How can you say you like our chances because you "Know" our freshmen will come along and the Starting 5 has experience and yet in the same sentence not apply those same rules to SC or Stanford ? Do we make the F4 last season if paige does not come back ? Nope . We dont have her this season and we like our chances because we are holding faith our freshmen come in and dominate . If they dont , then what ? If our transfer does not adjust as the media hype has started then what ?
2022-2023 Record Prediction
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Actually, if you look closely at the core veterans of SC and Stanford, neither team can start 5 veteran starters on the floor this year. We can and in all likelihood will. Each of them will have to rely on untested players in the starting lineup. That's a concrete difference -- the same rules can't be applied to speculation about them. There's nothing shocking about @Tonyc 's speculation. As it happens, I share his sentiment.
Still, we could be disappointed. We weren't last year in Azzi and Caroline, thank goodness. External events interrupted their seasons, but they lived up to our highest hopes when they could really play. If Ice Ayanna Ines do as well, it will be less surprising and more a confirmation of the skill and insight of the coaching staff. I have endless confidence in Geno & co as recruiters and teachers.
I'm sure the new faces at SC and Stanford are quite talented -- they didn't end up there by accident. Maybe they'll gel into reliable players within those respective systems. They are sure to be the main competition for us, along with Louisville, ND, Texas, Iowa, Iowa St., Indiana, NC St. and maybe a couple others. I don't think any of them can start 5 veterans this year.
Tonyc
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I can say I know our freshman will come along because of my experience watching Geno and his staff in action since 1995. ICE and Patterson are top 5 recruits. Both have alot of talent and will be developed and in many cases have more talent then alot of starters on some other teams. How do I know they will be developed? I know that because in Geno's system you are developed. How fast that will happen Im not sure. We've seen top recruits come in and step up at UConn. Thats why I feel they will too. These are two really good players.
Our starting 5 of Dorka Edwards Nika and my two picks for AA's in Azzi and Caroline delivered last season when called upon. This season we are Paigeless and therefore can not depend or defer to Paige. So what our next options Azzi and Caroline and if you dont think they will play a big part on this team then I will disagree with you. Azzi was the most sought after recruit her senior year. Without Paige this season I feel Azzi and Caroline will be called on to do more. Azzi's talent is unmatched in WCBB.
As far as your remarks regarding SC and Stanford. Both lost their point guards. Thats a huge blow. Yet ESPN has them ranked ahead of UConn along with Texas and Tenn. To me thats funny because I dont feel either has the team chemistry and talent to match UConn's starting 5. Playing without a point guard does that to teams. You said where would UConn have been without Paige last season? You also mentioned we would not have made the F4 last season. How can you say that? It wouldve been a different game without Paige with both teams playing a different game. You cant say that because we will never know. On the other hand an injured riddled UConn team made it to the final game and we beat Indiana NC State and Stanford to get there. If I recall all 3 had number 1 seeds. Pretty great accomplishment for a team that was not healthy. That says alot to me about this years team especially when they get healthy.
We are not holding our faith in our freshman is another comment you made. Im holding my faith in Azzi and Caroline based on how they took over games when asked and that was when they were healthy. Im holding my faith in Edwards who showed us glimpses in the second half of the season what she could do. Dorka came back because she wants to get better. Im holding my faith in Nika who will be our point guard who has experience and leadership abilities to run our offense. Im hold my faith in Geno and company to have this very very talented team jell and improve from last years injured ridden team that made it to the final game.
If UConn stays healthy this season we are gonna be a very tuff out. Early on we will see how last seasons injuries affect us and learn how long if any time will be needed to get up to 100% healthy. Then again not healthy last season we were pretty good in the NCAAs .
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I kinda agree with @WFFL on this one, if we understand it a certain way. If Paige had not come back at all, there's no telling what we might have accomplished. The team received a huge emotional boost when she did come back, and I think that was crucial to how the season ended. But other trends were building in the team at the same time, so there's no telling.
However, and this is where I mainly agree, if we'd lost Paige again before the Stanford game, or even the NC St game, if she'd just been too worn out from the previous games to have a "Paige" game, or even to play at all, I doubt very much the team could have recovered from that loss. She had become the essential component of the team again. I suspect that's just who Paige is -- any team she joins, she will become the key to its success one way or another. It's her little bit of magic.
