Dorka?

[Inthepaint]

When the word of Dorka's transfer came through, I was quite curious to see what she was all about.
Watched last year's Ohio State-Michigan game in which Laz Hamilton scored 50 points (although OSU won the game).
Dorka showed some outside shooting, good movement without the ball, wasn't shy about mixing it up.
Wonder how she might be expected to adjust her style under Geno and with a superior surrounding cast.
Maybe see if I can watch some Tenn games to see how/if EW changed her style of play after going to UCONN.
"E" seemed to find her role quite quickly, showed motivation, leadership, and provided some good contributions. Of course she had the whole "sit out"year to practice, observe and generally soak up the atmosphere. She also must have known before Game # 1 that she would be starting,
One of the shortcomings last year was the inexperience of the roster. Generally.
With the numerous options Geno will have and the intense competition for minutes, let's see if Dorka retreats into a shell, or rises to the challenge and makes herself a critical cog in the machine.

 

[HopJim]

I’m on the fence when it comes to Dorka, she could make a impact from day one like Westbrook, come off the bench like Z, or not see the court much like Butler.

Would be happy with any of these 3 impacts. Many forget Butler was hindered by a broken thumb, but still came off the bench to save several big games when the starters had foul issue.

 

[Charliebball]

But Liv isn't trusted to score vs the very good teams, is she?. She's trusted to play defense. I'm going to make an assumption that Liv is a better defensive player that Dorka - I think Liv is a very good inside defender. And Aubrey is a better defender for more stretch defense vs pf's and centers that play a bit more perimeter offense. So if Dorka isn't quite a bit better offensively she won't get the bigger minutes/ jump Liv etc in big games. She'll potentially only get big minutes vs "twin towers" but she won't be someone that UCONN will want to get the ball to inside to unless she's very open. But not someone you could dump it to which was the context of my reply to the poster.

As for AE at 63.6% as a frosh - there's a good chance she'll improve. So yes - as a preseason prediction - she can be trusted more.

Dorka actually is the one player you want to get the ball to down low because she has proven to be an excellent finisher with either hand something ONO has yet to fully master........it sure would be helpful if both bigs could get that foul shooting up to at least 70%..........

 

[Waquoit]

She's All-Big 10 two years running. She's bona fide. I'd be shocked if Ono gets more PT.

 

[Stymie]

I’m on the fence when it comes to Dorka, she could make a impact from day one like Westbrook, come off the bench like Z, or not see the court much like Butler.

I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen of her play.
She has a very good in close spin move that she seems to convert with regularity.
On both sides of the basket.
Difficult to defend.
HUGE addition.
Stoked!

 

[hoophuskee]

Dorka actually is the one player you want to get the ball to down low because she has proven to be an excellent finisher with either hand something ONO has yet to fully master........it sure would be helpful if both bigs could get that foul shooting up to at least 70%..........

And if they can't shoot /t's much better than what they've shown at UCONN and Ohio State, then you can't trust dumping the ball down low to them to score in close big games either unless they have a wide open layup.

A 50% f't shooter is not good enough to trust to score in tight, close, big games. Even if Dorka has the terrific skill/ability-- a very good defensive team in a tight game will not allow her to beat them with low post moves if she can't prove she can hit free throws. It doesn't matter that she has the skill - very good coaching from a very good defensive team in a tight game will more-than-likely will foul her (and some fouls will go uncalled.). thus reducing her effective fg% from normal to drastically worse.

 

[Charliebball]

And if they can't shoot /t's much better than what they've shown at UCONN and Ohio State, then you can't trust dumping the ball down low to them to score in close big games either unless they have a wide open layup.

A 50% f't shooter is not good enough to trust to score in tight, close, big games. Even if Dorka has the terrific skill/ability-- a very good defensive team in a tight game will not allow her to beat them with low post moves if she can't prove she can hit free throws. It doesn't matter that she has the skill - very good coaching from a very good defensive team in a tight game will more-than-likely will foul her (and some fouls will go uncalled.). thus reducing her effective fg% from normal to drastically worse.

time will tell........each game is different........I suspect the UConn outside shooting will be so good that defenses will be extended to the point where there will be plenty of open opportunities for the low post players..........Dorka has proven that she can finish with contact from both sides of the lane........if she gets fouled and misses 50%, she's still piling up fouls against the opponent's post players possibly leading to extra foul shots......it's her three point shooting that I'm unsure about......

check out her inside ability from 1:23 of this video

 

[Stymie]

And if they can't shoot /t's much better than what they've shown at UCONN and Ohio State, then you can't trust dumping the ball down low to them to score in close big games either unless they have a wide open layup.

