Critical to win the National Championship

[TCC Kid]

Ice Brady also has shown a great deal of ability to operate from the high post as a facilitator. I doubt she will be as good a passer as ONO was but she might be more of an offensive thread in that she can put the ball on the deck, shoot the mid range and step behind the line and be a credible deep shooter.

Remember ONO as a Freshman? She wasn't even close to the ONO Senior.
I'm all for Freshmen making the most of their talent.
If she, ICE, can pass, passibly, or drill it in close and from the 3, Yipee!!
Someone, @Easy Ed, I think mentioned DT's NC game--even the very great have bad days.

 

[TCC Kid]

Creighton (Elite Eight), De Paul (our 2 pt. win) and Villanova (beat us) prove that we have to worry as much about our own conference as we do about non-conference games. Nationally ranking and seasoning of players are the principle benefits of non-conference games. Conference games are really important as well and a consequential measuring stick.

If you don't worry about those "easy wins" losses may mount.
However, Villa nova, Ve-ah-no-wave-ah (a Puerto Rican friend told me) was always a questionable win (at least for me).
This year the team on the floor (Uconn) had lost its leader and was fumbling--within a week that loss wouldn't have happened.

 

[Bone Dog]

On post passing: it's a little like a Big shooting the occasional 3 in that it draws the opposing Big away from the low post. At a minimum it creates a quandary for them -- come out and challenge the pass but leave the rim undefended against cutters, or don't come out and the passing game is unchallenged. Watching the Stef/Stewie teams you saw this all the time. An aggressive passing game that would either whip the ball around the perimeter or find a cutter, depending on what the opposing defense gave them.

 

[TCC Kid]

Hokay, I'll take my stab at this.

First off, as others have said, UConn needs to stay reasonably healthy. If Azzi and Caroline are close to 100%, that will be a formidable 2-3 punch. If Lou develops as some think she will, that will be a good rotation.

Assuming that Azzi and Caroline give us what we saw much of last year (I don't think that's going out on a limb), then I agree with the OP that UConn's success depends on post play. I think we all agree that rebounding is critical and was lacking at times last year. I think Ice and Ayanna will be instrumental there -- not necessarily playing 20 minutes/game themselves, but getting the other posts into good habits playing against them in practice.

But I think the other critical aspect of post play that's absolutely necessary is post passing. Olivia was good, but if someone can develop into a Stef-Gabby-type post passer, that will bode very well. There are great possibilities to pass to in the low post and multiple good cutters and shooters, so a big with good court vision and quick decision making could be the difference.

FAN-tastic! Uconn is blessed with high high high talent. We have 6 at least (I didn't count them) that played needed roles and 4 at least had bigger roles down the stretch. That my friend--is great experience. So--Uconn lost the NC. EXPERIENCE at that level you can't get anywhere except in the NC. Inexperience player (at the NC) have lost games because the atmosphere got to them. Our kids lost--but Won in experience.
For this team those 6 or 8 kids who were there, those that played--EXPERIENCE. They'll be BACK.. Some loses bring tears and some are building block--which was Uconn's last NC?

 

[BobbyJ]

Ice Brady also has shown a great deal of ability to operate from the high post as a facilitator. I doubt she will be as good a passer as ONO was but she might be more of an offensive thread in that she can put the ball on the deck, shoot the mid range and step behind the line and be a credible deep shooter.

I think she'll be as good and, in time, probably better.

 

[BobbyJ]

I think our backcourt can match up with any in the country. Of course, a cold night can happen to anybody (look at what happened Taurasi's freshman year in the final four) but if you have a good front court hitting the bunnies it can overcome even a bad shooting night as long as the defense and rebounding are up to the task. As we saw last year, our rebounding was our biggest liability. It gave them more offensive opportunities and us less. So I agree that the performance of our front-court is the key to winning 12.

