Dividing up 200 Minutes

[Skeets]

Yes but you called her a zone buster. Then spoke of teams packing it in- which is why I included sagging man-to-man.

How many times last year did teams take away Paige? A rare game. Now there are two. And my guess is that the 4 from last year are even better this year. So it will happen even rarer.
Then you have 3 players (including Nika who shot 37% from the floor after she got her feet wet), - what's the chance of all this brick throwing happening with at same time UCONN has that both Paige and Azzi are off and that the other 3 can't convert? Sure Possible - they will probably lose a game this year - but -

If this were to happen let's say vs South Carolina - ofc possible- why wouldn't Geno keep believing that his stars will eventually start hitting shots during the game?

Many years ago in the DT era I went down to the RAC to watch UCONN play Villanova in a Big East championship game. UCONN couldn't throw the ball in the ocean and hit water. Everything Harry's kids tossed in the air went through the hoop. UCONN lost. So, it can happen, thankfully very rarely.

 

[Charliebball]

I have no doubts she'll play in games. But skeptical in big tight games, -other than 1 tight, big game something extremely unusual happens. Foul trouble?

The point is-- everything you've said - UCONN already has. They have 5 players to fill 3 positions. That accounts for the depth.

And the quality of the 5 players overall is off-the-charts.

So why wouldn't the 5 players get all the minutes if they are better than her? Unless with one big game you just want to experiment or something unusual happens? Why the other big games if the other 5 are better? How are they going to get worn down?

I just believe Geno also thinks the world of Paige, Evina, CWill, Azzi and Nika. So the comment he made of CD is similar to those of his stars is my guess.

as I said earlier Geno's tendency is to play his starters 25-32 minutes a game even in blowouts so thinking that Bueckers is only going to average 25 minutes a game is unlikely..........DuCharme's extraordinary shooting skills give her a leg up over other bench players should the need arise.........I think Geno is going to give her some early minutes in the season to see if she can supply the kind of back up firepower all teams want regardless of the defense thrown at them.........

 

[hoophuskee]

Many years ago in the DT era I went down to the RAC to watch UCONN play Villanova in a Big East championship game. UCONN couldn't throw the ball in the ocean and hit water. Everything Harry's kids tossed in the air went through the hoop. UCONN lost. So, it can happen, thankfully very rarely.

Yep. And the only one shooting decent enough that game was Conlon (2-4 from 3) but ofc she wasn't a scorer.

But this team has more firepower excluding CD. The 02-03 team averaged 75.3 ppg prior to the Nova Big East game. In terms of comparison, last year's team prior to Big east Finals averaged 82.4. And this year's team I think it's safe to say they've added Azzi and Dorka. Two very high quality players.

This firepower is much stronger than 02-03.

What do you think? Is she going to play in big games? If she does – and if it is more than just a few spot minutes in that it’s not as if UCONN “needs her” but she is “that good”- and considering the other 5 are playing well too—then wow!!!

 

[MooseJaw]

Name the 200 best pizzas in CT

1. Charlie
2. Betty
3. Johnny Joe
4. etc. etc.
and so it goes on, just wonder why they all need to be named. We only name the best tasting, eat and forget.

 

[Dancingbear]

View attachment 69154 Wow. Caroline with significantly more minutes than Aubrey? And equal to Azzi? She is seriously gonna have to show some Freshman chops to warrant that amount of PT. Interesting take at the very least.

 

[HopJim]

this year's team has a wealth of offensive options, Ducharme is just one of many..........if she's as good a shooter and as competitive a player as Geno thinks she is, he will find her some minutes...........another good long range shooter (and Ducharme can easily hit from the men's three point line) is invaluable during the course of a long season.......

Ducharme is a good shooter, but not as battle tested as Paige and Azzi (only HS games but she received so much publicity, I have to consider the pressure she was under). BUT Ducharme has the potential to provide more rebounding, driving to basket, and defense. Too early to phrase this more than "potential," but while Azzi can be a once in a lifetime shooter, Ducharme checks more boxes.

