Anna

[DEpup]

I think Evina can score a lot in part because the defense MUST play very tight on Anna (one less player ot help out on defense when Evina drives). If I were the defense I would accept Evina would score more rather than risk having Anna take 3's. IMO Anna IS "KML and Katie Lou." Anna can't create like the others and her 3pt shot is extremely good. Her 45.6% is equivalent to 68.4% from 2. Evina, CWill and Paige won't have that kind of efficiency.

As for Griff - I hate to say this -- because I hate the guy I'm about to mention as a comparison but Griff has that "Dennis Rodman" defense and OREB similarity.

In regards to defense (I am bias I love offense) - and i think all of us are on the same page with this-- it would be absolutely fun to watch a freak pressing team go at it for 40 minutes regardless of the score (can't do it if it's a blowout early but fun to think.). Or a game watching them press in which they are getting beat pretty good early. However, just watch the press continually take it's toll on the opposing team. End result being where late in the game UCONN wins comfortably by just witnessing steal after steal or forced missed shots etc thereby running the opposing team out of the gym.

I love establishing a relationship between 2 and 3 pt shooting percentage!

 

[psconn]

Complete and utter nonsense!

A well-reasoned and thoughtful counterpoint. She's listed as a guard on the Huskies official roster and referred to in another article as a wing. Those may be well be incorrect... Do want to share knowledge or just be rude?

 

[CocoHusky]

In regards to defense (I am bias I love offense) - and i think all of us are on the same page with this-- it would be absolutely fun to watch a freak pressing team go at it for 40 minutes regardless of the score (can't do it if it's a blowout early but fun to think.). Or a game watching them press in which they are getting beat pretty good early. However, just watch the press continually take it's toll on the opposing team. End result being where late in the game UCONN wins comfortably by just witnessing steal after steal or forced missed shots etc thereby running the opposing team out of the gym.

I'm a self-proclaim defensive bigot and you vision of UCONN pressing for (40 mins?) and creating steal after steal with this rosters is blurry at best. Keep in Mind that UCONN had consecutive DPOY in Moriah, Gabby, Kia and even those teams pressed sparingly. More importantly it was the offensive skill set of those three players that allowed them to remain on the court and become game changing defensive players. Moriah morphed into a deadly 3pt shooter and ended up being the all time UCONN assist leader. Gabby was able to facilitate the offense from the high post and was a very high FG % shooter. Like Moriah, Kia Nurse morphed into a deadly wing shooter and was among the nation's best at the same time she was playing NDPOY caliber defense. On the current team there is some good defensive potential and Aubrey has the most of it. Using Aubrey as an example her offensive efficiency, knowledge of the offense, and long range shooting would have to increase greatly for her to become a stater or reliable contributor in meaningful games. The more players like Aubrey you put on the floor the team's offensive efficiency will suffer. Dennis Rodman could afford to one dimensional, he never suited up without a HoF player ( some times multiple) or All-star player taking the floor with him. No player on this current UCONN roster will have the luxury of being one dimensional.

 

[Alydar]

I'm a self-proclaim defensive bigot and you vision of UCONN pressing for (40 mins?) and creating steal after steal with this rosters is blurry at best. Keep in Mind that UCONN had consecutive DPOY in Moriah, Gabby, Kia and even those teams pressed sparingly. More importantly it was the offensive skill set of those three players that allowed them to remain on the court and become game changing defensive players. Moriah morphed into a deadly 3pt shooter and ended up being the all time UCONN assist leader. Gabby was able to facilitate the offense from the high post and was a very high FG % shooter. Like Moriah, Kia Nurse morphed into a deadly wing shooter and was among the nation's best at the same time she was playing NDPOY caliber defense. On the current team there is some good defensive potential and Aubrey has the most of it. Using Aubrey as an example her offensive efficiency, knowledge of the offense, and long range shooting would have to increase greatly for her to become a stater or reliable contributor in meaningful games. The more players like Aubrey you put on the floor the team's offensive efficiency will suffer. Dennis Rodman could afford to one dimensional, he never suited up without a HoF player ( some times multiple) or All-star player taking the floor with him. No player on this current UCONN roster will have the luxury of being one dimensional.

