Azzi Fudd's Return...

[PacoSwede]

A couple weeks ago, Geno said he worried about who would make the offense go when Paige sits. At that time he suggested Azzi could fill that role. I think what he meant was that Paige and Azzi would be on the court together sometimes, and also would spell each other as the main bucket getter. I could picture each of them getting 25+ minutes but for 15 of those minutes they'd be on the floor together. Something like this, though it feels a bit clunky when I write it out. Part of it is that 15 minutes playing together doesn't seem like enough. It could be 20 minutes together, and then there'd be 10 minutes to account for with neither of them on the floor. Or, Geno could up their PT to 30 mins and there could always be one of them on the floor and 20 mins when they play together.

This is all well and good, but why couldn't Sarah figure into these calculations. So far, when Paige sits in the 4th quarter, Geno sits Sarah, too. Same thing goes for Ash, who played a couple minutes in the 4th quarter and then sat with Paige and Sarah. These 4 players could get 25 mins and Geno could easily arrange it so that there's always at least two of them on the floor together, and often three, and sometimes all four of them.

Now mix in Jana and Ice, who will probably split the 40 post minutes one way or another. Then add Kaitlyn and KK, who could split the 40 PG minutes. But if it goes in this simple way, there's only 20 minutes to divide up among the rest of the roster, which doesn't sound good for Morgan Allie and Q. They need all the minutes they can get. To accommodate them, minutes have to come from somewhere, and it's not likely to be from Jana and Ice. This leaves PG minutes, which isn't good for KK and Kaitlyn.

This is how complicated it gets merely by returning Azzi to the rotation. Yes, a shorter minute restriction on Azzi will soften the blow for the rest of the roster. But if she comes back in the form we are all hoping for, no such restriction will last long, certainly not past December, if even that long.

Now, picture what happens when Aubrey and Ayanna come back. Will they get minutes? If so, from where? Geno is not likely to look for scoring from Ayanna -- it's mainly rebounding and defense he wants from her, plus the occasional putback or a layup from a drive-and-dish. This suggests her minutes will mainly come from the posts, Jana and Ice. By contrast, Aubrey contributes as a scorer, as a rebounder, as a defender in the low post and the perimeter, and is a menace in the transition offense. This suggests her minutes will come from several places, though mainly from Sarah and Ash. This is also obviously a very simple analysis, and even more complexities will quickly emerge.

2 things should be clear from this exercise:

• The length of the rotation will change throughout the season. The Azzi rotation probably doesn't really begin until December. The Aubrey rotation probably begins in Late January. The Ayanna rotation could begin at any time. This means Morgan Allie and Q have a better shot at decent minutes through December than they do in February.
• The dream of a 10+ rotation is more feasible in the first half of the season. But it's hard to see how that will work in February-March. There are a couple of factors here -- the blowouts we expect in the conference schedule mean Geno can rest the stars for longer, but as March approaches the stars have to get enough repetitions and develop the sort of stamina that will allow them to play 30+ minutes if needed.

Geno has incentives for getting Morgan Allie Q Ayanna more minutes, which would encourage keeping the longer rotation into February. But these could also give way to his judgment of what it will take to win an NC with this group. I don't have the expertise to second guess how Geno will balance these two incentives.

i have a simple solution to your projected dilemma:

go with the hottest hand(s) -- assuming the hand(s) can play decent defense.

 

[Cuango]

Clearly, Azzi will be on a minutes restriction for some period of time. It looks to me as if Geno wants to force feed the connection between Paige, Sarah, and Ash. I think he wants those players in particular to build a chemistry together. Why? Because those three are the best three players on the court at any given time! I believe he will add Azzi to that group when she returns. That of course, will take longer as she (Azzi) will be on limited minutes. I believe whatever minutes she does play will be exclusively with those other three players at first. Of course, as her minutes increase, she will begin to play more without one or two of those players. Finally, he will choose one of Jana or Ice, probably Jana, and increase her time with Paige, Azzi, Ash, & Sarah and that will become the base starting five for the rest of the year and into the tournament. Aubrey could change that but I think Geno will continue to use her as a “gamechanger”. The big question then becomes, how do the nonstarter minutes get divided? It’s going to be a fascinating year!

