Annesah Morrow a Model for Alliyah?

[Charliebball]

Thanks for that! Geno flat out said "This is the 5th game of the season and she got more offensive rebounds in the first half than she has in the rest of the season combined. She worked harder than in any game this season and the results speak for themselves".

Ok then. Liya's problems come from effort (or lack thereof) and intensity.

In general, I think a player can work hard and still not succeed if they don't have the proper focus.......running around like a chicken without a head doesn't help anybody......

 

[topogigio]

My take: Edwards was benched in the second half due to a couple of times she got beat down the floor on Depaul's fast break. Offensively, she seems to have problems holding on to the ball and finishing around the basket. I believe that part is more mental than physical Geno does not tolerate getting back on defense.

 

[browns]

I agree withthis comment. I also believe that AE's benching had more to do with matchups than her playing bad. Morrow would have destroyed her down low. Likewise, Liv and Dorka with their size should have defended Morrow much better than they did. I truly believe that AE's struggles this year have more to do with Paige not being on the floor than anything else. Paige got her the ball in the right spots. This year without Paige she is trying to create her own shots which is not her game. When Paige gets back I think we will all see the AE we were accustomed to seeing from last season. Aaliyah will be fine.

If that was the case why didn't we see her play like last year the first 6 games when Paige was playing

 

[Plebe]

Her name is Aneesah. One n, two e's.

 

[Vowelguy]

Her name is Aneesah. One n, two e's.

 

[HopJim]

Not sure I understand this thread's title. If you want to suggest Alliyah needs to play more aggressively, just say so. AE's and Morrow's games are very different in shooting ability and technique (Morrow fouls on most plays - just did not get called last night).

 

[SVCBeercats]

Unfortunately, Alliyah has not grown from her promising Freshman season. She looks lost a lot of the time. Geno only played her for 8 minutes in the first half against DePaul and then benched her for the entire second half when the game was on the line. At the same time, Depaul's Freshman Forward used her strong body and remarkable aggression to dominate the Huskies as she has dominated the rest of the Conference all season long. In thinking about who on UCONN could emulate Morrow, the answer is clear. The only UCONN player with the physical size and innate natural aggression is Aalliyah Edwards. I would hope that the coaches would agree and would have her study Morrow film and to have her use Morrow as a model on which to recast her play. This would mean a complete make-over but as Edwards is at a personal nadir anyway, I can't see that there is much risk, while the upside for someone with Aalliyah's formidable body which is larger than Morrow's and natural aggression could become a season altering asset for the Huskies and a major upgrade for a struggling UCONN player with great potential if it can be focused and achieved.

Plus she has competition arriving nest season, Brady and Patterson!

 

[cancontent]

Her name is Aneesah. One n, two e's.

To piggy back on this, it's Aaliyah. Two a's, one l.

 

[Carnac]

Absolutely!

I honestly don't get this BY bashing of Morrow and calling her a dirty player and getting help from the refs as if she needs it. If any UCONN player displayed half her aggression they would be applauded. This kid plays hard and had me sold on the second UCONN possession of the game where she got a piece of the ball on 3 consecutive UCONN attempted passes.

To be quite honest and transparent, I'd love for Morrow to be on our team. Three games of 30/10, and 12 double doubles, and the season is only half over, are you kidding me? What coach would not like to have a player that REGULARLY posts a double double, and shows up for every game? This take has absolutely nothing to do with Aaliyah. I still love Aaliyah and root/cheer for her as much as I ever did.
I can't wait (Bart Scott) until she gets back on track and begins to look like the Aaliyah Edwards we saw last year.

 

[SLY63]

I truly believe that AE's struggles this year have more to do with Paige not being on the floor than anything else. Paige got her the ball in the right spots.

This is something that has crossed my mind as Paige and AE ran the pick-and-roll so well last year, but before Paige's injury, AE was still struggling.

