Paige coming back!! Aubrey too!! (Merged)

[hoophuskee]

The only way Strong starts is if she lives up to the advanced billing about her being a lights out deep shooter. If that’s the case then it’s a replay of Maya’s freshman year when she started because she was a fantastic outside shooter.

She'll just have to be a good basketball player which there is no reason to believe she won't be.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

She'll just have to be a good basketball player which there is no reason to believe she won't be.

Her mother taught her well.

 

[Dogstar]

The only way Strong starts is if she lives up to the advanced billing about her being a lights out deep shooter. If that’s the case then it’s a replay of Maya’s freshman year when she started because she was a fantastic outside shooter.

Hmmm...a case of glass half full, even if she's a so called "lights out shooter" her rebounding and defense (along with her shooting) is wht will earn her a definite starting spot. Thts how Geno rolls. The only person who may have broken tht frame of thought was Maya and I could be wrong but I don't believe that she's as good as Maya, I can only hope she is.

 

[Dogstar]

Ice and Strong will start.

I don't believe we are going to get Sarah though. Unless that latest tweet from her mother was relevant enough - maybe Sarah wants to play with Paige for 1 year.

I also hope tht Ice and Strong will start, but only if Jana isn't 100% both physically and mentally, wht happens whn she is 100%

 

[hoophuskee]

I also hope tht Ice and Strong will start, but only if Jana isn't 100% both physically and mentally, wht happens whn she is 100%

I don’t' believe the trust will be there that she is 100% for a while. First off she missed a whole year and I heard Paige recently say that she still is trying to work her legs. If Paige is trying to work her legs what will Jana be like missing a whole year and now playing her 1st year in College? Especially a "true big?"

Ofc I'm a bit bias with caution too - a big with a foot injury -- I hate to hear that too.

Anyway - unless the center is incredibly special, I believe in what I've heard that bigs take longer to develop. So, I can't see her jumping Brady.

And if UCONN is healthy and as good as I think, at least for me, I don't know why Brady/Strong wouldn't continue to start if they were playing very well together - which I believe they would. -- ha-ha which is why in part I proposed this and am pretty confident this would be a very good combo.

With Paige coming back - she makes players better. Sarah is a special talent. With KK coming back and Ashlynn coming back - I'm having a hard time believing that the Brady/Strong combo won't; be very good considerding all the support they will have from 1-3 spots with one being a legit superstar. -- Imo this team is built for a player like Sarah Strong and in year 1 she'd have Paige as her superstar to fall back on for support. She would eventually become the 2nd best player on the team (unless Azzi comes back to close to he level of those 6 games in 2022. But Azzi is off the bench too imo.).

 

[Dogstar]

I don’t' believe the trust will be there that she is 100% for a while. First off she missed a whole year and I heard Paige recently say that she still is trying to work her legs. If Paige is trying to work her legs what will Jana be like missing a whole year and now playing her 1st year in College? Especially a "true big?"

Ofc I'm a bit bias with caution too - a big with a foot injury -- I hate to hear that too.

Anyway - unless the center is incredibly special, I believe in what I've heard that bigs take longer to develop. So, I can't see her jumping Brady.

And if UCONN is healthy and as good as I think, at least for me, I don't know why Brady/Strong wouldn't continue to start if they were playing very well together - which I believe they would. -- ha-ha which is why in part I proposed this and am pretty confident this would be a very good combo.

With Paige coming back - she makes players better. Sarah is a special talent. With KK coming back and Ashlynn coming back - I'm having a hard time believing that the Brady/Strong combo won't; be very good considerding all the support they will have from 1-3 spots with one being a legit superstar. -- Imo this team is built for a player like Sarah Strong and in year 1 she'd have Paige as her superstar to fall back on for support. She would eventually become the 2nd best player on the team (unless Azzi comes back to close to he level of those 6 games in 2022. But Azzi is off the bench too imo.).

