5 Takeaways from the McD All-Star Game

[Timeout]

As far as starting and playing time, KML hasn't suffered at all coming off the bench. I don't know that this is a concern for Diamond, but when you play well Geno well find everyone the minutes. By the time Diamond gets here (fingers crossed) Doty and Faris, seniors next year, won't be around. I do think that Geno won't start - won't need to start - any of the freshmen. He did pretty well this year and next season everyone coming back will be that much better. The future is awful bright with every player coming to UConn in the best of hands.

 

[Sonny44]

Watching the McD all star game (twice - with and without Abby Waner), marveling at the skill set of Breanna, Moriah and Morgan, and then reading some of the particularly astute analysis in this thread, it becomes pretty clear to me that the coaching staff could have serious "minutes" problems in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 seasons. Notwithstanding Geno's loyalty to his seniors, I simply cannot conceive of Breanna and KML not starting next year. And the same could be said for Moriah and Morgan in the following season. I wonder whether this perceived "minutes" conundrum may be the reason why DD has not yet committed to Uconn. Where would her minutes come from?

I still think that is a pretty good guess.
The longer it goes on, the less our chances are IMO.

 

[doggydaddy]

I still think that is a pretty good guess.
The longer it goes on, the less our chances are IMO.

Why? You've held this position for a while, but as they said in the McD's game last night, most of the 2013 recruits have not committed.

 

[alexrgct]

I don't find it ridiculous or stubborn. It's smart. It sends a message to the younger players that you have to earn your starting position. That once you have it, you have to do something to lose it. And it will be the same when they are seniors and the next great thing is recruited.

I disagree with this word for word.

Starting a senior simply because she's a senior actually sends a horrible message to the team. NO ONE should be entitled to a starter's role simply because they had one the previous season. Every year, kids go, new kids come in, some kids improve, and others plateau or regress. Simply penciling last year's starters in because they haven't graduated ignores all of those facts.

Now specific to Doty, she adds the following value:

• Leadership and competitiveness
• Dealing with press defenses and getting the halfcourt offense established.
• Keeping the mood light (see those silly videos, which I actually think are really valuable to the team's chemistry)
• Just being an inspiration. When young players struggle with what Geno demands of them, they can just see Caroline doing it on one leg.

None of that, however, changes the following:

• Kelly is playing out of position, and the game is only getting longer and bigger by the year.
• With Tiff leaving, there's a huge void left in terms of perimeter defense, a void Kelly is best suited to fill.
• The lack of a second interior scoring threat has been absolute hell on Stef this year and has made her less effective than anticipated.
• Although Caroline is great at handling pressing and trapping defense, her scoring and assist totals once UConn gets into a hafcourt offense are liabilities, especially when Kelly is inconsistent as an offensive player and teams have been able to clog the lane and make things tough for Stef. This is why our offense has struggled at times this season.

Breanna Stewart IMMEDIATELY remediates all of these limitations. Caroline coming in off the bench doesn't lessen any of the value she adds. Breanna makes Stef and Kelly better by her mere presence and turns UConn into a super long, super athletic team. Additionally, Caroline comes in and out of the game all the time, so I don't buy the "you can't warm her up to sit her down" argument. She can either play or she can't.

No one is suggesting Geno just assume Breanna will start from Day One. But if she comes to Storrs and does the things it's expected she can and will, she should be part of the starting lineup, the lineup that sets the tone. It was silly this season watching us struggle each half of the BET final until KML could come in and do KML things. It will be even sillier next season.

 

[doggydaddy]

I disagree with this word for word.

Starting a senior simply because she's a senior actually sends a horrible message to the team. NO ONE should be entitled to a starter's role simply because they had one the previous season. Every year, kids go, new kids come in, some kids improve, and others plateau or regress. Simply penciling last year's starters in because they haven't graduated ignores all of those facts.

Now specific to Doty, she adds the following value:

• Leadership and competitiveness
• Dealing with press defenses and getting the halfcourt offense established.
• Keeping the mood light (see those silly videos, which I actually think are really valuable to the team's chemistry)
• Just being an inspiration. When young players struggle with what Geno demands of them, they can just see Caroline doing it on one leg.

None of that, however, ignores the following:

• Kelly is playing out of position, and the game is only getting longer and bigger by the year.
• With Tiff leaving, there's a huge void left in terms of perimeter defense, a void Kelly is best suited to fill.
• The lack of a second interior scoring threat has been absolute hell on Stef this year and has made her less effective than anticipated.
• Although Caroline is great at handling pressing and trapping defense, her scoring and assist totals once UConn gets into a hafcourt offense are liabilities, especially when Kelly is inconsistent as an offensive player and teams have been able to clog the lane and make things tough for Stef. This is why our offense has struggled at times this season.

