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Pondering a Mo-less, Stewie-less future, I was still certain that if we added a really good big kid, a team otherwise consisting of Gabby, Kia, Lou, Napheesa, Crystal, Kyla and Molly (with or without Morgan) would win several National Championships. Well, all the ingredients seem to be there, with Natalie being the only question mark.
This is absolutely not a putdown of Natalie but more of a question. Having seen her perform in limited minutes and recovering from a serious hand problem, was all the hype unfairly over-the-top and what can be reasonably expected from her over the next two years?
A few things Nat should easily be able to fix:
- Work to increase hand strength and her ability to hold onto the ball.
- Learn to stop bringing the ball down so low, allowing smaller opponents to tie her up and turn her over.
- Learn to move her feet much better and to stop reaching so much on defense.
- Getting more comfortable in her UConn skin (and that will come with time), She's understandably very nervous on the floor, uncertain of how/when to release the ball to after she grabs a rebound.
ALL THESE THINGS ARE EMINENTLY FIXABLE and DOABLE. Some will take more time, but I have no doubts Natalie will do it. UConn fans are often too impatient; we need to be.
Looking back at the shortcomings and struggles some other first-year UConn players had (granted, they were true freshmen but given the un-UConnish level of BigEast/Georgetown play, I'd cut Nat a lot of slack), I think it's reasonable to be a little more patient and we shall see significant improvements ahead.
Three Husky greats come to mind when I think of the huge gap between how they often struggled in their first years as a Husky and how they blossomed after that.
1. Moriah Jefferson- obviously uber-talented, but she always played too fast and out-of-control. She didn't have to be guarded on the outside because she had no shot. Moriah had a terrible 3/2 assist to turnover ratio and shot a poor 42% from the field and a dreadful 27% from three! However, all that changed- she shot 58, 59 and 55% from the field her last 3 years, and 42, 50 and 39% from the arc.
2. Stef Dolson- As a freshman she took forever to get up and down the court. It was hard to watch her as she struggled with her running and conditioning. And Stef wasn't always there for her teammates as they waited on her to get in the play. Some very hard work, and all that changed for the future All-American. Watching her first year, who would have guessed she'd become so great. (Geno, surely not me.)
3. Kelly Faris- A real Husky great, but she couldn't shoot her way out of a paper bag her freshman year. And it was ugly. Her shot that first year was dismal- 38%. Even worse from three- 27%! But a lot of hard work, and presto- 43, 44 and 53% her senior year! And improved to 31, 32 and 42% from three her last year.
My point (finally, you windbag HR) is that even some of the greatest Huskies struggled mightily in their first year at UConn. They were all talented, but they all also had real problems that needed fixing. And they did the hard work and fixed them. Moriah had to do some major work on her shot. She's now one of the best shooters on the team and in the country! Stef didn't become great until through her incredibly determined efforts she became (no laughs, please) the finely conditioned athlete she is today. And until Kelly worked and developed her shot, she never looked like more than a super hustler and defender who could contribute very little offensively.
The weaknesses I see in Natalie's game are all fixable. Given the 'right' attitude, work ethic and the desire to become the best she can become, Natalie is in the best hands possible to become that "really good big kid" we need moving forward. She just has to want it bad and work it hard.
[I can't believe I wrote this much- sorry, guess that's what retirement does to you. Apologies for the pretentious Stephen Hawking's-like title.]
This is absolutely not a putdown of Natalie but more of a question. Having seen her perform in limited minutes and recovering from a serious hand problem, was all the hype unfairly over-the-top and what can be reasonably expected from her over the next two years?
A few things Nat should easily be able to fix:
- Work to increase hand strength and her ability to hold onto the ball.
- Learn to stop bringing the ball down so low, allowing smaller opponents to tie her up and turn her over.
- Learn to move her feet much better and to stop reaching so much on defense.
- Getting more comfortable in her UConn skin (and that will come with time), She's understandably very nervous on the floor, uncertain of how/when to release the ball to after she grabs a rebound.
ALL THESE THINGS ARE EMINENTLY FIXABLE and DOABLE. Some will take more time, but I have no doubts Natalie will do it. UConn fans are often too impatient; we need to be.
Looking back at the shortcomings and struggles some other first-year UConn players had (granted, they were true freshmen but given the un-UConnish level of BigEast/Georgetown play, I'd cut Nat a lot of slack), I think it's reasonable to be a little more patient and we shall see significant improvements ahead.
Three Husky greats come to mind when I think of the huge gap between how they often struggled in their first years as a Husky and how they blossomed after that.
1. Moriah Jefferson- obviously uber-talented, but she always played too fast and out-of-control. She didn't have to be guarded on the outside because she had no shot. Moriah had a terrible 3/2 assist to turnover ratio and shot a poor 42% from the field and a dreadful 27% from three! However, all that changed- she shot 58, 59 and 55% from the field her last 3 years, and 42, 50 and 39% from the arc.
2. Stef Dolson- As a freshman she took forever to get up and down the court. It was hard to watch her as she struggled with her running and conditioning. And Stef wasn't always there for her teammates as they waited on her to get in the play. Some very hard work, and all that changed for the future All-American. Watching her first year, who would have guessed she'd become so great. (Geno, surely not me.)
3. Kelly Faris- A real Husky great, but she couldn't shoot her way out of a paper bag her freshman year. And it was ugly. Her shot that first year was dismal- 38%. Even worse from three- 27%! But a lot of hard work, and presto- 43, 44 and 53% her senior year! And improved to 31, 32 and 42% from three her last year.
My point (finally, you windbag HR) is that even some of the greatest Huskies struggled mightily in their first year at UConn. They were all talented, but they all also had real problems that needed fixing. And they did the hard work and fixed them. Moriah had to do some major work on her shot. She's now one of the best shooters on the team and in the country! Stef didn't become great until through her incredibly determined efforts she became (no laughs, please) the finely conditioned athlete she is today. And until Kelly worked and developed her shot, she never looked like more than a super hustler and defender who could contribute very little offensively.
The weaknesses I see in Natalie's game are all fixable. Given the 'right' attitude, work ethic and the desire to become the best she can become, Natalie is in the best hands possible to become that "really good big kid" we need moving forward. She just has to want it bad and work it hard.
[I can't believe I wrote this much- sorry, guess that's what retirement does to you. Apologies for the pretentious Stephen Hawking's-like title.]
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