Does UConn Need a Low-Post "Banger"?

[ABCDFE]

I have no problems with Geno going after Angel Reese. She was a competitor this year and can rebound and score.

 

[BobbyJ]

I also remember many of us were surprised to find out that UCONN had allegedly offered Reese.

The key word here is allegedly. I’d be stunned if Auriemma had any interest. As I recall she thought of herself as a Magic Johnson type PG. That might be her beef with Frese this season.

 

[VA Huskie]

To answer the question, sure we could use a banger down low. But I don’t think this is the only approach that can work. Think about the Warriors in their hayday with a primarily outside game - Steph, Durant, etc.. wouldn’t that approach work well in women’s bb?

 

[Conndog]

I think a lot of the rebounding problem is the system. SC's players hit the boards strong in part because they know when the shot is going up and they are in great physical fitness. It's about going after the ball every time, rather than standing around. If we truly critique our games our players stand around a lot rather than crashing the boards. Over and over. We get out hustled. I'm all for subbing more often and if you aren't moving appropriately, you are out. The last two times SC played us they specifically said their number one approach was to make Paige work. We can't expect Paige to play 35 plus minutes. Look at SC's time of play. Almost everyone is under 25 minutes PT.

Absolutely correct. On this aspect of the game (team rebounding), Dawne gets it and is much better at emphasizing it than Geno. Geno also plays starters and upper classmen way longer than he should. Rotate fresh people in, see who’s hot on a given night. Give a few minutes to your future stars on the bench during the real game and not just mop up minutes

 

[nastynatty]

We lost that game in the 1st half because we were destroyed by their offensive rebounds and very good defense on our guards. Neither our health or the refs or the phase of the moon had anything to do with it.

I actually think the NC game was one where we really missed Aubrey Griffin and to some extent, Mir Mclean. They both have the athleticism to challenge for rebounds. UConn's advantage against teams like SC is their fast transition game. Hard to get out in transition when you can't get defensive rebounds.

 

[Alydar]

Destanni Henderson
Next season Raven Johnson.....she was injured this season, but was the number 2 overall recruit in 2021

She hasn't played one minute of wcbb and is coming off an ACL. I hope she is 100% but even if she is it's questionable whether any freshman is ready. Feagan was supposed to contribute right away. Rivers can't shoot.
All I'm saying is that SCar isn't without a huge hole and the options to fill it are far from solid.

 

[cannon]

She hasn't played one minute of wcbb and is coming off an ACL. I hope she is 100% but even if she is it's questionable whether any freshman is ready. Feagan was supposed to contribute right away. Rivers can't shoot.
All I'm saying is that SCar isn't without a huge hole and the options to fill it are far from solid.

She hasn't played, but she will be their starter at point & Zia Cooke/ S. Rivers(who can't shoot AT ALL but is a great passer & an average ball handler) will more than likely be sharing the primary ball handling responsibilities with her. So I don't consider pg a "huge hole" for them. They will just have average pg play at worst. Dawn already thought she was ready enough to be the first or second off the bench, even tho she got benched against NCST & injured 4minutes into their 2nd game, so I think she'll be ready enough to play next season as well......as long as her knee doesn't limit her


Also Cooke was a PG in high school, so maybe she will spent her senior year at her original position with Raven being the backup?

 

[HopJim]

I'm starting this thread to facilitate discussion of a point that has been made in numerous posts since 10 PM EDT last night. There are many examples of posters making this point, but I have selected this one from @LoboDays' comment in the "Enough About Bad Recruiting" thread:

"If UConn wants to get back to winning NC's, they need to bring in post players who can defend players like Boston and Brink, get their share of rebounds against them (especially limit their offensive rebounds) and have the ability to score underneath when guarded...."

There are several points to be made in response to this, in my opinion:

1. First of all, Aliyah Boston is a very special case. She is currently the Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul Jabbar of WCBB. Just as no opponent was able really to match up with either of them, even in the NBA, no one in WCBB has really matched up with Boston. It would have been nice if Geno had brought her to Storrs, but he didn't, and there really is no one else he might have recruited (including Brink, Cunane, Nalyssa Smith, Tamari Key, or Elizabeth Kitley) who could have neutralized her.
2. UConn (specifically Liv and Aaliyah Edwards) did fine against both Brink and Cunane, neutralizing them sufficiently that UConn was able to win the game with its other assets. Tara Vandeveer in her postgame remarks specifically mentioned how physically Liv played against Stanford, and the Indiana coach said the same thing in her postgame remarks. Some have said that Liv didn't develop in her time at UConn, but I don't think opposing coaches would have been saying those things after their teams faced her in her freshman or sophomore years.
3. Really, Liv's only deficiency at this point is her scoring -- her lack of an array of post moves or (more importantly) a truly reliable 15-foot jump shot that she can take 8 to 10 times per game and hit 50%. I wonder whether pro teams will be willing to take a chance on her developing those skills at the pro level. If I were a WNBA GM, I think I would take that risk in the second round of the draft, but not in the first round.
4. There is no issue with AE's appetite for physical play. She is big enough to make that work (bigger than Morgan Tuck or Asjah Jones), but she needs to play with a 5 who can open up space for her in the paint by making midrange jump shots, and she needs to develop her own midrange jump shot to pull opposing posts out of the paint to defend her.