Agreed. And that was one one of the most valuable things Collier provided. Her ability to abuse teams inside, score consistently, and draw fouls helped offset below average shooting nights from the perimeter.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Losing Paige makes us an underdog and I don't care who says otherwise. It just does. She is irreplaceable. I do think Lou can help us forget her at least some though and I think she will be the surprise performer this year. I think one of Ice or Ayanna needs to be at least in the all big east conversation for this team to be in the championship game. I love Dorka and know both her and AE will help the team be great but I sense we will need something more. Look at SC and Stanford's bigs, for example. Those are potentially great rebounding teams next year. Great defensive teams in the paint. Stanford shut down our big's scoring last year in the championship game. I also think Azzi needs to get at least 15 minutes a game as PG. Lou is the key. Not Azzi or Caroline who may well score more but without Lou giving us at least 12 points a game I don't think this team emerges at the top. If not Lou then Ayanna or Ice is going to have to be a significant scoring threat. Who scores when no one else can? That's the question. Paige answered that question in the past but it's up in the air now.

 

[Bone Dog]

Who scores when no one else can? That's the question. Paige answered that question in the past but it's up in the air now.

I don’t think it’s a mystery. We already know Azzi can get her own shot and so can Caroline. We’ve seen lots of evidence that Lou can as well. Because we have great perimeter shooters, Aaliyah and Dorka will have a much easier time of it in the paint. It’s more or less the Stanford formula.

And just generally, I think Azzi has all the offensive skills Paige has. We haven’t seen her carry the team across a whole season, though we’ve caught glimpses of it in the Tennessee and Marquette games. The only question is whether she’s ready to do this across a whole season. I think the answer will turn out to be Yes. But what do I know?

The primary difference this year compared to Paige’s freshman year is that Azzi will have a better team around her. Barring injury of course.

 

[Cuango]

It is a lot of IFs. But last year all the IFs broke against us and we still got to the NC. I don't see us having such bad luck two years in a row.

Knock wood!

 

[Cuango]

Losing Paige makes us an underdog and I don't care who says otherwise. It just does. She is irreplaceable. I do think Lou can help us forget her at least some though and I think she will be the surprise performer this year. I think one of Ice or Ayanna needs to be at least in the all big east conversation for this team to be in the championship game. I love Dorka and know both her and AE will help the team be great but I sense we will need something more. Look at SC and Stanford's bigs, for example. Those are potentially great rebounding teams next year. Great defensive teams in the paint. Stanford shut down our big's scoring last year in the championship game. I also think Azzi needs to get at least 15 minutes a game as PG. Lou is the key. Not Azzi or Caroline who may well score more but without Lou giving us at least 12 points a game I don't think this team emerges at the top. If not Lou then Ayanna or Ice is going to have to be a significant scoring threat. Who scores when no one else can? That's the question. Paige answered that question in the past but it's up in the air now.

Losing Paige was obviously a devastating blow but I don’t agree it made us an underdog. Rather, it took us from being the favorite imo, to “among” the favorites. I do agree wholeheartedly that Paige is irreplaceable. I just think this team has so much talent, that barring injuries and/or bad luck, we will be able to drive above her loss and win anyway! It won’t be easy but we have the talent and the coaching to do it!

 

[Skeets]

Priority #1 1 if we are talking a National Championship for UCONN in 2023 is the entire team must remain relatively healthy.
UCONN had 48 player games lost to injury in the last season resulting in 6 losses. With Paige being lost for the season UCONN is starting the season with ~34 player games lost to injury.

Priority #2 is ALL the returning players have to come back improved above last season. Notice that I said ALL as to avoid certain posters attributing that statement to only their favorite player(s). Better health does not necessarily mean the players will return improved and I would cite Aaliyah Edwards funk at the start of last season had nothing to do with injury. UCONN graduated 3 players that included a 4 year starter (Christyn) , a 3 year starer (ONO) and part time starter and worse case 6th woman ( Evina) , therefore opportunities are very plentiful with this season's team.

