Your top "team of Huskies" for new season's crunch time?

[winlots]

Imagine game tied ........ generic TOP-tier opponent.....six minutes to go....late in the season. As always, the bare-bones objective is to score more than the opponent (thus, need to defend as well as score). Given what we know at this point, from high school footage and All-Star footage, actual college observations, right up thru the two recent good threads on the two scrimmages, WHO do you want on the floor and WHY??

TO STIR THE POT: I'll go with

FARIS: as much as I like my PA gal, Doty, at this moment in time I see room for only one senior on the floor in the scenario described, and I'm going with Kelly. She provides the senior glue, court wisdom and vast experience under pressure, seems to have a terrific on-court connection/instintive reading with some of the other players (including Lewis), has the stamina and ability to get the clutch rebound against bigger kids, and brings all the multiple attributes that you folks have enumerated over the years in the Yard.

LEWIS: to tickle the twine when it calls for tickling, and she has shown that when she is truly focused, she brings a whole lot more than her scoring ability, at both ends of the court; and has that super connection with Faris (watch the way they read and find each other with great passes).

STEWART: seems impossible to not haver her on the floor in this set of circumstances, as she brings scoring from lots of spots, some intimidating defense, fine passing ability, impressive floor sense, along with a willingness to give it all ala Kelly.

TUCK: though I haven't see all that much of her, the reasonable amount that I have seen leads me to put her out there for her calmness and early maturity under pressure, ability to rebound, scoring from various points, strength, determination, and possible special on-court bond with Stewart.

DOLSON: was going to go with Jefferson for the final spot (remember, the game is being played late in the season, so she should have many college minutes in by then) , for those apparently incredible moves and speed and passes, along with her ability to score. But, given the highly encouraging new news about Heather, I lean toward going with her experience and size.

Obviously very tough to leave others of our great group off the floor.....but we can only play five at a time. Certainly, things will change as we gather more data from practices and games.

 

[VAUConnFan]

Winlots, you are going with Faris, Lewis, Stewart, Tuck, and Dolson? Not a bad team, but it is crunch time and you have two freshmen among your five, and have your returning junior All American on the bench.

 

[alexrgct]

Kelly, clearly. She is an incredible defender, can play multiple positions on defense, is one of the best passers on the team, and can even score some points from time to time (see the BET championship game). Her performance in the final minute of the national semis last year warrants her being on the floor.

Bria and KML have to be on the floor because you kids who aren't afraid to shoot. Both can attack the basket if pressed, and KML had some of the best assists to Stef on the team last year.

Stef is also on the floor. Kiah and Buck, failing visible improvement this season, don't have Stef's chops offensively, and don't enable other players as well. We can't rely on perimeter scoring. We need a post presence who can get a basket...and even shoot from outside the paint if pressed.

Banks, Kiah, Caroline, Mo, and Buck would not be on my list, so the final spot goes to Breanna or Tuck. And I hate to do it, but I'll need to see them play at the college level before saying who I'd pick. My suspicion is that, if you need points, Breanna is the choice, but if you need a rebound, Morgan would be.

 

[easttexastrash]

Hartley, KML, Stewart, Doty, Faris

 

[VAMike23]

IMHO, Bria is the one player who must be on the floor during crunch time for Connecticut in 2012-13.

Last year KML showed that she already knew how to step up in big games at big moments. Stanford game, Baylor game, others. I think she will consolidate the gains she made as a frosh, add some consistency, and actually be our most feared big-game, crunch-time player at the offensive end.

Two words: Kelly Faris.

Obviously it's hard to speculate on the frosh, but if Breanna were not on this team I would probably project Morgan as the PF at crunch time. At pretty much every opportunity she has displayed poise and skill well beyond her years. But sometimes at crunch time things get a little crazy, the offense breaks down, etc., and having an incredibly athletic game-changer like Stewart on the floor is simply too much of a luxury to ignore. Stewie has the edge here.

Gotta have Big Mama Stef in there. Too much size, too much experience at the 5.

---------------------------------------------------------

Bria
KML
KF
BStewart
Dolson

 

[blackbird]

Bria has to be on the floor. No matter how bad she's playing. She's on the floor.
KML and Faris are 99%. Unless four other players are absolutely dominating the game, and they are being not so great. They're on the floor.

The remaining two would go to who is playing well. I can see a situation where that includes Tuck, Dolson, Doty, Stewart, Jefferson.

 

[winlots]

Wow. Two of my main studs whimpin out a little here.

 

[winlots]

Winlots, you are going with Faris, Lewis, Stewart, Tuck, and Dolson? Not a bad team, but it is crunch time and you have two freshmen among your five, and have your returning junior All American on the bench.

VAU: and YOUR line-up would be? It ain't easy.