That's not my post. Where did you get it? The post it leads to is totally different. I got enough trouble defending the posts I really post.

Here's what the link sends you to. This is what I posted:

Makurat doesn't have to play pf. I'm not the one who believes a classic pf is needed to win a title. UConn has no power forward on the roster. UConn has 7 players between 5'11" & 6'1, and only 2 players 6'4+, one of which is very raw and unlikely to contribute initially. Those 7 players will be forced to defend bigger players & rebound at various times. UConn has done this before. Sure, there are a few pf's who can give UConn miss-match problems but very few, and the way everyone is getting stronger in the off-season it is clear to me that the coaching staff and players are aware of it and preparing.

I think some posters here have the position question backwards. They want the coach to have a pg, a sg, a wing/sf, a pf and a center. The fact of the matter is that most players don't fit as nicely into a position as some think. A team doesn't need a power forward, it does need strong players who can rebound, defend inside. He also needs ball handlers and scorers. And if a coach is lucky then some of his players can fill more than one role. I've always thought that given the available talent pool most years a coach is better off recruiting great talent and worrying about positions later. Now I'm not suggesting that a coach recruit 5 pg's, but that elite players can often play several positions.

 

[BobbyJ]

I'm a self-proclaim defensive bigot and you vision of UCONN pressing for (40 mins?) and creating steal after steal with this rosters is blurry at best. Keep in Mind that UCONN had consecutive DPOY in Moriah, Gabby, Kia and even those teams pressed sparingly. More importantly it was the offensive skill set of those three players that allowed them to remain on the court and become game changing defensive players. Moriah morphed into a deadly 3pt shooter and ended up being the all time UCONN assist leader. Gabby was able to facilitate the offense from the high post and was a very high FG % shooter. Like Moriah, Kia Nurse morphed into a deadly wing shooter and was among the nation's best at the same time she was playing NDPOY caliber defense. On the current team there is some good defensive potential and Aubrey has the most of it. Using Aubrey as an example her offensive efficiency, knowledge of the offense, and long range shooting would have to increase greatly for her to become a stater or reliable contributor in meaningful games. The more players like Aubrey you put on the floor the team's offensive efficiency will suffer. Dennis Rodman could afford to one dimensional, he never suited up without a HoF player ( some times multiple) or All-star player taking the floor with him. No player on this current UCONN roster will have the luxury of being one dimensional.

I agree about the defense. I don't see this UConn team pressing on a consistent level. About 7 of them will need to learn how to play UConn level half court defense before they're ready for that. BTW, the post you quoted came from @hoophuskee. I wonder how the name @Alydar got displayed.

 

[CocoHusky]

That's not my post. Where did you get it? The post it leads to is totally different. I got enough trouble defending the posts I really post.
Here's what the link sends you to. This is what I posted:

My apologies this was not your original post I was responding to. It has been corrected. I'd also have to agree with you- you do have enough trouble defending the post you really post.

 

[hoophuskee]

A well-reasoned and thoughtful counterpoint. She's listed as a guard on the Huskies official roster and referred to in another article as a wing. Those may be well be incorrect... Do want to share knowledge or just be rude?

How do you define what is a true and effective PF vs what UCONN has had over the last 15+ years?
And why would you believe a website without knowing who loaded the information in?
We're supposed to ignore that she played on Canadian Nat'l Team as a SF but just because some unknown person loaded her in as a guard we're supposed to treat that as gospel?

Below in bold are all the players that were considered either a guard, sf, or we were concerned that they were too small or too soft to be a PF. Yet on our current team that has so many guards/ sf's without a PF we're supposed to believe the website instead?

