Expectations vs. Reality for the team...

[EricSD]

I'm curious what fellow BY'ers think about the team thus far with regards to pre-season expectations, and the small sample size of reality that we've seen thru the first 6 games (7 if you count the exhibition game)... For me so far...

Paige - as good as I expected her to be, she's at least matched, if not exceeded, what I could have hoped for. She COULD score 40 points a game if she wanted to, and you can tell that when she takes over a game for a period of time, she's almost impossible to stop. I really do hope she goes out with a NC - what a cherry on top of the terrific sundae that has been her stellar UCONN career...

Sarah - she has far exceeded my expectations. I'd seen snips of her from HS and various games she played, and in the all-star type games (McD AA etc.), she wasn't a superstar in the games. But boy has she blown me away so far at UCONN. Aside from her 3 point shooting, which is only at about 25%, she's just outstanding at everything else. Literally EVERYTHING. Scoring, ball handling, defending, rebounding, dishing assists, blocking, etc. She has been the biggest surprise for me on a team that was already slated as a NC contender

Kaitlyn - I know there was, and continues to be, a lot of debate as to whether she should start or not. I think she should be the starter, and I think she will continue to grow and get better in her role as her chemistry and time with the team increases. Having said that, my expectations were a little bit higher than what I've seen so far, especially with some of her decision making and turnovers. a 2:1 assist/TO ratio is not terrible, but I hope it gets better, as well as her 3 point shooting.

As a side note - for the most part, the 3 point % for the 8 core players thus far is horrible for players not named Paige or Ash. Not a single player of the remaining 6 has a % north of 25%.

Ash - I did expect her to start at the beginning of the season. I think of all the guards, she is the toughest and most physical. You can see where she has improved and she's about what I expected this season with a nice sophomore jump. I do think she will swap with Azzi as far as starting goes in the near future as I think Azzi's scoring prowess will be more important than Ash's physical prowess, but part of that is Ash gets less touches. She's not really been asked to be a main scoring threat... her play so far is about what I expected...

Ice - she's been a bit of an enigma with a few weak games to start the season, but over all she's just about what I expected this season. She will never be 6'5", so people can't expect her to be a post player "like that". But I've iso-watched her at times and her movement and athleticism is improved, as her play within what UCOONN is trying to run. She's a tad more turnover prone than I'd like, but I think overall she's solid and knows her role on the floor. Excited for progression as she continues to learn and improve.

Jana - again, aside from 1 bad game, she's been coming on strong. If not for Geno's over-the-top preseason assessment of her skills, I'd say she's better than I expected. IMHO she has a ton of upside, you can tell she WANTS to be great, is frustrated when she makes a mistake, but that's the kind of attitude you can hone and work with - much better that than a lackadaisical player. Believe it or not, she's the 3rd leading scorer on the team - basically tied with Azzi for PPG - and I think she's just nibbling around the edges of what she can do. You can tell she's not comfortable yet, but that's to be expected for a kid who not only is a "freshman" from a playing perspective, but is also coming back from missing the entire season last year.

Azzi - hard to really evaluate her (3 games), but if the last game is any indication, we can expect great things from her. I think her defense and all around game is better than I expected (maybe it's the same as it was before her injury but it's hard to recall), and it's been great to see her score in so many ways, but her 3 point shot is way off - surprisingly so. I hope/expect that to improve.

KK - love her attitude and energy, but she's one player who I expected more from this season. She wasn't a great shooter last season, and it doesn't look like she put any work into that in the off-season, so for me thus far, that's a bummer. But her A/TO ratio is sick (in a good way - 19 assists, 2 TO's). I see her as the starter for sure next season, but for now she's great off the bench.

Qadence, Morgan, Allie - lumping them together...

• Q - was expecting a bigger leap for her. She's very athletic and like an energizer bunny, but has trouble putting the ball in the basket. It seems that she still gets confused on where she's supposed to be. It seems like she's 11th on the depth chart on an 11 player team at this time.
• Allie and Morgan - on a team with 8 core players that is a NC contender, it's not surprising that they are "only" averaging 10-11 MPG. And that's with 0 MPG vs. Ole Miss and only 4 each vs. NC (Azzi was not available that game and Q did not play). Both are taking good shots and will be very good. Looking forward to seeing how they progress!

