Alexa P: 5 Unanswered Questions About This Team

[RockyMTblue2]

Five unanswered questions for the UConn women’s basketball team as the calendar turns to November

Somehow, it is already early November. Which means that, somehow, the 2020-21 college basketball season is set to tip off this month. The UConn women in particular start their season three weeks from Saturday, when they face Quinnipiac on Nov. 28 and then either Mississippi State or Maine the...

www.courant.com

"The newcomers won’t have a ton of time to ease into things. Within the first week of the season, UConn faces (likely) Mississippi State and Louisville, Nos. 5 and 6 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early rankings. Their first four Big East games are against teams ranked No. 6 or worse in the preseason league standings, but then their tough nonconference slate resumes with matchups against South Carolina, Baylor and Tennessee. Though several of the freshmen will be thrown into the fire, it could pay off in the long run depending on how they respond to it."

" Ideally, the Huskies want the version of Westbrook who last stepped on the college basketball floor: As a sophomore, she led her Tennessee team in scoring (14.9 points per game) and assists (163). But whether or how quickly Westbrook can make that sort of impact remains to be seen. For one, she hasn’t played in a college game in 20 months, and it’ll surely take time for her to get back into basketball shape. There will also be a big focus on keeping Westbrook healthy — she says she still has both good and bad days with her knee. "

 

[EricLA]

Not anything earth shattering or brand new, but well written, and given we are some 3 weeks away from the start of the season, for hoops-starved fans, it's great to read anything about our team! Thanks for posting!

 

[CL82]

Alternative link

 

[ucbart]

I may be 1000% off base here and will probably get blasted by some, but does anyone else feel like Alexa writes everything with a just a touch of negativity?

She seems to be a genuine fan of the Sun when she writes about them and she frequently tweets the greatness of other programs players, but she just doesn't seem to like our team, coaches, or players, past and present.

 

[stamfordhusky]

I may be 1000% off base here and will probably get blasted by some, but does anyone else feel like Alexa writes everything with a just a touch of negativity?

I don’t see her as being negative at all in any of her work. Objective and not a cheerleader, but not negative towards UConn.

 

[Boreifs]

I may be 1000% off base here and will probably get blasted by some, but does anyone else feel like Alexa writes everything with a just a touch of negativity?

She seems to be a genuine fan of the Sun when she writes about them and she frequently tweets the greatness of other programs players, but she just doesn't seem to like our team, coaches, or players, past and present.

You are 1000 per cent off base

 

[j66kicker]

I may be 1000% off base here and will probably get blasted by some, but does anyone else feel like Alexa writes everything with a just a touch of negativity?

She seems to be a genuine fan of the Sun when she writes about them and she frequently tweets the greatness of other programs players, but she just doesn't seem to like our team, coaches, or players, past and present.

I don't sense any negativity, but I also don't sense any true professionalism or ability/desire to dig out any real news. I don't bother opening her articles anymore - most are "Five Things I Already Know."

 

[heavyhusky]

A.P. refers to Christyn (5/20/00) and Olivia (8/17/00) as the oldest players on the team. That is not correct. They may be the most experienced, but Evina (late '98) is almost two years older and Anna (3/31/00) is slightly older.

 

[CocoHusky]

Alternative link

Much appreciated.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I think the most important question raised is whether Evina can get in game shape and maintain it without that knee forcing her off the court or limiting her practice and game time. Pulling for her.

 

[bluedevil]

I think the most important question raised is whether Evina can get in game shape and maintain it without that knee forcing her off the court or limiting her practice and game time. Pulling for her.

Sad to say we have seen these questions so often with other good players ala Hunter, Tuck, Doty, and others..

 

[CocoHusky]

Sad to say we have seen these questions so often with other good players ala Hunter, Tuck, Doty, and others..

The comp I can't get out of my head is to Batouly Camara. Very much like Evina, Batouly required shoulder surgery to correct a "pre-existing" condition immediately upon her arrival from Kentucky. Batouly sat a year and was almost ready to go when she had an "unspecified" right knee injury and was available. Batouly sits rehabs and just about when she ready to go there is a second surgery (arthroscopic) to her left knee.

 

[huskeynut]

Writing is decent, but nothing spectacular.

Nothing new that any true UConn fan did not already know.

 

[hoopsdiva]

Sad to say we have seen these questions so often with other good players ala Hunter, Tuck, Doty, and others..

Let's be optimistic and think of Sue Bird's ACL recovery. That worked out okay.

 

[willtalk]

I may be 1000% off base here and will probably get blasted by some, but does anyone else feel like Alexa writes everything with a just a touch of negativity?

...

I wasn't even aware that Alexa could even write anything. I always just used her to tell time, the weather and to get other tidbits of information.

 

[bluedevil]

I wasn't even aware that Alexa could even write anything. I always just used her to tell time, the weather and to get other tidbits of information.

You're thinking about Alexa 2.0...

 

[Woof 101]

I may be 1000% off base here and will probably get blasted by some, but does anyone else feel like Alexa writes everything with a just a touch of negativity?

Not going to attack you @ucbart but NO. I will say she is young and still learning her craft. My only pet peeve with writers is proof reading before submitting. I do understand last minute game reports to meet a deadline having mistakes, as they are writing while watching the game. Stories being off season filler have to be more accurate from a professional. This sentence would have those not familiar with the team thinking three point guards transferred here from Tennessee.

"Westbrook came in from Tennessee as a point guard, as did freshmen Paige Bueckers and Nika Muhl."

A minor mistake here but still not accurate reporting.
"As expected, the team is is still working to establish on-court chemistry, something particularly challenging this season with seven of 11 players newcomers to Storrs."

Overall not a problem for myself as a decades long subscriber. My biggest problem has been watching the decline of news print and journalism in general. I've seen the quality decline as they cut proofreaders and editors over the years. Just this past week the published the same story twice the same day.
I called the sports editor a few weeks back (and did get him) to inform him that the NASCAR race results that day were from the previous weeks race. Something you would not have seen years ago.
I'll take what we can get and appreciate what is left of news papers. A couple of weeks back another nail in the coffin.

Hartford Courant will outsource printing of newspaper

The Hartford Courant announced Monday that the newspaper will now be printed in Springfield, ending more than 250 years of publication in Connecticut’s capital city. The outsourcing will elim…

www.courant.com

 

[msf22b]

I haven't followed Alexa's writing critically (if at all).
But now that I've perused this opus...
I'm not impressed by its literary qualities (more on that after further consideration)

But has anyone noticed that the name Anna, doesn't appear in the column...
I must have missed the press release announcing that she has left the team for a starting spot on the Transylvania 1906 Olympic squad.

On the last roster I perused (a few weeks ago) , she was still listed as a guard....and she is even a few weeks older than Squeaks and Olivia, though not as ancient as Evina. The premise of the guard issue is what ???

And should anyone be surprised, certainly not a beat writer, that Nika and Aaliyah are performing in a manner dissimilar from what one might expect from ordinary frosh. Might it not have been mentioned that the two of them have experience at the next level, that level just not having been US college BB.