And before people bring up her knees, remember Gabby Williams tore her ACL in high school, but showed no sign of injury in college and went on to be named a National Defensive POY.
I agree, I think that extra big is all we are missing. ONO doesn’t play well when we need her too. She plays nervous. GA knows he needs another option because AE can’t do it alone. No offense to ONO we just can’t afford to trust her in those big games anymore. She’s had enough opportunities to step up. Defensively and rebounding she can hold her own but we need scoring from her. This young lady looks aggressive like AE and that’s what we need. I’ve watched Deberry play twice and she may turn out to be a great player for us, I dont think she will contribute much right away. The ONLY thing this team is without next year is another big that it good enough to help right now. My opinion she puts us over the top. Not because she’s some all American but because it’s another option for GA when Liv isn’t playing well.
All true. But @MilfordHusky, people are going to need to see this kid to believe her. You and I have hyped this kid a lot (especially you), but the truth is the minute she hits the floor with Paige it'll be a new era in UConn BB. Just the idea, as I've said to you, of someone that can consistently hit that shot as the trail in transition and hit that weak side corner 3, both as KML used to do, changes UConn's offense. Along with Caroline Ducharme it will make teams less likely to press or trap on defense, make teams less likely to try to force UConn into a quarter court offense, and because of their FT shooting, less likely to put our guards on the line.
My friend, you saw Azzi on a bad day. I saw her in full splash mode several times. Yep, she will do what Kaleena did and more. Defenses will have to pick their poison, which could be letting Liv go one-on-one in the paint or leaving Nika/Caroline/et al. open at the arc. I saw Georgetown Visitation try to play Azzi straight up in the 2019 City Championship game, and she torched them for 38 (still the arena record). Some shooting and scoring records will go by the wayside over the next 4 years. Not only can Azzi hit shots, but also Paige can find her in her sweet spots.
And because one person recovered from an injury, it does not mean another will in the same manner. I am certainly in no way commenting on anything regarding her injuries and wish the young lady an absolute complete recovery but it‘s somewhat ironic that many posters couldn’t get to their keyboards quick enough that Muhl shouldn’t start or even play because of her injury but Fudd’s should be beyond comment. I realize MUCH different circumstances with one being in-season but this idea that Bueckers, and now Fudd, should be SO GOOD as to be beyond discussion or anything resembling negativity or criticism rubs this old schooler the wrong way. Just one man’s opinion.
Before we get too excited about a transfer from tOSU, it’s worth pointing out a few stats. This past season, Dorka shot 20% from the arc, 43% from the FT line with an A/TO ratio of 0.6. She’s no Ashten Prechtel who is 6’5”, shot 37% from the arc and was a key part of Stanford’s championship run.
Actually, we already have a player like that. This past season Liv shot 27% from the arc. Dorka shot 20%.
Have you watched Dorka? She is nothing like Liv offensively. She is very polished around the basket and has an array of moves around the rim. I think she would help us immensely. I also think Olivia could have her best year next year. Her points may go down, but she would have a chance to set an APG record for a post player at UCONN. She is a great passer from the high post, she has a shot you have to honor from out there, which would drag defenses out, and open up the lane.
I don’t know how good she looks, but I do know she only shot 20% from the arc and she’s a bad FT shooter at 43%. I get the fascination with her because she’s 6’4”. If I were defending her, I’d give her the 3, just like teams give Liv the 3 at a 27% make rate, and when Dorka has the ball in the paint, I’d foul her and force her to make FT’s. IMO, Dorka is not the answer. We need to develop the players we have first and foremost.
What you are suggesting potentially takes minutes away from Amari and UConn’s other Bigs with a player who shoots 48/20/43. While we all want Liv to pick up her game, it should be pointed out that this past season Liv shot 56/27/59.
ESPN sometimes takes awhile to update their Hoopgurlz report. You can be assured that Ayanna has every intention of honoring her verbal to UConn, although it should be pointed out that nothing is official until the NLI is signed next fall.
ESPN and ProspectsNation are usually slow on the update for some players. Nothing has changed on Patterson's end. Carleigh Wenzel committed to VATech back in February and she's still uncommitted on ESPN. PN does have Ayanna Patterson as a UConn commit. But doesn't have Lazaria Spearman as a Miami commit and she committed back in January.
Gaudy numbers against substandard Big East competition (by and large).
Agreed, but the 27/59 3pt/FT % were basically uncontested shots against everyone vs Dorka’s 20/43 %, who we are comparing Liv to.
You have to think though how much better she could be (really any player) under UConn’s staff. They develop players to really reach their full potential. And any player playing with a Paige Bueckers is automatically going to be better, she gets them easy shots and builds confidence for her teammates.
For some reason, I thought it was higher. Since you bring up ONO, I see that Juhasz gets more rebounds, playing in a better conference. I still believe she could help.