If the trust isn't there I thk it will be mostly in her head, by the time the season starts it will be 14-15 months since her injury and surgery, and yeah bigs with foot injuries are a major concern in any basketball scenario. I thk Ice and Strong (should she choose UConn) can play very well together, until one or both get into early foul trouble and thn id be curious to see if Morgan a 6'2 guard comes into play in a "small" rotation, but let's not 4get AG, AP and ADB at forward and the plethora of guards tht we'll have, Paige, Azzi, KK, Ashlynn, Allie, Morgan, Ines, and hopefully CD. Barring any injuries next year will be a very interesting year, PT wise......Can't Wait!

 

[Cuango]

Morgan's going to play all over. If UCONN doesn't get Sarah, I'd be interested to see if Geno would consider starting Morgan at PF. UCONN will have 2 pg's ahead of her - KK and Paige as PG's. Morgan is 6'3 and she seems strong. She'd be beautiful pressing which UCONN will do a lot. That will have to be their strength defensively. With a lineup of KK, Shade, Paige, Cheli and Brady - you'd still have 4 guards only one of them is 6'3.

Azzi, Caroline, Aubrey, Patterson, and El Alfy -- imo too much injury concern to have them start. All need to be brought along slowly. With Patterson and El Alfy also experience concern,. They all may have to come off the bench. You can't trust how many minutes they can play. I'm assuming CD might be cleared. I'm not going to speculate other than that. As of this moment she is member of the team so I reference her as well - as I should. As we should.

And unless Ziebell is “very extremely” special, I don’t think Geno wants Paige playing PF but had to this year. I'd be shocked if she beats out Shade with all the experience Ashlynn has had. UCONN is going to want to be a little more conventional to a certain degree imo. And imo this is what makes Cheli so special from what I saw is her versatility; she seems like she can play any position.

Where have you seen that Morgan is 6’3”? Everything I’ve read says 6’2” and as we all know these high school heights are almost always waaay generous so I would expect she is somewhere in the 6’ 1 1/2” range! I hope you are right of course, but I doubt it. The one recruit I can think of who ended up taller than reported was Chloe Kitts Grrrr! They are almost always shorter!

 

[hoophuskee]

Where have you seen that Morgan is 6’3”? Everything I’ve read says 6’2” and as we all know these high school heights are almost always waaay generous so I would expect she is somewhere in the 6’ 1 1/2” range! I hope you are right of course, but I doubt it. The one recruit I can think of who ended up taller than reported was Chloe Kitts Grrrr! They are almost always shorter!

My bad. I thought she was 6'3. I'll go with 6'2 unless I hear something different.

 

[Cuango]

I’d be shocked if Strong (if she commits) is not a starter! I think she is right up there with some of the other top (#1) players that have come to UConn! She, like Paige, has the ability to make everyone else on the floor better. I think Jana will be eased in slowly and we will see Ice & Strong start in the frontcourt for the first part of the season. ( if she commits)

 

[HuskyNan]

My bad. I thought she was 6'3. I'll go with 6'2 unless I hear something different.

Morgan (#13) between #11 Mikayla Williams, who is 6-1, and #5 Mackenly Randolph, 6-0. Below that, Morgan with 6-2 McKenna Woliczko (Morgan on the right)

 

[Dogstar]

Morgan (#13) between #11 Mikayla Williams, who is 6-1, and #5 Mackenly Randolph, 6-0. Below that, Morgan with 6-2 McKenna Woliczko (Morgan on the right)

View attachment 96623
View attachment 96624

Looks every bit of 6'2 to me.

 

[huskyd]

Good on us. Means Geno will be back at least next year to see Paige out, Aubrey is of great value, especially as we'll need someone else to work the boards inside. A pundit has suggested that Nika call it a day at UConn, perhaps find work in Europe. I agree that we don't need her with so much depth at guard, but she's been a great personality and an uplift at times. Never complains or beats her own drum. Looks as if Shade is a lock to start, and the improving Ice woman, again, will be critical: next year she'll get the minutes. Does Shade have as good a mid-range jumper as anyone out there? Better yet to know that she planned it that way: to excel at something not usually touted.
Don't know if Dawn's success has mostly been predicated on her 3 bigs, two of whom were dominant. She has mucho talent down there, but she isn't likely to have an Aja or a Boston. Someday she'll have to get along with ordinary sized people (as Geno has).

