Can ( and will) Geno run a 9 or 10 player rotation

[Zonepress]

I do not think that Geno has ever had a philosophy on the number of players in a rotation. He gives the minutes on the floor that the players have demanded by their performance in practice. There are no "bench" players on this team. All the injured players from this year and the incoming freshmen are ballers. They are all the cream of the crop in woman's basketball. Any of the incoming freshmen could beat out anyone but Paige, and Azzi, in the starting rotation as the season progresses.

I don't know if this team could beat the Stewie team or other past teams; but, this is clearly the deepest team in UConn history, and the one with the most overall talent. It will have THREE transcendent NO 1's out of high school.

There are still two opening in the roster.

It will be a team in which players with minor injuries will be sidelined until they are 100% healthy. Geno will be able to run the 40-minute full-court press of his dreams. There will never be any injured or tired players on the floor.

The team will average over 80 point per game because even the so-called bottom of the bench can score points. The only way that they will score less will be if Geno orders them not to shoot the ball.

on opening day of practice, barring any injuries, there are eight completely healthy players
Three of which are freshman


Caroline’s status is unclear
AP had a second knee surgery with questions as to whether it would be successful
Aubrey won’t be one year post surgery until the middle of January

Azzi. Won’t be a year post surgery until December and it’s the second ACL on the same kneej
(Maybe she will some day be a transcendent player, but not this year)
J el efy has a realistic chance to be ready for the start of the season
But no guarantees when someone comes off of her type of surgery

To start the season, I see no circumstances under which UConn will be a 10 deep team

The rumored interest in players in the portal would be evidence that GA concurs

 

[LuvBball]

He was doing that this season before all the injuries hit

 

[Bills Fan]

To answer Visiting Cock's first question, in the past, Geno has definitely used rotations of up to 9 or 10, for example the 2000-2001 team before the late-season injuries to Shea and Sveta, or both of the Olympic teams in 2012 and 2016. If everyone on this year's roster is healthy or just misses a game or two for minor issues, I expect that will happen this year. BUT ... at this time last year, I would have said the same thing about the 2023-24 roster, but that one obviously did not stay healthy.

I prefer to take an optimistic but (I think) realistic view of medical prognoses -- I think that Jana will be 100% from the beginning of the season (16 months after her injury), that Ayanna will be ready in November, and that Azzi will be ready for limited minutes in November and unrestricted minutes by early January. I think Aubrey will start playing in early January and gradually increase her minutes. Caroline is impossible to predict: she is either a 100% "go" or a 100% "no-go". If it is the former, I can imagine her as the starting 3, with Paige, Azzi (limited minutes), Sarah, and Jana as the other starters.

If anyone gets in foul trouble or is playing poorly in a particular game, Geno will have his hook ready and will show no mercy. If anyone is lazy on defense, the same will be true. In fact, defense may well be what separates the chosen 9 or 10 from the others who go to the end of the bench.

The players who are likely to get squeezed most for playing time are Q (who, in a medically optimistic scenario will have Caroline, Aubrey, and Morgan ahead of her at the 3 position), Ayanna (who will have to show a lot more than she did as a freshman to compete with Sarah and Ice), and Allie (who will have Azzi, Ashlynn, and KK ahead of her in back court slots, and who will probably have defensive deficiencies in her freshman year).

I would almost rather than Raegan doesn't come to Storrs, so that Ice could get minutes as Jana's backup, and Sarah and Ayanna could split the minutes at the 4 position (most likely not equally, however). But if Raegan does come, then she and Jana will own the 5 position. and all the other forwards will have to find time at the 3 or the 4.

Joe, great analysis-one of the best I've read.

 

[jeff30189]

Can he? Yes, provided the injury bug doesn't bite again. Will he? Yes, because he would prefer to have a relentlessly running offense and pressing defense that requires waves of position-less players that includes at least one traditional big.

Geno plays the ones he trusts ... or is forced to play. Evidence this year when he hesitated to even to go a 6th or 7th player, and then for only 2-3 minutes. Putting Azzi and Aubrey (point for correct spelling) aside since they won't join the rotation until midseason, only Paige + Ash + KK are guaranteed to start. The other two spots will be a true wide-open competition for minutes between Jana, Sarah, Ice, Ayanna, and hopefully another big via the portal. That leaves Caroline, Q and the 2 freshmen to sub in and out for the guards/wings.