"I don't want to see a 6-5 post player lead the team in assists. That is a negative stat in my opinion.... Against the best, that is a losing strategy."

I think this is an outdated view of the game -- that every team needs a Shaquille O'Neal to be truly successful. Have you watched the Boston Celtics play lately? They don't have a center that plays like that, and they are 33-11 in the NBA since mid-December.

I remember that when UConn's starting lineup included Stef Dolson and Kelly Faris, a lot of fans were asking why Stef played in the high post and seemed to like passing more than scoring. There was such a chorus of these comments that Meg Culmo posed that question to Geno on The Geno Auriemma Show, reading a listener's question.

I remember his response very clearly, although not verbatim. It was almost exactly this:

Playing your big in the low post only works if the other four players are all major scoring threats who have to be guarded. If we put Stef in the low post, the other team would just leave Kelly unguarded and double Stef. Kelly would get any shot she wanted, but we would then have to rely on her jump shooting to win the game. That's not where we want to be. We want to get shots for Stef, and that is much easier if she is in the high post.

What he didn't say in that response (but everyone understood) is: (a) Stef did have a reliable jump shot from 15 feet, so no opponent could afford to leave her unguarded there (a contrast with both Liv and AE); (b) Stef was a fine passer -- at least as good as Liv -- and could facilitate the offense from the high post, allowing the guards not just to get jump shots but also to get backdoor layups and 6-footers; and (c) Stef could take an ungainly opposing post off the dribble and get to the hoop for an and-one, which she did with some regularity.

In the Louisville game in December, Liv drove against Engstler twice in the first few minutes of the game and got 2 quick fouls on her, sending her to the bench for the rest of the first half. I wish we had seen that more often -- she probably could have done the same thing against Brink, but maybe not against Cunane. She certainly could not have done it against Boston.

I'm certainly not saying that if a gifted "banger" like Boston is available out of high school or in the transfer portal, Geno should pass her up. He shouldn't and he won't. But lesser players of that type are not necessarily a better option than players like Dorka and Amari. Imagine if by some miracle, UConn had Aneesha Morrow on the roster this year. She is a "banger" -- would she have turned the South Carolina game around? Would she have done better against Stanford or NC State than UConn's actual front court did? I don't think she would.

I will be interested to see the appetite of of Ice and Ayanna for physical play. My hunch is that they will be closer to the AE end of the physicality spectrum than to the Liv/Amari end. If that is true, then I think UConn's front court for 2022-23 is well situated even without any additional help from the transfer portal or elsewhere. Which doesn't mean that it will have an answer for Boston. The only answer for her is to limit her to some degree and have the rest of the Huskies defeat the rest of the Gamecocks by enough to make up for her advantage.

Agree to disagree on your points:
-UConn will have a physical team next year with AE and the new recruits. Suspect Dorka will come back stronger as well. Guards and forwards likely among the most aggressive in the country with players like Muhl and Aubrey.
-You don't need to guard players like Brink with a banger. She scores by moving her feet and leveraging her height. Dorka is an inch taller and just as mobile.
-While Boston is a generational talent, so are Paige and Azzi. I would rather focus on and maximize our strengths than build a team around a competitor with one year left.
-While I understand your point about Wilt and other similar players, remember that for most of his career, he lost to the Celts and a player, Russell, 5 inches shorter and likely 30-40+ lbs lighter. Quickness and strategy worked then and can next year as well.

 

[Dynastic]

Morgan Tuck is my favorite UCONN player EVER so you are definitely underselling here! Freshman Morgan Tuck has the defensive versatility to be Dolson backup at center and the ability to be able to switch to the perimeter and guard Jewel Lloyd as a freshman in the National Championship game while a very good player Kiah Stokes was relegated to the bench.
As a Junior/Senior Tuck became a stretch 4, center and absolutely shut down Coates. I have no issue with AE but she is no Morgan Tuck. If senior Morgan tuck was playing last night she would have been assigned to guard Boston and UCONN might not have won but they would have had a far better chance because Tuck would have been drawing Boston away from the basket as she did Ruth Hamblin of Oregon State.