Priority #3 is that the new additions must find a primary role quickly and play that role consistently. Those primary roles are ( Lou=Scoring: Ayanna=Rebounding : Ice= Interior scoring and Ines= Rest for ( Azzi, Lou and Nika). Although she is not a new addition to the team Aubrey returning to her old role as a game changing perimeter defender will be need at some point in the season as well.

Down the road and as a reminder there will be no Bridgeport or Albany Region this season which could be significant disadvantage for UCONN's national championships hopes or even a return to the FF. In 2023, the Sweet 16/Elite Eight will be held at two sites Greenville, SC and Seattle WA.

That's an awful lot of priorities, conditions, "Ifs' and things that would would have to go right for UCONN to achieve a National Championship in 2023 but I'm looking forward to the ride because for this program there is no other intended destination.

Wow, 48 player/games lost last year and already we've lost ~34 player/games this year! That kinda sheds a whole new light on the magnitude of losing Paige.

FYI, it felt like we lost 1,000 player/games last year. Did you include Aubrey if the 48? I think not.

 

[CocoHusky]

Wow, 48 player/games lost last year and already we've lost ~34 player/games this year! That kinda sheds a whole new light on the magnitude of losing Paige.

FYI, it felt like we lost 1,000 player/games last year. Did you include Aubrey if the 48? I think not.

I did not include Aubrey. So the total would be 48 + 36 = 84.

 

[Dillon77]

Poster's Note:
- My McGraw's Bench colleague, BabaGhanouj is posting a regular series of threads called "Can't tell the players without a scorecard" in which he examines top teams and what they've gained/lost/gotten back during the offseason. They're succinct and encourage WBB fans to take a look (Today's is on Stanford.) One of these focused on UConn. I've included a link:

Can’t tell the players without a scorecard

ndnation.com

- I wrote the following response on The Bench and have cut and pasted for this thread. As most of you know, I'm an active member of both boards. While I'm an alum and fan of Notre Dame, I've been a follower and admirer of UConn since the mid-90's.

Headline: There's More Missing Than a Pa(i)ge at UConn

At the start of the 2022-23 season, UConn will not just be without the superb Paige Bueckers, but three veteran contributors:
Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

Now, maybe these three never quite became the individual breakout collegiate superstars one might've thought based on their H.S. rankings in the rating services, but they were good enough to be drafted and made for a very effective team, nonetheless: Westbrook was a calming presence on the court; Williams could penetrate, play defense and occasionally score out of her mind; and, ON-O had length and hops. She reminds me of Azura Stevens; in that she might play better in the pro game after a few years of seasoning.

That said, what does that mean for UConn now? You take them away and they're not easily replaced. At least not initially.

Then you take away the proverbial straw that stirs the drink -- one Paige Bueckers -- and there's a number of question marks in my mind.

• Azzi Fudd can stroke it, but can she carry a team at the collegiate level when the primary defensive plans will now be to stop her? If so, the Huskies are in great shape. If not, can a team stymy UConn by focusing on Azzi and making her work really hard?
• Caroline Ducharme had a bunch of moments last year before she got injured. She intuitively seems to get to open spots and finishes from them. Will she continue to do this? Add some more elements to her game?
• Nika Muhl is a smart pest of an opponent who -- at least last season -- gets in foul trouble and is ??? on offense.
• I thought Lou Lopez Senechal, the transfer from Fairfield, would've been a good pick-up for ND but -- darn -- Geno struck fast and kept her in-state. Depending on how Lou adjusts, she could help. Kind of Ducharme-esque. We'll see.
• Can Ayanna Patterson bring her athletic promise to fruition in her frosh year?
• Will Edwards continue to improve in the paint? Consistent, game-in/game-out effort is absolutely necessary without ON-O and so many underclassmen.

But the key question there is who steers, drives and supplies the heart of the Huskie ship without Paige around and three other talented players in the pro's?

I'm not predicting a major drop-off because Geno and Chris Daily bring in top talent and develop it along the lines they think works best in the intended approach. (Note: take this to the bank.) However, there's a lot of seasoned talent missing from last year. I see this team getting better as the season goes on. Stay tuned.

