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You caught me! Point still is, if she were a POST then, now, or later, she would be, shall be, playing more. She's not, and like Azure may never be.She did play 2 years ago- in High School.
You caught me! Point still is, if she were a POST then, now, or later, she would be, shall be, playing more. She's not, and like Azure may never be.She did play 2 years ago- in High School.
What Amari is is a scholarship holder that is not taking advantage of her opportunities. Azura Stevens? Please!!! If Amari played like Azura she would play 35 MPG for UCONN instead of leading the 3 point celebrations.You caught me! Point still is, if she were a POST then, now, or later, she would be, shall be, playing more. She's not, and like Azure may never be.
Geno RAREly concedes but at this point I doubt he expected to make up 18 points for the win. I doubt too Geno expected DeBerry to save the game. You are correct she DID make 2 nice shots. I've said before, a natural forward who hates being bonce around, shouldn't be a post. (is that DeBerry???)Amari was tightly guarding Ebo who was out on the perimeter. She made two effective hedges, one resuling in a shot clock violation, the other in a pass to an unguarded player who she rushed to cover and the rebounded shot bounced to the opposite corner. Since she, herself, was left unattended on the perimeter on offense ans since she used that opportunity to sink two shots from there- scoring more than several other players- I think that was a useful place for her at the time. Also Ebo sank off her about 8 feet leaving her wide open. Make no mistake about this, when Geno inserted Amari into the line up, it was not garbage time. There were 4 minutes, 8 seconds left with the score 70-53. For that to be garbage time, Geno would have to have conceded the game to ND. He expected something from Amari and she did perform.
I surely don't believe DeBerry is in the same category as Azure. I have no knowledge of the Advantages are offer to Deberry or is partaking or not so, I can only comment on what is shown, therefore my comment. (and you knew that, if seeking an argument, it's not here). No comparison to Azure was presented, only that both were natural Forwards --attempting be made into post, that didnt work well with Azure either. Albeit, Azure gave some not great post minutes.What Amari is is a scholarship holder that is not taking advantage of her opportunities. Azura Stevens? Please!!! If Amari played like Azura she would play 35 MPG for UCONN instead of leading the 3 point celebrations.
It has been a mixed bag, Caroline saw a rise in her ranking but that was during COVID and based on a couple notable show case events where she balled out. Both KK & Ashlynn Shade saw ranking drop after committing to UCONN.Maybe others can refresh my memory on this, but it seems to me we have recruited more players that saw their rating increase over their last year or two in HS. Amari was the other way around. She may have been higher when she was younger, but I know at one time she was as high as #5, but then dropped off as a senior.
That could mean many things, but regardless I think it might have been somewhat of a red flag, because I can't think offhand of another player we recruited that dropped that far after we got her. Some think a player Uconn is known to be recruiting gets "The Uconn bump" in her ratings, and I would like to think that on occasion Uconn's evaluation of a player is better than the rating consensus, and that we can spot underrated and/or rapidly improving prospects with potential etc.
Because offense is only half of the gameI have never seen any reason why Amari doesn't get more minutes. She seems to be an excellent offensive player which I believe we could have used yesterday. ND plays 8 feet away from the people they want to shoot the ball; Griffin, Muhl and it looked like Caroline too.
Muhl actually made some and should have shot more. Griffin is an open court finisher and slasher, but guess what? There is no "slashing" when the defense has a 8 ft head start on you.
I think the other players getting more playing time can help us sooner rather than later too (Dorka and eventualy Ducharme).I hope Amari gets more playing time in the Big East games. I think she could help us sooner than later. Is she ready to be worked into the rotation?
ND shot 50-60% for most of the game, the defense by the players not named Deberry were failing in both categories.Because offense is only half of the game
I'm rooting for Amari to partake in "everybody eats". GO BIG GIRL!There was a need for another big today. ND bigs killed us in scoring and rebounding. And to add insult, they were rough. AE got worn down. Amari could have helped rebound
She is still in Geno’s doghouse. He didn’t recruit her to be a guard.I have no idea how Amari is progressing in practice. Her 30 or so game minutes have been ok. When a team loses a 6-5 C and would rather trust a freshmen, and a 6-1 player who previously was helping out the guards instead of a 6-5 player who was ranked #15 in the country, it is not a good sign.
She might be on the cusp of breaking into the rotation for all I know, but if she can't do it with Ice missing the whole season and Dorka currently out, I certainly don't expect her to be there when Dorka returns.
I think she would need multiple games of good limited minutes production in blowouts before her game track record would mean anything. Her best case scenario, short of further injuries, is probably doing well enough in blowouts to warrant a 4 big rotation. Ideally that would be with her backing up Dorka, Ayanna behind Aaliyah, and freeing up Aubrey to help out on the wing. If that could happen before the tournament it would be nice, but I am not holding my breath on that.
