Caroline minutes

[Carnac]

This is why you can't sit on every word Geno says during preseason. And in regards to Nika, she has proven herself in big games not just in practices. There was no reason to take away add'l minutes from Nika. CD will have her shot. Ark hung around close enough to not give CD many minutes.

In non-blowout games, that 9th player is not going to get many minutes unless you play press press press.

At he beginning of last season, Geno said that Aubrey was: "a hundred times better now than last year." I got real excited when I heard that. Now I could not wait to see Aubrey 2.0, and see what a hundred times better looks like. I never saw it. I don't mean to pick on Aubrey, I'm a huge fan of hers. Just using what he said about her as an example. I'm hoping to see a new and improved Aubrey Griffin this year. She's got a lot of untapped potential we haven't seen yet.

 

[Dokey]

At least the Boneyard is consistent.

We have played one game against a good team (rankings be damned) and we are carping about who is getting minutes. Absolutely amazing.

So Caroline only played a few minutes in the first half. She is a talented freshman who will earn her minutes. Geno and staff know what they want. Caroline will be just fine. But she may not get the minutes some want. That is D1 basketball.

I just went through box scores for every one of KLS’ freshman games. She got significant minutes from game one and as the season progressed, her minutes increased and she frequently led the team in scoring. I think if Caroline receives similar treatment she could have similar contributions, not necessarily becoming a starter as KLS did.

 

[LoboDays]

‘SAt he beginning of last season, Geno said that Aubrey was: "a hundred times better now than last year." I got real excited when I heard that. Now I could not wait to see Aubrey 2.0, and see what a hundred times better looks like. I never saw it. I don't mean to pick on Aubrey, I'm a huge fan of hers. Just using what he said about her as an example. I'm hoping to see a new and improved Aubrey Griffin this year. She's got a lot of untapped potential we haven't seen yet.

Aubrey is the most interesting question mark on the team. No one disrupts the opponent’s offense better than she does and get her share of rebounds and steals. If she can get into the flow of UCONN’s offense and hit some open jumpers, minutes will abound.

 

[Littlemin]

so nobody but Nika on this team wants to win? Get out of here with that cliche, Many not just myself have said that when she comes in the game her shot selection is suspect and the opposing team knows that is one less player to worry about with the ball.

Way to put words in my mouth; I never mentioned any other player, pro or con. I have been very open that I do not believe Bueckers best position is point guard. IMO, Muhl on the court moves her over to where she provides maximum value. I know those who judge players merely by stats will disagree but I don’t really care who shoots best, etc. individually, because your 5 best players very often do not constitute your best team. I do not consider it a coincidence in the least that Muhl was on the court for ”winning time”.

 

[Coach]

At he beginning of last season, Geno said that Aubrey was: "a hundred times better now than last year." I got real excited when I heard that. Now I could not wait to see Aubrey 2.0, and see what a hundred times better looks like. I never saw it. I don't mean to pick on Aubrey, I'm a huge fan of hers. Just using what he said about her as an example. I'm hoping to see a new and improved Aubrey Griffin this year. She's got a lot of untapped potential we haven't seen yet.

Not sure if this was a good example. Aubrey missed most of the preseason with a back injury followed by a high ankle sprain which kept her out of the season opener against Arkansas.

 

[Vowelguy]

This one out of all possible scenarios on Sunday surprised me the most. 4 minutes? That really is not what I expected, especially considering all the off-season and practice talk Geno had said. That she was understanding most of what he wanted and only as a freshman. I thought when Nika couldn't buy a basket it would have been a good time to put her in. I hope we get to see more from her over the weekend.

Oh my lord, it's going to be a long season.
And speaking of long season, it was GAME ONE.

 

[Rudy1927]

Remember you are not given minutes you earn them. We all don’t know what is going on 100% of the time. Geno needs to trust you to play you in a big game. I like the player but let her earn it in practice or games which she will be playing.

