2016 roster and beyond

[Carnac]

Nice work, BRS24! The 2017-18 team looks loaded. I hope we can add Megatron too.

Given the ingredients (players) on the 2017-2018 roster, Chef Geno will no doubt put together a dish that the critics (friendly and adversarial) will love. Two things we know will be hallmarks of this team:

1. They will play the same "in-your-face, turn-you-over defense for 40 minutes that all of Geno's teams play.

2. Judging from the scoring potential of the players on this roster, this team should score at least 70 points a game (I'm being extremely conservative here. 85 points a game will probably be closer to reality). We don't know the offensive potential of THIS year's team yet, let alone a team 15 months out. I would not imagine that most teams will break 60 points against the Huskies. One or two may, but most should be held to 59 or less.

3. UConn will have something no other team will have, Geno & staff. Other teams will have several good players, maybe even a great player, but they won't have Geno. It's one thing to have a team full of McDonald's All Americans. It's another thing to get them to play together, and adopt a team first attitude. The Huskies have Geno, and they don't.

We understand that our chief rim protector from last year (Stewie) is gone. What we don't know is if someone is going to step up BIG time, and play at a level that will almost us make us forget about Stewie. That remains to be seen. I do expect whoever Geno starts, to be formidable and give the UConn faithful reasons to be consumed with high levels of unbridled optimism.

The 2017 - 2018 roster is already loaded with super talented players as is. Add Megan Walker to that mix, and she would be the cherry on top of that sundae. Her presence on that roster would no doubt cause UConn to be the consensus preseason #1 team opening the 2017 season (which they may be anyway). The bench, which will be Geno's deepest in years, will have players on it that would start for most other teams.

 

[BRS24]

Updated when Coombs verbaled:

Coombs to UConn

 

[BRS24]

Mods: is there a way to edit your own upload of graphics so that you can keep the thread current?

 

[hoopsdiva]

Is there an update to this chart since Charli Collier verballed? I thought there was an update when Walker signed, but this is the most recent one that turned up in my search.

 

[HGN]

Why are you guys speculating on someone Redshirting??

 

[hoopsdiva]

Why are you guys speculating on someone Redshirting??

There's no speculation. Stevens and Camara are required to sit out a year as transfers, i.e., redshirting.

 

[Fanmomma]

Is there an update to this chart since Charli Collier verballed? I thought there was an update when Walker signed, but this is the most recent one that turned up in my search.

I was hoping as well.

 

[billnaples]

Why are you guys speculating on someone Redshirting??

Did I miss something on the chart or in comments? I only saw the reference to the two transfers on the roster now who are labeled in a "redshirt year" color purple. It's their "sit out" year. Otherwise I've seen no one speculate about redshirts or transfers (in or out) nor do I expect any. Anyone wants to speculate about playing time or lineups I think is a fair topic and with 14 players on the roster as it currently stands for the 17/18 season it will be a challenge.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Anyone wants to speculate about playing time or lineups I think is a fair topic and with 14 players on the roster as it currently stands for the 17/18 season it will be a challenge.

I think it's a fair topic as well and I've offered that it would make sense--next year--for one of the incoming freshmen to redshirt and also perhaps Kyla. I suggested Lexi because it seems to me she is the one with the least experience against high-level competition. I'm not sure about Mikayla's experience against such but given that she missed her sophomore year owing to injury, I'd hate to see her miss another whole year. The three freshmen not named Megan will have a lot of players ahead of them next year, as will Kyla.

 

[HGN]

Did I miss something on the chart or in comments? I only saw the reference to the two transfers on the roster now who are labeled in a "redshirt year" color purple. It's their "sit out" year. Otherwise I've seen no one speculate about redshirts or transfers (in or out) nor do I expect any. Anyone wants to speculate about playing time or lineups I think is a fair topic and with 14 players on the roster as it currently stands for the 17/18 season it will be a challenge.

There's no speculation. Stevens and Camara are required to sit out a year as transfers, i.e., redshirting.