 

[sun]

I hope that Ayanna dunks enough times to get an NIL from Dunkin'Donuts!

 

[BobbyJ]

Poster's Note:
- My McGraw's Bench colleague, BabaGhanouj is posting a regular series of threads called "Can't tell the players without a scorecard" in which he examines top teams and what they've gained/lost/gotten back during the offseason. They're succinct and encourage WBB fans to take a look (Today's is on Stanford.) One of these focused on UConn. I've included a link:

Can’t tell the players without a scorecard

ndnation.com

- I wrote the following response on The Bench and have cut and pasted for this thread. As most of you know, I'm an active member of both boards. While I'm an alum and fan of Notre Dame, I've been a follower and admirer of UConn since the mid-90's.

Headline: There's More Missing Than a Pa(i)ge at UConn

At the start of the 2022-23 season, UConn will not just be without the superb Paige Bueckers, but three veteran contributors:
Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

Now, maybe these three never quite became the individual breakout collegiate superstars one might've thought based on their H.S. rankings in the rating services, but they were good enough to be drafted and made for a very effective team, nonetheless: Westbrook was a calming presence on the court; Williams could penetrate, play defense and occasionally score out of her mind; and, ON-O had length and hops. She reminds me of Azura Stevens; in that she might play better in the pro game after a few years of seasoning.

That said, what does that mean for UConn now? You take them away and they're not easily replaced. At least not initially.

Then you take away the proverbial straw that stirs the drink -- one Paige Bueckers -- and there's a number of question marks in my mind.

• Azzi Fudd can stroke it, but can she carry a team at the collegiate level when the primary defensive plans will now be to stop her? If so, the Huskies are in great shape. If not, can a team stymy UConn by focusing on Azzi and making her work really hard?
• Caroline Ducharme had a bunch of moments last year before she got injured. She intuitively seems to get to open spots and finishes from them. Will she continue to do this? Add some more elements to her game?
• Nika Muhl is a smart pest of an opponent who -- at least last season -- gets in foul trouble and is ??? on offense.
• I thought Lou Lopez Senechal, the transfer from Fairfield, would've been a good pick-up for ND but -- darn -- Geno struck fast and kept her in-state. Depending on how Lou adjusts, she could help. Kind of Ducharme-esque. We'll see.
• Can Ayanna Patterson bring her athletic promise to fruition in her frosh year?
• Will Edwards continue to improve in the paint? Consistent, game-in/game-out effort is absolutely necessary without ON-O and so many underclassmen.

But the key question there is who steers, drives and supplies the heart of the Husky ship without Paige around and three other talented players in the pro's?

I'm not predicting a major drop-off because Geno and Chris Daily bring in top talent and develop it along the lines they think works best in the intended approach. (Note: take this to the bank.) However, there's a lot of seasoned talent missing from last year. I see this team getting better as the season goes on. Stay tuned.

Many good points covered here. Aside from Bueckers, I believe the biggest loss will be ONO. She leaves a huge gap in UConn's interior defense and rebounding. With the quality of the early OOC schedule, we'll see if those areas get exposed or a couple kids step up to fill the hole. The perimeter game should be alright but I think handling the paint will be the key to the overall success of the season.

 

[Carnac]

Stay healthy and we can prevail. Losing Paige is a huge blow, but one thing you can say about UConn this year is that it is a deep squad., one of the deepest we've ever had. There are really talented bench players at every position, but we have to have Azzi and Caroline stay healthy- they are the keys to ultimate success.

How many other teams could lose their best player for the year, and still be considered a potential team to win the national championship? If South Carolina lost Boston for the year, would coaches, analysts and fans still “seriously” believe they were a viable contender to win it all? I don’t think so.

 

[Bone Dog]

How many other teams could lose their best player for the year, and still be considered a potential team to win the national championship? If South Carolina lost Boston for the year, would coaches, analysts and fans still “seriously” believe they were a viable contender to win it all? I don’t think so.

