Dividing up 200 Minutes

[JoePgh]

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.

Wouldn't it be more logical to assume that Dorka will get many of Olivia's minutes if she falters? Why else would Geno have gotten her? I think it was a direct reaction to the Arizona game (and also to the Baylor game, where Liv was unable to score against Queen Egbo).

Let me add that I do think Liv will be much better this year. In part, this will be to get rid of the bad taste in her own heart from those last two games. But I also think that Geno seems (based on his comments) to have concluded that he needs to listen to Liv when she says that she really doesn't want to be an inside banger, and is much better suited to be a high post distributor on offense in the mold of Stef Dolson. That is why I think Geno will use a "2 big" offense -- so that someone else (most likely Aaliyah or Dorka) can handle the dirty work on the offensive boards.

Let me offer another observation about Liv's play last year: Contrary to widespread Boneyard comments about how she was thin and frail compared to her opponents on top teams (which was true in her freshman year but is no longer true), her limitations last year were really confined to scoring. She was a very capable defensive rebounder even against top competition, and she usually made good passes consistent with the offense. She even got her tendency to foul under somewhat better control. But her post moves with her back to the basket were deficient, and her 15-footer was not as reliable as it must be if she wants to play in the high post. Those are finite issues which she can certainly address in her senior year, as I'm sure she is highly motivated to do.

 

[PvP]

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

A few observations: 1) the total minutes don't add up to 200 (if some players don't play every game, someone will simply replace them and the total minutes played will still add up to 200 unless there are overtimes or unless Geno feels sorry for the opposition and plays 4 on 5 for some minutes); 2) the total points per game will, according to your numbers, be in excess of 110, which, even as good as this team may well be, seems a bit excessive. [ ]

 

[MooseJaw]

Wouldn't it be more logical to assume that Dorka will get many of Olivia's minutes if she falters? Why else would Geno have gotten her? I think it was a direct reaction to the Arizona game (and also to the Baylor game, where Liv was unable to score against Queen Egbo).

Let me add that I do think Liv will be much better this year. In part, this will be to get rid of the bad taste in her own heart from those last two games. But I also think that Geno seems (based on his comments) to have concluded that he needs to listen to Liv when she says that she really doesn't want to be an inside banger, and is much better suited to be a high post distributor on offense in the mold of Stef Dolson. That is why I think Geno will use a "2 big" offense -- so that someone else (most likely Aaliyah or Dorka) can handle the dirty work on the offensive boards.

Let me offer another observation about Liv's play last year: Contrary to widespread Boneyard comments about how she was thin and frail compared to her opponents on top teams (which was true in her freshman year but is no longer true), her limitations last year were really confined to scoring. She was a very capable defensive rebounder even against top competition, and she usually made good passes consistent with the offense. She even got her tendency to foul under somewhat better control. But her post moves with her back to the basket were deficient, and her 15-footer was not as reliable as it must be if she wants to play in the high post. Those are finite issues which she can certainly address in her senior year, as I'm sure she is highly motivated to do.

I hit like because of the potential for Liv, you, me no one knows at this point if Liv will be a different player this coming season than the last three. We should expect every player to progress every year including Liv. I don't care if Liv plays low or high post. I hope that a switch goes on in her head like it appears happened last season with CW. I want her to believe she is the badest motha on the court, super aggressive every minute she plays. There are more than adequate players to sub for her or join her in a rotation allowing her to stay in beast mode the entire game. It's up to Liv if she flips that switch and takes that next step. As a fan of hers I hope she does.

 

[Mdoggie]

I hit like because of the potential for Liv, you, me no one knows at this point if Liv will be a different player this coming season than the last three. We should expect every player to progress every year including Liv. I don't care if Liv plays low or high post. I hope that a switch goes on in her head like it appears happened last season with CW. I want her to believe she is the badest motha on the court, super aggressive every minute she plays. There are more than adequate players to sub for her or join her in a rotation allowing her to stay in beast mode the entire game. It's up to Liv if she flips that switch and takes that next step. As a fan of hers I hope she does.