Morgan played as a BIG 6ft 2, excellent fundamentals on both ends of the court and a surgeon on the offensive side.

 

[Dynastic]

I have been thinking for some time, since we lost to Mississippi State in 2017, that we need a Tina Charles type center. She rebounded and scored really well. Had we had a center like her, we'd have 3 or 4 more championships. If Boston had come to Uconn we would have won each of her three years.

I thought that is what we are getting with DeBerry, but maybe not? Likes to shoot the 3… hopefully some bangin comes into play for the future. Tina was the protypical Center, great player still.

 

[JBBallfan]

I can understand your point of view, and I appreciate your detailed response, but if you are looking for a player like Morgan Tuck, then what is your issue with Aaliyah Edwards? I think they are very similar, and that AE has a chance to be as good as Morgan by the time she graduates. For one thing, she is faster than Morgan and can defend on the perimeter better than Morgan. At this point, she doesn't have the rebounding and boxing-out skills that Tuck had, but she may develop them in the next two years.

Morgan was out with an injury in her sophomore year, so a direct comparison is difficult, but I suspect that if she had played, sophomore Morgan would not have been notably better than sophomore AE was in the second half of the season. If senior Morgan were playing in Sunday night's game instead of AE, it would not have changed the outcome of the game.

AE has a long way to go to be Morgan - mental mistakes every game with her - not to mention how many missed layups and defensive assignment gaffes. I hope she turns it around but there was no progress with her from freshman to sophomore year - and I believe she actually regressed some. Hoping she turns it around

 

[HopJim]

To answer the question, sure we could use a banger down low. But I don’t think this is the only approach that can work. Think about the Warriors in their hayday with a primarily outside game - Steph, Durant, etc.. wouldn’t that approach work well in women’s bb?

Excellent post. I would much rather see Geno focus his energy on getting Paige and Fudd more open mid-range and 3-point shots (i.e. double picks, give and go, etc.), Caroline getting more back cuts to open up the offense, and the overall UConn defense playing better one on one defense, than trying to out muscle Boston and her mates. We got within 7 points of SC playing a poor game by Uconn standards. No one is going to outmuscle Boston but we already have the players to outshoot and neutralize SC.

 

[JoePgh]

AE has a long way to go to be Morgan - mental mistakes every game with her - not to mention how many missed layups and defensive assignment gaffes. I hope she turns it around but there was no progress with her from freshman to sophomore year - and I believe she actually regressed some. Hoping she turns it around

I sense a certain amount of shifting of the goalposts in responses such as this, not with you specifically but with the general direction of this discussion.

This thread started because a lot of Boneyarders were and still are saying that UConn does not have anyone in its front court with the physical size, strength, quickness, and appetite for physical play that is needed to beat SC. (Apparently it has enough to beat everyone else, including Stanford. Everyone seems to forget that in the semifinal game against Stanford, UConn won the rebounding battle against the "tallest team in the country" by 46-37, and tied in offensive rebounds. In that particular game, against some pretty physical rebounders, Aaliyah Edwards personally had 8 rebounds including 4 offensive rebounds.)

When it was pointed out that Aaliyah is the same size as Morgan Tuck (who apparently provided adequate physical play and enough rebounds in 2015 and 2016), and is in fact a bit taller and quicker than Morgan and has undamaged knees, people either say that she isn't big enough since Boston is 6-5, or that times have changed since 2016 (which I greatly doubt). Or they just ignore Aaliyah entirely when they make these sweeping generalizations.

Now you shift the argument to a different ground, by arguing about AE's mental mistakes. Does this mean that you are conceding that AE has all the requisite physical skills to deliver what UConn needs in the front court? If your point is that AE has the physical tools that are needed and simply needs development to minimize mental mistakes, then I agree with you. Because that means that it's quite unlikely that UConn will find anyone in the transfer portal who will deliver what UConn needs in the front court better than Aaliyah will.

Beyond that, your comments about mental mistakes and missed layups apply mostly to the first part of the season, as do your comments about "regression". After about February, she was playing at least as well as she did at any point in her freshman year, and that level of play was very good. I would contend that she made major improvements in the area of reducing her foul-proneness, and also in developing and using her mid-range jump shot.

