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Mwenentanda looking into the eyes of the tigress she’d like to become.
She was. I saw the same thing. That was 18 year old Aubrey that had a lot of veterans on the team, had she did not know the system/plays yet. She was very reluctant to shoot, often not even looking at the basket when the ball came her way, but rather passing it off to an upper-classman.I really think she is going to one of those "X" factors for the Huskies going forward. The last time I saw her play was 2 years ago, and at that time she seemed tentative and a bit overwhelmed - so to contrast that to her play now is just a huge delight..!
She looks better than ever. Sometimes she still goes to fast for herself, but she has a shot now, and no one can run like she does.Is it just me or does she look more explosive/athletic than before her injury?!
Plus you can tell she’s worked on her fundamentals, too!
Aubrey Griffin will be an enormously valuable player this year. She is fast and athletic and a great defender. She will score some, but doesn’t need to. I watched the UNC men the other night, and reminded myself that I thought UNC made an error a few years back recruiting Leaky Black, a 6”8 lockdown defender who guarded Aubrey’s talented brother from Duke last year. Black was raw early on, but is really really good now - I couldn’t have been more wrong. He is great, just like Aubrey. Watch Black play, and comparing him to Aubrey Griffin is a real positive thing. Having a fast and athletic defender and rebounder is invaluable in the last 5 minutes of any close game. One of the most underrated skills too is the ability to run the floor (something Edwards does so well too). Of course, having Fudd on your team who is unguardable when hitting shots makes Aubrey the role player (relatively speaking) even better. By the way, Fudd starts a bit slow because right she is not used to taking over an entire game. That won’t last long, as her mother (Katie Smrcka Duffy) grew to be absolutely dominant at Georgetown (where I attended grad school). She is far more talented than Mom - who would readily concede this point. There will be games this year where Fudd will put games away early. Just too much skill for it not to happen.In my numerous discussions this summer with Tonyc regarding this season I often mentioned that Aubrey's return was going to be big for UConn. I said that people had forgotten how good she was and that she was going to help UConn this season especially with Paige being out for the season.
With the loss of Olivia, Evina and Christyn Williams, and with Paige Bueckers going down
I figured that:
Azzi Fudd's production (29.0 / game) would replace Paige Bueckers' production (14.6 / game);
Lou Senechal's production (14.5 / game) would replace Christyn's production (14.2 / game);
Aubrey's production (13,5) / game) would replace Evina's production (9.0 / game);
Dorka's increase in production (from 7.3 to 10.0 - 2.7 / game),
Edwards increase in production (from 7.9 to 12.5 - 4.6 / game)
And Patterson's production of 2.5 / game would replace Olivia's production (9.2 / game)
So far and I know that it is early but we do have a top 5 game under our belts, from a points point of view Azzi, Lou, Aubrey and Patterson plus the increase in production from Dorka and Edwards production we have combined for 66.8 / game
While Paige, Olivia, Evina and Christyn combined for 47 points / game
This places this years top producers at a +19.8 / game which gives us a cushion to adjust as the season goes on and bodies wear down, and competition gets tougher.
The stats above also reflect that UConn has averaged over its first two games 90.5 points per game whereas last year's version averaged 73.8 points per game. This of course will not hold as the season progresses I expect the average points per game to be higher than last year and only somewhat lower than it is right now. I think with the fire power that we have we will average around 86 points per game which is 14 points better than we were last year. I think this puts us into the final four and a serious contender for the National Championship. South Carolina and Stanford pose match-up problems for us and their potent offenses will test our defense...but, we are definitely in the conversation.
Azzi Fudd - 12.1 (2022) - 21.5 (2023)
Caroline Ducharme - 9.8 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Lou Lopez-Senechal - 0.0 (2022) - 11.5 (2023)
Aaliyah Edwards - 7.9 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Aubrey Griffin - 0.0 (2022) - 10.0 (2023)
Dorka Juhasz - 7.3 (2022) - (9.0) 2023
Nika Muhl - 3.8 (2022) - 5.5 (2023)
Ayanna Patterson - 0.0 (2022) - 3 (2023)
Amari DeBerry - 1.6 (2002) - 2.2 (2023)
Ines Bettencourt - 0.0 (2022) - 1.3 (2023)
Total 86 points / game
Now just imagine if we had Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady we would be the first Husky team to average over 100 points per game. And then next year we bring in KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels and we only lose Lou Lopez-Senechal and Dorka Juhrasz. Next year will be UConn's best, deepest and most potent offensive team ever. They will have all the pieces and no one and I mean no one barring an act of God will prevent UConn from winning the national championship.
