Frontcourt Strength

[sun]

Here's to hoping Ice can supply it.

I'm sure that she will but Edwards & Ice can't play 40 minutes per game.
There's going to be times when UConn will need a taller big, especially on defense.
Amari really needs to be part of the rotation, at least in theory,
"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
Amari can bend but we don't want her to break because we'll eventually need her in some of the big games.

 

[Bone Dog]

I'm sure that she will but Edwards & Ice can't play 40 minutes per game.
There's going to be times when UConn will need a taller big, especially on defense.
Amari really needs to be part of the rotation, at least in theory,
"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link."
Amari can bend but we don't want her to break because we'll eventually need her in some of the big games.

In fact I hope neither of them has to play more than 30 mins. But that doesn't mean Geno has to be rigid about this rotation, even if Amari only gives 10 mins. We beat Stanford last time playing Evina at the 4 for part of the game. Sure she got out-muscled on a few occasions by Belibi. But it was enough to get the win. And tOSU beat us last year with no one over 6'0" on the floor for most of the game, as I recall. I think Mikulasikova only played 4 mins in that game.

I can imagine Geno playing a 4-out or even 5-out set for parts of games. Now that he's got the personnel for it, why not? Picture this lineup, for example: Paige Azzi KK Qadence and Ayanna. Mix Aubrey in as needed. I'm not saying he'd start with this group. But he might want to mix it up sometimes. Or a 4-out lineup with: Nika Paige Azzi Caroline and Aaliyah or Ice. A pressing lineup doesn't need a 5 on the floor, especially if it has perimeter shooters. As I recall, this was the Iowa formula last season, too.

The only question mark for me is what kind of ball handler Ice really is. One of Aaliyah's great virtues is ball handling. She can bring the ball up the floor when needed. I hope Ice can do this as well. I'm just reminded of the two years when Gabby was the center. We missed getting to the NC game by a whisper with that lineup in 2017 and 2018.

 

[DEpup]

I'm reserving any conclusion statements about Amari until I get to see a healthy post surgery version of her. I have to think if your back is in pain then banging down low, maintaining a defensive stance without fouling, or running the floor is going to be difficult.

 

[hoophuskee]

Admittedly Amari is an enigma because how she plays is like a riddle.
I think we'd all like to see her play down low & score by receiving passes out of the reach of defenders like a traditional center would.
But she doesn't seem to have been expected or taught to play that way by the UConn staff.
It seems that she never really got a chance to develop any offensive chemistry with the other players.
She must have a repertoire of shots & moves that we don't know about that she practices regularly.
Like baby hooks, turn around shots & jumpers from inside the key that would largely be unstoppable if she would use them, but that would require a game plan that expects her to attempt those types of plays by receiving passes inside, down low or on the elbow.
I don't think that it's all her fault because maybe the staff doesn't expect her to score, because Edwards is expected to make the scoring moves & plays.
But if Edwards needs to leave the game then it would be helpful if Amari could step it up, if that's what Geno instructs her to do.
We can't expect her to do what she's not told to do.
If the staff expects Edwards to be available most of the time & not play in tandem with Amari, then maybe that's why she doesn't play down low & try to score around the basket.
Maybe if asked Amari could tell us if she's been instructed to play high & on the periphery, & to make passes & assists instead of receiving passes in a position to score.
Maybe we're expecting her to do some things that Geno doesn't expect or instruct her to do because he wants others to do it.
Maybe that's why she only needs to complement the others by sticking to the offensive role that she's been instucted to play.
It would be nice if UConn had a stonger inside game besides Edwards.
Maybe Paige will experiment more with her passing & tell Amari what to do to make her more effective.

IMO she absolutely has gotten the chance. I think excuses tend to be made by fans of player's weaknesses because they want to see Geno use a deeper bench etc. The fact is, every day in practice Amari has a chance to prove it. It makes no sense to reward player's that are outplaying her consistently in practice to then reward the less consistent player time that the other deserves.

I see two issues. 1.) - Her injury with her back. Unfair to completely judge. 2.) Of her injury it sounds bad but if it wasn't or just came on late in year etc but if not that bad then it's been all on her because it's obvious she needs to develop her strength. It was clear that was still an enormous weakness, - so how much did she work on that? So, no matter how much time you give her on the court, if she hasn't improved a lot with her overall strength, it still shows she has an unacceptable weakness. Minutes won’t help working on your strength to the level she has shown.

