2023-24 Media Day
- Thread starter darrell
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MSGRET
MSG, US Army Retired
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Is Jana not wearing the boot anymore, or did they just put her in Nike shoes for the photo shoot?
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Exactly! Think about this for a second. The first four (Paige, Nika, Aubrey & Aaliyah) would be enough talent alone for a Final Four team. Then, add Azzi & Caroline to the mix, offense personified. Next, incorporate 3 highly gifted and athletic freshmen to the recipe and the cup runneth over. Finally, not forgotten is 3 returning players, seasoned and ready to contribute. Add it all up, this team may have the most basketball talent, top from bottom in the country.
So excited to see it play out.
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My bad. Complete oversight. Since she missed last season, I'd add her into the incoming freshmen group. I have high hopes for her and believe as she gets more comfortable in her role, she'll make a sizable contribution and will be a vital cog in the rotation.
With so many pieces to play, Geno has options galore to play a certain style or adapt to a particular opponent, something that wasn't available to him during the previous two injury-plagued seasons.
With so many pieces to play, Geno has options galore to play a certain style or adapt to a particular opponent, something that wasn't available to him during the previous two injury-plagued seasons.
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It's probably isn't the right phrase, but "wild card" comes to mind. Recall there being a lot of good feedback before her injury. While she's been on the bench, she's had plenty of time to absorb what's going on. Looking forward to seeing her play this season.
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Besides Bueckers, Brady and the freshmen there were lesser injuries last season.
coming off surgery:
Griffin - will be stronger after almost 2 years past her back surgery.
DeBerry - Another post-surgery player with a huge upside if healed
Patterson - coming off knee surgery after playing injured last season. Another with a huge upside
still dealing with issues:
Ducharme - dealing with head/neck issues but still playing. The biggest ? on the roster
Muhl - might as well add her foot/ankle to the mix
If the stars align this season we may experience something very special, even for UConn.
coming off surgery:
Griffin - will be stronger after almost 2 years past her back surgery.
DeBerry - Another post-surgery player with a huge upside if healed
Patterson - coming off knee surgery after playing injured last season. Another with a huge upside
still dealing with issues:
Ducharme - dealing with head/neck issues but still playing. The biggest ? on the roster
Muhl - might as well add her foot/ankle to the mix
If the stars align this season we may experience something very special, even for UConn.
Or put another way, there were only two players on the roster that were not affected by injuries in some way last year, Ines and Aaliyah. In Aaliyah's case she actually was unavailable for one game that was postponed because Uconn didn't have the minimum number of players available, but returned the next game so she didn't actually miss a game during the season.
The games missed for this team the last two years is staggering by itself, but the impact on the level of play when they were in the game but not 100% is just as big a factor. Paige was healthy for 6 games two years ago, Azzi for the first 6 last year, and the numbers might be similar for Caroline.
Statistically there was no comparison. Paige went from a great player to just a good one after her first knee injury. Azzi went from great and playing like an All American to pretty much an average player the rest of the season. Caroline's overall performance last year didn't even vaguely resemble her first year that also had concussion issue.
When you pick portions of a season for an optimistic outlook you could easily be accused of cherry picking, but when there is a distinct difference between pre and post injury I think it is fair. Paige had a PER of around 36 after 6 games in her sophomore season. That was above her PER of 32 in her Player of the Year season. But after 11 games coming back from injury her season ending PER dropped to 30. That means she was probably around mid to low 20's in those games after her injury.
Azzi had a similar situation last year with a PER over 30 after 6 games against top competition. She ended the season in the low 20's, which means in the games after the injury she probably had close to average numbers around a PER of 15. Caroline with some injury issues her first year still had a PER over 20 quite good particularly for a first year player, but then dropped off to about 12 last year, a level more like an average backup.
In some cases we may not have even known the extent of some injuries. I had no idea Amari was playing thru an issue, for example, and clearly Ayanna had a similar drop off that was probably injury related. If I remember right her PER was close to 20 early on and wound up closer to 12. It is pretty unusual for a first year player to regress that much without an injury issue, and of course this summer we learned it required surgery.
Obviously this team's results could be hugely better not just from fewer games missed, but also from players being closer to 100% when they do play. With so many players with issues we have to keep our fingers crossed, and even this year we have been unlucky once again with Jana out for the whole season before we even start. I think we are way overdue for some good luck on the injury front for a change.