Amari? Did we forget about her?

[Mdoggie]

I really hope she has a “breakout” season.

 

[Bone Dog]

I have never forgotten about Amari. Folks have mocked me for my optimism about her. She’s got excellent skills. But she’s yet to show the sort of energy we need to see. I can hardly wait to see what her decision to spend the summer in Storrs means for next season.

In the video, she says she wasn’t used to playing against kids her size in high school. I think that says a lot about why her first year at UConn unfolded the way it did.

 

[eebmg]

I really hope she has a “breakout” season.

I really see a big jump from her. I can't see her underperforming in practice like last year. She got a nice buzz cut with a good military style feel and she will live in the gym

 

[Longtime fan]

I have never forgotten about Amari. Folks have mocked me for my optimism about her. She’s got excellent skills. But she’s yet to show the sort of energy we need to see. I can hardly wait to see what her decision to spend the summer in Storrs means for next season.

In the video, she says she wasn’t used to playing against kids her size in high school. I think that says a lot about why her first year at UConn unfolded the way it did.

A lot of people succeed with great accolades in high school, in various sports, due to little more than the nature of their birth. They are bigger, stronger and faster earlier. Some retain this advantage as to move too higher levels of competition, but no longe
r just by " showing up." As the competition toughens, so must each athlete. Otherwise, they fade away and, eventually, enter the portal to move down a level of competition. It is a good sign that Amari seems to recognize this in herself, and is eager to spend the summer at UCONN working on her game.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I love Amari's personality. We all hope she emerges as the player she wants to be and she will have that opportunity this year.

 

[Inthepaint]

Anna gone, Saylor gone, Mir gone, Aubrey out for the season, various injuries and illnesses at various times to various people.
Liv and Dorka doing double duty when they were available to play.
Can’t even describe exactly what Piath’s status was for most of the year.
With Amari’s height and obvious athletic ability, not to mention the high expectations for her, she couldn’t have been forgotten by anyone.
Was her near disappearance due to her own lack of effort or commitment?
Was it the coaching staff’s collective determination that she just wasn’t prepared to make enough of an impact on the game to warrant the key extra minutes needed to let her work herself into the rotation?
I , for one, was high on Amari from the beginning and, as the available roster shrank and shrank, looked for Geno to get her in by hook or by crook.
He obviously just didn’t see something critical in her that would earn his confidence.
Was very frustrating because we really needed every weapon at our disposal.
Now , with Ice and Ayana coming onboard, let’s see if they, Amari and yes, Piath can, with Dorka and Aayleah, present a formal front court rotation that can keep pace with their potentially stellar backcourt.
November can’t come soon enough.

 

[Inthepaint]

Anna gone, Saylor gone, Mir gone, Aubrey out for the season, various injuries and illnesses at various times to various people.
Liv and Dorka doing double duty when they were available to play.
Can’t even describe exactly what Piath’s status was for most of the year.
With Amari’s height and obvious athletic ability, not to mention the high expectations for her, she couldn’t have been forgotten by anyone.
Was her near disappearance due to her own lack of effort or commitment?
Was it the coaching staff’s collective determination that she just wasn’t prepared to make enough of an impact on the game to warrant the key extra minutes needed to let her work herself into the rotation?
I , for one, was high on Amari from the beginning and, as the available roster shrank and shrank, looked for Geno to get her in by hook or by crook.
He obviously just didn’t see something critical in her that would earn his confidence.
Was very frustrating because we really needed every weapon at our disposal.
Now , with Ice and Ayana coming onboard, let’s see if they, Amari and yes, Piath can, with Dorka and Aayleah, present a formal front court rotation that can keep pace with their potentially stellar backcourt.
November can’t come soon enough.

Have to correct myself here:
Piath is in the portal and not on the roster
Sorry

 

[Alydar]

I have never forgotten about Amari. Folks have mocked me for my optimism about her. She’s got excellent skills. But she’s yet to show the sort of energy we need to see. I can hardly wait to see what her decision to spend the summer in Storrs means for next season.

In the video, she says she wasn’t used to playing against kids her size in high school. I think that says a lot about why her first year at UConn unfolded the way it did.

A nice way of saying she didn't have to learn good footwork and she didn't. But I don't think Geno would recruit a lazy player so I'm hopeful.

 

[Bone Dog]

I watched the video again and one thing stands out, namely that she knows how to shoot quickly without bringing the ball down. That's just instinctive for her I suppose. How many times did we see Olivia and Aaliyah bring the ball down and then get caught by smaller players stripping it or forcing a jump ball? That's not going to be Amari's problem. The question for her, I think, is can she play energetic, ball-hawking defense? I hope so.

I think of someone like Monika Czinano, a bit undersized, but if she gets the ball in the low post, she turns and shoots so quickly that larger players often don't have time to react. Brink does something similar.

 

[jchusky]

the fact Uconn needed bigs most of the season and she barely saw the court is a concern. I read people saying it was due to effort, that's a bigger red flag to me than anything.

 

[hoophuskee]

Unless UCONN was going to get Boston, Haley Jones, or Brink from the Portal (ofc a ton of exaggeration) - I like it that Geno is going with Amari, Patterson, and Brady. If you start aggressively "recruiting over" young High School All-Americans then they won't commit as much as freshmen.

With Amari, I didn't have much expectation as a frosh. However, now as a soph I'm excited to see what she can bring. She can shoot and she can pass. She was the whole summer to work on strength and overall refinement of everything. Many players don’t have her size, athleticism, and skill. And she has a ton of enthusiasm it appears. IMO all good signs.

 

[oldhusky]

From limited game action and videos I see a good shot with range, good passing abilities, and a good shot blocker. I think she could be effective in a high-low situation as the "high", with passing similar to Liv and a better shot. But like Liv I don't see a physical banger and her movements are agile and smooth but not very quick.

