Lou Lopez Senechal to UConn! (Merged thread)

[UcMiami]

What do you mean over-performed? I believe that the Preseason ranking for last year was SoCar, UConn, Stanford and MD. So to me they played up to their potential and didn't over perform. I don't think that they under performed either because with the exception of Dorka, they played the NC with pretty much the Preseason projected lineup.
I guess you forgot to mention that we were lucky to beat Indiana and NC State too.

Preseason ranking was based on a healthy team. Paige was not playing anywhere close to her potential in the NCAA, Caroline never was able to fully regain her form after her serious concussion, Fudd missed a month of learning, and the offense was never a fully developed flowing unit. Yes, I think they were 'lucky' to get past NC State - any team that goes to overtime to win needs a little luck.

Stanford was the 'defending' champ and if they had played their A game would have won - Geno himself said in the pregame that Uconn needed a little help from Stanford if they were to win.

My meaning is that I certainly would have expected a healthy Uconn team to compete for the championship, but by March they had been a medical unit all year and while they were playing pretty well, they certainly weren't a number 1 seed. As a 2 seed, the committee and most everyone else did not expect them in the final 4.

 

[HHH]

A little background.

Although Daniel Connolly claims in his tweet that Lou’s last name Sénéchal is pronounced “SEN-eh-shawl”, in Lou’s background interview it sounds to me as though she’s pronouncing the “chal” as “shall” rather than “shawl” (FWIW, this is also how the French media pronounce cyclist Florian Sénéchal’s name).

 

[HHH]

...then the Stags were crushed by Texas' height and size, an 18 point loss ).

Keep in mind that she will be playing with new/different players that are more talented,

I wonder if Morgan Valley’s recruiting pitch to Lou L-S included some variation of “If you come to UConn, not only will you get another shot at Texas, but this time you’ll be riding into town with a whole nother posse!"

 

[HHH]

UConn has 6 legitimate front court players on next year’s roster: Dorka, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari, Ice & Ayanna.

At some point next season I’d like to hear Geno refer to Azzi, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari and Paige as the “A&P lineup”…and Azzi, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari, & Ayanna as the “All A’s lineup”. Has UConn ever fielded a lineup where all five of the players shared the same first initial? Could be another first!

 

[cwaduke]

I expect the starters to be Paige, Azzi, Caroline, Aaliyah, and Dorka or Amari. That gives us a bench of one of the centers, Nika, Ice, Ayanna, and hopefully Aubrey. Senechal should be a nice addition especially given her experience. Also, as we saw this year, depth is never a bad thing.

 

[ballerfan]

Although Daniel Connolly claims in his tweet that Lou’s last name Sénéchal is pronounced “SEN-eh-shawl”, in Lou’s background interview it sounds to me as though she’s pronouncing the “chal” as “shall” rather than “shawl” (FWIW, this is also how the French media pronounce cyclist Florian Sénéchal’s name).

No one at UConn is going to pronounce her name like the French do. It’s too hard for Americans. Here’s how she pronounces her name.



French is an unaccented language. One syllable is not stressed over another. So SEN-eh-shawl, with an accent on SEN, doesn’t happen in French. Also, there is not an exact equivalent in English for é, and chal is close to shall but definitely not shawl. If you don’t speak French and even after hearing her pronounce her name, what I’m saying might not make sense.

Connolly might be right about how UConn will pronounce her name. At least Lou is easy to say.

By the way, the French are also terrible at pronouncing foreign names.

 

[Majic Hands]

why cant Lou's name just be Lou? Why we gotta add a 2 or another Lou to it?

Just me, but I ignore and choose not to give a thumbs up or other emoji or reply/comment to any post that adds numbers to players initials.

I'm dyslexic, but still, I try to acknowledge the kids by name. If they have a nickname used by coach and teammates, great. I still use their name.

I'm not part of their inner circle. I'm a fan that just wasn't too show a little respect.

 

[HHH]

.... chal is close to shall but definitely not shawl.

Connolly might be right about how UConn will pronounce her name.