For me, the most important thing is to see improvements (even small ones) as the season goes along, and I think we will. You can tell the team has great chemistry, then want to be really good, they have had a few games now where they took a serious punch and came back from it (both UNC and Ole Miss), and that the sign of a mature team, or at least a team with mature leadership. It's early and they will only get better (as will the rest of WCBB), but I think this team, as good as they have been so far, still has a lot of room to get better, and that's going to be exciting to watch!

 

[Charliebball]

There are a bunch of very good teams but no "super" teams this season........UConn will go as far as the play of Paige, Azzi, Sara and Ana can take them..........that could be to the Final Four or the National Championship.......sounds familiar, doesn't it?

 

[ERWUC65]

There are a bunch of very good teams but no "super" teams this season........UConn will go as far as the play of Paige, Azzi, Sara and Ana can take them..........that could be to the Final Four or the National Championship.......sounds familiar, doesn't it?

It seems as though the "super" team concept is very real in the desire of the top schools to create one thru portal, nil, conference realignment, etc. But, like NCAA football and NCAA Men's basketball, it has fallen upon itself and created one mess of equivalency which one can say is either very exciting or very depressing?

 

[Bone Dog]

Good question. On the whole, the team is more or less where I thought they'd be at the end of November. Now for individual cases:

• Paige -- as expected, she delivers whatever's needed
• Sarah -- I had high hopes for her, but didn't think she'd start right away, definitely exceeded expectations and if her 3s start dropping... woohoo!
• Kaitlyn -- frankly I expected her to fit into the offense sooner than this. I may have overestimated how similar Carla's offense is to Geno's. But I'm still hopeful.
• Jana -- she's right where I thought she'd be, rusty but fierce. No way of knowing where she'll be by March, but I suspect she'll be in a good place
• Ice -- she's exactly where I thought she'd be, playing good D and influencing things all around her, but not a prolific scorer. That may come later, but it isn't essential to the team's success that she score in double figures.
• Ash -- I thought she'd be more of a scorer than she's proved to be so far. But her defense is exactly what I thought it'd be.
• KK -- is right where I thought she'd be on both ends of the court, good D and aggressive passing, and okay scoring.
• Azzi -- in her 3 games she's made the sort of progress I'd hoped for, and maybe fretted about -- her D is excellent, her offense is great and likely to get even better. She looks stronger and quicker than I expected.
• Q -- she's not as much improved from last season as I'd hoped. She still seems lost at times on both ends of the court. I am happy to wait and hope.
• Allie and Morgan -- not enough court time to form a judgment. I hope Allie can find her confidence and I hope Morgan gets a lot more minutes since she can be a force on both ends of the court.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I appreciate your team analysis @EricLA and mostly agree. On Kaitlyn I feel (i.e., intuition) that what we see is what we get. In part a product of playing in an inferior league and in part because shes good but has defects in her game. Geno mentioned this in a general way a while back and said because he was just "renting" her he wasn't going to try to fix her.

 

[veryolddog]

I am disappointed over the last 4 or 5 years. The hype and expectations of Paige and Azzi as the doorway to a National Championship and also for the summoned arrival of some individual players never materialized into the end result. Injury after injury, year after year, players who never really became all that was hyped on this board, that was and is the reality. If it was not for some really good transfers, hard playing,, great coaching, and just plane guts, this UConn basketball squad (s) would not have achieved or overachieved the actual results. Argue about the starters, discuss the potential of the players, it comes down to the coaching of Geno and CD.

 

[Charliebball]

It seems as though the "super" team concept is very real in the desire of the top schools to create one thru portal, nil, conference realignment, etc. But, like NCAA football and NCAA Men's basketball, it has fallen upon itself and created one mess of equivalency which one can say is either very exciting or very depressing?

Sadly, it's the present and future of major collegiate sports and UConn women's basketball will possibly fall back into the good but not great level of basketball programs once Geno retires.........perhaps more of the recruits who were willing to sacrifice to come to UConn due to Geno's legendary coaching and winning ways, will look for the astounding financial opportunities at the over funded major collegiate programs..........