I would say that AE is Answer #1 to the need for more physical play and rebounding among UConn's big players, and most likely Brady and Patterson are Answers #2 and #3. I don't see Amari or Dorka being top-flight rebounders against teams with strong front courts; I agree with those who say that they will be more like Liv than like Morgan Tuck or Stef Dolson.

 

[TeamFirst!]

She hasn't played one minute of wcbb and is coming off an ACL. I hope she is 100% but even if she is it's questionable whether any freshman is ready. Feagan was supposed to contribute right away. Rivers can't shoot.
All I'm saying is that SCar isn't without a huge hole and the options to fill it are far from solid.

They also have Talaysia Cooper coming in who looks solid as well. They have a lot of point guard depth. I don't think Cooke is their best guard next year. She may well put up big numbers but her efficiency is not ideal.

 

[CocoHusky]

I sense a certain amount of shifting of the goalposts in responses such as this, not with you specifically but with the general direction of this discussion.

This thread started because a lot of Boneyarders were and still are saying that UConn does not have anyone in its front court with the physical size, strength, quickness, and appetite for physical play that is needed to beat SC. (Apparently it has enough to beat everyone else, including Stanford. Everyone seems to forget that in the semifinal game against Stanford, UConn won the rebounding battle against the "tallest team in the country" by 46-37, and tied in offensive rebounds. In that particular game, against some pretty physical rebounders, Aaliyah Edwards personally had 8 rebounds including 4 offensive rebounds.)

When it was pointed out that Aaliyah is the same size as Morgan Tuck (who apparently provided adequate physical play and enough rebounds in 2015 and 2016), and is in fact a bit taller and quicker than Morgan and has undamaged knees, people either say that she isn't big enough since Boston is 6-5, or that times have changed since 2016 (which I greatly doubt). Or they just ignore Aaliyah entirely when they make these sweeping generalizations.
Now you shift the argument to a different ground, by arguing about AE's mental mistakes. Does this mean that you are conceding that AE has all the requisite physical skills to deliver what UConn needs in the front court? If your point is that AE has the physical tools that are needed and simply needs development to minimize mental mistakes, then I agree with you. Because that means that it's quite unlikely that UConn will find anyone in the transfer portal who will deliver what UConn needs in the front court better than Aaliyah will.

Beyond that, your comments about mental mistakes and missed layups apply mostly to the first part of the season, as do your comments about "regression". After about February, she was playing at least as well as she did at any point in her freshman year, and that level of play was very good. I would contend that she made major improvements in the area of reducing her foul-proneness, and also in developing and using her mid-range jump shot.

I would say that AE is Answer #1 to the need for more physical play and rebounding among UConn's big players, and most likely Brady and Patterson are Answers #2 and #3. I don't see Amari or Dorka being top-flight rebounders against teams with strong front courts; I agree with those who say that they will be more like Liv than like Morgan Tuck or Stef Dolson.

The goal post only appear to be shifting because you remain determined to cling to these two strawmen. 1) AE IS NOT a comparable player to Morgan Tuck if you compare the skill set. It is not even close. They happen to be the same size and play the same position but that is where the comparison should quickly end. 2) The need is not just for a body to bang in the post against SC. The need is for a bigger body with sufficient basketball skills to match the physicality and skill of SC. AE is already very good a throwing her body around and knocking people on their behinds. That is not the assignment- the assignment is for her to become a better basketball player while remaining physical. If AE happens to be confused about this particular assignment then she should break out some video of her assistant coach (Jamelle) and study how she played the game.

 

[TCC Kid]

I'm starting this thread to facilitate discussion of a point that has been made in numerous posts since 10 PM EDT last night. There are many examples of posters making this point, but I have selected this one from @LoboDays' comment in the "Enough About Bad Recruiting" thread:

"If UConn wants to get back to winning NC's, they need to bring in post players who can defend players like Boston and Brink, get their share of rebounds against them (especially limit their offensive rebounds) and have the ability to score underneath when guarded...."

There are several points to be made in response to this, in my opinion:

