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

[Zarathustra]

Better for LIV to have done well in her 35 minutes than otherwise.!!!
She played..... she played well, and she made her teammates better with
her assists, etc. Looks like a ONO "WIN" to me.!! GO OLIVA!
Sparks or Lynx or anywhere else, it does not matter to me!!

 

[Pharos]

No it makes you unreasonable. Like someone who has set their standards to never lose a basketball game, ever for 10 years that would be an unreasonable expectation just as your expectations are.

"Standards"? How can one person have standards for another (others) when the accountability/responsibility/authority relationship does not exist. If fans want to have standards, we should have them for our own lives and for the situations where we have actual authority. That's hard enough. My wife and I have 4 kids, 3 in-law kids, and 11 grandkids, and I have no "standards" for any of them. God has standards for me to meet as a husband. And that's hard enough. We pray for each other. God is the one with the standards... that Jesus meets for us.

 

[CocoHusky]

"Standards"? How can one person have standards for another (others) when the accountability/responsibility/authority relationship does not exist. If fans want to have standards, we should have them for our own lives and for the situations where we have actual authority. That's hard enough. My wife and I have 4 kids, 3 in-law kids, and 11 grandkids, and I have no "standards" for any of them. God has standards for me to meet as a husband. And that's hard enough. We pray for each other. God is the one with the standards... that Jesus meets for us.

With all due respect:

To involve our families or our respective versions of God.

 

[hoophuskee]

"Standards"? How can one person have standards for another (others) when the accountability/responsibility/authority relationship does not exist. If fans want to have standards, we should have them for our own lives and for the situations where we have actual authority. That's hard enough. My wife and I have 4 kids, 3 in-law kids, and 11 grandkids, and I have no "standards" for any of them. God has standards for me to meet as a husband. And that's hard enough. We pray for each other. God is the one with the standards... that Jesus meets for us.

Wow.

 

[Stymie]

well you better tell that to Missouri who were outrebounded by ten and Kentucky who were outrebounded by twelve yet still managed to beat South Carolina.........are either of those teams as good as UConn?

10?
12?
Try UCONN out rebounded by TWENTY FOUR in the finals.
Game
Set
Match

 

[GardenState]

Any insights as to where Oregon State’s 6’4” Taylor Jones (Texas native) or her 6’6” transfer portal teammate Kennedy Brown (Kansas native) might be looking?

NM. Just saw Taylor Jones going to Texas.

 

[oldude]

10?
12?
Try UCONN out rebounded by TWENTY FOUR in the finals.
Game
Set
Match

Dorka & Aubrey out. Liv playing with a pulled groin and Evina with a sprained ankle. That’s a lot of UConn rebounding lost due to injury. It’s time to let go of this theme and look forward to next season.

 

[veryolddog]

Was there not a 6' 7" woman who entered the portal? 6' 7" is better than nothing. Did she get snapped up already?

Let's face it: he needs trees. Considering all of the injuries of the past year, would not it better to have some viable substitutes?

 

[sun]

NM. Just saw Taylor Jones going to Texas.

Thank you. Maybe there's still hope for Kennedy Brown at 6'6".

Kennedy Brown - Women's Basketball - Oregon State University Athletics

Kennedy Brown (42) Forward - SOPHOMORE (2021-22): Appeared in 30 games, making 21 starts Averaged 7.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest Finished the season...

osubeavers.com

 

[CocoHusky]

Was there not a 6' 7" woman who entered the portal? 6' 7" is better than nothing. Did she get snapped up already?
Let's face it: he needs trees. Considering all of the injuries of the past year, would not it better to have some viable substitutes?

I think the tallest player still in the portal is 6'6" Kennedy Brown of Oregon State.

 

[Stymie]

Dorka & Aubrey out. Liv playing with a pulled groin and Evina with a sprained ankle. That’s a lot of UConn rebounding lost due to injury. It’s time to let go of this theme and look forward to next season.