 

[Vowelguy]

the definitive answer:

07.045 mpg
23.164
12.781
31.415
16.266
14.508
07.337
14.842
23.349
11.743
06.954
13.222
02.807
14.567

 

[CocoHusky]

Ducharme is a good shooter, but not as battle tested as Paige and Azzi (only HS games but she received so much publicity, I have to consider the pressure she was under). BUT Ducharme has the potential to provide more rebounding, driving to basket, and defense. Too early to phrase this more than "potential," but while Azzi can be a once in a lifetime shooter, Ducharme checks more boxes.

I'd have to strongly disagree with most of that. Among the three players the best defensive technique and tool kit is Azzi followed by Paige and then Caroline. It's all in the feet and Caroline is a taller girl and a longer strider. The other aspect of defensive is taking the right angles and anticipation of passing lanes. In those aspects of the game Freshman Paige show great growth from the start of the season where she was getting caught up in screen until the end of the season when she was exceptional in locking and trailing and taking the right path to recover. Paige led UCONN in steals last year by a fairly wide margin and averaged 4.9 RPG. As far as Azzi's defense she just put in work at U19 and was assigned against the best offensive player in the championship game. I think Carroline will be an adequate defender for UCONN but based on the level of competition faced thus far she cannot be considered a better defender that Paige or Azzi. As far as Caroline being better at driving to the basket I have to disagree there also. There is very little wiggle (change of direction) in Caroline's bounce where as Paige and Azzi are master craftsmen at subtle fakes, change of direction and crossovers with the dribble which keeps defenders on their heels.

 

[Charliebball]

I'd have to strongly disagree with most of that. Among the three players the best defensive technique and tool kit is Azzi followed by Paige and then Caroline. It's all in the feet and Caroline is a taller girl and a longer strider. The other aspect of defensive is taking the right angles and anticipation of passing lanes. In those aspects of the game Freshman Paige show great growth from the start of the season where she was getting caught up in screen until the end of the season when she was exceptional in locking and trailing and taking the right path to recover. Paige led UCONN in steals last year by a fairly wide margin and averaged 4.9 RPG. As far as Azzi's defense she just put in work at U19 and was assigned against the best offensive player in the championship game. I think Carroline will be an adequate defender for UCONN but based on the level of competition faced thus far she cannot be considered a better defender that Paige or Azzi. As far as Caroline being better at driving to the basket I have to disagree there also. There is very little wiggle (change of direction) in Caroline's bounce where as Paige and Azzi are master craftsmen at subtle fakes, change of direction and crossovers with the dribble which keeps defenders on their heels.

I think CW commented that she was impressed with CD's defensive aggressiveness and found it challenging to play against her earlier in the summer......she's got extremely long arms and at 6'1" can have some impact...........just like last season or perhaps even more, it will be enjoyable to watch the naysayers proclaim Azzi Fudd the best shooter they've seen since KML........

 

[DEpup]

I'm really over the 4 guard line up.....I agree with others that point out we haven't won the big one since we started two forwards.

With that, I have a hard time seeing a viable scenario other than ONO and Edwards starting with Dorka coming in for the one who gets their first foul....

I then would say the other 3 starters are Paige, CW, and Evina. Nika is the first guard off the bench for Evina followed by Azzi for CW. I think Evina and Azzi minutes during noncompetitive games should be monitored. They need to be fresh and healthy in March.

 

[hoophuskee]

as I said earlier Geno's tendency is to play his starters 25-32 minutes a game even in blowouts so thinking that Bueckers is only going to average 25 minutes a game is unlikely..........DuCharme's extraordinary shooting skills give her a leg up over other bench players should the need arise.........I think Geno is going to give her some early minutes in the season to see if she can supply the kind of back up firepower all teams want regardless of the defense thrown at them.........

yes but on these points I wasn't arguing with you on. For example I never said Paige would average only 25 for the season. I like and agree a lot what you said here. Like it big time. But I didn't agree with what you said prior. And - OFC CD will play. I only said they' won't need her in big games that are tight all the way. But she'll play during the season no doubt. And to further that, I'd lean heavily towards she is going to have an amazing career at UCONN.