Barb Turner- Was projected as a guard. Maybe a sf.
Charde- Was projected as a SF. Her best position was PF in her jr year.
Maya-- Was projected as a SF.
Stewart-- Was projected as a PF but early on was getting beat up enough and even into her soph and maybe even in her JR year there was talk on here to mover her to SF so she "wouldn't get beat up as much." You gotta love how sometimes this "unknown PF gets projected in some manner as if there is this monster 6'3 giant PF wider than the Mississippi that will crush any weakling set before her.
Tuck -- You can go back and read the posts in her 2nd full year leading up to Duke and South Carolina games how there was so much fear that she was too short to handle their bigs and Stewie wasn't strong enough to counter them either.
Walker -- Was projected as a guard. Maybe a sf.
---------
SO we see the following with Edwards and know enough of UCONN to make the following assumptions but we're supposed to bury our heads in the sand because some unknown possibly an intern didn't even watch her play and/or knows nothing of past history?

1-- That Edwards has the size.
1-- That Edwards has the build
1-- That Edwards has the athleticism
1-- That Edwards has shown in H/S she can play inside.
1-- That Edwards has shown vs much older players that she can play SF vs the older Nat'l players.
6-- That UCONN has an abundance of guards and small forwards but has very few with her size combined with her athleticism to play PF.

 

[cbraarj]

I'm not sure Aubrey will run the offense right this year. Can she hit a shot from 8 feet? Hit a layup consistently. A good 6th man not a starter yet, IMO.

 

[psconn]

Complete and utter nonsense!

A well-reasoned and thoughtful counterpoint. [???]
She's listed as a guard on the Huskies official roster and referred to in another article as a wing. Those may be incorrect... rather than being obnoxiously dismissive and insulting, please use the forum to discuss and share your knowledge.

 

[Bama fan]

My apologies this was not your original post I was responding to. It has been corrected. I'd also have to agree with you- you do have enough trouble defending the post you really post.

Now that is funny! That was a great example of what has come to be called a "nonpology". AKA , a left handed apology! My apologies to those of the "Gauche" persuasion.

 

[psconn]

How do you define what is a true and effective PF vs what UCONN has had over the last 15+ years?
And why would you believe a website without knowing who loaded the information in?
We're supposed to ignore that she played on Canadian Nat'l Team as a SF but just because some unknown person loaded her in as a guard we're supposed to treat that as gospel?

Below in bold are all the players that were considered either a guard, sf, or we were concerned that they were too small or too soft to be a PF. Yet on our current team that has so many guards/ sf's without a PF we're supposed to believe the website instead?

Barb Turner- Was projected as a guard. Maybe a sf.
Charde- Was projected as a SF. Her best position was PF in her jr year.
Maya-- Was projected as a SF.
Stewart-- Was projected as a PF but early on was getting beat up enough and even into her soph and maybe even in her JR year there was talk on here to mover her to SF so she "wouldn't get beat up as much." You gotta love how sometimes this "unknown PF gets projected in some manner as if there is this monster 6'3 giant PF wider than the Mississippi that will crush any weakling set before her.
Tuck -- You can go back and read the posts in her 2nd full year leading up to Duke and South Carolina games how there was so much fear that she was too short to handle their bigs and Stewie wasn't strong enough to counter them either.
Walker -- Was projected as a guard. Maybe a sf.
---------
SO we see the following with Edwards and know enough of UCONN to make the following assumptions but we're supposed to bury our heads in the sand because some unknown possibly an intern didn't even watch her play and/or knows nothing of past history?

1-- That Edwards has the size.
1-- That Edwards has the build
1-- That Edwards has the athleticism
1-- That Edwards has shown in H/S she can play inside.
1-- That Edwards has shown vs much older players that she can play SF vs the older Nat'l players.
6-- That UCONN has an abundance of guards and small forwards but has very few with her size combined with her athleticism to play PF.

Not sure where the negative energy is coming from but I appreciate the info on Edwards. I'm not arguing with anyone here, I just responded to soxfan23 's antagonistic and information-free post. I can't wait to learn more about Aaliyah and the rest of the team.

 

[hoophuskee]

Not sure where the negative energy is coming from but I appreciate the info on Edward's. I'm not arguing with anyone here, I just responded to soxfan23 's antagonistic and information-free post. I can't wait to learn more about Aaliyah and the rest of the team.

