Front court

[wingsfan055]

Bigs isn't just about size. You need athletic Bigs who can move well. Iowa and LSU probably had the best combo of skill, size, athleticism and speed by the end of the year.

By the end of the year, otoh, UCONN was very slow. You could clearly see that in the Sweet 16 game where they could barely get the ball over half court.

My biggest concern going into the year is will all the players coming back from injuries have that quickness and athleticism back.

 

[Bone Dog]

I'm not sure but I don't remember them been significantly bigger. They started Kitley 6'6, Soule(5'11) and three guards against LSU. Here's a link to their roster for this year.

Virginia Tech Hokies Women's Basketball Roster | ESPN

Yes, but other than Amoore, their guards were ~6’0”. And Gregg was 6’2”. It’s only a matter of a couple inches here and there, but they were bigger at every position except pg.

 

[PacoSwede]

H...

The unit that may give LSU the most trouble could be a small ball lineup: Paige Azzi Aubrey Caroline and Aaliyah. We can go big too. Ultimately, we may be too fast for LSU and too strong. Also, I suspect that in a neutral court Morrow will be in foul trouble much if the game.

you apparently feel that the team' leader -- along with paige -- record-holding-assists sparkplug and two-time league defender of the year is irrelevant.

that is interesting. never mind that she has contributed more to huskies' success than caroline or azzi, sadly both saddled with major injury, of course, but particularly in carol's case their futures looks very iffy.

overall, your posts are enjoyable and sensible, but that paragraph puzzles me.

 

[JoePgh]

Before Jana was injured, I posted in another thread that I would be surprised if she (then presumed healthy) got more minutes in 2023-24 than Ayanna. Now we'll never know, but if Ayanna gets past (or has gotten past) her mostly mental issues from last year, I still think she has a greater chance to make an impact than even a healthy Jana would have. If Ayanna went up for a 50-50 rebound against a healthy Jana, my money would be on Ayanna to bring it down, despite her lesser height.

That's because Ayanna has strength, speed, and "hops" (leaping ability). Even last year, she was rarely if ever out-muscled or out-jumped for a rebound. Her issues were all in the category of marshalling her athletic skills into effective basketball play: positioning, knowing when to pass out to a perimeter shooter, avoiding fouls.

Since Jana's injury, I'm sure it has crossed Ayanna's mind that the way is open for her to get a lot more minutes than she might have gotten otherwise. It is up to her (with significant help from Jamelle and CD) to take advantage of this newly opened opportunity.

 

[Alydar]

Patterson didn't enter the dunking contest last year at first night. Geno said it was due to injury and now we hear she had her knee scoped. Patterson & Deberry both had off-season surgeries and there is real reason to be optimistic.

 

[Bone Dog]

you apparently feel that the team' leader -- along with paige -- record-holding-assists sparkplug and two-time league defender of the year is irrelevant.

that is interesting. never mind that she has contributed more to huskies' success than caroline or azzi, sadly both saddled with major injury, of course, but particularly in carol's case their futures looks very iffy.

overall, your posts are enjoyable and sensible, but that paragraph puzzles me.

I think you’ve missed the context of my point. We will play various lineups all season and switch between several in individual games. In the hypothetical game I’ve imagined against LSU here, the stretches in which we play small ball may be the most difficult for them to cope with. I gave one example of such a lineup. You should feel free to offer others.

We might want to distinguish two types of small ball lineup: a transition/pressing lineup and a perimeter shooting lineup. The first might well feature Nika and Aubrey, the second might feature Paige Azzi and Caroline.

I hope this clears things up.

And just for good measure, in the tall ball lineup we might run against LSU, if they have Angel and Aneesah on the floor, I expect Geno to play Aaliyah and Ice. But if Rosario is in the game, he might want to have Amari on the floor. And in the first lineup, we might wonder who would play the wing. It could be Caroline or Aubrey or Q. In either of these lineups, I’d expect to see Paige and Azzi, who are likely to be the most constant elements in all lineups.