Breanna Stewart IMMEDIATELY remediates all of these limitations. Caroline coming in off the bench doesn't lessen any of the value she adds. Breanna makes Stef and Kelly better by her mere presence and turns UConn into a super long, super athletic team. Additionally, Caroline comes in and out of the game all the time, so I don't buy the "you can't warm her up to sit her down" argument. She can either play or she can't.

No one is suggesting Geno just assume Breanna will start from Day One. But if she comes to Storrs and does the things it's expected she can and will, she should be part of the starting lineup, the lineup that sets the tone. It was silly this season watching us struggle each half of the BET final until KML could come in and do KML things. It will be even sillier next season.

And I disgree with you. Aint' this country great?

Geno didn't start Lewis this year. He's not starting Stewart next year.

He's silly, stubborn and whatever else you want to call him. But he is all about loyalty. You will be proven wrong.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think the strongest lineup would be Jefferson at the point, Hartley at the 2, KML at the 3, Stewart at the 4 and Dolson at the 5. I think that Dolson can be very effective if she has someone to take some pressure off of her, which Stewart will easily do.

You would have strong three points shooters at 1-4. That would be tough to defend.

Or maybe at 1-5.

 

[alexrgct]

And I disgree with you. Aint' this country great?

Geno didn't start Lewis this year. He's not starting Stewart next year.

He's silly, stubborn and whatever else you want to call him. But he is all about loyalty. You will be proven wrong.

Loyalty is what breeds complacency, entitlement, and mediocrity. Seniority being a proxy for merit sends a horrible message in any organizational context. This isn't debatable, no matter how great this country may be.

Kaleena should have started this year. Breanna should start next year.

Oh, but I'll be "proven" wrong because we start less than our best five and will still slaughter everyone but Baylor. Doesn't mean it's not ridiculous.

 

[ju6381]

Loyalty is what breeds complacency, entitlement, and mediocrity. Seniority being a proxy for merit sends a horrible message in any organizational context. This isn't debatable, no matter how great this country may be.

Kaleena should have started this year. Breanna should start next year.

Oh, but I'll be "proven" wrong because we start less than our best five and will still slaughter everyone but Baylor. Doesn't mean it's not ridiculous.

I just dont get what being the best 5 has to do with who starts??? Its about more then just being one of the 5 best players. If we start the best 5 players next year we will not have a point guard on the court. Caroline will start because she will not be out worked by anyone on the team and she adds something to the team, just as everyone on the roster does. Worry more about who are the 5 with the most minutes played. The 5 most experianced may just be the best 5 to set the tone.


By the way, anyone else think that Breanna might just be ok with coming off the bench??

 

[doggydaddy]

Loyalty is what breeds complacency, entitlement, and mediocrity. Seniority being a proxy for merit sends a horrible message in any organizational context. This isn't debatable, no matter how great this country may be.

Kaleena should have started this year. Breanna should start next year.

Oh, but I'll be "proven" wrong because we start less than our best five and will still slaughter everyone but Baylor. Doesn't mean it's not ridiculous.

And it doesn't mean it is.

Starting, coming off the bench. I don't think your correct in the impact.

Here's the difference. I don't think I know more than Geno. You apparently do.

 

[alexrgct]

I just dont get what being the best 5 has to do with who starts??? Its about more then just being one of the 5 best players. If we start the best 5 players next year we will not have a point guard on the court. Caroline will start because she will not be out worked by anyone on the team and she adds something to the team, just as everyone on the roster does. Worry more about who are the 5 with the most minutes played. The 5 most experianced may just be the best 5 to set the tone.


By the way, anyone else think that Breanna might just be ok with coming off the bench??

Who said she wasn't??? Anyone else think Caroline might just be OK coming off the bench herself, given that it wasn't clear at one time whether she'd be playing at all?

The notion that Caroline is our PG is silly, or at least the notion that the "PG" is an especially meaningful designation in Geno's offense is silly. She's fourth on the team in assists...and a distant fourth at that. She averages a whopping .18 more assists per game than Stefanie Dolson.

Again, this season proved time and time again that the most experienced five were not, in fact the best five to set the tone. Go back and rewatch the two most impressive wins of the season (Stanford and ND) and tell me that the most experienced five put us in the position we want to be early. We fell behind and looked completely out of sorts in both cases until KML came in. KML was also instrumental in keeping us in the game against Baylor and the first ND game. I don't especially care who sets the tone against Providence and Marquette.

Saying someone works hard is a pretty poor reason to start them. Everyone who plays significant minutes for Geno works really, really hard.

