Frontcourt Strength

[veryolddog]

I had to read every post in this thread before I started to think about a putting forth an opinion. This team is too short in height especially in the front court. I thought that this might have been remedied by Janet but the injury really put an end to that until the next year. Amari really has not shown much and I do not know if putting high epectations upon her for this year is beyond her capability. Caroline D took a very serious bang last year hat has not really been corrected. Having seen Marines effected by explosions, it is highly likely that she will ever recover. That leaves people we have not yet seen play and one that had a iffy year. They are still too short.

I am hopeful about Paige and Azzi but I am also worried about the possibility of re-injury. The first 6 to 10 games will tell the story about the season. I hope that they patched these people up properly so that they can perform up to expectations. Sure would be nice to see Amari peform so well that each one of us is extolling her skill set and cheering her on.

 

[FormerCTrez]

View attachment 91796 View attachment 91797

Paige seems to have grown an inch!!! I thought she was always listed as 5’11”.

 

[Rowdy831]

Too many people are stressing the taller players but many of them are tall but not great athletes. UCONN will force almost every team to go small or they will get run out of the building. Secondly you have Ice and AE in there that are both strong and if they play good fundamental BB which is a hallmark of Geno's teams they will hold their own against any player, even if they are an inch or two taller.

If it becomes too much of an issue they he has a 6'6 player on the bench who can come in to help out. In the end every fan focuses on what their team doesn't have and in this case only UCONN has Azzi, Paige, Aaliyah and Nika. If you don't match up with those players you can't beat UCONN>

 

[wingsfan055]

Utah was two free throws away from playing Iowa in the NC game and their starting center was 6’0”. The height issue is overrated. Iowa’s starting center was 6’3”. Angel liked to taunt smaller players but they didn’t get to the NC by being taller than everyone. They were quick and strong and Morris had a great tournament. They won because Jasmine Carson had the shooting night of her career.

The only contending teams with 6’7” centers will be UCLA and SC, and they will be formidable largely because they have good backcourt players opening things up for their frontcourt players. It won’t surprise me to see either or both of them in the NC game. But I think it is more likely that UConn will play one of them in that game.

What will surprise me is to see LSU in that game this year. Kim improved her frontcourt by adding Morrow, but her backcourt is weaker than last year. If they surprise it won’t be because they lack height, but because they lack perimeter shooting. I fully expect SC to run the table in the SEC with LSU coming in third.

As for folks saying Del Rosario will supply that height for LSU, sure, why not? I hope that means they’re counting Amari too, then. An untested lumbering freshman vs someone with a few years of experience at this level. If that height matters, then we’re definitely in that same league.

Will Amari impress this season? I have a good feeling about how she’ll play. But I don’t think she’ll be the key for us. Aaliyah Ice Ayanna Aubrey and Caroline will do the job for us without having to break any expectations.

I agree size is not the only thing, but I would hardly call Uconn a fast or quick team. In fact, average is being generous. Maybe the freshman guards can speed up their game.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Pretty sure she's at LSU

The transfer portal is fast

 

[Bone Dog]

It never ceases to amaze me how May-October posts turn so quickly into “realists” trying to talk the fantasists down. Why do this? The summer is unbearable if we aren’t allowed to fantasize. There will be so much time for realism once the season starts.

 

[hoophuskee]

Height is a lot like money.
Money isn't everything but it sure helps to have some.
One minute highilights of Lauren Betts when she won Pac 12 Freshman of the Week.

Sure but you don't have to be a billionaire to be considered "rich." To suggest UCONN's frontocurt is a weakness or will be weak beucase a radom team is better only because they are taller is like calling a CEO Mega Mega Miliionaire "middle-class."

 

[HiDribble]

I keep hoping and praying that Amari is 100% healthy and has that "I want to dominate" mindset and just comes out balling this year. At 6'6" OMG. The possibilities are off the charts!

The lost of Jana hurts because we all wanted to see her play and her brief summer ball games gave us a window of what a talented young lady she is going to be for the program. Now we just have to sit and wait until next year or the following year to see her at full strength. Just depends on how quickly she recovers.

