Another starting five prediction | The Boneyard

Another starting five prediction

Carrot23 said:
Blanca?
Expand ...
Considering Ash, Jana and Blanca are probably the most likely to get that last spot this is a glaring omission that she is not even considered a key reserve. I notice foreign players are often forgotten in many preseason lineup projections.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PvP
I'm gonna agree with the OP starting five.
Last year I believe Geno used his big lineup to start every game when all five were available. I think Jana started because the coaches wanted to give her every opportunity to show the coaching staff what she is capable of. So unless Ice has made a giant leap, I see this continuing.
I also think it will be fun to see how the others are used off the bench. Hopefully the first off the bench will be Ashlynn, Caroline, Kayleigh and Ice...in no particular order. Then add the underclassmen to the mix and what combinations we could see.
I'm very curious to see the players that can make strides in helping the team when coming off the bench!
 
Boy! I surely do hope Blanca is as good as many here on the Boneyard project! I don’t really know that much about her and the idea that she’s going to beat out Ash is a little hard to swallow. However, if she really is the second, third, or fourth best player on this roster as many seem to be implying, then I guess she should start. It won’t be long now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PvP
.-.
CL82 said:


I doubt the double big approach is going to be what Geno uses. My guess is swapping out Shade for Jana.
Expand ...


Sort of a weird lineup choice. Starting both El Alfy and Williams makes no sense to me. Neither is a 3pt threat and KK isn't a strong 3pt shooter either, so keeping all 3 in the lineup allows defenses to clamp down on Fudd and Strong. I also don't see the need to have 3 shot blockers on the floor and El Alfy clogs the lane for Serah Williams to operate in the post.

I'm sure lineup options have been discussed adnauseum here, but a better lineup is Arnold/Shade/Fudd/Strong/Williams. Defensively you have 2 perimeter hawks in Fudd/Arnold, a high energy wing defender in Shade, a shot blocking 4 in Strong and low post shot blocker in Williams. Offensively the spacing is much better with:
-Arnold at point
-Shade as a 3 and D player
-Fudd as the primary scoring threat from the perimeter
-Strong who can operate from anywhere, but is the team's best facilitator and can stretch the floor to create 1 on 1 situations for Williams
-Williams inside who can feast on single coverage defense

This lineup maximizes strengths on both ends and gets the most out of Sarah Strong's inside out ability.

Also worth noting, having a player like Shade is the optimal choice for a 5th option offensively. She doesn't require a lot of shots, constantly moves off ball and can step up as needed but understands she's primarily out there to support the goto players. That's exactly what you need from a 5th option on the court and Shade is well suited for the role.
 
bballnut90 said:
Sort of a weird lineup choice. Starting both El Alfy and Williams makes no sense to me. Neither is a 3pt threat and KK isn't a strong 3pt shooter either, so keeping all 3 in the lineup allows defenses to clamp down on Fudd and Strong. I also don't see the need to have 3 shot blockers on the floor and El Alfy clogs the lane for Serah Williams to operate in the post.

I'm sure lineup options have been discussed adnauseum here, but a better lineup is Arnold/Shade/Fudd/Strong/Williams. Defensively you have 2 perimeter hawks in Fudd/Arnold, a high energy wing defender in Shade, a shot blocking 4 in Strong and low post shot blocker in Williams. Offensively the spacing is much better with:
-Arnold at point
-Shade as a 3 and D player
-Fudd as the primary scoring threat from the perimeter
-Strong who can operate from anywhere, but is the team's best facilitator and can stretch the floor to create 1 on 1 situations for Williams
-Williams inside who can feast on single coverage defense

This lineup maximizes strengths on both ends and gets the most out of Sarah Strong's inside out ability.

Also worth noting, having a player like Shade is the optimal choice for a 5th option offensively. She doesn't require a lot of shots, constantly moves off ball and can step up as needed but understands she's primarily out there to support the goto players. That's exactly what you need from a 5th option on the court and Shade is well suited for the role.
Expand ...
I agree with your lineup. Shade is going to be very good for UConn. I'm surprised some think she will get bested out for a starting spot eventually.
 