 

[Scotter]

Starting your best 5 players is rarely a good idea unless roster makeup dictates it. Even on the NBA level where there are millions of dollars at stake and little to no loyalty the winning teams and best coaches purposefully do not start their 5 best players.

Kaleena coming off the bench this year was a smart basketball decision irregardless of what class she was in versus the starters. So smart she may even do it again next season. DD obviously disagrees with me there, but Kaleena definitely should have come off the bench this season for purely basketball reasons.

 

[alexrgct]

And it doesn't mean it is.

Starting, coming off the bench. I don't think your correct in the impact.

Here's the difference. I don't think I know more than Geno. You apparently do.

You apparently think Geno equates seniority with merit. And if he really does, he's wrong. I certainly don't know more about Xs and Os of basketball than Geno, or recruiting, or being the face of a program, or a host of other issues. But I also don't believe he just says, "She started last year, so she's starting this year."

 

[pap49cba]

These debates about 'who starts' are amazing. When was the last time any of you read a game report that summarized the game and it said, 'But the starters were 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5?' Even Geno has said NUMEROUS times on his show "Who cares? People get too hung up on this stuff."

I could care less who the starters are. It means nothing in the final analysis. Geno will start whomever he likes and all the tea in China isn't going to change that until some BYer is appointed Head Coach.

Will the starters for the USA National Team be the key decision that determines whether we win the gold medal? I think not.

JMHO.

 

[alexrgct]

Starting your best 5 players is rarely a good idea unless roster makeup dictates it. Even on the NBA level where there are millions of dollars at stake and little to no loyalty the winning teams and best coaches purposefully do not start their 5 best players.

Kaleena coming off the bench this year was a smart basketball decision irregardless of what class she was in versus the starters. So smart she may even do it again next season. DD obviously disagrees with me there, but Kaleena definitely should have come off the bench this season for purely basketball reasons.

So looking like crap against Stanford and ND until KML came in was smart? Starting someone who couldn't get open against Baylor's perimeter defense was smart? Got it.

On an related note, those are the other three teams in the Final Four this weekend.

 

[alexrgct]

These debates about 'who starts' are amazing. When was the last time any of you read a game report that summarized the game and it said, 'But the starters were 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5?' Even Geno has said NUMEROUS times on his show "Who cares? People get too hung up on this stuff."

I could care less who the starters are. It means nothing in the final analysis. Geno will start whomever he likes and all the tea in China isn't going to change that until some BYer is appointed Head Coach.

Will the starters for the USA National Team be the key decision that determines whether we win the gold medal? I think not.

JMHO.

If the starting five do an effective job setting the tone, whether or not they're the best five players, you're absolutely right- it isn't important. When that's manifestedly not the case, it's an issue.

 

[doggydaddy]

Starting your best 5 players is rarely a good idea unless roster makeup dictates it. Even on the NBA level where there are millions of dollars at stake and little to no loyalty the winning teams and best coaches purposefully do not start their 5 best players.

Kaleena coming off the bench this year was a smart basketball decision irregardless of what class she was in versus the starters. So smart she may even do it again next season. DD obviously disagrees with me there, but Kaleena definitely should have come off the bench this season for purely basketball reasons.

I don't think she will based on how Geno operates. That's all.

 

[doggydaddy]

You apparently think Geno equates seniority with merit. And if he really does, he's wrong. I certainly don't know more about Xs and Os of basketball than Geno, or recruiting, or being the face of a program, or a host of other issues. But I also don't believe he just says, "She started last year, so she's starting this year."

If Caroline has done nothing to lose her starting position, it's a bad practice to move her to the bench for a freshman.

Stewart will get plenty of minutes when it counts just like Lewis did.

 

[Scotter]

So looking like crap against Stanford and ND until KML came in was smart? Starting someone who couldn't get open against Baylor's perimeter defense was smart? Got it.

On an related note, those are the other three teams in the Final Four this weekend.

Having no alternative that can make an immediate impact if the teams starts slow is smart? Having no scoring coming off the bench is smart? Letting teams know exactly who your freshman is going to play with to start the game so that they can set their defense matchups is smart? And never mind the health reasons that were stated for Doty to start to help her physically be more effective.

The games are also 40 minutes long. They won the Stanford game right? They had leads on the road late in the game against Baylor and Notre Dame. Doesn't seem like the starting lineup is such a difficult thing to overcome? I watch every game the Chicago Bulls play. Routinely their coach has to call a timeout less than 4 minutes into a game because of a slow start, and yet they somehow have managed to win more games than any other team in the NBA. The impact of how games start consistently gets over estimated because fans can't put it in perspective..

 

[doggydaddy]

So looking like crap against Stanford and ND until KML came in was smart? Starting someone who couldn't get open against Baylor's perimeter defense was smart? Got it.

