Aubrey's Surge

[Jingo]

I agree with 'steelerone'. Gabby not only had an incredible leaping ability, but also the strength, grace and control that was developed in her years as a track & field star! The one picture that stays in my mind was that game where she made that incredible leap to steal the ball and turn it into a basket (forgot the game, but I'm sure someone remembers which one I am referring to)!

She leaped over 6'3" Turner from ND, eh? Unforgettable!

 

[Jingo]

Are you sure? Geno does have a lot of respect for Jingo's opinion.

Yes .. let's see where the chips fall in October .. right now we're all just speculating and having FUN .. and let's see if Megan can deliver in the Tourney, against the tougher teams, the way that Danger always does...

 

[mbr33ct]

Oh boy, the

I love what Aubrey is doing, but I almost choked on my popcorn when I heard that. WAAAYYYYYY too early to make that kind of statement even if you believe that is her trajectory.

I also heard Liv's game compared to Kevin Durant's last night so...

Brooke must be related to @Jingo

 

[Jingo]

Oh boy, the


Brooke must be related to @Jingo

I had to go to Ancestry.com to find out if Brooke and I are related, but couldn't find a connection other than we're both good-looking.
Brooke and I are generally in sync, especially about Griff and Liv being future stars in the WNBA but I don't agree with her Kevin Durant comparison. [Liv's a better passer]
Liv is incomparable .. one-of-a-kind .. nobody like her .. and should be the focal point of the Huskies offense/defense right now and for the following two years. IMHO!

 

[JoePgh]

Regarding Aubrey, one thing that I have noticed while watching games in person (which no announcers have commented on) is that she seems to have a significant issue with stamina. In the Cincinnati game, she had only been in the game for 3 minutes or so in the first half when she was panting to get back on defense as fast as the player she was guarding -- and did not succeed in doing so. Geno took her out of the game soon after that. I had not seen that from any UConn player since Lexie Gordon left the program.

I realize that her playing style consumes an extraordinary amount of energy, and that she is not trying to pace herself to go 35 or 40 minutes (probably on instructions from the coaches). But those of you who suggest that what she does in relatively brief playing time could be extended to a full game are not taking her stamina issue into account.

Hopefully that (in addition to her jump shot) is a problem that she can fix over the summer months.

 

[psconn]

I had to go to Ancestry.com to find out if Brooke and I are related, but couldn't find a connection other than we're both good-looking.
Brooke and I are generally in sync, especially about Griff and Liv being future stars in the WNBA but I don't agree with her Kevin Durant comparison. [Liv's a better passer]
Liv is incomparable .. one-of-a-kind .. nobody like her .. and should be the focal point of the Huskies offense/defense right now and for the following two years. IMHO!

Liv's development is encouraging and she's obviously working hard on her game. Her ceiling looks high but all she's proven so far is that she can dominate lower tier size and talent. If she shows out in a rematch with Baylor, or looks dominent against her SC and Oregon opponents, I'll gladly step up to the Koolaid dispenser for a sip or two.

 

[Jingo]

Liv's development is encouraging and she's obviously working hard on her game. Her ceiling looks high but all she's proven so far is that she can dominate lower tier size and talent. If she shows out in a rematch with Baylor, or looks dominent against her SC and Oregon opponents, I'll gladly step up to the Koolaid dispenser for a sip or two.

Like any post player, a lot depends on the players who are feeding her the ball .. except for Ania, Liv is not the recipient of many good "entry passes" .. she'll do much better in the WNBA where they will capitalise on her 'high ceiling' .. eh?

 

[eebmg]

Some nice comments on Aubrey by her team mates

I thought she should’ve been on the All-Freshman team and I think she should’ve won Defensive Player of the Year award,” Dangerfield said. “There’s not many people in our conference that can do what she does.”

“She should be Defensive Player of the Year,” Makurat added.

 

[donalddoowop]

Regarding Aubrey, one thing that I have noticed while watching games in person (which no announcers have commented on) is that she seems to have a significant issue with stamina. In the Cincinnati game, she had only been in the game for 3 minutes or so in the first half when she was panting to get back on defense as fast as the player she was guarding -- and did not succeed in doing so. Geno took her out of the game soon after that. I had not seen that from any UConn player since Lexie Gordon left the program.

I realize that her playing style consumes an extraordinary amount of energy, and that she is not trying to pace herself to go 35 or 40 minutes (probably on instructions from the coaches). But those of you who suggest that what she does in relatively brief playing time could be extended to a full game are not taking her stamina issue into account.

