Allie the defender

[Bone Dog]

Qualms have been expressed about Allie’s defense over the last year and a half, mostly focusing on her quickness. Well, against Tennessee she acquitted herself well, and one play in particular stood out for me. Just before the 2:00 minute mark in the third quarter, right after the first of Kayleigh’s length of the court, backbreaking drives, Allie found herself one-on-one against Barker who had the ball on the baseline. A perfect setup for Janiah to score over a smaller defender and probably draw a foul too. She has the advantage in size strength and quickness over ‘little’ Allie. But Allie held her ground, got bucked by Janiah’s signature shoulder dip, stood firm and forced a miss that led directly to Kayleigh’s second length of the court drive. A score and an and-one by Janiah could have slowed the rout and bought Tennessee a moment to catch their breath and regroup. But Allie wasn’t having it.

Allie did that! Allie Threeball. So let’s not hear anymore sniping about her defense. She’s got the moxie to take on Janiah and win. She finds her spots and now has the confidence and chutzpah to capitalize on them at both ends.

 

[Bigboote]

I said this in another thread, but this is a more apt place for it. I keyed in on Allie's defense in a recent game. Her switching was impeccable, and she somehow knew when to go under screens and did so a couple of times without losing a step on her mark.

I think her primary problem with defense last year was not being comfortable with UConn's (very complex) system. That's no longer the case. She'll never be as quick as KK or as fast as Ashlynn, but she's shown that she can make up for a lot of that with heady play and good footwork.

I don't think I once sang her praises last year, but that's changed this year. She's won me over.

 

[Tonyc]

Allie is fundamentally sound and has a good head on her shoulders. She doesnt panic or rush. She knows what to do and does it. Allie has stepped up big in the past few games. I can see why Geno is giving her more minutes. She is shining .

 

[JoePgh]

I would compare her to Katie Douglas, who played for the Ct Sun quite some time ago. Despite not being very quick, she was considered one of the best defenders in the WNBA, because she knew where to position herself and how to force ball handlers into other Sun defenders.

I think Allie's ceiling as a 3-point shooter and overall big guard is approximately similar to KT's also.

 

[BBallF]

Qualms have been expressed about Allie’s defense over the last year and a half, mostly focusing on her quickness. Well, against Tennessee she acquitted herself well, and one play in particular stood out for me. Just before the 2:00 minute mark in the third quarter, right after the first of Kayleigh’s length of the court, backbreaking drives, Allie found herself one-on-one against Barker who had the ball on the baseline. A perfect setup for Janiah to score over a smaller defender and probably draw a foul too. She has the advantage in size strength and quickness over ‘little’ Allie. But Allie held her ground, got bucked by Janiah’s signature shoulder dip, stood firm and forced a miss that led directly to Kayleigh’s second length of the court drive. A score and an and-one by Janiah could have slowed the rout and bought Tennessee a moment to catch their breath and regroup. But Allie wasn’t having it.

Allie did that! Allie Threeball. So let’s not hear anymore sniping about her defense. She’s got the moxie to take on Janiah and win. She finds her spots and now has the confidence and chutzpah to capitalize on them at both ends.

The improvement has been very apparent. She is stronger and quicker this year and that has helped but I think the big difference is desire. I think that she realized if she wanted to stay on the court she had to ramp up her D. She was never a natural defender. Morgan was however and that is why before her injury she got a lot of playing time in the rotation. We have a very solid bench in Blanca, Allie and Kayleigh and Jana who I think is coming along.

 

[PhillyCoach]

I also have been watching Allie more closely. I believe she has "Caroline Smarts" and has a better handle than Ash (which is pretty good.) Allie has a nice move when she is driving to the hoop on the left side with the left hand and when the defender comes over -- she QUICKLY crosses over to the right and goes in smoothly and wide open. She is a very good ball handler. She also has one of the best left hand moves and throws great passes with the left and is tricky near the basket with her left.
If her confidence can stay up she will be very valuable this year and so much more next year.
She looks a smidge faster and alot smarter on D.