 

[BobbyJ]

A couple weeks ago, Geno said he worried about who would make the offense go when Paige sits. At that time he suggested Azzi could fill that role. I think what he meant was that Paige and Azzi would be on the court together sometimes, and also would spell each other as the main bucket getter. I could picture each of them getting 25+ minutes but for 15 of those minutes they'd be on the floor together. Something like this, though it feels a bit clunky when I write it out. Part of it is that 15 minutes playing together doesn't seem like enough. It could be 20 minutes together, and then there'd be 10 minutes to account for with neither of them on the floor. Or, Geno could up their PT to 30 mins and there could always be one of them on the floor and 20 mins when they play together.

This is all well and good, but why couldn't Sarah figure into these calculations. So far, when Paige sits in the 4th quarter, Geno sits Sarah, too. Same thing goes for Ash, who played a couple minutes in the 4th quarter and then sat with Paige and Sarah. These 4 players could get 25 mins and Geno could easily arrange it so that there's always at least two of them on the floor together, and often three, and sometimes all four of them.

Now mix in Jana and Ice, who will probably split the 40 post minutes one way or another. Then add Kaitlyn and KK, who could split the 40 PG minutes. But if it goes in this simple way, there's only 20 minutes to divide up among the rest of the roster, which doesn't sound good for Morgan Allie and Q. They need all the minutes they can get. To accommodate them, minutes have to come from somewhere, and it's not likely to be from Jana and Ice. This leaves PG minutes, which isn't good for KK and Kaitlyn.

This is how complicated it gets merely by returning Azzi to the rotation. Yes, a shorter minute restriction on Azzi will soften the blow for the rest of the roster. But if she comes back in the form we are all hoping for, no such restriction will last long, certainly not past December, if even that long.

Now, picture what happens when Aubrey and Ayanna come back. Will they get minutes? If so, from where? Geno is not likely to look for scoring from Ayanna -- it's mainly rebounding and defense he wants from her, plus the occasional putback or a layup from a drive-and-dish. This suggests her minutes will mainly come from the posts, Jana and Ice. By contrast, Aubrey contributes as a scorer, as a rebounder, as a defender in the low post and the perimeter, and is a menace in the transition offense. This suggests her minutes will come from several places, though mainly from Sarah and Ash. This is also obviously a very simple analysis, and even more complexities will quickly emerge.

2 things should be clear from this exercise:

• The length of the rotation will change throughout the season. The Azzi rotation probably doesn't really begin until December. The Aubrey rotation probably begins in Late January. The Ayanna rotation could begin at any time. This means Morgan Allie and Q have a better shot at decent minutes through December than they do in February.
• The dream of a 10+ rotation is more feasible in the first half of the season. But it's hard to see how that will work in February-March. There are a couple of factors here -- the blowouts we expect in the conference schedule mean Geno can rest the stars for longer, but as March approaches the stars have to get enough repetitions and develop the sort of stamina that will allow them to play 30+ minutes if needed.

Geno has incentives for getting Morgan Allie Q Ayanna more minutes, which would encourage keeping the longer rotation into February. But these could also give way to his judgment of what it will take to win an NC with this group. I don't have the expertise to second guess how Geno will balance these two incentives.

Glad you went with the condensed version of this. You’re putting way more thought into it than Auriemma is.

 

[JellyBean]

Whenever Azzi is able to play, she will be a welcome addition. Another scoring option out there.

 

[MilfordHusky]

An article linked to in the BY says Azzi is expected back in the 3rd week of Nov. I interpret that as meaning Friday or slightly later.

 

[Bald Husky]

When Azzi comes back, I don't think she will start, not just in the beginning, but going forward. The team is building some great chemistry with Paige, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Ice, and Ash. The other players, not so much as yet, but with KK, Azzi, Morgan, amd Allie coming off the bench we can have another really good team. Azzi can still play 25 minutes, and she will depending on how good she is playing. Don't forget all the options Geno has now, so he can afford to pull a player if someone else is playing better in a particular game. Plus having Azzi coming off the bench will give Geno the ability to regulate her minutes until she is ready for a full game, without messing up the starting chemistry. We don't know, but we do know that Geno will do whatever works at the time, so as long as everyone is healthy, he can have some fun moving players in and out, including Azzi.

 

[ashfan]

This was a repeat.

I meant yet another repeat. When Azzi is told that she is 100% go to go, the words "for now" should be added.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I would venture a guess that Azzi's situation is similar to when it happened to Paige. The body is ready to go, the last hurdle is the mind. They are probably (I said probably) waiting for her to give them the green light.

 

[cancontent]

An article linked to in the BY says Azzi is expected back in the 3rd week of Nov. I interpret that as meaning Friday or slightly later.

