Auriemma eyes dominant frontcourt in UConn’s quest for 12th title

[donalddoowop]

What good does it do to get a good big and not play her. I truly believe that if Brink had come to UConn she would not be as good as she is now because I doubt if she would have gotten the opportunity she got at Stanford. When they both were in high school, I read that Brink would not contribute right away in college and that DeBerry was as good as she was. Maybe that was just BY talk.

 

[BobbyJ]

What good does it do to get a good big and not play her. I truly believe that if Brink had come to UConn she would not be as good as she is now because I doubt if she would have gotten the opportunity she got at Stanford. When they both were in high school, I read that Brink would not contribute right away in college and that DeBerry was as good as she was. Maybe that was just BY talk.

To anyone who knew what they were looking at, that was just BS talk. Brink would've played at least as much as her foul situation allowed. UConn has had no one for these two seasons with her combination of size and quickness at either end.

 

[Jmsdawg]

I have looked at maybe half the kids in the portal. I don't see a quality big that would help us. Maybe she is in the other half. Do you know of one?

She not a post but she is a rebound machine, Blackwell!

 

[LoboDays]

We just need to get used to the fact that talent in this sport is growing and will be widely spread. No senior on UCONN was a 1st round pick. Some years , we will have a 1st round pick. Some years, we won’t.

When it comes to the bigs, I neither blame the coach for not developing them or the players for any lack of interest or effort. Some evolve to be dominant post players who can score while being tightly guarded and fighters who refuse to be out rebounded. Some don’t.

Anything is possible but it’s likely that we won’t find a big who meets the above qualification in the portal. Might be better to look for forwards who can bang the boards and, as a group, can control the paint against the bigger, stronger teams.

We don’t need a super star. We just need a big who the defense needs to take seriously when they are in the paint. And, I would think about changing the offensive scheme that has both our bigs out by the 3 point line setting screens. The reason SC stuffed our guards was because they had nowhere to go because their bigs were able to follow ours out there and help clog things up. Things would have opened up for our guards if our post players actually played the post.

 

[Charliebball]

Never mind the other two who were indeed excellent, but as an example: Gabby Williams, a guard playing the high post often decimated the Wilson-led team full of WNBA players, on offense even though she was hesitant to shoot from three. How? With her passing and split-second coordination with her teammates....

[On defense? We know what happened to Ms. Wilson and Ms Coates when defended by that guard.....]

Like you, I haven't decided to become an advocate of the Devil.....but who knows? I have often thought that it is easy for the opposing team to claim credit when players manning a position - in this case, the UConn high post in a low post/high post offensive scheme - stops themselves (intentionally or otherwise).

unfortunately Gabby Williams is one of a kind..........very few players have her athleticism, skill set and intensity.........if she had the outside game she has now when she was at UConn they'd likely have earned another championship...........that said a certain Ms. Patterson seems to have some of these same attributes in an even bigger package.....is it possible she turns into a Gabby or Nalyssa Smith like player?........we can only hope........

 

[Jingo]

Hopefully this is an anomaly but it is a reality that the program must come to grips with and reverse the trend. In the 2020 WNBA draft Megan Walker was the 9th player selected notably behind Herbert Harrigan of SC and Bella Allarie of Princeton. In 2022 WNBA draft and for the first time in a very long time UCONN had not only one but an entire class of highly ranked HS players prospects (CW, Evina, and ONO) fail to develop and improve in their time as UCONN players. It is staggering that there were 5 centers (Austin, Sabally, Egbo, Cunanane, & Cubaj) picked ahead of Olivia. Even more staggering that there were 7 (Howard, Hull, Burton, Burrell, Bell, Clouden, & Pointer) guards picked ahead of Christyn Williams and Evina. Keep in mind that these are "professional" basketball GMs making these decisions not a college coach deciding to hand out a scholarship or the BY sticking up for their favorite UCONN players. I also suspect these "failures to develop" will be used against UCONN in current and future recruiting battles.
@Jingo you tracking any of this? Whatever happened to "Liv being a lock for the WNBA lottery" and who becomes your least favorite player now that CW is moving on?

Let's see what happens in training camp and during the WNBA season. Liv will do her 'Crystal' thing I have no doubt, eh? Liv is by far the best rebounder, shot-blocker and defensive player of the five [NOT!] centers that you mentioned. Those astute GMs were waaay wrong about Crystal; they're wrong about Liv too!