I agree, Liv and Azzi will light it up for sure!!

 

[Vowelguy]

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.

Let's see, we've got

• a bunch of really strong guards - experienced plus newcomers -- meaning decent minutes for a 4 G/W lineup
• 3 front line players ahead of her
• posts typically take a while to adapt to the college game, especially fi they're not physical
• she barely got much playing time in the U19 tournament

.... but DeBerry is going to get significant playing time?!?

Lord help us. Please let the season get here quickly.

 

[CocoHusky]

Wouldn't it be more logical to assume that Dorka will get many of Olivia's minutes if she falters? Why else would Geno have gotten her? I think it was a direct reaction to the Arizona game (and also to the Baylor game, where Liv was unable to score against Queen Egbo).
Let me add that I do think Liv will be much better this year. In part, this will be to get rid of the bad taste in her own heart from those last two games. But I also think that Geno seems (based on his comments) to have concluded that he needs to listen to Liv when she says that she really doesn't want to be an inside banger, and is much better suited to be a high post distributor on offense in the mold of Stef Dolson. That is why I think Geno will use a "2 big" offense -- so that someone else (most likely Aaliyah or Dorka) can handle the dirty work on the offensive boards.
Let me offer another observation about Liv's play last year: Contrary to widespread Boneyard comments about how she was thin and frail compared to her opponents on top teams (which was true in her freshman year but is no longer true), her limitations last year were really confined to scoring. She was a very capable defensive rebounder even against top competition, and she usually made good passes consistent with the offense. She even got her tendency to foul under somewhat better control. But her post moves with her back to the basket were deficient, and her 15-footer was not as reliable as it must be if she wants to play in the high post. Those are finite issues which she can certainly address in her senior year, as I'm sure she is highly motivated to do.

I would be really interested to hear more about these comments from Geno on Liv- I'm not doubting or challenging them just genuinely curious. I've come full circle with Liv and back there again and that just since April. In April I was completely frustrated and concluded that she will be forever be that consistently inconsistent player and that her deficiencies was mostly between the ears. The one maddening reality that I cannot get many BY to acknowledge is the myth that Liv's struggles were only against top teams with good front lines. When UCONN signed Dorka I was encouraged because I recalled that Liv had not had a player of her size or quality to go up against in practice since she was a Freshman and sometime that makes all the difference. I started to have hope for an improved Liv senior season. A few weeks ago someone posted a video of Liv working out that brought me great joy for about 1/2 day because she showed significantly better form on her jump shot and a baby jump hook. My joy only lasted 1/2 day because in the afternoon I read a post from I think it might have been @BobbyJ which basically said "she should have been practicing that form and that hook since she was a freshman instead of waiting until her senior season". I became even more depressed by this though which is really why I'm so curious to read more about Geno comments. Jamelle Elliott has been Liv's coach for going on 20 months now. If Jamelle and CD cannot teach you how to be physical and effective playing in the post, it's probably never going to happen. I'm not asking Liv to become a fulltime banger or even to be as physical as Aaliyah can be. The nature of that position demands "occasional" physicality. Enough physically so that the defense has to account for your presence on the floor. UCONN is not getting this from Liv and more often than not Liv is the one stopping herself.

 

[Aluminny69]

Allow me to weigh in...

 

[BobbyJ]

I would be really interested to hear more about these comments from Geno on Liv- I'm not doubting or challenging them just genuinely curious. I've come full circle with Liv and back there again and that just since April. In April I was completely frustrated and concluded that she will be forever be that consistently inconsistent player and that her deficiencies was mostly between the ears. The one maddening reality that I cannot get many BY to acknowledge is the myth that Liv's struggles were only against top teams with good front lines. When UCONN signed Dorka I was encouraged because I recalled that Liv had not had a player of her size or quality to go up against in practice since she was a Freshman and sometime that makes all the difference. I started to have hope for an improved Liv senior season. A few weeks ago someone posted a video of Liv working out that brought me great joy for about 1/2 day because she showed significantly better form on her jump shot and a baby jump hook. My joy only lasted 1/2 day because in the afternoon I read a post from I think it might have been @BobbyJ which basically said "she should have been practicing that form and that hook since she was a freshman instead of waiting until her senior season". I became even more depressed by this though which is really why I'm so curious to read more about Geno comments. Jamelle Elliott has been Liv's coach for going on 20 months now. If Jamelle and CD cannot teach you how to be physical and effective playing in the post, it's probably never going to happen. I'm not asking Liv to become a fulltime banger or even to be as physical as Aaliyah can be. The nature of that position demands "occasional" physicality. Enough physically so that the defense has to account for your presence on the floor. UCONN is not getting this from Liv and more often than not Liv is the one stopping herself.

