First Night '24-'25

[oldude]

I have a very simall screen view. Who was the player on the white team that hit the last 3?

Jana, our 6’5” post.

 

[UcMiami]

Geno's positive message on Kaitlyn yesterday:

“Kaitlyn Chen, it's not an easy thing to walk in here not ever having played for us, but you played four years of basketball, and now you're not quite sure, like, ‘How do I handle that? Do I act like a veteran, or am I a rookie?’” Auriemma said. “Lately she's found her voice, and that's really, really helped us, and it's helped Paige. I think people are going to be surprised by how much she gets done on the court.”

https://www.newstimes.com/sports/uconn-womens-basketball/article/first-night-paige-bueckers-uconn-huskies-gampel-19847441.php

I think it was telling that Chen appeared to be the 'team captain' opposite Paige for the scrimmage and trying to direct a pretty ridiculously organized offense and defense.

 

[Gus Mahler]

I know that nobody is playing defense, but it ain’t easy to drop 4 bombs from the arc, on 4 successive possessions, by 4 different players: Paige, Sarah, Allie & Jana. Let’s start the season tomorrow!!!!

The Q-Puffs are back!!!!!

 

[Charliebball]

Morgan Cheli is very solidly built and plays intelligently. She looks like she will be quite strong (no pun intended), but below average in both speed and quickness. There has been talk of her playing as a point guard, but I doubt that she could guard fast and/or quick opponents without getting beat regularly.

I think her true calling may be in the front court. I'm not sure about her leaping ability (I'm guessing it's nothing to write home to California about), but if it is even adequate, I can see her being a rebounding force. I think she could play under the basket and out to 10 or 12 feet as a reliable shooter and passer.

If Ayanna is temporarily laid up (along with Aubrey and Caroline), she may get her chance at the 4 position in the early part of the season. I would expect Jana and Sarah to be the starters at the two front court positions, with Ice as the backup 5 and (for now) perhaps Morgan as the backup 4.

So Cheli is slow and has below average quickness and may not be able to jump........I hope she's at least average at something.........I'm amazed that she was even recruited by an experienced coach like Geno......

 

[Bone Dog]

So Cheli is slow and has below average quickness and may not be able to jump........I hope she's at least average at something.........I'm amazed that she was even recruited by an experienced coach like Geno......

Lol

 

[Zonepress]

Lol

Lol!!

The poster should try and find her a game against Long Island Lutheran last year, a team, with five or six major college players
She was the point guard, and the results speak for themselves
Very strange post

 

[snowkot]

Great to see everyone back, healthy, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as we approach what very well may be two absolutely extraordinary seasons for the women and men.

PS The on-court announcer remains quite possibly the most annoying, needlessly, if incompetently, bombastic (noun-deleted) in the history of sports.

 

[MilfordHusky]

So was Aubrey. Chen had them on timber head. I think it was a team thing.

I think maybe they were supporting Carol, who had to wear sunglasses.

 

[oldhusky]

So Cheli is slow and has below average quickness and may not be able to jump........I hope she's at least average at something.........I'm amazed that she was even recruited by an experienced coach like Geno......

Maybe a little strong on the athletic comments until we see more, but I get the point JoePbh is making. Many had Morgan in the PG discussion since she was an unusually big one in HS, but I believe Geno has complimented her ability to rebound and I suspect her best position is the 3, but that the 4 might be the next best one.

Like Caroline if she is healthy, Morgan could be an option as a backup 4 behind presumably Sarah, if Ayanna is not ready or playing well. Of course Paige is a good option wherever she plays, and Ice could in theory back up Jana and Sarah. Of course when Aubrey returns we have a very good proven contributor at the 4 that can also help at the 3.

 

[oldhusky]

Great to see everyone back, healthy, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, as we approach what very well may be two absolutely extraordinary seasons for the women and men.

PS The on-court announcer remains quite possibly the most annoying, needlessly, if incompetently, bombastic (noun-deleted) in the history of sports.

If he is a student I look forward to his graduation if it is the same one from the last couple of years. I admit I have not yet viewed First Night, but of course I believe this event should not be run by a student organization anyway.

 

[Bone Dog]

Lol!!

The poster should try and find her a game against Long Island Lutheran last year, a team, with five or six major college players
She was the point guard, and the results speak for themselves
Very strange post

It was meant to be comedic, I think. That’s what the emoji suggests.

