5th Starter On Opening Night: Poll | Page 2 | The Boneyard

5th Starter On Opening Night: Poll

Against UC-Davis, who will be UConn's 5th starter in addition to Kiah, Stewie, KML, and Moriah?

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As much as I would like to see Tuck start I voted Chong. I believe Tuck will see a lot of playing time in relief of any of the front line players. I also believe Ekmark will see playing time in relief of KML. She seems to be the same type player KML is. Nurse will be the 1st off of the bench at the guard spot. Time will tell and it's fun to guess. Let the games begin.
 
CHONG; I hope that with the 2 ball hogs now gone she will regain her confidence and mature into the fantastic player that we all know she can be.
As for KML playing the #2, unless she has trimmed down I do not see her being able to keep up on D against much faster guards. She is a shoot-the-lights-out wing and that is where I think she will be.
 
All great arguments for each opinion. All along I have thought it would be Nurse. Tuck of course could start and would be a starter on any other team. I just think with the makeup of the team it would be better for her to come off the bench. Remember also that Morgan has three more years with the team, is coming off an injury and there is no reason to rush her for the sake of an honorary position. I don't see KML at the 2 spot. She has a perimeter game but also can mix it up inside. So imo it comes down to Nurse and Chong. I have no idea how Saniya (or anyone else) is playing in practice but I have changed my opinion to her getting the start based on the 'no freshman start' thing let alone that she has shown she can be a pretty damn good player.

as an aside.....as part of the rotation we will probably see KML at 3, Tuck at 4 and Stewart at the 5. That will be interesting. It's going to be a fun team to watch.
 
HuskyFan1125 said:
Tuck.

I wanted to watch some pre-injury Tuck games before I answered the question.

In the 2013 NCAA championship game against Louisville. Tuck played 18minutes in the game and there were stretches of the game where the lineup was Hartley, KML, Dolson, Stewart, and Tuck.

So with that said, I could see a lineup of MoJeff, KML, Tuck, Stewart, and Stokes.

Just a hunch.

Some will say it leaves no post player on the bench but you can always sub in some 6 foot guards and move people around. (Ekmark, Nurse, Williams).
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I can't agree; Geno must start evaluating all these guards and Morgan needs to sub in for Kiah and/or Breanna.
 
The time for Kia Nurse to be a starter has not yet come. First, to start ANY freshman now would be a slap in the face of sorts to Saniya. (Geno's only criticism of Chong was that she lost confidence in herself -- and she has agreed, publicly.) Second, since not even Diana or Maya started out of the gate as freshmen, none of the new group, no matter how talented, will start right away either. So now it's Geno's call for #5 starter, Morgan or Saniya. Let's wait and watch to see what he does.
 
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I would love to hear the arguments as to why "flexibility" trumps having your best group of 5 on the floor.
 
Kibitzer said:
The time for Kia Nurse to be a starter has not yet come. First, to start ANY freshman now would be a slap in the face of sorts to Saniya. (Geno's only criticism of Chong was that she lost confidence in herself -- and she has agreed, publicly.) Second, since not even Diana or Maya started out of the gate as freshmen, none of the new group, no matter how talented, will start right away either. So now it's Geno's call for #5 starter, Morgan or Saniya. Let's wait and watch to see what he does.
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This is why I voted for Saniya as the 5th starter in the poll, while still projecting that Nurse will eventually shoulder more of the minutes at the 2 and might well be the 5th starter later in the season. At this point I believe that Nurse is better equipped to provide what Geno needs this year, on this team, from that position, similar to what Faris did. We'll just have to wait and see how it all shakes out on the early road trip out to Cali.
 
trisailin said:
I would love to hear the arguments as to why "flexibility" trumps having your best group of 5 on the floor.
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Ask Geno why he started Pam Webber over Nykesha Sales.
Or Amy Duran over Shea Ralph.
Or whoever over Maya Moore.
etc
etc
etc
 
Tuck is too good not to start.

5 - Stokes
4 - Tuck
3 - Stewart
2 - KML
1 - Jefferson

That is a lot of height at positions 2 - 5. And a LOT of speed at the 1.
 
sawxfan23 said:
I think that Chong will start the first few games of the year but then Nurse will take over.
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I totally agree that Chong will start initially but that it'll inevitably be Nurse getting the brunt of the starts thereafter. I think the only way that scenario doesn't play out is if one of the other freshman guards really starts showing Geno something above and beyond and Geno decides to utilize them, maybe even in a matchup situation.
 
