- Joined
- Apr 18, 2021
- Messages
- 4,491
- Reaction Score
- 21,002
Besides those listed above as possible replacements for an injured (heaven forbid!) KK,
UCONN also has Morgan Cheli who was the ball handler for Archbishop Mitty, 6' 2".
Arms Race - The New Formula
- Thread starter Surly1
- Start date
UCONN also has Morgan Cheli who was the ball handler for Archbishop Mitty, 6' 2".
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2011
- Messages
- 2,241
- Reaction Score
- 6,498
Yes, forgot that Cheli handled the ball a lot. So I guess we're all set at PG!
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2016
- Messages
- 7,229
- Reaction Score
- 25,638
Arms Race Solutions?
Bigger is not always better.
Dawn's roster did not work this year because she had a full house of 15 players. Instead, it worked because she had only 11 players to start the year. Nine emerged as regular contributors. One (Sakima Walker) is and probably will always be a deep bench player who appears to be satisfied with little more than mop up minutes. One was dissatisfied with her minutes and was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team" rather than the usual "violation of team rules." She is in the portal.
That worked out to four bigs and five guards. Those 9 are very close knit and share minutes pretty equally. I don't know if the team would have been as cohesive if we had more. I doubt it.
With a larger number, there just aren't enough minutes to satisfy everyone. I believe Geno has used nine player rotations during some championship years. Yes, a few more may be needed in case of injury epidemics such as in UConn's recent past. Nevertheless, I'll assert that bigger is not always better.
Bigger is not always better.
Dawn's roster did not work this year because she had a full house of 15 players. Instead, it worked because she had only 11 players to start the year. Nine emerged as regular contributors. One (Sakima Walker) is and probably will always be a deep bench player who appears to be satisfied with little more than mop up minutes. One was dissatisfied with her minutes and was suspended indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team" rather than the usual "violation of team rules." She is in the portal.
That worked out to four bigs and five guards. Those 9 are very close knit and share minutes pretty equally. I don't know if the team would have been as cohesive if we had more. I doubt it.
With a larger number, there just aren't enough minutes to satisfy everyone. I believe Geno has used nine player rotations during some championship years. Yes, a few more may be needed in case of injury epidemics such as in UConn's recent past. Nevertheless, I'll assert that bigger is not always better.
Charliebball
**
- Joined
- Jan 26, 2016
- Messages
- 13,751
- Reaction Score
- 53,215
Dawn sounded very much like Geno and Danny Hurley when she described the kind of players she was recruiting.........they have to be willing to sacrifice minutes and stats and have a single goal of winning championships as part of a team....... it's not that easy to find players at the 4-5 star level that will buy into that concept......
Let’s not forget Shade who IIRC had a season high point total of 26 points in one of the tournament games.
Yep Shade was a high school point guard, so as someone pointed out earlier in the year, we played a 4 point guard offense. Sub in Ines for Aaliyah against Xavier, and voila, the 5 pt guard offense.
On overall program, Dawn has her own style, but draws from Geno, Pat, Tara and the Philly Style. Like Tara she plays deep to keep players 6-10 motivated. Like Pat she goes for athletes to compete in rough and tumble SEC, like Geno and the main line, she works hard to have a strong family culture and cares for the players' future off the court. Every coach, Geno included, will look at transfers if they address a critical need.
UConn still is at the top of the recruiting game. Paige and Azzi were #1 recruits, Caroline, Ayanna KK and Ice were top 10.
SC managed to stay injury free, while UConn has gone thru an unimaginable 3 yr injury plague. Hopefully that balances out in 24/25.