 

[donalddoowop]

Azzi’s midrange jumper is world-class. But Paige was out of this world on Sunday.

Yes, but wait until Paige has a subpar shooting game against a quality opponent. The boo birds will come out singing loudly. That is one of the meanings of BY, Boo You.

 

[Zinethar]

I agree it would be nice for more players to get more minutes so they can improve and earn their spot in the rotation. However, I think that only happens once the top 5/6 are set and get enough minutes to gel into a winning combination. The finishers have to get established first and get the time to perfect their play together. Once that is set then minutes can start to be given to the next in line so that they can come into a close game and not have a huge drop off. That process continues until (hopefully 8 or so players are ready for the big games. Until then the rest just get a few mop up time and have only practice to show they should replace one of those in the main rotation. Playing time as Geno says is earned during practice. We only get to see the end result of that. As a Bills fan I have learned to "respect the process".

 

[hoophuskee]

Are you actually suggesting pressing? Not even I have suggested that yet. You can't set a trap if you can't cut off a ballhandler.
I have never seen the number nine ever written in one of your posts before. Did your finger slip. Even 8 for that matter.
8 + 5= 13, the 5 being a "blue team". They enter the game in unison, ideally once in each half, not counting turkey-time at the end. They stay out there 2-5 minutes, dependent on them at least holding the lead. Huge morale boost for everyone. Everyone in the ready on the bench always. Mir, Amari, Piath, Aubrey, and Nika. Nika would be a phenomenal leader of the group. Mir and Aubrey would be forced to take the load offensively, except for the posts getting open for layups, and that would help them enormously. What can happen? Can't look much worse (except PB, E, CW) than against Arkansas. Except for the 3-4 big boys they play, Arkansas is their best opponent.
No lose and the possible return is incalculable. Everyone gets time. Could use them together in practice against the first group. Players earn more time.....

No I wasn't suggesting it. I was saying that the 9th player in a non-blowout game isn't going to get many minutes unless they press press press. I wasn't suggesting they do it.

 

[Zanzman]

I want Plath to start

 

[Carnac]

Not sure if this was a good example. Aubrey missed most of the preseason with a back injury followed by a high ankle sprain which kept her out of the season opener against Arkansas.

Noted. Again, not picking on Aubrey. Just suggesting that we have to take what Geno says tongue in cheek. Geno's comment about Aubrey were BEFORE last year's season began, not this season. I'm hoping Aubrey has a stellar year this year. Maybe even set a record or two.

 

[cohenzone]

Maybe you didn't read the first few lines of my post or maybe you just come here to put down others. You are not alone in that regard. I just stated my opinion and I gave insight as to why I have that opinion. We will see who is right over the long term won't we. I've watched maybe 10 hours of video from Azzi and Caroline and I coached for 25 years. It's my evaluation. Of course I may be wrong but my opinion is not worthy of insult. Azzi can shoot the lights out but the whole team is going to have to create shots for her. Azzi's biggest strengths are in not making mistakes and shooting extremely well. I'm not seeing the great defense. I'm not seeing the quickness. I'm not seeing the dribble drive penetration. I'm see a Steve Alford type player. I prefer the total package Caroline offers.

The larger point, I think, is you can’t draw any such conclusions from one game. I don’t know that your view invalid. It just seems a little too definite with such a small sample. For example, I thought Azzi wasn’t as quick as I expected. Not that she was slow, just I expected something else. But it was her first game, she managed 7 points and it looked like she was wearing braces on both legs. I need a bigger sample. if anyone got hyped by Geno but got pretty limited time it was Nika. Main take away. Take what GA says about preseason play with a grain of salt.

 

[Cuango]

so nobody but Nika on this team wants to win? Get out of here with that cliche, Many not just myself have said that when she comes in the game her shot selection is suspect and the opposing team knows that is one less player to worry about with the ball.