 

[JellyBean]

Can? Sure. Will? A lot depends on the medical report & who the coaching staff thinks is adapting well to the UConn Standard. As others have said, we know Coach G has gone with a deep rotation in the past and we have seen where he has gone with a limited roster due to a host of injuries or players not playing up to the UConn Standard. At some point in the season, we would hope that Coach G goes with a 9 plus rotation. We will see.

 

[Conndog]

Yes they can, no they won't- not Geno's style. I wish they would though.

 

[asuwish]

No. Geno likes a 8-9 max rotation. Beyond that the starters don’t get enough minutes to get any chemistry going.

Where does one come up with the idea that starters won't get chemistry going? The key is that the bench plays enough that everyone feels comfortable when anyone of them comes in. SC bench averaged like 30 points a game. When Stanford won it all Tara played 12. The UConn 2000 team came in waves of full court pressure. Trust that any player who goes in can contribute. Teams have all summer and tons of practice time to get a rhythm with whoever is out there. Game time is not where rhythms begin.

 

[Bone Dog]

If I just focus on opening games, I think the answer is yes, he will play as many as he can. This past season he played 12 with all but 2 getting at least 10 mins. And he starts the ones who already know the system. This is the pattern every year.

As the season wears on, the rotation shortens for various reasons. In the last season not disrupted by injury or illness, ie 2018-19, he started out with a long rotation (11 with 8 getting >10 mins against tOSU) and it gradually shortened to 5+3 by the end of February. This is the pattern I remember. And the 18-19 team was a high energy team and he still shortened the rotation.

This year is not likely to be any different, though the roster as a whole is more talented (at least in potential) than it’s been in most years. Health may be the great equalizer.

Assuming no issues with health or injury, Paige Azzi Aubrey Caroline Ayanna Ash KK and Ice represent a lot of experience in Geno’s system, and we could easily add Q to this list. Add in 4 more very promising newcomers and this is a depth of talent Storrs has not seen in recent years, if ever. But we all know this depth could be reduced yet again unpredictably.

 

[ConnManFan]

Geno wont play 10 because 10 wont prove deserving based on what his practice requirements are. People played this year out of necessity. Some of those same players may never leave the bench again if they don't put in the right effort.

 

[Bone Dog]

By “rotation” I mean kids who get meaningful playing time. Typically this means >10 mins, but even 5-6 mins could count if they’re at important moments, not just garbage time.

Geno’s roster is currently 13, and 8 of those have no current health question marks. Opening day in November, I expect all 8 will get significant minutes. If Jana is ready by then, she will too. Same for Ayanna Azzi Caroline and Aubrey. But most of us think this group of five will not all be ready to play on opening day.

What happens later in the season, say early February? The rotation shrinks, of course, and though Geno has often started the season playing 12, it has often become 9 or 10 by this point. That is, 9 getting 10+ mins and maybe 1 or 2 more getting only token minutes.

And by March, after the first round of the tournament, which has often been a blowout, the rotation often shrinks even more. 5+3 or 5+2 is not uncommon by the final rounds.

So, who would be in the large rotation and when?

In November, everyone who’s healthy. That could be 8 or more: Paige Ash KK Ice Q Allie Morgan Sarah and maybe Jana. That’s 9. Plus whoever else is healthy enough.

In February, we might see Azzi Aubrey Caroline Ayanna replace some of the freshman and maybe even one or more of the sophomores. That could leave a rotation of Paige Azzi Aubrey Ayanna Ice Jana KK Ash and Sarah. That’s still 9. Maybe even 10 if Caroline is up to it.

In the late rounds of the tournament, it would be cool if Geno could keep all 9 (or 10) in the rotation. It would probably be a good sign for the team. It would be an interesting experience for Sarah, in her freshman year to face that sort of pressure. Azzi did it and it was easy to see how tough it was. She torched NC St in the second half of the elite eight game and hit key free throws to sink Stanford’s hopes. But she also made mistakes in the closing minutes. And in the NC game, she struggled. Paige carried her team to the final four as a freshman and never faltered once. I hope we get to see what Sarah can do.

