Final Grades

[Cuango]

As the team did, she played against cupcakes all year. She did not perform against the best teams on the schedule. If we played all the OOC games that we missed, it could have been embarrassing for her.

Maybe! Who knows? Perhaps those games might have been the catalyst for her to get over her “gunshyness”! This kind of armchair psychoanalysis is so ridiculous.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

So you both think there is a Summer on the squad?!

No, I thought Saylor, rather than Autumn, was being misnamed as Summer. See, we all made (and make) mistakes.

In my observation, more often than not the Boneyard question that starts with, "So, ..." can be answered, "No." Thanks for contributing.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

I wouldn't of given her that. She is vastly overrated.

How would you rate "wouldn't of?"

 

[RockyMTblue2]

No, I thought Saylor, rather than Autumn, was being misnamed as Summer. See, we all made (and make) mistakes.

In my observation, more often than not the Boneyard question that starts with, "So, ..." can be answered, "No." Thanks for contributing.

It was a joke. Sheesh!

 

[UcMiami]

Tough crowd.
Everyone seems to forget how much Liv cleaned up other players lapses on the defensive end of the floor. And how well she defended bigs, and what an excellent passer she was this year. Yeah, she laid an egg in the last game, but the whole team did as well. She is a huge part of the 'offensive flow' for the team when they play well. My grade B

Nika Christyn and Evina - B+ I am grading on the last two months as the whole team took a while to find any rhythm in this crazy year.

Paige - A Much more than expected

Aaliyah - B she learned a lot, and has a lot more to learn, but what a future I can see.

Aubrey - C+ she still has trouble integrating within the five on the floor - touches of brilliance and touches of being lost. Think the disjointed summer really hurt her as she needed more structure to really develop and didn't get it.

The others - Incomplete - Anna's injury, and Piath/Mir's typical freshman years didn't rate more than a P/F grading. Saylor's year was just a training camp, and Autumn I hope got what she came to Uconn for - a chance to expand her basketball mind and fulfill a dream.

 

[Charliebball]

As the team did, she played against cupcakes all year. She did not perform against the best teams on the schedule. If we played all the OOC games that we missed, it could have been embarrassing for her.

did you ever think that she needs to play more consistently against better competition to improve?

 

[darkstar1]

The term is over for our Huskies and it is time to give out report cards. In grading I try to be fair but firm. Playing at UConn brings certain expectations, such as the ability to learn and improve and to practice and play hard and smart. This is taken into consideration as well as overall performance as viewed through player statistics and value to the team when on the floor. Grading is on a curve in the sense that more is expected of more talented players.



Paige: A There was the temptation to give an A+ as she performed above the already high expectations she came with as a freshman. She plays smart and with energy. Her skill set is outstanding. She is a natural leader. She has attitude and some swagger. She is a great offensive and a good defensive player. She can and does make other players better by putting them in a position to succeed. I’m holding off on giving her an A+ only because she at times defers to teammates too often. She doesn’t have a shoot first mentality, and loves her passing and assists, which is a great thing, but there are times when she should recognize that she needs to assert her scoring ability at crucial times and she doesn’t always seem to recognize when those times occur. Next year will bring Azzi, along with Caroline and Saylor (who was really a high school player on the bench this year) to bring more outside scoring options to the team and Amari to be a threat in the paint; if this holds true then the way Paige plays now will be an A+.



Christyn: A Has there ever been a UConn player that has gone through such hard times and come out smelling like roses to the degree Christyn has? She was clearly the overall second best player on the team by the time the season ended. After long stretches where she struggled to find her shot and place on the team, where the talk about losing her starting role was loud and insistent, she let Paige take the pressure off her shoulders and transformed her game. She was a good on ball defender, could score from the outside, finish the pick and roll, and drive to the rim. She recognized when she needed to take over the scoring burden and didn’t fear taking shots when needed. I started the season dreading too many Christyn threes; by the end of the season I felt she knew she and Paige were the only consistent three point threats, which she could knock them down and reacted accordingly. She was by far the most improved player.