Reypl21 said:
I agree with your lineup. Shade is going to be very good for UConn. I'm surprised some think she will get bested out for a starting spot eventually.
Expand ...
Mainly because while very good, her ceiling is lower (IMHO) than Blanca's. I think Blanca has 1st team AA potential, and I do not think Ash has that in her (HM is her ceiling IMHO). We will see, of course, but it would not surprise me if we see comparisons of Blanca to Sarah's freshman year all season. I think that's why.

I don't disagree that Ash is probably the 5th starter, but at this point I think there are only 2 guaranteed starters - Azzi and Sarah.

KK - about 90% chance to start over Kayleigh
Serah - about 50% chance at this time to start over Ice or Jana (we have read Serah has struggled)
Ash - about 60% chance at this time to start over Blanca

Obviously just my opinion, but I don't think Geno knows who the starters in game 1 will be, and I'm excited to see how it works out.
 
Ash is my favorite player to watch. The hustle,
smile, defense and her ability to make plays is why it is understandable Geno loves her.

However, wonder if Blanca is as good as many suspect? Wonder if Allie makes the typical sophomore leap with improved defense and fitness. Wonder if Carol returns to freshmen year Carol? To me, any or all could result in fewer minutes for Ash.

If Geno still loves the small lineup, we see a bunch of Ash. If not, it could get interesting.
 
Reypl21 said:
I agree with your lineup. Shade is going to be very good for UConn. I'm surprised some think she will get bested out for a starting spot eventually.
Expand ...
If Blanca is as good as many believe, she's going to be hard to keep on the bench........ I expect that she'll be a dominant player at both ends of the court in the style of Aubrey Griffin but with a better offensive game...
 
EricLA said:
Mainly because while very good, her ceiling is lower (IMHO) than Blanca's. I think Blanca has 1st team AA potential, and I do not think Ash has that in her (HM is her ceiling IMHO). We will see, of course, but it would not surprise me if we see comparisons of Blanca to Sarah's freshman year all season. I think that's why.

I don't disagree that Ash is probably the 5th starter, but at this point I think there are only 2 guaranteed starters - Azzi and Sarah.

KK - about 90% chance to start over Kayleigh
Serah - about 50% chance at this time to start over Ice or Jana (we have read Serah has struggled)
Ash - about 60% chance at this time to start over Blanca

Obviously just my opinion, but I don't think Geno knows who the starters in game 1 will be, and I'm excited to see how it works out.
Expand ...
I agree with you here on BQ. However, I don't believe it will be this year because you have to pile up some stats for AA and I don't think those will be there short term. The two keys I see for BQ are 1) How much offense she'll be able to generate off the ball with most of the shots being logically produced for and the bulk of the offense being run through Strong and Fudd. 2) She's an excellent defender but how much physicality will the softer college officials allow her to play with. Foul trouble can come quickly, similar to A. Edward's first year or so.
 
.-.
tomcat said:
The name I don't hear mentioned at all -- certainly not as a starter, but anywhere else -- is Ayanna. We've never really seen what she can do, but she has the physical package to be an asset, and could be a n interesting mystery player.
Expand ...
I suspect she will be used as a defensive stopper when opponents have smaller but athletic front lines....
 
tomcat said:
The name I don't hear mentioned at all -- certainly not as a starter, but anywhere else -- is Ayanna. We've never really seen what she can do, but she has the physical package to be an asset, and could be a n interesting mystery player.
Expand ...
Very good point!!! I certainly forgot about her in my post. Gonna be exciting to see what her capabilities are coming back from being injured. I'm hoping for another hybrid Aubrey/Gabby type of player.
 