 

[Longtime fan]

Unfortunately, Alliyah has not grown from her promising Freshman season. She looks lost a lot of the time. Geno only played her for 8 minutes in the first half against DePaul and then benched her for the entire second half when the game was on the line. At the same time, Depaul's Freshman Forward used her strong body and remarkable aggression to dominate the Huskies as she has dominated the rest of the Conference all season long. In thinking about who on UCONN could emulate Morrow, the answer is clear. The only UCONN player with the physical size and innate natural aggression is Aalliyah Edwards. I would hope that the coaches would agree and would have her study Morrow film and to have her use Morrow as a model on which to recast her play. This would mean a complete make-over but as Edwards is at a personal nadir anyway, I can't see that there is much risk, while the upside for someone with Aalliyah's formidable body which is larger than Morrow's and natural aggression could become a season altering asset for the Huskies and a major upgrade for a struggling UCONN player with great potential if it can be focused and achieved.

This is not possible. Morrow is 10X the athlete and basketball player that Edwards is. Did you see her shoot from the outside? Her moves in the paint? Her elevation? The accuracy and timing of her passes? You can't just study Michael Jordan and then play like him. If only.

 

[uconnfan68]

A lot of good points here. In some comments, I get the impression that some think that Aaliyah's hit her ceiling and that's it. Not sure if that's fair considering players go through slumps at various points in their playing careers. I recall similar concerns were expressed about Aubrey last season, which also was her sophomore season.

I agree her time with Canada Basketball seems to have hindered her progression. I also believe she has the ability to find her groove and contribute in ways the team will need her.

Most know, I have a bias, being Canadian and seeing her play for many years before UConn had her on their radar. Trust me, she's gone through tougher times than this and has found a way to succeed. I have faith she'll figure things out.

I'm still unclear why folks think practicing and playing with Olympians hindered her progress. Everyone there was better than everyone here (except maybe Paige, who I think could start for anyone's team, anywhere). If you get an invite to play for your country in the Olympics, you take it.

 

[SVCBeercats]

I was thinking last night that Morrow looked more like freshman year Aaliyah than sophomore Aaliyah does.

I don't know what's up with Aaliyah this year. Whatever the problem is, I hope she can get past it. We still need her.

Do you think Geno getting Dorka has affected Aaliyah? She probably thought she was a lock to start with Liv. To his credit Geno did give Aaliyah the opportunity to retain her place in the pecking order but she failed to earn it. If I recall she received (earned?) very little playing time this summer with the Canadian National team. Perhaps her doldrums began before returning to UCONN.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Now that Fudd and Caroline are "healthy" Paige, while needed, is needed less.

I was with you until the above statement. Paige IS the team. Without Paige UCNN has no hope of winning in the NCAA.

 

[cancontent]

I'm still unclear why folks think practicing and playing with Olympians hindered her progress. Everyone there was better than everyone here (except maybe Paige, who I think could start for anyone's team, anywhere). If you get an invite to play for your country in the Olympics, you take it.

I agree that getting an opportunity to represent the country should be taken. It is something very few will ever get to do. I also initially bristled at the idea that this was the case, however after thinking about it, my opinion changed.

The other thing to consider is that not all coaches support the idea of their players competing internationally. Coach Geno doesn't fall into this category, but it does get frowned upon from what I've learned from friends with children on scholarship at different schools. They don't want their players losing time learning their systems, team bonding time lost, etc.

I also vaguely recall some parents of NCAA players posting on social media when Sedona Prince broke her leg using it as proof that playing for USA basketball wasn't worth the risk. It isn't seen as a great honour to some unfortunately.

 

[Conndog]

I think that with returning players getting into game shape, and let’s hope Paige is as good as ever, the one area that we need reinforcing for #12 is how well our forward paired with Liv can play and contribute. As tempting as a 4 guard line-up sounds given all the good shooters we have, in my opinion we will be giving up too much on defense and rebounding inside if we do that. Could Caroline play the 4? She wouldn’t be as effective there as Dorka, and I’m not giving up on Aaliyah yet. I predict Aaliyah is going to get the coaching encouragement she needs to rejuvenate her game. We are still struggling at getting good passes to bigs who get open briefly- looking for Paige & improvement there.

