Amari? Did we forget about her?

[Charliebball]

Did anyone see anything memorable today in the exhibition game from her?

the only way she gets better at this point is if she plays.............if Dorka gets in foul trouble or hurt they're going to need her.........she's gotta be allowed to get some confidence out there.........Ducharme looked like a deer in the headlights when she started playing but you saw what happened when she got real minutes......not saying Deberry is going to make a huge turn around, but I see no reason she can't play a complimentary role on the team.....

 

[WFFL]

the only way she gets better at this point is if she plays.............if Dorka gets in foul trouble or hurt they're going to need her.........she's gotta be allowed to get some confidence out there.........Ducharme looked like a deer in the headlights when she started playing but you saw what happened when she got real minutes......not saying Deberry is going to make a huge turn around, but I see no reason she can't play a complimentary role on the team.....

If she does not play at this point either she’s not getting better or she’s just not a good fit . We know how those outcomes end up .

 

[eebmg]

the only way she gets better at this point is if she plays.............if Dorka gets in foul trouble or hurt they're going to need her.........she's gotta be allowed to get some confidence out there.........Ducharme looked like a deer in the headlights when she started playing but you saw what happened when she got real minutes......not saying Deberry is going to make a huge turn around, but I see no reason she can't play a complimentary role on the team.....

Caroline showed very positive signs from her first practices and the scrimmage game. Her slow start was due to nerves. Nothing deeper like what seems to be the issue with Amari.

 

[oldhusky]

Many say they will need her if Dorka gets in foul trouble or is injured. In many ways that is true, she is the only C sized option behind Dorka. Most of us probably assumed Amari would be a contributor in the rotation from the beginning, and ultimately a starter for at least a couple of years.

Unless something changes soon in a major way it is starting to look like Amari may never achieve a rotation spot. The backup C job was pretty much hers to lose. It appears that if Dorka was out, Geno would rather not use a C at all, than to give Amari significant minutes. Looks like he would consider more minutes for Aaliyah, Ayanna, Aubrey, or even going small with Caroline or Lou to using Amari.

I hope I'm wrong, but that's the way it looks to me now.

 

[eebmg]

If she does not play at this point either she’s not getting better or she’s just not a good fit . We know how those outcomes end up .

Pretty clear to the vast majority that Amari looked less energetic and unsure than any of our other posts, She has some passing skills but just seems to hover on the court with very little impact


I am pretty sure the differences are far more glaring in practice when there is no crowd to supply players energy.

 

[vtcwbuff]

I thought is that even though Patterson had problems putting the ball in the basket today (fixable), she is the post player that UConn needs to support Edwards and Juhasz. Deberry had an opportunity today and she showed nothing.

 

[AmeriConn]

She has such a great opportunity. I hope she’s able to prove herself.

 

[UConnFanMSM]

I'm hoping that Geno just wanted to give the new players and Aubrey some extra time out there today to get used to playing in front of crowds etc- and that Amari will have more of a role in the Northeastern game.

....Every one of the 10 available players is important to this team's success! Go Amari!

 

[AzzisBraids]

I'm going to get downvotes but Deberry looked worse than she was last year. I'm very sorry but seeing Ayanna get minutes above means that she's just not there yet. There's still time but in her minutes I was expecting something that never came.

 

[Charliebball]

Many say they will need her if Dorka gets in foul trouble or is injured. In many ways that is true, she is the only C sized option behind Dorka. Most of us probably assumed Amari would be a contributor in the rotation from the beginning, and ultimately a starter for at least a couple of years.

Unless something changes soon in a major way it is starting to look like Amari may never achieve a rotation spot. The backup C job was pretty much hers to lose. It appears that if Dorka was out, Geno would rather not use a C at all, than to give Amari significant minutes. Looks like he would consider more minutes for Aaliyah, Ayanna, Aubrey, or even going small with Caroline or Lou to using Amari.

I hope I'm wrong, but that's the way it looks to me now.

I think it depends on who they are playing.........I like that smaller athletic lineup, but I'm not sure it will work against South Carolina or other teams with big front courts........let's see what happens against Texas........

 

[Charliebball]

Pretty clear to the vast majority that Amari looked less energetic and unsure than any of our other posts, She has some passing skills but just seems to hover on the court with very little impact


I am pretty sure the differences are far more glaring in practice when there is no crowd to supply players energy.