If I remember correctly Geno joked with a ton of Sarcasm that Amari in that game was trying to prove you dont have to practice well to play well...I don’t know the answer to this question. But this game reminded me of Georgia Tech last year. She was thrown into the game in somewhat of a desperate situation, and hit one or two shots. The board was calling for her to get playing time, and she didn’t really do anything in her limited action the rest of the season.
What I saw was her hit two field goals, and get scored on once in the post. Not sure there’s much data to draw any conclusion from. The only takeaway for me is that she has the potential to shoot the ball.
Ice Brady was recruited to be our BIG in the paint, learning from Edwards and Dorka. Sadly, she was lost for the year in a pre-season injury at practice.I'm really surprised that after SC beat up UCONN on the boards last year that the rebounding hasn't really been addressed. Even when we get the rebound it isn't always clean and pushed up the floor cleanly. It matters for a player like Aubrey who is a great streaker but had to be a jump shooter in way too many half court sets. That's not her strength. I think a simple pick and roll involving Aubrey would have forced ND to guard her versus packing it in the paint.
Perhaps God is trying to tell Geno something with all the team players who are currently no longer 100%, will he wait until he has absolutely no choice? 3-5 mins of meaningful play might just motivate the person to perform better, since obviously 2 years of no , minutes haven't so far.... but who am I? just a parent with more than one kid..She is still in Geno’s doghouse. He didn’t recruit her to be a guard.
Aubrey has been away ( injury ) a long time. In the interim, she tried to extend her game skills. She is transitioning from a slasher, defender, rebounder and fast break player, to one who can also shoot with accuracy. Mentally, she is still more the former than the latter. We have seen some production from her shooting the three and the mid range shot. But that "hesitancy to shoot when open " still is there. If yo recall...in her freshman year...you could not pay her to take a shot that was not a lay-up. When she was open, but hesitated to shoot, early in the ND game, and then missed the shot, she was done in, mentally. She spent the rest of the game trying to prove to herself that all of her off season work was not in vain. At the core, she is not a shooter and that is really hard to change. But she is 100% better when she can. Now, the challenge will be there until she turns things around. Teams will " dare" her to shoot from deep by doing exactly what ND did.The hesitation was the most crippling factor even more so than the missed shot because the hesitation momentarily paralyzed not just Aubrey but all the other UCONN player on the floor. \You could see the strain of the hesitation as in "Aubrey has the ball, do I cut, set a screen, go get the ball from her, get in better rebounding position on get back on defense? " I guess that saying he who hesitates is lost is true because we sure looked lost.
Geno wants his post players to be able to step out and hit outside shots. It helps bring the other team's post player to come out and guard them which opens up the low post. Show me a successful UConn post player who did not shoot from outside on many occasions. For those of you who complain about DeBerry shooting from outside, maybe she is doing what her coaches instructed her to do.She is still in Geno’s doghouse. He didn’t recruit her to be a guard.
Coach is trying to teach her something she isn't learning. I guess. But it was painfully obvious that ND was " beating the crap" out of Edwards, with their 280 pounder and others. Edwards went the full 40 and needed a break. Amari was not used. I think Amari plays a style of BB that coach doesn't see as " working hard." But if Edwards has to do all the work, by herself, she is going to break down physically. Dorka won't be back for at least another couple of games, and probably won't be very good when she first steps on the court. Amari is really important. But coach is coach. We'll see.I have never seen any reason why Amari doesn't get more minutes. She seems to be an excellent offensive player which I believe we could have used yesterday. ND plays 8 feet away from the people they want to shoot the ball; Griffin, Muhl and it looked like Caroline too.
Muhl actually made some and should have shot more. Griffin is a open court finisher and slasher, but guess what? There is no "slashing" when the defense has a 8 ft head start on you.
I noticed that Amari has a difficult time grabbing a rebound or a pass in traffic. Don't know the issue.Number 42, DeBerry, is not a Post or she would have played 2 years ago. She did sink that 3 nicely, didn't she!
Based on Geno's mostly positive comments about Ice, until her injury she was probably ahead of Amari in his plans too. If everyone was healthy this season Amari was likely the 6th option for the bigs, behind Dorka and Ice at the 5, and behind Aaliyah, Aubrey and Ayanna for the 4.Ice Brady was recruited to be our BIG in the paint, learning from Edwards and Dorka. Sadly, she was lost for the year in a pre-season injury at practice.
Tina Charles count?Geno wants his post players to be able to step out and hit outside shots. It helps bring the other team's post player to come out and guard them which opens up the low post. Show me a successful UConn post player who did not shoot from outside on many occasions. For those of you who complain about DeBerry shooting from outside, maybe she is doing what her coaches instructed her to do.
The issue is lack of upper body strength.I noticed that Amari has a difficult time grabbing a rebound or a pass in traffic. Don't know the issue.