Expectations vs. Reality for the team...

[MooseJaw]

It doesn't........I was responding to this post.......I think UConn has as good a chance as any top program to win the NC if they can shoot consistently and play great defense inside and out..........let's see how they fare against Louisville and ND.......that will tell us more about how good this year's team really is....

"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?"

OK, I like it but with it's own thread it may have been a hit.

 

[Lambeau]

Jana averages 15 mpg and is therefor underestimated--per minute she doubles anyone else in rebounds and is second in in scoring.
A little more than raw potential.

 

[rugbymate]

I had hoped we would see a team that focused on its running game. Instead, we have a half court , swing the ball mentally that will works best when the 3 pointers drop. Perhaps that will improve. However, with the depth we have this year(compared to short benches of previous years) and the anticipated return of uber athletic AG and Yanna, perhaps we can turn it up a notch. Candidly, it’s more fun to watch.

 

[Bigboote]

I had hoped we would see a team that focused on its running game. Instead, we have a half court , swing the ball mentally that will works best when the 3 pointers drop. Perhaps that will improve. However, with the depth we have this year(compared to short benches of previous years) and the anticipated return of uber athletic AG and Yanna, perhaps we can turn it up a notch. Candidly, it’s more fun to watch.

I think that will change. Half-court offense hasn't been a strong point the last couple of years, and I think Geno is deliberately concentrating on that early in the season.

In Geno's pregame interview posted yesterday, he said about KK that he'd like her to be even more aggressive on defense to "create more opportunities", which I took to mean he wants more opportunities to run.

 

[Bone Dog]

In Geno's pregame interview posted yesterday, he said about KK that he'd like her to be even more aggressive on defense to "create more opportunities", which I took to mean he wants more opportunities to run.

I wonder if this is what he means by the second unit, the one that will push the transition game.

 

[David54]

Have only seen the top teams once or twice each but my thought are there are at least 5 teams with a real chance to win it all. UConn is definitely one of them and maybe the best. I was very impressed with ucla no positional weaknesses real good point guard that number 2 guard from Finland I think is an impressive player and there ftont court may be the best. South Carolina has a team full of proven winners all skilled and a great coach. USC has too much talent to count out and they’ve got plenty of time to put it together. ND Also has a wealth of talent and could win it all. But if our 3 number one ranked players continue to play like number one ranked players I think we’ve got the best chance.

 

[ashfan]

And you are speaking with how many years of coaching? And how many championships?

Zero and zero. . . . Just the opinion of a fan, like the millions of other fans and commentators who observe and opine.

 

[temery]

And you are speaking with how many years of coaching? And how many championships?

At this point Geno has few, if any peers. Second guessing any move he makes is little more than fodder for anxious fans.

 

[DefenseBB]

Short term, understandable that Azzi takes playing time from Ashlynn; long term, a huge mistake. Likewise, putting Chen over KK is another strategic mistake. The two sophomores are the near- and long-term future of the team. They should be allowed to spread their wings now.

Not sure I agree with the totality of this comment. Azzi, from what I hear is coming back next year so under any circumstance she would trump Ash and when you add in playing potential for next year, Ash's role is off the bench. Chen over KK is another story. Chen did have her best game of the year against Holy Cross, which frankly, should be expected as HC is the type of opponent KC has been facing for 3 years. My worry is KC against the better and elite players of quality P4 schools like ND, SoCal, SCar, Louisville and even Tennessee.

My concern of support for Sarah and Paige was so great that I pulled all the box scores from last year to see how Ash, KK, Ice, Q and Kaitlyn did against NCAAT teams. That gave me 13 games for the returning UConn players but only 5 games for Kaitlyn. Let me tell you, this group of 5 under performs in the big games.

• Ash, for all her accolades against the BE schools had the biggest drop off against elite teams. Using Games score points (all the positives a player does on the court-points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and subtracting the negative of missed shots and turnovers), Ash averaged 11.3 for all 38 games last year. In the 26 non NCAAT team games, she averaged 13.0 but in the 12 quality games (Ash did not play in the NC State game), she only averaged 7.7 which is a big drop off.
• KK was better, she had 11.7 for 39 games, 12.5 in 26 non-quality games and 10.1 in 13 Quality games. Most important was her assist to turnover ratios of 1.62; 1.64 and 1.58 assist to turnovers in quality games so not much of a drop off
• Ice was 6.3 for 39 games, 7.9 in 26 non-quality games and 2.5 13 in quality games.
• Q was 5.3 for 36 games, 6.5 in 26 non-quality games and 2.2 in 10 quality games.

