Aubrey Griffin, part trois

[rvwsleep]

For your viewing enjoyment

 

[my2cents]

This kid is going to absolutely terrorize UConn opponents in a year or two. Her aggressiveness is innate and very Diana-like in intensity. Just wait until she gets up to speed on the offensive schemes and gets her considerable physical gifts under control. Holy cow.

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She "terrorized" Seton Hall last night. She is SPECIAL!

 

[my2cents]

Man I like this team...Geno has been underselling them because we lost two All Americans....but Aubrey showed us last night her potential, Anna, regardless of of her initial shooting problems, looks solid.... and we saw what Molly can do when she plays confidently.

 

[todbo]

I share the BY enthusiasm about AG. But as I remember, we have had early "breakout" games for other freshmen before they struggled for a while. My hopes are qualified.

 

[UConnCat]

3 of the top 5 are Aubrey's

 

[Fraz]

Geno please change / adapt a little ... please comnsider a 11 man rotation!!!
It will only help....I know your style worked and your resume speaks for itself, however bend a little..
the incoming class sees that for whatever reason players not getting time ...even when foul trouble is present..how will they ever get the experience...could send a bad sign....practice cant always dictate if a player should get at least 5 minutes in the game to see what they can contribute...I think we could be stronger if we had a consistent 9 man rotation!!!!!
Walker, Williams, Dangerfield, Nelson, Griffin, Makurat, Bent, Irwin, Adebayo = 9

 

[Fraz]

Starters / Off the Bench
Dangerfield - Irwin
Williams- Bent
Walker- Griffin
Makurat-
Nelson- Adebayo

 

[CocoHusky]

Geno please change / adapt a little ... please comnsider a 11 man rotation!!!
It will only help....I know your style worked and your resume speaks for itself, however bend a little..
the incoming class sees that for whatever reason players not getting time ...even when foul trouble is present..how will they ever get the experience...could send a bad sign....practice cant always dictate if a player should get at least 5 minutes in the game to see what they can contribute...I think we could be stronger if we had a consistent 9 man rotation!!!!!
Walker, Williams, Dangerfield, Nelson, Griffin, Makurat, Bent, Irwin, Adebayo = 9

Yea your right! We should just cut to the chase and write a guaranteed 5 minutes of playing time into each players scholarship agreement that way Geno can spend his time at practice focusing on more important things!

 

[JoePgh]

Geno please change / adapt a little ... please comnsider a 11 man rotation!!!
It will only help....I know your style worked and your resume speaks for itself, however bend a little..
the incoming class sees that for whatever reason players not getting time ...even when foul trouble is present..how will they ever get the experience...could send a bad sign....practice cant always dictate if a player should get at least 5 minutes in the game to see what they can contribute...I think we could be stronger if we had a consistent 9 man rotation!!!!!
Walker, Williams, Dangerfield, Nelson, Griffin, Makurat, Bent, Irwin, Adebayo = 9

It sounds like you missed Geno's comments on this point in the pre-game press conference. He said that he doesn't like a 6-player rotation, but that he is among a number of coaches of elite teams who are stuck with a short rotation because of a paucity of developed talent. For example, Notre Dame won an NC in 2018 with basically a 5-player team.

Significantly, he also said that he does not expect to have a short rotation next year with the recruiting class that he has signed. I was surprised to hear him put so much faith in a group of 5 players who have yet to participate in a single UConn practice, much less a game. But he seems to be convinced that at least several of them will contribute immediately.

 

[CocoHusky]

It sounds like you missed Geno's comments on this point in the pre-game press conference. He said that he doesn't like a 6-player rotation, but that he is among a number of coaches of elite teams who are stuck with a short rotation because of a paucity of developed talent. For example, Notre Dame won an NC in 2018 with basically a 5-player team.

Significantly, he also said that he does not expect to have a short rotation next year with the recruiting class that he has signed. I was surprised to hear him put so much faith in a group of 5 players who have yet to participate in a single UConn practice, much less a game. But he seems to be convinced that at least several of them will contribute immediately.

Keep in mind that that new class next year will also likely include Evina. 3 of the 6 players (Paige, Aaliyah & Evina) will contend for a starting spot as Freshmen. Nika is not coming all the way to UCONN to be a spectator and Piath is the only other post presence on a team in which ONO is foul prone. In sum the UCONN rotation of players next year could be as deep as 11 unless someone can tell me who is not going to earn minutes.