 

[Huskee11]

Good question. On the whole, the team is more or less where I thought they'd be at the end of November. Now for individual cases:

• Paige -- as expected, she delivers whatever's needed
• Sarah -- I had high hopes for her, but didn't think she'd start right away, definitely exceeded expectations and if her 3s start dropping... woohoo!
• Kaitlyn -- frankly I expected her to fit into the offense sooner than this. I may have overestimated how similar Carla's offense is to Geno's. But I'm still hopeful.
• Jana -- she's right where I thought she'd be, rusty but fierce. No way of knowing where she'll be by March, but I suspect she'll be in a good place
• Ice -- she's exactly where I thought she'd be, playing good D and influencing things all around her, but not a prolific scorer. That may come later, but it isn't essential to the team's success that she score in double figures.
• Ash -- I thought she'd be more of a scorer than she's proved to be so far. But her defense is exactly what I thought it'd be.
• KK -- is right where I thought she'd be on both ends of the court, good D and aggressive passing, and okay scoring.
• Azzi -- in her 3 games she's made the sort of progress I'd hoped for, and maybe fretted about -- her D is excellent, her offense is great and likely to get even better. She looks stronger and quicker than I expected.
• Q -- she's not as much improved from last season as I'd hoped. She still seems lost at times on both ends of the court. I am happy to wait and hope.
• Allie and Morgan -- not enough court time to form a judgment. I hope Allie can find her confidence and I hope Morgan gets a lot more minutes since she can be a force on both ends of the court.

I don't have much to quibble with here or with EricLA.

The biggest surprises for me to the upside are:

1. Paige, if you can believe it. I was expecting A, we are getting A++.

2. Azzi's defense. I was expecting her to come back a bit tentative and rusty. She is knocking the rust off her game on the offensive end, but from her first moments on the court she is a different player defensively. Noticeably quicker than before, and now a ferocious on-ball defender.

3. Sarah's nose for the ball.

On the downside, I am surprised we are shooting only 32% from three, and that is with Paige at 46%.

I am hopeful that we continue to develop as a hard-nosed defensive team and that we get into the 38-40% range from the three point line.

 

[Stagnant]

For me.

-Sarah is better than expected. Especially her ability to steal the basketball. And I think on offense she is a matchup nightmare for most teams.
-Paige is producing what I expected.
-Ice has been better than I expected this year.
-Chen, I expected more scoring.
-KK and Shade. I am expecting a sophomore bounce. And I don’t think we have seen it yet. I am hoping they can provide more on offense and especially more against good teams.
-Jana. She was good against Ole Miss. so, that is a positive sign. But I thought she would be great from day one and less of a “project”. I had her as a starter before the season. That’s what I was expecting. Maybe I overreacted to geno’s hype or I just set my own individual expectations too high?
-Q. About what I expected so far.
-Allie. About what I expected.
-Morgan. I think she looks good in her cameos. And I can see the versatility. I hope she gets a chance.

 

[YankeeJim]

agree with all EricLA says. based on what i have seen of Uconn and some of the better teams out there so far, i think if the tournament started tomorrow i could see us going out in elite 8. But if Paige continues to be Paige, with continued progression of Azzi, Jana, return of aubrey, continued development of rookies and sophomores, we'll be a final four team come March and maybe NC. In terms of where we're vulnerable, I'm impressed with with what some of competing "bigs" do for their teams, like Betts and Prince. But less concerned about our ability to go up against them and more concerned with our ability to contain quick guards like Hidalgo. It'll be a fun season. Next 3 weeks or so will tell us a lot about this team.

 

[Cuango]

Obviously, Paige is the shining star of this team! As for the rest, all of the rest, I don’t think much of a judgement can be made yet. Sarah is playing like a future superstar and will get better as the season goes on, Jana too looks as though she could be a game changer! Azzi simply needs more reps. She looks likely to soon be the sidekick for Paige we have all dreamed of. Everyone else, I believe will get better and better as the season progresses.

I think playing in short bursts is a skill and some of our kids are used to longer stretches and will need some time to get acclimated to revving up to top speed a little faster! Others are still adjusting to the reality of this many good players. I think Ice has really worked hard on her fitness and has become a solid player for us! It will be interesting to see where this team goes when Aubrey gets back! She has the ability all by herself to lift this team to another level! Finally, what will Yanna bring to the table?

The truth is, this team is still a complete mystery to me. I know they are already a good team even with all the questions and unknowns. It is also very clear they have the potential to be a dominant one, a team that could be talked about in the future as one of the great teams! I think we just have to give them some time. I know some are looking at the upcoming stretch of tough games as a defining moment for this team. That is possible but not imo conclusive.