Kaitlyn sample of 5 games includes UCLA, MTSU, Oklahoma, Indiana and West Virginia. She played a total of 30 games with a very nice game score of 16.3 (Paige was 25.7 last year) but in these 5 games she was 12.2 games score, the 25 other games she was 17.1 game score. Most disconcerting is her assist to turnover ratios. In her 30 game season, she was 1.73 (147 assists to 85 TOs) in the 5 key games she was .737 (14 assists to 19 turnovers) and in the 25 non-key games 2.02 (133-66). Simply put, she can't have more turnovers than assists in our big games.

To recap my concern-how will she handle the likes of strong defending and athletic guards these teams trot out. (Hannah Hidalgo of ND scares me to no ends).

We won't know until we see it and I will be optimistic, just be aware.

Lastly, so I can clarify the narrative:
@oldude made a statement that Chen "torched Columbia" which is not quite true. She played 3 years against the Lions going 6-2 in the 3 years (no games her freshman year due to Covid). Her best year was her Sophomore year where she went 3-0 with an outstanding games score of 19.3 (by far the highest 3 games of her career) with 21 PPG, 10 Assists to 3 Turnovers.
However, her Junior and Senior years were below her season game score averages- Junior year 1 win 1 loss 11.0 game score vs season game score of 14.9 (she did have 18 PPG, 7 assists, 9 turnovers) and Senior year 2 wins 1 loss, 13.0 game score while her season game score was 16.3 (her 3 games against Columbia were 18 Assists, 10 turnovers).
Again, she played ok against Columbia but Columbia is a mid-Major school (a good mid-major but still a mid-major) and not ND, SoCal, SCar or Louisville. How she fared against these schools is akin to Ash and company against the BE teams.

Let me emphatically state: I don't dislike Chen, I just am not enamored the way the rest of this forum thinks she's "outstanding" when the numbers state otherwise. I only hope Geno's faith in her is rewarded. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.

 

[BobbyJ]

Not sure I agree with the totality of this comment. Azzi, from what I hear is coming back next year so under any circumstance she would trump Ash and when you add in playing potential for next year, Ash's role is off the bench. Chen over KK is another story. Chen did have her best game of the year against Holy Cross, which frankly, should be expected as HC is the type of opponent KC has been facing for 3 years. My worry is KC against the better and elite players of quality P4 schools like ND, SoCal, SCar, Louisville and even Tennessee.

My concern of support for Sarah and Paige was so great that I pulled all the box scores from last year to see how Ash, KK, Ice, Q and Kaitlyn did against NCAAT teams. That gave me 13 games for the returning UConn players but only 5 games for Kaitlyn. Let me tell you, this group of 5 under performs in the big games.

• Ash, for all her accolades against the BE schools had the biggest drop off against elite teams. Using Games score points (all the positives a player does on the court-points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks and subtracting the negative of missed shots and turnovers), Ash averaged 11.3 for all 38 games last year. In the 26 non NCAAT team games, she averaged 13.0 but in the 12 quality games (Ash did not play in the NC State game), she only averaged 7.7 which is a big drop off.
• KK was better, she had 11.7 for 39 games, 12.5 in 26 non-quality games and 10.1 in 13 Quality games. Most important was her assist to turnover ratios of 1.62; 1.64 and 1.58 assist to turnovers in quality games so not much of a drop off
• Ice was 6.3 for 39 games, 7.9 in 26 non-quality games and 2.5 13 in quality games.
• Q was 5.3 for 36 games, 6.5 in 26 non-quality games and 2.2 in 10 quality games.

Kaitlyn sample of 5 games includes UCLA, MTSU, Oklahoma, Indiana and West Virginia. She played a total of 30 games with a very nice game score of 16.3 (Paige was 25.7 last year) but in these 5 games she was 12.2 games score, the 25 other games she was 17.1 game score. Most disconcerting is her assist to turnover ratios. In her 30 game season, she was 1.73 (147 assists to 85 TOs) in the 5 key games she was .737 (14 assists to 19 turnovers) and in the 25 non-key games 2.02 (133-66). Simply put, she can't have more turnovers than assists in our big games.

To recap my concern-how will she handle the likes of strong defending and athletic guards these teams trot out. (Hannah Hidalgo of ND scares me to no ends).

We won't know until we see it and I will be optimistic, just be aware.