Sigh! Where in Littllemin’s post was the statement that no one else on the team wants to win? I read the post and saw nothing of the kind! While I agree that Nika is somewhat overrated by some on this board, I have to point out that Littllemin said nothing that remotely intimated Nika was the only player on the team who wants to win!

 

[TeamFirst!]

It's like mlb players drafted. More often than not the top few players drafted are the studs but it's not all that unusual for some kid drafted in round 5 to be the real find. Evaluation is subjective. I'm just trying to project. Maybe I'm wrong. I know I'm a minority of about 1 or 2 on this board. I love Azzi as a kid. As a terrific young lady who her parents are extremely proud of and who will be a solid player and an even better person. No question about any of that. I'm just saying long term, against top competition, I'd take Caroline because I think she helps me win against top competition. She gets her hands in a lot of passing lanes. She rebounds well and is fundamentally strong. She gets to the basket well. I think she will be a better defender than Azzi if she isn't already. She blocks a lot of shots for a guard. She actually passes well also, seeing the floor well. She doesn't make many mistakes with the ball. She is almost as good a shooter as Azzi and has been a top 3 point competitor with maybe even more range than Azzi. She has a great step back jumper. She gets her shot off quickly and is difficult for a guard to block. She has dominated in big games in high school. She looks and acts like she belongs. Look at Haley Jones who had a triple double this week and was the MVP last year in the championships. A big guard can make a tremendous difference against tough competition. Look at all the Uconn players with size who could shoot the 3. Caroline fits the profile of a player who could become special.

 

[jazz]

Perimeter and even help defense was very poor. I think uconn has struggled with this for a number of years. was terrible on defense. CW was ok. No way AE can d-up a guard on the perimeter. AE is a terrific athlete and great on the perimeter but she will struggle against guards. Hell, even our guards struggled on the perimeter. But Ark did play 4 guards a lot.

A mediocre team scored 80 points on us. That says it a lot. Frist game though, and defense takes time to gel.

 

[jchusky]

also just realized how close Caroline and Saylor are. They are really good friends, literally every picture since the first game they attended in Storrs as Uconn commits they were together. I wonder if she was affected losing a good friend and i'm sure she already knew that gameday she was going to leave.

 

[browns]

Hopefully we're not going to spend the whole year wondering why Aubrey isn't getting more minutes like some posters last year.She's a junior this year and if she hasn't figured out how to get into the flow of the offense or hit some open jumpers than she'll only get minutes in blowout games.She's a good not great defensive player but Uconn can't play 4 on 5 on offense now that they have other options

 

[huskeynut]

I just went through box scores for every one of KLS’ freshman games. She got significant minutes from game one and as the season progressed, her minutes increased and she frequently led the team in scoring. I think if Caroline receives similar treatment she could have similar contributions, not necessarily becoming a starter as KLS did.

Not the same situation between Lou and Caroline. Lou was the 3 point sharp shooter the team needed. Caroline has a couple of other in front of her like Paige and E.

 

[Zarathustra]

Both Azzi and Carolyn ( with Dorka, Aliayah, and everyone ) will
be important parts of the Paige Machine for years to come.
"E", Christyn, and ONO are determined to complete
the "UNFINISHED BUSINESS".!

 

[Waquoit]

Not the same situation between Lou and Caroline. Lou was the 3 point sharp shooter the team needed. Caroline has a couple of other in front of her like Paige and E.

Exactly, that team didn't have as many good returning players as this one does.

 

[JellyBean]

Yeah I was shocked that she only got 4 minutes out there. Hopefully over the weekend, Coach goes a little deeper with the team and allow some players time to play, make mistakes, but get some minutes out there to just play. Build up their confidence. Never know when we are going to need them.

 

[Dokey]

Not the same situation between Lou and Caroline. Lou was the 3 point sharp shooter the team needed. Caroline has a couple of other in front of her like Paige and E.