 

[Charliebball]

Maybe a little strong on the athletic comments until we see more, but I get the point JoePbh is making. Many had Morgan in the PG discussion since she was an unusually big one in HS, but I believe Geno has complimented her ability to rebound and I suspect her best position is the 3, but that the 4 might be the next best one.

Like Caroline if she is healthy, Morgan could be an option as a backup 4 behind presumably Sarah, if Ayanna is not ready or playing well. Of course Paige is a good option wherever she plays, and Ice could in theory back up Jana and Sarah. Of course when Aubrey returns we have a very good proven contributor at the 4 that can also help at the 3.

she's no KK but she's relentless, is a very good athlete and has the skills and the IQ to play four positions on the court.......the only suspect part of her game is her long range shooting and that should improve over time....

 

[Stagnant]

I didn’t notice whether Morgan was quick or not. It was a preseason game. She has been dealing with an injury. And everyone is playing at half speed. So, I don’t want to be premature with my analysis.

I did notice that Morgan looked bigger than I thought she was. Taller and bigger and stronger looking. I will talk about Morgan by mentioning Caroline.

Go watch Caroline Ducharme in the 2021 Slam Dunk and 3 PT championships. She was a lot more slender than the UConn husky Caroline we are used to. Later in the year by the time the season started at UConn. She had already added a significant amount of mass. I have always assumed that this was by design. That UConn looked at her post game and her size and they really wanted her to become a hybrid type player capable of being on the perimeter and banging with bigs on the post.

Maybe they have the same idea with Morgan? She has added mass since the 2023 game against Luhi. Is it a natural amount of mass because she is a year older or is it a point of emphasis from the UConn coaches?

I will let you decide.

One downside of bulking up of course is that you sacrifice some speed and quickness when you do it.

 

[hoophuskee]

Morgan Cheli is very solidly built and plays intelligently. She looks like she will be quite strong (no pun intended), but below average in both speed and quickness. There has been talk of her playing as a point guard, but I doubt that she could guard fast and/or quick opponents without getting beat regularly.

I think her true calling may be in the front court. I'm not sure about her leaping ability (I'm guessing it's nothing to write home to California about), but if it is even adequate, I can see her being a rebounding force. I think she could play under the basket and out to 10 or 12 feet as a reliable shooter and passer.

If Ayanna is temporarily laid up (along with Aubrey and Caroline), she may get her chance at the 4 position in the early part of the season. I would expect Jana and Sarah to be the starters at the two front court positions, with Ice as the backup 5 and (for now) perhaps Morgan as the backup 4.

I never thought Morgan would be a pg at UCONN. But I do believe she is a perfect compliment and potential star complimenting Sarah and Jana. (and Ice). I mean perfect. Thus, she is a roving/complimentary 3/4, She has "pg skils" as a penetrator and passer. She is physical so she won't get pushed around. A passer that is also strong enough to compete inside. Sounds to me like she is potentially terrific.

ANd I tend to beieve she is quick and fast enough for the 3/4. Geno specifically called out his injured players. She was one of them. While it was only the McDonald's game from the past, she looked more athletic to be at least a 3/4. Plus you don't get to be #1 team in the country in h/s for as long as she has as the pg and yet be excessively slow. I tend to believe it's the injures that she has that's causing the skepticism of her speed.

 

[Stagnant]

Ziebell, Cheli, Aubrey, Azzi, Caroline. All basically point guards in high school. The challenge for Cheli will be you kind of have to relearn the game if you are used to being on ball all the time and now your game is going to rely on movement off the ball.

Go watch a Mitty game from last year. She was very rarely off ball. She was either running point or her team scored so quickly they didn’t even run a half court offense.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Maybe a little strong on the athletic comments until we see more, but I get the point JoePbh is making. Many had Morgan in the PG discussion since she was an unusually big one in HS, but I believe Geno has complimented her ability to rebound and I suspect her best position is the 3, but that the 4 might be the next best one.

Like Caroline if she is healthy, Morgan could be an option as a backup 4 behind presumably Sarah, if Ayanna is not ready or playing well. Of course Paige is a good option wherever she plays, and Ice could in theory back up Jana and Sarah. Of course when Aubrey returns we have a very good proven contributor at the 4 that can also help at the 3.

While there are exceptions, Gabby comes to mind, playing an undersized player at the 4 or 5 is not the best option. Of course, with Gabby there was no option. There can be quite a cost for sticking them in there as there was for Gabby as it stunted her development at what she truly was - a guard. She did well in the pros, but exploded once she got the guard work in. Frankly, if I was a guard with ambitions and somebody tried to make me a 4 I'd bug out at first opportunity.