1. First of all, Aliyah Boston is a very special case. She is currently the Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul Jabbar of WCBB. Just as no opponent was able really to match up with either of them, even in the NBA, no one in WCBB has really matched up with Boston. It would have been nice if Geno had brought her to Storrs, but he didn't, and there really is no one else he might have recruited (including Brink, Cunane, Nalyssa Smith, Tamari Key, or Elizabeth Kitley) who could have neutralized her.
2. UConn (specifically Liv and Aaliyah Edwards) did fine against both Brink and Cunane, neutralizing them sufficiently that UConn was able to win the game with its other assets. Tara Vandeveer in her postgame remarks specifically mentioned how physically Liv played against Stanford, and the Indiana coach said the same thing in her postgame remarks. Some have said that Liv didn't develop in her time at UConn, but I don't think opposing coaches would have been saying those things after their teams faced her in her freshman or sophomore years.
3. Really, Liv's only deficiency at this point is her scoring -- her lack of an array of post moves or (more importantly) a truly reliable 15-foot jump shot that she can take 8 to 10 times per game and hit 50%. I wonder whether pro teams will be willing to take a chance on her developing those skills at the pro level. If I were a WNBA GM, I think I would take that risk in the second round of the draft, but not in the first round.
4. There is no issue with AE's appetite for physical play. She is big enough to make that work (bigger than Morgan Tuck or Asjah Jones), but she needs to play with a 5 who can open up space for her in the paint by making midrange jump shots, and she needs to develop her own midrange jump shot to pull opposing posts out of the paint to defend her.

"I don't want to see a 6-5 post player lead the team in assists. That is a negative stat in my opinion.... Against the best, that is a losing strategy."

I think this is an outdated view of the game -- that every team needs a Shaquille O'Neal to be truly successful. Have you watched the Boston Celtics play lately? They don't have a center that plays like that, and they are 33-11 in the NBA since mid-December.

I remember that when UConn's starting lineup included Stef Dolson and Kelly Faris, a lot of fans were asking why Stef played in the high post and seemed to like passing more than scoring. There was such a chorus of these comments that Meg Culmo posed that question to Geno on The Geno Auriemma Show, reading a listener's question.

I remember his response very clearly, although not verbatim. It was almost exactly this:

Playing your big in the low post only works if the other four players are all major scoring threats who have to be guarded. If we put Stef in the low post, the other team would just leave Kelly unguarded and double Stef. Kelly would get any shot she wanted, but we would then have to rely on her jump shooting to win the game. That's not where we want to be. We want to get shots for Stef, and that is much easier if she is in the high post.

What he didn't say in that response (but everyone understood) is: (a) Stef did have a reliable jump shot from 15 feet, so no opponent could afford to leave her unguarded there (a contrast with both Liv and AE); (b) Stef was a fine passer -- at least as good as Liv -- and could facilitate the offense from the high post, allowing the guards not just to get jump shots but also to get backdoor layups and 6-footers; and (c) Stef could take an ungainly opposing post off the dribble and get to the hoop for an and-one, which she did with some regularity.

In the Louisville game in December, Liv drove against Engstler twice in the first few minutes of the game and got 2 quick fouls on her, sending her to the bench for the rest of the first half. I wish we had seen that more often -- she probably could have done the same thing against Brink, but maybe not against Cunane. She certainly could not have done it against Boston.

I'm certainly not saying that if a gifted "banger" like Boston is available out of high school or in the transfer portal, Geno should pass her up. He shouldn't and he won't. But lesser players of that type are not necessarily a better option than players like Dorka and Amari. Imagine if by some miracle, UConn had Aneesha Morrow on the roster this year. She is a "banger" -- would she have turned the South Carolina game around? Would she have done better against Stanford or NC State than UConn's actual front court did? I don't think she would.

I will be interested to see the appetite of of Ice and Ayanna for physical play. My hunch is that they will be closer to the AE end of the physicality spectrum than to the Liv/Amari end. If that is true, then I think UConn's front court for 2022-23 is well situated even without any additional help from the transfer portal or elsewhere. Which doesn't mean that it will have an answer for Boston. The only answer for her is to limit her to some degree and have the rest of the Huskies defeat the rest of the Gamecocks by enough to make up for her advantage.

One thing is: Boston a good as she is didn't defeat Uconn alone. Dawns has a lot of athletic, scoring, tough on defense, players. As much as Boston owned the boards; Dawns defense stopped Uconn scoring.

Your assumptions of Ice and Ayanna seem accurate.

Those teams that beat or come close to beating Uconn started with Arizona, last year. Each played almost a helter skelter double and tripled teaming of nearly everyone who had the ball. It worked.

The one characteristic of Paige that few seem to speak of, and the one that makes her a winner is: She is tough, mentally and physically. If her younger teammates emulated her toughness this would be a hard team to beat. As great as Paige can be, she needs help scoring to take the pressure defense off of her if only for a few seconds, that's all she needs. Fudd has the most accurate shot I've seen since KML. She needs a quicker release. Caroline is often accurate on the 3, is a slasher to the basket. If I were Geno, I'd build on that in the off season.