It sounds like people assume Chong will start because of seniority, but does Geno really run the team that way? It is possible that Chong is a career bench player at UConn, and there's nothing wrong with that.
 
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trisailin said:
I would love to hear the arguments as to why "flexibility" trumps having your best group of 5 on the floor.
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Easy. But to begin, your premise is a bit flawed because you can't have your best group of 5 on the floor for 40 minutes. It's not a question of one "trumping" the other, since they will play a dozen different combinations during the game. It comes down to a few things:

(1) Which minutes do you want your best 5 to play together? Is having them together in the first minute more important than other minutes?
(2) If starting your best five players means you also will have to play a weaker or unbalanced team for periods of time, is it worth it? For example, if starting both Tuck and Stokes means extended minutes in mid-game with Stewart at center and KML at PF, is that the best use of their talent?
 
HoopsFan21 said:
It sounds like people assume Chong will start because of seniority, but does Geno really run the team that way? It is possible that Chong is a career bench player at UConn, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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1. He has often used seniority as a factor in the past. As pointed out above, Diana and Maya did not start in the early part of their freshman seasons, although they would have started if talent was the sole criterion.
2. Yes, it is possible she will be a career bench player - although injuries etc probably make that unlikely. If she shows improvement this year, I think she will start a number of games.
 
husky jumping.jpg

I love these exercises, whether picking lineups or game analysis. But.....:rolleyes:
1. Please keep in mind UConn is playing West Chester.
2. They were 19-9 last year and lost to teams from Clarion, Shippenburg, Bloomsburg, Edinboro and Gannon.
3. I believe they lost their leading scorer and have no one on the roster who is taller than 6 foot.

The starting lineup is interesting, but truthfully, doesn't matter. That said, I think Saniya starts. :)
Go Huskies..!!
 
DavidinNaples said:
View attachment 7304
I love these exercises, whether picking lineups or game analysis. But.....:rolleyes:
1. Please keep in mind UConn is playing West Chester.
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Well, that is why the poll question explicitly stated "Against UC-Davis". I was asking about the first game of the "real" season, not about exhibition games. I think Geno could start almost anybody in the exhibition games (maybe even all 4 freshmen) just to experiment and observe. But by the time of the UC-Davis game, he will be serious.
 
JoePgh said:
Well, that is why the poll question explicitly stated "Against UC-Davis". I was asking about the first game of the "real" season, not about exhibition games. I think Geno could start almost anybody in the exhibition games (maybe even all 4 freshmen) just to experiment and observe. But by the time of the UC-Davis game, he will be serious.
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I stand corrected...sorry. :(

My only excuse is I'm just so happy UConn has a game Sunday.... this Sunday..! Only days away...!
 
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With 4 front line personnel for 3 positions, that's 30 minutes a piece, starter minutes for everyone, even if not technically a start.
 
I voted for Chong. She is familiar with the system and did show signs of good things last year. I do believe that Nurse may very well be the starter sometime in February, but will share minutes with Chong.

I see Morgan coming off the bench this year, especially in the beginning. She hasn't played in a year and I think Geno and company will bring her along slowly. When she back into the flow of things, what a weapon off the bench!!!
 
With the talent and athletes on this team they really should be selling tickets to intra-squad games. I would definitely get myself to Storrs for that. I expect that this season there will be more "yawners" than we've ever seen before. Even some of the so-called competitive games .
 
I think Tuck because ESPN had the projected starting 5 during First Night. I'm guessing they didn't just pick Tuck's name out of a hat, and that they got it from one of the coaches during their week of prep work. One of the commentators after all is pretty tight with the program, and probably has some access that an outsider wouldn't.
 
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HoopsFan21 said:
It sounds like people assume Chong will start because of seniority, but does Geno really run the team that way? It is possible that Chong is a career bench player at UConn, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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Whether Saniya is a long term starter remains to be seen. Learning the UCONN system is tough in a short time period as Breanna will attest. This will have to be decided on the court, there isn't anything we know now that biases this decision except that Saniya has a 12-month head start on what is typically an 18-month process.
 
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Saniya will start on opening night; however, if she falters, Kia Nurse will be next in line. Morgan will not start. She needs to get her legs under her.
 
While Tuck is talented and a great player who deserves to start.... the real issue is one of height... Who do we have to go in if Tuck is already in and Stokes needs to come out of the game? I think Tuck might be the first post off the bench... I would still go with Nurse to start.
 
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