The rest of the frontcourt, so many options. I just hope that Caroline is able to play. She gives us options on the wing. Q is going to be special because she plays without fear. Ayanna. Like Amari, I think Ayanna is going to have a breakout year. She is strong, athletic, and I believe ready to add to the program.

The rest of the team, with so much versatility, just makes us that stronger and more dangerous.

For Amari to dominate would be nothing short of a miracle.

 

[Steelerone]

I read much of the above as pie in the sky.
The UConn front court is small
and does not have a monster scorer.

I adore Caroline but fret about her head issues
We're one or two incidents away before she'll have to give up competitive sports

Aaliyah's terrif and could even be better than next season...Ice is an unknown as are all rookies.
Aubrey also is capable, huge on defense but offensively is up and down. I'm not getting into Amari optimism despite her size and potential.

One could say, with all the backcourt scoring, who needs a big scoring forecourt...ok, not unreasonable.

The forecourt is not an area of strength; almost weakness; certainly a question mark.

Unfortunately, I agree with you.

 

[Steelerone]

When Uconn started into it's prime our frontcourt was the tallest in the country with Rebecca Lobo and others. We continued with athletic 6'2", 6'3:, frontcourt for several years. At that time the majority of other teams were operating under the same guidelines. Then along came Stewie and four championships later we stopped with the bigs while teams like South Carolina, Stanford and Baylor stepped up their recruitment. In women's basketball 6'3" is no longer a "big", just like 6' is no longer a "big" in men's basketball.

 

[boscolino]

Aaliyah and Ice must stay healthy. Ayanna is a raw talent. Jana is out. Caroline is so fragile. Amari.....? Hoping she will get tired to sit on the bench

 

[Cuango]

Expected back January (maybe) coming off major knee surgery in April, possibly ACL though from the moment it happened no one has talked about the nature of the injury. Maybe because Niele refused to rule her out for the NCAA tournament before the brackets were released, coming clean now would expose her mild gamesmanship with the committee. If it were an ACL tear, they knew shortly after it happened.

Wow! That does change things considerably! I wonder where I got the idea she would be ready for the season opener? I guess we’re gonna see if the rave reviews of Hidalgo were legit!

 

[sun]

For Amari to dominate would be nothing short of a miracle.

IMO Amarie doesn't really need to dominate, she only needs to be able to contribute & to hold her own.
When she's in the game she has a job to do to help neutralize her opponet so that her + & - column remains relatively equal & enough so that she's not a liability.
She a cog in a machine & can be an important part of the puzzle.
That doesn't mean that she needs to dominate or become a super star or do anything that she's not capable of.
She only needs to complement her teammates with her play on the court.
As long as she can hold her own then she'll be contributing to the team's overall effort.
As long as she can be dominant over some of her teammates by performing some duties better than they can when others need to come out of the game then she'll get some playing time.

 

[Cuango]

I keep hoping and praying that Amari is 100% healthy and has that "I want to dominate" mindset and just comes out balling this year. At 6'6" OMG. The possibilities are off the charts!

The lost of Jana hurts because we all wanted to see her play and her brief summer ball games gave us a window of what a talented young lady she is going to be for the program. Now we just have to sit and wait until next year or the following year to see her at full strength. Just depends on how quickly she recovers.

The rest of the frontcourt, so many options. I just hope that Caroline is able to play. She gives us options on the wing. Q is going to be special because she plays without fear. Ayanna. Like Amari, I think Ayanna is going to have a breakout year. She is strong, athletic, and I believe ready to add to the program.

The rest of the team, with so much versatility, just makes us that stronger and more dangerous.

