Another starting five prediction

[KCD]

Starting five: KK, Azzi, Ash, Strong, Williams.

I think that some on here are missing how good Ash has been and can be. She is a three level scorer. She was 40+% from 3 last season and her midrange game is excellent. She can also drive to the hoop very well too. She has restricted herself somewhat because she had been prioritizing Paige, Azzi, and Sarah over her own scoring (last year).' I expect Geno to emphasize to her this year to be more aggressive on the offensive end (she was doing this more toward the end of the year). On defense last year, she was switching onto wings and power forwards a lot of the time. It's possible that she could get displaced at some time during the season especially if Blanca is what some of the International scouts predict her to be.

 

[hoophuskee]

Okay, after watching the BC scrimmage, I think that most of this I will still stick with. The one big exception now that I would like to change from previous statement; Williams starts from Game #1 and never relinquishes her roll to Jana or Gandy (baring an illness or injury, etc.)

I mentioned within the body of this post that I thought Williams would be a 'National Player of the Year' candidate ... it is going to be difficult to achieve that status, because the other Sarah is going to win that award and they likely will not like to put two (or three) teammates on the 1st Team All American list. But I'll say this of the two of them, they are going to be really problematic for teams to deal with anywhere near the paint. Throw in the perimeter shooting that Fudd will contribute, and add Shades' shooting and defense/long rebounds, KK's defense; wow, there are some really big problems for other teams in the forecast!

And Fudd is a beast. UCONN has a 3-headed monster.

 

[Stagnant]

I am convinced that ucla can’t play the Betts sisters together. I was thinking about that today. And I was wondering what small ball lineup UConn could use to take advantage of them. Small ball was huge for us last season. So, I was wondering… what would be the best small ball lineup for us this season?

And this was what I came up with:

G KK
G Azzi
G Shade
F Blanca
F Sarah

I hope to see this lineup to get a better feel for how it can perform… especially when Blanca is more used to things. 🤔

 

[oldude]

And Fudd is a beast. UCONN has a 3-headed monster.

One thing that was very apparent from yesterday’s game is that just about every Husky, not named Azzi Fudd, is aware of where Azzi is on offense at all times and ready to get the basketball to her whenever possible.

Azzi floats around the 3-pt line until a teammate finds her for a catch and shoot 3. Several times yesterday, UConn players passed up open looks to get the ball to Azzi who shot a cool 5/7 from the arc. You can’t really question anyone passing up their own shot to get the ball to Azzi.

 

[hookshot]

Pragmatically, the starting five has been obvious to large majority of the boneyard for some time now, as reflected in the recent poll. Nothing that happened in this first exhibition seemed to challenge that. The more interesting speculation now is how the depth chart fills out in order (particularly for the next 5 spots as it won't likely go in deeper than that in crunch time). Based on last night, although Blanca may have a few more rough edges than anticipated, she would be candidate one (for bigger lineup combinations). KK9 is still strongly in the mix based on some of KKs limitations. Both Brady and Jana will likely remain in the mix, Z looks possible. I'm up to 10 already without including speculation on a fully healthy Chelli and Ducharme.

 

[DEpup]

Okay, after watching the BC scrimmage, I think that most of this I will still stick with. The one big exception now that I would like to change from previous statement; Williams starts from Game #1 and never relinquishes her roll to Jana or Gandy (baring an illness or injury, etc.)

I mentioned within the body of this post that I thought Williams would be a 'National Player of the Year' candidate ... it is going to be difficult to achieve that status, because the other Sarah is going to win that award and they likely will not like to put two (or three) teammates on the 1st Team All American list. But I'll say this of the two of them, they are going to be really problematic for teams to deal with anywhere near the paint. Throw in the perimeter shooting that Fudd will contribute, and add Shades' shooting and defense/long rebounds, KK's defense; wow, there are some really big problems for other teams in the forecast!

I think NPOY will come down to Strong and Azzi being submitted. Folks seem to be forgetting about Azzi. She was the Natty MOP... I mean she basically walked out of halftime and said we'll I'm only going to get to play this quarter so let me fire off 5 3s... That's how you can break open a game.

 

[RoadWarrior]

I am convinced that ucla can’t play the Betts sisters together. I was thinking about that today. And I was wondering what small ball lineup UConn could use to take advantage of them. Small ball was huge for us last season. So, I was wondering… what would be the best small ball lineup for us this season?