Hahaha! The question is almost laughable, SC without Boston would be precisely nowhere, i.e. towards the bottom of the top 25. This just goes to show you what Geno has built yet again.

 

[Stymie]

Poster's Note:
- My McGraw's Bench colleague, BabaGhanouj is posting a regular series of threads called "Can't tell the players without a scorecard" in which he examines top teams and what they've gained/lost/gotten back during the offseason. They're succinct and encourage WBB fans to take a look (Today's is on Stanford.) One of these focused on UConn. I've included a link:

Can’t tell the players without a scorecard

ndnation.com

- I wrote the following response on The Bench and have cut and pasted for this thread. As most of you know, I'm an active member of both boards. While I'm an alum and fan of Notre Dame, I've been a follower and admirer of UConn since the mid-90's.

Headline: There's More Missing Than a Pa(i)ge at UConn

At the start of the 2022-23 season, UConn will not just be without the superb Paige Bueckers, but three veteran contributors:
Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook and Olivia Nelson-Ododa.

Now, maybe these three never quite became the individual breakout collegiate superstars one might've thought based on their H.S. rankings in the rating services, but they were good enough to be drafted and made for a very effective team, nonetheless: Westbrook was a calming presence on the court; Williams could penetrate, play defense and occasionally score out of her mind; and, ON-O had length and hops. She reminds me of Azura Stevens; in that she might play better in the pro game after a few years of seasoning.

That said, what does that mean for UConn now? You take them away and they're not easily replaced. At least not initially.

Then you take away the proverbial straw that stirs the drink -- one Paige Bueckers -- and there's a number of question marks in my mind.

• Azzi Fudd can stroke it, but can she carry a team at the collegiate level when the primary defensive plans will now be to stop her? If so, the Huskies are in great shape. If not, can a team stymy UConn by focusing on Azzi and making her work really hard?
• Caroline Ducharme had a bunch of moments last year before she got injured. She intuitively seems to get to open spots and finishes from them. Will she continue to do this? Add some more elements to her game?
• Nika Muhl is a smart pest of an opponent who -- at least last season -- gets in foul trouble and is ??? on offense.
• I thought Lou Lopez Senechal, the transfer from Fairfield, would've been a good pick-up for ND but -- darn -- Geno struck fast and kept her in-state. Depending on how Lou adjusts, she could help. Kind of Ducharme-esque. We'll see.
• Can Ayanna Patterson bring her athletic promise to fruition in her frosh year?
• Will Edwards continue to improve in the paint? Consistent, game-in/game-out effort is absolutely necessary without ON-O and so many underclassmen.

But the key question there is who steers, drives and supplies the heart of the Husky ship without Paige around and three other talented players in the pro's?

I'm not predicting a major drop-off because Geno and Chris Daily bring in top talent and develop it along the lines they think works best in the intended approach. (Note: take this to the bank.) However, there's a lot of seasoned talent missing from last year. I see this team getting better as the season goes on. Stay tuned.

And the PAGE turns. (pun intended)
Top to bottom a superior roster compared to last year.
Azzi healthy from day 1.
Dorka now knows the program, was really cookin’ end of last season.
Aaliyah will not stumble out of the gate.
Lou Lopez great addition-smart, can create her shot and can sink it
Nika ready for expanded role-she is a heady player and is ready.
Caroline healthy and much more confident and savy. Baptized last year.
Aubrey- found money if she’s 100%
Two frosh monster talents.<<—BIG plus over last year,
Amari- put in her time, hopeful.
Ines- we’ll see but hopeful- pulling for her big time.
Might take a little top competition to define rolls and get everyone in sync-early non con games will be trial by fire.
Last year at this time our worries were will Christyn be more consistent, will Olivia be more aggressive?
Always questions coming in.
All in all, I’m VERY optimistic.
As opposed to about 5-6 weeks ago when we had a very short roster (IMHO).
Geno is a miracle worker.