Evina: B+ There were a lot of questions about Evina going into the season. Would she be fully recovered from her injuries? Would she be a go to scorer? Would she fit into the flow of a UConn offense? It turns out she became the great role player every team needs. She could pass, rebound, play defense, and score some. I think she has the game to shoot and make more jump shots, particularly threes, and that is my only complaint. I strongly suspect she’ll be back next year and will do everything she did this year plus be more of a scoring threat.



Nika: B+ Nika’s role as a starter was far from preordained. Aubrey certainly had the edge to be a starter going into the season. Nika is just flat out a tough competitor and defender and she parleyed that into getting into the starting rotation. She needs to get more confident in shooting the ball and that will come. She’ll never be a volume shooter, and come next year that won’t be necessary, but enough made threes and drives to the basket to keep the defense honest. That will come. There will be a lot of competition for playing time for the next few years and Nika is more than capable of making the case that she needs to be on the court. I gave her the + because she has the toughness and desire that resulted in being a starter.



Olivia: C She had some very productive games against lesser competition and some games where she not only didn’t help but missed more than her fair share of easy baskets that hurt the team. She is tall and she has passing skills and is a rebounder when not facing more skilled bigs. Her shot isn’t pretty, whether up close, at the free throw line or from outside the paint. Olivia has improved over three years although not nearly as much as we hoped. She isn’t a back to the basket bruiser, which is ok, but her shooting isn’t good enough for her to thrive away from the basket other than passing and screening. She is a 6’5” tweener that isn’t really good at either the five or four spots.



Aubrey: B- We were excited about the promise Aubrey held as a freshman – long, athletic, a disrupting defender and full of energy. It was hoped she would settle down and harness her game to the point where she could operate within the flow of the game and develop much better shooting skills. Aubrey has done some of those things but still has an unreliable shot. When Anna went down, the fifth starting spot was hers for the having. She wasn’t ready for that and while she got respectable minutes wasn’t starting material. Aubrey still holds tantalizing promise and next year will be make or break, with the incoming freshman adding more competition for minutes. I would love to see her have a breakthrough – her upside is immense. If she can be consistent in making put backs, finishing layups, and shooting a respectable percentage from 15’ out, added to her existing defensive skills, she’ll be tough for opponents to handle.



Anna: B This is a tough grade to assign due to her missing so much time due to injury and not having time to get back into game shape when she returned. Anna was never going to be a star but she is rugged, can pass, has a good feel for the flow of the game and once she got going was a three point threat, something UConn has been short on. She is a bit slow, but not so much that she didn’t start. This year it was hoped she wouldn’t defer to other players so much when it came to shooting but that didn’t happen. Too often she had a three look, hesitated and the moment passed. Her grade for this year could be incomplete but I gave her a grade based on her pre-injury performance.

Mir and Paith: Incomplete Mir was a good prospect coming in last year, quick and a leaper. She wasn’t able to develop enough to get meaningful minutes so the jury is still out. Paith was a project coming in last year and remains so. If she can develop into a better than average center over the next couple of years it will be gravy for the program. Who know, maybe Mir and Paith really improve and be an asset to the team. I hope so.



Summer: not eligible for a grade. She is essentially monitoring this class. Even at that I’ll bet she can beat you at one-on-one.



The team: B+. This is also a hard one. Graded against past UConn teams I’d give it a B, even taking into consideration they have Paige and you don’t, they only lost two games, made the final four and beat two good teams in SC and Baylor. With all that they didn’t have the overwhelming firepower and depth some of the prior teams had. Comparing them to the other teams playing this year I rate them a B+ and will go with that.

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I’m confused as to what the standard for this grading is. Is it a comparison against former UConn players? Is it a comparison against all players con all teams this year? This makes a big difference since if the latter, the grades would be considerably higher than the former. You don’t make the final four with B players. Also, if a player is the NPOY, they get an A plus from me regardless of standard.