And this was what I came up with:

G KK
G Azzi
G Shade
F Blanca
F Sarah

I hope to see this lineup to get a better feel for how it can perform… especially when Blanca is more used to things. 🤔

Time will tell how successful playing Lauren and Sienna together will be, but they only have one year to be teammates together and I think you will see them on the floor together more and more as the season unfolds. They will be difficult to stop in the paint.

 

[Stagnant]

Last year in the national title game. We were able to torch ucla and a lot of it had to do with Lauren Betts and her soft drop coverage. So, I need to clarify. I think skilled teams will destroy ucla defensively if they try to play those two. But it would work against 95% of teams. Just my theory.

 

[oldude]

Last year in the national title game. We were able to torch ucla and a lot of it had to do with Lauren Betts and her soft drop coverage. So, I need to clarify. I think skilled teams will destroy ucla defensively if they try to play those two. But it would work against 95% of teams. Just my theory.

Slight correction. Last year we played UCLA in the national semifinals.

 

[Bigboote]

I think that some on here are missing how good Ash has been and can be. She is a three level scorer. She was 40+% from 3 last season and her midrange game is excellent. She can also drive to the hoop very well too. She has restricted herself somewhat because she had been prioritizing Paige, Azzi, and Sarah over her own scoring (last year).' I expect Geno to emphasize to her this year to be more aggressive on the offensive end (she was doing this more toward the end of the year). On defense last year, she was switching onto wings and power forwards a lot of the time. It's possible that she could get displaced at some time during the season especially if Blanca is what some of the International scouts predict her to be.

People forget that Ashlynn led the Big East in two-point percentage her freshman year. If she stay above 40% from three and takes more advantage her midrange and close-in talents, every other team should be scared.

 

[NYFan]

People forget that Ashlynn led the Big East in two-point percentage her freshman year. If she stay above 40% from three and takes more advantage her midrange and close-in talents, every other team should be scared.

I agree, but the question is will she take more advantage of her midrange? She took 5 shots yesterday... all were 3-pt attempts. I know it was just one exhibition...

 

[DefenseBB]

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.

One edit- "but at this point I think there are only 2 3 guaranteed starters - Azzi and Sarah and SERAH

1. Serah didn't transfer here to sit the bench and not start
2. Geno and staff have learned from the Azura Stevens situation where she should have been starting when eligible.
3. Serah's stats last year were worthy of 2nd team All-American but due to her abysmal team, she wasn't considered.
4. Serah is a 2 time FIRST team Big 10 selection and her pedigree shows she has already earned consideration

The other two starting positions will be an evolving situation depending if the Bench can score. What KK and Ash bring is unique and as they say, it's not who starts but who finishes in close games.

 

[Husk.IE 12]

Jana is way too inconsistent offensively. There isn't anything she does with regularity offensively that overshadows Serah. Same with Ice.

 

[PJCLaw]

That Serah started today and played well is indicative that she’s already ahead of Ice on the depth chart and possibly Jana, although Jana is just getting back into the swing of things coming off an injury.

Offensively, Serah is way ahead of Jana and Ice. Serah did not hesitate to take it to the hoop. She knew exactly what to do with the ball in the paint and was very comfortable as the 5. Jana has a great motor and will be great, but she is somewhat offensively challenged right now as she develops her post moves, something Serah already possess. Ice has a better jump shot but is not comfortable in the paint. At the end of the day, it is an embarrassment of riches that we are even having this discussion about starting five. Let's continue to pray for health for all of the players.

 

[PJCLaw]

People forget that Ashlynn led the Big East in two-point percentage her freshman year. If she stay above 40% from three and takes more advantage her midrange and close-in talents, every other team should be scared.

And she scored 12 points per game. I think we all would happy if she duplicates her freshman ppg and last season's 3 pt shooting percentage.

 

[Cuango]

Although she clearly looks the part with her size and physicality, I have to say this seeming consensus that Blanca is going to relegate Ash back to the bench is a bit puzzling to me. I certainly wouldn’t say it cannot happen but I do think that based on what I saw yesterday (and Ash’s own abilities) it is not a certainty at all. In fact, if I were a betting man, I would say the more likely scenario is that Ash will be the starter and Blanca (or Caroline, or Morgan) will play the KK role off the bench that comes in and disrupts the whole game with her/their size and athleticism. I could be wrong but I just think Ash’s all round game including her 40+% from three and her obvious intensity on the court will make it very difficult to remove her from the starting five.

 

[Zarathustra]

People forget that Ashlynn led the Big East in two-point percentage her freshman year. If she stay above 40% from three and takes more advantage her midrange and close-in talents, every other team should be scared.

