Can UConn replace the Graduating Seniors?

[RockyMTblue2]

I would like to see some more vocal leadership surface on the court. Geno has said that this is very much Stephanie Dolson's team and I think he meant in part her influence both on and off the court. Obvious candidate is KML, but am I wrong in thinking she has not shown signs of taking on that role, save be example. May be wrong. Have only seen nationally televised games this year.

 

[DEK1234]

I would like to see some more vocal leadership surface on the court. Geno has said that this is very much Stephanie Dolson's team and I think he meant in part her influence both on and off the court. Obvious candidate is KML, but am I wrong in thinking she has not shown signs of taking on that role, save be example. May be wrong. Have only seen nationally televised games this year.

I've seen some flashes of KML's leadership. It might just be a matter of letting the seniors do their thing because they have seniority. I think it was either the national semis or the championship game where I saw her say in the huddle "We have to be smart and stay strong!" Something of that nature. I think she just needed time to grow into that type of role with her being an underclassman.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Who was the most improved?

KML went from a good shooter to the nation's best, expanded her offensive repertoire, and rebounded and defended aggressively. She approached Maya Moore's level. She was a consensus top 10 player, #3 or 4 in my view.

Stef went from erratic to consistent, added the 3-pointer, and rebounded and defended well. She became an AA.

Kelly was the MIP in the BE. She went from a reluctant and mediocre shooter to an aggressive and highly efficient one. She actually became one of the Marion's best shooters, as did Stef.

Brianna went from a distrusted sub to one of the first off the bench and a difference maker.

Both Caroline and Bria were hobbled by injuries, as was pretty much everyone, and they are not candidates for MIP. But both played well in the key final 6 games.

One of the reasons we won was that 4 players were noticeably improved. And 3 of them were pretty damn good the prior year.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Thanks DEK. KML does seem so cool and collected and that is a key attribute of a leader.

 

[Icebear]

Stef is a strong leader.

 

[easttexastrash]

I think Banks is the most complete package to replace Kelly....She brings all the tangible talents ( scoring ; rebounds ; assists, etc.) and the defense. All we need is good health and fortune.

That's a lot to ask of a player coming back from a major injury. She will very likely be trying to trust her body again.

 

[Scotter]

You lose in Kelly Faris and Caroline Doty who intrinsically understood how to play UConn basketball from the very beginning of their freshman years both defensively and especially offensively. You lose the two best passing guards on the team, and more importantly the two best guards at making post entry passes on the team. You lose. You lose two players who instinctively made hustle plays whether it was chasing down a loose ball or stepping in to take a charge. You lose two players who played physically and gave up their bodies whether it was setting a screen on offense or boxing an opponent out on defense.

Next year's team is supremely talented, but as of where the players end last season they are lacking in all of the areas above. Stef and Kaleena intrinsically understand how to play UConn basketball and so far they are the only two on next year's roster that I know without any doubt will be in sync with the coaches. They are also the only two players that are proven post entry passers and half court decision makers. For a program that has been defined by passing ability there is a big need for improvement. Too often last season and particularly against Notre Dame players were slow to react to the ball. Late to react to rebounds. Late to react to loose balls. . UConn got out hustled a fair bit, and there's not a single player on next year's roster that is instinctively like Kelly and Caroline when it comes to making hustle plays. And outside of Stef and Kaleena the rest of the roster needs to be more physically engaged. Too many players giving up offensive rebounds because they didn't at least put body on someone let alone block out. Too many players not setting good screens.

Next year team will win just about every game in blow out fashion on talent alone, but there are a lot of aspects underneath the surface that are not up to UConn standards. While they won the national championship easily, it wasn't because the deficiencies had really been addressed. The above had as much to do with UConn losing games last season as anything else. And changing the mentality of players is hard, although Stef and Kaleena are examples of players that have made huge strides in effort level and aggressiveness. They did have the benefit of being natural fits in the UConn offense though. One of the great challenges is going to be to get players to make the necessary strides even though UConn will be winning easily on talent. For a long time Maya's effort level drove the team, and then Kelly's which had a big impact on Kaleena. That's what I'll be watching for next season: instinctive understanding of the offense and defense. passing. hustle plays, and physical aggressiveness. Who can make the transition that someone like Tina Charles eventually made.

 

[JSB60]

The challenge next year will be keeping focus and not taking games off. Next year's team doesn't have to play this year's team, and they are head and shoulders above the competition. As hard as Kelly is to replace, ND and Baylor won't come nearly as close to replacing their losses.

 

[alexrgct]

I think Moriah and Morgan at times tried to do too much too fast (especially Mo), but both of them are extremely hard workers who hustle, do what's asked of them, and make effort plays. Passing? We'll have to see.

 

[Geno-ista]

I also want to commend david for this great post and all the other detailed great information!!! I love this group. With all due respect to kelly and caroline who i love, respect and will miss immensely- barring major unforeseen events, we are going to be a more dangerous and dynamic high scoring monster team next year.everyone will be a year older- oh my god! Messiah, stewie & Morgan! If B banks can get healthy with some of her prior quickness intact- we will have our kelly/ kalena lock down defender! Steph, Bria H & Kml will lead this team imo! Kml has deferred out of respect to upperclassmen i think! She can do everything well! Messiah will make the same jump B Banks had made b fore her injury i believe. And I think Morgan Tuck will become such an X factor for us- we'll be impossible to defend next yr. she started to look almost like steph at the end of the year at the high post. Natural outside shot when she relaxes, and she can take anyone off the dribble! Cool as a cucumber with the ball. Teams cant double stewie & kml! We have a natural point guard in Messiah- that we havn't had since Renee! Bria h became Bris H in the nick of time this year. This doesn't mean we win NC automatically- but with everyone that we have coming back, the huge updide of three really great freshman that experienced real pressure cooker games all season into the Final Four- we are going to see two years minimum, of some of our greatest teams ever i believe. I could be wrong- but i dont think so! Brittney Griner with a senior laden high quality supporting cast was the only thing that could have stopped us this year or next year- and she and they are gone! Geno would have won 3-4 championships with her! Next year will be magical!