 

[DICKG]

Similar to what Dawn did this year. I mean a rotation were all nine ( maybe 10) players get over 15 minutes of meaningful time against even high quality opponents. Not counting players who only see mop up time.

I am told that Geno has used 9 player meaningful time rotations in the past but hasn’t had that lucury in recent years,
Assuming player health permits him to do so what 9 ( or ten) players would you expect him to use and at what positions?

Geno is the wild card next year. This is the deepest team he has ever had; meaning very talented players all the way down the lineup. He has never been comfortable with this situation.

 

[Next 12]

How do you have 16 candidates when 15 is the limit?

My bad. I miscounted. Thank you for the correction. I truly believe you are the BEST unbiased poster on the Yard. Good luck to SC until they play Uconn and then my Bias has to take over. GO COCKS!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[visitingcock]

My bad. I miscounted. Thank you for the correction. I truly believe you are the BEST unbiased poster on the Yard. Good luck to SC until they play Uconn and then my Bias has to take over. GO COCKS!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

Thank you but I AM biased.

I try to keep it under control and somewhere within the bounds of reason. Also, I have to Lee to keep in mind that this is a UCoon board and that UConn is the most dominant program in the history of the game. It will be impossible for us to catch most of Geno’s records during my (sentient) lifetime.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Get Reagan Beers!

Sounds like a MOVIE that I would like to see: Supply side Economics [ala President Reagan's theory to practice: "Supply" lots of Inside Dominence & Kick out to the 3 pt & mid-range/Driving Force players to 'whip-saw' the defense to just giving up by the end of the second quarter], as well as never having to wear down our own players ==> less chance of injury as they will stay fresh all season with ample opportunity to substitute.

It will be nice to know that the opposition's defensive strategy will be "blown up" every time substitutions enter the game. Just like the Men this year: they seemed to play faster when the next 5 substitutes entered the game, and the "wheels fell off" the opponents in the second half - even in every round of the NCAA tournament.

I believe Reagan Beers is "Cam Spencer" [good to GREAT piece added to the team] addition to next year's Women's run to the title, I also like that she has a mask, and the toughness that AE brought to the game.

Go Huskies!!! Time to be "BADDDDD for WBB!!!"

 

[freshler40]

The rotation key seems to be among the shooting guards and the power forward positions. Plug and play and build for the year end action.
With Nika gone there will be more balls to go around. KK and Paige make things happen. They push the ball more which results in more shots per game for the Huskies. The difficult teams for us have been those with quick tough penetrating guards and towering rebounding centers that can create fast breaks. We now have that we think. This will put a lot of pressure on our opponents. Early leads will cause panic to opponents. We will have speed in the first half of all games and not have to pace ourselves with our current deep bench.

I'm not so sure the issue is positional players but the pace ability of our starting five. We are blessed. Especially if we can make break-a-way layups????

 

[The CDR-Ret]

No. Our ROSTER had 11/12 OuR ROTATION had 9

We had 11 on the roster to start the season. We added 1 injured freshman ( Adhel Tac) for second semester so she could get surgery
and rehab on our dime, She didn’t play a second all season and is a redshirt. Still 11.

Backup-backup post, Sakima Walker, got very few minutes though she did start one game in Kamilla’s absence She was yanked early. Not a part of the regular rotation and averaged about 4 minutes per game, got VERY few minutes ( only mopup) at all in the SEC and NCAA tournaments

Freshman Santa Jah got 9 minutes per game. Mostly mop up against weak non/conference cupcakes, once we hit conference play in January, she was suspended and did not play again,

We went through most of conference play and the tournaments with a nine woman rotation. Each of these had starts and played in every major game. All but one led the team in scoring in at least one game,

Kamilla
Chloe
Raven
Bree
Tehina

Ashlynn
Sania
Milasia
Tessa

I appreciate Dawn as a coach, and all she did as a player.

When all the stress of the season was relieved in the victory for the NC, she showed her true emotion in how difficult it is to remain undefeated through the entire "grind" of a season of high expectations. I hope she enjoys her "break" before the JUNE start to next year's season...

