RebKell's Junkie Boards

[ThreeBall25]

Geno has decided to start Nicole Wolff at the point for tonights game vs. Hofstra. She was a national player of the year coming out of high school but hasn't done much in a UConn uni. If there is any chance of her to to prove herself and gain confidence it is the next few games vs. Hofstra, Albany, Army and Georgetown. Can she prove to be the player she was vs. Wright State (18 points) during her first UConn game, or was that just a fluke? Thoughts are welcome - just wondering... didn't wanna go to the boneyard for this.

[dtsnms]

She appears to have zero confidence; she looks like a deer caught in the headlights.

This is a scary turn for the UConn team IMO. Unless she miraculously turns it around, it shows the same ol' PG problems as last year.

[mercfan3]

I actually think this is a pretty good idea. It gives Wolf a chance to perform well in an actual game, maybe get some confidence...

She's great defensively, possibly the best defender on the team. Nicole never hurts Uconn when she's in. However, since Geno has been playing her at the two and three, she isn't helping much either. Nicole is timid offensively. So at the point, she doesn't have to score..this may take the pressure to score off of her a little bit...Nicole is also a smart player, she's not going to turn over the ball, nor is she going to make a stupid decision..the problem is, unlike Renee, she makes very "safe" decisions.

This might also light a fire under Renee's butt. IMO, unless Nicole's confidence level grows quite a bit, and the whole "deer in headlights/afraid of the ball thing" goes away, Renee is the best option at point..she's just a freshman. She is one of the few players on the Uconn team with leadership qualities (Ann and Barbra can talk all they want in the papers..but I notice that Renee and Mel are the two players usually talking in the huddle, not to mention those seem to be Geno's two favorite players to yell at)

Of course, Nicole can come out, shock the fans (which is possible, if she's playing very well in practice) Play great, and aggressive..then maybe she'll win the point guard job for the year, and Geno will be able to bring in Renee slowly..letting Renee make her mistakes, but not having it cost the team.

[ThreeBall25]

From the Courant:

[ucbart]

The thing about this is that I love Renee and she seems to be going through some freshman troubles. Geno has never been one to yank lineups around until last year. To me, this shows the little bit of trouble that this program is in.

FWIW though, Renee seems to be the type of player that will respond to this, and maybe it's nothing more than that.

[mercfan3]

IMO Renee got her starting position back...

I agree with you, I think Renee is the type of player that would respond to that..and I think Geno needs players who respond to stuff like that..instead of being a headcase...

[ThreeBall25]

I think a new nick-name is in order: Clank-cole Wolff. Everytime she relases the ball from beyond the arc - a clank.

[GlennMacGrady]

Clank?

When leather molecules hit air molecules?

Never heard that. But I have old eardrums, and the seats I can afford are so high up there is hardly any atmosphere left to transmit sound.

Nicole hit 4 out of 5 three point shots in her first college game. She also missed 3 out of 4 lay-ups in that game. At the time, I wrote that it was more likely that 3pt performance was a fluke than that the lay-up performance was a fluke ... not a well-received opinion in some quarters.

Nicole Wolff has now played in more than 50 college games, the vast majority as a starter ... a huge statistical sample. Her shooting statistics and other statistics are a matter of clear record. She is not a good shooter. Her career average for 3's is probably below 35%, and her career average on 2's is probably significantly below the team average.

More subjectively, her shooting form has always been flawed, IMO. Jump shots should be released before the peak of the jump, with the distance and arc being provided by the upthrust from the legs. Nicole waits too long ... at or past the peak of her jump ... necessitating too much inaccurate wrist and forearm thrust. Thrust from these mechanical levers and muscles is much weaker and inaccurate, and usually result, as in her case, in too flat an arc.

Appealing to her supposed shooting excellence in high school seems to me to be astonishingly irrelevant and pointless.

Her rebounding, assist, steal and block statistics are unimpressive. As to whether one thinks she is a good ball handler or passer or defender ... well, I guess there could be differences of opinion on those things. But there shouldn’t be much.

[ThreeBall25]

Uhm, clank as in when she shoots the ball and it his the back or front of the rim and never goes in...

[bullsky]

[ThreeBall25]

Seriously. When she releases the ball it seems as if theres no shooter's touch or follow through. I think she just wants to get the ball out of her hands ASAP.

[dtsnms]

[GlennMacGrady]

I understood your reference, Ryan.

Mine was crueller.