8 is enough!

[PAHuskeyFan]

Go where?

She could graduate and go on with her adult life.... just sayin'

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think Geno goes 9 deep, though Batouly may move past Natalie. I'm guessing/hoping that Nat, Z, and Batouly all play for the maximum number of years.

 

[bags27]

+1
Natalie could stay and get a masters degree courtesy of UConn. Natalie's a horse woman, and there's probably no school in the country with a nicer stable. She seems to love playing and enjoying the camaraderie.

 

[HoopsFan21]

I like Nat and hope she stays. While the results on the court haven't always been perfect, she has put her heart and soul into this program for the last three years including paying her own way to away games during her transfer season. It's interesting to see how quickly some folks become enamored with the latest shiny thing.

 

[chrissaran]

Azura is not coming off the bench. Gabby, Kia, Katie Lou, Napheesa and Azura. Crystal, Batouly, Megan and Natalie off the bench in no particular order.

 

[magic]

We will see a 7 player rotation come tourney time. Kiah will be utilized as more than a guard.

 

[augustaTC]

I am totally confident that Geno and staff will come up with a great plan that best utilizes the abilities, skills and drive of however many players show up for practice every day, which begins in October I think. And perhaps it will be in a way that no-one has seen before. Who knows. I think we can be sure of a few things: there will be experimentation, perhaps well into December; if he's got a deep roster he'll use it effectively, perhaps very innovatively; but he and his team will be ready when March rolls around. Like this year, it'll be a fun process to watch as his "guys" develop and he figures out to use them.

One note. I keep reading in various posts to various threads that Walker "isn't coming to UConn to be a bench player". Almost implies she thinks she should start as soon as she laces up her sneaks. Even she poohs poohs that notion. Geno & staff wouldn't even bother to recruit a player with that attitude, if that was the meaning of the post.

For sure Geno didn't recruit her to warm the bench, but like everyone else, she's got to earn her spot. While recruits certainly come to play, mostly I think they come to UConn to win, and to be in the hands of a staff that will force them to be the best they can be, and silly as it may sound, to be part of a basketball family that no other program can match.

All about team, and some players will end up dropping by the wayside, for any number of reasons (EDD for instance), when they realize the program, the school or whatever, just isn't a good match for them. Happens. Nothing wrong with roster speculation so far out, just personally have never understood the point.

Whatever, next season will be a fun year fun to watch. But for now, I'm worried about a thin team staying strong and healthy and the younger players continuing to develop.

 

[Scotter]

Dangerfield starting next season made more sense when it seemed likely that at some point she would move to the starting lineup by the NCAA tournament so not starting her next season would mean demoting her from the stating lineup. Baring a significant injury that's unlikely to happen now, because Saniya has been solid and Crystal hasn't performed consistently to force that change. At this point it makes more sense to slide Azura into the starting lineup as long as she's able to play at a UConn level pace in her energy and decision making. That's the ideal situation because it also gives the core four from this year more opportunity to develop the ball-handling skills they'll need in the WNBA.

Off the bench:
Guard: Dangerfield fits nicely as an energy boost off the bench and can develop by making her the quarterback of the second unit.

Forward: Megan Walker fits nicely into a role like Maya had to begin her freshman year. Come off the bench run around and make an impact.

Center: Geno will put Butler and Batouly in competition with each other for this spot. Butler may be able to hold her off if she has one of those senior seasons where things finally click. In close games I think Geno will probably be tempted not to play this 8th player and stick with his first seven like he has in the past.

I don't think anyone else is going to be in position to break into the top 8.

 

[Ozimoto]

She could graduate and go on with her adult life... just sayin'

Or use her last year of eligibility at another school to work on a graduate degree.

 

[meyers7]

If the Ladies compete for the positions, we will win the NC before the season starts.

I'm just a bit concerned about margins of victory. 100 point margins throughout AAC play. It's going to be difficult. Think we will generate a lot of haters (more than now).

 

[Carnac]

I agree with you regarding Z. Another way to look at it is that Geno will not continuously expose Gabby and Pheesa to big, stronger players underneath when he has a legitimate and capable Big in Z (she has to earn it though) on the bench. With all due respect to Nat, Pheesa and Gabby are having to play against those bigger, stronger posts out of necessity. It is physically demanding on their bodies in spite of their output. Also they are not likely to play those positions at the next level so why not play them at their more natural positions (2/3 for Gabby and a 3/4 for Pheesa) where they can develop more capabilities (Gabby her outside shots and Pheesa her ball handling and dribble drives..) while the actual Bigs (Z and Nat) handle other Bigs inside. I also strongly believe that Crystal will be first off the bench for Kia and that Lou will develop / have more ball handling responsibility at the 2. Anyway, these are all mental gymnastics and I am salivating at the prospect of the team next year, regardless of how this year ends.

The boneyard faithful will argue and debate who that 5th starter will be all summer. Last year we tried to figure out who would be the 3 new starters this season. A few posters got it right, many did not. UConn 2017-2018: Saniya Chong will be gone (graduation), thus an opening will exist, who fills it? The first thing we must do is identify the viable candidates. Azura" Stevens, Crystal Dangerfield and Megan Walker come to mind. You may want to add others to this list. These are my three.

What attributes does Geno want his starting unit to have? Which one of these 3 ladies will best help the retuning 4 meet that goal.? Three different players, 3 different skill sets, three different levels of experience. Who gets the nod? I agree with Huskee11 who said: "Stevens is not coming off the bench. I think the returning starters all start as well, although the starting 5 for next year has been the subject of debate on numerous prior threads and will be the subject of debate on many future threads".

We'll debate this all summer. I already know that some strong lucid arguments will be made for other players. I read somewhere here in the yard that Geno only agreed to accept Stevens' transfer request IF she stayed for TWO years. I can't provide documented proof of this (if I could, I would have). I'm writing/remembering this off the top of my head, but I do remember reading it. Perhaps another poster can corroborate this for me........a little help here please. I just can't see Stevens coming off the bench during whatever time she spends at UConn.

Stevens is an AP honorable mention All-America. Stevens was Duke's leading scorer and rebounder as a sophomore. She averaged 18.9 points and 9.6 rebounds. She led the Blue Devils in blocks (53) and field goal percentage (53.5). Despite missing seven games, she was third on the team in minutes played (781).

International experience - Stevens comes in with the international experience Geno loves to see. She was a starting member of the gold medal-winning 2015 U.S. under-19 team. In seven games she averaged 11.1 points and 5.1 rebounds. In the gold medal game, a 78-70 win over Russia, she had 18 points and six rebounds. Two teammates on that team were teammates Napheesa Collier and Crystal Dangerfield.

She joins a long list of players who arrive at UConn having been high school All-Americans. Stevens was a Parade first-team All-American in 2014 as a senior coming out of Cary High in North Carolina. As a senior she averaged 30 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks.

For all these reasons, plus she would bring much needed additional height (6'6") into the lineup (you just can't bench a player with this kind of resume'), I'm placing my bet down on Stevens. I'm leaning back in my chair, smiling, and feeling real good about it.