Geno WILL have the horses next year to run a serious race for the championship. Whether he wins or not remains to be seen. He will be deep and talented at every position.In my numerous discussions this summer with Tonyc regarding this season I often mentioned that Aubrey's return was going to be big for UConn. I said that people had forgotten how good she was and that she was going to help UConn this season especially with Paige being out for the season.
With the loss of Olivia, Evina and Christyn Williams, and with Paige Bueckers going down
I figured that:
Azzi Fudd's production (29.0 / game) would replace Paige Bueckers' production (14.6 / game);
Lou Senechal's production (14.5 / game) would replace Christyn's production (14.2 / game);
Aubrey's production (13,5) / game) would replace Evina's production (9.0 / game);
Dorka's increase in production (from 7.3 to 10.0 - 2.7 / game),
Edwards increase in production (from 7.9 to 12.5 - 4.6 / game)
And Patterson's production of 2.5 / game would replace Olivia's production (9.2 / game)
So far and I know that it is early but we do have a top 5 game under our belts, from a points point of view Azzi, Lou, Aubrey and Patterson plus the increase in production from Dorka and Edwards production we have combined for 66.8 / game
While Paige, Olivia, Evina and Christyn combined for 47 points / game
This places this years top producers at a +19.8 / game which gives us a cushion to adjust as the season goes on and bodies wear down, and competition gets tougher.
The stats above also reflect that UConn has averaged over its first two games 90.5 points per game whereas last year's version averaged 73.8 points per game. This of course will not hold as the season progresses I expect the average points per game to be higher than last year and only somewhat lower than it is right now. I think with the fire power that we have we will average around 86 points per game which is 14 points better than we were last year. I think this puts us into the final four and a serious contender for the National Championship. South Carolina and Stanford pose match-up problems for us and their potent offenses will test our defense...but, we are definitely in the conversation.
Azzi Fudd - 12.1 (2022) - 21.5 (2023)
Caroline Ducharme - 9.8 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Lou Lopez-Senechal - 0.0 (2022) - 11.5 (2023)
Aaliyah Edwards - 7.9 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Aubrey Griffin - 0.0 (2022) - 10.0 (2023)
Dorka Juhasz - 7.3 (2022) - (9.0) 2023
Nika Muhl - 3.8 (2022) - 5.5 (2023)
Ayanna Patterson - 0.0 (2022) - 3 (2023)
Amari DeBerry - 1.6 (2002) - 2.2 (2023)
Ines Bettencourt - 0.0 (2022) - 1.3 (2023)
Total 86 points / game
Now just imagine if we had Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady we would be the first Husky team to average over 100 points per game. And then next year we bring in KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels and we only lose Lou Lopez-Senechal and Dorka Juhrasz. Next year will be UConn's best, deepest and most potent offensive team ever. They will have all the pieces and no one and I mean no one barring an act of God will prevent UConn from winning the national championship.
Appreciate the time and effort you spent in putting this together. You did some research on this. Thank you. Every person that read this should give you a like.......a simple click of the mouse.In my numerous discussions this summer with Tonyc regarding this season I often mentioned that Aubrey's return was going to be big for UConn. I said that people had forgotten how good she was and that she was going to help UConn this season especially with Paige being out for the season.
With the loss of Olivia, Evina and Christyn Williams, and with Paige Bueckers going down
I figured that:
Azzi Fudd's production (29.0 / game) would replace Paige Bueckers' production (14.6 / game);
Lou Senechal's production (14.5 / game) would replace Christyn's production (14.2 / game);
Aubrey's production (13,5) / game) would replace Evina's production (9.0 / game);
Dorka's increase in production (from 7.3 to 10.0 - 2.7 / game),
Edwards increase in production (from 7.9 to 12.5 - 4.6 / game)
And Patterson's production of 2.5 / game would replace Olivia's production (9.2 / game)
So far and I know that it is early but we do have a top 5 game under our belts, from a points point of view Azzi, Lou, Aubrey and Patterson plus the increase in production from Dorka and Edwards production we have combined for 66.8 / game
While Paige, Olivia, Evina and Christyn combined for 47 points / game
This places this years top producers at a +19.8 / game which gives us a cushion to adjust as the season goes on and bodies wear down, and competition gets tougher.