Hopefully that (in addition to her jump shot) is a problem that she can fix over the summer months.

The only problem with her jump shot is that she rarely uses it. You'll see next season.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

The only problem with her jump shot is that she rarely uses it. You'll see next season.

The one area in which she doesn't register relative to her teammates is in 3-point shooting. I believe she's made 1 of 10 attempts. At least at this point in her career, she's not an outside shooter. Indeed, she's gone to the line for nine times as many attempts as 3-pointers!

 

[ABCDFE]

I truly believe that if Aubrey can develop a jump shot and a 30-35% three pt shot she will be one of the best two way players in the game. We all know at UConn she will get stronger and will improve her knowledge of the system. Once she gains confidence in her shot and practices her shot relentlessly she has NPOY potential. We will all be shaking our heads with amazement in a year or two in how good she will be defensively. It’s the offensive side that needs catching up and if she can pattern her offensive game to a Nalyssa Smiths from Baylor, Aubrey will be remembered as one of the greats It’s a long ways away, but it’s the potential that’s so tantalizing.

Before the season started I didn’t know what to expect from our freshman but I have to tell you both Anna and Aubrey have amazing potential and they both possess different skill sets which complimwnt each other. We’ve seen Anna deliver great passes to Aubrey for an easy finish around the rim. Anna’s deep threat and ability to drive and feed open shooters or slashers is a skill set that’s going to be needed next year when CD is gone.

 

[Steelerone]

Tell you what. I'm going to wait until November and see who Geno posts for the starting lineup. After that I'll let everyone in the boneyard know.

 

[Dokey]

Great comments
She can be the difference maker inn the tournament. I hope Gino has her guard the opposing teams point guard. I would have a short leach on Christyn and Anna and get Aubrey in the game before Q2

That leach could be painful. My only thought is we can’t afford not to have Anna on the floor, as she makes team move with assists and assists to assists if you will.

 

[Alydar]

The one area in which she doesn't register relative to her teammates is in 3-point shooting. I believe she's made 1 of 10 attempts. At least at this point in her career, she's not an outside shooter. Indeed, she's gone to the line for nine times as many attempts as 3-pointers!

And yet early in the season Geno listed shooting 3's, along with drives and rebounding as the things she was told by the coaches were allowed. I doubt he would have included 3's if he wasn't sure she could shoot them. IMO she just isn't comfortable shooting them. Next season.

 

[browns]

Starting five next year of:

Bueckers
Griffin
Edwards
ONO
Walker

??

Nope..Evina takes CD place and everything stays the same with Aubrey first off the bench..then we'll see how the freshman develpoe..I expect Paige to be ready first

 

[DefenseBB]

Exactly!

Ok, here's the Aubrey vs. Gabby data from their freshman years-please note Gabby was on an undefeated team that won the title with almost all being blowouts.

Rebounds

Name

GP-GS

Min Ave

FG-FGA

FG%

3FG- FGA

FT-FTA

FT%

OFF

DEF

TOT

AVG

PF

A

TO

BLK

STL

PTS

AV

Aubrey

32-0

16.7​

74-144

0.514​

1-10

56-93

0.602​

72​

100​

172​

5.4​

33​

33​

36​

18​

48​

205​

6.4​

Gabby

38-0

15.6​

137-215

0.637​

0-1

42-91

0.462​

79​

139​

218​

5.7​

45​

50​

40​

14​

46​

316​

8.3​

 

[Carnac]

Take a look at Aubrey's year so far, and you see some remarkable stats. Aubrey has now rung up more free throw attempts (92) than any other player on the team. That's 16 more than the team's starting center, ONO. And she's done it while playing barely half the minutes of the starters. She was a bad free throw shooter most of the season. But she's broken through. While her total FT% is just 61%, she's made 16 of 22 free throws over the past four games.

She's now 2nd in steals, one ahead of Megan, while playing half the minutes. Her FG% (52%) is second among the top players, trailing only ONO (Irwin's is slightly higher, but she's been relegated to sub for some time now). She's second in blocks with 17, again ahead of Megan Walker's 15, though racked up in just half the minutes played.

And she's 3rd in total rebounds.

She's scoring at a 10.4 ppg clip over the past five games.

She is a rocket that is just now showing up on the radar screens!

Aubrey will continue to soar. I doubt if Aubrey will start next year. In fact, I'd bet against it, but she will get substantial playing time because of her exceptional skill set, and the fact that she will then know what she's doing. Also look for Geno to give her more "leash", as her role (and Geno's expectations for her) will expand. She's deferring now to upper classmen on plays she'll take herself (and be expected to) next year.