Connolly probably got his pronunciation from some media guide somewhere, so unfortunately you're probably right. I just think it's somewhat disrespectful to not at least make an attempt at the correct (Lou's own) pronunciation.

At least Lou is easy to say.

Haha! Very true!

 

[DefenseBB]

I would offer that it is much easier for a wing or a guard to strongly contribute (see Katie , Raina Perez, Carli Littlefield) to higher functioning D1 than it is for a forward or post player. At 6’1” and the ability to shoot the 3 and as well as know how a motion offense is run, we only need “Chica” to be a solid contributor which she very well could be. The Roster is at 11 now and I am fine if Geno/CD can add another guard or front court player with significant D1 experience. But if not, I also think CD and Amari will improve.

 

[Cuango]

Don't need to knock the seniors or praise the freshman over much. A healthy team with 4 months to gel will be a better team than last year. This year's team over-performed just to make another FF and got lucky to play an 'off-night' Stanford.

Did someone knock the seniors? I must have missed that!

 

[cabbie191]

Its humbling to understand the language skills of most in Europe and Asia. Since English is the de facto business language of the world, rare that any younger person or frequent traveler isn't fluent or at least skilled. Not uncommon to have younger Europeans or Asians to be fluent in English and their home country's language, and able to converse in 2-3 others. When I managed an Asian company in the past, my Administrator was fluent in 3 languages and could hold a conversation in 5. Many of us have trouble communicating when traveling from Boston to NY or vice versa.

Many years ago, we hosted an exchange student from Frankfurt. She is getting married in July and we’re invited. In talking with her two weeks ago, I noted that her English is much improved. She said that this is because in her career as a business lawyer, she use English about 80% of the time.

 

[HuskyNan]

Although Daniel Connolly claims in his tweet that Lou’s last name Sénéchal is pronounced “SEN-eh-shawl”, in Lou’s background interview it sounds to me as though she’s pronouncing the “chal” as “shall” rather than “shawl” (FWIW, this is also how the French media pronounce cyclist Florian Sénéchal’s name).

From the Fairfield pregame notes:

 

[and one]

Enjoy the honeymoon b/c some of the boneyarders will turn on you in a second if you don't meet their explications. Some are actually quite ruthless. Meanwhile welcome aboard Lou 2. Glad to have you. From a former longtime resident of Fairfield, CT.

Boneyarders ruthless? Nah. The level of crazy on Boneyard is astonishingly low compared to the general cesspool that social media trends toward.

As for Lou, if she can play 15 to 20 minutes a game, score 8 to 10 points, get the starters some rest and take some pressure off foul trouble issues in the backcourt, that would be a huge help. Anything more is pure gravy.

 

[eebmg]

A little more detail on the recruiting process / decision

'Everything just felt good': Transfer Lou Lopez Sénéchal ready to embrace UConn

The former Fairfield player can compete at the two or three and will provide needed depth for the Huskies.

theathletic.com

So she entered the transfer portal, and was in frequent contact with UConn. Though she knew about the Huskies, she started learning more about the coaches during the recruiting process. Then she took a visit to Storrs, seeing the campus in person and meeting with her potential teammates. ... By visit’s end, she experienced that same gut feeling she had in Fairfield – just in a different part of Connecticut.

“I went with the flow, and I didn’t have to overthink it too much,” she said. “And I think, right after my visit, I felt very good about it. I had a really good feeling. It just felt right. You know, meeting the team, meeting the coaches, being at the place there. Everything just felt good.”

“Whatever role I have next year, I’m gonna accept it and embrace it because I know I’m just going to learn a lot throughout my year there,” Lopez Sénéchal said. “And I’m just very excited about it.”

She will graduate from Fairfield in a few weeks and then head to Storrs. She’s excited to learn as much as she can, from both teammates and coaches, to prepare for the pro level.

“I’ve always been competitive, and UConn is a great place for that,” Lopez Sénéchal said. “They’re very competitive. They want to win, and I think being part of a group like that motivates me a lot to achieve the same collective goal that we’ll have.

 

[hookshot]

Many years ago, we hosted an exchange student from Frankfurt. She is getting married in July and we’re invited. In talking with her two weeks ago, I noted that her English is much improved. She said that this is because in her career as a business lawyer, she use English about 80% of the time.