 

[Skeets]

Back in the old days it was rare for anyone, stars included, to get more than 25 minutes. This was due to the numerous blowouts with the bench coming in early, rather than Geno having a large regular rotation.

If everyone is health and back to normal, Geno might not have an overly large rotation, but he will have a bench that can come in early and still pull away from most other team, just like in the old days.

 

[huskeynut]

Can Geno run a 10 player rotation? Can Geno run a 13 player rotation? The answer to both questions is maybe.

Geno demands his players earn their game minutes in practice. Players must earn Geno's trust to get playing time. UConn's offense and defense is not an easy system to learn.

A lot of question marks. Azzi coming off her second ACL on the right knee. Usual time from is 12 months before being cleared to play. Don't expect that to change. So we are in mid Novemeber before she can or will be cleared to play. Don't expect UConn to take any short cuts to get Azzi back on the floor. How will her knee hold up to the stress put on it to run, stop, cut and change direction? Answer - no body knows. Same applies to Aubrey. Her 12 months end in January. Again, the same question mark as for Azzi and the same answer - nobody knows. Caroline - I know people want her to come back, as do I. Is this desire realistic? I don't have answer and actually, neither does anybody else. I will continue to say Caroline's health comes first above all.

Jana - I beleive Jana wil be ready to go in October. A very big plus for the team. Ayanna - do we really know what her upside is? She show some glimpses her freshman year but not good enough to get significant minutes. Ayanna is an unknown.

So four question marks out of 13. 9 player rotation to start. That includes the 3 frosh.

 

[Bone Dog]

So four question marks out of 13. 9 player rotation to start. That includes the 3 frosh.

I’m exactly where you are on this one!

 

[BristolN8TV]

YES.

Platooning sounds like fun.

 

[Rowdy831]

Absolutely not. If everyone is healthy he will play his 8 (which is a lot for Geno) and let his team pull away and then get his others in the game. As weak as the Big East conference was this year they could play no starters in the 4th quarter of almost every game to get the reserves their minutes.

The bigger question will who are the 8 that will be featured. I think some fans are going to be really surprised.

 

[good2go]

Can Geno run a 10 player rotation? Can Geno run a 13 player rotation? The answer to both questions is maybe.

Geno demands his players earn their game minutes in practice. Players must earn Geno's trust to get playing time. UConn's offense and defense is not an easy system to learn.

A lot of question marks. Azzi coming off her second ACL on the right knee. Usual time from is 12 months before being cleared to play. Don't expect that to change. So we are in mid Novemeber before she can or will be cleared to play. Don't expect UConn to take any short cuts to get Azzi back on the floor. How will her knee hold up to the stress put on it to run, stop, cut and change direction? Answer - no body knows. Same applies to Aubrey. Her 12 months end in January. Again, the same question mark as for Azzi and the same answer - nobody knows. Caroline - I know people want her to come back, as do I. Is this desire realistic? I don't have answer and actually, neither does anybody else. I will continue to say Caroline's health comes first above all.

Jana - I beleive Jana wil be ready to go in October. A very big plus for the team. Ayanna - do we really know what her upside is? She show some glimpses her freshman year but not good enough to get significant minutes. Ayanna is an unknown.

So four question marks out of 13. 9 player rotation to start. That includes the 3 frosh.

Unless you are an orthopedic surgeon stop issuing medical advice!!!!

 

[huskeynut]

Unless you are an orthopedic surgeon stop issuing medical advice!!!!

good2go - I am repeating what my orthopedist told me when I asked him about ACL surgery.

I am under an orthopedist's care as I am facing knee replacement surgery in the near future.

 

[BRS24]

good2go - I am repeating what my orthopedist told me when I asked him about ACL surgery.

I am under an orthopedist's care as I am facing knee replacement surgery in the near future.

Absolutely HN. I don't think you were giving advice. Those of us that have been thru ACL reconstruction (2x for me), 12 months is a standard recovery time. Every person, access to care, other complicating injuries will affect the timing of when folks are 100% cleared for activity.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

First, I am hoping that this past season's need for the frosh to play gives Geno & staff some very good reasons to get Allie, Morgan, and Sarah into games early and often, and take the mistakes as a benefit of early season playing time.