This is her year to show if she is an important part of the rotation or not. Dorka's backup minutes are there for the taking, but Aaliyah and Ice are threats for those minutes as well.

 

[Rixxx]

I watched the video again and one thing stands out, namely that she knows how to shoot quickly without bringing the ball down. That's just instinctive for her I suppose. How many times did we see Olivia and Aaliyah bring the ball down and then get caught by smaller players stripping it or forcing a jump ball? That's not going to be Amari's problem. The question for her, I think, is can she play energetic, ball-hawking defense? I hope so.

I think of someone like Monika Czinano, a bit undersized, but if she gets the ball in the low post, she turns and shoots so quickly that larger players often don't have time to react. Brink does something similar.

Gustafson was the same way in college.

 

[Scud49]

the fact Uconn needed bigs most of the season and she barely saw the court is a concern. I read people saying it was due to effort, that's a bigger red flag to me than anything.

Yea, need to see a big, big, sense of urgency from her, esp on defense - have a real active, fire in the belly, don't come in here mentality, essentially with a "we got this thing" aura to her. Maybe I'm wishing and hoping too much, but it's June, warm weather can do that to me.

 

[HuskyNan]

It’s not that complicated:

"The thing abut Amari is she's so bad in practice some days, but she's never that bad in games," Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. "So I think she's trying to tell me something. 'Coach, if I don't come to practice, I'll play really, really well. Stop bugging me at practice.' I'm not ready to go that route yet."

At UConn, WNY native Amari DeBerry eyes national championship

I can’t find the article now but there was one where Amari was quoted as being determined to turn it around next season.

Auriemma said DeBerry has committed to spending the summer in Storrs to continue training. He’s already excited about what she can do for the Huskies next season. With Nelson-Ododa’s departure, DeBerry can be a regular contributor with Edwards and Juhász.

What's next for UConn women's basketball as it chases unfinished business

The Huskies will finally have an experienced roster next season, with an eye on a return to the national title game.

theathletic.com

 

[JellyBean]

Many of us have not forgotten about Amari. Really looking forward to seeing her in year two progression.

 

[Jackcatscal]

It’s not that complicated:

"The thing abut Amari is she's so bad in practice some days, but she's never that bad in games," Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. "So I think she's trying to tell me something. 'Coach, if I don't come to practice, I'll play really, really well. Stop bugging me at practice.' I'm not ready to go that route yet."

At UConn, WNY native Amari DeBerry eyes national championship

I can’t find the article now but there was one where Amari was quoted as being determined to turn it around next season.

Auriemma said DeBerry has committed to spending the summer in Storrs to continue training. He’s already excited about what she can do for the Huskies next season. With Nelson-Ododa’s departure, DeBerry can be a regular contributor with Edwards and Juhász.

What's next for UConn women's basketball as it chases unfinished business

The Huskies will finally have an experienced roster next season, with an eye on a return to the national title game.

theathletic.com

But, it's practice!

 

[ccwarrior]

But, it's practice!

I hated that when I saw it live, and do now. I gave just as much effort in practice as in games in HS and College, and really had no time for teammates than didn't do the same.
How did Iverson think he got so good? Could it been from all those hours on the playground (essentially unstructured PRACTICE)?

 

[cancontent]

I hated that when I saw it live, and do now. I gave just as much effort in practice as in games in HS and College, and really had no time for teammates than didn't do the same.
How did Iverson think he got so good? Could it been from all those hours on the playground (essentially unstructured PRACTICE)?

There was more to the story that we forget however, per this espn article. The little-known story behind Iverson's 'practice' rant

"I'm upset for one reason: 'Cause I'm in here. I lost. I lost my best friend. I lost him, and I lost this year. Everything is just going downhill for me, as far as just that. You know, as far as my life. And then I'm dealing with this. ... My best friend is dead. Dead. And we lost. And this is what I have to go through for the rest of the summer until the season is all over again."

Have to remember sound bites may not always tell the entire story. If we had seen the entire interview at the time, I think people would have better understood his response.

 

[ccwarrior]

Ok, fair - but he continued to play in games. If he didn't play, he wouldn't be paid.

 

[cancontent]

Ok, fair - but he continued to play in games. If he didn't play, he wouldn't be paid.

Not disputing that, just adding some context. A lot of people assumed he was disparaging practice when there was more going on.

 

[HopJim]

Amiri remains a mystery to me. While she appears to have the necessary basketball skills, she never displayed the mindset to play physically. I always remember Tom Isso of Mich. State, having his players practice in pads to get them used to mixing it up. Not sure what the Geno equivilent is, but at 6'5", if she started to throw her body around and use whatever strength she has, very likely to get significant playing time.

 

[Majic Hands]

Nope.

Haven forgotten about her. Just don't remember seeing her do anything other than pass the ball to Piath & jack up shots from behind the 3 point line.

Perhaps, I had taken a break and missed it.

Hearing about her potential and am looking forward to seeing it this season.

 

[Stymie]

I think a lot of Amari’s future contributions will be revealed in the first dozen or so games of this coming season.
She’s got some top shelf completion coming on board in this freshman class.
She has one season of the “UCONN WAY” under her belt plus a summer season of working out.
If they get significant court time in deference to her - bad sign.
I get the feeling that the new additions are going to be ultra aggressive coming out of the gate.
I do not doubt that Amari has the tools.
Does she want it badly enough??

 

[BBallF]

To me it was never about the skills, it was about the physicality and the toughness. If she progresses in the strength department, which I am sure is being worked on now, we may hopefully see an improvement which can make her a consistent contributor under the basket. We already know that she can shoot. A lot of upside for her.