Dolson, could and did, tough it out under the boards. Yes, she roamed to the key and yes she was accurate from there. She didn't earn her breakfast plunked down on the foul line or top of the key.
Steff against mobile big posts of ND, neutralized them with her bulk and mobility, not out on the key.
I'd take a Steff, if Geno could find one, or a Stokes, or even a Stewie and put them in any game against the gamecocks with the kids we have, and win.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Stef was not just a good passer but phenomenal passer, one of the best bigs. I personally think Stef was better than Liv. Just my opinion.

She was vastly better than ONO. Dolson was not only a great passer, but a fine outside shooter, a reliable inside shot, and an excellent defensive player. Dolson has also been a fine WNBA professional, while ONO is unlikely to find a roster spot in the W.

No comparison.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

One thing is: Boston a good as she is didn't defeat Uconn alone. Dawns has a lot of athletic, scoring, tough on defense, players. As much as Boston owned the boards; Dawns defense stopped Uconn scoring.

Your assumptions of Ice and Ayanna seem accurate.

Those teams that beat or come close to beating Uconn started with Arizona, last year. Each played almost a helter skelter double and tripled teaming of nearly everyone who had the ball. It worked.

The one characteristic of Paige that few seem to speak of, and the one that makes her a winner is: She is tough, mentally and physically. If her younger teammates emulated her toughness this would be a hard team to beat. As great as Paige can be, she needs help scoring to take the pressure defense off of her if only for a few seconds, that's all she needs. Fudd has the most accurate shot I've seen since KML. She needs a quicker release. Caroline is often accurate on the 3, is a slasher to the basket. If I were Geno, I'd build on that in the off season.

Dolson, could and did, tough it out under the boards. Yes, she roamed to the key and yes she was accurate from there. She didn't earn her breakfast plunked down on the foul line or top of the key.
Steff against mobile big posts of ND, neutralized them with her bulk and mobility, not out on the key.
I'd take a Steff, if Geno could find one, or a Stokes, or even a Stewie and put them in any game against the gamecocks with the kids we have, and win.

True, Boston had a lot of help, but Boston dominated that game. So many times Connecticut didn't even try to get a close shot because Boston was lurking there. Boston dominated an arc to about 15 feet from the basket. And Boston was so agile that she got to the shooter before the shooter could even contemplate a shot. So Boston shaped the game, and facilitated all the other SC players.

Pure domination of the game.

 

[AmeriConn]

One thing is: Boston a good as she is didn't defeat Uconn alone. Dawns has a lot of athletic, scoring, tough on defense, players. As much as Boston owned the boards; Dawns defense stopped Uconn scoring.

Your assumptions of Ice and Ayanna seem accurate.

Those teams that beat or come close to beating Uconn started with Arizona, last year. Each played almost a helter skelter double and tripled teaming of nearly everyone who had the ball. It worked.

The one characteristic of Paige that few seem to speak of, and the one that makes her a winner is: She is tough, mentally and physically. If her younger teammates emulated her toughness this would be a hard team to beat. As great as Paige can be, she needs help scoring to take the pressure defense off of her if only for a few seconds, that's all she needs. Fudd has the most accurate shot I've seen since KML. She needs a quicker release. Caroline is often accurate on the 3, is a slasher to the basket. If I were Geno, I'd build on that in the off season.

Dolson, could and did, tough it out under the boards. Yes, she roamed to the key and yes she was accurate from there. She didn't earn her breakfast plunked down on the foul line or top of the key.
Steff against mobile big posts of ND, neutralized them with her bulk and mobility, not out on the key.
I'd take a Steff, if Geno could find one, or a Stokes, or even a Stewie and put them in any game against the gamecocks with the kids we have, and win.

That’s a tall order.

 

[VaConnFan11]

UConn needs scorers at all positions. In the 6 losses, UConn averaged 57 points per game. The opponents didn't "outscore" UConn, they kept UConn from scoring.

 

[BobbyJ]

The goal post only appear to be shifting because you remain determined to cling to these two strawmen. 1) AE IS NOT a comparable player to Morgan Tuck if you compare the skill set. It is not even close. They happen to be the same size and play the same position but that is where the comparison should quickly end. 2) The need is not just for a body to bang in the post against SC. The need is for a bigger body with sufficient basketball skills to match the physicality and skill of SC. AE is already very good a throwing her body around and knocking people on their behinds. That is not the assignment- the assignment is for her to become a better basketball player while remaining physical. If AE happens to be confused about this particular assignment then she should break out some video of her assistant coach (Jamelle) and study how she played the game.

These players have access to video all season and it doesn't seem to help any of UConn's bigs figure out how to use an upfake, use a drop step, or simply spin and shoot in one motion inside. Maybe that assistant coach should take them out on the floor and SHOW them how to play. Or find someone who can.