I’ll be ecstatic if she can provide 12-20 minutes of solid backup play! She doesn’t have to “dominate” just “maintain” without actively hurting us. If she can do that, she will be a big help for this team! Furthermore, if she can give us a solid contribution this year, even if it’s just “maintaining” while AE & Ice get some rest, then it leads to the hopeful expectation that next year she might actually be a force to be reckoned with! That, to me, is the real importance of her (Amari) actually getting consistent playing time this season!
I really have no expectation that she will be the difference between us winning a title or not, (Though that would be a welcome surprise) but rather that she gets on the road to fulfilling the potential that prompted Geno to recruit her in the first place. Her time is running out, but she still has the opportunity to make her mark here at UConn. She just needs to get on the path! If she can just stay on the floor and limit her mistakes, then by the end of the season, perhaps she could be a difference maker this year!
I know I’m pulling for her!

 

[Cuango]

Cuango- - Paige Bueckers was told it would take 12+ months to recover enough to return to play this season!
Miles got hurt end of Feb. or beginning of March so she's been rehabbing just over 7 months!
She could be back the end of 2023 -2024 season or possibly next year!

Thanks for the info. I guess I was never really sure which injury she had. So she had an acl tear? It’s funny, I looked all over for info about her injury, and even now, virtually every report I could find was “a knee injury”! Three different times I clicked on “0livia Miles acl?” and it took me to another player instead! Aliyah Moore, Stephanie Soares & one other player came up instead of Miles. The reports that were specific to Miles merely had “knee injury”. Anyway, I guess I can assume acl. None of my business of course, just curious that everyone else I looked up said specifically acl. The redirections to other players were weird though.

 

[BobbyJ]

Thanks for the info. I guess I was never really sure which injury she had. So she had an acl tear? It’s funny, I looked all over for info about her injury, and even now, virtually every report I could find was “a knee injury”! Three different times I clicked on “0livia Miles acl?” and it took me to another player instead! Aliyah Moore, Stephanie Soares & one other player came up instead of Miles. The reports that were specific to Miles merely had “knee injury”. Anyway, I guess I can assume acl. None of my business of course, just curious that everyone else I looked up said specifically acl. The redirections to other players were weird though.

See post #42 for some context on why you couldn't find out her injury status at the time. Or now.

 

[Alydar]

Expected back January (maybe) coming off major knee surgery in April, possibly ACL though from the moment it happened no one has talked about the nature of the injury. Maybe because Niele refused to rule her out for the NCAA tournament before the brackets were released, coming clean now would expose her mild gamesmanship with the committee. If it were an ACL tear, they knew shortly after it happened.

A ND fan posted that Niele described it as the same injury she had. That would make it an ACL.

 

[Alydar]

But there are many players who have returned from torn ACLs in 6–8 months. Many.

Funny how different posts are when it's a non-UConn player. Bueckers will have had 15 months of rehab and there are fans who think that's too soon.

 

[Alydar]

Paige seems to have grown an inch!!! I thought she was always listed as 5’11”.

Bueckers' high school coach said she was 6' in her junior year. The listings on college rosters are notoriously wrong. DeBerry was listed as 6'5 and now she is 6'6. She didn't grow an suddenly grow and inch. Arnold is now 5'9 when she was 5'7 on some lists. 6'4 Tina Charles is really 6'3. UConn lines up for the national anthem by height. For there entire UConn careers Gabby Williams was listed as 5'11 while Nurse was 6' but Williams always lined up as being taller than Nurse. Brady lists at 6'3 but I've read 6'4 too.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Thanks for the info. I guess I was never really sure which injury she had. So she had an acl tear? It’s funny, I looked all over for info about her injury, and even now, virtually every report I could find was “a knee injury”! Three different times I clicked on “0livia Miles acl?” and it took me to another player instead! Aliyah Moore, Stephanie Soares & one other player came up instead of Miles. The reports that were specific to Miles merely had “knee injury”. Anyway, I guess I can assume acl. None of my business of course, just curious that everyone else I looked up said specifically acl. The redirections to other players were weird though.

Cuango- - - Just my opinion, but I think it was a BAD ACL (if that's possible) and ND doesn't want it to alert the opposition how long she'll be out!
I wouldn't bet the farm on my opinion just got a feeling!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

But there are many players who have returned from torn ACLs in 6–8 months. Many.

stamfordhusky- - Yes that's true but I'm just mentioning what Paige's Doctors said to her!