There are two myths sometimes passed about. 1.) You give a player more time then without a doubt they will perform. 2.) That tall player offensively and defensively will undoubtedly be more unstoppable on offense because they are tall and able to defend well on defense because they are tall. so just play them. All myths without context. .

 

[Linart]

The posters here have made valid points about our shortcomings. However, the only thing that takes me off the ledge is Geno. In every interview that I've seen, he indicates he is really, really excited about this team. Perhaps seeing them in practice every day gives him some inside info, no?

 

[Bone Dog]

The posters here have made valid points about our shortcomings. However, the only thing that takes me off the ledge is Geno. In every interview that I've seen, he indicates he is really, really excited about this team. Perhaps seeing them in practice every day gives him some inside info, no?

That's what I notice, too. Now, part of this may be for an effect, to give them encouragement. But I don't think he wants to be seen by them as soft-pedaling any weaknesses, and they'd all recognize that in an instant. He knows when a group of kids has the right sort of energy.

 

[sun]

IMO she absolutely has gotten the chance. I think excuses tend to be made by fans of player's weaknesses because they want to see Geno use a deeper bench etc. The fact is, every day in practice Amari has a chance to prove it. It makes no sense to reward player's that are outplaying her consistently in practice to then reward the less consistent player time that the other deserves.

I see two issues. 1.) - Her injury with her back. Unfair to completely judge. 2.) Of her injury it sounds bad but if it wasn't or just came on late in year etc but if not that bad then it's been all on her because it's obvious she needs to develop her strength. It was clear that was still an enormous weakness, - so how much did she work on that? So, no matter how much time you give her on the court, if she hasn't improved a lot with her overall strength, it still shows she has an unacceptable weakness. Minutes won’t help working on your strength to the level she has shown.

There are two myths sometimes passed about. 1.) You give a player more time then without a doubt they will perform. 2.) That tall player offensively and defensively will undoubtedly be more unstoppable on offense because they are tall and able to defend well on defense because they are tall. so just play them. All myths without context. .

It's not about making excuses.
Despite any criticism of her play UConn is still a better team with Amari than without her.
I don't know of any losses that can be attributed to her.
The only one who can decide that Amari isn't an asset to the team is Geno, & he can do that by not playing her.

She's like a relief pitcher in baseball. they come in & eat up some minutes (innings), protect the lead, provide some rest & reduce the risk of fatigue injuries to other players.
It's not only about being a better player, although being taller does help her do some things that others can't.
Most likely she's going to have a role in the frontourt or else we won't ever know why she's not being given much of a chance other than by guessing.
My point is that if she doesn't perform it's also a criticism of the staff & their instruction & even why she was recruited.
For this year Amari will basically fill Jana's place in the rotation.
If she plays with more finesse instead of being a banger then that's not so bad as long as she does what she has been instructed to do.
I think she'll do just fine because she has more abilities to show us.

 

[Alydar]

My point is that if she doesn't perform it's also a criticism of the staff & their instruction & even why she was recruited.
For this year Amari will basically fill Jana's place in the rotation.
If she plays with more finesse instead of being a banger then that's not so bad as long as she does what she has been instructed to do.
I think she'll do just fine because she has more abilities to show us.

How exactly did El Alfy get "in the rotation"? She played well against what were essentially high school players and some fans actually think that was enough for her to step into a major role at UConn?
I'm looking forward to her return next season.

 

[wingsfan055]

The reason most are skeptical about the front court is that neither Amari or Patterson showed much last year. Sorry, but that's the objective truth using both raw stats and the eye test.

What we don't know is the cause. If it's injury or lack of playing time, then maybe both will improve this year. But, until they show it in games, we don't know and this is why I remain skeptical until I can see it.

 

[oldhusky]

Aaliyah and Ice can't play 40 minutes, that is true, but if neither Amari or Ayanna step up, Geno could resort to a three big rotation with Aubrey being the third member. That is sub-optimal for several reasons, Aailyah would have to play significant minutes at the 5 when Ice wasn't in, we would be a little small, any injury or foul trouble would mean we have to go to a 4th or 5th option, and it would mean aubrey wouldn't be available for much help at the 3.

