Azzi Fudd's Return...

[Skeets]

Famous duos: Paige and Azzi, Fire and Ice, Burch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (Csonka/Kiick). This is the last rodeo. I really want to see Paige and Azzi healthy and on the court together.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

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!

 

[scotty0330]

Also will she be on a minutes restriction to start off? Now that she is an upperclassman some of that apprehension to be assertive might be mitigated by the sense of urgency now that she is in what is likely her last year. Seeing her and Paige will be a welcome site for sure.

 

[Bone Dog]

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.

 

[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.