 

[HopJim]

Suspect that we will start seeing Allie starting to shoot a midrange shot more often. With her great 3 point shooting, defenders often come flying out at her, opening the lane for drives. Similar to Azzi, Allie has many opportunities to pull up and shoot 10 footers. Also similar to Fudd, Allie tends to pass off many of these shots to bigs underneath or outside to the 3 point shooters. Suspect in many cases, Geno wants to see both take more midrange shots and not overpass.

 

[TheGOAT23]

Qualms have been expressed about Allie’s defense over the last year and a half, mostly focusing on her quickness. Well, against Tennessee she acquitted herself well, and one play in particular stood out for me. Just before the 2:00 minute mark in the third quarter, right after the first of Kayleigh’s length of the court, backbreaking drives, Allie found herself one-on-one against Barker who had the ball on the baseline. A perfect setup for Janiah to score over a smaller defender and probably draw a foul too. She has the advantage in size strength and quickness over ‘little’ Allie. But Allie held her ground, got bucked by Janiah’s signature shoulder dip, stood firm and forced a miss that led directly to Kayleigh’s second length of the court drive. A score and an and-one by Janiah could have slowed the rout and bought Tennessee a moment to catch their breath and regroup. But Allie wasn’t having it.

Allie did that! Allie Threeball. So let’s not hear anymore sniping about her defense. She’s got the moxie to take on Janiah and win. She finds her spots and now has the confidence and chutzpah to capitalize on them at both ends.

I think that people sniped about her defense because it was not good last year. I didn’t. However, most of us didn’t know that she was limited by an injury. We didn’t find out until Geno said it. She’s healthy now and she’s showing what she can do offensively and defensively. We see you, Allie!

 

[PacoSwede]

as i recall, morgan (tuck), ashja jones, kalana greene, diana, nika, kelly faris and many other huskies weren't astonishingly quick but all did well defensively because they knew how to play defense with tenacity. unfortunately, only a few have the quickness of kk, mojeff, ketia swanier (or hh) and must find other ways to get results.

allie does. she also is very good at boxing out.

i recall a televised game (!!) at nyc's rucker playground that allie played in (with several other vaunted high school recruits). she simply took over that game ... entirely. it was stunning.

 

[EricSD]

One other thing to add - Allie has quick feet and good "twitch" reflexes - meaning she can shuffle her feet quickly to keep in front of defenders. She will never be a gazelle sprinting up and down the court, but on defense, with quick feet, players are able to keep in front of "faster" defenders.

One other thing that impressed me about Allie was her ball handling. There was a play where she came from the left side along the baseline - you could tell she wanted to do a reverse layup, but it was blocked off, so she continued, dribbling with her left hand around the perimeter again, not looking down at the ball, but completely in control until she passed the ball. She has some solid PG skills too.

 

[Bone Dog]

i recall a televised game (!!) at nyc's rucker playground that allie played in (with several other vaunted high school recruits). she simply took over that game ... entirely. it was stunning.

If this game is available somewhere, I’d love to see it. Do you have a link you can share?

Edited to add: I found this short clip but will keep looking

 

[Skeets]

The improvement has been very apparent. She is stronger and quicker this year and that has helped but I think the big difference is desire. I think that she realized if she wanted to stay on the court she had to ramp up her D. She was never a natural defender. Morgan was however and that is why before her injury she got a lot of playing time in the rotation. We have a very solid bench in Blanca, Allie and Kayleigh and Jana who I think is coming along.

The amazing thing about UConn defense is that many of these kids were not natural defenders in high school. They were the top dog, or big fish as the case might be. They come to UConn and work with the best coaches in WBB to become the best defensive team in the country. Says a lot about the kids, says a lot about the coaches.

 

[PacoSwede]

If this game is available somewhere, I’d love to see it. Do you have a link you can share?

Edited to add: I found this short clip but will keep looking

sorry, i saw it on live (or taped) tv. no link or copy

 

[RockyMTblue2]

One of those situations where a question is raised that has already been answered. If she didn't have defense she would not be out there. Me, I like her size, her reach and her hands. I hear she can shoot too.

 

[packwrap]

I'm happy to see that you folks picked up on this. I noticed Allie simply moves better this year. If she was fighting a nagging injury last year, therefore a spot up shooter - that explains a lot.