A 50% f't shooter is not good enough to trust to score in tight, close, big games. Even if Dorka has the terrific skill/ability-- a very good defensive team in a tight game will not allow her to beat them with low post moves if she can't prove she can hit free throws. It doesn't matter that she has the skill - very good coaching from a very good defensive team in a tight game will more-than-likely will foul her (and some fouls will go uncalled.). thus reducing her effective fg% from normal to drastically worse.

I believe that the Huskies have enough “Bigs” talent to win the foul war of attrition in the paint.
Have at least 9-15 fouls to absorb.
At some point UCONN will have a 6’5” matchup versus a 5’11” or a 6’1”.
And that’s a worse case up front.
Now let’s move to the guards....

 

[hoophuskee]

time will tell........each game is different........I suspect the UConn outside shooting will be so good that defenses will be extended to the point where there will be plenty of open opportunities for the low post players..........Dorka has proven that she can finish with contact from both sides of the lane........if she gets fouled and misses 50%, she's still piling up fouls against the opponent's post players possibly leading to extra foul shots......it's her three point shooting that I'm unsure about......

check out her inside ability from 1:23 of this video

If defenses are extending then it means they are opened up for backdoor cuts. And the players receiving the backdoor cuts are better than 50% f/t shooters. I know she has ability but if she can't hit free throws it negates her ability to a degree. I'm excited about her potential. But I think it's exactly as you said when you referred to 70% as an example shooting at f/t line. Something near that is needed.

So when a team extends even if no layup, UCONN has supposedly 4 terrific passing guards in Paige, Azzi, Evina, and Nika. An over-extending of defense if no layup, tthen he team should be able to get a good mid-range jump shot. That's still better than a 50% f/t shooter that is going to slow the game down.

In terms of foul trouble it depends on the opposing team ofc. But UCONN doesn't want to play "grind-basketball" either. So in some ways it's detrimental to dump it enough times inside which will cause the game to slow down - as it takes time to get position, then in several cases she gets fouled, which in the long-run prevents UCONN from playing with pace. Sure an occasional play but can't do it (just dump it to her) late in a game if she can't be relied upon to hit free throws.

 

[hoophuskee]

I believe that the Huskies have enough “Bigs” talent to win the foul war of attrition in the paint.
Have at least 9-15 fouls to absorb.
At some point UCONN will have a 6’5” matchup versus a 5’11” or a 6’1”.
And that’s a worse case up front.
Now let’s move to the guards....

First off UCONN wants to win with their strength mostly as does any team- and that's Paige Buckers, CWill and Azzi Fudd. These are UCONN's projected top 3, aren't they? Maybe some question about Azzi but still . .. And Evina with out having to play 30+ minutes will probably be much more effective.

UCONN isn't looking to play grind basketball. They want Paige, Azzi and CWill out on fastbreaks, These players out in the open are more dangerous than UCONN's frontline. Their guards are still their strength. They will play to it especially if their centers can't be relied upon to convert at /t line.

If UCONN is playing vs a small team and specifically regarding Dorka - if she can only shoot 50% on her free throws then why slow the game down if that's all she can do? What team can match up to Paige, CWill, Evina, Azzi with a player like Nika and maybe even CD as well?

 

[CocoHusky]

I believe that the Huskies have enough “Bigs” talent to win the foul war of attrition in the paint.
Have at least 9-15 fouls to absorb.
At some point UCONN will have a 6’5” matchup versus a 5’11” or a 6’1”.
And that’s a worse case up front.
Now let’s move to the guards....

UCONN's defense has averaged between 10.5-11.7 fouls per game for almost 2 full decades now. Even your low estimate of 9 fouls from just the 2 front court players would be excessive. It would also fundamentally change the game and goes against many of the things that UCONN loves to do such as dictating the tempo & getting out in transition. UCONN will have many "bigs" on the roster that's true, but I don't expect the regular rotation in meaningful games to include more than Aaliyah, Dorka and Liv covering the 4 & 5 positions.

 

[DEpup]

Don't we think the great coaching staff will address the FT shooting?? I think assuming she'll stay at 50% is not giving the coaches enough credit....