 

[Cuango]

Height is a lot like money.
Money isn't everything but it sure helps to have some.
One minute highilights of Lauren Betts when she won Pac 12 Freshman of the Week.

No question Betts changes UCLA’ chances in a huge way but I’ll have to see it to believe it when it comes to them (UCLA) being one of the elite teams. Yes, she elevates their front court into the lead in the Pac 12 but they still imo have to show they can take full advantage of that.
Their back court, though highly rated with Rice and Osborne, don’t shoot all that well (Osborne, their star fifth year senior doesn’t even shoot 40% overall and only shot 29% from three last season while Rice, though admittedly a star recruit, shoots 41% & 22%) and I would never think of Close in a discussion of the best coaches in the country. Perhaps those two will suddenly become Paige and Azzi and Close will finally come into her own, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

 

[huskeynut]

It's still pre-season. All opinions have some credibility.

So here's some food for thought. LSU - Mulkey uses the portal again. Garners two big names - Van Lith and Morrow. Now can Reese, van Lith and Morrow share the court and play nice? I'm not so sure.

UCLA gets Betts. How good is she? Are we hearing more hype from the "experts?"

South Carolina - Dawn lost a lot. Can she regroup and challenge for the top spot? I actually think she can and will.

Iowa - lost a ton with 2 players graduating. Does Iowa have the post presence to take the heat off of Clark? Does Iowa have another outside shooter to compliment Clark?

Ohio State - can they repeat their run? Will their pressure defense keep them going or will teams be ready and negate it? I think a lot of teams will be ready for them.

Now for UConn. Some may not like what I say. The question looms about Paige and Azzi and Caroline. The word is they are healthy. But 2 years of injuries to all three have to leave questions about their durability. Freshman class, with talent, are still freshman. How will they adapt to the college game? Our front court is being questioned as to whether they can compete with bigger teams.

Every team that is considered a legit contender is a new team. Personnel changes always affect the team chemistry. How does this shake out? Injuries are going to occur.

We will all have a better idea by the end of December.

 

[Alydar]

In terms of experience UConn is way ahead of the other top teams. SCar lost practically it's entire starting team. LSU is likely starting two transfers and maybe a freshman. Betts is new at UCLA and they need her to dominate and for their guards to learn to shoot.
UConn has a core of Bueckers, Fudd, Edwards, Muhl, Griffin, Ducharme who may have missed time but who have been playing together for years. They all have high BB IQ's, play unselfishly and understand Geno's system. There are also a bunch of talented newcomers who will contribute but none are being counted on to play major roles. This is a team that with some luck can be undefeated. Yes, we all know that things can change, and games have to be played and won, but it's plain that this team is special.

 

[hoophuskee]

When Uconn started into it's prime our frontcourt was the tallest in the country with Rebecca Lobo and others. We continued with athletic 6'2", 6'3:, frontcourt for several years. At that time the majority of other teams were operating under the same guidelines. Then along came Stewie and four championships later we stopped with the bigs while teams like South Carolina, Stanford and Baylor stepped up their recruitment. In women's basketball 6'3" is no longer a "big", just like 6' is no longer a "big" in men's basketball.

I don't agree with your context at all. The teams 01-02 through 03-04 were not tall. Why include Lobo but exclude DT lead teams?

The main takeaway from your point imo is having a superstar or many all-Americans. Lobo and Stweart were superstars. UCONN had none last year (Fudd was not the same).

The prior year the number 1 player for UCONN was Paige (hurt most of the year) but didn't have a Rizzotti type for example (I didn't follow Lobo team much that year but her 2nd player was Rizzotti. I love CWill but imo a big difference between the 2 though I admit I saw very little of the games. Though the games I saw UCONN was wrecking ball and ofc the Finals. I find it hard to believe CWill comparatively was Rizzotti). Stewart always had All-American surrounding her. Paige did not have that her 1st two years.

So the players you reference - there has to be context. included.

.