 

[cferraro04]

I posted this many months ago on the Boneyard...it wasn't given much attention at the time...but, since this thread is now posted on the boneyard...maybe, now it is more germane than it was at the time I originally posted:



This exercise which I like to do only to try and figure who is going to be on the floor and for how long and how in the world will Geno and his staff divvy up the minutes. On the onset...it is important to note that with this team and the talent that is on this team...there just isn't enough minutes to go around. If there are a total of 200 minutes (5 x 40 minutes) to go around...14 talented players makes it necessary to limit players minutes in order to get the rest of the players some playing time and experience. So, I expect that there will be some disagreement in how I divvied up the minutes but it is only an exercise so here goes.

1. Aaliyah Edwards, 6'3", So, Forward - 20 minutes; 12 points; 6 RBs...


2. Saylor Poffenberger, 6'2", Fr, Guard - 5 minutes; 3 points; 1 RB...


3. Paige Bueckers, 5'11", So, Guard - 23 minutes; 17 points; 4 RBs...


4. Nika Muhl, 5'10, So, Guard - 18.5 minutes; 5 points; 2 RBs...


5. Mir McLean, 5'11", So, Forward - 8 minutes; 4.5 points; 2.5 RBs...


6. Christyn Williams, 5'11", Sr. Guard - 20 minutes; 12.5 points; 3.5 RBs...


7. Dorka Juhaz, 6'5", F, Forward - 13 minutes; 8 points; 6 RBs...


8. Olivia Nelson-Ododa, 6'5", Sr., Forward - 17 minutes; 9.5 points; 6 RBs...


9. Evina Westbrook, 6'0", R-Sr., Guard - 20 minutes; 9 points; 4.5 RBs...


10. Piath Gabriel, 6'5", So., Forward - 3.5 minutes; 2 points; 2 RBs...


11. Caroline Ducharme, 6'2", Fr., Guard - 8 minutes; 5 points; 1 RB...


12. Azzi Fudd, 5'11", Fr., Guard - 22 minutes; 16 points; 2 RBs...


13. Amari DeBerry, 6'5", Fr., Forward - 8 minutes; 4.5 points; 5 RBs...


14. Aubrey Griffin, 6'1", Jr., Forward - 14 minutes; 6.5 points; 6 RBs...


Keep in mind that not every player will play in every game...so, the total minutes per person will not add up to 200 minutes. This often ends up being an almost useless exercise...because I will probably be completely wrong...but, one thing can be learned through this effort. I am glad I am not the coach of these players...I have no idea how Geno and his staff will juggle around the minutes for this very talented and deep team

 

[Cuango]

I'll bite, too.

First column of numbers is average for an average game, second is for close games. I'm sure my estimates for normal games are compressed, but I'm looking forward to seeing all these players and hope most of them average double-digit minutes.

I think the lineup I'd most like to see on the floor is Muhl, Bueckers, (Fudd or Ducharme), Poffenbarger, and Edwards. That would be probably the best passing ever seen in a NCAA game.

Westbrook	17	25
Nelson-Ododa	15	18
Williams	25	30
Juhasz	15	20
Griffin	10	5
Bueckers	30	33
Edwards	20	25
Muhl	20	20
McLean	5	0
Gabriel	2	0
Fudd	20	20
Poffenbarger	8	2
Ducharme	8	2
DeBerry	5	0

Any five that includes AE is not going to be the best passing team ever! I love her game certainly, but let’s face it, while improving, she is far from being a great passer!

