Can Ice have a big season this year?

[Bone Dog]

So many obstacles have fallen into her path the first three years, so many disruptions. But have the stars perhaps aligned for her this season?

The virtues she brings: strength, used to have an excellent midrange game and might be able to regain it, sets incredible solid screens, has a quick outlet pass, can move her feet well.

Her weaknesses: she’s not a sure handed rebounder, not a great rim protector, she is a reluctant low post shooter, and she tends to rack up handsy fouls in the post.

This seems to me to mark her out for a slot as power forward. She’ll have to make progress with that midrange shot and with her rebounding. Last season, when she subbed in for Sarah the team offense lagged. This limited her minutes.

But perhaps this season opens up more possibilities for her, either playing next to Serah or anchoring a smaller lineup next to Blanca, Caroline or Ayanna. A group like that, along with Azzi and another guard could pack enough scoring punch to take the pressure off Ice.

Whatever happens, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Ice.

 

[Bigboote]

I said earlier today in the Sacred Heart thread:

I am guilty of having said this before, but I think Ice is going to have a really good season. . .

I was very excited when UConn signed Ice, and I still think the sky's the limit for her. I agree with you about her hands, but she does often tip rebounds to teammates. In practice video, and evidently at the practice yesterday, she's shown good moves near the basket, and she finishes with both hands. I hope that Geno and CD are able to make her more of a post player than she has been. Recall that Azura really wanted to be a guard at Duke, but played more inside at UConn, and is definitely a post player in the W.

 

[Bills Fan]

I hope Ice can continue on her path to physical recovery. Since we have not seen her in a Husky uni before her leg injury, I'm not sure if she ever elevated better to rebound or if she is still having difficulty jumping due to her FR year injury. Hope it's the latter and that she is better this year, because she brings a lot to the table.

 

[RoadWarrior]

So many obstacles have fallen into her path the first three years, so many disruptions. But have the stars perhaps aligned for her this season?

The virtues she brings: strength, used to have an excellent midrange game and might be able to regain it, sets incredible solid screens, has a quick outlet pass, can move her feet well.

Her weaknesses: she’s not a sure handed rebounder, not a great rim protector, she is a reluctant low post shooter, and she tends to rack up handsy fouls in the post.

This seems to me to mark her out for a slot as power forward. She’ll have to make progress with that midrange shot and with her rebounding. Last season, when she subbed in for Sarah the team offense lagged. This limited her minutes.

But perhaps this season opens up more possibilities for her, either playing next to Serah or anchoring a smaller lineup next to Blanca, Caroline or Ayanna. A group like that, along with Azzi and another guard could pack enough scoring punch to take the pressure off Ice.

Whatever happens, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Ice.

Ice made a decisive pass to Sarah near the top of the key with 1:48 in the third quarter of the UCONN vs. UCLA Final Four match, and Sarah drained a three-pointer. I used the word decisive because, besides the weaknesses described by @bonedog, Ice has not looked comfortable or confident in many instances. I think she can have a much stronger season if she can maintain high confidence and execute. I hope she rises to the challenge, but this year’s depth in the post may lessen the chance for a big season. Clip below:

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[LuvBball]

As a proud member of the Ice Bradiacs, yes! Yes, she can...and will! MIP Brady, incoming

 

[Charliebball]

The ability is certainly there........time to add the aggressive mindset......

 

[HopJim]

So many obstacles have fallen into her path the first three years, so many disruptions. But have the stars perhaps aligned for her this season?

The virtues she brings: strength, used to have an excellent midrange game and might be able to regain it, sets incredible solid screens, has a quick outlet pass, can move her feet well.

Her weaknesses: she’s not a sure handed rebounder, not a great rim protector, she is a reluctant low post shooter, and she tends to rack up handsy fouls in the post.

This seems to me to mark her out for a slot as power forward. She’ll have to make progress with that midrange shot and with her rebounding. Last season, when she subbed in for Sarah the team offense lagged. This limited her minutes.

But perhaps this season opens up more possibilities for her, either playing next to Serah or anchoring a smaller lineup next to Blanca, Caroline or Ayanna. A group like that, along with Azzi and another guard could pack enough scoring punch to take the pressure off Ice.

Whatever happens, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for Ice.

Not sure how anyone can accurately project Ice's upcoming success at UConn based on her past two years of injuries. Healing from surgeries on knees and shoulders tends to slow you down, hurt your ability to shoot, and make you more deliberate. On the other hand, while in pain and not at full strength, when UConn needed help in the past two championships, Ice showed a lot of heart and stepped up.

 

[DEpup]

Its all between her ears.... She has all the skill to be the starting PF. It depends on whether she can get out of her own way and accept that she isn't perfect and shorten her memory from one possession to the next.

 

[ec33]

The ability is certainly there........time to add the aggressive mindset......

Which is going to be the hard part. Being 3rd string isn't going to help as it plays into her natural passivity.

It is a shame because she has a world of talent.

 

[Bigboote]

Which is going to be the hard part. Being 3rd string isn't going to help as it plays into her natural passivity.

It is a shame because she has a world of talent.

She'll be playing against Sarah, Jana, Serah, Ayanna, Gandy, in practice every day (possibly Blanca, Caroline, and Morgan some days). I'm hoping that playing against that level of talent, strength, and aggression becomes the mindset and muscle memory.