 

[Cuango]

I think you’ve missed the context of my point. We will play various lineups all season and switch between several in individual games. In the hypothetical game I’ve imagined against LSU here, the stretches in which we play small ball may be the most difficult for them to cope with. I gave one example of such a lineup. You should feel free to offer others.

We might want to distinguish two types of small ball lineup: a transition/pressing lineup and a perimeter shooting lineup. The first might well feature Nika and Aubrey, the second might feature Paige Azzi and Caroline.

I hope this clears things up.

And just for good measure, in the tall ball lineup we might run against LSU, if they have Angel and Aneesah on the floor, I expect Geno to play Aaliyah and Ice. But if Rosario is in the game, he might want to have Amari on the floor. And in the first lineup, we might wonder who would play the wing. It could be Caroline or Aubrey or Q. In either of these lineups, I’d expect to see Paige and Azzi, who are likely to be the most constant elements in all lineups.

Context means nothing! You sir, have committed the unpardonable sin of presenting a lineup that not only leaves Nika out but presumes to imply that any lineup without her as PG, could conceivably be more effective! This is heresy and must be quashed immediately!

 

[Skeets]

Patterson didn't enter the dunking contest last year at first night. Geno said it was due to injury and now we hear she had her knee scoped. Patterson & Deberry both had off-season surgeries and there is real reason to be optimistic.

I was there and I thought at the time that it was a little strange. Which huskies have had no surgeries over their HS/college careers? Got to be a short list, Muhl and Edwards. Caroline didn't have surgery, but one more clunk on the head and it could be devastating. Ines? Anyone else?

 

[Blond D.]

you apparently feel that the team' leader -- along with paige -- record-holding-assists sparkplug and two-time league defender of the year is irrelevant.

that is interesting. never mind that she has contributed more to huskies' success than caroline or azzi, sadly both saddled with major injury, of course, but particularly in carol's case their futures looks very iffy.

overall, your posts are enjoyable and sensible, but that paragraph puzzles me.

I'm with you 100% PacoSwede. Nika WILL start and Carolyn will come off the bench.

 

[Bone Dog]

Context means nothing! You sir, have committed the unpardonable sin of presenting a lineup that not only leaves Nika out but presumes to imply that any lineup without her as PG, could conceivably be more effective! This is heresy and must be quashed immediately!

“Burn him!”

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I was there and I thought at the time that it was a little strange. Which huskies have had no surgeries over their HS/college careers? Got to be a short list, Muhl and Edwards. Caroline didn't have surgery, but one more clunk on the head and it could be devastating. Ines? Anyone else?

Skeets- - If I'm not mistaken, Caroline had knee surgery and shoulder surgery in HS and hip surgery at UCONN and had several bouts with concussion protecal!

 

[PacoSwede]

Context means nothing! You sir, have committed the unpardonable sin of presenting a lineup that not only leaves Nika out but presumes to imply that any lineup without her as PG, could conceivably be more effective! This is heresy and must be quashed immediately!

not at all.

when we know that caroline can consistently play at her best, and aubrey is more reliable on the offensive end, and azzi is finally fully healthy and sheds her timid approach and becomes the alpha dog she can -- rather should -- be, than we'd surely find fine multiple lineups sans nika.

but since we're not sure if those things will come about, it's foolish to think of nika as just a nice, minor role player, who is good to have around but doesn't contribute all that much to uconn's success.

 

[oldhusky]

Patterson didn't enter the dunking contest last year at first night. Geno said it was due to injury and now we hear she had her knee scoped. Patterson & Deberry both had off-season surgeries and there is real reason to be optimistic.

That was quite surprising at First Night and perhaps indicative of Ayanna having knee problems during the season we were not fully aware of. Given her obvious physical skills heading into last season I thought at worst, she would be a very good rebounder and shot blocker, but her offense might be pretty raw.