 

[MooseJaw]

The term is over for our Huskies and it is time to give out report cards. In grading I try to be fair but firm. Playing at UConn brings certain expectations, such as the ability to learn and improve and to practice and play hard and smart. This is taken into consideration as well as overall performance as viewed through player statistics and value to the team when on the floor. Grading is on a curve in the sense that more is expected of more talented players.



Paige: A There was the temptation to give an A+ as she performed above the already high expectations she came with as a freshman. She plays smart and with energy. Her skill set is outstanding. She is a natural leader. She has attitude and some swagger. She is a great offensive and a good defensive player. She can and does make other players better by putting them in a position to succeed. I’m holding off on giving her an A+ only because she at times defers to teammates too often. She doesn’t have a shoot first mentality, and loves her passing and assists, which is a great thing, but there are times when she should recognize that she needs to assert her scoring ability at crucial times and she doesn’t always seem to recognize when those times occur. Next year will bring Azzi, along with Caroline and Saylor (who was really a high school player on the bench this year) to bring more outside scoring options to the team and Amari to be a threat in the paint; if this holds true then the way Paige plays now will be an A+.



Christyn: A Has there ever been a UConn player that has gone through such hard times and come out smelling like roses to the degree Christyn has? She was clearly the overall second best player on the team by the time the season ended. After long stretches where she struggled to find her shot and place on the team, where the talk about losing her starting role was loud and insistent, she let Paige take the pressure off her shoulders and transformed her game. She was a good on ball defender, could score from the outside, finish the pick and roll, and drive to the rim. She recognized when she needed to take over the scoring burden and didn’t fear taking shots when needed. I started the season dreading too many Christyn threes; by the end of the season I felt she knew she and Paige were the only consistent three point threats, which she could knock them down and reacted accordingly. She was by far the most improved player.



Evina: B+ There were a lot of questions about Evina going into the season. Would she be fully recovered from her injuries? Would she be a go to scorer? Would she fit into the flow of a UConn offense? It turns out she became the great role player every team needs. She could pass, rebound, play defense, and score some. I think she has the game to shoot and make more jump shots, particularly threes, and that is my only complaint. I strongly suspect she’ll be back next year and will do everything she did this year plus be more of a scoring threat.



Nika: B+ Nika’s role as a starter was far from preordained. Aubrey certainly had the edge to be a starter going into the season. Nika is just flat out a tough competitor and defender and she parleyed that into getting into the starting rotation. She needs to get more confident in shooting the ball and that will come. She’ll never be a volume shooter, and come next year that won’t be necessary, but enough made threes and drives to the basket to keep the defense honest. That will come. There will be a lot of competition for playing time for the next few years and Nika is more than capable of making the case that she needs to be on the court. I gave her the + because she has the toughness and desire that resulted in being a starter.



Olivia: C She had some very productive games against lesser competition and some games where she not only didn’t help but missed more than her fair share of easy baskets that hurt the team. She is tall and she has passing skills and is a rebounder when not facing more skilled bigs. Her shot isn’t pretty, whether up close, at the free throw line or from outside the paint. Olivia has improved over three years although not nearly as much as we hoped. She isn’t a back to the basket bruiser, which is ok, but her shooting isn’t good enough for her to thrive away from the basket other than passing and screening. She is a 6’5” tweener that isn’t really good at either the five or four spots.



Aubrey: B- We were excited about the promise Aubrey held as a freshman – long, athletic, a disrupting defender and full of energy. It was hoped she would settle down and harness her game to the point where she could operate within the flow of the game and develop much better shooting skills. Aubrey has done some of those things but still has an unreliable shot. When Anna went down, the fifth starting spot was hers for the having. She wasn’t ready for that and while she got respectable minutes wasn’t starting material. Aubrey still holds tantalizing promise and next year will be make or break, with the incoming freshman adding more competition for minutes. I would love to see her have a breakthrough – her upside is immense. If she can be consistent in making put backs, finishing layups, and shooting a respectable percentage from 15’ out, added to her existing defensive skills, she’ll be tough for opponents to handle.