I know we live in a different time now, but this discussion about Morgan reminds me a bit of Maria Conlon. Geno had this funny haha about Maria which I only partially remember. "I know she's (?) but she makes up for it by being slow." For you youngsters, she was the starting pointguard on two nattie teams.

 

[jdote33]

Kk flopping was insane jk. Still haven't watched the full video. Geno said if the season started he would play 8 or 9. I'm thinking the following:

KK, Ashlynn, Ice, Jana, KC, SS, PB, AZ, QS

I know we basically don't have much to go off of but do y'all imagine a scenario where AZ doesn't play much this season. And can you think of a player as talented as her who didn't really play her freshman year. I can't remember KLS playing time her freshman year.

Also upon watching, Jana seems pretty physically big

 

[Bald Husky]

In case you didn't know, Morgan Cheli and Sarah Strong are two of the 5 players that made the 5 person Naismith all American first team. I think she will work out fine.

 

[Charliebball]

While there are exceptions, Gabby comes to mind, playing an undersized player at the 4 or 5 is not the best option. Of course, with Gabby there was no option. There can be quite a cost for sticking them in there as there was for Gabby as it stunted her development at what she truly was - a guard. She did well in the pros, but exploded once she got the guard work in. Frankly, if I was a guard with ambitions and somebody tried to make me a 4 I'd bug out at first opportunity.

I know we live in a different time now, but this discussion about Morgan reminds me a bit of Maria Conlon. Geno had this funny haha about Maria which I only partially remember. "I know she's (?) but she makes up for it by being slow." For you youngsters, she was the starting pointguard on two nattie teams.

Perhaps unfortunately for Gabby but fortunately for UConn, she could jump out of the gym even after her knee issues and would use her superior athleticism to compete on the boards with players 4-6 inches taller........she's really a unicorn in that regard.....

 

[JoePgh]

While there are exceptions, Gabby comes to mind, playing an undersized player at the 4 or 5 is not the best option. Of course, with Gabby there was no option. There can be quite a cost for sticking them in there as there was for Gabby as it stunted her development at what she truly was - a guard. She did well in the pros, but exploded once she got the guard work in. Frankly, if I was a guard with ambitions and somebody tried to make me a 4 I'd bug out at first opportunity.

When Geno was asked about using Gabby as a forward when everyone assumed that she was a guard, his reply was approximately as follows:

"Well, if you have a player who can't shoot, can't pass, and can't handle the ball, you probably shouldn't try to make a guard out of her."

Sarcastic, of course, but it was true that Gabby had no jump shot when she came to UConn, and hadn't had to learn in high school how to see the floor or break a press. Geno and the coaches could have taught her those things, or he could just use her leaping skills to make her a rebounder. Since the team had a surplus of guards and a scarcity of forwards, it made sense to do the latter.

 

[snowkot]

For you youngsters, she was the starting pointguard on two nattie teams.

Not to derail this, but worth a quick reposte...

And an utterly compelling example of how much (and how rare) having a superstar presence on the court impacts the game far more than just the box score. Larry Bird turning a 29-53 Celtic team to a league best 61-21 in his rookie year. Michael Jordan's impact on the Steve Kerr's of the world. And Diana Taurasi, winning 2 national championships with a very average (on balance) supporting cast. The knock-on effect of court presence.

Clearly, the whole being far greater than the sum of its parts, especially in basketball, with only 5 players on the court,

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Perhaps unfortunately for Gabby but fortunately for UConn, she could jump out of the gym even after her knee issues and would use her superior athleticism to compete on the boards with players 4-6 inches taller........she's really a unicorn in that regard.....

Oh, I agree. She was an Olympic quality high jumper in high school and still a non pareille at UConn. But her injury is HS meant that she came to UConn with her guard skills needing substantial work. She never got that work because she played inside due to unfortunate experiences is bigs recruiting; a curse that has followed UConn around for quite some time.

 

[Alydar]

The Q-Puffs are back!!!!!

Not from the arc but from the wing logo 10+ feet behind the arc. And if 4 in a row wasn't enough, 2 of them were made by 1st year posts, Strong and El Alfy.

 

[Geew1992]

I think maybe they were supporting Carol, who had to wear sunglasses.

Are you sure she had to?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Are you sure she had to?

Not sure, but wouldn't be surprised.