Assuming Ice is pretty good, however, the other two players are proven at a very high level. Aaliyah is an All American candidate and even though she played mostly on the perimeter last year, Aubrey was a star substitute at the 4 her first two years.

My main point is if everyone is healthy, both Amari and Ayanna have to give Geno a reason to play them. There are no entitlement minutes associated with being the 4th best big. He can get good production with just three. Last year Ayanna was close to the third in a rotation with Dorka and Aaliyah. Aubrey in her first two years was a much better 4 than Ayanna last year, so the bar is set much higher for her getting minutes this year.

Ideally Amari and Ayanna can earn minutes and make if a 4 or even 5 big rotation, enabling Aubrey to split time between the 3 and 4 and be a supersub at both.

 

[hoophuskee]

It's not about making excuses.
Despite any criticism of her play 1.) UConn is still a better team with Amari than without her.
2.) I don't know of any losses that can be attributed to her.
3.) The only one who can decide that Amari isn't an asset to the team is Geno, & he can do that by not playing her.

4>) She's like a relief pitcher in baseball. they come in & eat up some minutes (innings), protect the lead, provide some rest & reduce the risk of fatigue injuries to other players.
It's not only about being a better player, although being taller does help her do some things that others can't.
Most likely she's going to have a role in the frontourt or else we won't ever know why she's not being given much of a chance other than by guessing.
My point is that if she doesn't perform it's also a criticism of the staff & their instruction & even why she was recruited.
For this year Amari will basically fill Jana's place in the rotation.
If she plays with more finesse instead of being a banger then that's not so bad as long as she does what she has been instructed to do.
I think she'll do just fine because she has more abilities to show us.

IMO your entire post is nothing more than more excuses for Amari in which nothing you said is based in fact but in a Christmas Wiah you want to see because you want see bench play.

HE plays her. You just choose to ignore the games she plays in Blowouts - apparently you hold no value in that. Along with it seems apparentthat you hold no value in Practices. If you did hold value in these things then you wouldn’t be saying Geno isn't playing her in the context that you are.

Adn yes she a relief pitcher. It's why many relief pitchers 1st start out pitching in blowouts. And to suggest as you seem to/want to do is ignore buidling up in practices in the off days for rleeif pitchers along with learnign to pitch while playing in blowouts has little-to-no reality.
To further this. it seems that if a bullpen's top relief pitcher loses many games while Amara has shown she can't even handle the Big East, to exclude her from criticism imo is over-the-top. So why exclude her form losses. I only palyed H/S ball. If there was a game our team ls to even my H/s coach would crsuh any bench palyer hwo felt they weren;t accountable in some manner. Yoru view imo is more of compuer game.

Also, being taller doesn't mean being better. If it did, the tallest teams would always win.

When your criticize the staff without substance it’s a hollow criticism. It's apparent in your very 1st statement that the team is better with her than without her. While later you complain she isn't playing. SO how does your statement have any meaning other than you making it up all because you vastly overrate bench play?

If she plays finesse but there are player superior to her that paly finesse then how does it make even an iota of sense to not play the superior finesse players? -- Yet again you throw out the caveat "as long as she does what she has been instructed to do." Then you follow up with comment having nothing to do with being instructed to do what to do and say "You think she'll be just fine>'

That's comforting to you but not to me. I don't believe for one second that Amari is doing what she has bene instructed to do. If she was, she would be playing. For you to make an implied excuse that she probably is (which is why in part you criticize the coach unfairly) imo is another example of being over-the-top.

And again there remains an underlying implied myth here that just because she is tall and you give her minutes she will be a terrific scorer. And that is also completely ignoring her defense assuming size can cover anything. Again – the tallest teams don’t always win. That’s not the object of basketball and it is just made up if anyone thinks that.

 

[sun]

How exactly did El Alfy get "in the rotation"? She played well against what were essentially high school players and some fans actually think that was enough for her to step into a major role at UConn?
I'm looking forward to her return next season.