The later was true, but surprisingly her numbers for the season per minute etc, on rebounding and blocked shots were nothing special at all, and way short of what I might have expected. In addition her numbers got worse not better overall as the season wore on, which would be pretty unusual for an extremely physical gifted but raw player, facing a major change in competition.

Not participating in the First Night dunk contest, less than impressive rebounding and shot blocking numbers, and decreasing production over the season, certainly adds support to a theory she may have been having far more serious issues with her knee than the fans were aware of.

If that is the case, then whatever procedure she did have done can be encouraging for her future since there could be a good reason she did not meet expectations last year. Maybe Amari's situation is somewhat similar, but she has had two seasons that didn't seem to match her high school expectations, and I don't have any idea if her issues that were addressed this off-season bothered her in both years or not.

 

[Geew1992]

I was there and I thought at the time that it was a little strange. Which huskies have had no surgeries over their HS/college careers? Got to be a short list, Muhl and Edwards. Caroline didn't have surgery, but one more clunk on the head and it could be devastating. Ines? Anyone else?

Caroline def had surgery in high school and at Uconn. She had hip surgery at Uconn

 

[Geew1992]

That was quite surprising at First Night and perhaps indicative of Ayanna having knee problems during the season we were not fully aware of. Given her obvious physical skills heading into last season I thought at worst, she would be a very good rebounder and shot blocker, but her offense might be pretty raw.

The later was true, but surprisingly her numbers for the season per minute etc, on rebounding and blocked shots were nothing special at all, and way short of what I might have expected. In addition her numbers got worse not better overall as the season wore on, which would be pretty unusual for an extremely physical gifted but raw player, facing a major change in competition.

Not participating in the First Night dunk contest, less than impressive rebounding and shot blocking numbers, and decreasing production over the season, certainly adds support to a theory she may have been having far more serious issues with her knee than the fans were aware of.

If that is the case, then whatever procedure she did have done can be encouraging for her future since there could be a good reason she did not meet expectations last year. Maybe Amari's situation is somewhat similar, but she has had two seasons that didn't seem to match her high school expectations, and I don't have any idea if her issues that were addressed this off-season bothered her in both years or not.

Amari had back surgery. There is no doubt that problem was there for a while and def effected her game

 

[Bald Husky]

We haven't seen Ice play against college defenders yet but one thing to remember when talking about size in the post is that height isn't everything. Ice is big even though shorter than some centers, she has some weight and strength. I don't see a lot of people pushing her out of the way to get a rebound. And if they try to charge her-- oops. Ice, I think, is going to surprise people. Even though only a rookie, her size will help her make a big impact on the court.

Don't forget, Ice has been practicing against Aaliyah. You can't get much better competition than that. I think she will be an important and successful player for us this season.

 

[Geew1992]

It seems amari is still on campus

 

[Bills Fan]

Don't forget, Ice has been practicing against Aaliyah. You can't get much better competition than that. I think she will be an important and successful player for us this season.

If ICE plays with aggressive desire, with her body type I see her as a "Morrow" type player. Most likely not anywhere near Morrow's FR numbers at DePaul due to playing time and much better teammates, but a similar style.

 

[Bills Fan]

It seems amari is still on campus

??? Did someone say she wasn't?

 

[visitingcock]

??? Did someone say she wasn't?

I interpret his statement as a reminder to some posters who aren’t mentioning Amari when discussing front court depth

 

[Geew1992]

??? Did someone say she wasn't?

Ummm…. No. I’m pointing that she’s on campus. Others are home. Looks like she may be working on her game

 

[uconnfan68]

We haven't seen Ice play against college defenders yet but one thing to remember when talking about size in the post is that height isn't everything. Ice is big even though shorter than some centers, she has some weight and strength. I don't see a lot of people pushing her out of the way to get a rebound. And if they try to charge her-- oops. Ice, I think, is going to surprise people. Even though only a rookie, her size will help her make a big impact on the court.