My mistake..... I went back and looked at the chart again and saw where I had misread it.

I offer my apology.

 

[BRS24]

I was hoping as well.

Here you go:

 

[hoopsdiva]

Damn we are loaded next year.

 

[CocoHusky]

Damn we are loaded next year.

And the year after also.

 

[Schoup]

Damn we are loaded next year.

UConn will be the preseason favorite next years, possibly the next 2. Geno's problem may be like USA bball. How do you keep everybody happy with their PT. I have a feeling of the 8 combined frosh and sophs next year somebody will transfer.

 

[billnaples]

UConn will be the preseason favorite next years, possibly the next 2. Geno's problem may be like USA bball. How do you keep everybody happy with their PT. I have a feeling of the 8 combined frosh and sophs next year somebody will transfer.

Certainly agree biggest issue will be division on minutes. But then I look at the roster make up, three seniors - no one going anywhere - three juniors - no one going anywhere. 4 sophs and 4 frosh - as of today they all should be well aware of the roster status. Don't hear any noise from there. I'd be planning on a crowd.

 

[HuskyFan1125]

I really don't understand this!!! Serioulsy!?!? Playing time??? Look at all the minutes the players are logging this year and we don't think there is time to go around?? The stats gurus can and will probably know this info but most UCONN players don't average 35-40 minutes. I think Maya did her senior year. Even last year most players averaged somewhere in the 20 range. I was around for the 2000 & 2001 teams that were loaded. I think Geno and crew will full court press and make it work.

 

[billnaples]

I really don't understand this!!! Serioulsy!?!? Playing time??? Look at all the minutes the players are logging this year and we don't think there is time to go around?? The stats gurus can and will probably know this info but most UCONN players don't average 35-40 minutes. I think Maya did her senior year. Even last year most players averaged somewhere in the 20 range. I was around for the 2000 & 2001 teams that were loaded. I think Geno and crew will full court press and make it work.

Here's the math. 200 minutes per game, 14 players on the roster for 17/18. We'll presume they all stay, no one gets hurt and no one gets sent to Geno's dog house. Let's say for the sake of argument that the starters play 25 minutes on average for 125 mins. (your recall of last year's minutes was off a lot, less BTW than last year's starting five who logged 138.6 mins). that now leaves 75 minutes to go around 9 players. The math says you have about 8 minutes per player left. So who gets time, who doesn't, and when will all be a great juggling act for Geno and CD

 

[Schoup]

I really don't understand this!!! Serioulsy!?!? Playing time??? Look at all the minutes the players are logging this year and we don't think there is time to go around?? The stats gurus can and will probably know this info but most UCONN players don't average 35-40 minutes. I think Maya did her senior year. Even last year most players averaged somewhere in the 20 range. I was around for the 2000 & 2001 teams that were loaded. I think Geno and crew will full court press and make it work.

Last year Minutes/ this year
Moriah 32 ----
Stewie 29 -----
Nurse 28/35 +7
Tuck 27 ------
KLS 24/33 +9
Gabby 19/29 +10
Pheesa 17/32 +15
Chong 12/21 +9
Butler 12/17 +5
Dangerfield 26

Obviously not complete impression b/c of tougher OOC and minutes will drop when conf play starts b/c the games should mostly be blow outs. Even last year in the big games the top players would log 38 or even 40 minutes in a couple of games like SC and ND

 

[bags27]

This supernova in the making could change the course of WCBB. Since there is already buzz about how "bad" UConn is for the game, and IF UConn manages to win it all this year and enters next year with that amazing talent pool, well, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. Even current defenders of UConn's excellence will begin growing bitter. And UConn fans could find themselves in an "us against the world" mentality, similar to Yankees fans in the 60s and Patriots fans right now. Not the worst thing, but unpleasant, as others cease to acknowledge the accomplishment and just pray that it all comes to an end.