The downside of her magic -- and we saw it at the beginning of both seasons -- is that the rest of the team can succumb to "Paige-watching." This is why she is so careful to involve them in the offense, to find them open shots, to celebrate everything they do, etc. She knows a team of Paige-watchers can't win an NC.
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If Paige were completely healthy I believe we would likely win the title this season. As it is, I still believe we have a good chance to win but it’s certainly much more “iffy”. We clearly have the talent and the coaching. I think winning this year is going to turn on whether we have regained the “eye of the tiger” vs South Carolina! We have always (certainly since 2001-2002 gone into games with this fearless (We’re UConn and we’re here to win) attitude. Obviously, there were stretches in games where we didn’t play well, we were off our game, unfocused etc but never, never were we scared or intimidated.
The biggest concern for me is my memory of the game in The Bahamas where SC simply destroyed us in the first half and made us look scared and as if we didn’t even want to be there. That’s a bad, bad memory for me because it was the first time I’ve seen that from our team. Now I know that was early in the season and we showed lots of moxie at other times but virtually all of those “moxie” games were with Paige on the floor. I think, more than anything else, our title chances will rest on whether that game was merely an aberration or whether a seed of doubt has crept into the team’s psyche. I’m not saying it has, but I do worry about it based on that €£¥§*# game!
The question, in my mind, is whether this team can win a knock down, drag out kind of game with a team that has comparable talent but who plays physical, punishing defense for 40 minutes? I just hope that Geno has rooted out whatever it was that had the team playing scared that day, and that we are ready to get in the trenches and fight for every point next time we play SC! If we do that in February?, then, win or lose I’m gonna feel pretty good about our chances for #12. No one is better than Geno at shaping a team over the last couple of months of the season and getting them ready for March Madness! I just hope he emphasizes the “mentally and physically tough “ aspect a little more this season.
I do realize of course, we might win the NCAA Tournament without even having to play SC but the consensus seems to be that they will defend their title. Personally, I think it is not nearly as likely as many seem to think but certainly possible.
The biggest concern for me is my memory of the game in The Bahamas where SC simply destroyed us in the first half and made us look scared and as if we didn’t even want to be there. That’s a bad, bad memory for me because it was the first time I’ve seen that from our team. Now I know that was early in the season and we showed lots of moxie at other times but virtually all of those “moxie” games were with Paige on the floor. I think, more than anything else, our title chances will rest on whether that game was merely an aberration or whether a seed of doubt has crept into the team’s psyche. I’m not saying it has, but I do worry about it based on that €£¥§*# game!
The question, in my mind, is whether this team can win a knock down, drag out kind of game with a team that has comparable talent but who plays physical, punishing defense for 40 minutes? I just hope that Geno has rooted out whatever it was that had the team playing scared that day, and that we are ready to get in the trenches and fight for every point next time we play SC! If we do that in February?, then, win or lose I’m gonna feel pretty good about our chances for #12. No one is better than Geno at shaping a team over the last couple of months of the season and getting them ready for March Madness! I just hope he emphasizes the “mentally and physically tough “ aspect a little more this season.
I do realize of course, we might win the NCAA Tournament without even having to play SC but the consensus seems to be that they will defend their title. Personally, I think it is not nearly as likely as many seem to think but certainly possible.
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My memory is SC dominated us in the second half, especially the fourth quarter. It was frustrating to watch, and even to remember. To me, we seemed like a team that wasn’t ready. Paige was ready, but no one else was. And when is Paige ever not ready?
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Perhaps I’m misremembering. I thought that was when we fell behind by some ungodly margin in the first quarter but you are right! It was the fourth quarter where I felt like our team was just whipped mentally and physically. My bad, but my point is that I hated the feeling that we simply crumbled under pressure in that game! I do not want to see that again!
MilfordHusky
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We were down by maybe 5-8 early, then had a nice run to go up by 10-12. Liv was blocking every shot. But we went ice cold in Q4.
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Trying to compare any season with last season is impossible. It was an outlier season as far as injuries. Last season the team was unprepared for Bueckers' injury and less ready as Fudd & Muhl et al missed time. Yes, Bueckers came back and was the reason UConn got to the title game but there had been no continuity to the season.