She's really a complete player. Can score at 3 levels, pass and defend. With Blanca out, she just jumped in as the small ball 4 (like Cheli did last year).

Forgetting all the other options, I really like just the 2 pairs of recent high school guard recruits. KK/Ash & Morgan/Allie. You could build a strong team around just this group, especially with Morgan and Allie also bringing some height.

Happy to see Allie continuing to get minutes this year...and happy looking to the future.

 

[and one]

Allie is a much better player this year, which comes from both learning the UConn way of playing D and confidence in her game. Not an unusual Freshman to Sophomore transition, but one not always achieved. Speed and quickness are a big help. Understanding how to play D and anticipate where to be even more so. At times I felt she was a weak link in the rotation last year. Not this year.

 

[oldude]

Think back to all the discussions on the BY starting in the preseason about how deep UConn’s regular rotation would be this year and who would be on it. As of right now, UConn’s rotation is 9 deep and the most talented in WBB. Allie has clearly earned her spot in that rotation and I am thrilled for her.

 

[Cuango]

I have never worried too much about Allie’s defense. First off, Geno would not have recruited her so hard if he had not believed she could play within his system. His system is based on a strong defense first ergo I was not concerned. Secondly, I had read an interview with her HS coach where he had challenged her to become a better defender and the result was that she became the top defender on their team. Third, I could see that she had/has a very high basketball IQ and was a hard working player who loves the game. I will not/ cannot argue that she is super quick, or some kind of speed demon out there but she is very smart and uses that to make up for those deficits, such as they are. Obviously, there will be bad matchups where she may need some help but imo, what she brings to the table as a whole, far outweighs any negatives. I think we are all going to be very pleasantly surprised/happy with her going forward.

 

[Veteran]

Qualms have been expressed about Allie’s defense over the last year and a half, mostly focusing on her quickness. Well, against Tennessee she acquitted herself well, and one play in particular stood out for me. Just before the 2:00 minute mark in the third quarter, right after the first of Kayleigh’s length of the court, backbreaking drives, Allie found herself one-on-one against Barker who had the ball on the baseline. A perfect setup for Janiah to score over a smaller defender and probably draw a foul too. She has the advantage in size strength and quickness over ‘little’ Allie. But Allie held her ground, got bucked by Janiah’s signature shoulder dip, stood firm and forced a miss that led directly to Kayleigh’s second length of the court drive. A score and an and-one by Janiah could have slowed the rout and bought Tennessee a moment to catch their breath and regroup. But Allie wasn’t having it.

Allie did that! Allie Threeball. So let’s not hear anymore sniping about her defense. She’s got the moxie to take on Janiah and win. She finds her spots and now has the confidence and chutzpah to capitalize on them at both ends.

Amen.

 

[Suebird10fan]

as i recall, morgan (tuck), ashja jones, kalana greene, diana, nika, kelly faris and many other huskies weren't astonishingly quick but all did well defensively because they knew how to play defense with tenacity. unfortunately, only a few have the quickness of kk, mojeff, ketia swanier (or hh) and must find other ways to get results.

allie does. she also is very good at boxing out.

i recall a televised game (!!) at nyc's rucker playground that allie played in (with several other vaunted high school recruits). she simply took over that game ... entirely. it was stunning.

On defense D always reminded me of Larry Bird. They weren’t super quick but they had great anticipation and quick hands.

 

[sun]

Many times this year I've noticed that when she guards an opponent and they attempted a shot, they missed.
She does it without being too close or making contact and rarely fouls in the process.
I don't know how she's able to achieve it without using magic, but somehow her defense just seems to be effective.
Maybe she employs the Obi-Wan Kenobi (Jedi) mind trick?

 

[Next 12]

If Allie was as good as all the above posters have wrote about in HS, then statistically she would become after her freshman indoctrination to the team that she would be better as a sophomore and playing and defending well. I love Allie's 3 pointers as they remind me of Katie Lou, so quick and deadly. Allie will be a contributor to Uconn's legacy .. GO ALLIE!!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!!!