Yes, I did make that comment and there's still two parts of this situation I don't understand. During the summer following her underwhelming freshman season where she wasn't a full time player, she was chosen to play with the partial USWNT by Staley in the FIBA CUP. I included a link to a USABB article for context.
The first part is that almost 2 years after exposure to and competing against the highest level of play, this new video came out of her workouts. In a part of her statement from this video she says we're working on "creating moves off the dribble and post play that we haven't worked on before". What? How does it take that long to get motivated to want to play at your highest level possible after that experience? At the time she sounded motivated.
The second part is that I realize that it's very difficult to demand anything at anytime from anyone nowadays without serious problems but did the UConn staff really allow ONO to dictate the timetable of her development? Possibly because of lack of size inside and her importance to the team, specifically on defense. It looks like when he had the opportunity, Auriemma finally addressed the situation by grabbing the 6-5 Juhasz. Hence his comment about ONO's upcoming senior season.

Olivia Nelson-Ododa Using AmeriCup to Grow and Develop Her Game

The youngest player on the roster is gaining valuable experience for her future.

www.usab.com

 

[cferraro04]

A few observations: 1) the total minutes don't add up to 200 (if some players don't play every game, someone will simply replace them and the total minutes played will still add up to 200 unless there are overtimes or unless Geno feels sorry for the opposition and plays 4 on 5 for some minutes); 2) the total points per game will, according to your numbers, be in excess of 110, which, even as good as this team may well be, seems a bit excessive. [ ]

Okay, let's try this again...Last year our players logged the following averages:

Paige Bueckers 29 games 36.2 min / game

Christyn Williams 29 games 34.4 min / game

Olivia Nelson-Odota 30 games 26.1 min / game

Aaliyah Edwards 29 games 21.8 min / game

Evina Westbrook 30 games 30.7 min / game

Aubrey Griffin 29 games 16.8 min / game

Nika Muhl 23 games 24.4 min / game

Anna Mukurat 16 games 20.4 min / game

Mir MacLean 24 games 7.0 min / game

Autumn Chassion 8 games 1.9 min / game

Piath Gabriel 22 games 2.5 min / game

Saylor Poffenbarger 12 games 2.7 min / game


Because these players did not play in every game...the 200 minutes was distributed across all players...some played in the game where their minutes contributed to the 200 minutes played per game but didn't play in other games where players replaced them. However, the average minutes played per game by all players totaled 224.9 minutes. You cannot equate average minutes per player with total minutes per game because as stated in the original post not every player plays every game.

As far as the total points per game while 110 is extremely high...it is hard to see where some of these players will average less. And, again...since player "X" might only play 10 games and average 10 points there will be games where player "X" will be replaced by player "Y" who might play 16 games and average only 3 points per game. So just because the average points per game add up to 110 doesn't mean that each and every game all the players will play and the points will equal 110 points. There will be games when this squad as talented as they are will only score 70 points and there will be games that even with Geno taking his foot off the accelerator this team will still break 100... It is the nature of the beast.

 

[Bigboote]

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!

Aaliyah would be there to move without the ball — set screens and make hard cuts to receive passes for bunnies.

 

[huskyblooz]

View attachment 69154

Great job. I think this is very close .... I see Westbrook & Muhl getting a little less. And Fudd & Griffin getting a little more.

 

[D J B]

Aaliyah would be there to move without the ball — set screens and make hard cuts to receive passes for bunnies.