 

[Huskie02]

I spent the first minutes of the game watching the opponent blow by CW on defense, over and over. I pondered whether she was feeling ok.

Then game turned fun when Aubrey came in. Anna too. Both came to play... defense. It matters.

Then came Aubrey's rebounds and her finishing, especially at the free throw line. Of course getting fouled has value on it's own, but it's much more rewarding for me as a fan when a player decides to take back those points from the bully. Kick 'em while they're down, perfectly within the rules.

Great game, and great player in the making. She cares about her whole game.

After last year I thought Williams would have a terrific sophomore season. So far she has been ok but far from what I anticipated. I don’t know whether she played to much summer ball and is tired or I expected to much. I thought her defense last night was a “D” at best. Those little Seton Hall guards just seemed to leave her in the dust.

 

[JoePgh]

The rest of the perimeter defense outside of Griffin is terrible, and it's a big reason ONO has foul issues as she has to constantly come over to try and alter or block players' shots that get through. I don't know if there's an anecdote to that this season, but PB, Westbrook, and Mclean have to provide that next year. Griffin looks like a potential DPOY contender in the future though.

Geno commented on this point in his postgame interview, and his diagnosis was the exact opposite of yours. He basically said that UConn made a conscious decision not to guard the 3-point line aggressively in this game, because (a) you have to give up something; (b) Seton Hall had not previously been a good 3-point shooting team; and (c) Liv's interior defense and ability to avoid fouls while playing effective defense is not yet at a level where UConn can afford to be aggressive on the perimeter. If they are aggressive, Liv will have to try to block too many shots and will get into foul trouble.

In other words, in his view the root problem is Liv's present inability to play adequate interior defense without fouling, and that causes the team to have to play more passively on the perimeter than he would prefer.

Last night, Liv committed at least two fouls that she did not need to commit. When she stops doing that, the perimeter defense will become more aggressive. That theory of Geno's makes perfect sense to me.

 

[eebmg]

Keep in mind that that new class next year will also likely include Evina. 3 of the 6 players (Paige, Aaliyah & Evina) will contend for a starting spot as Freshmen. Nika is not coming all the way to UCONN to be a spectator and Piath is the only other post presence on a team in which ONO is foul prone. In sum the UCONN rotation of players next year could be as deep as 11 unless someone can tell me who is not going to earn minutes.

To be honest, I am skeptical about Nika. She has to greatly reduce TO's and improve her outside shots. I see her as a reserve whom may work herself into a level like Saniya by junior year.

 

[seeya27]

3 of the top 5 are Aubrey's

Expect a whole lot of this over the next four years. The woman is a seriously legit athlete from an elite athletic family. In my gut, I don't see this an aberration. That said, she is still a freshman who will be plagued with UConn learning curves and the maturity to truly understand her talents, harness them, and use them every night.

I don't want to crown her as the next coming of anything yet; that isn't fair to her. But damn, when she really figures it out...there might be no ceiling. Just my opinion...

 

[MilfordHusky]

3 of the top 5 are Aubrey's

Aubrey is a Human Highlight Reel—like Gabby, Moriah, Maya, et al.

 

[Alydar]

I really liked her mini double fist pump when her 3rd 3pter went in. Even before game 1 Geno had listed shooting 3's as the things she was "allowed" to do. Her first step is so quick that at 6'1" she will get a lot of good looks.
But I'm not sold on her starting. Put her in when she has a favorable matchup. If ND plays a lot of zone her drives to the hoop might not be easy but zones are vulnerable to offensive rebounders.

 

[eebmg]

I will make the same comparison I made earlier in the season. She reminds me of Diamond DeShields. The way she drives on a straight line to the basket keeping other players on a hip like a greyhound. She is probably better on the boards than Diamond and there is no reason she cant in her 4 years develop a similar offensive game.

 

[LoTrader]

I won't be surprised if Aubrey is top 5 in minutes played come tournament time.

In my eyes, Aubrey has more AA "potential" than any of the current UCONN starters. So nobody freaks out, that is meant as a compliment.

 

[eebmg]

I won't be surprised if Aubrey is top 5 in minutes played come tournament time.