Yo, Yo, You talkin to me

 

[Centerstream]

From the Fairfield pregame notes:

View attachment 75983

I am guessing that "chaul" rhymes with "Paul"...

 

[ballerfan]

From the Fairfield pregame notes:

View attachment 75983

This, presumably, is how her name is being pronounced at Fairfield. Thanks. It will be interesting to see what UConn does.

But it is not how she pronounces it (watch the video), because that’s not how it’s pronounced in French. I’m in France, my language is French, I’ve already tried to explain the pronunciation in another post. Instead of trying to explain it again, I’m going to bang my head against a wall. Bonne journée à tout le monde.

 

[HuskyNan]

This, presumably, is how her name is being pronounced at Fairfield. Thanks. It will be interesting to see what UConn does.

But it is not how she pronounces it (watch the video), because that’s not how it’s pronounced in French. I’m in France, my language is French, I’ve already tried to explain the pronunciation in another post. Instead of trying to explain it again, I’m going to bang my head against a wall. Bonne journée à tout le monde.

The media department talks to the students to get the pronunciation, they don’t assume it

 

[Bigboote]

This, presumably, is how her name is being pronounced at Fairfield. Thanks. It will be interesting to see what UConn does.

But it is not how she pronounces it (watch the video), because that’s not how it’s pronounced in French. I’m in France, my language is French, I’ve already tried to explain the pronunciation in another post. Instead of trying to explain it again, I’m going to bang my head against a wall. Bonne journée à tout le monde.

Is sénéchal a word in French? I'm thinking it's probably the origin of the English word seneschal, which is a steward, administrative head of an estate or abbey, etc. I dunno that I've ever heard the English word pronounced; I've only read it. (I have watched the video and she says it exactly as I would in French. So no head-banging on my account unless you're listening to the appropriate music.)

 

[Longtime fan]

At some point next season I’d like to hear Geno refer to Azzi, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari and Paige as the “A&P lineup”…and Azzi, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari, & Ayanna as the “All A’s lineup”. Has UConn ever fielded a lineup where all five of the players shared the same first initial? Could be another first!

Man.....it is going to be a long off season.

 

[Mdoggie]

Man.....it is going to be a long off season.

Right! I hope Triple H isn’t upset when that Doesn’t happen lol.

 

[OldSchooler]

Nika's name is also being mispronounced by most electronic media journalists. The umlaut makes it look like a Germanic name, which in German can also be spelled Muehl. It's a sound that is pretty much foreign to English speakers. Suffice it to say, it's closer to "meel" (said with the lips pursed almost closed) than it is to "mule" (the way it is often being mispronounced). Then again, you can spell your name "XYZ" and pronounce it "Smith" if you want to. So the lesson is -- we should pronounce it whichever way the owner of the name wants us to.

 

[CL82]

At some point next season I’d like to hear Geno refer to Azzi, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari and Paige as the “A&P lineup”…and Azzi, Aubrey, Aaliyah, Amari, & Ayanna as the “All A’s lineup”. Has UConn ever fielded a lineup where all five of the players shared the same first initial? Could be another first!

Post/handle

 

[Centerstream]

I just start reading the latest posts of a given thread and it appears with many of these posts, after reading four or five of the latest posts, I have no idea what the OP/thread is... smh.

 

[Bone Dog]

Nika's name is also being mispronounced by most electronic media journalists. The umlaut makes it look like a Germanic name, which in German can also be spelled Muehl. It's a sound that is pretty much foreign to English speakers. Suffice it to say, it's closer to "meel" (said with the lips pursed almost closed) than it is to "mule" (the way it is often being mispronounced). Then again, you can spell your name "XYZ" and pronounce it "Smith" if you want to. So the lesson is -- we should pronounce it whichever way the owner of the name wants us to.

Since I have a French name, I have endured many American mispronunciations, and have learned that there are some sounds the American mouth cannot make. So, when making reservations or generally telling someone my name over the phone or in person, I just choose among the easy approximations I think they'll be able to manage and leave it at that.