 

[LoboDays]

I hope all 3 of our players are successful in the pros but I think Liv has a tough road ahead. She will be up against the best bigs. She had two rebounds against SC and every pro team has quality bigs. She also provides little scoring. Maybe she shows things she didn’t during her college career. If she doesn’t, I’m not optimistic about a pro career. At least, not in this country.

 

[AmeriConn]

There is no question that SC has 3 excellent players that can play the post. As Dawn Staley said in an interview: we do not worry about making the first shot because we know that we are going to get the offensive rebound and either make that shot or get fouled.

If UConn is going to contend against SC, they are going to need 3 big "Bulls" to push and shove against those 3 excellent post players on SC. The portal at this point is the place to look for some of them with experience. And, they should act quickly before Dawn adds them to her team.

I totally agree, but are those players currently available in the portal?

 

[Pharos]

As a fan base we continue to underestimate Boston's impact on the defensive end of the floor. Time to come to grips that we are not going to beat her with gimmicks. As a freshman there was the though that UCONN should out run her because she was poorly conditioned. As a sophomore there was a though that we could drive right at her and get her in foul trouble. Now we are suggesting drawing her away from the basket. Boston is the National DPOY and deservedly so. Boston's ability to help on the perimeter, recover, block shots, BBIQ, and reflexes are all elite. What is most elite in her tool bag are the reflexes. Boston reaction to the ball and the game situation are Dennis Rodman like. My point is you may be able to fool a player like that for a play or two but you better have a plan B. UCONN hitting some more mid or long range jump shots will certainly help-then what?

the UConn guards will learn how to get fouled more. their quickness toward the basket and finding open shooters will help that, too. players setting picks will better trust drivers to cut past them closely enough; so they'll get fewer moving pick fouls. As drivers cut past and dribble past picks, some fouls should happen. Paige and Azzi need to get to the line.

 

[darkstar1]

I hear allot about our weak post play which is true. We need some toughness in the post ! But the main thing that hurt us was our guard play besides Beckers. We just didn't score at all. Paige is just so tough! If we get some 3 pt. scoring from our guards things would of been different. I realize some of our players were sick or hurt. We just had no luck this year. Hope they stay healthy and heal till next season. They are a terrific group of girls.

This comment expresses my thought too. Despite the rebounding disparity, if outside shots fall, I believe UConn wins. Giving the inside game edge to SC was obvious. But I thought UConn’s guard edge would be the deciding factor. It was not so n this game. SC’s guards scored and ours didn’t. That was the game. If they played another game, perhaps a different result. I Azzi and others healthy, perhaps a different result. I think next year’s Huskies will be a better team than this years. Add health, and I like our chances for a NC next year, even with no portal additions.

 

[LoboDays]

if outside shots fall, I believe UConn wins.

If all outside shots fall, Butler is the National Champion. The reason the shots didn’t fall was because of SC’s tight D. The reason for the tight D on our guards was because of the lack on need to tightly guard our bigs. This must change or the top teams will continue to make it very difficult for our guards.

 

[Notyetready]

Let's see what happens in training camp and during the WNBA season. Liv will do her 'Crystal' thing I have no doubt, eh? Liv is by far the best rebounder, shot-blocker and defensive player of the five [NOT!] centers that you mentioned. Those astute GMs were waaay wrong about Crystal; they're wrong about Liv too!

Sparks coach Fisher said he wants to look at Liv because of her size, length, passing and shot-blocking. He did not say anything about her scoring. They do have rebounding bigs now but they don't pass well. Liv's groin injury will be key to her immediate success. Fisher knows that she, like all UConn grads, is NBA ready. He said he was surprised and excited that she was available to him at the 19th spot in the draft. Go Liv.

 

[Zarathustra]

Dominant Forecourt? How about Latasha Lattimore 6'4" ,former teammate of
Ms. Edwards at Cresswood Prep in Ontario , Canada. Now in the portal from the U. of
Texas. Ms. Lattimore is one year behind Aaliyah. Worth a look. for insurance??

 

[Dognusty]

When you sayv post scoring, you mean from the high post right?

Yes

 

[darkstar1]

If all outside shots fall, Butler is the National Champion. The reason the shots didn’t fall was because of SC’s tight D. The reason for the tight D on our guards was because of the lack on need to tightly guard our bigs. This must change or the top teams will continue to make it very difficult for our guards.