In my eyes, Aubrey has more AA "potential" than any of the current UCONN starters. So nobody freaks out, that is meant as a compliment.

Meg has the advantage of having a much better outside game so she will always be able to hunt for points and scoring is such an important factor in these AA awards It is not easy finding 20+ points a game hitting the boards and running in transition. Besides, Geno has already ordained Meg an AA

 

[donalddoowop]

Keep in mind that that new class next year will also likely include Evina. 3 of the 6 players (Paige, Aaliyah & Evina) will contend for a starting spot as Freshmen. Nika is not coming all the way to UCONN to be a spectator and Piath is the only other post presence on a team in which ONO is foul prone. In sum the UCONN rotation of players next year could be as deep as 11 unless someone can tell me who is not going to earn minutes.

I can tell you who is not going to earn minutes. The player or players who don't win Geno's trust in practice. If they don't do well in practice they won't get minutes. That's the UConn way.

 

[Geew1992]

Never watched Griff play until this year so my question.... does she have an outside shot? Or is that a work?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Geno commented on this point in his postgame interview, and his diagnosis was the exact opposite of yours. He basically said that UConn made a conscious decision not to guard the 3-point line aggressively in this game, because (a) you have to give up something; (b) Seton Hall had not previously been a good 3-point shooting team; and (c) Liv's interior defense and ability to avoid fouls while playing effective defense is not yet at a level where UConn can afford to be aggressive on the perimeter. If they are aggressive, Liv will have to try to block too many shots and will get into foul trouble.

In other words, in his view the root problem is Liv's present inability to play adequate interior defense without fouling, and that causes the team to have to play more passively on the perimeter than he would prefer.

Last night, Liv committed at least two fouls that she did not need to commit. When she stops doing that, the perimeter defense will become more aggressive. That theory of Geno's makes perfect sense to me.

Aggressive, quality defense would help prevent players from getting into the lane where Nelson-Ododa is forced to contest them. Geno knows that. As far last night's game, I never said anything about strategy with regards to 3-point shooting. The fact remains that the perimeter defense is soft and passive as it has been all year, with the exception of Griffin.

 

[JoePgh]

Aggressive, quality defense would help prevent players from getting into the lane where Nelson-Ododa is forced to contest them. Geno knows that. As far last night's game, I never said anything about strategy with regards to 3-point shooting. The fact remains that the perimeter defense is soft and passive as it has been all year, with the exception of Griffin.

What I saw in two viewings of the Seton Hall game was that their 3-point shooters were wide open and got easy looks, which accounted for most of UConn's defensive shortcomings. I did NOT see Seton Hall guards frequently getting into the paint after beating their defender off the dribble. It happened a few times, as it does in every game (and did in previous years as well), but it was not a conspicuous scoring pattern for Seton Hall.

Liv's fouls (all three of them) were dumb. If she had avoided contact, the shooter would have had a difficult shot, and if she missed it, Liv would have been in prime position to grab the rebound. Especially in the first quarter, it makes much more sense to let the difficult shot be taken, since there is no one behind you on the bench who can fill your role. I assume that is why she only got 14 minutes of playing time, because she was making that mistake repeatedly. She was removed for the last time immediately after her third foul, well before the game was decided.

The "soft and passive" perimeter defense this season is (per Geno) an attempt to protect Liv from her own bad habits, since this kind of defense reduces the risk of penetration at the cost of giving up 3-point shot opportunities. And for the most part, it has accomplished that -- penetration by guards has not been a major scoring pattern against UConn this year.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

The "soft and passive" perimeter defense this season is (per Geno) an attempt to protect Liv from her own bad habits, since this kind of defense reduces the risk of penetration at the cost of giving up 3-point shot opportunities. And for the most part, it has accomplished that -- penetration by guards has not been a major scoring pattern against UConn this year.

I'm sorry, but there is no way that perimeter defense is a strategy. The notion that Geno or any coach doesn't want strong perimeter defense is ridiculous. It's not like UConn sits back in a zone. UConn was trying to stop the threes last night--they were just late covering and re-covering on most of them.

 

[DEpup]

I'm sorry, but there is no way that perimeter defense is a strategy. The notion that Geno or any coach doesn't want strong perimeter defense is ridiculous. It's not like UConn sits back in a zone. UConn was trying to stop the threes last night--they were just late covering and re-covering on most of them.

Listen to his interview.