26-27 season | Page 3 | The Boneyard

26-27 season

BfromCT said:
Now that the season is over earlier than anticipated after a bad loss to South Carolina our thoughts can turn to the 2026-27 team. So far as we know, the following players will be back next season - KK Arnold, Ice Brady, Morgan Chelli, Jana El-Afry, Kelis Fisher, Kayleigh Heckel, Gandy Malou-Mamel, Ayanna Patterson, Blanca Quinonez, Ashlynn Shade, Sarah Strong, and Allie Ziebel. Assuming that Brady can and will return, the roster has twelve players. Two new players are coming in - guard Jovana Popovic and center Olivia Vukosa - making a total of 14. If Geno intends to use the portal, only one spot is available, assuming that no one enters the portal.

The team will have three bigs, a plethora of guards, two outstanding forwards, and several who can fill the small forward/big guard mantle, but the stinker loss to South Carolina reveals a couple of problems that may or may not be taken care of internally. Rebounding and scoring from the center position has been lacking all season. Vukosa seems like the obvious fix, but Geno may need more. A good passer at the high post would help a great deal. Does Vukosa fill that bill? KK Arnold is an excellent defensive player but her lack of offense proved to be a problem all season and particularly against the Gamecocks. She has one offensive move, the drive to the basket, but she often misses the shot. Lack of finishing around the basket was a difficulty for the team all season and Heckel’s missed layup with just over a minute to play epitomized the problem.

The way too early starting lineup will likely consist of El-Alfy, Strong, Quinonez, Arnold, and Shade with Vukosa and Heckel being the first two off the bench, followed by Popovich, Chelli, Ziebel, and perhaps Fisher. It looks on paper like a decent team, but who will be the third scorer after Strong and Quinonez, someone who can consistently give the Huskies 10-15 points per game.
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ucbart said:
From day 1, my two worries about the 25-26 version of this UCONN team were rebounding(last night was why) and the lack of KK being able to:
1. Score
2. Run a half court offense.

Last night we needed a game manager who could both run the offense and knock down shots, which KK can't. We've had that for 4 years with Paige.

For the 2026-2027 team to win, we have to start Heckel and let KK reprise her role off the bench as a burst of energy.

Heckel
Shade
Blanca
Sarah
Olivia

Those should be the starters.
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We don't know what Kellis Fisher can do yet? She should be given more playing time to find out. It is unfortunate that she received so little playing time this year.She seems to have natural skills for the game. I think she could have started on some college teams already. She was, before Blanca, selected to be BE freshman of year.
I agree with your starting five and KK off the bench. Let's not forget Morgan C. If she fully recovers from her injury, who knows?
 
BrianUC said:
I wonder if a lot of energy this season was spent on practicing full court pressing and traps. It's exciting to see that when it works against lesser teams but it was way less effective in the tournament. Perhaps the time and effort could be better spent on half court offense, considering how things played out in the last few games.
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They also just didn’t seem prepared for the kind of game SC was going to play and they should’ve been. It’s no secret how hard they play, and we looked dazed and confused by it. And then yeah totally stagnant on offense
 
LuvBball said:
Her name is Ziebell, we just dont play her
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Love Allie but in games she was in she was more than reluctant to shoot even when having an open shot. No confidence? Perhaps. One could argue if she got more playing time her confidence would improve. In any event, it is hoped she gets better in the offseason and comes back ready to fill that 3 threat that we will miss with the graduation of .
 
cleobel60 said:
We don't know what Kellis Fisher can do yet? She should be given more playing time to find out. It is unfortunate that she received so little playing time this year.She seems to have natural skills for the game. I think she could have started on some college teams already. She was, before Blanca, selected to be BE freshman of year.
I agree with your starting five and KK off the bench. Let's not forget Morgan C. If she fully recovers from her injury, who knows?
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players time is earned in practice
 
Zonepress said:
players time is earned in practice
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People were impressed by Kelis going one-on-one to the basket in garbage time (and she was indeed impressive when doing so). But we saw no running the UConn offense in a coherent fashion or passing skills for that matter. I am not suggesting that she can't -- but we also have no evidence that she can.
 
Topdawg said:
USC (So Cal) could become the team to beat. They will be loaded.
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Only if Gottlieb displays a level of coaching that, to date, she hasn't yet shown. There's plenty of talent next year but she will have 3 very ball-dominant players, but will still be required to play with only one ball...
 
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UConn is going to have plenty of talent to contend for a national title next year. As some have mentioned, the key is who can break down a defense 1:1 like Paige used to do. I love watching pretty offense with precision spacing and timing, but for me this is the biggest question for the UConn roster next year.
 
Vowelguy said:
Doubt it. She and Ivey seem very tight.
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That might be true BUT she would probably like a better shot at winning the whole thing and the Irish will not be good enough to do that next year. She doesn't need to go to TX to do that. I hear that there is a pretty good school with an opening for a top level scoring guard, located somewhere up in the Northeast part of the country. As it stands right now that school will not be a preseason pick for the top couple of spots in the polls, but a player like HH would instantly make it a favorite to add to a number of earlier national championships. If stars such as Miles and Betts and Irafen can move to different school then HH could also.

Just a crazy thought.
 
Charliebball said:
How about USC with JuJu coming back in addition to Jazzy Davidson and the incoming #1 freshman Saniyah Hall?
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Agree those are 3 really good players but do they have any size for the frontcourt or are you projecting Jazzy as the So Cal big? With that 3-some I do see them as a better bet for the FF over TX.
 
connboy77 said:
Next year I see three of the final four teams returning; UCONN, South Carolina, and Texas. UCLA looses six or seven players and will drop like a rock. LSU, Michigan, Duke and others have a shot at being the fourth team to make the final four.
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Sub So Cal for TX
 
Bills Fan said:
Agree those are 3 really good players but do they have any size for the frontcourt or are you projecting Jazzy as the So Cal big? With that 3-some I do see them as a better bet for the FF over TX.
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they've got the highly touted 6'4" freshman Fagin coming in from Australia.....time will tell if she's productive as a freshman....
 
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Bills Fan said:
Agree those are 3 really good players but do they have any size for the frontcourt or are you projecting Jazzy as the So Cal big? With that 3-some I do see them as a better bet for the FF over TX.
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Plus the five-star 6'4" freshman Sara Okeke whom I forgot about in this discussion.....
 
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