 

[Huskee11]

The UConn 2025-2026 will be very good but we just don't know yet what it is going to look like. It might look different at different times during the season as things ebb and flow.

It is a function of a lot of things, different themes.

First and foremost there are 15 players, hence at least 15 storylines.

One theme is the "have we seen her at her best" theme. Ice fits within this category. Very heralded out of high school, missed her entire first season due to injury, has had her moments but entirely possible that she will be healthier than ever and ready to contribute on a more consistent basis. Sure hope so. She is a decent outside shooter, has good moves inside, and can be a physical presence on defense in the post even (or perhaps especially) against taller players. I would like to see her rebound better, do a better job just catching and holding onto the ball, stop committing silly touch fouls, and generally play with more intensity.

Others in that category are Caroline, Morgan, Ayanna and Jana. We have not seen Caroline at her best in a long time and have yet to see Morgan at her best. Hopefully, Morgan will be on the court before long. Caroline might be ready to write a truly epic comeback. And ditto with Ayanna, reports are very encouraging. Jana should also be better as the achilles injury moves further into the past.

Then there is the "but now ackshually, how good is she reeally" theme. Blanca (hint: amazingly good), Kayleigh, Kelis, Gandy. I suspect this will be a learning year for the latter two. Oh, and another really good one, Serah, but even she will need to adjust to playing at UConn.

Can Allie, who looks to be in very good shape, shoot the lights out and make the sophomore jump? Will it be KK or Kayleigh to start?

How will the old reliables, Azzi, Sarah and Shade, improve their games?

And finally, how on earth does Geno divvy up the minutes between many deserving players? I know Geno's montra, the players themselves decide, but this season may challenge that conventional wisdom if they are all killing it in practice.

This team is a sportswriter's dream. There are almost too many storylines to write about.

 

[pick6s]

To me, the question isn’t whether Ice can have a big season. The question is whether she can get on the court, outside of garbage time. She’s the third center after Serah Williams, who’s supposed to be very good, and Janna. The power forward minutes will almost entirely get taken up by Sarah Strong, and Ice is too slow to play the 4 in UConn’s system anyway, where they usually only play one big. How does that leave any minutes for her?

 

[rugbymate]

Ice has talent and I hope we get to see it consistently instead of flashes. Unfortunately, she is competing for minutes with at least two teammates that have shown high quality , consistent play. She is also competing with several other teammates that have considerable talent and competitiveness. If she has any chance of finding herself in that 7-8 player rotation during crunch time, she’ll have to show up every day in practice. In addition, when she does get game minutes she’ll have to play her heart out. Wishing her the best.
The downside of depth for we fans is that we may not get to see very likable players, perhaps our favorite players, get much courttime.

 

[tomcat]

There is little doubt that she has the skills, but....there have been times throughout the last season when I thought you could question her decision-making. I think consistency has been her biggest problem and may keep her out of the lineup in favor of more consistent forwards. As always, we'll have to wait and see. I certainly wish her well. She has had more than her share of obstacles, and looks like she might be overcoming at least some of them.

 

[Cuango]

Clearly the talent is there. The question is, how much of her struggles over these past two seasons can be attributed to the injury hangover that she clearly had. I am hoping all that is finally behind her and that she is going into this season fully confident in both her body and her ability. If that is true, then I like her chances of finally fulfilling the potential that Geno saw in her during her recruitment. She is clearly a high character young woman and I wish her all the best as she (apparently/hopefully) enters this season in top shape and free from any nagging doubts about her body. The talent level of this roster is truly remarkable!

 

[oldude]

I would love to see Ice step up and earn more playing time. I have to believe she will do everything she can to achieve that goal this season.

On the other hand, as several BY’ers have mentioned, there is so much talent up front on this year’s team that the battle for PT will inevitably leave some very talented players on the outside looking in. For Ice to crack the rotation she will need to bring something else to the table.

If we look at the 4 & 5 spots, I expect Sarah, Blanca, Jana & Serah to establish themselves as starters and/or regular rotation players. After that you have 3 players coming off of injuries, Caroline, Ayana & Morgan who will all be hungry to get on the court again. Then you have Ice who’s been a dependable reserve for the last 2 seasons. Finally you’ve got Gandy who’s probably got some development ahead of her before she gets meaningful minutes.

If Ice can secure more PT it will probably require her to be a more consistent 3-pt shooter. We know she can make shots from the arc. But let’s say she can knock down 2-3 from the arc every game, shooting somewhere around 40%. That would pretty much force Geno to play Ice regularly.

 

[Bone Dog]

She’s the third center after Serah Williams, who’s supposed to be very good, and Janna. The power forward minutes will almost entirely get taken up by Sarah Strong, and Ice is too slow to play the 4 in UConn’s system

She’s been playing the 5 for two seasons. But I don’t think it’s her best position. For better or worse, she’s will need to compete for the 4, not the 5 which will be fought over by Serah Jana and Gandy.

Yes, Sarah is a lock for starting and will get a lot of minutes at the 4. But she’ll also get minutes at the 5, as she did last season. Even if it’s only five minutes out of 25, that still means there’s a lot of potential minutes at the 4. Now, can Ice win many of those against Ayanna and maybe Blanca? That remains to be seen. Carol and Morgan may get some, but they’ll also be dividing time at the 3.

Oddly, the packed roster, especially with all the bigs and medium bigs, may work out in Ice’s favor this season. Her competition may end up at other positions now there are so many of them.