Evidently Jana's pedigree led many to believe that she ranked higher on the UConn depth chart than Amari which would have resulted in a role even if only a minor one.
Whether Jana's (or Amari's) role would've been major or minor, UConn doesn't have a lot of experiencd height to match up with all of the other potential contenders.
What is there to dispute really?
I'd expect Amari wil get some important minutes unless she's grossly incompetant or negligent, especially with Jana being injured.
Aubrey is a great player but she's not a true big in the full sense & it's sort of unfair to expect her to be in every situation.

IMO your entire post is nothing more than more excuses for Amari in which nothing you said is based in fact but in a Christmas Wiah you want to see because you want see bench play.

HE plays her. You just choose to ignore the games she plays in Blowouts - apparently you hold no value in that. Along with it seems apparentthat you hold no value in Practices. If you did hold value in these things then you wouldn’t be saying Geno isn't playing her in the context that you are.

Adn yes she a relief pitcher. It's why many relief pitchers 1st start out pitching in blowouts. And to suggest as you seem to want to do that the practices in the off days along with the pitching in blowouts has little-to-no meaning couldn't be more wrong.
To further this. it seems that if a bullpen's top relief pitcher loses many games while Amaria has shown she can't even handle the Big East, to exclude her from criticism imo is over-the-top.

Being taller doesn't mean being better. If it did, the tallest teams would always win.

When your criticize the staff without substance it’s a hollow criticism. It's apparent in your very 1st statement that the team is better with her than without her. While later you complain she isn't playing. SO how does your statement have any meaning other than you making it up all because you vastly overrate bench play?

If she plays finesse but there are player superior to her that paly finesse then how does it make even an iota of sense to not play the superior finesse players? -- Yet again you throw out the caveat "as long as she does what she has been instructed to do." Then you follow up with comment having nothing to do with being instructed to do what to do and say "You think she'll be just fine>'

That's comforting to you but not to me. I don't believe for one second that Amari is doing what she has bene instructed to do. If she was, she would be playing. For you to make an implied excuse that she probably is (which is why in part you criticize the coach unfairly) imo is another example of being over-the-top.

And again there remains an underlying implied myth here that just because she is tall and you give her minutes she will be a terrific scorer. And that is also completely ignoring her defense assuming size can cover anything. Again – the tallest teams don’t always win. That’s not the object of basketball and it is just made up if anyone thinks that.

This is a new season & when it comes down to crunch time it will be about match ups & team needs.
Players can improve & every player can help win a game.
It's not all about the starters as you would like to believe,
No other UConn player is as much of a rim protector as Amari is.
All of UConn's hopes could end up depending on her based on the opponent even if she only plays in relief.
Her minutes can save others from fouling out & to catch their wind.
That's how depth works & Amari is an important piece of the puzzle.

 

[hoophuskee]

Aaliyah and Ice can't play 40 minutes, that is true, but if neither Amari or Ayanna step up, Geno could resort to a three big rotation with Aubrey being the third member.

There should be no problem playing Aubrey at the 4. In Edwards freshman year and Aubrey's soph year UCONN went to the Final Four and there is no reason to believe that they aren't much better now than back then. . So, why can't UCONN split between Edwards, Griffin and Ice in big games? Not every game this year is going to be close as well. So there will be many blowouts. So Ayanna and Amari will have opportunities.

Patterson played early last year even vs an elite team like Iowa and NCAA teams such as Texas/NC State/Duke. SO for anyone to assume she is going to automatically turn into a pumpkin if she isn't in the regular rotation is being very "glass-is-half-empty" if someone got into foul trouble. Not to mention UCONN's guard and wing play will be far superior than what they have had in a very, very, very long time.

Good luck to 99% of all teams that are going to try to get our bigs in foul trouble then the frontcourt all turn into pumpkins that our super star multiple guards also are pumpkins -- well good luck to them. There's a reason why superstars are superstars. They rarely are pumpkins. And we potentially have 2. For those that want to look negative -- there is a reason why Paige, Azi and Edwards are pretty darn terrific. They don't turn into pumpkins often. Especially as a group.

 

[oldude]

At this point, prior to any games actually being played, it’s not a good idea to dismiss Amari or any other UConn player’s ability to contribute meaningful minutes this coming season. As a reminder, UConn could well have lost last season to unranked Princeton if it had not been for Ines knocking down 3/4 FT’s in the last few minutes of the game. Everyone has a role to play this coming season.