Anna: B This is a tough grade to assign due to her missing so much time due to injury and not having time to get back into game shape when she returned. Anna was never going to be a star but she is rugged, can pass, has a good feel for the flow of the game and once she got going was a three point threat, something UConn has been short on. She is a bit slow, but not so much that she didn’t start. This year it was hoped she wouldn’t defer to other players so much when it came to shooting but that didn’t happen. Too often she had a three look, hesitated and the moment passed. Her grade for this year could be incomplete but I gave her a grade based on her pre-injury performance.

Mir and Paith: Incomplete Mir was a good prospect coming in last year, quick and a leaper. She wasn’t able to develop enough to get meaningful minutes so the jury is still out. Paith was a project coming in last year and remains so. If she can develop into a better than average center over the next couple of years it will be gravy for the program. Who know, maybe Mir and Paith really improve and be an asset to the team. I hope so.



Summer: not eligible for a grade. She is essentially monitoring this class. Even at that I’ll bet she can beat you at one-on-one.



The team: B+. This is also a hard one. Graded against past UConn teams I’d give it a B, even taking into consideration they have Paige and you don’t, they only lost two games, made the final four and beat two good teams in SC and Baylor. With all that they didn’t have the overwhelming firepower and depth some of the prior teams had. Comparing them to the other teams playing this year I rate them a B+ and will go with that.

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I give your assessments and grades a B. While I agree with a lot of your points, there is almost one point on each player were I am unable to agree. That said I am glad you started this thread, of course I give myself a solid incomplete as well as the team, for unfinished business. I will be happy to remove the incomplete after next years NC.

 

[PJCLaw]

The term is over for our Huskies and it is time to give out report cards. In grading I try to be fair but firm. Playing at UConn brings certain expectations, such as the ability to learn and improve and to practice and play hard and smart. This is taken into consideration as well as overall performance as viewed through player statistics and value to the team when on the floor. Grading is on a curve in the sense that more is expected of more talented players.



Paige: A There was the temptation to give an A+ as she performed above the already high expectations she came with as a freshman. She plays smart and with energy. Her skill set is outstanding. She is a natural leader. She has attitude and some swagger. She is a great offensive and a good defensive player. She can and does make other players better by putting them in a position to succeed. I’m holding off on giving her an A+ only because she at times defers to teammates too often. She doesn’t have a shoot first mentality, and loves her passing and assists, which is a great thing, but there are times when she should recognize that she needs to assert her scoring ability at crucial times and she doesn’t always seem to recognize when those times occur. Next year will bring Azzi, along with Caroline and Saylor (who was really a high school player on the bench this year) to bring more outside scoring options to the team and Amari to be a threat in the paint; if this holds true then the way Paige plays now will be an A+.



Christyn: A Has there ever been a UConn player that has gone through such hard times and come out smelling like roses to the degree Christyn has? She was clearly the overall second best player on the team by the time the season ended. After long stretches where she struggled to find her shot and place on the team, where the talk about losing her starting role was loud and insistent, she let Paige take the pressure off her shoulders and transformed her game. She was a good on ball defender, could score from the outside, finish the pick and roll, and drive to the rim. She recognized when she needed to take over the scoring burden and didn’t fear taking shots when needed. I started the season dreading too many Christyn threes; by the end of the season I felt she knew she and Paige were the only consistent three point threats, which she could knock them down and reacted accordingly. She was by far the most improved player.



Evina: B+ There were a lot of questions about Evina going into the season. Would she be fully recovered from her injuries? Would she be a go to scorer? Would she fit into the flow of a UConn offense? It turns out she became the great role player every team needs. She could pass, rebound, play defense, and score some. I think she has the game to shoot and make more jump shots, particularly threes, and that is my only complaint. I strongly suspect she’ll be back next year and will do everything she did this year plus be more of a scoring threat.