I’m more or less where @bballnut90 is with regard to Ash. I don’t know about starting all season, but I think a core of Sarah Azzi Ash has to have an inside track at least initially just because they are the proven perimeter threats and are all fierce defenders. If other combinations prove even more potent along the way, the lineup will probably shift. But until then…
 
PG KK
SG Azzi
W Ashlynn
PF Sarah
C Jana

PG/SG Kaleigh
C Serah
W Caroline
W Blanca
PF/C Ice
PF Ayanna
SG Allie
W Morgan
PG Kellis
C Gandy

I think Geno will start his experienced players that finished last season!
Kaleigh, Serah, Caroline, and Ice will be early off the bench.
Blanca, Ayanna, Allie, Will get some playing time.
Kelis and Gandy will get some minutes also!
After this exhibition game Geno will mix things up!
 
I'm not sure Morgan is going to be a factor off the bench due to injuries, and why is Blanca not on the list?
 
.-.
I think Rshirmvikes has it right. Strong team from last year will start this one. They will lead at the beginning of the year, while others will have the opportunity to show where they belong. Expect Blanca's cashee to rise!
 
Allie Ziebell
Morgan Cheli
Ayanna Patterson
Gandy Malou-Mamel
Kelis Fisher

No, that's not my starting 5. It's the 5 kids we talk about the least here on the BY. Some of these guys could prove to be really good. Which ones? I have no clue...
 
Skeets said:
Allie Ziebell
Morgan Cheli
Ayanna Patterson
Gandy Malou-Mamel
Kelis Fisher

No, that's not my starting 5. It's the 5 kids we talk about the least here on the BY. Some of these guys could prove to be really good. Which ones? I have no clue...
Expand ...
That looks like a tournament quality team.
 
BobbyJ said:
I agree with you here on BQ. However, I don't believe it will be this year because you have to pile up some stats for AA and I don't think those will be there short term. The two keys I see for BQ are 1) How much offense she'll be able to generate off the ball with most of the shots being logically produced for and the bulk of the offense being run through Strong and Fudd. 2) She's an excellent defender but how much physicality will the softer college officials allow her to play with. Foul trouble can come quickly, similar to A. Edward's first year or so.
Expand ...
Totally. I was referring to mainly junior and/or senior years. I think Sarah is 1st team AA this season, and am not sure Blanca is as good as Sarah, so we will see.

A lot will depend on minutes, of course, and PPG...
 
@RSHERMVIKES and @FanSince17 : on mixing things up

I think Geno likes consistency. But he also seems to design his lineups in ways that respond to the personnel at his disposal. When he’s had a shorter bench, he’s had to contract his approach, and this has meant playing a 6 or 7 player rotation in the second half of the season most years. Given the depth of this extraordinarily deep bench, this year’s version of consistency may well look like mixing things up. At least it might in November and December. I suspect that by mid February the rotation will have contracted considerably. Maybe not down to 6 or 7, but a lot less than the full horde he has available right now. To get down to that rotation, I expect much experimentation and mixing things up to take place earlier.
 
.-.
Yeah, no. I had to call that account out. They don’t know our team at all if they don’t mention Blanca.

0% chance that is our starting 5. That team is a totally different dynamic than the team that won the title. We are not going to go big. I promise you that.

The starting 5 is either:
KK, Azzi, Shade, Strong, Williams.
Or
KK, Azzi, Blanca, Strong, Williams.

Obviously we will shift things around depending on health.
 
Skeets said:
Allie Ziebell
Morgan Cheli
Ayanna Patterson
Gandy Malou-Mamel
Kelis Fisher

No, that's not my starting 5. It's the 5 kids we talk about the least here on the BY. Some of these guys could prove to be really good. Which ones? I have no clue...
Expand ...
I think all will turn out to be really good. They will need varying amounts of time to show it. I would guess Gandy is probably two years away, Ayanna obviously depends on health and how long she needs to get rid of the rust. Kelis is looking very promising, it would not surprise me too much to see her making a good contribution this season. That leaves Morgan and Allie. I think Morgan has already shown she can be a strong contributor, with her it is merely a matter of when she can be fully healthy.