 

[Bald Husky]

Don't we think the great coaching staff will address the FT shooting?? I think assuming she'll stay at 50% is not giving the coaches enough credit....

Alyssa Thomas approach? LOL

 

[oldude]

While there is great anticipation for any transfer to the program, we should all be cautious in our expectations relative to Dorka. She has to get comfortable in UConn’s system. Even for a smart, experienced player, that can be a challenge. Hopefully Dorka can also regain her 3-pt shooting touch from two seasons ago, after a significant decline last season.

Personally, I will be very pleased if Dorka provides solid minutes off the bench backing up Liv. Anything more than that will be icing on the cake.

 

[Jim R]

While there is great anticipation for any transfer to the program, we should all be cautious in our expectations relative to Dorka. She has to get comfortable in UConn’s system. Even for a smart, experienced player, that can be a challenge. Hopefully Dorka can also regain her 3-pt shooting touch from two seasons ago, after a significant decline last season.

Personally, I will be very pleased if Dorka provides solid minutes off the bench backing up Liv. Anything more than that will be icing on the cake.

Yes, Lots of Icing!

 

[CocoHusky]

Don't we think the great coaching staff will address the FT shooting?? I think assuming she'll stay at 50% is not giving the coaches enough credit....

This will be Dorka’s 4th season of playing NCAA BB. Any improvement in her FT shooting is going to be the result of fixing an obvious mechanical issue with her shot- which there isn’t one. This is largely a BY perceived issue and one that was first mentioned in the absolute negative as in “Why would Geno want to recruit a post player that shot only 50% from the line”? Much of that negativity persists in assuming that she will not improve and fails to account for the fact that she shot 63% as a freshman. BTW Liv’s FT percentages were 59% last season and 53% the season before that. Dorka is bringing too much to the table for her FT shooting to become an issue even if she doesn’t improve.

 

[CocoHusky]

While there is great anticipation for any transfer to the program, we should all be cautious in our expectations relative to Dorka. She has to get comfortable in UConn’s system. Even for a smart, experienced player, that can be a challenge. Hopefully Dorka can also regain her 3-pt shooting touch from two seasons ago, after a significant decline last season.

Personally, I will be very pleased if Dorka provides solid minutes off the bench backing up Liv. Anything more than that will be icing on the cake.

Yea Liv could really really use a quality back! Perhaps a player that was 2X first team all Big 10 especially considering Liv was not even 1st team after playing three full seasons in the Big East and the American.

 

[Dogstar]

This will be Dorka’s 4th season of playing NCAA BB. Any improvement in her FT shooting is going to be the result of fixing an obvious mechanical issue with her shot- which there isn’t one. This is largely a BY perceived issue and one that was first mentioned in the absolute negative as in “Why would Geno want to recruit a post player that shot only 50% from the line”? Much of that negativity persists in assuming that she will not improve and fails to account for the fact that she shot 63% as a freshman. BTW Liv’s FT percentages were 59% last season and 53% the season before that. Dorka is bringing too much to the table for her FT shooting to become an issue

Don't we think the great coaching staff will address the FT shooting?? I think assuming she'll stay at 50% is not giving the coaches enough credit....

Totally agree!

 

[oldude]

Yea Liv could really really use a quality back! Perhaps a player that was 2X first team all Big 10 especially considering Liv was not even 1st team after playing three full seasons in the Big East and the American.

Sounds like you have already determined that Dorka will start. I haven’t. Dorka was one of the leading scorers for a 13-7 tOSU team that didn’t even make it to the postseason. She will need to find her roll at UConn.

Dorka is the second transfer to UConn who will be immediately eligible. You correctly cautioned me relative to the other one about inflated expectations. I’m returning the favor.

Let’s see what happens when the season rolls around.

 

[Stymie]

First off UCONN wants to win with their strength mostly as does any team- and that's Paige Buckers, CWill and Azzi Fudd. These are UCONN's projected top 3, aren't they? Maybe some question about Azzi but still . .. And Evina with out having to play 30+ minutes will probably be much more effective.

UCONN isn't looking to play grind basketball. They want Paige, Azzi and CWill out on fastbreaks, These players out in the open are more dangerous than UCONN's frontline. Their guards are still their strength. They will play to it especially if their centers can't be relied upon to convert at /t line.

If UCONN is playing vs a small team and specifically regarding Dorka - if she can only shoot 50% on her free throws then why slow the game down if that's all she can do? What team can match up to Paige, CWill, Evina, Azzi with a player like Nika and maybe even CD as well?

