Aubrey

[CTisballers]

She has that Russell Westbrook motor. She gives every time she steps on the court.

 

[blkkirk]

If she adds just a little offense this year it won't make sense to take her off the floor. I see her having a great season.

 

[eebmg]

She has that Russell Westbrook motor. She gives every time she steps on the court.

Hope the parallel does not extend to shooting.

 

[psconn]

A few days ago I re-watched the Notre Dame game in which Aubrey kinda dominated ND on defense, hustle plays and breaks. Watching that, I speculated what it would be like if she could be THAT Aubrey every night out. I felt that it would be a season-changing development even if she was still coming in off the bench.

I just ran across a Geno quote in UConn WBB Weekly - “Aubrey’s like a 100 times better than she was last year...” What the heck would that look like?!? Even assuming a large dose of Geno hyperbole, that might make her the most disruptive defender in the country this season. Across the depth chart, this version of UConn WBB looks like its identity will be tough D and fast breaks... definitely a winning combo, and fun to watch.

How do you see Aubrey's season shaping up? Is she a starter along with the other 4 returners or a blast of nitro off the bench? If she doesn't start, is it Aaliyah getting shoved into the deep end to add more size to the front court? Or maybe Aaliyah will be primarily a back up for Liv.

I really NEED this season to start!

OOPS. I just realized I referred to "Notre Dame" in my original post. The game I was actually referring to was the Tennessee game in which Aubrey dominated so noticeably (23min, 13pts, 7reb, 3stl). No matter, everything else works... ND was unranked and not very good, UT was #23 and under-performing... thanks all for the comments.

 

[PacoSwede]

I like "flashbang". Let's make it stick!

let's leave it up to her teammates

 

[Zinethar]

I believe you have a typo. You meant Liv and not Liz,right?

I just reread my post and saw a lot of typos but can't seem to edit it. apparently I was using a thought stream which works poorly now that I'm older . And you are correct of course - I didn't notice that one. Thanks for pointing it out!

 

[psconn]

This is the game I intended to refer to in the original post, not ND.

 

[Carnac]

I just reread my post and saw a lot of typos but can't seem to edit it. apparently I was using a thought stream which works poorly now that I'm older . And you are correct of course - I didn't notice that one. Thanks for pointing it out!

Zinethar, you are not alone.

 

[BBallF]

psconn, I've been drinking Aubrey's kool-aid all summer. I have her in my starting line up. I think she's one of the 5 best players on the team, at least right now. I was expecting a HUGE sophomore leap from her this year.
Then............Geno says that she's a hundred times better than last year, WTH?!? I had her starting before hearing this, now I'm definitely starting her. Why?.........because she makes plays!!

Last year, she didn't know the plays, but Geno could not keep her on the bench. He told her to just "go play". That's why they didn't run plays for her, they couldn't, she didn't know them. Her teammates had to tell her where to go on defense, as she was out of position on several occasions.

Well guess what, it’s a new day. This year she knows the plays. She knows what she's doing on BOTH ends of the court. A very strong argument can be made for Paige and Aaliyah to start. I won't debate that possibility. I don't think Geno will be able to keep Aaliyah on the bench.

I have no idea what Geno is going to do, but I do know all 3 will see lots of minutes this year. They're all play makers!! You can't keep play makers on the bench, especially in BIG games. Aubrey is going to be fun to watch this year. UConn's own "human highlight" player.

Because I'm not familiar with all of the top players in the BIG East, I can't predict who the 1st team players will be at the end of the season. I will say that it would not surprise me for her to make the list, either as a 1st team, 2nd team or honorable mention.

I was at the Seton Hall game last year and she was downright dominating. I have been saying ever since the season ended that she would improve dramatically playing with her brothers and assuredly with her father being involved in her training over the summer. I don't know how to interpret Geno's remarks other than that she has made a very large leap. I see her starting and being a major force on a team that will likely full court press at least for portions of the game. Her numbers last year were 5.4 rpg and 6.4 ppg in less than 50% of the time played by the starters with an incredible 48 steals, second on the team to Crystal with 55. If you extrapolate it out (which is probably not accurate this year due to our depth) you are likely looking at a double double machine plus an average of 3 steals per game which is national top 10 territory. Perhaps most telling, she shot 93 free throws last year second only to Walker at 95. She has an unbelievable knack for getting the ball under the basket and I wouldn't be surprised at all if her name winds up on the wall. Remember, she was a very young freshman. If you ever saw her father play, which I did for years at Seton Hall, you can see the close similarities. He made it to the Celtics with a great floor game like she will have. Geno was right as usual when he said that she has gifts few other players have.

 

[Carnac]

I was at the Seton Hall game last year and she was downright dominating. I have been saying ever since the season ended that she would improve dramatically playing with her brothers and assuredly with her father being involved in her training over the summer. I don't know how to interpret Geno's remarks other than that she has made a very large leap. I see her starting and being a major force on a team that will likely full court press at least for portions of the game. Her numbers last year were 5.4 rpg and 6.4 ppg in less than 50% of the time played by the starters with an incredible 48 steals, second on the team to Crystal with 55. If you extrapolate it out (which is probably not accurate this year due to our depth) you are likely looking at a double double machine plus an average of 3 steals per game which is national top 10 territory. Perhaps most telling, she shot 93 free throws last year second only to Walker at 95. She has an unbelievable knack for getting the ball under the basket and I wouldn't be surprised at all if her name winds up on the wall. Remember, she was a very young freshman. If you ever saw her father play, which I did for years at Seton Hall, you can see the close similarities. He made it to the Celtics with a great floor game like she will have. Geno was right as usual when he said that she has gifts few other players have.

Thanks for this post. How can you not start your 6th man from last year who is 100 times better? Because you were there, you saw things we didn't see on TV. I believe everything you say about Aubrey. I could see the raw latent talent in her from the few games she played an extended period of time. She's a play maker!!!

Last year, at times it appeared she had a blindfold on feeling her way around the court because of her not knowing Geno's system. Other times, when she was uber aggressive, she looked like the best player on the floor. She's going to be fun to watch this year. One quick prediction..........she likes to run. She's going to be on the receiving end of a lot of fast break passes this year for easy lay ups.

I can't wait to see the "she's 100 times better" that Geno talked about. That's great for us, but scary as crap for our opponents. Right now, a month before the season starts, I don't think it's unreasonable to think that Aubrey can average a double double throughout the year. She can't get 5 rebounds and 5 points in each half? There will be quarters she will exceed those numbers.

When Aaliyah and Aubrey are on the floor together, they should get the majority of the defensive rebounds, as they both have a nose for the ball, and go to the boards when the shot is taken. Aubrey showed us last year that like Napheesa Collier, she's not afraid to hit the boards. She relishes the contact. This is going to be a fun ride.