 

[Majic Hands]

Humm

Reading this thread I'm feeling like I may have been the only BYer to watch Jana play in the tournament in which came away with a calf injury.

The Egyptian team just wasn't very good. Jana's teammates really didn't do very well in getting her the ball in scoring positions.

She didn't finish the last game due to the injury and her team didn't win to continue in the tournament. Jana was still the highest scoring player in the tournament playing fewer games than the 2nd & 3rd place scorer's in the tournament.

Jana has spent two seasons watching form the bench and practicing at UConn. Becoming immersed in the culture and the approach to the game as is taught by Geno & CD.

We really don't know what what things will come together next year but if someone is starting at the 5 position next year other than Jana it will be because they simply out worked Jana and I don't see that happening.

 

[Dogstar]

Jana has spent two seasons watching form the bench and practicing at UConn. Becoming immersed in the culture and the approach to the game as is taught by Geno & CD.



"Watching from the bench for a year is nothing like playing against the speed and physicality in the D-1 college game."
Ice Brady

 

[dtbtbtb]

IMO Yana will start at the 5 with either Sara (if she commits to UConn) or Ice (if Sara does not commit to UConn). The 3 guards to start will be Paige, Azzi and either KK or Shade.
Aubrey first of the bench.
Clearly this depends on the injured players being able to get back to their former level of play.

 

[NC28604]

Bob and Debbie made a good point on the radio broadcast. Aaliyah and Nika are here on F-1 student visas (Canada and Croatia) and as such do not have the NIL opportunities that American students do. That will most likely play a big role in their decisions whether to return or to go pro.

However, they CAN make money in their home countries without even being there. A camera and a green screen is all that you need.

 

[hoopsdiva]

Humm

Reading this thread I'm feeling like I may have been the only BYer to watch Jana play in the tournament in which came away with a calf injury.

The Egyptian team just wasn't very good. Jana's teammates really didn't do very well in getting her the ball in scoring positions.

She didn't finish the last game due to the injury and her team didn't win to continue in the tournament. Jana was still the highest scoring player in the tournament playing fewer games than the 2nd & 3rd place scorer's in the tournament.

Jana has spent two seasons watching form the bench and practicing at UConn. Becoming immersed in the culture and the approach to the game as is taught by Geno & CD.

We really don't know what what things will come together next year but if someone is starting at the 5 position next year other than Jana it will be because they simply out worked Jana and I don't see that happening.

You're not the only one who was impressed with Jana's tournament play. Right now it seems like there's just a few of us on the Jana bandwagon, but I have a feeling that's gonna change next fall.

 

[hoophuskee]

Humm

Reading this thread I'm feeling like I may have been the only BYer to watch Jana play in the tournament in which came away with a calf injury.

We really don't know what what things will come together next year but if someone is starting at the 5 position next year other than Jana it will be because they simply out worked Jana and I don't see that happening.

Brady was a number 6 ranked recruit. No slouch. This year her full season surpasses El Alfy’s practices of which are very limited, while Brady is playing with Paige, KK and Shade.

And I was wrong - it wasn't a foot injury. But it's not a calf injury that you are suggesting either. It was a ruptured Achilles tendon, wasn’t it? Why would UCONN risk playing someone as a starter from the get-go coming off an injury in which she hasn't played one college game in which someone like Brady has had the chance for an entire year to work with the current core and especially Paige?

