Lauren Engeln is leaving too???

I am sorry if this has already been posted.... but we had a class of five and three left. Walker, Johnson, and now Engeln. This is not good. We are limited next year. \

Caroline- Questionable knees... hope she is okay
Heather- Questionable in general. I like her and hope she plays well
Kelly
Bria
Stef
Kalana
Kia
Brianna
and now
Breanna
Morgan
Moriah.

11 players? down to 8 after the season. And no 2013 players yet. I am nervous.

Long thread already on this. to answer your question tho, why is Caroline questionable? what about her are there questions about? She will be the starting PG for the rest of her career, barring another injury. When needed, Bria will switch over when CD is on the bench, and if MoJeff is ready, she'll see time as well. It would be better to keep Bria at the 2 but Geno will see how the players progress.

Caroline, I'm sure, is working on whatever the doctors/trainers have told her to work on to make her as strong and able as possible for this year. She will never be an AA or be 100% the player she was before her 3 ACL's, but I expect her to be solid.

Starters of Caroline, Bria, Kelly, KML and Stef
The bench team of Moriah, Brianna, Morgan, Bree, Kiah, and Heather would probably be ranked in the top 5 in the nation this coming year.

There is still a ton of recruiting to be done for 2013. Players see all the All Americans on the team immediately ahead of them (Bree, Morgan, Mo) and wonder where they will find PT. Just ahead of that class is the spectacular KML, and a very good Kiah and Brianna Banks. That's potentially at least 1 and maybe 2 players ahead of any kid from 2013 on the depth chart.

I find it very hard to believe that Geno won't land at least 2 from the 2013 class. I'd be lying if i said I had any idea who those 2 players might be. But the entire staff was overseas for the past 2.5 weeks. Suffice to say they will come back and hit the recruiting trail again. Perhaps Geno identified some youngsters on the foreign team who he has interest in. I have to think he wants a class of at least 3.

I won't be worried till I actually hear Geno say "We have been unable to land any of our top targets from 2013 so we are looking to fill 3 spots with walk ons"...

Geno likes our chances this year. We have a strong group returning, and a pretty spectacular looking group of freshmen, who I believe, are playing USA basketball in Puerto Rico right now.

I double ditto UCONNfan1 for 2013...and let's enjoy what is about to come this year before we start worrying about 2013.

And maybe we could let Geno, CD, Marisssa and Shea get back from London and have a nap or two before we push them out on the road recruiting. They've been a little busy, don't cha think?

How many meaningful minutes do you think Lauren was going to see this season? I liked her and was hoping that she could develop into a Megan Gardler-type, but that was appearing more doubtful. I think they'll be fine.

1. See previous thread.

2. Not nervous at all.

Ain't worried about this year at all. Next year......maybe.

Original thread.

geno has had to work hard in the past to get to even an 8 player rotation. assuming that buck's time will be very limited, how is geno going to be able to rotate 10 players this season, and keep people happy? i don't think there's been nearly the quality 10 deep in the past. seems like kelli and caroline might be losing minutes. i don't picture many of these players as cheerleading, high fivers. i think that the coaches really have their work cut out for them.

I think he just got some good practice with a 10-12 player rotation! Don't think he will have any trouble with Uconn.

Did you happen to watch the 2001-2 season?

waaaaaaaaa!!!!! the olympics are over!!! wwwaaaaaaaaaa!!

Boon - why do you think the coaches "have their work cut out for them"? The kids who are recruited to UCONN (and admittedly I have no idea what Geno says to them when they chat) are generally told "you earn playing time in practice. There is no guarantee that you will ever be a starter or average "X" minutes per game".

And the kids he generally recruits are not the kind of kids who care much about individual accolades or personal accomplishments. They seem mostly to care about being great teammates, and winning a boatload of BE and NCAA championships.

Why should this year be any different? Do you get the sense that he's recruited kids who are more interested in personal glory? Most of the kids who have left in the past 10 years were not top 20 kids - Phillips, Johnson, and Engeln. Besides the entire class from 2003, Walker is the only top player who stuck it out for part of a year and decided for personal reasons she needed to be closer to home.

I get the sense that the 8 returning players are very close and have great chemistry and i've read nothing about the 3 incoming freshmen that give me any pause for concern.

Geno has his work cut out for him every year. The expectations by the fans are sky high. It's no secret that UCONN is THE premier hoops program in the country and while other teams recently (Duke, aTm, Baylor, Stanford, and Notre Dame) have had their time at or near the top, there is no team that can match UCONN over the past 15 years, or for the forseeable future. Good times, amigo. Enjoy the ride while it lasts...

Geno has his work cut out for him? HA!

The people who really have their work cut out for them are named McGraw, Mulkey, Walz, Stringer, McCallie, Bruno, Elliott et al. They must first identify matchups for Stefanie, Bria, and Kaleena and then figure what to do when Stewart, Stokes, and Tuck come on the court.

And I forgot Caroline, Kelly, Banks, Jefferson and Buck.

So who has their work cut out for them? Geno? I don't think so.

The people who really have their work cut out for them are the UCONN players just like every season and they love it.

that team had a starting team unlike any in the history of women's basketball. i think the quality of this team 6-10 will be greater by mid-season than that team. if you don't, then there is no reason for you to consider how geno will run a 10 player rotation.

it's ok that you forgot caroline, kelly, banks, jefferson, and buck. more importantly, though, the coaches must find a way to not forget them. and that will take some work.

I'm the one with his work cut out for him...waiting for the darn season to start!!!

the 3 frosh probably could start for most any team in the country. and there are 5 players back who have been starters, plus banks and stokes. and you don't think that this presents a unique situation ? it's a great situation to be in , but presents a special challenge. my post simply asks for thoughts on this from the boneyard. but if people think that it will be business as usual this season, so be it. i don't think that geno has been particularly adept in the past at getting meaningful minutes for more than maybe 7 players, so i'm really curious to see how he will handle this group.

So boon -Do you believe Geno keeps players out of games that have demonstrated proficiency in practice? Exactly how many more games would UCONN have won if Geno had implemented (your) system of putting players into games even though they had not demonstrated proper play in practice?