26-27 season
- Thread starter Vowelguy
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With what UCONN has coming in, they don't need Centers or Forwards. OFC you don't turn down very good players. But what they need is the 24-25 Refs, not the 26-26 Refs. UCONN lost 1 game this year. One. We saw our coach flip out in a manner we've never seen then openly it was made a public that he was sending a letter to the NCAA. There is a reason why this year this game he flipped out. He;s lost other times. Never flipped out like this. The FF scores were 62/51/48/44. And these were regarded as generally the best teams all year. How is that possible for a game we all recognize as “growing “ that the scores be so low? he greatest coach in wcbb history explained that in the 3rd qtr while his team picked up 6 fouls vs SoCar, he said he changed his offense to get the ball to the best player in WCBB and yet not one call was made on a SoCar defender guarding her. No red flags? Auriemma gets number 1 recruits and / or gifted offensive players because he runs an intricate offense. He won a championship last year and he goes to FF's regularly. There is no reason for him to change how he likes to play/ to construct a team. IMO wcbb won't be much at all if FF games are produced with such low scoring. He and th eteam don't need to do anything other thaan work on their games in order to improve. There is no reason for Geno to strive to want to play like SoCar or Texas. He's unique in his own style. And he wins championships.
And just to reiterate UCONN got to the Final Four yet again. Geno has said a bunch of times that getting to the FF and competing in the last week is what it's all about. However, I tend to believe some might think "title or bust." I don’t share that opinion.
And just to reiterate UCONN got to the Final Four yet again. Geno has said a bunch of times that getting to the FF and competing in the last week is what it's all about. However, I tend to believe some might think "title or bust." I don’t share that opinion.
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I don't disagree with your assessment of today's NCAA athletics, sadly it's true for all sports. As it pertains to our team, I've yet to read about a player in the portal who is better than someone already on our roster. IMO.
Centerstream
Another loooooong offseason
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Would Aga Makurat be of interest to the UConn coaching staff?
I'm surprised she doesn't already have her own thread on the main forum or the General forum...
I'm surprised she doesn't already have her own thread on the main forum or the General forum...
Bald Husky
four score
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I think your Avatar is the answer.
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In Sarah’s Freshmsn year, Morgan was her backup until she was injured.
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Okay. She was her back-up. To me, the adjective " capable" implies a talent level, and productivity level, approximating ( or close to ) that of Sarah. So we differ on interpretation. I hope Morgan can play like Sarah.
I think South Carolina has a better team than us (on paper) and it seems like they are trying really hard to gather more talent. Johnson and Lee are just a couple of the players they have hosted.
I think we will regret it if we don’t maximize the Sarah strong years.
Personally, it might be kind of nice if there is less pressure next year. (But bizarrely we were number one on the preseason rankings. So the media may not cooperate with my underdog wish.)
I think we will regret it if we don’t maximize the Sarah strong years.
Personally, it might be kind of nice if there is less pressure next year. (But bizarrely we were number one on the preseason rankings. So the media may not cooperate with my underdog wish.)
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I THINK OUR SEASON IS GOIN TO TURN ON OLIVIA. AND BEFORE ANYONE POINTS OUT THAT SHE IS A FRESHMAN LET US RECALL ANOTHER NEW YORKER NAMED BREANNA. ONE OUTSTANDING BIG IN THE PAINT MAKES THE ENGINE RUN SO MUCH SMOOTHER. AS FOR SHOOTERS, KK IMPROVES EACH YEAR, SARAH CAN SHOOT INSIDE OR OUT, HECKLE CAN DRIVE INTO THE PAINT, AND THE REST ARN'T EXACTLY CHOOPED LIVER. I THINK IN SOME WAYS NEXT YEARS TEAM WILL BE A LITTLE BETTTER BECAUSE GENO WON'T HAVE TO START SARAH FOR FIVE MINUTES BEFORE SENDING HER TO THE BENCH. WE WILL HAVE MORE OF A SENSE OF CONTINUITY.
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I graded a lot of papers in my lifetime; your perception of “capable” doesn’t really jive with mine. Suffice to say, Geno was not afraid to use her and opined that good things happened when she was on the floor. To me, that is the very definition of “capable”. I didn’t say “excellent” or “fantastic”.