Geno’s teams always get better and better and are at their peak as we approach the NCAAs. I hope we kick some serious tail in this upcoming stretch but if we stumble, I urge everyone to remember that we will be far better in March than we are now, or after a win or loss in this upcoming stretch of games!

 

[The deacon]

I'm curious what fellow BY'ers think about the team thus far with regards to pre-season expectations, and the small sample size of reality that we've seen thru the first 6 games (7 if you count the exhibition game)... For me so far...

Paige - as good as I expected her to be, she's at least matched, if not exceeded, what I could have hoped for. She COULD score 40 points a game if she wanted to,

An excellent summation, EricLA, with the exception of your sliding into hyperbole with the statement that Paige could score 40 points per game if she wanted to.

40? For so many reasons, no way...

30? Maybe, but that said, we'll happily take 20-25 per game from Paige as long as she gets support from teammates and the Huskies keep winning.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Six games in, one good predicate in evaluating “expectations” vs “reality” is the case of the missing one: running game.

The last time Geno had 5 highly-rated in-comers (JMASK: Jana, Morgan, Allie, Sarah and Kaitlyn), was the TASSK (Tamika, Ashja, Sue, Swin and Kiersten) freshman year;

• Then, as now, UConn must do well in its brutal out-of-conference schedule for tournament seeding;
• Then, the running game dominated UConn’s style of play in its early games;
• Now, UConn’s pace is deliberately half-court (the number of possessions was 67 in the Ole Miss game);
• The strategic addition of Kaitlyn from the portal allowed Geno to be farther in the development of other areas (half-court, efficiency, defense, etc) than a very young team that heavily relied on the running game.

Six games in, games are beginning to confirm:

• Paige-Azzi-Sarah will be this remarkable trio that will power UConn beautiful basketball dominance again;
• The sophomore leap is real, a little understated in the whole team development mosaic;
• Ice’s play, with Jana’s more restrained smart aggression is helping solidify the (5) spot;
• Kaitlyn and KK are also manning the (1) spot adequately, per Geno, as either one is always in the game;
• UConn — which for 5 games played all available players — had dominant leads against ranked opponents by half-time; sure, Ole Miss had that anti-Murphy’s law 3rd quarter (where it scored 1.65 points-per-possession);
• UConn’s educational Ole Miss game test is certainly more palatable than Notre Dame’s early over-reliance awakening on its running game on a currently short inexperienced roster.

Geno has sounded upbeat on his interviews. He sees a lot more than what we see from his fully practicing (5)+6 roster, now augmented by Azzi.

• Every player has had games flashing their potential;
• Every player, including the younger ones, played the way Geno wanted them to;
• Geno has the team peaking in March, but imo it wouldn’t be too long before we could get a good real peek.

 

[Bone Dog]

It surprises me how much all of us, me included, see all the weaknesses and stuff that can go wrong on the Huskies, and mainly see all the strengths on the competition. It’s natural, I guess, and it helps to remind myself that the pundits have ranked UConn #2. Given all of our anxieties, I’m not sure we’d rank them that high.

 

[oldhusky]

Some of the best analysis by EricLA, Bone Dog and others that I have seen on this board IMO. My expectations were pretty close to reality as well, but there are several things I am still "hoping" for.

I fully expected Sarah to be a very good player and start from day one, giving Uconn at least two star level players. If truly healthy I expected Azzi to make that three stars, and at least so far she looks fine physically. I further thought that Jana would be starting and look like a future star if not now, in the future.

Her numbers per minute have not disappointed overall and suggest we may have something special, but I am still disappointed she has not taken the starting position yet. I considered Ash, Kaitlin and KK all pretty even heading into this season, pretty good players but not likely to be elite at least by Uconn's very high standards. My hope with them was that one of them would make a major leap from the prior year and clearly move ahead of the others. That IMO has not happened, they are still pretty close and mildly better, but no major improvements there.

Ice has been close to what I expected with improved shooting, but I didn't expect her to be ahead of Jana, and think she won't be soon. The limited minutes players Morgan, Allie and Q have not done much yet, but I should see them a lot more before forming much of an opinion on them.

 

[hoophuskee]

There are a bunch of very good teams but no "super" teams this season........UConn will go as far as the play of Paige, Azzi, Sara and Ana can take them..........that could be to the Final Four or the National Championship.......sounds familiar, doesn't it?