The point I was attempting to make was if an opponent wants to play ugly basketball, a banging, chippy physical Game- UCONN is well equipped to bring it at that level.
This is the type of game plan UCONN has found most problematic.
No more.

 

[Charliebball]

If defenses are extending then it means they are opened up for backdoor cuts. And the players receiving the backdoor cuts are better than 50% f/t shooters. I know she has ability but if she can't hit free throws it negates her ability to a degree. I'm excited about her potential. But I think it's exactly as you said when you referred to 70% as an example shooting at f/t line. Something near that is needed.

So when a team extends even if no layup, UCONN has supposedly 4 terrific passing guards in Paige, Azzi, Evina, and Nika. An over-extending of defense if no layup, tthen he team should be able to get a good mid-range jump shot. That's still better than a 50% f/t shooter that is going to slow the game down.

In terms of foul trouble it depends on the opposing team ofc. But UCONN doesn't want to play "grind-basketball" either. So in some ways it's detrimental to dump it enough times inside which will cause the game to slow down - as it takes time to get position, then in several cases she gets fouled, which in the long-run prevents UCONN from playing with pace. Sure an occasional play but can't do it (just dump it to her) late in a game if she can't be relied upon to hit free throws.

I get what you're saying but I think you may be over analyzing the situation a bit...........you know for UConn it's all about getting the best shot during a possession and that can include everything from an open three pointer to an easy layup down low........having a tough post player who can finish contested layups is always a good thing no matter how awful her free throw shooting percentage is.............

 

[JoePgh]

Dorka was one of the leading scorers for a 13-7 tOSU team that didn’t even make it to the postseason. She will need to find her roll at UConn.

I am pretty sure that Ohio State was ineligible for the NCAA Tournament in 2021 as a result of previous NCAA rules violations. They weren't included in any of Charlie Creme's mock brackets, presumably for that reason.

Otherwise, Ohio State would clearly have qualified for the tournament. It finished higher in the Big 10 than other teams which qualified.

That doesn't mean that Dorka will start for UConn, and in fact I doubt that she will. But she will get plenty of minutes, if only because of the foul proneness of both Liv and Aaliyah.

 

[jchusky]

I think some are already overrating Dorka and she hasn't even played a game yet. From what I've seen she still has lot of mechanic flaws in her game. Not a fan at all of her shot it looks ugly. The shots that she made in that highlight video are because the defense was surprised she took those shots and they were not meaningful shots when taken. I don't think ppl realize how hard it is for new players or even knew players to learn this complicated system Geno runs. Aubrey Griffin has been at Uconn two seasons and still can't get huge playing time. Idk how ppl just assume an incoming transfer who didn't win at Ohio State is gonna overtake Olivia for the job.

 

[hoophuskee]

Don't we think the great coaching staff will address the FT shooting?? I think assuming she'll stay at 50% is not giving the coaches enough credit....

It hasn't helped Liv so far, so why assume it will help with Dorka? Liv's still a bad f/t shooter if we look at the 6 games which there was some type of stress - 10 points or less; Liv shot 6-14 from /t line. Geno can't control that imo nor can he control that with Dorka imo. So If Dorka remains a poor f/t shooter is it Geno's fault? And many teams have some bad free throw shooters- was it because of coaching too?

And I just want to add - I'm not saying Dorka is going to be bad - just saying she might. If she is 50% or near it but slightly above, then you can see my point, right?

And if she is going to be /t shooter you think- then it means she is going to a serious threat to getting more minutes than Liv, if Liv doesn't improve her f/t shooting, right? Because overall Dorka would be superior to Liv, right? Because in big high stressed games - if Liv can't hit an open f/t then it probably means she can't shoot well at 15 feet during high stressed game conditions. Though no way am I saying Liv would be "benched."

 

[hoophuskee]

I get what you're saying but I think you may be over analyzing the situation a bit...........you know for UConn it's all about getting the best shot during a possession and that can include everything from an open three pointer to an easy layup down low........having a tough post player who can finish contested layups is always a good thing no matter how awful her free throw shooting percentage is.............

What's the definition of "the best shot?" Liv taking 15 footers if she is wide open- is that "the best shot?" Dorka taking f/t's and making 50% of them, is that "the best shot?"

Why can't we assume teams would foul a 50% free throw shooter rather thna have Paige and Azizi get off shots?