The stats above also reflect that UConn has averaged over its first two games 90.5 points per game whereas last year's version averaged 73.8 points per game. This of course will not hold as the season progresses I expect the average points per game to be higher than last year and only somewhat lower than it is right now. I think with the fire power that we have we will average around 86 points per game which is 14 points better than we were last year. I think this puts us into the final four and a serious contender for the National Championship. South Carolina and Stanford pose match-up problems for us and their potent offenses will test our defense...but, we are definitely in the conversation.
Azzi Fudd - 12.1 (2022) - 21.5 (2023)
Caroline Ducharme - 9.8 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Lou Lopez-Senechal - 0.0 (2022) - 11.5 (2023)
Aaliyah Edwards - 7.9 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Aubrey Griffin - 0.0 (2022) - 10.0 (2023)
Dorka Juhasz - 7.3 (2022) - (9.0) 2023
Nika Muhl - 3.8 (2022) - 5.5 (2023)
Ayanna Patterson - 0.0 (2022) - 3 (2023)
Amari DeBerry - 1.6 (2002) - 2.2 (2023)
Ines Bettencourt - 0.0 (2022) - 1.3 (2023)
Total 86 points / game
Now just imagine if we had Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady we would be the first Husky team to average over 100 points per game. And then next year we bring in KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels and we only lose Lou Lopez-Senechal and Dorka Juhrasz. Next year will be UConn's best, deepest and most potent offensive team ever. They will have all the pieces and no one and I mean no one barring an act of God will prevent UConn from winning the national championship.
He wold have had them this year, but for the wave of season ending injuries. So you can't count on next year either. Or ever.Geno WILL have the horses next year to run a serious race for the championship. Whether he wins or not remains to be seen. He will be deep and talented at every position.
Longtime, I respectfully disagree. There are a lot of things I count on that come to fruition every day. I count on the sun coming up on the eastern horizon every morning. I count on my car starting every time I get in and turn the key. I count on Gas and food prices going up every week (been to the store lately?) I'm being factious here, but there are things we can and do count on everyday that happen.He wold have had them this year, but for the wave of season ending injuries. So you can't count on next year either. Or ever.
Longtime, I respectfully disagree. There are a lot of things I count on that come to fruition every day. I count on the sun coming up on the eastern horizon every morning. I count on my car starting every time I get in and turn the key. I count on Gas and food prices going up every week (been to the store lately?) I'm being factious here, but there are things we can and do count on everyday that happen.
I ALWAYS counted on getting my paycheck on payday when I was working.....and I did, every time. The context you're referring to is a bit different. I understand that, but where do you draw the line?
If that was the case, why make plans at all? THIS year we know Paige and Ice are not going to be available. They will next year, so you have to go into the season assuming they will be healthy and available ALL year. We also have 4 dynamic freshmen coming in that will come in and learn the system and become productive at some point during the season. Those who fail to plan.......plan to fail. This is Geno's 38th year on the bench. He knows what he's doing and what he needs to do to achieve his desired goal.
NO ONE can predict injuries, nor should they. It's like playing the stock market...............sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. Scared money should NEVER bet. If you're afraid of losing money in the stock market, keep it in the bank. Sometimes life gives you lemons, but most of the time it doesn't, and things happen as you plan for them to. If it's not your year, it's not your year!! When it is your year, everything will fall into place, the stars will be in alignment, none of your star players will go down, and the basketball Gods will bless your program with a wink and a nod.
If you're a coach, you must assume ALL of your players will be healthy and available all year. Chicken Little would not have been a good coach. Too pessimistic. Your plan, any plan includes every player on your roster, but you also have a plan B, and in some cases, and plan C. UConn has had seasons where they did not have any injuries to any player that was season ending or that kept one out for a significant amount of time.