True, there is a difference. I love Lou but Caroline can play defense. (Lou is getting better and better on defense, the 3 x 3 helped, especially with Plum who was great offensively and a waste of space on defense on the floor). And it would be bad to have more than two 3 point shooters why? Especially given all of Caroline’s baskets so far have been close in.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

UM...Azzi can get her own shot anytime and can get to the rim easily on footwork and dribble skills alone and I watched maybe ten minutes of video. She's fast enough. I just thought she may have closed out too tight or was confused about the defense they were playing. Last game her defense wasn't great, but that was one game. And I'm sure there's some adjustment in coming into the game cold off the bench. She has NO IDEA what that is! lol Very few players are GREAT on defense. You know that because you coached 25 years. Off the top of my head I can only think of a handful of Uconn guards that I would place in that category...Moriah Jefferson, Nykesha Sales, Jen Rizotti. Speaking of quickness...I wouldn't even use that word to describe anyone on this team. They are fast enough.

Azzi is a great player, but to put her in the same talent category as Paige is doubtful in my opinion. I don’t think she’s scoring 34 points, having 4 assists, 6 rbs, and a couple steals, at the beginning of her sophomore season next year like Paige did on Sunday.

 

[The deacon]

It's like mlb players drafted. More often than not the top few players drafted are the studs but it's not all that unusual for some kid drafted in round 5 to be the real find. Evaluation is subjective. I'm just trying to project. Maybe I'm wrong. I know I'm a minority of about 1 or 2 on this board. I love Azzi as a kid. As a terrific young lady who her parents are extremely proud of and who will be a solid player and an even better person. No question about any of that. I'm just saying long term, against top competition, I'd take Caroline because I think she helps me win against top competition. She gets her hands in a lot of passing lanes. She rebounds well and is fundamentally strong. She gets to the basket well. I think she will be a better defender than Azzi if she isn't already. She blocks a lot of shots for a guard. She actually passes well also, seeing the floor well. She doesn't make many mistakes with the ball. She is almost as good a shooter as Azzi and has been a top 3 point competitor with maybe even more range than Azzi. She has a great step back jumper. She gets her shot off quickly and is difficult for a guard to block. She has dominated in big games in high school. She looks and acts like she belongs. Look at Haley Jones who had a triple double this week and was the MVP last year in the championships. A big guard can make a tremendous difference against tough competition. Look at all the Uconn players with size who could shoot the 3. Caroline fits the profile of a player who could become special.

I'm part of the minority, too, TeamFirst, and I believe it's more than 1 or 2 who want to see more minutes for Caroline. I understand some will say you can't judge from one game, and it really was only 3:52 that she was on-court. However, other than shuffling her feet for a borderline travel just before the half, I saw nothing Caroline did that was wanting. Less than 40 seconds into her first stint, she caused a turnover when her length caused a five-second violation by Arkansas. She was called for a foul on a Spencer drive, but that was even questionable, and notably she made a clean block of Spencer's shot.

There hasn't been a ton of on-court evidence, for sure, but she showed impressive glimpses of what she could do, given the chance, against Fort Hays (yes, a weaker opponent). I'll bet she'll be one of UConn's truly valued pieces very soon. Let's not wait too long to find that out...

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Azzi is a great player, but to put her in the same talent category as Paige is doubtful in my opinion. I don’t think she’s scoring 34 points, having 4 assists, 6 rbs, and a couple steals, at the beginning of her sophomore season next year like Paige did on Sunday.

I don't think she needs to. Paige had a great freshman campaign because that is what the team needed. Azzi and Paige stepped into two completely different team scenarios. They also play two different roles/positions. I wasn't even thinking about Azzi the sophomore because...she just started her freshman year.

 

[Amashutcha]

I think if Caroline made the kickout pass to CW at the end of the half, she would've been given more minutes. Still very bullish on her.

 

[The deacon]

Very possible... you were one step (pass) ahead of me, and apparently Caroline.