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25 points one game and 8 the next is tough to game plan for. When given the opportunity to coach consistent performance, Geno does well.
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Too many forget about the points that KK takes off the opposition's board. If we had an Azzi like shooter to put in KK's place, OK, but she is so disruptive she is a major contributor to UConn leading the US in defense. Heckel makes some outstanding plays and is constaint energy but is too inconsistent to be the primary point guard.
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bschwartz
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Blanca is part of it, but she isn't spending a lot of time down low being a rebounding and bullying force. I'm not convinced the team, as presently constituted, has the athletic horses/enforcers to compete beyond making it to the Final Four next season. The last tournament showed how slim their margin for error is. When the shots weren't falling, they made up for it by not being able to rebound. Get me the second coming of Rebekka Brunson. That is a different skill set than what Olivia (at least what I have seen) and Jana have. Maybe Gandy has it. We'll see.
KK is very good on defense, but many other players are just as good. If you plan to be among the best you have to score as well. I remember how good Nika was on defense, but she hardly played at all in the WNBA because of her lack of shooting ability. Basketball is about putting points on the board and that can only happen if you shoot and make them. Defense can hinder but not stop good shooters from scoring. The 2025 team of Paige, Azzi, Strong, Chen, Jana was very balanced and hard to defend because of Team balance both offensively and defensively. Balance missing from this year's team offensively.
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Not according to Hannah Hidalgo. When asked who was the toughest defender for her — which means for everyone - she replied without hesitation: KK.
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The question on everyone’s mind is who will start. But it makes more sense to ask who will start in November, in January, in March. Here’s my completely unfounded speculation.
- November
- Sarah Blanca Jana KK Ash
- January
- Sarah Blanca Olivia KK Ash
- March
- Sarah Blanca Olivia Kayleigh Jovana
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Hannah outscored KK 22-2 and KK's 2 points were Free Throws. I would say that Hannah did a better job against KK than KK did against her.
KK averaged 3 points per game in the tournament and hit 0 3 pointers. 3 points per game with 26 minutes played per game. I was a Nika critic; I admit it. But she turned herself into a solid 3 point shooter by the end of her career. I give her a lot of credit for that. It’s a big summer for KK imo.
And I would give K9, Popovic, and Fisher every opportunity to compete with her for the starting point guard spot. We have to have more. Especially with Azzi gone.
And I would give K9, Popovic, and Fisher every opportunity to compete with her for the starting point guard spot. We have to have more. Especially with Azzi gone.
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Gus Mahler
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In this respect she reminded me of Kelly Faris.
BannerTown
The artist formerly known as Jonathan14
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Hannah's experience of KK's defense is supported by statistics. Of all the players in Division I, only Sarah Strong and MiLaysia Fulwiley had a higher DBPM than KK. Only Sarah, Madina Okot, and Blanca had a lower defensive rating than she did (lower is better). Of the 2,236 women who played Division I basketball this past season, KK was one of the top 3 or 4 defenders. Many other players are not just as good as KK is on defense; fewer than 0.16% of players are.
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Well challenged.
Centerstream
Another loooooong offseason
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Just curious...except for a few injury related reasons, how many different starting lineups were there last season? Especially between December and March.
My conclusion...the players that started on December 2nd (Azzi, Sarah, Serah, Ashlynn and KK) were also the starters for the first post season game. In other words, even with the growth of Blanca, Kayleigh, Allie and (I am including) Jana, the starting lineup didn't change last season. Why would this season be different? Especially if no one transfers in.
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I think it has been different from season to season. But I also think you're right that there was effectively only one starting lineup last season: Sarah Serah Azzi Ash and KK. There were no significant injuries to alter this lineup, and no significant leaps in talent to require a change. My final lineup was a little tongue in cheek, as you probably noticed. But I think there is a real possibility that Olivia and Jana may change positions in the rotation in the course of the season. This would leave us Sarah Blanca Jana/Olivia KK Ash for this season. I don't really foresee much else that could change besides this.
Buu-u-u-uuut, if there were to be some surprising developments, involving perhaps Jovana or Morgan or even Kelis, I'm sure we'd all be thrilled to see them. Surprising-er things have happened.