 

[Schoup]

This supernova in the making could change the course of WCBB. Since there is already buzz about how "bad" UConn is for the game, and IF UConn manages to win it all this year and enters next year with that amazing talent pool, well, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. Even current defenders of UConn's excellence will begin growing bitter. And UConn fans could find themselves in an "us against the world" mentality, similar to Yankees fans in the 60s and Patriots fans right now. Not the worst thing, but unpleasant, as others cease to acknowledge the accomplishment and just pray that it all comes to an end.

ND, SC, Tx, Baylor, etc..have stock piled top recruits they just have not managed to see a bunch of progression in the level of the play of those players. You have to put that on the coaches and the players. UConn is being lead by players who were supporting cast members to the big 3, that on their own decided the games. They seem like completely different players over 1 summer and that has to be chalked up to players work and coaching. Other programs need to coach better and work harder. There are team that you watch that are supposedly good teams and it's hard to tell what offense they are running other than a lot of "street ball" and freelancing. That works when you play those clearly inferior, but not when the other team has equal talent or better and better coaching.

 

[eireman]

This supernova in the making could change the course of WCBB. Since there is already buzz about how "bad" UConn is for the game, and IF UConn manages to win it all this year and enters next year with that amazing talent pool, well, sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. Even current defenders of UConn's excellence will begin growing bitter. And UConn fans could find themselves in an "us against the world" mentality, similar to Yankees fans in the 60s and Patriots fans right now. Not the worst thing, but unpleasant, as others cease to acknowledge the accomplishment and just pray that it all comes to an end.

Yankee s from 49 to 64

 

[Zorro]

Remember the immortal words of Zen-master Tony C. (He was referring to the LV "six-pack of yesteryear and the resulting surfeit of players);
"If she starts them all, the rest of them will have to sit"!

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Going back to what Doris Burke has said the last 2 NCAA Champion Finals, " The Division I schools shouldn't hate UCONN for it's success, work harder & play harder, UCONN's not doing anything special, they're just flat out-working everyone else!" "Good players became great and great players become legends!"

 

[CamrnCrz1974]

Assuming Azurá Stevens starts - and let me tell you, she is a phenomenal player (and that was before sitting out the redshirt year and learning under Geno and his staff) - UConn could look like this:

PG/SG: Kia Nurse
G/F: Katie Lou Samuelson
F: Gabby Williams
F: Napheesa Collier
F/C: Azurá Stevens

Alternatively, the starting lineup could look like this:

PG: Cyrstal Dangerfield
PG/SG: Kia Nurse
G/F: Katie Lou Samuelson
F: Napheesa Collier
F/C: Azurá Stevens

Point is, it is highly likely that Azurá will start, which means either Dangerfield or Williams will come off the bench (I doubt it will be Nurse, as she has started 82 of 85 career games as of December 21, 2017).

This means, the bench will look like this:

PG: Cyrstal Dangerfield
F: Batouly Camara
W: Megan Walker
Butler, Bent, Irwin, plus three Top 25/35 guards/wings

Alternatively, the bench could look like this:

F: Gabby Williams
F: Batouly Camara
W: Megan Walker
Butler, Bent, Irwin, plus three Top 25/35 guards/wings

Either way, UConn will have:
1) The #1 ranked incoming player (Walker);
2) An uber-athletic consensus Top 10/15 recruit as a senior (Williams) or a consensus Top 5 recruit and #1 ranked PG in her class (Dangerfield); and
3) A sophomore transfer ranked as high as #30 in recruiting who averaged 5.1 ppg and 4.3 rpg in 18 minutes per game while starting 14 games for a Sweet 16 team (Camara)

...coming off the bench. UConn's bench would be a dream starting lineup for just about every other school in the country.

I am officially scared.

 

[meyers7]

We'll presume they all stay, no one gets hurt and no one gets sent to Geno's dog house.

Pretty poor presumption. We always get transfers, players are always hurt (if not for the whole season, at least for parts of it), and players are always in Geno's doghouse (probably more so with more players). The presumption SHOULD be that one or all of those things will happen.