Second, I'm not a position person, and it looks like we'll have 11 players ready to go in the fall - Paige, Caroline, Ice, Ayanna, KK, Jana, Q, Ash, Morgan, Sarah, and Allie. Azzi and Aubrey will be later season adds. Considering Paige played forward, it will be interesting to see if Geno can go back to mixing up lineups with not emphasizing traditional position roles.

Everyone keeps saying Azzi and Aubrey will be later season ads as if it’s fact but it’s just speculation. I’d anticipate Azzi is ready to go by November, 11 months post op would be more than recommended 6-9 month window. Aubrey is cutting it closer but I’d imagine she’s be very close to ready if not ready to go. Both would be on minutes restrictions I’d imagine though.

 

[mhshuskies]

If Geno has proven one thing, it is to be adaptable to having the best team he can with what he has available. He also loves full court pressure on D, which requires more players getting minutes. As many players that prove productive will get playing time.

 

[HuskyNan]

How do you have 16 candidates when 15 is the limit?

Walk on. I’ve seen rosters of 18

 

[CONN78SEJ]

This has been the dream of every BYer for as long as anyone can remember. I salute Dawn for having the discipline to do it even in the final year of the Freshies, when it would have been extra tempting not to.

Yes, he has done it many times early in the season. But the rotation has typically narrowed to 5+2 or 3 in meaningful minutes almost every season.

If I were permitted to dream, and we’re only talking about the second half of the season, not November-December, I’d pick my 10 like this, positions be damned:

• Paige Azzi KK Sarah Jana starting and
• Aubrey Ash Morgan Allie Ice as “the 6th women” or even as a second unit

I like Ash as a starter, but I like Azzi a bit more. I also focus on youngsters because it’s all about the future. In this vision of things, Caroline Q and Ayanna will have to really fight to get into the lineup.

If Caroline comes back 100%, and plays like she did the year she carried the team during Paige’s injury, that might make her the 2nd best player on the team, in my view.

 

[Bald Husky]

The question is, what will Geno do with 13 players? Now, let's say for arguments sake, we ended up adding Beers and Chen. The problem here is that all 15 players are great players, all but the last two recruited by Geno and his staff. If no major injuries occur before next November, Geno should take his time with the players coming back from injury, but what does he do when all are healthy. A 15 player, or a 13 player rotation is not possible. Hopefully all these underclassmen can hold on till next year if they don't make the rotation come January, as Paige, Azzi, Caroline, Aubrey, Chen, and possibly Beers will be out of eligibility. Actually, I believe Beers and Azzi may have another year, but I don't think they will stay. Point is, Geno will have a very tough decision, and the more players he can get on the court with decent minutes will make his rotation easier when deciding on the starters and next people off the bench. I hope he is as good as Dawn when letting players know about their future with the program, so they do not get disenchanted and look for a way out. I'm sure Geno values all of them, just hoping he can give them all hope for the future as a Husky. We want all of them, as some of them are our future for the next couple of years and I just want them all to understand that. Go Huskies.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The question is, what will Geno do with 13 players? Now, let's say for arguments sake, we ended up adding Beers and Chen. The problem here is that all 15 players are great players, all but the last two recruited by Geno and his staff. If no major injuries occur before next November, Geno should take his time with the players coming back from injury, but what does he do when all are healthy. A 15 player, or a 13 player rotation is not possible. Hopefully all these underclassmen can hold on till next year if they don't make the rotation come January, as Paige, Azzi, Caroline, Aubrey, Chen, and possibly Beers will be out of eligibility. Actually, I believe Beers and Azzi may have another year, but I don't think they will stay. Point is, Geno will have a very tough decision, and the more players he can get on the court with decent minutes will make his rotation easier when deciding on the starters and next people off the bench. I hope he is as good as Dawn when letting players know about their future with the program, so they do not get disenchanted and look for a way out. I'm sure Geno values all of them, just hoping he can give them all hope for the future as a Husky. We want all of them, as some of them are our future for the next couple of years and I just want them all to understand that. Go Huskies.

Maybe Beers, but forget Chen. It’s a big maybe for Beers, I’d say it’s a 30% chance she comes to UConn.