 

[Kibitzer]

Three no-brainers:

Faris, for senior leadership and to defend best shooter (if not a post)​

Hartley, who will be a consensus All-American​

Mosqueda-Lewis, top scorer as a freshman, lights out shooter​

If the other team has a good post (e.g., Griner), Dolson is next

Beyond that, the issues become match-ups or hot hands. For example, if you need a lot of points, Caroline has proven that she can drill treys in the clutch; Stewart will likely create enormous match-up problems for opponents; similarly, the foot speed of Jefferson or Banks or the height of Stokes or Tuck will be tough to defend or rebound against.

So I go with Kelly, Bria and Kaleena and dare Geno to pick two more to close the deal.

 

[winlots]

Kelly, clearly. She is an incredible defender, can play multiple positions on defense, is one of the best passers on the team, and can even score some points from time to time (see the BET championship game). Her performance in the final minute of the national semis last year warrants her being on the floor.

Bria and KML have to be on the floor because you kids who aren't afraid to shoot. Both can attack the basket if pressed, and KML had some of the best assists to Stef on the team last year.

Stef is also on the floor. Kiah and Buck, failing visible improvement this season, don't have Stef's chops offensively, and don't enable other players as well. We can't rely on perimeter scoring. We need a post presence who can get a basket...and even shoot from outside the paint if pressed.

Banks, Kiah, Caroline, Mo, and Buck would not be on my list, so the final spot goes to Breanna or Tuck. And I hate to do it, but I'll need to see them play at the college level before saying who I'd pick. My suspicion is that, if you need points, Breanna is the choice, but if you need a rebound, Morgan would be.

ALEX: good sturdy presentation until you get to the end. And if we needed to get a wet spot off the floor, we'd go with a mop. Can you pull the trigger?

 

[winlots]

Three no-brainers:

Faris, for senior leadership and to defend best shooter (if not a post)​

Hartley, who will be a consensus All-American​

Mosqueda-Lewis, top scorer as a freshman, lights out shooter​

If the other team has a good post (e.g., Griner), Dolson is next

Beyond that, the issues become match-ups or hot hands. For example, if you need a lot of points, Caroline has proven that she can drill treys in the clutch; Stewart will likely create enormous match-up problems for opponents; similarly, the foot speed of Jefferson or Banks or the height of Stokes or Tuck will be tough to defend or rebound against.

So I go with Kelly, Bria and Kaleena and dare Geno to pick two more to close the deal.

Make it three! Scenario delibrately a "generic" opponent....just to stir the conversation pot.

 

[winlots]

Bria has to be on the floor. No matter how bad she's playing. She's on the floor.
KML and Faris are 99%. Unless four other players are absolutely dominating the game, and they are being not so great. They're on the floor.

The remaining two would go to who is playing well. I can see a situation where that includes Tuck, Dolson, Doty, Stewart, Jefferson.

 

[winlots]

Make that Four! BLACK: your chance to coach. Based on all we know to this point in time, who do you THINK would be playing the best of the rest? ( Enuf "stirring" from me for now.)

 

[EricLA]

i like the discussion which is why i "liked" the OP's post. But I do have to disagree - and agree with the others who brought up the 2 freshmen at crunch time. Not only would Geno be loathe (IMHO) to put that kind of pressure on the freshmen in general, but specifically, how do you not have Bria on the court at crunch time? i think over the past 2 years, she's really shown she has a knack for making big shots and big plays (she has also "shanked" a few, as they say), but she's as solid as they come...

It wouldn't be our best scoring team, but Bria, Kelly, KML, Breanna and Stef. Those would be my 5 on the court for the last few minutes...

Maybe I'm unfairly discounting what Caroline would bring to the court at crunch time, but I think Bria can show just as much "leadership" and even tho she's now 2 years from her injury, i'm not sure what her "100%" will be at this point, which is why i'd replace her with Bree.

But as you may or may not know, my starting lineup for the entire year has always been Caroline, Bria, Kelly, KML and Stef...

One other thing tho... and this is just a prediction - as good as Bree is going to be, I think Morgan will be more consistent and "mature" her first year. She just seems so solid, albeit unflashy, and has such poise beyond her years that i think she will be a surprise to some in that respect...

 

[connboy77]

If Caroline was 100% and the Caroline of old she would be one of my choice's, but since she isn't I would go with Bria Hartley at the point, Kelly at the 2, KML at the 3, Breanna at the 4, and Stef at the 5.

 

[hoopsdiva]

I think Kelly Faris proved beyond a shadow of a doubt in the last minutes of last year's semi final against Notre Dame that she is a big time clutch player. She's earned the right to be out there when the going gets tough. No question about it in my mind.

The other two "no question" players to me are Bria and KML, unless one of them is in foul trouble, in which case CDoty might be in there.

As for the other two, I would love to say Stef, but as much as I love her, I have to acknowledge that sometimes she just doesn't have it, whether it's a matter of confidence, conditioning, concentration or whatever. Still, if she's on, she's out there. If not, I'm going with Kiah. I'm hoping that the last player is one of the freshman - Stewie or Tuck, and I won't know which one until I see them play. Nothing against MoJef, but I don't think it's the best option to put a freshman ball handler out there in a crunch.