 

[hoophuskee]

This is a new season & when it comes down to crunch time it will be about match ups & team needs.
Players can improve & every player can help win a game.
It's not all about the starters as you would like to believe,
No other UConn player is as much of a rim protector as Amari is.
All of UConn's hopes could end up depending on her based on the opponent even if she only plays in relief.
Her minutes can save others from fouling out & to catch their wind.
That's how depth works & Amari is an important piece of the puzzle.

Yes it will come down to matchups. So why assume UCONN needs to matchup to the other team rather than they match up to UCONN? IS it because you have a lack of respect for 3 point shooting? SO what makes you think the big teams can defend on the perimeter within UCONN's motion offense when they move and set pick-after-pick.? The opposing bigs will be out on an Island tryoing to defend players like Paige and Azzi

And a rim protector, why is that more important vs playing solid fundamental defense? Adn what good is the shot blocker if she is finesse but can't rebound well? She puts every player around her in greater risk of foul trouble.

Her minutes can also change the complexion for a tight game because of her poor play. the games two years ago NC State used more of the bench as did Stanford - in some cases it hurt them.

And how championships work and final fours work it's superstars that get them there. I believe a certain HOF coach has shown you this over-and-over how success works, correct? Yet you just want to manufacture something new based on nothing more than "hope?"

Looking back at UCONN history their 11 titles – they have had all-time great’s help lead them in every one of them. Regardless of bench it has been about the superstar. This can’t be ignored and to be replaced by nothing more than “hope.”

 

[hoophuskee]

At this point, prior to any games actually being played, it’s not a good idea to dismiss Amari or any other UConn player’s ability to contribute meaningful minutes this coming season. As a reminder, UConn could well have lost last season to unranked Princeton if it had not been for Ines knocking down 3/4 FT’s in the last few minutes of the game. Everyone has a role to play this coming season.

Nor is it a good idea to dismiss the impact of Paige and Azzi and Edwards if anyone is doing that.

And in that game that Iness stepped in just having only minimal minutes and practice, yet she was still able to contruibute shows you don't need everyone to play decent minutes every game.

So for anyone to assume that Amari nor Ayanna can't step in and contribute because they aren't regular rotattion players (if that is the case), then that is a bit over-the-top imo.

 

[sun]

Yes it will come down to matchups. So why assume UCONN needs to matchup to the other team rather than they match up to UCONN? IS it because you have a lack of respect for 3 point shooting? SO what makes you think the big teams can defend on the perimeter within UCONN's motion offense when they move and set pick-after-pick.? The opposing bigs will be out on an Island tryoing to defend players like Paige and Azzi

And a rim protector, why is that more important vs playing solid fundamental defense? Adn what good is the shot blocker if she is finesse but can't rebound well? She puts every player around her in greater risk of foul trouble.

Who would you want to see guarding Laren Betts when UConn plays UCLA?
Or guarding Cardoso when UConn plays Scar?
Obviously there would need to be a rotation of UConn bigs to help each other to stay out of foul trouble.
That's why depth involves specialization & team work with help from the "little people" on the team.
Every player has their gifts that should be appreciated for when they're really needed.
When they're not there or available is when their presence will be missed the most.

 

[hoophuskee]

Who would you want to see guarding Laren Betts when UConn plays UCLA?
Or guarding Cardoso when UConn plays Scar?
Obviously there would need to be a rotation of UConn bigs to help each other to stay out of foul trouble.
That's why depth involves specialization & team work with help from the "little people" on the team.
Every player has their gifts that should be appreciated for when they're really needed.
When they're not there or available is when their presence will be missed the most.

Edwards and Ice can guard Betts. How many points has Betts averaged last year? Now all of a sudden this year she is Wilt Chamberlain?

As for Cardoso, similar thing. You are more afraid of non-all-American players rather than the other team fearing our NPOY and our All-American in Edwards? In regard to Cardoso, explain again how their Twin Towers helped them take down the much smaller Iowa?