All I'm saying is that it's a bit premature to write her off after one game...............she clearly has a laid-back personality and that works against her............still there aren't that many 6'5" players that have real offensive skills, and she does........

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I think it depends on who they are playing.........I like that smaller athletic lineup, but I'm not sure it will work against South Carolina or other teams with big front courts........let's see what happens against Texas........

I thought it was strange that when she did get in...Amari played the wing. Hard for that kind of height to get out on perimeter shooters. And on offense, when she received the ball in the high post it appears she knows what to do, but the timing with the cutters is off just a bit. She shouldn't have to put the ball on the floor out there. And there were at least two passes she made where the finish wasn't completed.

 

[CocoHusky]

All I'm saying is that it's a bit premature to write her off after one game...............she clearly has a laid-back personality and that works against her............still there aren't that many 6'5" players that have real offensive skills, and she does........

I'm not saying to write Amari off but it not based on one game as you have stated. It has been a full season and a summer that she dedicated to improvement. That game was an exhibition game against a Division II opponent with UCONN missing a post player in Ice Brady. It is all up to Amari to capitalize on her opportunity and get into the rotation.

 

[EricLA]

I still have a shred of hope for Amari, but it's only a shred. Supposedly she spent the summer on campus working on her game. And this is what she has "improved" to? Against a D2 team, in an exhibition game, she was the last post player off the bench, and did nothing to show she deserves/wants playing time.

She had a golden opportunity before the start of the season, and then Ice got injured, so it became a platinum opportunity. The tiny bit of hope I have for her is almost gone. If she can't carve out meaningful time this season, then she will be the next Heather Buck - great teammate and cheerleader from the bench.

 

[CocoHusky]

I thought it was strange that when she did get in...Amari played the wing. Hard for that kind of height to get out on perimeter shooters. And on offense, when she received the ball in the high post it appears she knows what to do, but the timing with the cutters is off just a bit. She shouldn't have to put the ball on the floor out there. And there were at least two passes she made where the finish wasn't completed.

Amari did not play the wing. UCONN played a lot of zone defense 1 X 2 X 2 and some 3 X 2. In those alignments when Amari is at base of the defense she has to get out and guard the corner jumpers. She actually did a nice job and recorded a block on the baseline. On offense she was mostly back to the basket on the right nail and she had one face up jumper. She definitely has to put the ball on the floor in those situations because the object is to get her slower defender switched onto the cutters. It is not like the offense is asking her to take the ball to the basket. The offense requires her to make two or three dribbles and if she can't do that then she is further behind than many of us are fearing.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Amari did not play the wing. UCONN played a lot of zone defense 1 X 2 X 2 and some 3 X 2. In those alignments when Amari is at base of the defense she has to get out and guard the corner jumpers. She actually did a nice job and recorded a block on the baseline. On offense she was mostly back to the basket on the right nail and she had one face up jumper. She definitely has to put the ball on the floor in those situations because the object is to get her slower defender switched onto the cutters. It is not like the offense is asking her to take the ball to the basket. The offense requires her to make two or three dribbles and if she can't do that then she is further behind than many of us are fearing.

Call it whatever you want...she had to defend perimeter players out at the 3 at her height. This is Kutztown. Better teams will just attack her on the closeout, and she will be out of position for rebounding. On offense in the low post, she did better with passing because she could see cutters. When at the foul line area that was problematic. If she's doubled...or its congested she tried dribbling, and the outcome wasn't good. I didn't think some of the cutters took the best angles to create a passing lane or the timing was off. Could have been spacing or something else, but it wasn't pretty.

 

[Charliebball]

I'm not saying to write Amari off but it not based on one game as you have stated. It has been a full season and a summer that she dedicated to improvement. That game was an exhibition game against a Division II opponent with UCONN missing a post player in Ice Brady. It is all up to Amari to capitalize on her opportunity and get into the rotation.

Understood...........Geno recruited her for a reason so I'm going to assume that she has the ability to be a UConn player..........nobody is more disappointed in losing Brady than me.........I think she will be a 3-4 year starter and possible All American

 

[CocoHusky]

Call it whatever you want...she had to defend perimeter players out at the 3 at her height. This is Kutztown. Better teams will just attack her on the closeout, and she will be out of position for rebounding. On offense in the low post, she did better with passing because she could see cutters. When at the foul line area that was problematic. If she's doubled...or its congested she tried dribbling, and the outcome wasn't good. I didn't think some of the cutters took the best angles to create a passing lane or the timing was off. Could have been spacing or something else, but it wasn't pretty.