Just to add to the Ashlynn chorus: I forget the exact % but I believe that
ASH was over 90% in free throw shooting percentage in her freshman year!

 

[freshler40]

I am convinced that ucla can’t play the Betts sisters together. I was thinking about that today. And I was wondering what small ball lineup UConn could use to take advantage of them. Small ball was huge for us last season. So, I was wondering… what would be the best small ball lineup for us this season?

And this was what I came up with:

G KK
G Azzi
G Shade
F Blanca
F Sarah

I hope to see this lineup to get a better feel for how it can perform… especially when Blanca is more used to things. 🤔

This combo is also a great full court pressing group, similar to what Geno played against BC. It offers full court pressure with Sarah in the middle. It's not just offense from this group but what they offer on the defensive side.

 

[Stagnant]

I just want to say about the Shade conversation. Even players that have proven it in a UConn shirt… I want to see how good they are when they aren’t sharing the court with Paige.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Regarding Ash, she was the Big East Freshman of the Year, followed by Big East 6th Woman of the year.

Her stats:

Freshman 31.4 mpg 11.0 ppg 3.5 rpg shooting .481/.356/.913.

Sophomore 22.3 mpg 7.7 ppg 2.7rpg shooting .480/.411/.714.

My guess for her shooting this year: .480/.400/.850.

 

[Dogstar]

Just to add to the Ashlynn chorus: I forget the exact % but I believe that
ASH was over 90% in free throw shooting percentage in her freshman year!

91% her freshman year and 71% this past season

 

[Dogstar]

Regarding Ash, she was the Big East Freshman of the Year, followed by Big East 6th Woman of the year.

Her stats:

Freshman 31.4 mpg 11.0 ppg 3.5 rpg shooting .481/.356/.913.

Sophomore 22.3 mpg 7.7 ppg 2.7rpg shooting .480/.411/.714.

My guess for her shooting this year: .480/.400/.850.

You beat me to it... sorry my bad

 

[DEpup]

Even if we get to a point where Ash and Blanca almost split time 20/20 min at the wing in significant games, I'm still starting the experienced older Ash. We have Azzi, Sarah, and Serah to come out and score. At the start, you need a dependable Ash to come out be the glue player and hit the open shots when the opponent is focused on the other 3. IMO from what I saw in the opening game and her Italian film, you want Blanca to be the disrupter first off the bench who changes the game dynamics.

 

[bayern7]

Okay, after watching the BC scrimmage, I think that most of this I will still stick with. The one big exception now that I would like to change from previous statement; Williams starts from Game #1 and never relinquishes her roll to Jana or Gandy (baring an illness or injury, etc.)

I mentioned within the body of this post that I thought Williams would be a 'National Player of the Year' candidate ... it is going to be difficult to achieve that status, because the other Sarah is going to win that award and they likely will not like to put two (or three) teammates on the 1st Team All American list. But I'll say this of the two of them, they are going to be really problematic for teams to deal with anywhere near the paint. Throw in the perimeter shooting that Fudd will contribute, and add Shades' shooting and defense/long rebounds, KK's defense; wow, there are some really big problems for other teams in the forecast!

After the BC game, seems clear that Ash is the 5th starter at least to begin the season. I think what's more interesting is predicting who will round out the rotation. In one of his recent pressers Geno hinted at the maximum size of his rotation. He talked about a "second string" of players and mentioned 8-10 players. But from his tone, it seems that come tournament time his real rotation with this group will probably max out around 8-9 players barring injuries or rampant foul trouble. Which aligns with his core rotation size in the past. I should probably start a different thread about this, but I'm curious who people think the 4 core rotation players will end up being. For Caroline, Morgan, and Ayanna the likelihood of their being in that rotation is complicated by their long or ongoing recoveries. I think it's safe to assume Gandy is a long term investment. Kelis is raw and needs more time, especially as a point guard at UConn. Allie, I have no read on her long term projection because the sample is limited (telling in and of itself), but I do question her ability to compete against a SC or UCLA or Texas. So with a staring lineup of...

KK
Ashlynn
Azzi
Sarah
Serah

At this point the other four for me would be...

Kelis
Kayleigh
Allie
Blanca
Caroline
Morgan
Ayanna
Ice
Jana
Gandy

BUT a lot can change between now and March.

 

[Cuango]

I agree with your four but I would include Allie and expand it to five. Of course, much dpends on whether Caroline can begin to contribute at a high level.