Go with slightly later.

 

[jcoton56]

I would expect a couple of cameos before more lengthy appearances. FDU is my guess for an initial Azzi in-game siting. Fingers crossed.

 

[yhun89]

With Azzi back, this team becomes drastically better.

-Primary scoring option for Paige-less minutes
-Major floor spacer-if she and Allie/Ash/Paige are out there together (any combo) the floor is open for drives and midranges.
-Defensive improvement-Azzi is majorly underrated defensively.

Jus being able to reassure Geno that if Paige sits, the scoring can potentially remain consistent is great. And hearing Geno's praise for Azzi, she might be better than she was in her sophomore year, where she was dropping 25-30 point games left and right.

 

[Vancat]

IF she came back during the FD game, I bet Geno would love a lot of the attention being diverted away from him.

 

[Bone Dog]

IF she came back during the FD game, I bet Geno would love a lot of the attention being diverted away from him.

I can just picture the post game presser:

• "Geno, how does it feel to hold the record?" [for two minutes]
• "Azzi Azzi Azzi Azzi Azzi Azzi" [for 28 minutes]

 

[Dillon77]

As a WBB fan who has been aware of Azzi Fudd since she was in high school, I look forward to what sounds like her imminent return and wish her the best of luck individually and, collectively, with her teammates. She's a special player and I hope to see her get back to speed.

 

[Jim]

IF she came back during the FD game, I bet Geno would love a lot of the attention being diverted away from him.

I would wager that Azzi would want to play a part in the record setting game.

 

[Topdawg]

Wednesday the 20th will likely include all players who are medically cleared to play. Assuming we beat NC this week, this will become a game for the history books.

 

[RoadMaster]

IF she came back during the FD game, I bet Geno would love a lot of the attention being diverted away from him.

Perhaps CD will help in that department too..

 

[Alydar]

Azzi looks in better shape than I have ever seen here and I'm sure her great talents are still there waiting. My chief concern is her head. Will she be assertive on the court. For much of her healthy UConn career she has not been. She had 2 or 3 magnificent games before she went down. If she gets that back oh boy lookout!

Those 2 or 3 great games came after she had her first ACL tear. She played aggressively and without fear. I'll be more worried about her ACL than her mindset.

That's not to say I won't be worrying during the ND game, where both Fudd and Bueckers went down in successive seasons. I believe in curses.

 

[packwrap]

Perhaps CD will help in that department too..

Geno could pick up 24hr bug, so CD can continue her undefeated coaching streak.

 

[Tonyc]

Paige and Azzi on the court at the same time WOW. how do you defend UConn????

 

[yhun89]

Paige and Azzi on the court at the same time WOW. how do you defend UConn????

that's the neat thing, you don't.

 

[cgshuskie]

Hope we get a few minutes of Azzi tonight!!!!!

 

[hoophuskee]

When Azzi comes back, I don't think she will start, not just in the beginning, but going forward. The team is building some great chemistry with Paige, Kaitlyn, Sarah, Ice, and Ash.

Don't agree with this. Once Azzi is deemed healthy enough she starts. There should be more than enough time with chemistry whenever you put her in as the starter.

Also, you don't bench a player that when healthy that matched Clark among other games. Her ceiling is super-star elite. In terms of chemsitry you would want her working iwth the 1st team as much as possible. Adn third, the idea should be to put your throat on the other team as quick as you can. No reason to play with your food.

 

[JoePgh]

ESPN's WNBA draft projection has Azzi as the #3 overall draft choice if she enters the draft in 2025 (after only Paige and Kiki Iriafen). Unless she has a monster season after she returns to the lineup, I think that is unlikely.

The article also noted that Azzi is leaning towards returning to UConn for the 2025-26 season. That is not surprising -- she needs more games at the college level.

 

[packwrap]

ESPN's WNBA draft projection has Azzi as the #3 overall draft choice if she enters the draft in 2025 (after only Paige and Kiki Iriafen). Unless she has a monster season after she returns to the lineup, I think that is unlikely.

The article also noted that Azzi is leaning towards returning to UConn for the 2025-26 season. That is not surprising -- she needs more games at the college level.

If she comes back, she may be able to finish up her Phd.

Whenever Azzi goes, she will be drafted high by someone. Her talent is considered at the Clark, Bueckers, JuJu level when healthy, so a team will just take the risk on injury.

No different than drafting a foreign player, who may never even come to US.