 

[JoePgh]

The goal post only appear to be shifting because you remain determined to cling to these two strawmen. 1) AE IS NOT a comparable player to Morgan Tuck if you compare the skill set. It is not even close. They happen to be the same size and play the same position but that is where the comparison should quickly end. 2) The need is not just for a body to bang in the post against SC. The need is for a bigger body with sufficient basketball skills to match the physicality and skill of SC. AE is already very good a throwing her body around and knocking people on their behinds. That is not the assignment- the assignment is for her to become a better basketball player while remaining physical. If AE happens to be confused about this particular assignment then she should break out some video of her assistant coach (Jamelle) and study how she played the game.

I think the fallacy here is comparing sophomore Aaliyah to senior Morgan. However, you appear to be granting the point that Aaliyah has the physical talent and body to become comparable to Morgan by the time she graduates -- which is all that I was claiming. Do you agree with that, or do you think that she simply lacks the potential to be as good as Morgan?

I think that AE has a higher ceiling than Morgan, if only because of her healthy knees. I also think that she is quicker as a defender. Of course she hasn't mastered footwork, positioning, and post moves to the degree that Morgan did by 2016, but I don't think that should be expected of a sophomore.

 

[Charliebball]

I think the fallacy here is comparing sophomore Aaliyah to senior Morgan. However, you appear to be granting the point that Aaliyah has the physical talent and body to become comparable to Morgan by the time she graduates -- which is all that I was claiming. Do you agree with that, or do you think that she simply lacks the potential to be as good as Morgan?

I think that AE has a higher ceiling than Morgan, if only because of her healthy knees. I also think that she is quicker as a defender. Of course she hasn't mastered footwork, positioning, and post moves to the degree that Morgan did by 2016, but I don't think that should be expected of a sophomore.

I like AE a lot and think she has great upside potential..........she's clearly faster and a better athlete than Morgan Tuck but Tuck's interior skills, especially her footwork and finishing in traffic were polished like a fine diamond........it's unlikely Edwards will ever be able to approach Tuck's unmatched abilities in close but she doesn't need to..........she just has to become the best version of herself....

 

[Skeets]

OK, I've been harping on another big for quite some time (so fire away). What proven, experienced bigs do we have? Dorka and Edwards. Can either one or both get in foul trouble, and/or god forbid turn an ankle? Sure it can happen. Who backs them up? DeBerry, who may or may not take a leap next year? You want to bank on 2 high school kids playing big time D1 hoops right out of the starting gate? (not me) Then we have two girls who in an emergency can be pressed into playing the 4 position, Ducharme who has decent height and length, but not really a banger. And Abrey, a real wild card. Godspeed Abrey, we need you back.

As to how you mitigate this problem, I have no clue. But I do know we can put 2 proven guard on the floor (out of the 4 or 5 that we have) even given fouls and other stuff. So what is the priority? BIGS.

 

[JoePgh]

OK, I've been harping on another big for quite some time (so fire away). What proven, experienced bigs do we have? Dorka and Edwards. Can either one or both get in foul trouble, and/or god forbid turn an ankle? Sure it can happen. Who backs them up? DeBerry, who may or may not take a leap next year? You want to bank on 2 high school kids playing big time D1 hoops right out of the starting gate? (not me) Then we have two girls who in an emergency can be pressed into playing the 4 position, Ducharme who has decent height and length, but not really a banger. And Abrey, a real wild card. Godspeed Abrey, we need you back.

As to how you mitigate this problem, I have no clue. But I do know we can put 2 proven guard on the floor (out of the 4 or 5 that we have) even given fouls and other stuff. So what is the priority? BIGS.

It's artificial and misleading to characterize this choice as "either/or". Clearly UConn has two scholarships available for 2022-23, so it can absorb both a Big and a guard if players who can help are available and are interested. If a player is available/interested/ready at one position and not the other, then obviously UConn should take the player it can get.

However, I do think there is a greater urgency at the guard position. The backups behind Dorka and Aaliyah are less than ideal for the reasons that you mention, but the backups at guard for Paige and Azzi are really limited to Nika and no one else. I don't think playing Caroline in the back court for any length of time is a good use of her skills, nor is it where she can make her biggest contribution. So I think it is more important to get a guard from the portal than a front court player -- but, as noted, it is not an either/or situation.

 

[visitingcock]

It's artificial and misleading to characterize this choice as "either/or". Clearly UConn has two scholarships available for 2022-23, so it can absorb both a Big and a guard if players who can help are available and are interested. If a player is available/interested/ready at one position and not the other, then obviously UConn should take the player it can get.

