Bigs, Guards, and Wings

[Alydar]

The way Geno used the bench can be interpreted many ways. My take is Geno preferred very tired players to using Ines, Amari and in some cases Ayanna. He would rather have an exhausted player in the core group than use those players. In Ayanna's case she had a clear path to significant minutes, because Dorka and Aaliyah were great, but a third big in a minimal rotation was up for grabs.

She was also aided by Amari not matching expectations, and Aubrey being largely unavailable because she was needed more last year on the wing. Still there were a few games where Geno avoided using Ayanna and Amari like the plague, even though there were not any other viable third big options. That is a pretty serious lack of confidence in both of them.

For Ines the expectations were much lower. She was pretty much an emergency last second recruit, where we had to take the best we could get after HS seniors had decided, portal transfers had made their decision, and we were also limited to foreign recruits that already had satisfied visa requirements, and likely had to make an immediate decision without even having time to visit the school. Under those circumstances Ines was a good get, and way better than the walk-on final alternative.

My best guess is that if Geno thinks a fresh bench player is close to as good as a very tired player in a short rotation, then he will expand it. We have many candidates this year that could easily get the rotation to 9, 10, or even 11, but Geno's lack of faith in Ines, Amari and even Ayanna suggests they may be underdogs to get there.

Throwing Ayanna into that class probably surprises many. Yes she disappointed, but the potential and effort are clearly there so we all hope for more. What is different this year is there could be as many as three players ahead of her that were not last year. On paper I suspect Ice and Jana could get more time. All three might have been considered roughly equal high level prospects in high school, but Ayanna fell short of expectations, and the other two may be better bets at this time.

Although both are needed a little more at the 5 this year, one of them could potentially back up the 5 and the 4 and threaten Ayanna's minutes. In addition Aubrey off the bench would have time for significant minutes at the 4 and the 3. Further she proved in her first two years that she is a very good backup 4, so assuming we are not devastated with guard injuries, the backup 4 will need to be at least as good as the option of using Aubrey there, a much much higher bar for playing time than last year.

Regardless I hope the rotation is very deep, and we can pursue a fast breaking pressing style as a result of that depth.

Since the season ended we learned that Patterson had a bad knee and has had surgery to fix it. We also learned that Deberry had back surgery after the season. Neither issue was made public during the season except back on 1st night when Geno said that Patterson would not be in the dunking contest "due to injury".
Last season we saw what a healthy back did for Griffin, who also was criticized during her first 2 years for not playing up to expectations. I'm waiting to see how Patterson and Deberry recover before declaring them disappointments.

 

[Geew1992]

Geno didn't play his bench last year when he was almost forced to so I don't see him changing his approach, ever.

I hat bench are you referring to? DeBerry? Off season surgery. Patterson? Off season surgery. Ines?? Unproven player.

 

[hoophuskee]

The way Geno used the bench can be interpreted many ways. My take is Geno preferred very tired players to using Ines, Amari and in some cases Ayanna. He would rather have an exhausted player in the core group than use those players. In Ayanna's case she had a clear path to significant minutes, because Dorka and Aaliyah were great, but a third big in a minimal rotation was up for grabs.

She was also aided by Amari not matching expectations, and Aubrey being largely unavailable because she was needed more last year on the wing. Still there were a few games where Geno avoided using Ayanna and Amari like the plague, even though there were not any other viable third big options. That is a pretty serious lack of confidence in both of them.

For Ines the expectations were much lower. She was pretty much an emergency last second recruit, where we had to take the best we could get after HS seniors had decided, portal transfers had made their decision, and we were also limited to foreign recruits that already had satisfied visa requirements, and likely had to make an immediate decision without even having time to visit the school. Under those circumstances Ines was a good get, and way better than the walk-on final alternative.

My best guess is that if Geno thinks a fresh bench player is close to as good as a very tired player in a short rotation, then he will expand it. We have many candidates this year that could easily get the rotation to 9, 10, or even 11, but Geno's lack of faith in Ines, Amari and even Ayanna suggests they may be underdogs to get there.

Throwing Ayanna into that class probably surprises many. Yes she disappointed, but the potential and effort are clearly there so we all hope for more. What is different this year is there could be as many as three players ahead of her that were not last year. On paper I suspect Ice and Jana could get more time. All three might have been considered roughly equal high level prospects in high school, but Ayanna fell short of expectations, and the other two may be better bets at this time.