 

[UConnCat]

How many other teams could lose their best player for the year, and still be considered a potential team to win the national championship? If South Carolina lost Boston for the year, would coaches, analysts and fans still “seriously” believe they were a viable contender to win it all? I don’t think so.

Well, yes. Paige separated UConn from every team in WCBB except South Carolina. Losing Paige is huge but it's not like there are a bunch of teams with Paige-like players. It's now up to the rest of the roster to perform. Is there a lot of talent on the roster? Yes. Are there questions/concerns? Sure, but that's true of most teams in the country.

As others have said, the season can't get here soon enough.

 

[Carnac]

Hahaha! The question is almost laughable, SC without Boston would be precisely nowhere, i.e. towards the bottom of the top 25. This just goes to show you what Geno has built yet again.

I have this feeling like I did when I felt that UConn was going to add another player (Betancourt) before it was announced. Everyone on this team can play. No projects here. Everyone will be off a game or two during the season, but not several games in a row.

Everyone will not be off at the same time. There will always be someone on the bench that can come in and give this team a spark. Scoring points should not be a problem for UConn this year. If they can play any semblance of defense on a regular basis, they are going to be an extremely tough nut for opponents to crack. Someone is going to step up BIG for UConn this year. I think it’s Ducharme.

 

[eebmg]

Hahaha! The question is almost laughable, SC without Boston would be precisely nowhere, i.e. towards the bottom of the top 25. This just goes to show you what Geno has built yet again.

I seem to recall that the number of Mc AA's on SC is perhaps even higher than CN so the talent at SC is there


I think a realistic (non BY) first guess for UConn ranking is 5-8 (i e second round) and it will take alot of work getting our team to gel to get to FF level

I would think a SC without Boston would start the season in that same 2nd round ball park ranking

 

[Bone Dog]

Who would play center? We already know this: Kardoso and Amihere, and their rebounding advantage would evaporate. And they weren't ever a scoring dynamo, which says to me a 70pt/game team with terrific rebounding would become a 65pt/game team with average rebounding. They don't have the perimeter shooters to make up the difference. That says to me they'd rank somewhere below 10. I don't mean to diminish them, but merely to point out how amazing Boston really is.

Do a similar thought experiment with Iowa minus Clark. Where would they be? Maybe not even in the top 25.

Or Stanford without Jones. Could Belibi and Brink carry them to the Elite 8?

Teams like ND or Louisville seem best able to weather a loss of a primary player -- Miles or Van Lith for example -- and still contend.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Would we have beat NC State without Paige last year? No. Stanford? No. At no point could we beat South Carolina. We are underdogs this year. Our team will look great all year long but will we beat the top teams without Paige? That is the question. Someone is going to have to make us forget Paige somehow, or we lose. Paige could score when no one else could. That level of talent is very hard to replace.

I think we still have a real chance and I'm hopeful the rookies and Lou can help keep the ship afloat. We are still in this. Just not favorites. There is nothing wrong with that.

 

[UConnCat]

And UM is big, but after Meyers and Miller, they look slow to me. That’s the danger of a big backcourt.

I guess Maryland will play 5 guards.

 

[Stymie]

Would we have beat NC State without Paige last year? No. Stanford? No. At no point could we beat South Carolina. We are underdogs this year. Our team will look great all year long but will we beat the top teams without Paige? That is the question. Someone is going to have to make us forget Paige somehow, or we lose. Paige could score when no one else could. That level of talent is very hard to replace.

I think we still have a real chance and I'm hopeful the rookies and Lou can help keep the ship afloat. We are still in this. Just not favorites. There is nothing wrong with that.

No worries not being favorites.
We dropped out of the top 10 momentarily last year, I believe.
Last season was fantastically rewarding to me.
I have never seen a team, in any sport, at any level, display the heart and grit of last year’s Husky team.
Something you have to go through to reap the benefits.
This years team will reap the benefits.