However, I do think there is a greater urgency at the guard position. The backups behind Dorka and Aaliyah are less than ideal for the reasons that you mention, but the backups at guard for Paige and Azzi are really limited to Nika and no one else. I don't think playing Caroline in the back court for any length of time is a good use of her skills, nor is it where she can make her biggest contribution. So I think it is more important to get a guard from the portal than a front court player -- but, as noted, it is not an either/or situation.

Well, Saniyah Rivers is available.

 

[Skeets]

It's artificial and misleading to characterize this choice as "either/or". Clearly UConn has two scholarships available for 2022-23, so it can absorb both a Big and a guard if players who can help are available and are interested. If a player is available/interested/ready at one position and not the other, then obviously UConn should take the player it can get.

However, I do think there is a greater urgency at the guard position. The backups behind Dorka and Aaliyah are less than ideal for the reasons that you mention, but the backups at guard for Paige and Azzi are really limited to Nika and no one else. I don't think playing Caroline in the back court for any length of time is a good use of her skills, nor is it where she can make her biggest contribution. So I think it is more important to get a guard from the portal than a front court player -- but, as noted, it is not an either/or situation.

Caroline is much better as a shooting guard than a power forward. But, in an emergency maybe she could play the PF. You could say the same about Abrey. FWIW, yes I think we could use both, a big and a guard, but in my mind the top priority is a proven big. Lotsa luck trying to find one. Lacking that, then a real good guard willing to play behind Paige, Azzi, Nika, Ducharme, Abrey, etc. is priority #2.

 

[Charliebball]

OK, I've been harping on another big for quite some time (so fire away). What proven, experienced bigs do we have? Dorka and Edwards. Can either one or both get in foul trouble, and/or god forbid turn an ankle? Sure it can happen. Who backs them up? DeBerry, who may or may not take a leap next year? You want to bank on 2 high school kids playing big time D1 hoops right out of the starting gate? (not me) Then we have two girls who in an emergency can be pressed into playing the 4 position, Ducharme who has decent height and length, but not really a banger. And Abrey, a real wild card. Godspeed Abrey, we need you back.

As to how you mitigate this problem, I have no clue. But I do know we can put 2 proven guard on the floor (out of the 4 or 5 that we have) even given fouls and other stuff. So what is the priority? BIGS.

If UConn can find a fifth year big I'm all for it..............I'm actually looking forward to seeing what Deberry, Brady and Patterson can do..........I'm of the belief that if Brady is in shape she will have an almost immediate impact at both ends of the floor..........Patterson is a wild card..........I'm envisioning a slightly larger version of Aubrey Griffin, able to cover multiple positions defensively and a demon on the boards.......Deberry will score points, the question is whether she gives up as many points as she scores.........remember Geno's familiar refrain about another lanky forward from a few years ago.....

 

[TCC Kid]

AE has a long way to go to be Morgan - mental mistakes every game with her - not to mention how many missed layups and defensive assignment gaffes. I hope she turns it around but there was no progress with her from freshman to sophomore year - and I believe she actually regressed some. Hoping she turns it around

When you had the best guard in the nation and STEWIE a limping Tuck looked very good. In 3 years we will be writing: If only we had Edwards! I liked Tuck. I loved the 3 of them.

I liked this team. I could write a movie script on what they did with little this year. A team with 5 losses, with the back up center sitting with a damaged wrist, the Star still limping from surgery, the second Star beyond sidk with flu like symptoms, against the arguably best team (stanford) and they actually got to the Final 4 on shear guts, determination, will. Damn, weren't we lucky, blessed, given a gift by 9 young ladies, mostly under classmen--yep, I'll ask Carnac to help with the writing (he and Oldldog got the gift and TonyC to write the intro). It should go viral.

 

[visitingcock]

When you had the best guard in the nation and STEWIE a limping Tuck looked very good. In 3 years we will be writing: If only we had Edwards! I liked Tuck. I loved the 3 of them.

I liked this team. I could write a movie script on what they did with little this year. A team with 5 losses, with the back up center sitting with a damaged wrist, the Star still limping from surgery, the second Star beyond sidk with flu like symptoms, against the arguably best team (stanford) and they actually got to the Final 4 on shear guts, determination, will. Damn, weren't we lucky, blessed, given a gift by 9 young ladies, mostly under classmen--yep, I'll ask Carnac to help with the writing (he and Oldldog got the gift and TonyC to write the intro). It should go viral.

I thought it was already written and filmed. I hear the sequel will begin filming this November.