Although both are needed a little more at the 5 this year, one of them could potentially back up the 5 and the 4 and threaten Ayanna's minutes. In addition Aubrey off the bench would have time for significant minutes at the 4 and the 3. Further she proved in her first two years that she is a very good backup 4, so assuming we are not devastated with guard injuries, the backup 4 will need to be at least as good as the option of using Aubrey there, a much much higher bar for playing time than last year.

Regardless I hope the rotation is very deep, and we can pursue a fast breaking pressing style as a result of that depth.

I don't know if I agree with the context but the points about Amari and Patterson - was wondering what you and others think in regard to past videos that have quoted Geno.

In one video in which Geno was mostly talking about Paige, at the end he was talking about Patterson having surgery this summer and he said Amari has been dealing with injury. - Which I didn't know about Amari.

To further that, another posted on here was Geno saying that he doesn't know what they are doing in High School but all the players that had injuries were already "damaged" before they came to UCONN and that they didn't address their injuries prior to college.

This all lends credence to what I saw from Patterson- in H/S I thought she was an absolute freak athlete. Freak. I thought she would have been more of a freak athlete than Edwards but it hasn’t been close vs Edwards in temrs of athletcism - and - Patterson didn't look anything like what I saw in H/S in terms of freak athlete.

So, I'm wondering if they didn't get as many minutes was because they were hurt too. Not badly hurt but hurt enough that they just aren't effective.

How is all fo thsi possible all these injuires the past two years???? Amazing. Freakshly amazing what they had to deal with.

 

[Bone Dog]

Stuelke will be a soph and has physical talent that Czinzano never possessed. Czinano , for all her scoring prowess, was never that good defensively or rebounding. O'Grady, backed up by Solomon will provide more of both. Plus both Kate Martin and Gabbie Marshall are back as starters. Kylie Fuerback (sp?) the all big 12 guard transfer from IA state adds depth to the backcourt.

Thanks for this. It’s helpful. I also noticed that Stuelke runs the court better than Czinano ever did. But she’s not as strong or as skilled in the low post. Can O’Grady supply the strength especially on defense and improve the rebounding? You may be right about that. But then Bluder has to play O’Grady in the lineup next to Stuelke and this removes a shooter from their offense. Warnock was that shooter, and I think they’ll miss her.

I must admit to kinda liking the idea of Stuelke at center and 4 guards. They’ll be small but quick. Maybe Caitlin can make such a lineup work.

 

[DEpup]

I'm most excited about seeing Ice on the court of the newbies but actually from the returnees I'm most intrigued to see Amari. I have been super critical of her but post back surgery, I can't wait to see if the surgery allows her to run more and be more physical down low without fouling. I hope the surgery allows her to reach her potential.

 

[HuskylnSC]

IMO positional terminology on offense is pretty useless. The only two terms that have any bearing at all is post for the traditional low mobility big and point for the pass first guard. UConn plays a read/react motion offense so on any play 3 or four players can be functioning as the primary guard.

Most of us agree Nika will be the primary ball handler when on the floor. But when the ball swings around the court and she suddenly has a wide open 3, she takes the shot and she is expected to make it. There is no stopping and saying that this is a shot for a wing. The ball moved and Nika ended in a wing situation and she plays it as a wing.

Old school labeling players by offensive position at UConn is misguided. Labeling players as if they are consigned to a particular role doesn't fit in the UConn system. Case in point; One of the best three point shooters and passers from outside in is Amari. If Amari is on the floor at the same time as Ice, I envision Amari will essentially be playing a wing role
on offense.

 

[Geew1992]

I don't know if I agree with the context but the points about Amari and Patterson - was wondering what you and others think in regard to past videos that have quoted Geno.

In one video in which Geno was mostly talking about Paige, at the end he was talking about Patterson having surgery this summer and he said Amari has been dealing with injury. - Which I didn't know about Amari.

To further that, another posted on here was Geno saying that he doesn't know what they are doing in High School but all the players that had injuries were already "damaged" before they came to UCONN and that they didn't address their injuries prior to college.

This all lends credence to what I saw from Patterson- in H/S I thought she was an absolute freak athlete. Freak. I thought she would have been more of a freak athlete than Edwards but it hasn’t been close vs Edwards in temrs of athletcism - and - Patterson didn't look anything like what I saw in H/S in terms of freak athlete.

So, I'm wondering if they didn't get as many minutes was because they were hurt too. Not badly hurt but hurt enough that they just aren't effective.

How is all fo thsi possible all these injuires the past two years???? Amazing. Freakshly amazing what they had to deal with.

