I obvious don't know what Geno's plan for Serah is, but I'll go out on a limb here and say that she didn't come to UConn to be a backup. I'm pretty sure she came to UConn to be on an NC contender and get recognized for her talents and what comes next in her career. I think she will be inspired to do all she can do to be in the starting lineup.
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Final pre-season poll: Vote for your starting 5
- Thread starter EricLA
- Start date
As of this post, Patterson got 3 votes. Poor Gup Gup got zero.
CL82
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Ashlynn being a excellent threat from deep is only part of what she brings to the table. She's also a good defender and a three level threat, though mostly she scores from outside or at the basket. But more than all of that she has a high basketball IQ and understands what Geno wants on the floor. I think that is overlooked by a lot of posters. My sense is this will be a huge year for her. Not necessarily as a breakout scorer or a primary scoring threat on a team that is so rich with people who can occupy that role. Don't get me wrong, she'll score her points, but I view her, especially in the early season, as being critical to the cohesiveness of the team. I'm hesitant to use the phrase "glue player", because often that's applied to players who are not an offensive threat, but I do think she's well positioned to make everyone better. Her outside shooting threat opens up the floor for others. She is an adept passer who understands the flow of the offense and she is a very solid defender. Taken collectively, she'll be a tough player to take off the floor.
Of course that's just supposition, and I look forward to watching the team actually play some games to see how everyone's role shakes out. This is an incredibly talented team. It will be very interesting to see how the coaching staff utilizes that talent.
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Agreed. If she struggles a little bit with the learning curve, it'll impact her total minutes. But she is one heck of a weapon and gives us the biggest scoring threat we've had at the five in years.
For what it's worth, I think Jana will be her primary backup and Ice will play both the four and the five. I actually think a stretch 4 is a more natural position for her.
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Poor Big Fish.
Actually, I imagine Ayana or Kelis or even Allie would be alarmed if they ended up starting without having proven something very special in practices. I know they all dream of great things and of starting on an NC team. But they are also kids who have spent a lot of time playing competitive ball, working with coaches, and they probably understand very well how serious coaches operate.
I mean, imagine how they'd feel if they started ahead of someone who was routinely outperforming them in practice. Even worse, if they let the team down in a game. Sure, some freshmen arrive on campus with an overly inflated sense of their talent, but I doubt Geno recruits a lot of kids like that. And if a few show up, I expect the rest of the team will show them how to estimate their talent in those early pickup games even before official practices begin.
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This is my sense, too. However, I watched replays of a couple of Serah's games against Iowa from last season, and she struggled against them for stretches of those games. Stuelke is a physical type she doesn't always do well against, smaller, but quicker and aggressive at both ends of the floor. In some games, she can seem intimidated by athletic opponents. Of course, she also played well against much bigger opponents too. My sense is she works best against posts she's quicker than. This doesn't change my overall expectations for Serah. But it does suggest that there will be an important role for Jana (and even Ice) at the 5 this season.
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This would be the slowest overall and weakest defensive lineup he could put on the floor.
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Haven't seen enough of the women to guess who Geno prefers as his hybrid player under the basket to pair with Williams and Strong. Quinones may be preferred based on her overseas experience and perfect size. We'll see once the head-knocking begins in earnest.
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Ash has no problem at the 3 largely due to her high basketball IQ. Her rebounding skills stem from her uncanny ability to be in the best position for a rebound. It’s fun watching her off the ball as she is always in motion.
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Ash is not a catch and shoot player, she has to have time to set and that is tough at the 3. Also giving up 4 inches makes the floater more difficult. I am sure with the riches Geno has at the 3 (Blanca and Caroline) he would not tire out Ash on offense when she is such a defensive stalwart as a relief for Azzi at the 2.
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And the one who thinks Gandy will!
Without KK or Kayleigh, Azzi has to run the point which will inhibit scoring by her because the point makes the first pass in the offense. KK will start at point but expect to see a lot of Kayleigh. The real question is the 3-5 positions. Sarah can play the 3 but she is the best rebounder on the team so why take her outside to a wing? That's why I like two true guards in KK and Azzi, Sarah at the 4 and then Serah or Jana at the 5 and either CD, Blanca or Ash at the 3. However, you can go big with Serah/Ice, Sarah and Jana at times, Or small with Ash at the 3 and Sarah and Jana/Serah underneath. Or really small with Ash, Sarah, Azzi, KK, and Kayleigh. That team is lightning. Kelis is also a nice "chaos and confusion" player on that team also. I also like Ice at the 4 and even some 5 and when she starts Monday in the post position don't be shocked. We have to stop overlooking her. She played more minutes than Jana in the finals against SC and has been there and everywhere.