On an related note, those are the other three teams in the Final Four this weekend.

I'd like to lock you in a closed room with Caroline and you can tell her your opinion. You are blaming her for those losses....wow.

 

[Bestiarius]

Who “should” starts is more than a matter of loyalty, seniority, talent, effort in practice, ego, reward, expectation, or any other single criteria. It’s a combination of all, or, perhaps none of these points. There have been times when a given player just had to be a starter, Geno and the team knew it. We’re dealing with personalities here. I think Geno is a master psychologist. He knows instinctively what needs to be done and the individuals accept it.

How do I know this? During those on court huddles after a foul, etc., just look at the faces, regardless of who is on the court. Pure joy, togetherness. Not a hint of negativity ill will selfishness or ego anywhere. Geno knows who needs to start.

 

[speedoo]

The two most over rated things in WCBB, not necessarily in order are: height for individual players, and starting lineups for teams that have very good players 1-7 or 8.

 

[speedoo]

Who “should” starts is more than a matter of loyalty, seniority, talent, effort in practice, ego, reward, expectation, or any other single criteria. It’s a combination of all, or, perhaps none of these points. There have been times when a given player just had to be a starter, Geno and the team knew it. We’re dealing with personalities here. I think Geno is a master psychologist. He knows instinctively what needs to be done and the individuals accept it.

How do I know this? During those on court huddles after a foul, etc., just look at the faces, regardless of who is on the court. Pure joy, togetherness. Not a hint of negativity ill will selfishness or ego anywhere. Geno knows who needs to start.

Great post. Examples of frosh who had to start were Sue Bird and Swin Cash. Can't think of any frosh since then who had to start... maybe Ann Strother? And it's no reflection on the kids obviously since neither DT or Maya had to start. In any case, it was not true of Kaleena and I don't think it will be true of any of the 2012 frosh, but that remains to be seen.

 

[UCONNfan1]

FWIW, i think Caroline starts. i'm not so sure it's about loyalty. altho i do agree to an extent it's about "you are a starter till you lose your position". but think about how easy it is to lose your starting position - Stef almost lost hers midway thru the year as Kiah came on strong and Stef struggled. IIRC, Geno said something like "i considered just starting Kiah over Stef, but was ocncerned about what it would to do Stef's confidence".

i think it has more to do with 2 things (why CD will start). people have waxed eloquently about all the intangibles CD brings so i won't belabor that again. but the other thing is that she's coming off her 3rd ACL tear. Even Geno said it makes little sense to have her warm up, get the knee ready to go, then sit her on the bench for 10-15 minutes to start a game and let the knee get cold.

Geno doesn't like starting a freshman unless he has to. even our greatest he didn't start unless injuries forced them into the role, or like last year, there was simply no one else.

Caroline, Bria, Kelly, KML and Stef start. i couldn't begin to tell ya who is first off the bench since it depends if he wants to ring in a guard, wing/forward, or center. but with a bench as talented as ours, it will be no letup when Moriah, Brianna, Morgan, Breanna or Kiah come in.

i'd be very surprised to see anyone average over 25 minutes per game. i'd also not be surprised to see an active full court press for 30+ minutes every game (not blowouts of course).

 

[doggydaddy]

Who “should” starts is more than a matter of loyalty, seniority, talent, effort in practice, ego, reward, expectation, or any other single criteria. It’s a combination of all, or, perhaps none of these points. There have been times when a given player just had to be a starter, Geno and the team knew it. We’re dealing with personalities here. I think Geno is a master psychologist. He knows instinctively what needs to be done and the individuals accept it.

How do I know this? During those on court huddles after a foul, etc., just look at the faces, regardless of who is on the court. Pure joy, togetherness. Not a hint of negativity ill will selfishness or ego anywhere. Geno knows who needs to start.

But he is ridiculous and stubborn for starting Doty over Lewis, don't you know?

 

[Dairyair]

The two most over rated things in WCBB, not necessarily in order are: height for individual players, and starting lineups for teams that have very good players 1-7 or 8.

AND these two things have to be among the most discussed topics on this board! Not sure why people get so whoopy over whether a girl is 6-2 or 6-3. As far as starting goes, people always want to see an incoming freshman as the greatest EVER, and she absolutely MUST start! Why? If you've paid attention, Geno doesn't start freshman unless he's forced to, which certainly won't be the case next year. And how many game threads, when things aren't going our way, has someone posted "KML time" or something to that effect? Next year it will be "here comes Breanna (or whomever)...that's the way it is, and that's the way it will be, at least as long as Geno is the head coach. I know Geno and CD are very high on Breanna, but I still bet she doesn't start.
Fire away, Alex!