Patterson had knee surgery and Amari had back surgery. Pretty sure both were dealing with it thru the season. If they were dealing with it throughout the season, it makes a lot of sense

 

[DEpup]

My personal opinion is the injuries come from playing too many games (AAU) at young age instead of focusing time in the gym to learn how to execute the fundamentals correctly. Bad form over time can lead to injuries.

 

[hard2please]

Ummmm, no. Geno is not gonna play his bench just to play his bench if it means UCONN loses. Never has (unless forced to by injuries). If, however, he has a good bench that he trusts, he'll play them plenty.

i seem to recall geno being angry with the starters play and played his bench to teach them a lesson and lost the game. it might have been against nd?

 

[BattersonB]

There has been a good deal of discussion in recent weeks about next season and who will be starting, etc. In the off-season, this is an interesting topic for discussion on the part of fans and I am going to weigh in with what I hope offers a somewhat different focus.

We can divide up the players into several categories or classes and, for the sake of discussion, I will be using guards, wings, and bigs.

Guards - Ashlynn Shade, KK Arnold, Ines Bettencourt, Azzi Fudd, Nika Muhl, Paige Bueckers (6)

Wings - Caroline Ducharme, Aubrey Griffin, Qadence Samuels (3)

Bigs - Aaliyah Edwards, Ayanna Patterson, Jana El Alfy, Ice Brady, Amari DeBerry (5)

Due to injuries, the team was short almost everywhere at one time or another last season, but the the Huskies did not have enough healthy guards last season. This year, however, should not be a problem. The squad has six players to fill two or three positions and one cannot look at the six players without feeling optimistic. One hopes that all will play and they will push the tempo.

The Huskies will probably always have one wing on the court. The likelihood is that Griffin will be starting and that Ducharme, if healthy at last, will get plenty of playing time and be counted upon as a scoring option. Samuels is gravy.

The one area in which the team seems light is with bigs or inside players. Aaliyah Edwards is returning for her senior year, will no doubt get the most playing time, and is an All-American candidate. Reports about El Afry and Brady are good and, if true, what might be considered a real concern will go away. Who knows what can be expected of Patterson and DeBarry. Neither played up to expectations last season and both are recovering from injuries.

Then there is the question of the parameters of the lineup. Three guards, one wing, one big?

Two guards, one wing, two bigs? Two guards, two wings, one big? Three guards, two bigs? No doubt we will see all these combinations this upcoming season provided no disabling injuries.

As of early July, therefore, prospects look bright, but it remains to be seen if the team is as good as LSU and South Carolina, the two most obvious contenders for a national title. And, one should not forget Iowa, Notre Dame, and Stanford who appear to be the remaining cream of the crop.

LSU, South Carolina, UCLA, Louisville, and several other schools are expected to do well this year, barring injuries.

The unknowns for UCONN are going to be if Paige & Azzi can stay healthy and play a full season AND how well the others are able to contribute. Their development will determine how often Geno returns to using his full court press, which we have only sparingly seen over the past few years. The wings will be major contributors if they can stay healthy, and the BIGS will be a question mark until we see if they can play. We know what we’ll get from Edwards. ICE came in with all the accolades, and maybe she lives up to them, giving us a strong frontcourt. Then, there’s Jana, Patterson, and Amari. I expect big improvements from Patterson, and it would be great if the other two had beak out seasons as well. We’ll see

 

[BattersonB]

South Carolina lost six players. Why would you rate them above UConn? Virtually no one else does.

Yes, but Dawn still has Cardoza 6’7”, and others…

 

[hoophuskee]

i seem to recall geno being angry with the starters play and played his bench to teach them a lesson and lost the game. it might have been against nd?

I don't recall that. I don't believe it either especially vs ND. Maybe he gave up realizing his team lost in the last minute or so?

I just remember a long time ago he threatened to do it either in Tina Charles 1st year or before she came the prior year. A wild guess he was disgusted with the reboundning effort- maybe against Pitt? But I extremely highly doubt he would deliberately lose a game to teach a lesson. Though he would threaten to for sure.

A coach losing deliberately especially high profile team would be extremely over-the-top - frankly unthinkable/inexscusable for an elite team unless/until they are getting blown out and/or injuries/injury concerns. But on the other hand, a coach could get disgusted with their star players and feel the bench can do better - and if the bench is doing better - the coach keeps them in under the belief the bench can still win is definitely possible.

 

[Bone Dog]

Hahaha!! We torched Syracuse with Cardoso. She had a good game and it made no difference. We lost to SC in the NC two years ago but Cardoso wasn’t the difference maker. Last season, Aaliyah scored and rebounded well against SC and Cardoso/Boston.