I'm calling it what it was not what I want. Amari did not play wing. Post players are asked to contest deep shots all the time regardless of the defense the team is playing. You are making excuses for Amari's poor play & embellishing greatly. Amari is a 25% shooter-what team in their right mind is going to "double team" her? Post player dribbling from that position is SOP in the UCONN offense. The offense is not going to change because Amari can't do it consistently. Once again the requirement is two or three dribble- are you suggesting that is asking too much of Amari?

 

[Conndog]

I'd like to see Amari get position down low and show what kind of post offense she has. I know she has reputation of being a good passer and also supposedly is a good shooter, but she didn't impress me today up high. Place her down low and let's see with her height what she's got.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I'm calling it what it was not what I want. Amari did not play wing. Post players are asked to contest deep shots all the time regardless of the defense the team is playing. You are making excuses for Amari's poor play & embellishing greatly. Amari is a 25% shooter-what team in their right mind is going to "double team" her? Post player dribbling from that position is SOP in the UCONN offense. The offense is not going to change because Amari can't do it consistently. Once again the requirement is two or three dribble- are you suggesting that is asking too much of Amari?

She's 25% because...she was shooting from the outside last year taking 3 pointers. In this particular game I'm not talking about double teams in the post, but at the foul line distributing area. She's not the only post player that wasn't decisive with the ball. Aaliyah stood out to me as making the best reads. She's also a threat to score from the foul area and Amari isn't (hence 25% shooting). Try someone else to distribute from that area and post Amari. Here's what I'm suggesting. Move her closer to the basket on both ends. She actually had a couple of good seals in the post and they didn't get her the ball. Why? I don't know.

And yes, POST payers have to contest perimeter shots, BUT, she's a true center. Patterson and Aaliyah are post players, but they are more mobile. I just don't envision Lauren Bettes, Cameron Brink, Elizabeth Kitley, Tamari Key, Ayoka Lee, etc. to play in a defensive scheme that asks them to close out on 3 point shooters as a staple of a defense. Of course, it may be required at times. I wouldn't say her play was poor and I definitely think she will be needed against bigger teams.

 

[Bald Husky]

I was at the game and when Amari entered, I was very pleased. To make it very simple, I was extremely disappointed with her. I'm not going to go on and on about her performance since others have already stated the obvious. I now can see why Geno never mentioned her, but I was hoping that he was setting us all up for a huge surprise in whuch she would blow our socks off. I was really hoping that she could help us this year, but from what I saw yesterday, Jana cannot get here too soon.

 

[Tonyc]

With so little playtime yesterday is Geno challenging Amari? Just thinkin we were told Amari spent alot of time over the summer working on her game and she didnt see much time yesterday. Gotta wonder whats goin on with her. At 6'5 shes needed if she can get goin. I sure hope so.

 

[Stymie]

I was unable to watch yesterday.
My question is :
Is it impossible (whatever the talent level) to turn an in shape SIX FOOT FIVE INCH athlete into a feared defensive force?
Just the basics of stance, positioning, movement and attitude?
I’m reading the commentary but not understanding.
Must say, disappointed and concerned with what I’m reading.

 

[AmeriConn]

I just don’t understand why she is not using the talent Geno knows that she has. I so badly want her to do well. For some reason she doesn’t appear to be motivated. I sincerely hope she finds her niche with the team. We are going to need her.

 

[Bone Dog]

I saw what everyone else saw… and it wasn’t particularly encouraging. But I’m not giving up hope for our girl. I’ve worked with college kids for the last 4 decades and I always keep my hopes up for them. And sometimes I’m happy to be surprised by what they do, even if it comes a little later than I’d like.

The camera caught her facial expression at the beginning, maybe in an unguarded moment. She didn’t look as excited as the others. She seemed oppressed, even sad, like someone who didn’t feel ready for the big moment, or maybe like she knew she was about to be left on the bench in front of a big audience. I felt for her at that moment. I wonder if she finds the pressure overwhelming.

I hope she’s finding things to enjoy in her time at UConn.