If I'm Geno, I'm planning on having ALL of my players available and ready to play the entire season next year. If 1-2 go down, then you make adjustments and keep going. You can't coach scared. Pedal to the metal and let the chips fall where they may!! The ultimate goal EVERY YEAR for this program is the win the national championship. Not to come in as the runner-up or conference champion, or to finish over .500 in the win column. I like the Jim Fassel style of coaching.................."This is a poker game, I'm shoving ALL of my chips to the middle of the table." I like that!!!
We're going to win the national championship either this year or next, because we'll have the players (talent) and experience to do so. f we fall short, so be it. But that's our focus and our goal!! I'm counting on ALL 14 to be healthy and ready to play the entire season. More players will have to go down this year before I change my outlook on this team and it's potential. That's my take. I'm all in!!!
Largely because Boston will be a pro then.In my numerous discussions this summer with Tonyc regarding this season I often mentioned that Aubrey's return was going to be big for UConn. I said that people had forgotten how good she was and that she was going to help UConn this season especially with Paige being out for the season.
With the loss of Olivia, Evina and Christyn Williams, and with Paige Bueckers going down
I figured that:
Azzi Fudd's production (29.0 / game) would replace Paige Bueckers' production (14.6 / game);
Lou Senechal's production (14.5 / game) would replace Christyn's production (14.2 / game);
Aubrey's production (13,5) / game) would replace Evina's production (9.0 / game);
Dorka's increase in production (from 7.3 to 10.0 - 2.7 / game),
Edwards increase in production (from 7.9 to 12.5 - 4.6 / game)
And Patterson's production of 2.5 / game would replace Olivia's production (9.2 / game)
So far and I know that it is early but we do have a top 5 game under our belts, from a points point of view Azzi, Lou, Aubrey and Patterson plus the increase in production from Dorka and Edwards production we have combined for 66.8 / game
While Paige, Olivia, Evina and Christyn combined for 47 points / game
This places this years top producers at a +19.8 / game which gives us a cushion to adjust as the season goes on and bodies wear down, and competition gets tougher.
The stats above also reflect that UConn has averaged over its first two games 90.5 points per game whereas last year's version averaged 73.8 points per game. This of course will not hold as the season progresses I expect the average points per game to be higher than last year and only somewhat lower than it is right now. I think with the fire power that we have we will average around 86 points per game which is 14 points better than we were last year. I think this puts us into the final four and a serious contender for the National Championship. South Carolina and Stanford pose match-up problems for us and their potent offenses will test our defense...but, we are definitely in the conversation.
Azzi Fudd - 12.1 (2022) - 21.5 (2023)
Caroline Ducharme - 9.8 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Lou Lopez-Senechal - 0.0 (2022) - 11.5 (2023)
Aaliyah Edwards - 7.9 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Aubrey Griffin - 0.0 (2022) - 10.0 (2023)
Dorka Juhasz - 7.3 (2022) - (9.0) 2023
Nika Muhl - 3.8 (2022) - 5.5 (2023)
Ayanna Patterson - 0.0 (2022) - 3 (2023)
Amari DeBerry - 1.6 (2002) - 2.2 (2023)
Ines Bettencourt - 0.0 (2022) - 1.3 (2023)
Total 86 points / game
Now just imagine if we had Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady we would be the first Husky team to average over 100 points per game. And then next year we bring in KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels and we only lose Lou Lopez-Senechal and Dorka Juhrasz. Next year will be UConn's best, deepest and most potent offensive team ever. They will have all the pieces and no one and I mean no one barring an act of God will prevent UConn from winning the national championship.
No! Not largely! Sure, it will be easier but even if Boston were still there, next years team would, I believe, be favored to win that game.Largely because Boston will be a pro then.
In my numerous discussions this summer with Tonyc regarding this season I often mentioned that Aubrey's return was going to be big for UConn. I said that people had forgotten how good she was and that she was going to help UConn this season especially with Paige being out for the season.