And does Iowa of last year have the talent UConn has this year if healthy? Nope. And let's go over again which of the UCONN player's in the Iowa vs UCONN game at least matched Clark? It was Fudd,. So UCONN has two Cailin Clark types in which all it took was one to beat a huge and talented S.C. Team in which UCONN beat that same Iowa team with no Paige, Ice, Griffin, Jorka, and a banged up Ducharme. So that Iowa team could knock off SC but this current UCONN team should be scared to death of SC? Respect- yes. Paranoia of height only matters – nope.

In regard to rotation, there's a reason why UCONN has Edwards and Ice. That's two player's. At one time or another one or the other will guard the opposing center. That's why you have two players. That's why that’s called a rotation. One of them can also play part-time PF along with Griffin, and last year Ayanna Patterson was sufficient vs Iowa, Duke, NC State and Texas. Now she will be healthier. So let's not assume this year she forgot how to play.

And as far as "gifts," go, this isn't Elementary school where player’s get a hug and trophy for participation. You don't just play your worst player's because you hope and wish they can perform. You play the players that you have confidence that they will perform.

While you speak of the bottom of the bench player having gifts imo we also have to remember that bottom of the bench player was probably promised nothing in regard to minutes. So please let’s stop with the everyone has gifts. Paige for example also has gifts. Is it fair to her that she gets pulled for a 2 minute stretch because UCONN wants to reward participation rather than performance, and during that stretch UCONN's differential of leaving Paige out cost them the 1/2 point game? How is that fair to Paige and all of the teammates that came to UCONN with title aspiration. I'm sorry but io that's not what they signed up for.

 

[Skeets]

My fingers are crossed, too, Oldude, and I like your post, but I'd prefer it be said 'it's soon or never.' She does have two seasons ahead of her, and sometimes players finally arrive as seniors. This year would be great, but she might not be an impact player until next year. Like you and everyone else here, we're hoping for 'now.'

Deacon, I actually agree with you on this. It doesn't happen very often, but every once in a while a player suddenly blossoms in their senior year. Case in point, and people might throw rocks at me over this, but for 3 years I was unimpressed with Saniya Chong, and I was not a fan of her. Then in her senior year, I don't know what happened, but I was like wow, where has this kid been the last 3 years. I became a fan.

With Amari I hope to be able to say "wow, where has this kid been all along".

 

[Skeets]

That's what I notice, too. Now, part of this may be for an effect, to give them encouragement. But I don't think he wants to be seen by them as soft-pedaling any weaknesses, and they'd all recognize that in an instant. He knows when a group of kids has the right sort of energy.

No, I don't think his excitement is just to give the team encouragement. That's not his style. In fact he tends to go in the other direction. He's more of a "worst center in the nation", "can't guard a chair" kind of guy. If he is excited about this team, I have to believe it's authentic.

 

[Tonyc]

We have a team that can score alot of points and alot more points then any team they will play. Therefore opponents defense will have to slow us down. On an off nite UConn will still shoot better then most teams they play. The concern about bigs over 6'5 is really about UConn being out rebounded and for someone like Cardoza who can block up the middle. Once someone like Cardoza gets in foul trouble and has to sit its UConn Time. If an opponents big gets in foul trouble who do they replace her with?

Rosario is raw and Betts didnt play much last season for Stanford. Brink was the starter and got in foul trouble alot and Betts did not replace her often. Cardoso is also foul prone when playing alot of minutes. Im concerned about opponents bigs but not scared because I feel they will get in foul trouble.

As far as Amari Im hoping she is healthy and effective and gets more minutes then she did last season. In HS Amari played on a team that did not play against top competition and she faced alot of much smaller opponents. This is one reason why its taken her time to develop. I expect Amari to be given minutes early on to see how she performs. If she performs and shows promise she will get more minutes. As far as concerns about opponents having bigs that can dominate UConn I dont see it for the reasons I mentioned. In every game UConn plays this season opponents will focus on Paige Azzi Aaliyah and Caroline. Thats a tall order. I dont think its about UConn not having someone over 6'5 as much as it is about keeping UConn from going off and blowing opponents out. A 6'6 Amari who is effective will carry UConn along way but BB is a team sport and IMO UConn is the best team in WCBB because they can score. Our games against Kanas and UCLA will open alot of eyes.