I agree about her passing, but her shooting is a different story:

Liv: FGM .55% FTM .54%
AE: FGM .68% FTM .64%

Edwards is not as tall, but she is very strong. She's also very fast for her size, having been a triple-jumper and hurdler as well as a relay team member in high school. She's going to be a contender for playing time each and every week.

 

[JoePgh]

I would be really interested to hear more about these comments from Geno on Liv- I'm not doubting or challenging them just genuinely curious.

I can't cite chapter and verse, but I have a definite recollection that sometime after the past season ended (it might have been when Geno signed Dorka), he said something about how he looks forward to having someone else to play in the post so that Liv can do what she really wants to do, which is to be a high-post distributor and playmaker. Or he may have said it when asked about how Aaliyah will benefit from being on the Canadian Olympic team.

The one maddening reality that I cannot get many BY to acknowledge is the myth that Liv's struggles were only against top teams with good front lines.

My very imperfect recollection is that in Big East games, Liv looked and played like Sylvia Fowles. She accepted passes from almost anywhere and made layups over the 6-1 forwards who were trying to guard her. Of course, that didn't prove anything when she was up against top competition. Even if the competition wasn't equal to her in size (e.g., Arkansas and Arizona), they had enough skill to neutralize her as a scorer.

When UCONN signed Dorka I was encouraged because I recalled that Liv had not had a player of her size or quality to go up against in practice since she was a Freshman and sometime that makes all the difference.

I think Geno has more in mind for Dorka than to be a practice player to develop Liv's inside game. Certainly he hopes that the spur of competition will make both of them better. But more significantly, Dorka is an insurance policy in case Liv does not improve as we all hope -- she has enough skill and experience to provide a credible replacement. Dorka can also provide backup minutes to Aaliyah if she is still unable to avoid foul trouble. It sounds as if Liv can play away from the basket on offense for nearly an entire game, with either Dorka or Aaliyah handling the bump-and-grind on offense (as Morgan did with Stewie). On defense, of course, any of the three will have to keep the defensive boards clean as their primary responsibility -- no excuses there about preferring to play away from the basket.

If Jamelle and CD cannot teach you how to be physical and effective playing in the post, it's probably never going to happen.

Liv is never going to play like Aaliyah Boston or Tina Charles, as I think you recognize. But that isn't the only model of an effective post player. I have just finished watching two games in person between the Connecticut Sun (featuring Jonquel Jones and Dawanna Bonner) and the Minnesota Lynx (featuring Sylvia Fowles). The Sun won both games, and I believe that J. Jones outscored Fowles in both games, although I thought Fowles played her game very well.

Both J. Jones and Bonner have body types similar to Liv -- long, agile, and thin. (Didn't I hear that Bonner and Liv have a familial relationship?) In fact, I would say that Liv is more muscular and powerful than either of them at this point, but she certainly is not nearly as skilled. The Sun forwards have learned to use their quickness and agility (and an array of post moves) to get past defenders like Fowles. Part of their effectiveness is that they both are dangerous 3-point shooters, so they have to be guarded a long way from the basket. That means they have a lot of opportunity to move without the ball. I don't think Liv will learn this year to shoot as well as they do, but if she can hit the 15-footer consistently, that will help a lot to get her free for uncontested layups on passes from the UConn guards.

 

[#12in21]

In regards to Liv, imo if she just hit the the gimmes at the basket she would greatly improve her scoring average. That doesn't address all her deficiencies or her propensity to not show up against top tier competition but would certainly help the team. I think both Edwards and Dorka will cut into Olivia's minutes this season. She definitely has to come back an improved player to continue as a regular starter, given that there are real options to replace her on this years rooster. I rewatched several of the games from the second half of last season with an eye, at the time, to see how many missed completions of potential assists from Nika occurred. To my eye Liz was a decent contributor in that regard, not just from feeds from Nika but Paige as well. She was exceptional at being in a good position and receiving perfect set-ups and yet missing the gimme at the basket. Not a lot of additional work is required beyond focus and confidence to finish those shots. With the addition of Azzi and Caroline (increased outside threat, accuracy and spacing) on top of the return of everything we had last season she will get more rather than less of those opportunities. If sh's not finishing this season on those she may want to get a cushion so she is comfortable with more time on the bench. I'm hoping she makes the adjustments she needs to.

