Edwards Next Pheesa?

[DEpup]

I've said this before. I think Edwards is the next version of the UConn PF archetype that also is Napheesa. She isn't Pheesa but she is in the mold of Pheesa, Tuck, Cash, Tamika, and even Lobo to name a few. Over all these years when you have the same lineage of folks recruiting into this system than you are going to see patterns in the players too. They are all unique individuals but they fit within the same bell curve imo.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Edwards reminds me of Ashja Jones in appearance but more important in her "game"!
Aaliyuah and Asjha are 6'2" or 6'3". A great athletic solid body that can control play 15' to 18'!
Hopefully Aaliyah can improve and become a great competitor that Ashja was!

 

[soxfan23]

The good news is Aubrey is not a weak offensive player now, although some think of her that way because of a lack of perimeter game thus far. I am reminded that in the Bulls second three peat, once a shot left a Bull's player's hand the best offensive player on the floor was not Jordon or Pippin, but in fact Dennis Rodman.

Aubrey is a good garbage type scorer now, who appears to have enough different ways to score, that if those develop to Uconn efficiency standards (a pretty high bar), maybe she could be an elite scorer. Team wise, however, there are plenty of other good scoring options, so that would be a tremendous blessing if it happens, but she should get significant minutes for the rest of her Uconn career even if it doesn't.

NOBODY ever said that, this all started as a debate over whether Griffin is better suited to play the 4 or the 3. Jingo claimed she was a 3, I just said she doesn't shoot the ball well enough to be a 3 and her game is best suited at the 4. Everything you wrote here basically echoes what I was saying,

 

[ConnecticutBB]

IMO...shooting 2’s or 3’s... as long as every shoot goes in UCONN will always has a great chance of winning each game...

 

[JonathanXIV]

Leading scorer this year?

You mean, again, don't you?

 

[Jingo]

As with most threads on the Boneyard, this one quickly transitioned from is "Edwards the Next Pheesa?" to what kind of sophomore leap will Aubrey make. While I am as interested in the answer to that question as anyone, I would like to attempt to steer the thread back to the original topic.

When Napheesa was a Freshman, she showed glimpses of the future. We saw what would later become her patented up and under move and the ability to handle the basketball. Besides having Stewart, Tuck and Williams ahead her on the depth chart, her primary challenge was adapting to the mental aspect of the college game, particularly at UCONN. I am very interested in how Edwards handles this transition. I think that with the advent of many more reps in her Freshman year, as Geno referenced, both her transition and impact may be far greater than Napheesa. That's not to imply that her college career will be better but to suggest that her initial entry and importance to the this team may be greater. Finally, I suspect that Edwards exposure to older players and higher-level international competition than Napheesa at a comparable age will translate to more confidence as well.

As former self-appointed President of the Napheesa Collier fan club and current self-appointed President of the Aaliyah Edwards fan club, I can't wait for the season to begin!

Being the only true "4", IMO, AE should get ample opportunity to 'strut her stuff' .. if she can hit the jumper from the elbow, she'll be off-the-charts, eh?

 

[Alydar]

So when did Edwards go from being a wing to being a "true" 4? I thought that was settled 2 months ago when a couple posters declared absolutely that she didn't have power forward skills?

 

[j66kicker]

Being the only true "4", IMO, AE should get ample opportunity to 'strut her stuff' .. if she can hit the jumper from the elbow, she'll be off-the-charts, eh?
View attachment 60010

IMO ONO is a “true 4”, which has been a problem when we play an elite team with a “true 5”.

 

[DEpup]

So when did Edwards go from being a wing to being a "true" 4? I thought that was settled 2 months ago when a couple posters declared absolutely that she didn't have power forward skills?

Well Geno answered that question for us when he labeled her a F in the roster and at practice she is with CD, Liv, and Piath...sounds like the boss made the decision for us all...

 

[Jingo]

Edwards reminds me of Ashja Jones in appearance but more important in her "game"!
Aaliyuah and Asjha are 6'2" or 6'3". A great athletic solid body that can control play 15' to 18'!
Hopefully Aaliyah can improve and become a great competitor that Ashja was!

Improve? .. we're not sure where she's "at" yet .. don't you agree?

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Improve? .. we're not sure where she's "at" yet .. don't you agree?

Hey Jingo, Any athlete can improve from wherever they start out to wherever they finish!
So where Aaliyah is now I hope she improves during the season to have an impact on the team!

 

[Jingo]

Hey Jingo, Any athlete can improve from wherever they start out to wherever they finish!
So where Aaliyah is now I hope she improves during the season to have an impact on the team!

What i m trying to say is that we don't have a baseline yet, eh? ... once we have a baseline, then, we can assess improvement IMO ...

 

[HopJim]

She was 1 of 10! She was told to play to her strengths, obviously 3pt shooting is not one of her strengths, which is my point!

Agree with your point, but more concerned at her floor movement. She was hesitate, other than layups, and didn't try to get in position. Great talent, freakishly quick, but if UConn didn't get a fast break basket, gave defenders a 5 on 4 advantage due to her inability to function in UConn's offensive scheme. Respect other's thoughts that have seen her play in HS - all I can do is react to a relatively large sample size from last year.

 

[soxfan23]

What i m trying to say is that we don't have a baseline yet, eh? ... once we have a baseline, then, we can assess improvement IMO ...

We have tape on her from high school, are you not the same Jingo that earlier in this thread claimed that Griffen's HS tape was enough evidence to prove she was a good 3 pt shooter? A little hypocritical don't you think?