Players often do one thing well and that becomes their go-to contribution. For some, it’s outside shooting. For Aaliyah, she’s great at the pick & roll and scrapping for rebounds, but she needs to be positioned down low.

But we have Dorka too at 6’5 and a great mover around the basket. While she can shoot, her 3-ball is inconsistent. Her value, like Aaliyah’s, is best realized around the basket. Dorka also is capable of spelling Liv for rest as she can play center. Dorka has been playing great of late. It’s nice to have an alternative for Aaliyah in case she can’t get back to last year’s form-
But, don’t give up on Aaliyah just yet.

 

[mhshuskies]

Paying particular attention to AE, it appears she is caught out of position defensively too often. If there is not an advantage for her to be on the floor on defense, would her minutes be better utilized by a player that does finish better in the low post, Piath?

 

[Alydar]

I was with you until the above statement. Paige IS the team. Without Paige UCNN has no hope of winning in the NCAA.

Without Paige UCNN STILL has no hope of winning in the NCAA.

I understand that you need to see more from Fudd. Don't worry, you will.

 

[jabstep]

She should have fouled out of last nights game. She grabs and holds excessively. She push the entire game. And her on the ball defense is inevitably fouling. But for some extraordinarily lenient reffing, she would have been out.

I watched the game again today and was shocked to see Morrow just push players out of the way then grab the rebound and score. What were the refs watching. She creates contact on most everyplay and no fouls are called. Depaul players would create bump uconn players then fall down and they called charges.

 

[BostonBay]

Geno needs to simplify the game plan for AE. UConn needs AE's rebounding, aggressiveness, and physical presence...not her points. UConn gets enough points from others, especially with Azzi back. If I were Geno, I would tell AE to stay on the blocks and make sure to grab the rebounds and disrupt shots. Period. She'll get "garbage" points from just follow-ups under the basket. I cringe whenever she's at the free throw line and beyond. Why is she out there?? She's not a shooter & she gets confused on what to do. Keep it simple and make the layups and very short jump shots.

Why UConn keeps losing in the Final Four is a lack of physical presence in the paint. Teams like SC make a living on the offensive boards. AE has the body and skill set to be the perfect "enforcer". I just think she's being misused right now - not playing to her strengths. Give me 10 to 15 rebounds from her a game, with 2 to 6 points mixed in, and that's a success.

 

[tchalla1]

She really used and abused Liv I’m disappointed in her defense tonight. Senior against a undersized freshman and couldn’t do anything with marrow. AE struggling and not playing basically cus of CD phenomenal performance and Azzi being back. Dorka was playing pretty good. It was just a bad match up for AE

Well fortunately, we have two bangers headed our way next year whom I feel will be a challenge to Morrow in the coming years....

 

[SVCBeercats]

Well fortunately, we have two bangers headed our way next year whom I feel will be a challenge to Morrow in the coming years....

Let's hope so! We all thought our Aaliyah was our banger for SC's Aaliyah.

 

[Hist-teacher]

Absolutely!

I honestly don't get this BY bashing of Morrow and calling her a dirty player and getting help from the refs as if she needs it. If any UCONN player displayed half her aggression they would be applauded. This kid plays hard and had me sold on the second UCONN possession of the game where she got a piece of the ball on 3 consecutive UCONN attempted passes.

Couldn't agree more. Love her intensity, her "motor". She's also a highly intelligent player with a great skill set. I would love to have her on my team! She made our bigs look terrible. That's to her credit!

 

[Nolefan]

She should have fouled out of last nights game. She grabs and holds excessively. She push the entire game. And her on the ball defense is inevitably fouling. But for some extraordinarily lenient reffing, she would have been out.