 

[D J B]

In regards to Liv, imo if she just hit the the gimmes at the basket she would greatly improve her scoring average. That doesn't address all her deficiencies or her propensity to not show up against top tier competition but would certainly help the team. I think both Edwards and Dorka will cut into Olivia's minutes this season. She definitely has to come back an improved player to continue as a regular starter, given that there are real options to replace her on this years rooster. I rewatched several of the games from the second half of last season with an eye, at the time, to see how many missed completions of potential assists from Nika occurred. To my eye Liz was a decent contributor in that regard, not just from feeds from Nika but Paige as well. She was exceptional at being in a good position and receiving perfect set-ups and yet missing the gimme at the basket. Not a lot of additional work is required beyond focus and confidence to finish those shots. With the addition of Azzi and Caroline (increased outside threat, accuracy and spacing) on top of the return of everything we had last season she will get more rather than less of those opportunities. If sh's not finishing this season on those she may want to get a cushion so she is comfortable with more time on the bench. I'm hoping she makes the adjustments she needs to.

I agree with much of what you say here. Liv absolutely has to up her game under the basket if she expects to maintain her minutes. I remember one game early last season (sorry I don't recall the opponent) where at the beginning of the game she missed four bunnies and had two turnovers trying to pivot and force her way under the basket. She was a wonderful sixth defender for the opposition.

I sometimes think it's a mental thing with her. She often seems to lose control of the ball by moving before she has full possession, and she misses the easy shots by seemingly thinking about them instead of just letting instinct and training make them for her. She concentrates too much when she doesn't need to and doesn't when she absolutely has to. One moment she has beautiful gentle hands and the next she's working with two Christmas hams. She'll make a soft layup or toss-in and then on the next play throw up a complete brick from six inches away. It drives me crazy, so it must drive Geno absolutely mad.

The acquisition of Dorka wasn't made to just bring another big to put on the bench. She's an experienced quality player with two years of eligibility left who can actually compete for serious minutes and light a fire under Liv to help make her the best player she can be. Geno's comments about Liv said to me that he expects much more from her this year. I'm hoping she gets it together.

 

[huskiemaniac]

I have less expectation for ONO's summer growth- to not shoot a 3 as the 1st shot in the offensive set, except when less than 3 seconds remain on the shot clock. I've made peace with what she can do on the court, which, defensively, is very good.

 

[CocoHusky]

I have less expectation for ONO's summer growth- to not shoot a 3 as the 1st shot in the offensive set, except when less than 3 seconds remain on the shot clock. I've made peace with what she can do on the court, which, defensively, is very good.

I hear you but I'm trying not to bring myself there-again. UCONN needs improved front court play to win a championship. If ONO doesn't improve them UCONN is relying on Aaliyah and Dorka which are good options and something they haven't had for a while now.

 

[D J B]

I have less expectation for ONO's summer growth- to not shoot a 3 as the 1st shot in the offensive set, except when less than 3 seconds remain on the shot clock. I've made peace with what she can do on the court, which, defensively, is very good.

Liv's shot trajectory is flat, giving her less of a target, so shooting threes is something she probably should never do, which she actually almost never does. She took 15 shots from beyond the arc last year and made 4. Aaliyah gets it, she made zero 3's last year because she took zero shots from out there. Aubrey on the other hand is even worse than Liv, with 3 for 20 shooting.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

View attachment 69154

I think you will see DeBerry’s minutes go up as we get into the second half of the season. At the expense of, and varying degrees of all the other bigs.

 

[CocoHusky]

I think you will see DeBerry’s minutes go up as we get into the second half of the season. At the expense of, and varying degrees of all the other bigs.