 

[Inthepaint]

My hunch is that defensive capability and willingness to be aggressive will be crucial in Geno's play time decision making.Seems to be a consensus here that UCONN will have an abundance of offensive weapons. Interesting that we open against the Razorbacks on 11/14. It was the Arkansas game last season that kicked the ladies in the rump and finally got Geno's message across. CW's transformation to A1 lockdown defender down the stretch was a huge factor in subsequent games.Just one example of many.
So, we have to keep in mind that failure to get back on "D", forgetting to watch the back door, not challenging the other team's snipers
outside the arc, etc. will not be casually accepted, even for the newbies. Nika, whatever her offensive foibles, has proven to be a pit bull and a real pest, tossing monkey wrenches into the opponent's offensive machinery. I imagine that much will be forgiven if someone puts out 100% on defense.
Then again, the mantra coming off the bench might be "Shot the d--n ball, Azzi"

 

[Charliebball]

yes but on these points I wasn't arguing with you on. For example I never said Paige would average only 25 for the season. I like and agree a lot what you said here. Like it big time. But I didn't agree with what you said prior. And - OFC CD will play. I only said they' won't need her in big games that are tight all the way. But she'll play during the season no doubt. And to further that, I'd lean heavily towards she is going to have an amazing career at UCONN.

you could be right................Geno works in mysterious ways................I just wish the season would get here already...............tired of talking about what might be......

 

[Fairfield Fan]

View attachment 69154

Given how highly rated Amari DeBerry is coming in, and ONO's continued shaky performances, especially in big games, I would be very, very surprised if DeBerry only warranted 4 minutes of garbage time per game. If she works hard, and unless ONO really picks up her game, DeBerry should get on the floor for a lot more time.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I will try from a different perspective. First in my opinion there are six returning starters, both Nika and Alliyah could be considered returning starters. Remember earlier in the season when Anna went out, we went with Aaliyah, she did not have a good first game in the starting lineup, and then Nika settled in. When Nika was injured Aaliyah stepped in and this time played like the long term answer at the 4. When Nika was available, but probably still hampered by injury against Arizona, Aaliyah started and Nika came off the bench.

So what we don't really know is if the Arizona game was a week later and Nika was 100%, who the starter would have been, it could have been either. Regardless those 6 seem assured of regular minutes in contested games. Among returnees I would also include Aubrey for regular but limited minutes. Probably more limited than last year because Aaliyah might be a full time starter at the 4, and even if she doesn't start will play a much higher percentage of her minutes at the 4, unlike last year when she also needed to be Liv's principal backup. Still Aubrey is a very good proven backup 4.

So that puts me at 7 before considering the newcomers and how much the rotation might be expanded. I can't imagine a scenario where Azzi and Dorka are not part of the rotation since they are considered potential starters by many, so to me a rotation of 9 is more of a minimum than a maximum. Going beyond that is much more problematic, but I think the best chance at making it a 10 player rotation is CD, but she would probably need to be playing at a very high level to make that happen.

Ideally she could be the backup 3, behind Evina, with a little different skill-set and give us a deadly three point shooter there. Her challenge is Azzi could play as an undersized 3 with a great outside shot, Christyn could move over there, and if you wanted more defense and rebounding Aubrey could play there a little too. So Paige, Nika, Christyn, Azzi and Evina could easily handle positions 1-3 without needing a 6th. At 6-2 and long I think she would be a natural 3, but since her minutes would probably come at the expense of the previously mentioned 5 it might be an up hill battle, but I am rooting for it.

Obviously despite their talent and potential that leaves Amari, Piath, Mir and Saylor with mop-up minutes in most games, short of injuries. I would love to see us press and run more and find a reason to make them relevant at least in the conference games, but given Geno's track record I see a rotation of 9 and possibly 10 in big games.