Playing with Paige for a year there is going to be a lot more chemistry. IMO it's an important leg up Brady will have over El Alfy. I'm looking at this the opposite- El Alfy will have to "beat out" Brady, and Geno will have to be 100% confident in EL Alfy's health. IMO Geno will be fine if he is starting more of a PF at the 5 position than starting a more natural 5. If Alfy wasn’t coming off an injury maybe it's different.

What’s the rush to start a player that has been hurt and has missed a whole year that hasn’t played one college game? Again I'll mention if Paige is having issues -- why would we think next year a center that has not plyed one college game won't have significant issues? So, if she isn’t significantly better than the player she is replacing, why the rush? -- And in regard to Practices - when Ice was practicing with El Alfy – Ice was also getting high accolades two years ago as well, wasn’t she? I recall that the staff was very impressed with both. Not just 1. And just the chemistry – Brady has an entire year “advantage” playing with these three core players. I'm skeptcial that El ALfy early on is going to outplay Brady.

 

[mrmojack]

You're not the only one who was impressed with Jana's tournament play. Right now it seems like there's just a few of us on the Jana bandwagon, but I have a feeling that's gonna change next fall.

Add me to the bandwagon, I watched her in that tournament and was very impressed with her overall game. She got
banged around pretty good in that tournament.

 

[Dogstar]

I'm sure she is not rated #1 without a lot of talent, but the videos I have scene don't have her getting up in the air.

She's not going thru a college practice or training yet and rebounding isn't all abt vertical leaping it's position and desire too. Nice form on her shot, ran the floor well, uses the backboard on her layup shots with both hands, pursues and grabs rebounds like she gets a gold coin for each one. I remember a young Aliyah Boston and she had weight and she turned out ok.

 

[broooce]

Humm

Reading this thread I'm feeling like I may have been the only BYer to watch Jana play in the tournament in which came away with a calf injury.

The Egyptian team just wasn't very good. Jana's teammates really didn't do very well in getting her the ball in scoring positions.

She didn't finish the last game due to the injury and her team didn't win to continue in the tournament. Jana was still the highest scoring player in the tournament playing fewer games than the 2nd & 3rd place scorer's in the tournament.

Jana has spent two seasons watching form the bench and practicing at UConn. Becoming immersed in the culture and the approach to the game as is taught by Geno & CD.

We really don't know what what things will come together next year but if someone is starting at the 5 position next year other than Jana it will be because they simply out worked Jana and I don't see that happening.

I remember following her stats and watching here & there; yes she impressed! What I found was stupid is that the FIBA tournament had more than just a 3rd place game which you often see in all types of international tournaments (think bronze medal games). Of all things Jana got hurt playing in an 11th place game. Talk about a meaningless game and the result for her. But she will make her presence known when she's back on the court on a regular basis. Competition raises everyone's game and if Ice beats her out then I can't wait to see that improvement in games - or vice-versa!

 

[cferraro04]

It seems to me that Geno is going to have a problem that most coaches would love to have. Who do I play?

Guards - Paige, Azzi, Shade, KK Arnold, Bettencourt, Zeibel, Chelli
Forwards - Caroline, Aubrey, Ayanna, Samuels, and possibly Strong
Center - Ice, Jana, Amari

The combinations of players are incredible, the players in many cases are interchangeable. It gives Geno tremendous flexibility. With the loss of Edwards we will still be weak in the post but, with all the other talent at the forward and guard positions...it might not matter.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

IMO Yana will start at the 5 with either Sara (if she commits to UConn) or Ice (if Sara does not commit to UConn). The 3 guards to start will be Paige, Azzi and either KK or Shade.
Aubrey first of the bench.
Clearly this depends on the injured players being able to get back to their former level of play.

Don’t forget about Ziebell, she will get a lot of PT. She’s the 4th rated recruit right behind Edwards and Strong on the ESPN 100, and I’ve seen her listed taller than 5’10” on other websites. Just like Strong, she’ll only be a freshman and so will have to prove herself in practice to be a starter.

 

[mhshuskies]

Not too surprising, Paige wants one good year with Azzi