover2]

Not really sure that a 6'3" forward for ND is the best comparison for a 5'11" Uconn player now starting at guard. A huge amount of post players don't have much of an outside shot. If you're a guard, it really behooves you to work on a shot that will keep the defenders guessing and opens up space for you and teammates. If defenders know that Gabby is always going to try that right side scoop shot or maybe a short jumper from under the basket, that just limits her options quite a bit and makes her easier to defend.

The best comparison for Gabby has to be Nina Davis, a stellar player to be modeled on. Davis is also 5'11" with incredible jumping and rebounding ability and sneaky quickness, and she has no outside shot that I've ever seen. But she doesn't need an outside shot because she is adept at working quietly inside for a pass and a quick lay-up or at getting an offensive rebound and put back. If Gabby can do something fairly similar for UConn, that would be great. And if she can develop a 10-15 foot jumper, that would also be great.

 

[Huskies Rule]

DRover: "(Baylor's) Davis is also 5'11" with incredible jumping and rebounding ability and sneaky quickness and she has no outside shot that I've ever seen."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Davis' outside shot (or lack thereof):

"I don't know how to describe Nina," Mulkey said. "She's just an undersized post player w/an ugly shot."

"I don't know how the ball goes in," Baylor sophomore Alexis Prince said of Davis' shot. "It's like she shoots it from the top of her head with two hands."

Ass't. coach Bill Brock: "The only thing we've worked with her on is her free throw release. Everything else is very ugly, but it goes in the goal, and we're not going to try to change that."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brock again: "Nina brings great energy to the game, and a unique skill set at the low block. She runs extremely hard in transition and ... she's just that difficult matchup every game for most people." Could very well be talking about Gabby Williams.