UCONN will be a super team once Sarah begins to consistently hit from the perimeter and Jana can hit her free throws. The rest will fall into place. OFC it might not happen but this shouldn't be dismissed either. If Sarah hits her outside shots then UCONN has three All_American caliber players of which one is POY and with Azzi maybe 2nd or 3rd best college player. . By the very nature of "POY" as with Azzi, even if she is "only top 10" (of which Paige makes her better and to a degree Azzi will make her better.), they will make Sarah better. Then by extension they make each other better. You have three players this good in which they can score well, pass well, and handle the ball well in which they don't get in each other's way, then it means your on the cusp of a jugernaut. They may lose before the new year but the team is built for March.

 

[Spaceman213J]

I think Griffin could be key to the post season. If she is back to her normal self or close to it, she could be key. She might be able to buy a few minutes at the 4. If she is not quite there, they'll still make a deep run and should be in the conversation. With Paige, Shade, Strong, and Kaitlin, they should be able to spread defenses out which could make Paige even more dangerous.
Also, I want to see how Jana progresses. She's getting better, but anyone who saw her before she got hurt knows she can do more and has skills that can be a problem for the other team. Needs to stay on the floor though.

 

[Charliebball]

UCONN will be a super team once Sarah begins to consistently hit from the perimeter and Jana can hit her free throws. The rest will fall into place. OFC it might not happen but this shouldn't be dismissed either. If Sarah hits her outside shots then UCONN has three All_American caliber players of which one is POY and with Azzi maybe 2nd or 3rd best college player. . By the very nature of "POY" as with Azzi, even if she is "only top 10" (of which Paige makes her better and to a degree Azzi will make her better.), they will make Sarah better. Then by extension they make each other better. You have three players this good in which they can score well, pass well, and handle the ball well in which they don't get in each other's way, then it means your on the cusp of a jugernaut. They may lose before the new year but the team is built for March.

The trick will be to develop consistent three-point shooting while also improving the team's interior rebounding and defensive play with the return of Griffen and Patterson.........if UConn can solidify both those areas they will be tough to beat.......

 

[ERWUC65]

Some of the best analysis by EricLA, Bone Dog and others that I have seen on this board IMO. My expectations were pretty close to reality as well, but there are several things I am still "hoping" for.

I fully expected Sarah to be a very good player and start from day one, giving Uconn at least two star level players. If truly healthy I expected Azzi to make that three stars, and at least so far she looks fine physically. I further thought that Jana would be starting and look like a future star if not now, in the future.

Her numbers per minute have not disappointed overall and suggest we may have something special, but I am still disappointed she has not taken the starting position yet. I considered Ash, Kaitlin and KK all pretty even heading into this season, pretty good players but not likely to be elite at least by Uconn's very high standards. My hope with them was that one of them would make a major leap from the prior year and clearly move ahead of the others. That IMO has not happened, they are still pretty close and mildly better, but no major improvements there.

Ice has been close to what I expected with improved shooting, but I didn't expect her to be ahead of Jana, and think she won't be soon. The limited minutes players Morgan, Allie and Q have not done much yet, but I should see them a lot more before forming much of an opinion on them.

It seems as though most of us wanabee coaches have reached a consensus on the status of the team to date. Taking what 'oldhusky' says above leaves us hoping for that 4th starter to complement Paige, Azzi, Sarah and Jana/Ice. Wishing for an emergence from KK, Ash, Kaitlin and Q might be a stretch, but might we dare to hypothesize something forthcoming from Morgan or Allie before the tournament?

 

[hoophuskee]

The trick will be to develop consistent three-point shooting while also improving the team's interior rebounding and defensive play with the return of Griffen and Patterson.........if UConn can solidify both those areas they will be tough to beat.......

In regard to 3pt shooting Azzi and Sarah have dragged down the %.. No doubt Azzi will wind up as good-to-great. So, it comes down to Sarah, as these 3 will be taking the most shots. And if they hit like we think they are capable, then they can be a juggernaut without Ayanna. Their offense wouuld be too elite.

 

[uconnfan68]

Sadly, it's the present and future of major collegiate sports and UConn women's basketball will possibly fall back into the good but not great level of basketball programs once Geno retires.........perhaps more of the recruits who were willing to sacrifice to come to UConn due to Geno's legendary coaching and winning ways, will look for the astounding financial opportunities at the over funded major collegiate programs..........

Football will be the downfall of college sports. When is the question. Just glad to have seen the last 60 years, especially since 1995.