Watching the game now she should have at least 2 fouls in the first 5 minutes .. she reaches a lot pushes off like a bull in a china shop but she does have great touch on her shots .. moves a ton on her screens .. when she post up she brings her elbow right into the chest of defenders that’s a offensive foul .. how does UConn travel and DePaul not travel ? Fyi she deserves at least 2 academy awards for flopping

 

[TeamFirst!]

Any ref paying attention would have given Morrow 4 fouls in the first 15 minutes of the game. I'm not saying she's mean or even intentionally fouling necessarily but she wants to win so bad she's fighting with everything she's got and there are rules in society. You generally can't just slam people to win. Elbow people in the ribs to get them to move. Extend your arms to just push them under the basket overtly to be in a better position to rebound. Just hack a player going in to score. She basically hit players a lot when they were shooting and got away with it most of the time. We missed a lot of layups which were unexplainable. At least some of them involved being leaned on and/or hit.

Now, all that said, isn't that playoff basketball to a large degree? Sometimes the refs just let almost anything go. Now they call BS traveling nit picking calls and let the players hack each other constantly. I think it's ill advised.

I was even more concerned about all the charge calls where they were just jumping in front of us and getting the call. Draping themselves all over us at all the time. The refs let it go yesterday and sometimes that is going to happen. We need to deal with it.

 

[AzzisBraids]

Unfortunately, Alliyah has not grown from her promising Freshman season. She looks lost a lot of the time. Geno only played her for 8 minutes in the first half against DePaul and then benched her for the entire second half when the game was on the line. At the same time, Depaul's Freshman Forward used her strong body and remarkable aggression to dominate the Huskies as she has dominated the rest of the Conference all season long. In thinking about who on UCONN could emulate Morrow, the answer is clear. The only UCONN player with the physical size and innate natural aggression is Aalliyah Edwards. I would hope that the coaches would agree and would have her study Morrow film and to have her use Morrow as a model on which to recast her play. This would mean a complete make-over but as Edwards is at a personal nadir anyway, I can't see that there is much risk, while the upside for someone with Aalliyah's formidable body which is larger than Morrow's and natural aggression could become a season altering asset for the Huskies and a major upgrade for a struggling UCONN player with great potential if it can be focused and achieved.

Her footwork and confidence are something else. She doesn't care what's happening, she just does what I think she does in practice. She'll be the player of the year but I think Caroline snags freshman at least co-

 

[JellyBean]

Oh, Morrow is a model for anyone! Someone already said it, her motor was the key. She OUTWORKED folks. All about that desire and Morrow had DESIRE. Like others have said, Alliyah is Alliyah. Still love that young lady and all that she brings to the UConn program. She works hard out there. Her motor just isn't in the same range as Morrow's motor.

 

[eebmg]

Oh, Morrow is a model for anyone! Someone already said it, her motor was the key. She OUTWORKED folks. All about that desire and Morrow had DESIRE. Like others have said, Alliyah is Alliyah. Still love that young lady and all that she brings to the UConn program. She works hard out there. Her motor just isn't in the same range as Morrow's motor.

Does not hurt that she has the body of a dead lifter. Alot of players look strong but I think this kid is at another level. And from what she says about playing through the pain in her knee, she must have a very powerful mental strength.

Finally, with regards to the Canadian National Team, I think part of the problem was that for whatever reason, she was outperformed by Amihere and that may have gotten into her head wanting to do things she is not well suited for,??

 

[eebmg]

Morrow with 12 pts and 10 rebounds at half. Chance at 4th 30pt 10 rebound game in row. Is that a record?

But even with these stats, she looks more human against St Johns (5-15) than against UConn. St Johns only down by 4 at half.

 

[Centerstream]

Morrow with 12 pts and 10 rebounds at half. Chance at 4th 30pt 10 rebound game in row. Is that a record?

But even with these stats, she looks more human against St Johns (5-15) than against UConn. St Johns only down by 4 at half.

She didn't get the 30 points, only 22.