I do expect her to be at or near the top in the categories you've mentioned. It's too early to talk about next year, and I'll be happy to go into more depth on this after the season ends, but I do expect her to retain her 6th man status next year. That means lots of playing time. In fact, I expect her minutes to mirror that of the starters.

Think about it, which one of the 5 incoming freshmen is likely to supplant her for that role?. You know the answer to that question as well as I do. Play in WCBB is a little easier the second time around the block.

 

[Carnac]

Nope..Evina takes CD place and everything stays the same with Aubrey first off the bench..then we'll see how the freshman develop. I expect Paige to be ready first.

Exactly!! We're looking at this through the same optical prism. Paige will get a lot of playing time, but she'll do so coming off the bench barring injury. She'll no doubt start her sophomore year and beyond.

 

[eebmg]

Exactly!! We're looking at this through the same optical prism. Paige will get a lot of playing time, but she'll do so coming off the bench barring injury. She'll no doubt start her sophomore year and beyond.

So what is the plan if Evina stays for her second year. CW,Evina will start as seniors and Paige starting as sophomore?

 

[Carnac]

So what is the plan if Evina stays for her second year. CW,Evina will start as seniors and Paige starting as sophomore?

To be honest, I don't think Westbrook stays for year 2. I think she bolts for the W just like Azure Stevens did. I'd bet my turban and cape she's gone after next year. She graduates and leaves with her BFF Megan Walker to see what kind of carnage they can create at the next level. Paige will be ready (and chomping at the bit) to take over the starting pg spot. Her leaving (IMO) won't leave Geno in a lurch as much as when Stevens left. Not at all.

IF Westbrook stays, she starts. There will be a plethora of uber talented players on this team ready to assume a starters role. That's too far away to guess who will EARN a starter's spot. I think by then, UConn will have returned to that position of being bad of WCBB. South Carolina has arrived and is not going away. Neither is Oregon. They've got some very talented recruits coming in the next couple of years. The thought of UConn being bad for the game may be part of a 3 headed monster.

 

[j66kicker]

To be honest, I don't think Westbrook stays for year 2. I think she bolts for the W just like Azure Stevens did. I'd bet my turban and cape she's gone after next year. She graduates and leaves with her BFF, Megan Walker to see what kind of carnage they can create at the next level. Paige will be ready (and chomping at the bit) to take over the starting pg spot. Her leaving (IMO) won't leave Geno in a lurch as when Stevens left. Not at all.

Haha - BFF may already be gone after THIS year

 

[eebmg]

To be honest, I don't think Westbrook stays for year 2. I think she bolts for the W just like Azure Stevens did. I'd bet my turban and cape she's gone after next year. She graduates and leaves with her BFF, Megan Walker to see what kind of carnage they can create at the next level. Paige will be ready (and chomping at the bit) to take over the starting pg spot. Her leaving (IMO) won't leave Geno in a lurch as when Stevens left. Not at all.

IF Westbrook stays, she starts. There are going to be a lot of very talented players on this team ready to assume a starters role. That's too far away to guess who will EARN a starter's spot. I think by then, UConn will have returned to that position of being bad of WCBB. South Carolina has arrived and is not going away. Neither is Oregon. They've got some very talented recruits coming in the next couple of years.

My thought is that Evina may not have the AA season that gets her drafted in the first round (injury+growing pains in the system like Azure had but Evina not 6' 6") and might want a second year to bolster her credentials. I hope she has the kind of season that lets her leave after 1 season but I am not sure

 

[Argonaut]

Haha - BFF may already be gone after THIS year

This year’s draft is too deep — it would be a bad business/brand move for Megan to take the jump this year.

Next year, she’s a top 5 draft pick — possibly top three — depending on how things shake out.

 

[j66kicker]

This year’s draft is too deep — it would be a bad business/brand move for Megan to take the jump this year.

Next year, she’s a top 5 draft pick — possibly top three — depending on how things shake out next year.

The BY will have a wide variety of creative rationale for her decision. Pretty much guarantee that ALL of it will be rationale for her decision to stay (which to some would be strong evidence that it may be less than 100% objective).

 

[Carnac]

My thought is that Evina may not have the AA season that gets her drafted in the first round (injury+growing pains in the system like Azure had but Evina not 6' 6") and might want a second year to bolster her credentials. I hope she has the kind of season that lets her leave after 1 season but I am not sure

The team would be better if she returns for year 2. You’re right. She may not be a high first round draft pick.