Nika: B+ Nika’s role as a starter was far from preordained. Aubrey certainly had the edge to be a starter going into the season. Nika is just flat out a tough competitor and defender and she parleyed that into getting into the starting rotation. She needs to get more confident in shooting the ball and that will come. She’ll never be a volume shooter, and come next year that won’t be necessary, but enough made threes and drives to the basket to keep the defense honest. That will come. There will be a lot of competition for playing time for the next few years and Nika is more than capable of making the case that she needs to be on the court. I gave her the + because she has the toughness and desire that resulted in being a starter.



Olivia: C She had some very productive games against lesser competition and some games where she not only didn’t help but missed more than her fair share of easy baskets that hurt the team. She is tall and she has passing skills and is a rebounder when not facing more skilled bigs. Her shot isn’t pretty, whether up close, at the free throw line or from outside the paint. Olivia has improved over three years although not nearly as much as we hoped. She isn’t a back to the basket bruiser, which is ok, but her shooting isn’t good enough for her to thrive away from the basket other than passing and screening. She is a 6’5” tweener that isn’t really good at either the five or four spots.



Aubrey: B- We were excited about the promise Aubrey held as a freshman – long, athletic, a disrupting defender and full of energy. It was hoped she would settle down and harness her game to the point where she could operate within the flow of the game and develop much better shooting skills. Aubrey has done some of those things but still has an unreliable shot. When Anna went down, the fifth starting spot was hers for the having. She wasn’t ready for that and while she got respectable minutes wasn’t starting material. Aubrey still holds tantalizing promise and next year will be make or break, with the incoming freshman adding more competition for minutes. I would love to see her have a breakthrough – her upside is immense. If she can be consistent in making put backs, finishing layups, and shooting a respectable percentage from 15’ out, added to her existing defensive skills, she’ll be tough for opponents to handle.



Anna: B This is a tough grade to assign due to her missing so much time due to injury and not having time to get back into game shape when she returned. Anna was never going to be a star but she is rugged, can pass, has a good feel for the flow of the game and once she got going was a three point threat, something UConn has been short on. She is a bit slow, but not so much that she didn’t start. This year it was hoped she wouldn’t defer to other players so much when it came to shooting but that didn’t happen. Too often she had a three look, hesitated and the moment passed. Her grade for this year could be incomplete but I gave her a grade based on her pre-injury performance.

Mir and Paith: Incomplete Mir was a good prospect coming in last year, quick and a leaper. She wasn’t able to develop enough to get meaningful minutes so the jury is still out. Paith was a project coming in last year and remains so. If she can develop into a better than average center over the next couple of years it will be gravy for the program. Who know, maybe Mir and Paith really improve and be an asset to the team. I hope so.



Summer: not eligible for a grade. She is essentially monitoring this class. Even at that I’ll bet she can beat you at one-on-one.



The team: B+. This is also a hard one. Graded against past UConn teams I’d give it a B, even taking into consideration they have Paige and you don’t, they only lost two games, made the final four and beat two good teams in SC and Baylor. With all that they didn’t have the overwhelming firepower and depth some of the prior teams had. Comparing them to the other teams playing this year I rate them a B+ and will go with that.

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What happened to Aaliyah??

 

[Bald Husky]

did you ever think that she needs to play more consistently against better competition to improve?

She did her first 2 years

 

[Wbbfan1]

I'll start this post saying I don't know how injured or in pain Evina was this year. However, IMO there were too many stretches in too many games where Evina disappeared on Offense for long stretches in many games. She didn't look for her shot and deferred to her teammates until the second half in some game. She did it in the game against Arizona where the team could have really used her in the first half and early in the second half. She took 9 Shots all game making four of them for 10 points. How much pressure could she have taken off Paige if she was looking for her shot and Arizona had to pay more attention to her. Evina was a Key Member of this years team and most likely the team would have lost more games if she wasn't on it. Still I wish she was more impactful on Offense. Especially against Arizona.