Am I recalling correctly that Aubrey was slowed down by an injury last year? Someone else? I know about Nika's injury.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I'd have to strongly disagree with most of that. Among the three players the best defensive technique and tool kit is Azzi followed by Paige and then Caroline. It's all in the feet and Caroline is a taller girl and a longer strider. The other aspect of defensive is taking the right angles and anticipation of passing lanes. In those aspects of the game Freshman Paige show great growth from the start of the season where she was getting caught up in screen until the end of the season when she was exceptional in locking and trailing and taking the right path to recover. Paige led UCONN in steals last year by a fairly wide margin and averaged 4.9 RPG. As far as Azzi's defense she just put in work at U19 and was assigned against the best offensive player in the championship game. I think Carroline will be an adequate defender for UCONN but based on the level of competition faced thus far she cannot be considered a better defender that Paige or Azzi. As far as Caroline being better at driving to the basket I have to disagree there also. There is very little wiggle (change of direction) in Caroline's bounce where as Paige and Azzi are master craftsmen at subtle fakes, change of direction and crossovers with the dribble which keeps defenders on their heels.

Isn't Caroline dealing with injuries now? Do we know the status?

 

[SVCBeercats]

Given how highly rated Amari DeBerry is coming in, and ONO's continued shaky performances, especially in big games, I would be very, very surprised if DeBerry only warranted 4 minutes of garbage time per game. If she works hard, and unless ONO really picks up her game, DeBerry should get on the floor for a lot more time.

No doubt you are correct since Amari did get 6.7 minutes per game at the FIBA U19 World Championships.

 

[visitingcock]

Fun game. I wanna play.

Would you guys mind if I post my guesses about SCar in this thread for comparison? Or would you prefer that I keep it on the other board?

Like if you are okay with it being here.

Dislike if you want me to keep it on the general board.

 

[CocoHusky]

Am I recalling correctly that Aubrey was slowed down by an injury last year? Someone else? I know about Nika's injury.

Isn't Caroline dealing with injuries now? Do we know the status?

I'm sensing a theme in this line of questioning-something to do with injuries?
The injuries to the UCONN basketball team are being managed by professionals-no need to worry.

 

[CocoHusky]

Fun game. I wanna play.

Would you guys mind if I post my guesses about SCar in this thread for comparison? Or would you prefer that I keep it on the other board?

Like if you are okay with it being here.

Dislike if you want me to keep it on the general board.

They got rid of the dislike button. We already have a definite answer about UCONN minutes next year so I'm not sure another data point about SCar is going to advance this discussion but go ahead.

 

[visitingcock]

They got rid of the dislike button. We already have a definite answer about UCONN minutes next year so I'm not sure another data point about SCar is going to advance this discussion but go ahead.

I'll hold off for now. Don't wanna ruffle any dogs fur the wrong way.

 

[HuskyinWRNY]

You had me til the part about Nika! I haven’t seen anyone disrespecting Nika. What I have seen, is differing views on just how good she really is. These views have ranged from indispensable starter…to hard nosed quality backup ( first or second off the bench). This, in my view, is very far from disrespect! Even those of us who do not believe she should/will start (again,imo), readily agree that she is, and will be, a vital, key part of the eagerly anticipated success of this team over the next three/four seasons. I just don’t see where you are seeing this disrespect? Let’s assume that Azzi is as good or even better than Paige (something I personally have a very hard time seeing). Who sits so Nika can start? Based on our prior assumption, Paige and Azzi start as the two best players on the team. Paige would certainly play at the point, Azzi at the two, Christyn at the three, Evina, AE or Aubrey at the four, and ONO/Dorka at the five. Who sits for Nika? Now perhaps I have simply missed the disrespectful comments and if that is the case, I apologize. However, my argument still stands. I believe that Nika is seen (by virtually everyone on this forum) as a vital, extremely important key to our chances of winning number12 next season! I think most people would agree that having an outstanding backup for the point guard position puts us in the best position personnel wise that we’ve been in for many years!
I prefer Beemans.

Doesn't matter to me how many minutes anyone gets as long as we win. I prefer Knob Creek.