 

[Geno-ista]

My take:

Faris's production on the offensive end will be more than made up by the new & improved version of Stewie playing the whole year, a return to form for Bria, and an improved and steadier MoJeff. Her rebounds will be made up mostly by Stewie. We might have somewhat lower assist-to-made basket ratio next year than this past year, but in any event we will have more made baskets so who's counting...

Defense - here's where we will really miss Kelly Faris. There is no replacing the tenacity of this "shut down" guard. MoJeff will be better, no doubt, and Bria will be healthier (God willing) but we will still be less effective defending the perimeter than we were with Kelly. That much is inescapable. We will also have less ability to put one person on the opponent's best player and play everyone straight up.

But this just means that we will defend teams differently--not necesarily worse (or better). We will have more opponents able to take us off the dribble, but a more experienced Stewart will be there to help in the back. That's her greatest defensive skill anyway (help D). We might even see a bit more zone next year than we're used to seeing, to make sure we are maximizing Stewie's effectiveness. (IMHO a trapping zone like a 1-3-1 would be most effective for UCONN next year rather than our usual 2-3. It would utilize the best defensive skills of our guards, who are excellent at doubling and harassing, and Stewie could occupy the middle in a high enough position to cause a lot of problems for guards as well as forwards. But in all likelihood Geno will get great defense from his favored man-to-man, with Stewie especially giving great help as needed.)

Great post!

 

[Geno-ista]

Thanks winlots... engine analogy is so true... Geno can rev it up and go "fast" w/ Stewie, Tuck, KML, Banks & Jefferson OR "slower but big" w/ Dolson, Stokes, Stewie, KML and a guard... with Faris and Doty gone, Geno may mix and match with really different looks... regardless, KML and Stewie seem to be constants...

Bingo- the quality and depth is a match up night mare!

 

[DaddyChoc]

yeah we're gonna win as long as we have Messiah on our side

 

[Scotter]

I think Moriah and Morgan at times tried to do too much too fast (especially Mo), but both of them are extremely hard workers who hustle, do what's asked of them, and make effort plays. Passing? We'll have to see.

There's a difference between playing hard and do what is asked of them, and the instinctive plays I discussed above. Too often they were both slow to react to react to loose balls and rebounds. There 's a difference between Moriah playing really hard pressuring the ball and what I'm talking about. Where it shows up is off the ball offensive and defensively. There's another step to take even if they are extremely working hard and hustling compared to what they believe their limits are. They have to realize they are capable of being more mentally and physically engaged. That comes along with choosing to play at UConn where the standards are higher. And the highest standard was set by the 2009-10 UConn team, and the last remaining players from that team are now gone and there won't be someone like Kelly Faris setting the standard of play next season.

 

[EricLA]

I just watched the NC game AGAIN for probably the 5th time. Such an enjoyable game for me. I noticed MoJeff played quite a bit in the 2nd half. Yes we had a big lead, but at times towards the end of the season, she certainly struggled. My opinion of that is partly because she did not play as much during the middle of the season when Geno thought Caroline would be the starting PG and earn a lions share of minutes in the post season. When it became clear Caroline's body just would not cooperate, Geno tried to go with MoJeff, but she was overwhelmed.

I think Moriah learned a ton very quickly over the last month of the season, and with a whole summer plus to work on her game, strength, etc. I think she will be much improved next year and a defensive force. There is really no way one player can replace what Kelly gave us, but the combo of a healthy Bria, improved Moriah, and healthy/returning Brianna to go along with everyone else who will be better next year, I think our overall team will be even stronger than the team we saw this season.

At some point over the summer people will start the "PPG and minutes" thread. I will be hard pressed to predict a team that scores under 90 PPG this coming season. Unless Geno finds a couple other walk ons to play the last 4-5 minutes of blowouts, we will see a team consisting of Becca, Saniya, Brianna, Morgan and Kiah most likely on the court at that point. And "even" a 2nd string lineup like that will be able to score points big time...

 

[bruinbball]

There's a difference between playing hard and do what is asked of them, and the instinctive plays I discussed above. Too often they were both slow to react to react to loose balls and rebounds. There 's a difference between Moriah playing really hard pressuring the ball and what I'm talking about. Where it shows up is off the ball offensive and defensively. There's another step to take even if they are extremely working hard and hustling compared to what they believe their limits are. They have to realize they are capable of being more mentally and physically engaged. That comes along with choosing to play at UConn where the standards are higher. And the highest standard was set by the 2009-10 UConn team, and the last remaining players from that team are now gone and there won't be someone like Kelly Faris setting the standard of play next season.

This is where I referred to Kelly's taking KML under her wing. I really hope she is the one to push and drive her teammates to be the best they can be.

 

[Buzzyboy]

when you consider how many points the team will be scoring next year , i can't imagine there will be much need for a shutdown defender.

I think you should be saying, "I can't imagine there will be 'as much a need' for a shutdown defender. However there may come a time when we run into a time that's on fire offensively and hitting on all cylinders while we may be somewhat flat and it surely wouldn't hurt to have someone who can go head to head with the opponent that may be "smoking" and put out that FIRE! Breanna (if healthy) may just be that person.