Gotta wonder if we watched the same game. What I saw was that SCs defense was great and they controlled the boards. I expected that. What I also saw was that SCs guards made shots early that put them ahead. I didn’t expect that. Also that we had shots and missed them. I didn’t expect that. Two very good teams. UConn’s shots didn’t fall. Game. Next year I think the Huskies will be stronger…and hopefully healthy.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Anyone who thinks that DeBerry will fill some sort of void in the low post is fooling themselves. She is a finesse type player and that's not going to change. I said when she committed that she was going to be a project and nothing has happened to change my point of view.

 

[Charliebball]

Dominant Forecourt? How about Latasha Lattimore 6'4" ,former teammate of
Ms. Edwards at Cresswood Prep in Ontario , Canada. Now in the portal from the U. of
Texas. Ms. Lattimore is one year behind Aaliyah. Worth a look. for insurance??

she certainly got a pretty impressive ESPN write up out of high school.........perhaps our Texas friends can explain what happened to her this season....

" Athletic front court performer brings superior length, wingspan, defensive presence in the paint; rebounds and initiates the fast break, runs the floor like a guard and finishes the play in traffic; soft touch in the paint, plays near the rim; continues with a dominant interior game; a difference maker on both ends of the floor. (Olson)

 

[Alydar]

Agree and disagree. The last sentence is true about Ayanna. Aubrey, is so FAST she is or appears to be playing out of control, misses a lot drives to the basket with too much speed. She is a Gabby type player (not a Gabby). Mir ain't no more.
everything else I like.
As we have seen in over the years; if you are a good top IQ player that can score you play as a Freshman (Dt, Sveta, Shea, Stewie, Maya, Paige, Fudd, Caroline (there are others). If Ayanna/Tommey can make this cut they'll play next year.

Brady has Dolson's chance. Juhasz and Edwards are 4's that can play 5. Dolson got to play because Charles left and no one to fill the spot.
Patterson's adjustment to college speed and UConn's system will determine her minutes. She can become an incredible player. She is as quick as "most" guards and gets in the air very fast. I don't think she can be a 5, not enough bulk or height, but as a shot-blocker/rebounder she could be a terror. She can handle the ball but like a lot of taller players she's a foul line to foul line dribbler. Past that it's a turnover.

 

[Alydar]

There is no false narrative. The truth is UConn, even at full strength was an okay rebounding team at best while SC is one of the best rebounding teams ever.

Dorka was a loss but averaged 5.7 boards a game in 19+ minutes. Good rate, but she doesn't play enough minutes to nullify SC's advantage.

Dorka's season-long stats were irrelevant going into the title game. She, and Edwards were reborn when Paige got back. And of the 3 posts Juhasz was the only one not afraid to shoot a 3. (And the only one I don't cringe at when they shoot a 3) I'm not saying it was the difference but Juhasz' absence made a difference.

 

[Alydar]

the UConn guards will learn how to get fouled more. their quickness toward the basket and finding open shooters will help that, too. players setting picks will better trust drivers to cut past them closely enough; so they'll get fewer moving pick fouls. As drivers cut past and dribble past picks, some fouls should happen. Paige and Azzi need to get to the line.

Bueckers hit 69% of her shots from 6' and in. That's better than many of her teammates shoot fts. Getting to the line only gets you maybe 2 pts. Bueckers doesn't need to look for contact because she has a vast assortment of moves to get an open look, and more importantly, her shots usually go in. And the NCSt game is just another Bueckers' miracle. 8-9 in OT? Mostly midrange jumpers. Stats don't compare with being able to do that.

Stats aside, what has me optimistic about next season is the attitude of this year's underclass. They deferred to the seniors and now it's their turn to set the tone. Bueckers is obsessed with getting better/stronger/smarter. And it isn't just BS for the TV camera. Fudd is just like her in that regard and so are Mühl, Edwards & DuCharme. I don't think they will wait for a pep talk from the coaches. And that has been missing for a while.

 

[mhshuskies]

You make an interesting point. UConn’s best low post players were not centers. They were forwards. Specifically, Tuck & Pheesa were 1st team AA’s with incredible low-post scoring ability. Geno probably sees that potential in Ice.

Except probably the two best post players ever at UCONN were centers: Tina Charles and Kara Wolters.

 

[oldude]

Except probably the two best post players ever at UCONN were centers: Tina Charles and Kara Wolters.

Tina & Kara were great players to be sure. But neither had the array of low post moves that Tuck & Pheesa had imo. Both were more in the class of Boston. They often overpowered defenders.