OK, OK....
Have it your way.
Last 3 meetings against SC
Last year-shoot 35% win in OT
This year first meeting-shoot 41%- get destroyed
This year finals-shoot 41% again- get destroyed again.
You gonna shoot at around 40% you need to get a lot more shots.
How you gonna get those shots?
( hint, it begins with an “R”)

 

[Charliebball]

OK, OK....
Have it your way.
Last 3 meetings against SC
Last year-shoot 35% win in OT
This year first meeting-shoot 41%- get destroyed
This year finals-shoot 41% again- get destroyed again.
You gonna shoot at around 40% you need to get a lot more shots.
How you gonna get those shots?
( hint, it begins with an “R”)

Nobody said they would win shooting 40% or less although they did it once already................I said they had to shoot really well to win..........are Bueckers, Fudd, Ducharme etc capable of shooting well against SC? That's the challenge.......I believe they are...........SC's weakness is that they are not even a top fifty scoring team..........if you shoot reasonably well you can stay in the game and if you shoot near 50% they are beatable.....

 

[veryolddog]

I think the tallest player still in the portal is 6'6" Kennedy Brown of Oregon State.

Thanks very much for your answer. That is exactly the person that I had in mind.. With so many unknows and injuries lurking their way around the corner, it would seem really good to have this person on board. It seems plausible that everyone needs to have backups for injuries and backups for the back ups these days.

 

[baggerbob]

“If ifs and buts we’re candy and nuts, Oh what a party we’d have.”
Personally, I think Boston is a very, very good player-but not Superwoman.
Put a GD body on her and bang it out.
Make her work-don’t give in an inch.
Problem is UCONN goes against her with their tails between their legs.
Totally intimidated.
Gotta take it to her.
Make her work for every board.
BOX OUT!!<—>BOX OUT!!
Going into next season hoping she miss some time or that the freshman or Amari can reduce a 49-25 rebound deficit is crazy.
Need a new mindset underneath.
Need to up the PHYSICALITY.
Why does Morrow eat our lunch under the boards in the Big East?
Same reason.

Rebounding is attitude, look at Stewie, not the most muscular, but one of the top rebounders in the league, especially on the defensive end.
Quickness and desire make a good rebounder, and you better not crash the boards against Stewie. Many times she gets the defensive rebound, and beats the other team down the floor for a layup.

 

[Stymie]

Forget about Boston ( who everyone bows down to)
How about Annesha Morrow Morrow?
She’s 6’1” and beat us up twice.
As a freshman.
I believe it is fairly agreed on this board that the college game is changing.
Maybe we should tinker with our offense/spacing/scheme a bit.
Steamrolling BE opponents fails to impress me.

 

[Zanzman]

10?
12?
Try UCONN out rebounded by TWENTY FOUR in the finals.
Game
Set
Match

Here you go again

 

[CocoHusky]

Nobody said they would win shooting 40% or less although they did it once already................I said they had to shoot really well to win..........are Bueckers, Fudd, Ducharme etc capable of shooting well against SC? That's the challenge.......I believe they are...........SC's weakness is that they are not even a top fifty scoring team..........if you shoot reasonably well you can stay in the game and if you shoot near 50% they are beatable.....

It is not as if shooting better and rebounding better are mutual exclusive. Against South Carolina UCONN needs to do both at a higher level. That seems like a much better plan than relying on a "perceived" South Carolina weakness or for them having an off day.

 

[Stymie]

It is not as if shooting better and rebounding better are mutual exclusive. Against South Carolina UCONN needs to do both at a higher level. That seems like a much better plan than relying on a "perceived" South Carolina weakness or for them having an off day.

...and CocoHusky slam dunks it.

 

[jchusky]

It is not as if shooting better and rebounding better are mutual exclusive. Against South Carolina UCONN needs to do both at a higher level. That seems like a much better plan than relying on a "perceived" South Carolina weakness or for them having an off day.

what's funnier is that those 2 games came 1 after South Carolina beat Stanford clear letdown. Going on a thursday night after Christmas Break to Missouri withour their best player, I think Dawn would admit her team was not focused. The other was a 3rd game in 3 days vs a Kentucky team that knew they had to win to get in the tournament. Let's just be honest, SC when they are focused 100% are the best team in the country. They are what Uconn used to be, every team circles them in their calendar cause they know that's the warriors of the 2017 season. I remember when warriors had lost to a bad suns team who won 20 games that season and people saying oh looks like the warriors have some flaws they might not win the finals. They proceeded to go 16-1 and win the finals convincingly. Objectively I have to be honest with the return of Saxton which I did not see coming back, I really expect them to repeat.