If the team is healthy, we can defeat all the rivals, or they can upset us. But in my view a healthy Paige & Co has to be the favorite against anyone.

 

[#12in21]

I don't recall that. I don't believe it either especially vs ND. Maybe he gave up realizing his team lost in the last minute or so?

I just remember a long time ago he threatened to do it either in Tina Charles 1st year or before she came the prior year. A wild guess he was disgusted with the reboundning effort- maybe against Pitt? But I extremely highly doubt he would deliberately lose a game to teach a lesson. Though he would threaten to for sure.

A coach losing deliberately especially high profile team would be extremely over-the-top - frankly unthinkable/inexscusable for an elite team unless/until they are getting blown out and/or injuries/injury concerns. But on the other hand, a coach could get disgusted with their star players and feel the bench can do better - and if the bench is doing better - the coach keeps them in under the belief the bench can still win is definitely possible.

If I recall correctly there was a game in the Stewie era, maybe second half of Saniya's sophomore year, when he was pissed about the effort of the starters and sat them all and started the second half with no starters on the floor. If this was that game, we did win the game though (that was within the record setting win streak). I believe when asked why he did it he said something to the effect that those guys obviously didn't want to play so he put guys out there that did!

 

[Bigboote]

IMO positional terminology on offense is pretty useless. The only two terms that have any bearing at all is post for the traditional low mobility big and point for the pass first guard. UConn plays a read/react motion offense so on any play 3 or four players can be functioning as the primary guard.

Yes, my first thought when reading the OP was, wing is a fungible term that means whatever the one who's using it means. It can be a place on the floor, a guard who can play a little bigger, a forward who can handle the ball . . . It's kind of like the old George Burns saying, "Old, young . . . just words"

 

[Bone Dog]

Yes, my first thought when reading the OP was, wing is a fungible term that means whatever the one who's using it means. It can be a place on the floor, a guard who can play a little bigger, a forward who can handle the ball . . . It's kind of like the old George Burns saying, "Old, young . . . just words"

My first thought was that there were too many commas, like it was supposed to read “Big guards, you know, wings.”

 

[meyers7]

i seem to recall geno being angry with the starters play and played his bench to teach them a lesson and lost the game. it might have been against nd?

Yea, I thought about that right after I posted, though I don't think they lost the game. I think he's done it a couple times. I remember Marron coming in once with a wholesale change and hitting a ?couple? 3's. The other time was when Stewart was around.

 

[Geew1992]

If I recall correctly there was a game in the Stewie era, maybe second half of Saniya's sophomore year, when he was pissed about the effort of the starters and sat them all and started the second half with no starters on the floor. If this was that game, we did win the game though (that was within the record setting win streak). I believe when asked why he did it he said something to the effect that those guys obviously didn't want to play so he put guys out there that did!

It was the game before the SC game. He benched Stewie, Tuck, Stokes and maybe one other. He knew they were going to win, but the message was sent. The took SC to the wood chopper the next game.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I don't know if I agree with the context but the points about Amari and Patterson - was wondering what you and others think in regard to past videos that have quoted Geno.

In one video in which Geno was mostly talking about Paige, at the end he was talking about Patterson having surgery this summer and he said Amari has been dealing with injury. - Which I didn't know about Amari.

To further that, another posted on here was Geno saying that he doesn't know what they are doing in High School but all the players that had injuries were already "damaged" before they came to UCONN and that they didn't address their injuries prior to college.

This all lends credence to what I saw from Patterson- in H/S I thought she was an absolute freak athlete. Freak. I thought she would have been more of a freak athlete than Edwards but it hasn’t been close vs Edwards in temrs of athletcism - and - Patterson didn't look anything like what I saw in H/S in terms of freak athlete.

So, I'm wondering if they didn't get as many minutes was because they were hurt too. Not badly hurt but hurt enough that they just aren't effective.

How is all fo thsi possible all these injuires the past two years???? Amazing. Freakshly amazing what they had to deal with.

Agree 100%.

I think back to the game which was rescheduled for later, when the Huskies were down to six women. Three of them were Patterson, Amari & Lou, so three of the six 'available' to play needed surgery at the end of the season.

Geno did not have any actually healthy bench players for a long stretch of the season, but he had lots of wounded warriors who wanted to "gut it out."

I pray that ALL of the women heal fully, gain strength to be able to avoid injury, and they show Geno in practice (and games when given a chance) that they can be trusted by Geno in the games!

Go HUSKIES!!!!!