The 2023 team has a better roster than any since 2016. When Stewart, Jefferson and Tuck graduated they left a bigger hole than Bueckers has made for 2023 but UConn still made it to the FF in 2017.
SCar & Stanford have very talented teams and I'm sure a couple more will emerge. UConn is right among them.
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I like the phrase but I don't see anyone but you using the word dominate. If they can come in and play enough for the starters to be fresh in the 4th period then that will be enough. But I expect to see more than that from them both. You apparently don't. We'll see.
Not that i do not , i just do not believe in relying on freshmen to have an impact on our success. When that has been the case it's been with the likes of Maya Moore , Breanna Stewart etc. We don't have those types of freshmen at least to my awareness , so id rather not pile expectations versus waiting it out and seeing the development. Too much pressure could implode everyone on this team so why not start low and work the expectations as the season goes.
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I would be very surprised if the prognostications of old folks in a fan forum had any impact on the players or brought any increase in the pressure they feel. The feedback they get from Geno, CD, Jemelle, Morgan -- that's pressure they feel. And the immense outpouring of support they get from other students on campus.. Those things I suspect dominate their consciousness. That isn't license to speak harshly about anyone, of course. But I don't think we have to conceal our high hopes from them.
The frosh bigs came here to PLAY.
I’m guessing that any butterflies they may feel will last, maybe, their first five minute sequence on the floor.
As we post, they are banging heads with Dorka and Aaliyah in practice ( no slouches)
To me the unknown quantity is Amari.
If she made strides in her offseason training regimen look out Boston, and I don’t mean the Beantown.
We’ll have 5 quality bigs to bang it out underneath.
We get hammered under the boards like last year against SC we lose again.
We even it up under the boards, we win.
Simple as that.
I would beg to differ history says they definitely read articles and online stuff after every game.
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Could be. But do you really think they read the BY?
ochoopsfan
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10-20 Overall record
Lose every regular season game
Turn light switch on.
11 seed in BE Tournament
Sweep Big East 4-0 and NCAA Tournaments 6-0
Everyone is happy.
Lose every regular season game
Turn light switch on.
11 seed in BE Tournament
Sweep Big East 4-0 and NCAA Tournaments 6-0
Everyone is happy.
I'm probably going to change my mind in a couple weeks. But I feel a lot better after media day. I think the team wants to play to the standard UConn has set. Also Geno doesn't sound to worried. Lastly, I feel like the 19-20 team is one ppl point to as one that had a down year but they only had three losses. I don't think their ooc schedule was as hard, and of course UConn was not in the big east but still they pretty much won all the games you would expect them to win.
So I'm going to predict 3 losses, two during the season (Tennessee and DePaul) and then 1 in the final four. This is being pretty optimistic. A week ago I would've said 5 losses and an elite 8 appearance. I just believe in their roster and Geno. I actually don't think it will be that hard for Geno to rotate 9 ppl and each to fill out a specific role.
So I'm going to predict 3 losses, two during the season (Tennessee and DePaul) and then 1 in the final four. This is being pretty optimistic. A week ago I would've said 5 losses and an elite 8 appearance. I just believe in their roster and Geno. I actually don't think it will be that hard for Geno to rotate 9 ppl and each to fill out a specific role.
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I like it -- you see us beating SC! I'm right there with you!
Who do you picture beating us in the FF? Or, more generally, who do we all predict will be in the FF? I'm going with Us (of course!), Georgia, ND, and Stanford.
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They're going to beat SC, Texas, NC St., ND on the road and in conference beat Creighton and Villanova twice each? And lose to ......... DePaul?
Yup. Lol. I just think they'll drop a random game.
As far as beating SC, I just don't believe in their offense, especially on the road against us. I think we will be able to make 3s and hurt them on the perimeter.
Final four picks (Stanford, SC, Tennessee, UConn). Once again I'll probably change in a week. I was high on Texas until their Media day, as they almost seem like a team with too many pieces.
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Agreed! They are going to be a force to be reckoned with now tha Banghart is in charge! Her “rebuild” period is over and she is moving into her “top program” phase which will soon be followed by “elite” status.
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