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I really appreciate the great discussion of my last post. I didn't say this was my favorite lineup or what I think Geno will ultimately start when the season actually begins but what I thought he'd start in the first game. Kayleigh (K9) will see more action as she gets more practice time (she was with the USA team this summer) but the missed time will impact her early so this will impact team speed early on but the big lineup will be imposing during that first game. Serah will likely get a lot of playing time during regular season but according to Geno is still getting used to playing in his offense. He absolutely never promised her a starting spot when he recruited her from the portal. He never has or would do that. She might assume that but I expect she had her eyes wide open when coming and knew she had work to do. I'm looking forward to see her as I'm sure all of you are but I think many of you under estimate what Jana has cone and can do. She was a starter last year for a reason and did extremely well in the NCAAs. I'd be surprised if UConn didn't play a lot with Jana/Ice, Jana Serah, or Serah/Ice on the floor at the same time. For years we've heard the cries that UConn needed more bigs. Now they have them.
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I didn't vote for Jana as a Game 1 starter. But I do think she will get a lot of minutes behind Serah, especially against "bigger" teams. She showed us what she can do against the biggest team, ie UCLA, and that isn’t just fantasy. But you're absolutely right -- we are now one of the "bigger" teams and Geno is not likely to forget this.
As for Jana's 2.2 PPG in the tournament, scoring isn't what she was in there to do, not with Azzi Paige Sarah averaging a combined 60 PPG. But it may well become part of her responsibilities this season. Plus, I have a feeling there will be a lot of points coming from elsewhere.
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Exactly what I said last year about Paige running the point. It doesn't matter who is the best point. Who do you want making the first pass or who is receiving the first pass? Last year I wanted Paige to receive that first pass. This year I want Azzi receiving the first pass.
That's right. The first cutter who throws the pass to the high post player rarely is open. on the cut. The only time you want Azzi bringing it up is where she is going to shoot it in an end of the game situation like Paige against NC State in the Elite 8. That way you guarantee the shooter.
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This is very astute. Ash is much more suited for the two; she will be expected to replace Azzi eventually. Sarah, Carol and Blanca are being set up in practice to be ready for either the three or four, so alternating them could be the master plan. Both Ice and Yanna are natural fours, so Sarah will certainly spend time at the three. What I look forward to is seeing Sarah and Blanca on the floor together; who will be the four?! Will it matter?!!!
I do think the three point shooting is the best argument for going small vs. the rebounding and defense for the bigger lineup. While Azzi is a given, it is not a strength for KK, so if Blanca is marginal there, it could be an issue. That is offset somewhat by having a big in Sarah that is a great 3pt shooter.
Caroline could provide size and a 3pt threat as a 3, but I think she is the third most likely for minutes there behind both Blanca and Ash. I think Blanca has two areas where she is expected to be very good offensively, getting out on the break, and driving to the basket in the half court offense. The three point shot is a legitimate question mark for her, but I am pretty sure she will score with pretty good volume and efficiency other ways, but may not stretch the floor. In one of her videos Ash sounded like she wanted to be more aggressive driving to the hoop and with the pull-up as well.
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I agree with all three of your points. That Sarah is a perimeter threat is the main thing that allowed her to matchup against Betts in the final four, as Geno himself mentioned in a sideline interview -- something to the effect that Sarah was as much a matchup problem for Lauren as the other way around, and we really saw the truth of it that day.
And Blanca is a going to be great at both ends of the floor. But she strikes me as more like a big Aubrey (a slasher and indefatigable defender and rebounder) than like a big Azzi. If she develops a 3 point shot, it will be almost unfair to the rest of D1.
And I heard the same note from Ash, that she wants to work on the inner part of her game, the pull-up and the lay-up. She is already a deadeye midrange shooter. But getting that shot off as a pull-up jumper is the trick. Give her an elbow screen and she can be money from there. And her fearlessness in the lane is how she'll get those layups.
All this leads me to believe that come January or February. we may see a small lineup that looks like KK/K9 with Azzi Ash Blanca and Sarah. If Blanca gets the 3 to drop regularly and K9 does too, this will be a pretty fierce group.
Edited to add: in today's presser, Blanca said she thinks her game is a lot like Sarah's. This may be wishful thinking, but if she's right we will be in for a treat. Also, in that same presser Geno said he expects the freshmen to contribute significantly, and he was including Blanca and K9 in that group along with Kelis. Gandy was the only one he didn't mention.