UConn Women Stats

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Here are the cumulative season stats, hopefully this link will self-refresh and update every time some checks the thread:

2021 Stats (PDF) - University of Connecticut Athletics

2021 Stats (PDF)

uconnhuskies.com

UConn almost has 5 girls in double figures- Evina is 5th at 9.4 ppg and after a few more games, she should be the 5th girl in double figures.

What jumps out is, why is Makurat starting and Edwards on the bench? Well right now, Makurat is starting by default because Edwards is hurt, but this may be a valid question when Edwards is healthy. I think Makurat's 3 point shooting may be needed down the road, but Edwards inside play will likely also be needed against the big, bruising teams.

 

[CaNOLEE]

I don’t think Edwards will average double figures coming off of the bench Khalid, but Evina will.

the 3pt FG shooting could be better, but the overall FG % is incredibly good and a lot of that is because they all pass so well. I also like That they are all + rebounders for their position.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Evina should not be on the bench, nor should Edwards. If it were up to me I would bench Makurat in favor of a healthy Edwards and light a fire under Makurat's slow-starting ass. She did this last year too. The problem with the team 3 point% right now is Makurat, if she was shooting 41% like last year they are in stellar numbers. She has dragged the team numbers down.

The single stat that bothers me the most- and I agree, there is not a whole lot to complain about- is Williams averaging 2 FTs per game. The coaches have to change that stat. When Kemba Walker led the men to the NCAA title, he led the NCAA in FT attempts per game. I think he had close to 8 per game. Chrystyn only having 2 FT attempts a game means something is wrong with the amount of plays with cuts they are giving her. They should be setting picks (Ododa and Edwards) to free her and she should be getting fouled on drives to the hole all the time, a la Kemba! She has very good driving ability and good strength to play through the fouling. She has a better body for a female college guard than Kemba did for a male college guard (she is actually taller and bigger than Kemba). When Kemba was at UConn I stood next to him and he is around 5'10" and looks like an average guy with an average body. But he would go to the hole all the time, get hammered, and he would either score and get 1 FT, or else shoot 2 FTs. He was very aggressive driving the ball, and seemed to love and play to contact, hunting it. Chrystyn needs the same mindset. She is potentially even more lethal playing that type of game, if she had the same aggressiveness that Kemba did. She can do it, they just need to make her do it. She should be working with Paige on how to cut to the hole and have Paige float in some passes to her. That's what they need to work on! It's a secret weapon and it's not being used!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CaNOLEE]

I meant Evina will certainly average double figures, KEA. She’s definitely not coming off the bench. I’d keep Edwards as the 6th man. We don’t need a repeat of the 95 natty with both her and ONO being in foul trouble. Geno just needs to get her in the game sooner Imo.

as for CW, have her watch James Harden vids. She drives the ball and is plenty strong.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

Canolee, I am not sure if I would want Chrystyn watching Harden videos for a few reasons. I am not a real big Harden fan, although I acknowledge his talent. First, Harden has a certain craftiness to the driving part of his game that Chrystyn and most other players do not possess. Chrystyn is starting to see the floor better and I have been impressed with her decisions on when to drive and on reading seams in the defense, but she is not on Harden's level of natural craftiness. But what I don't like about Harden, and why she should not watch his videos, is he takes way too many difficult shots, which is why his 3 point % sucks for a player who shoots as many of them as he does. It's in part because he is obsessed and in love with the step back jumper. He has an awesome step back jumper, one of the best ever, but even though it frees him up, it frees him for what is still a high degree of difficulty, fadeaway shot. It's not a high percentage basketball shot. It's Harlem Globetrotters bullshit and showmanship. A bunch of them go in, but a bunch don't. You should ask Blades if he likes that Harlem Globetrotters stuff and whether it wins real NBA games. And the other problem with Harden is he is too ball dominant, and what happens with his teammates is they stand around and watch, and when he is not dominating the ball (as was the case when he played with Chris Paul) he would lose focus and take plays off, which drove Chris Paul (who is a WINNER) crazy. Chris Paul became vocal about it, much to Harden's displeasure. And it's why Harden could not play with a true ball dominant point guard. I do not believe anyone is going to win with him as one of their primary offensive options or with him dominantly on the ball.

UConn is Paige's show and Chrystyn is playing off the ball so there is zero excuse for not creating action for her that gets her to the line. She has all the talent, the body and the strength to score through contact and create fouls on opposing players. It's up to the coaches, and Paige to get her the ball in places where she can execute drives and get fouled or score. It should not really be very hard to do. 2 FTs a game for her is NOT ACCEPTABLE.

 

[CaNOLEE]

She should just watch the plays where he draws fouls, Khalid. I actually went to Arizona state and agree with everything you wrote and wouldn’t want him near a team that I root for. His act might work in the ncaa tournament for a game or two, but not a 7 game series where adjustments are made.

Lebron is my all time fav(along with Dr. J, Barkley and Magic at the nba level) and even he takes unnecessary difficult shots at times. That’s what I like about Chris Paul, he tries to make the smart simple play. Wish he went to the Lakers this offseason, but just 3 guys would be over the salary cap.

 

[KhalidShockedTheWorld]

She should just watch the plays where he draws fouls, Khalid.

I was able to find a video that only shows Harden drawing fouls, and it's very good and contains a written narrative with each play on what he is doing to the defender. Although there is some poor fundamental defense by the defenders, it's interesting how Harden uses his elbows being out when driving to shield the ball from defenders, and how he attacks the arms of the defender. A good video to show Chrystyn, and maybe James Bouknight as well:



Also interesting is that then OKC center Steven Adams is a frequent victim of Harden in those videos, often getting fooled into fouling Harden by going into the air or flailing his arms.