 

[eebmg]

Soon enough, (2022) we may be revisiting the debate why a coach can only vote for 3AA's from their team.
Paige, Liv, Christyn, Aliyah.

 

[donalddoowop]

I believe Westbrook should be included on that list, if she does not leave early.

 

[CocoHusky]

So when did Edwards go from being a wing to being a "true" 4? I thought that was settled 2 months ago when a couple posters declared absolutely that she didn't have power forward skills?

Don't recall anyone ever declaring "absolutely" that she did not have power forward skills. Quite the opposite, @Sluconn Husky and many others pointed out that she had great post up skills. In HS and on team Canada she was a wing forward. At UCONN this season she is best equipped of all the players on the roster to play the PF position. Best equipped means that Liv is going to need help rebounding and defending the post until Piath develops or Amari joins the team.

 

[CocoHusky]

Soon enough, (2022) we may be revisiting the debate why a coach can only vote for 3AA's from their team.
Paige, Liv, Christyn, Aliyah.

Nothing wrong with taking turns and this would be a very nice problem to have. In 2021-22 season Liv @ Christyn will be seniors and taking their last shot at making AA if they have not already done so. Paige & Aliyah will only be in their sophomore campaigns. If UCONN has that many players competing for AA consideration it will also likely mean that UCONN has secure #12 and #13 is within UCONN grasp.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Of all the freshman Aaliyah has the most pressure on her it seems, a consequence of our "Bigs Light" recent history. She comes out of Canada with the reputation of being mature and tough. She'll certainly need both attributes if she is going to be asked to play back up center and PF/F. I'm reasonably confident she can pull it off.

 

[RoadWarrior]

Of all the freshman Aaliyah has the most pressure on her it seems, a consequence of our "Bigs Light" recent history. She comes out of Canada with the reputation of being mature and tough. She'll certainly need both attributes if she is going to be asked to play back up center and PF/F. I'm reasonably confident she can pull it off.

Not sure that I can agree with Aaliyah having more pressure than Paige! While Aaliyah is certainly a known commodity in the Boneyard, her notoriety in Women's Basketball pales next to Paige. I do agree that there is probably a greater need for Aaliyah to produce in the post given that there are more natural guard options than Post/PF options. If Paige does start from day 1, the pressure and expectations will be amped up more - not that she can't handle it.

 

[Jingo]

We have tape on her from high school, are you not the same Jingo that earlier in this thread claimed that Griffen's HS tape was enough evidence to prove she was a good 3 pt shooter? A little hypocritical don't you think?

No, not HS tape .. I saw Aubrey in person, as did a few others who agree with me, eh? .. lively discussion [like this] is what makes the BY such a gr8 forum

 

[Buzzyboy]

I can’t speak to what type of 3-pt shooter Aubrey was throughout her HS career, but I watched her last 4 games in HS, in person, including the NY State Championship FF & the Federation Cup Tournament, against the best teams in the state of NY. In those 4 games, Aubrey lit it up with 30+ in each game, scoring from everywhere, including beyond the arc.

I kept a running box score for Aubrey for each of those games and then posted her totals on the Boneyard. Off the top of my head, Aubrey probably knocked down 2-3 x 3-pt shots per game. I’m sure the posts are sitting around somewhere in the BY’s archives.

I'm thinking maybe that was against high school girls who allowed her to set up on the perimeter as if she was all alone in the gym whereas in college, she's actually got kids with their hands in her face and not allowing the space and time to get her shot off .... that is a world of difference, to say the least .... there's nothing I've seen of her to suggest that she'll ever be much of an outside threat .... she's an amazing athlete but her shooting skills aren't very impressive

 

[donalddoowop]

I'm thinking maybe that was against high school girls who allowed her to set up on the perimeter as if she was all alone in the gym whereas in college, she's actually got kids with their hands in her face and not allowing the space and time to get her shot off .... that is a world of difference, to say the least .... there's nothing I've seen of her to suggest that she'll ever be much of an outside threat .... she's an amazing athlete but her shooting skills aren't very impressive

Not so.

 

[oldude]

I'm thinking maybe that was against high school girls who allowed her to set up on the perimeter as if she was all alone in the gym whereas in college, she's actually got kids with their hands in her face and not allowing the space and time to get her shot off .... that is a world of difference, to say the least .... there's nothing I've seen of her to suggest that she'll ever be much of an outside threat .... she's an amazing athlete but her shooting skills aren't very impressive

No doubt that college defenders close out shooters much better than HS defenders. But Aubrey isn’t the first player to arrive at UConn and struggle from the arc as a freshmen. Mo was not a good shooter her freshman year. Kia was inconsistent. Lou really struggled during the first part of the season, as did Anna, before they all found their shooting rhythm.

Aubrey was 1-10 from the arc last season
while coming off the bench. Assuming she is a starter this season, let’s see how she does before we write her off as purely an inside player.

 

[oldhusky]

Regarding Aubrey's outside shot does anyone know where to get her high school stats? Maybe she had enough 3pt attempts to have some predictive value. Free throw percentage in high school is also potentially relevant.

Whenever I see a prospect taking and of course making a 3 pointer in a highlight video, my first reaction is to look at form, how quick the release, elevation, are there any off the dribble or contested, possibly step back etc.
After that in terms of how good a shooter is, I would rather see the stats, and not just the percentages, but the frequency of attempts. Some only shoot wide open spot up, catch and shoot threes, others can get threes off the dribble around screens, and really good scorers/shooters can with fakes or step backs hit threes one on one vs. a defender.

I would be thrilled if Aubrey could be the former, and someone like Azzi might be able to create a good 3pt attempt on her own.