 

[oldude]

Forget about Boston ( who everyone bows down to)
How about Annesha Morrow Morrow?
She’s 6’1” and beat us up twice.
As a freshman.

Please remind me who won those games? I seem to recall one close game at DePaul and a blowout in CT. Zanzman is right. You’re beating a dead horse.

For the record, UConn outrebounded both IN & Stanford significantly. Against NCSt the Huskies & the Wolfpack both pulled down 39 rebounds, which is another indication of two evenly matched teams playing a double-OT game.

 

[Jingo]

Way to bury the headline @Jingo. Let's try this again: Preseason Game in which Neka played 6 minutes, Chinney did not play, Cox, Cambage, Amanda Zahui B did not play the Sparks lost by 13, Liv Plays for 35 Minutes and the proves that the GM was wrong?

Hahaha! It matters not at all which of Liv's teammates did not play. It only matters who she played against in order to assess her performance. WNBA & Seattle superstars Breanna Stewart & Jewel Lloyd logged the most minutes against Liv's club and Liv MORE than held her own with a team-high 15 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists and two blocks. Isn't this obvious, or do you need more help in understanding this concept?

 

[hoophuskee]

Please remind me who won those games? I seem to recall one close game at DePaul and a blowout in CT. Zanzman is right. You’re beating a dead horse.

For the record, UConn outrebounded both IN & Stanford significantly. Against NCSt the Huskies & the Wolfpack both pulled down 39 rebounds, which is another indication of two evenly matched teams playing a double-OT game.

Some of these negative posters by literally making things up is mind-bogglingly so funny. I mean you just have to laugh. So Morrow whipped UCONN "twice?" You just have to laugh.

In Game 2 Morrow was 9-20 from the floor. Nine-for-twenty. With a whopping ONE free throw.

At the other end the 2 bigs for UCONN - with no Liv-- were 16-25 from the floor. Dorka has 22 and Edwards had 19 but the 9-20 from the floor Morrow really whipped UCONN? Yeah Morrow really kicked UCONN's butt in both games. C'mon!!!!!!

 

[CocoHusky]

Some of these negative posters by literally making things up is mind-bogglingly so funny. I mean you just have to laugh. So Morrow whipped UCONN "twice?" You just have to laugh.
In Game 2 Morrow was 9-20 from the floor. Nine-for-twenty. With a whopping ONE free throw.
At the other end the 2 bigs for UCONN - with no Liv-- were 16-25 from the floor. Dorka has 22 and Edwards had 19 but the 9-20 from the floor Morrow really whipped UCONN? Yeah Morrow really kicked UCONN's butt in both games. C'mon!!!!!!

. Morrow averaged 25 PPG and 15 RPG in two meetings against UCONN this season-Her Freshman campaign. I'd say she pretty much kicked butt unless you can name me another player that took it to UCONN and put up those kinds of numbers in consecutive games EVER.

 

[triaddukefan]

I think the tallest player still in the portal is 6'6" Kennedy Brown of Oregon State.

Is she any good? Asking for a fellow poster.

 

[CocoHusky]

Is she any good? Asking for a fellow poster.

She was fairly good coming out of HS but did not do well for Oregon state where I believe she had an ACL injury. She is struggling with her and identity because she envisions herself a stretch 4 and she is really not that good at deep shooting. She will block some shots and grab a bunch of rebounds but would need to become more rugged (strength) to be an effective post player. At UCONN I would not envision her getting more minutes than Amari. At Duke she might play significant more and may even start.

 

[hoophuskee]

. Morrow averaged 25 PPG and 15 RPG in two meetings against UCONN this season-Her Freshman campaign. I'd say she pretty much kicked butt unless you can name me another player that took it to UCONN and put up those kinds of numbers in consecutive games EVER.

In case you didn't read my whole post and the context of my post to oldddue to whom he was replaying to, I'll put down below in bold. And I'd like to remind you there were two games You seem to want to pretend it's one game, otherwise if you agree with me about that it being two games then your post is irrelevant in the context of the discussion. Two is not one. The poster that you gave a like to clearly said "beat us up twice." That means two games. You can't go and change his post or the context of mine because it doesn't fit your narrative.

Here is what I made to olddude who was replying to the other poster -- and my comment in bold below can't be refuted, can it? I clearly said "both" games below, right? And I was clearly responding to the poster saying "beat us up twice," right? So in fact in Game Two Morrow did not beat up UCONN, right?