 

[mhshuskies]

Tina & Kara were great players to be sure. But neither had the array of low post moves that Tuck & Pheesa had imo. Both were more in the class of Boston. They often overpowered defenders.

Tina & Kara we’re still better players, both NPOY.

 

[oldude]

Tina & Kara we’re still better players, both NPOY.

So were Rebecca, DT, Maya, Stewie & Paige. But my original comment was about effective players in the low post on offense, and imo Tuck & Pheesa were among the very best to play at UConn.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Positionless basketball means positionless basketball. You’ve then identified a player needs to play at least two positions and call that positionless? IMO that is not positionless. So, is Nika also a SG in your 2 position definition of positionless? Azzi is sf or pg other than a sg? The point is- Nika is a pg. Azzi is a sg. They might incidentally play different positions which Patterson could too- but overall they are not positionless. Their best position is not multi-positions; it is one specific position.

As far as Maya She was not considered only 1 position. For any recruiting service that couldn’t understand that, then shame on them.

And using your “As we know” – so “As we know” -- Geno has said many times that he wants his players, especially freshmen, to do what they do best. What Patterson does best offensively is rebound and score in the paint. And she is arguably the 2nd worst shooter on the team. So why would the 2nd worst shooter on the team but arguably the 2nd best offensive rebounder and probably one of the better inside scorers be put on the outside for anything other than a few spot blowout minute time just to mix things up? To further that, the games I saw- she is the team’s low post player. So, if you put her out on the wing offensively, it’s like a different world to her. Even something fundamental/ simple like making a low post pass in the wing is much different than a high post pass. You can give her that in blowouts but you want her as fine-tuned as much as possible playing to her strength, which is inside where she can better cause havoc.

And how many freshmen come in an are noted as shooters as freshmen and that their 1st year they struggle a lot? So all I read was that she had a mid-range game, which means-- not a 3 point range game. So she will have no trouble as a mid-range shooter while excellent freshmen 3 point shooters struggle?

And as for the wing/ small forward, UCONN has more than just one player on the wing; they have Paige along with CD. UCONN is not playing "SC" every game. And when Nika comes in do you really think that that automatically means Paige or Azzi gets pulled? If so, can you explain the start of the 2nd quarter vs Indiana he had the three together? But more importantly vs Stanford, they played together. So one of these 3 had to be guarding Haley Jones. And Stanford is the next scary thing next to SC. So, if this lineup can guard the All-American Haley Jones in such a pressure-cooker FF game, why can’t they guard nearly every other team not named "SC" with Paige on the wing for limited minutes? She is going to get stronger, right?

What I’d like to also include is that the opposing team’s small forward is not “Breanna Stewart.” She is a college player. Not a pro. That's the player UCONN will be defending against- a college kid.

For someone who quotes Geno a lot, you seem to have forgotten that when Class 2021 of Azzi & Company, Geno used the word positionless for the quartet. And, there was a lot of chatter about interchangeability and positionless as the Gabby/Kia/Katie/Napheesa team continued to extend the winning streak to the FF at 111 amidst increasing pressure that brought them.

Did you ever wonder what Geno meant by positionless when he said that about the quartet? It couldn't possibly be Amari playing guard? Or, Azzi playing C or PF. Or, both Caroline and Saylor capable of playing C or PG, especially for extended minutes. If you look at them, the only possible interpretation of his use of the word? All of them can play more than one position, realistically 2 for Amari and at least two each for the others but not more than three. And from what I have personally seen at UConn, that takes you back to the 2001-2002 team starting five in terms of flexibility and interchangeability for 2 or more positions for a good example.

As for Ayanna, there are videos where she is shown to hit 3 pointers - I have seen them, not just read about them. The action on her shot is "soft" going through the basket, likely because of the arc of its trajectory. Most of the scouting reports comments on her 3 point range can be distilled into one word: improving, likely because she plays around the rim in HS for her team - the key to their winning a lot. I have not suggested she is a finished product re: that skill but I understand Geno's objective in his program has always been to develop the player as completely as they are equipped to do - sometimes in ways the players themselves were unaware they were capable of. So, why slot her into a position (4) and declare her to be a poor shooter from the start? How he deploys them after exploring all possibilities in practice wherein he gives them development opportunities is, of course, up to him.....whoever that player may be, Paige (and DT in the olden days) included. More options instead of fewer, better for the team to cope with circumstances in games and during the season.

Positionless......literal.....perhaps, next etymological, in order to make a point?