WBB: Chiney and Nneka compared as sophomores - Printable Version

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WBB: Chiney and Nneka compared as sophomores - 81alum - 01-30-2012

I've been terribly impressed with how well Chiney is doing this year.  She just received her third  Pac-XX weekly player-of-the-week award, the first player since 1993 to accomplish that.  (Think of all the great players, including Candice and Jayne and Nneka, who did not pull that off.  Of course, having big sis to pull defenders off of you helps the cause!)

I thought I would take a look at how well Nneka played during her sophomore year so we could compare Chiney's progress.  Their years were somewhat similar--Chiney now has Nneka as her fellow "big,"Nneka had Jayne.

So here are the comparisons for the two sisters in each of their sophomore years:

Minutes played:  Nneka 30.4, Chiney 27.6
FG %: Nneka .598, Chiney .588
RPG: Nneka 9.9, Chiney 10.6
PPG: Nneka 18.5, Chiney 15.6
FT %: Nneka .761 Chiney .596

As I see it, there is no significant difference between the two other than Chiney's poor free throw shooting.  Chiney is on track to have a Nneka-like career, or perhaps to even exceed her sister in some dimensions.

Those of you with good memories, how would you compare Chiney's progress relative to her sister's at this stage of development?

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Re: WBB: Chiney and Nneka compared as sophomores - Viking_Guy - 01-30-2012

81A--

The one thing I would say, even in her sophomore year Nneka had more of a face-up game going on.  Chiney showed something with her drives from the high post on Saturday; now she just needs the jumper to go with it.  Chiney is a little more fierce going after the ball.  Nneka had better hands.

Also, need plays into it; Nneka had Jayne her sophomore year, and often played high-post/weak side while Jayne camped back to basket.  This year's roles aren't as neatly defined, I think.  The thing people don't remember as well about Jayne was just how big she was, in terms of eating space in the lane both offensively and defensively.  Neither Chiney nor Nneka has that kind of size.

At least IMHO/IIRC,

VG

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Re: WBB: Chiney and Nneka compared as sophomores - Yellowlab - 01-31-2012

One other thing about Nneka's sophomore year: she set the Stanford single season rebounding record with 376. 

Chiney started playing ball earlier than Nneka and was more polished coming in.  Nneka traveled nearly every time she touched the ball in her first few games her freshman year.  She became a force later on, but her offense still consisted of lay ups and put backs. 

By the start of her sophomore year, Nneka had added a face up jumper from close range, and a spinning bank shot.  She became a much better FT shooter. (She credited Mel for "fixing" her shot.)  Chiney really hasn't shown the same development shot-wise, but her ability to drive, score or get fouled is her main weapon of choice.

There is no question that Chiney's is/was the more intense/aggressive of the two.  It is only this year that Nneka has displayed a lot of that (thinking specifically about Tennessee.)

Nneka really improved every year.  Her range on her jumper is nearly to the three point line now (if her ankle is OK.)  If Chiney can make similar progress, who knows how good she can become?
(Interesting thread.)

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