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Very astute observation. KK is most valuable when UConn is pressing, but as the tournament went along, they pressed less and less (I'll never understand why), which diminished KK's influence on the court. Her shooting range is about 5 feet (same as Kelis', unfortunately) and UConn needed scoring depth badly as the competition grew tougher. You can't trot out a point guard who scores two points in 27 minutes in important games. It just doesn't work. I'm holding out hope for a bump in improvement and maturity from K9. Let KK come off the bench as the "energy person" she was during the 2024-25 title run.
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BRS24
LisaG
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Ask and ye shall receive. There were 5 total lineups for 39 games, not counting preseason BC and SCSU. Eight changes overall.
1 - 35 times (Arnold Fudd Shade Strong Williams)
2 - 1 time (Fudd Shade Strong Williams Ziebell) KK sinus fracture
3 - 1 time (Fudd Shade Strong Williams Ziebell) Williams concussion
4 - 1 time (Arnold Fudd Shade Williams Ziebel) Sarah precautionary lower leg
5 - 1 time (Arnold Fudd Williams Ducharme Patterson) Senior night
Historically (and I still haven't finished seasons 2015-18):
24-25: 5 lineups, 7 changes
23-24: 7 LU, 7 chgs
22-23: 6 LU, 9 chgs
21-22: 11 LU, 13 chgs
20-21: 6 & 7 (getting lazy)
19-20: 4 & 6
18-19: 3 & 4
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Because it's risky trying to press good teams that are well prepared with good ballhandling/passers. Once they break your press they can get cheap points off of 2on1 and 3on1 situations. All it does is wear out your top 5-6 players with no significant return. But it's great for generating cheap points of your own and getting PT for your bench against BE teams and not-so-good OOC teams. Not to mention piling up impressive stats.
Centerstream
Another loooooong offseason
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Seriously, thank you for this. I have a really weird way of asking questions that I really don't expect anyone to answer. I don't know if they would be considered rhetorical.
BRS24
LisaG
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So, I like spreadsheets. A while back, I started tracking some stuff to make it all make sense and off I went into the UCWBB data. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it's just fun to see what happens. Wait until the summer quiet months when I roll out my - what if and how do you think it went series. 🤣
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Even though I am one of the people that insisted that Geno pickup a forward in the portal if no others are added to the team we still have a great team. Many have predicted possible line ups and minutes. I have been thinking about this as well.
What I see is that the core three will start. That to me is: KK, Ashlynn and Sarah. Who picks up the lost points and minutes left by Azzi? That is simple with Blanca on the floor. Is Olivia capable and strong enough to start at center? I believe yes. Even though Jana is taller and more experienced she normally just plays within five feet of the basket. Where the Big O can spread the floor.
Small ball won’t be the same without Fudd’s tenacious defense. But Kayleigh will be the first off of the bench with pressure. Morgan has been out for a while and is she ready to make a impactful return? I believe so. I love her game. To me she is basically another pest on the floor and that will be needed.
Allie even though she showed her shooting skills in conference play that didn’t take place during the tournament. Unfortunately she is a liability while playing defense. But she will be a part of the regular rotation. Have Kelis and Gandy learned enough of the offense to get in and steal minutes? And, will Jovana’s game be good enough as a newbie to push for playing time?
There will be a lot to talk about from June to November. Now let’s ink a few players from the Class of 2027.
What I see is that the core three will start. That to me is: KK, Ashlynn and Sarah. Who picks up the lost points and minutes left by Azzi? That is simple with Blanca on the floor. Is Olivia capable and strong enough to start at center? I believe yes. Even though Jana is taller and more experienced she normally just plays within five feet of the basket. Where the Big O can spread the floor.
Small ball won’t be the same without Fudd’s tenacious defense. But Kayleigh will be the first off of the bench with pressure. Morgan has been out for a while and is she ready to make a impactful return? I believe so. I love her game. To me she is basically another pest on the floor and that will be needed.
Allie even though she showed her shooting skills in conference play that didn’t take place during the tournament. Unfortunately she is a liability while playing defense. But she will be a part of the regular rotation. Have Kelis and Gandy learned enough of the offense to get in and steal minutes? And, will Jovana’s game be good enough as a newbie to push for playing time?
There will be a lot to talk about from June to November. Now let’s ink a few players from the Class of 2027.
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Can't wait!!!!
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