Allie is, for me the most mysterious. I believe she could be a tremendous weapon for this team, perhaps Azzi’s replacement even. Some are concerned that she may not be able to bring her defense up to Geno’s requirements. She was so good in High School! According to her coach, she struggled at first there too on defense but worked hard on it and became the player who would guard the opposing team’s best player. I realize that was HS and a different coach but it does show she’s done it before. She looks to be in much better shape this season (I almost did not recognize her in one of the weight room pictures) and I am very hopeful she has come in with an attitude this season.
 
Cuango said:
Allie is, for me the most mysterious.
Expand ...
For me, too. I think of her as a smaller version of Carol. Similar physical skills and talents, and a game that relies on court savvy more than outright strength and speed. She won’t beat defenders off the dribble, but like Carol she knows how to get them on her hip as she goes to the rim. And they have to make themselves vulnerable to this because her perimeter shooting forces them to guard her too closely.
 
Two great posts about Allie.

If she demonstrates to Geno that her defense is better and her fitness is improved, who does she take minutes from? She seems to be able to only play the 2 guard.

I have the same thought about Kelis. Geno hinted that she has looked good in practice.

Having a roster loaded with talented guards does create some interesting decisions for the staff.
 
victor64 said:
Two great posts about Allie.

If she demonstrates to Geno that her defense is better and her fitness is improved, who does she take minutes from? She seems to be able to only play the 2 guard.

I have the same thought about Kelis. Geno hinted that she has looked good in practice.

Having a roster loaded with talented guards does create some interesting decisions for the staff.
Expand ...
Allie has such great potential and great three-point shooters will get floor time even if they are only average defenders............unfortunately, she has yet to prove she can shoot the three with consistency in low-pressure situations, never mind crunch time.......she's just got to make it happen....
 
Stagnant said:
Yeah, no. I had to call that account out. They don’t know our team at all if they don’t mention Blanca.

0% chance that is our starting 5. That team is a totally different dynamic than the team that won the title. We are not going to go big. I promise you that.

The starting 5 is either:
KK, Azzi, Shade, Strong, Williams.
Or
KK, Azzi, Blanca, Strong, Williams.

Obviously we will shift things around depending on health.
Expand ...
I think Jana is still limited so for now I think it is Azzi, KK, Sarah, Ice and Caroline.Two senior leaders, two juniors, and the best sophomore in America. I like Shade off the bench and not starting because with her at the 3, you have 3 players under 6'0" on the floor. She is also a really tough player to guard off the bench due to her speed, shot and surprising offensive rebounding.

A team strength this yerar is height and power so I would want a big body post player, Sarah at the 4 and a mobile, outside shooting, slashing wing who can post up or hit a 3. Last year one of the things that changed us was Chen finding her 3. That gave us 4 legit threats from the arc. I think Ice eventually backs up Sarah at the 4 and Serah starts because she will give us an inside post offensive presence missing since Stewie and Tuck. Don't count Jana out though. She showed us a lot last year and learned buckets.

We know it is Azzi and KK ( BTW, I love Kayleigh, just a throwback PG with an offensive game and will see a lot of time) so the only issue for me is the 3. I think Caroline gets it to begin with and maybe plays limited minutes but I think if healthy she is a very versatile player and If I am not mistaken actually beat Azzi in the high school 3 point shooting contest. From what I saw of Blanca though, Geno is right as usual. She is unpredictable and I have a hard time thinking about who will cover her. So bottom line, who knows what happens in February for the metamorphosis? At times you may see Jana, Serah, Sarah, Azzi and Kayleigh on the floor. At other times, Sarah, Ash, Azzi, KK, and Kayleigh or Blanca. At other times, Ayanna, Allie, Kelis, etc. as part of the mix. Geno will figure it out as usual but it will not be right away. It will be interesting just keeping track of the different combinations.
 
.-.
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
168,132
Messages
4,554,359
Members
10,437
Latest member
poppopwow


Top Bottom