 

[MilfordHusky]

With 6:00 to go, it depends on how the game has gone so far. If one of our key guys has been struggling, I might not play her. If we have struggled to rebound, I go big.

In general, this is my unit:

Bria--All-American, big game player, fearless

Kaleena--Soon to be All-American, big game player, fearless

Kelly--Tough, experienced, multi- dimensional

Stef--Big, skilled, shooter, lots of heart

Caroline--Gets us good shots, keeps team under control

If Caroline struggles physically or if Breanna plays like Maya did as a frosh, I play Stewie.

I agree that Bria and Kaleena are absolute locks unless either is having a horrible game. In crunch time, they are as good as anyone, including Sims.

 

[easttexastrash]

IMHO, Bria is the one player who must be on the floor during crunch time for Connecticut in 2012-13.

Last year KML showed that she already knew how to step up in big games at big moments. Stanford game, Baylor game, others. I think she will consolidate the gains she made as a frosh, add some consistency, and actually be our most feared big-game, crunch-time player at the offensive end.

Two words: Kelly Faris.

Obviously it's hard to speculate on the frosh, but if Breanna were not on this team I would probably project Morgan as the PF at crunch time. At pretty much every opportunity she has displayed poise and skill well beyond her years. But sometimes at crunch time things get a little crazy, the offense breaks down, etc., and having an incredibly athletic game-changer like Stewart on the floor is simply too much of a luxury to ignore. Stewie has the edge here.

Gotta have Big Mama Stef in there. Too much size, too much experience at the 5.

---------------------------------------------------------

Bria
KML
KF
BStewart
Dolson

Watch it there, Mike. Don't agree with me...it's bad for your reputation. (-:

 

[easttexastrash]

ALEX: good sturdy presentation until you get to the end. And if we needed to get a wet spot off the floor, we'd go with a mop. Can you pull the trigger?

Pull the trigger? Some might even call him a gunslinger.

 

[Scotter]

In my opinion you have this backwards. Scoring is debatable, but Breanna is definitively the more dominant rebounder.

My suspicion is that, if you need points, Breanna is the choice, but if you need a rebound, Morgan would be.

 

[ndmb]

Hartley
Doty
Faris
KML
Dolson

 

[John Fryer]

Bria - her play last season demonstrated that the team does not perform to its potential/expectations when she isn't on the floor.

KML - She is both an offensive/defensive force that opponents have to make adjustments in order to cover her.

Breanna/Morgan - one of them, if not both, will be on the floor at crunch time. (As I imagine it now, it is possible that Morgan might be at the 5 spot and Breanna at the 4 spot in some situations.)

Stef - if her conditioning is as advertised for the upcoming season. Otherwise I would go with Kiah, if we aren't playing Baylor. For Baylor I would look for Heather to cover Griner like a glove.

Kelly - continues to be the "If Factor" for me. If she has improved her shot to the extent that opponents have to guard her, then she should also be on the floor. (I continue to be amazed that so many BYs look at her as being the leader on the floor. Obviously, I don't see it that way. The leader of the floor has been, since Maya left, and probably will continue to be Bria.)

So.... in the final six minutes of a game against Baylor or ND, my five on the floor would be:

Bria - PG.

KML - SG.

Breanna - SF.

Morgan - PF.

Heather/Kiah - Center.

Peace,

John Fryer

 

[johnnyc]

Hartley
KML
Dolson
Faris
Stewart

 

[alexrgct]

In my opinion you have this backwards. Scoring is debatable, but Breanna is definitively the more dominant rebounder.

Anytime I've watched them on the floor together, admittedly a relatively limited sample size of games, I've come away extremely impressed with Morgan's rebounding. She reminds me a bit of Kevin Love insomuch as she just seems to have an uncanny knack for knowing where the ball is going to go if it misses. Breanna is the more athletic of the two and can sky for a board, but for now, I would take Morgan's instincts. For now anyway.

 

[meyers7]

Imagine game tied ........ generic TOP-tier opponent.....six minutes to go....late in the season.

Make it three! Scenario delibrately a "generic" opponent....just to stir the conversation pot.

Can't be generic. There is only 1 opponent where this could possibly happen. Sooooo we are playing Baylor. Assuming no injuries/foul trouble.

You have left off the only person who will absolutely, no questions asked, 100% guaranteed be on the floor, Hartley - she is the floor leader, clutchiest player and will be on the floor.

Next will be for KML outside shooting.

Don't really need an extra ball handler since Baylor will not press much if at all so no Jefferson or Banks.

Faris will be on the floor for defense and leadership purposes.

Stewart and Dolson in the post. For height and offensive options.

It'll be down to Griner to beat us. Keep her off the block and we win.