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Message: [QUOTE="oldhusky, post: 3962235, member: 9844"] Geno does the best he can with scheduling given the conference we are in, but ideally it would be reversed for us. The conference games would be like an extended camp to work out the bugs, get new players acclimated to each other and the system, and then take on the tough OOC opponents to prepare for the tournament near the end. We can't do it that way, wind up with the big challenges early, usually using a shorter roster with the more proven experienced players. The newcomers sometimes have to prove themselves in mop-up minutes in conference, then perhaps part of the rotation, with the hope that when playing against a top team in the tournament they will be ready. It is what it is. One way a loaded roster can compensate for the timing of the schedule is internally. Liv for example didn't have a true C to go against in practice her first two years. This year she had a good sized and physical PF in Aaliyah, which probably helped some, and a true C in size and athletic ability in Piath. I admit it didn't seem to make much difference but it should have. This upcoming season she will get to go against an all P5 conference big in Dorka, and the top ranked incoming C in her class in Amari. After the early tough OOC games that is where improvement against quality teams and players will come from for all those players, in practice. As for winning and losing out on top recruits or transfers, Uconn has achieved a level where I am only concerned about a limited number of teams nationally. When we lose one to a good but not great team (like if Cardoso had gone to say Texas) it doesn't hurt much. When that loss is to a team near our level (like SC) it hurts a great deal more. Those kind of decisions change the balance of power at the very top. Recruiting top 10 talents is a high stakes game, your victories are usually big losses to your most feared opponents and visa versa. Sometimes you win, like lately, and some years you lose a key target to your biggest competitors like Boston at SC or Jones at Stanford. So enjoy it while it lasts. The last two recruiting classes and the next one pretty much assure we will be at or very near the top for a few years, but maybe a SC or somebody else will be right there with us. [/QUOTE]

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