In Game 2 Morrow was 9-20 from the floor. Nine-for-twenty. With a whopping ONE free throw.

At the other end the 2 bigs for UCONN - with no Liv-- were 16-25 from the floor. Dorka has 22 and Edwards had 19 but the 9-20 from the floor Morrow really whipped UCONN? Yeah Morrow really kicked UCONN's butt in both games. C'mon!!!!!!

 

[CocoHusky]

In case you didn't read my whole post and the context of my post to oldddue to whom he was replaying to, I'll put down below in bold. And I'd like to remind you there were two games You seem to want to pretend it's one game, otherwise if you agree with me about that it being two games then your post is irrelevant in the context of the discussion. Two is not one. The poster that you gave a like to clearly said "beat us up twice." That means two games. You can't go and change his post or the context of mine because it doesn't fit your narrative.

Sure I can! Morrow beat up on UCONN in both games. You can talk about the second game all you want and make excuses about Liv being out and 1 FT attempt etc... In the second game when UCONN knew she was coming Morrow still dropped 20 and 16. The 30 Points she dropped on UCONN in game 1 was the most points UCONN gave up to any player on the season and the 16 rebounds was a tie for the most rebounds with Boston in the Championship game. Why are you having such a hard time giving Morrow her props?

 

[The deacon]

Imho while UConn has some very good “big”
Players none of them have the ability to post
In the low block ..Dorka is a very skilled player
But like most European players is most comfortable facing the basket with good 3
Point range. With another big player who could post up would be very effective
AE is a good rebounder can defend multiple positions and seemed to be getting better at
Shooting the foul line jump shot..a very good player . at this point
Does not have the “natural ability” to establish
Post position,feel the defender and use the body
And foot work to either finish or find the open
Man when there is help defense .these skills
Are very hard to teach and imho are somewhat
natural skills..I believe improved shooting from the foul line and putting the ball on the floor to finish at the rim are areas she could make the most improvement
AD certainly can shoot the ball and in limited
Minutes appears to have a Good “feel” for the game Seems she may have the skills to be a post player but no certainty Her “upside” is very high

Which brings me to why GA seems to be
Very high on I Brady
Have watched multiple video and she
Absolutely knows how to post up great footwork
Knows how to use her body to create angles and space and has a soft touch and being left handed helps additionally very comfortable putting the ball on the floor and range to 15
Feet
She has all the skills that other UConn big
Players do not have and seems physically ready for the college game
Like most freshman players defense will a challenge
While South Carolina will be the favorite and Stanford very formidable. a healthy uconn
Team with improvement from
AD and significant contributions from the freshman could allow the best backcourt
In the country to be the difference
I’m optimistic!!

Excellent stuff, Zonepress... just one note: Aaliyah shot a very respectable 74 percent from the line this past season.

 

[hoophuskee]

Sure I can! Morrow beat up on UCONN in both games. You can talk about the second game all you want and make excuses about Liv being out and 1 FT attempt etc... In the second game when UCONN knew she was coming Morrow still dropped 20 and 16. The 30 Points she dropped on UCONN in game 1 was the most points UCONN gave up to any player on the season and the 16 rebounds was a tie for the most rebounds with Boston in the Championship game. Why are you having such a hard time giving Morrow her props?

Are you kidding me?

Morrow is 9-20 from the floor in Game 2. The poster said twice - two. The number 2. . Why is it that you are having a hard time distinguishing between the words "Game 1" and "Game 2?" SO why do you keep bringing up Game 1 when replied to the "TWO GAMES?"

Are you suggesting 9-20 from 2 for 20 from Morrow while the UCONN players scored 22 and 19 respectively at the 4/5 spots shooting a combined 16-25 that these numbers in Game 2 means that Morrow "was beating up on UCONN? You realize 45% is not very good, right? And 64% is terrific right?

Why do I get the feeling you are going to include Game 1 numbers again?

 

[Fossil]

If there are no more True Biggs how about 6’3” really active good rebounder gets really good low position shoots a nice fade away in the key. Comes from a defensive minded program and only has one year left. She has experience and proven tenacity. Britney Smith from UCF.Under the radar player who could help Connecticut Downlow did not seem to mind the physical play in the paint. Could be a nice addition.