 

[packwrap]

I think this is almost the year of the super team, but 7 of them (and a battle for the #8 spot). Parity is now getting deeper, even though I'm not a huge fan of transfer and NIL.

Morgan and Allie are terrific freshmen, really equal to KK and Ash last year. This year with depth, they will just have to be patient. If we need them they are both competent.

I am eager for ND, USC, Tenn, Louisville to get a better read on the team.

It appears so far that our post play will at least be able to compete with top teams, and no shock - our guard play will be really, really, really good.

Sarah exceeds my expectations and gives Geno so much flexibility.

Azzi looks great. Let's go!

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I am disappointed over the last 4 or 5 years. The hype and expectations of Paige and Azzi as the doorway to a National Championship and also for the summoned arrival of some individual players never materialized into the end result. Injury after injury, year after year, players who never really became all that was hyped on this board, that was and is the reality. If it was not for some really good transfers, hard playing,, great coaching, and just plane guts, this UConn basketball squad (s) would not have achieved or overachieved the actual results. Argue about the starters, discuss the potential of the players, it comes down to the coaching of Geno and CD.

4 championships in a row. That's more than a lifetime for most all the highly ranked teams. The odds, injuries, and some great recruiting and coaching elsewhere have made us go quiet. However, our quiet would be ecstacy for all but a handful (if you cut off 2).

 

[Charliebball]

In regard to 3pt shooting Azzi and Sarah have dragged down the %.. No doubt Azzi will wind up as good-to-great. So, it comes down to Sarah, as these 3 will be taking the most shots. And if they hit like we think they are capable, then they can be a juggernaut without Ayanna. Their offense wouuld be too elite.

It's going to take more than solid three-point shooting to win the NC this season.........can Jana and Ice compete up front against the big front lines of teams like UCLA and South Carolina and even ND with Koval? If they can control the boards and play solid interior defense, then UConn should be in a great position to win it all.....

 

[Bone Dog]

It's going to take more than solid three-point shooting to win the NC this season.........can Jana and Ice compete up front against the big front lines of teams like UCLA and South Carolina and even ND with Koval? If they can control the boards and play solid interior defense, then UConn should be in a great position to win it all.....

Iowa with only Stuelke, Goodman and O'Grady played a competitive game last season in the finals against a big front line. I'm pretty sure Jana Sarah and Ice can do the same, especially with the assistance of Aubrey and Ayanna if they come back healthy. We won't win the game in the front court, but they may be able to keep us close enough for Paige & Co to win it.

 

[PhillyCoach]

Most posters now realize that UConn has 3 big dogs leading the way--Paige, Sara and Azzi. ND has 3 big dogs too. UCLA and SC have 3 good ones also. After that the next 5 - 15 teams usually have 2 good players. Remember, Clark took her team to the finals. She had some decent help from the big girl (super smart and consistent), but almost did it single handedly. One or two big dogs can take a team far. ** I am counting Azzi because she showed me against Ole Miss that she can defend, assist, and score without the 3 ball. Her demeanor was relaxed and confident. She seems more mature.
I believe the big question is what NCAA team has the 4th dog, or even the 5th and 6th. MY response is UConn's 4th spot is a perfect 2 for 1 concept. Jana and Ice (divide the 40 minutes however) can combine for a double -double every game. Jana has numbers close to that only playing less than 20 minutes a game.
The 5th spot would have to be Chen, KK & Ash competing for court time. Who is hot? Who is not? Most posters know that those three can compete at a high level. Geno & CD know the scene where subs have to come in. Patterson, Caroline, and Aubrey are not on any radar yet. I only see Aubrey (maybe in Feb.) trying to contribute if she overcomes the injury and rust. In general, I don't count those 3 as "definite help." IN addition, Q , Morgan, & Alli will develop and get time in the conference games. IMHO-- No time in the big games.
Geno, CD, the team, and many posters see this team as contenders for the title--I do too. However, who knows what team shows up that fateful day. Will each member perform at the necessary level to win?
Will the 3 ball fall? Can adjustments be made on the fly? Is the other team shooting 80%?
Geno & CD know what it takes to prepare for that day. Amazingly, UConn has been to 15 out of 16 final fours recently. They know how to get there. I believe this year they have what it takes to win.

 

[hoophuskee]

It's going to take more than solid three-point shooting to win the NC this season.........can Jana and Ice compete up front against the big front lines of teams like UCLA and South Carolina and even ND with Koval? If they can control the boards and play solid interior defense, then UConn should be in a great position to win it all.....