I hope and pray you are correct. Those of us that have been watching Amari are concerned that she has been trending in the wrong direction and specifically questioning if she has another gear. Consistent with that is also Olson's ESPN evaluations. Olson tends to used code words but hopefully you can follow the downward trend.
Dan's Evaluations:
2016- Elite prospect
2017-Elite front court prospect
2018-Impact front court prospect
2019-Coveted prospect
2019-A power-5 prospect

amari-deberry

High School Girls' Basketball Recruiting Amari DeBerry

www.espn.com

I'm not counting on a significant contribution from Amari this season but I'd gladly take it.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Wouldn't it be more logical to assume that Dorka will get many of Olivia's minutes if she falters? Why else would Geno have gotten her? I think it was a direct reaction to the Arizona game (and also to the Baylor game, where Liv was unable to score against Queen Egbo).

Let me add that I do think Liv will be much better this year. In part, this will be to get rid of the bad taste in her own heart from those last two games. But I also think that Geno seems (based on his comments) to have concluded that he needs to listen to Liv when she says that she really doesn't want to be an inside banger, and is much better suited to be a high post distributor on offense in the mold of Stef Dolson. That is why I think Geno will use a "2 big" offense -- so that someone else (most likely Aaliyah or Dorka) can handle the dirty work on the offensive boards.

Let me offer another observation about Liv's play last year: Contrary to widespread Boneyard comments about how she was thin and frail compared to her opponents on top teams (which was true in her freshman year but is no longer true), her limitations last year were really confined to scoring. She was a very capable defensive rebounder even against top competition, and she usually made good passes consistent with the offense. She even got her tendency to foul under somewhat better control. But her post moves with her back to the basket were deficient, and her 15-footer was not as reliable as it must be if she wants to play in the high post. Those are finite issues which she can certainly address in her senior year, as I'm sure she is highly motivated to do.

Not sure I agree with the contention that her limitations were "confined to scoring." Can't recall how many times defenders blew past her to score. Even much smaller players made a habit of challenging ONO, and winning the dash to the basket. Needs to be much better on defense underneath if she is to be counted upon to be a "big" on the defensive end. I wouldn't be surprised if she gets far fewer minutes of court time than anyone is expecting.

 

[Bigboote]

With the addition of Azzi and Caroline (increased outside threat, accuracy and spacing) on top of the return of everything we had last season she will get more rather than less of those opportunities.

Let's not forget Saylor as not only an outside threat, but a brilliant passer to feed Liv/Aaliyah/Dorka in the post or cutting to the basket.

 

[Cuango]

I think you will see DeBerry’s minutes go up as we get into the second half of the season. At the expense of, and varying degrees of all the other bigs.

I like DeBerry and have great hopes for her but I very much doubt she will contribute at all this year except in practice and/or possibly in the event of an injury to the older posts. She is going to need to get much stronger and (especially) show more effort and desire on the court. While I realize she played mostly garbage minutes in the U19 Tournament I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed with her effort level when she was out there. Having said that, I felt it was less of a “no effort”and more of an “abbreviated” one. She seemed to start out fine but then gave up too quickly and started running up the court. Anyway, I have high hopes for 22/23 and beyond when she will (hopefully) be either our starting center or primary backup to Dorka.

 

[SVCBeercats]

But I also think that Geno seems (based on his comments) to have concluded that he needs to listen to Liv when she says that she really doesn't want to be an inside banger, and is much better suited to be a high post distributor on offense in the mold of Stef Dolson. That is why I think Geno will use a "2 big" offense -- so that someone else (most likely Aaliyah or Dorka) can handle the dirty work on the offensive boards.

I agree with the high-low post. Both Aaliyah and Dorka are bangers. If Liv falters or needs a rest, then Dorka can take the high post and Aaliyah the low post. Unless Liv finally realizes the benefits of the baby hook, she needs to play the high post. Liv's offense is too predictable and easy to guard.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Anyway, I have high hopes for 22/23 and beyond when she will (hopefully) be either our starting center or primary backup to Dorka.

It may be the appropriate hope for Amari 22/23 however Patterson and Brady will be frosh with strong games. She will have to see the light and make a large jump to her sophomore season. I still have hope for Piath's health and her game.