Doggydaddy's Den: DoggyDaddy's Dailies 4/19/16

We are up to 157 responses to the Census Survey. I'd love to get to 200!! If you haven't completed it yet please do. Some really interesting results so far.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!

DoggyDaddy's Census Survey

Thanks!!!!

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In the letter to the editor area of The Day there was this beauty -

"While I acknowledge that the University of Connecticut's women's basketball team is extraordinary and very deserving of its four consecutive National Championships, their play at the conclusion of the championship game was Bush League. And this from a team that makes a habit of rolling up blow-out scores.

With less than a minute to go, Coach Geno Auriemma put in a former walk-on senior, Briana Pulido, to give her an opportunity to be on the court when UConn had its historic victory. UConn was leading by 29 points and Syracuse was as done and as humbled as any team could be, looking to get off the court without further embarrassment.

So what does UConn do? With 11 seconds left and the shot clock off, Briana Pulido puts in a two-point field goal. Was that necessary? Does it make any difference if UConn wins by 31 points instead of 29 points? Did they have to rub the Syracuse women’s noses in it as a final statement of their superiority? Traditionally in college basketball, when the game has only seconds left and the winner is certain, teams stop playing and let the clock run out, then celebrate.

For UConn to do otherwise, reveling in the last two points, was unsportsmanlike and not worthy of an otherwise extraordinary basketball team."

This was written by Martin Zeldis, from Waterford. Anyone know him? He's not to bright. But David In Naples, our resident "fun with numbers" guy had the perfect response.

Martin Zeldis (MZ) doesn't get that UConn was cheering madly because of WHO scored, not because they got 2 more points.... Having identified that Pulido was a senior & a walk-on, only an idiot could miss that point. Pulido's reward for three long years of practice and travel was one basket in the National Championship final & MZ calls it "unsportsmanlike." Moron.

One more thing.... In the semi final game, Syracuse beat Washington by a score of 80-59. With less than one minute to play (42 seconds) Alexis Peterson, a starter who played 35 minutes and scored 18 points, took a shot and missed. So, Mr. Zeldis has no problem with Syracuse leaving their starters on the court to shoot during a certain, 20+ point victory. But when a walk-on senior tries to make a basket that she will remember for a lifetime, he writes a letter to the editor criticizing "unsportsmanlike" behavior. In addition to being a moron, MZ is selective in his outrage.

You go David!!!

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Having compared Stewie's freshman year to her senior season, it is time to do the same for Moriah Jefferson. The learning process over four years produced dramatic improvement in almost every statistic imaginable. Consider:

1. Games - MoJeff played in every UConn game as a freshman, but started only 2. By her final year, Mo started 36 of the 37 in which she appeared and led the team with 1,145 minutes played.

2. Points - Jefferson scored only 182 points that first year, but more than doubled that to 465 points in 2015-16.

3. Assists - Moriah's 69 assists as a freshman were impressive. Her 204 as a senior marked the third straight season of over 190 assists. She finished #1 in UConn history..!!

4. Steals - As a rookie, MoJeff had 52 steals, 4th on the team. By this past season, that total rose to 95. For her career, Moriah finished 2nd all time at UConn.

5. Three point shooting - Freshman jitters kept Mo at 26.6% on threes (17-64). Hard work raised that to 43.1% this year (53-123).

6. Turnovers - Jefferson always handled the ball well, even as a freshman, committing only 49 turnovers. Senior season, with the speed under complete control, that total went up slightly to 72, but still left her with a 2.83 assist to turnover ratio.

7. Overall shooting improved from 42.4% (73-172) to 55.7% (185-332). The increased confidence, reflected in the number of shots taken, is significant.

Moriah played the most minutes on the team both her junior and senior seasons. There is a reason why Geno trusted her to manage the tempo and pace of every game. Mo will be missed..!!

Good luck Moriah..!!

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