Three could definitely be enough considering a sporadic 4th is pretty assured with this team as well. Last year UCONN came seconds away from Finals. There was Paige, and an infrequent shooting Nika at 40%+. Ash was 35.7%. This year she is 36.4%. The Big 3 are volume shooters unlike Nika. If The Big 3 are hitting their 3's the entire offense opens up not only for them to pass to each other for 2's but similar for all the other players.

The chance that not one of Ash or Chen won't be more efficient than the prior year seeing how they should be more open is doubtful. And someone like Jana vs the quality teams should have more room to operate.

If UCONN's Big 3's are hitting their 3's then the oppostion will have more to worry about stopping for the onslaught than UCONN will have. That's why UCONN has the POY, why they have Fudd and why they have Strong. The UCONN offense is greater than theirs at least that's what UCONN is going to try to prove. They have the greatest offensive college coach in wcbb History and it certainly looks like thee 3 are possibly elite at certain levels. If UCONN's offense from these 3 are clicking, the Bigs on the other teams won't be good enough. These are 3 #1 h/s recruits that may very well be all at All_Amerivcan Level. Even if Sarah isn't she is close when she shows she can hit the 3 because not only her skills but her two other superstar teammates make her better.

OFC 19 year olds can have a horrific game but you don't need to be super at all positions to be a Juggernaut. And even if you are, the one-game-and-done ensures that not all the time the best team for the season will win.

 

[msf22b]

I'm Tony-esque in my view of this team
The pieces are all there
-The leading scoring guard in the land
- A monster 3-point shooter who has added quickness,
D and effectiveness in the lane...rust will soon come off
- A freshman strong forward who is effective+ in most
aspects
- Two centers of significant ability...remember it takes
time for the bigs to fit in and be capable
- A vet point guard, who has not had a huge game
yet, but she will
+ lots of others I haven't mentioned

It's like a great Beef Bourguignon or a Tuscan Bolognese...It takes time for the flavors (and a team) to come together...

I recall the first year of the mighty 3...Stewie went home depressed and contemplated giving up...Geno had reservations about Jefferson and used her sparingly; Tuck was Tuck from the beginning and almost saved one of the terrible defeats by ND all by herself. But when it was tourney time, they were all ready...This team has all the potential pieces.

It takes a bit of time...game experience and coaching.

This can (should be) one of the outstanding UConn teams.

Patience.

​

 

[sun]

It seems to me that Ice & Chen need to make better decisions when it comes to shooting 3's & making errant passes to the middle of the lane.
Those mistakes costs the team in scoring efficiency.
If Geno wants the team to score more 3's then someone will need to lose some PT to give the ptoentially better 3 point shooters like Q, Morgan & Allie more opportunities to make some shots.
Turnovers & one & done shots are costly.
There's some redundancy having both Chen< Paige & Azzi playing at the same time.
At some point it becomes lead or get out of the way.
Sometimes I think that Ice & Chen may need to get out of the way.

Sarah is a little too inconsistent & possibily Geno is relying on her too much to work both inside & outside.
She could it do all but not with enough consistency yet.
She's a little bit of a lumberjack when performing as a guard.
She's effective against lower tier teams but can she keep it up against elite talent?
She needs to come out for a spell so that guards can come in make some shots too.
I expect a little bit more of a rotation against quality teams because Ice & Sarah don't seem to have quite enough athleticism.
It's not easy to be critical because it's speculatory.
But it plain to see that in the last game the team was struggling to maintain their lead & compsure due to not making the best decisions.
That's only going to exploited by better teams.
It's time to bring in some of the bench guns to see who can produce when they're needed.

Paige can make passes to the inside that no else one can make. Her & Azzi showed some good chemistry by luring the defense in with their ball handling.

It's the decision making regarding making passes & taking & making shots that I'm most concerned about.
Paige is the leader and Azzi also needs to be a ball handler instead of always relying on Ice & Chen.
That should also open some PT for Q, Morgan & Allie to make some shots, & give Sarah a few more minutes of rest too.

 

[Blond D.]

Jana reminds me of Dorka when she first arrived from Ohio State. Dorka wasn't real sure where exactly she was supposed to be or how to do the job. But when the light bulb came on she came out with guns a-blazing.
I think soon the light bulb will come on for Jana then the other teams best beware.