With the loss of Olivia, Evina and Christyn Williams, and with Paige Bueckers going down
I figured that:
Azzi Fudd's production (29.0 / game) would replace Paige Bueckers' production (14.6 / game);
Lou Senechal's production (14.5 / game) would replace Christyn's production (14.2 / game);
Aubrey's production (13,5) / game) would replace Evina's production (9.0 / game);
Dorka's increase in production (from 7.3 to 10.0 - 2.7 / game),
Edwards increase in production (from 7.9 to 12.5 - 4.6 / game)
And Patterson's production of 2.5 / game would replace Olivia's production (9.2 / game)
So far and I know that it is early but we do have a top 5 game under our belts, from a points point of view Azzi, Lou, Aubrey and Patterson plus the increase in production from Dorka and Edwards production we have combined for 66.8 / game
While Paige, Olivia, Evina and Christyn combined for 47 points / game
This places this years top producers at a +19.8 / game which gives us a cushion to adjust as the season goes on and bodies wear down, and competition gets tougher.
The stats above also reflect that UConn has averaged over its first two games 90.5 points per game whereas last year's version averaged 73.8 points per game. This of course will not hold as the season progresses I expect the average points per game to be higher than last year and only somewhat lower than it is right now. I think with the fire power that we have we will average around 86 points per game which is 14 points better than we were last year. I think this puts us into the final four and a serious contender for the National Championship. South Carolina and Stanford pose match-up problems for us and their potent offenses will test our defense...but, we are definitely in the conversation.
Azzi Fudd - 12.1 (2022) - 21.5 (2023)
Caroline Ducharme - 9.8 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Lou Lopez-Senechal - 0.0 (2022) - 11.5 (2023)
Aaliyah Edwards - 7.9 (2022) - 11.0 (2023)
Aubrey Griffin - 0.0 (2022) - 10.0 (2023)
Dorka Juhasz - 7.3 (2022) - (9.0) 2023
Nika Muhl - 3.8 (2022) - 5.5 (2023)
Ayanna Patterson - 0.0 (2022) - 3 (2023)
Amari DeBerry - 1.6 (2002) - 2.2 (2023)
Ines Bettencourt - 0.0 (2022) - 1.3 (2023)
Total 86 points / game
Now just imagine if we had Paige Bueckers and Ice Brady we would be the first Husky team to average over 100 points per game. And then next year we bring in KK Arnold, Ashlynn Shade, Jana El Alfy and Qadence Samuels and we only lose Lou Lopez-Senechal and Dorka Juhrasz. Next year will be UConn's best, deepest and most potent offensive team ever. They will have all the pieces and no one and I mean no one barring an act of God will prevent UConn from winning the national championship.
.......and you'd better believe SC WILL be a different team going forward without Boston. South Carolina enjoyed 4 years of having Boston as UConn enjoyed 4 years of having Breanna Stewart the difference being the 4 NC's. So far, Stewart has been irreplaceable (no NC's since she left). Boston and Stewart type players don't grow on trees. They hard to find, and even harder to recruit. Dawn Staley has said that she and her team will do everything possible to repeat. I can believe that.Largely because Boston will be a pro then.
Mr. Horse,+1
There's another stat that never gets discussed and that's pts in the 4th period & OT. Some 20pt/gm players are fully extended getting their 20. Bueckers was a 20/game scorer that was easily capable of getting 30+ when needed. Fudd, against one of the better defenses in the country, got 20 in the last 10.5 minutes of the Tex. game on 9 shots. And it came with both Senechal and Ducharme on the bench. The ability to score a lot quickly is something UConn has thrived for decades.
Yes, we've got injuries. Losing Paige was huge, but we've got the players that are going to win it all this year. We were decimated by injuries last year, and almost pulled it out anyway, even with Evina guarding Boston for a good stretch of that final game. Beating NC State in 2OT in the greatest game of the year for NCAA women's basketball with our depleted lineup is a testament to our girls and Geno and Chris Dailey's ability to get every single ounce of our player's ability. I love UConn women's basketball! There's nothing like it!He wold have had them this year, but for the wave of season ending injuries. So you can't count on next year either. Or ever.
He wold have had them this year, but for the wave of season ending injuries. So you can't count on next year either. Or ever.h
He wold have had them this year, but for the wave of season ending injuries. So you can't count on next year either. Or ever.
He wold have had them this year, but for the wave of season ending injuries. So you can't count on next year either. Or ever.