Lastly, so I can clarify the narrative:
@oldude made a statement that Chen "torched Columbia" which is not quite true. She played 3 years against the Lions going 6-2 in the 3 years (no games her freshman year due to Covid). Her best year was her Sophomore year where she went 3-0 with an outstanding games score of 19.3 (by far the highest 3 games of her career) with 21 PPG, 10 Assists to 3 Turnovers.
However, her Junior and Senior years were below her season game score averages- Junior year 1 win 1 loss 11.0 game score vs season game score of 14.9 (she did have 18 PPG, 7 assists, 9 turnovers) and Senior year 2 wins 1 loss, 13.0 game score while her season game score was 16.3 (her 3 games against Columbia were 18 Assists, 10 turnovers).
Again, she played ok against Columbia but Columbia is a mid-Major school (a good mid-major but still a mid-major) and not ND, SoCal, SCar or Louisville. How she fared against these schools is akin to Ash and company against the BE teams.

Let me emphatically state: I don't dislike Chen, I just am not enamored the way the rest of this forum thinks she's "outstanding" when the numbers state otherwise. I only hope Geno's faith in her is rewarded. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings.

Chen didn't underperform against the current #1 team in the country last year when UCLA had basically the same team. I don't think she'll be intimidated by quality opposition. And stats when playing on a team with Bueckers, Fudd, and Strong aren't going to stand out. At Princeton she had to be most of their offense and the opponents knew it so she earned everything she got against them. She's doing about everything Auriemma expects from her right now.

College Wrap: Princeton women’s basketball nearly upsets No. 3 UCLA

 

[ashfan]

UConn may or may not win the championship this year.
But UConn will be a more interesting team in the post-Paige, post-Azzi era.

 

[tomcat]

This is going to be a chemistry-coming-together kind of team. If it ll clicks, thingss'll be fine. Otheriwse, we will be complaining all year about all thetalent that jkust isn't playing well. Toi put things in perspective, end of the first quarter, NC State 19, Ole Miss 6. Yes, the Ole Miss team that gave UConn fits for quite a while.
There are a lot of big dogs out there, folks, and UConn hasn't even begun to see them yet. They'll a taste with Louisville, but the real big leagues contain maybe 10 teams, including TCU, UCLA, USC, ND, SC, TX and LSU. This will be a tough year for any of them, with UConn and its many inexperienced players having a harder road than many.

 

[Zonepress]

This is going to be a chemistry-coming-together kind of team. If it ll clicks, thingss'll be fine. Otheriwse, we will be complaining all year about all thetalent that jkust isn't playing well. Toi put things in perspective, end of the first quarter, NC State 19, Ole Miss 6. Yes, the Ole Miss team that gave UConn fits for quite a while.
There are a lot of big dogs out there, folks, and UConn hasn't even begun to see them yet. They'll a taste with Louisville, but the real big leagues contain maybe 10 teams, including TCU, UCLA, USC, ND, SC, TX and LSU. This will be a tough year for any of them, with UConn and its many inexperienced players having a harder road than many.

Still, don’t understand these comments about your car being an inexperienced
Two 5th year starters
Azzi 4th year

 

[JoePgh]

Still, don’t understand these comments about your car being an inexperienced
Two 5th year starters
Azzi 4th year

Paige is an experienced player. Kaitlyn is experienced, but not in the UConn system, with these teammates, or against this level of competition. Azzi may be in her fourth year, but the total number of games that she has played equates to about a season and a half of actual experience. Ice was a bench player last year and has very limited minutes for a starting center. Sarah and Jana are obviously inexperienced.

Other than Paige, the most experienced players on the roster are the two sophomores on the bench: Ashlynn and KK. And although they were starters last year, they were not relied on to carry the team. UConn was Paige's, Aaliyah's, and Nika's team last year.

 

[Cuango]

I just don’t understand this rush on the part of some here, to give up on Kaitlyn already? I think anyone transferring from an Ivy League school to the top program in the history of the game deserves more than five or six games to fit in with her new team! First, it’s gotta be pretty intimidating to suddenly be expected to run, not only the #2 team in the country, but also deal with the fact that it’s UConn!

She’s got to figure out her role, deal with the pressure and intimidation, learn all the likes and needs of eight to ten players, all of whom are likely better than anyone she’s ever played with, learn what Geno, the GOAT of coaches, expects from her, and do all this under a bigger spotlight than she has ever even dreamed of! I’m pretty sure she will continue to improve as we move forward. How much? I’m not sure.

However, I have very little doubt that she will be a solid contributor on this team and furthermore, I refuse to believe that her minutes, whether as a starter or off the bench, will negatively affect Ash or KK’s development as future leaders/stars on this team! How about we give her some time and grace? I don’t think we’ll be disappointed in the end.