No one moved Adama. Strength is key.

 

[Bone Dog]

Strength is key.

Absolutely!

I suspect the games Aneesah least looked forward to last season were the one's against Aaliyah, just because here was someone stronger and taller than her. If Ice is as strong as I suspect she is, I have a feeling Angel and Aneesah are going to dread going up against the Huskies front court.

 

[visitingcock]

Absolutely!

I suspect the games Aneesah least looked forward to last season were the one's against Aaliyah, just because here was someone stronger and taller than her. If Ice is as strong as I suspect she is, I have a feeling Angel and Aneesah are going to dread going up against the Huskies front court.

If they play, it will be deeeep in the tournament and nobody on either team will dread anything about such a matchup

 

[southofnorth]

No one moved Adama. Strength is key.

I’d say Aliyah Boston is another great example of strength being key. Even against players with similar heights, her strength was overwhelming. Aaliyah Edwards is a great example of strength, too. If any of UConn’s other bigs (looking at y’all, Ayanna and Ice) have similar strength then UConn’s front court will be able to compete with players that have a few inches on them.

 

[Blond D.]

Great rebounding is a combination of things. Quickness, aggression, strength, a sixth sense of where the ball is going to come down and timing your jump to high point the ball. Some people got it and some don't. Height helps too.

 

[Rowdy831]

So with Jana gone… how does our front court look like? Jana’s injury hurts the depth and size of our front court. Lack of size will be an issue if we don’t get another big for this szn. Ice and Aaliyah will have to be great for us and Amari and Ayanna too.

UCONN has 14 players on their roster and all of them are top level players according to their recruiting ranking. They have 3 solid All American level players and the two time defensive player of the year in their conference. Then you have three other post players on the bench, Caroline, and a couple first year guards. Geno not only will win with this group but wouldn't surprise me if he ran the table with them.

Post players aren't that important when you have the other pieces UCONN has on the court. I would expect them to run with 3 guards all the time and when they pressure they very well could go with 4 plus Edwards. This team will be pushing the ball and playing extremely fast and that is not the offense that will have two post players on the court together. In other words they will be fine.

 

[JellyBean]

We haven't seen Ice play against college defenders yet but one thing to remember when talking about size in the post is that height isn't everything. Ice is big even though shorter than some centers, she has some weight and strength. I don't see a lot of people pushing her out of the way to get a rebound. And if they try to charge her-- oops. Ice, I think, is going to surprise people. Even though only a rookie, her size will help her make a big impact on the court.

Great point. Ice could be all we need in the post. Heck even Ayanna could be all we need in the post. Same with Amari. We know we have Aaliyah and hopefully she continues her upward progression and All-American type play this season. I think we our front court is going to be just fine.

 

[AgStatesman]

I feel like the most obvious solution is right in fro of us and we are ignoring it. Like a mini Voltron, Ines can climb on Ayanna’s shoulders and they can form Ayyines an 8 foot tall power forward.

 

[SportsFan92]

Geno has always said it’s a guard game. Great guards will carry u as far as they can play. Ohio state won last year in the sweet 16 cause they could press which they did most of the game. They turned us over so much in that game it took away UCONNs offense. Trust me Bigs don’t want to run all game long. The strength will be the guard play and how they can turn other teams over. Defense wins games. No other team in the nation will have a tandem of Paige and Azzi. Add in Edwards and so much depth at the guard position and so many players that can handle the ball will help this team in so many ways. Yes losing Jana was huge but remember injures happen so frequently and u hate to see it but there are several top teams out there who are one or 2 players who could experience season ending injures could be a disaster. ( and no I don’t wish that on any team.. I’m just stating the obvious) Let’s hope we don’t experience anymore injuries. It’s a long season and we all know conference play is a grind night in and night out. Is it October yet? Look forward to seeing this team play and get better as the season goes and be one of the favorites to cut down the nets in April. Go Huskies!!