It's just a simple disagreement. How often are there disagreements that don't have any negative energy?

You specifically made the following comment -- One is 6'3" Aaliyah, but she is far more of a wing/guard.

You specifically referred to her as a guard and with another post used the UCONN website as justification that she is. Unless I am misreading and you know she won't be a guard at UCONN?

 

[psconn]

It's just a simple disagreement. How often are there disagreements that don't have any negative energy?

You specifically made the following comment -- One is 6'3" Aaliyah, but she is far more of a wing/guard.

You specifically referred to her as a guard and with another post used the UCONN website as justification that she is. Unless I am misreading and you know she won't be a guard at UCONN?

Wow.
-30-

 

[BBallF]

I don't think it is as important to assign a player to a position as it is to assign a role to the player and AE will definitely be an interior player who will be expected to rebound, defend and score underneath and in transition. She runs the floor well, has a strong pull up J, can finish with one hand on either side of the rim and can pass and defend as well. She has a much more developed offensive game than Aubrey had at the same time last year and she is bigger and stronger by comparing last year's Aubrey. However, Aubrey has that unique "nose for the ball" and defensive attack mode and is a proven junk player. She was a very young freshman last year. We should be seeing a "bump" in strength and muscle mass this year and a leap offensively. I don't think Aubrey was one dimensional at all last year. We've done this on other threads but if you extrapolate Aubrey's minutes out last year to those of a starter, she averages 13 ppg, 10 rpg and 3 steals a game. Geno likes glue players and floor players and she is definitely one of those. With Paige, Anna, Evina , CW and Liv, you will get the points you need so I don't see the pressure on the other interior player to have to light it up very night. On the other hand, if AE starts over Griff, and all that means, we have a real star in the making on our hands. Win-Win.

 

[LCConnFan]

I don't think it is as important to assign a player to a position as it is to assign a role to the player and AE will definitely be an interior player who will be expected to rebound, defend and score underneath and in transition. She runs the floor well, has a strong pull up J, can finish with one hand on either side of the rim and can pass and defend as well. She has a much more developed offensive game than Aubrey had at the same time last year and she is bigger and stronger by comparing last year's Aubrey. However, Aubrey has that unique "nose for the ball" and defensive attack mode and is a proven junk player. She was a very young freshman last year. We should be seeing a "bump" in strength and muscle mass this year and a leap offensively. I don't think Aubrey was one dimensional at all last year. We've done this on other threads but if you extrapolate Aubrey's minutes out last year to those of a starter, she averages 13 ppg, 10 rpg and 3 steals a game. Geno likes glue players and floor players and she is definitely one of those. With Paige, Anna, Evina , CW and Liv, you will get the points you need so I don't see the pressure on the other interior player to have to light it up very night. On the other hand, if AE starts over Griff, and all that means, we have a real star in the making on our hands. Win-Win.

I agree with you! Positions are only something to put down on paper! Myself, I LOVE to see a good post player come out and drain a 3. Aubrey? She is "unique"! She is a hyperactive Gabby. She's a hound chasing a car and not satisfied until she catches it! That's just how she goes after the ball. Can't wait to see her this year.

 

[Alydar]

My apologies this was not your original post I was responding to. It has been corrected. I'd also have to agree with you- you do have enough trouble defending the post you really post.

Actually it's no tribble at all.

 

[jabstep]

I agree about the defense. I don't see this UConn team pressing on a consistent level. About 7 of them will need to learn how to play UConn level half court defense before they're ready for that. BTW, the post you quoted came from @hoophuskee. I wonder how the name @Alydar got displayed.

I watched Edwards play for team Canada against the US and Edwards can play team defense right now and she can rebound. She was playing against Pheesa a lot of the time and did not seem overmatched. She also seemed to function in their offense.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Now that is funny! That was a great example of what has come to be called a "nonpology". AKA , a left handed apology! My apologies to those of the "Gauche" persuasion.

That is exactly what I told my wife (who is from Connecticut) when she asked what I was laughing at.... : )