 

[sun]

SCar also has a Senior transfer center 6'5" Sakima Walker plus 2 other players at 6'3".
And in addition to Betts, UCLA has 4 other players at 6'4".

I'd expect these other teams will be rotating their bigs & Geno has said that he expects to be rotating more players this year too.
I thank that Geno will too because of the bad experience with a short bench last year, & Geno saying that he wants more efficiency from all of the players when they're on the court.
Playing Amarri won't be gift if it's part of his strategy to win big games while keeping players fresh & out of foul trouble.
We'll see how it all works out when they play the games.

 

[Bone Dog]

Aubrey in her first two years was a much better 4 than Ayanna last year, so the bar is set much higher for her getting minutes this year.

in addition to Betts, UCLA has 4 other players at 6'4".

I am actually much more confident in Ayanna than a lot of folks on this thread, I suspect. Of course, I am a dreamy optimist and doubter of stats.

What I see in Ayanna is someone really strong who played great D at times last season and rebounded well. She contributed to shutting down Czinano last season, and you can’t do that without being really strong and with good footwork. Her offense has yet to blossom, and I suspect this was inevitable judging from her HS games, in most of which she was the most physically dominant player on the floor at any moment. She hadn’t learned an array of post moves from that period. This means her offensive game may still be a season away. But her D is ready right now.

I’m not sure what to make of your suggestion, @sun, about all the bigs on UCLA’s roster. As far as I can see, other than adding Betts and a low ranked freshman, they are essentially where they were last season. Anstey and Dugalic are both coming back from ACL injuries, so I’m not sure what sort of playing time to expect from them. Andretti could be a strong player at time before the injury, and Dugalic showed some better scoring. What will they be now? Well, they’ll certainly be able to give the starting posts a breather if nothing else. But right now, the core of UCLA’s frontcourt will be Betts and Bessoir, with Sontag first off the bench. I imagine Close will be able to support her backcourt much better with this much frontcourt depth, even if none of them turns out to be superstars.

As for Betts herself, I watched a few Pac12 games over the weekend and a couple of things really stood out. First is how good Brink has become as a shooter, in addition to the excellent defender she’s always been. If she gets any support at all from her backcourt, she’s a clear NPOY candidate this season. So, no wonder Betts didn’t see much playing time. But the fact that even in the conference finals, which they lost to UCLA, Betts didn’t get significant minutes says a lot about Tara’s confidence in her. She has some good post moves, and is a good rim protector. But her coach didn’t play her when the game was close. She does not deserve to be in the same conversation as Cardozo yet.

So who would guard her? For UCLA, it was Bessoir, Sontag and occasionally Iwuala, 6’4”, 6’3”, 6’2”. For us it would be Aaliyah Ice Ayanna and occasionally Amari, 6’3”, 6’3”, 6’2”, 6’6”. I think we got the height thing covered.

Remember, last season, Aaliyah Dorka and Ayanna played SC’s frontcourt very effectively. We were in that game until the final minute and lost not because of a shortcoming of the frontcourt but because we only had one perimeter shooting threat. Don’t get me wrong, Boston and Cardoso played really well. It’s not like we could stop them. But Aaliyah was awesome, scoring 25 on 10-14 shooting. Dorka didn’t get the better of anyone, but her presence in the game was important. And Ayanna didn’t contribute much. But this is the game I think about — against the dominant front court in D1 we almost won. Losing the rebounding battle was a huge factor. But even with that, just having one more perimeter threat would have been decisive. We only played two guards the entire game. Aaliyah played 29 mins and the other starts played 40.

Somehow, I think we are up to the task of taking on UCLA or Stanford or SC or LSU this year. Our bigs are big enough, and at least as skilled as anyone we’ll meet. And our backcourt is the best in D1.

 

[sun]

I don't know how Amari will get more exerienced if she doesn't get to play much.
Practice just isn't the same as real game time.

What I like about Amari's height & finesse as a defender is that she doesn't need to move as much as a shorter player does to block shots or obstruct shots taken by another big.
In that respect it's good that Amari isn't overly aggressive because she won't tend to foul as much.
She also has a really big wing span & long arms. She only needs to put her hands up & be on her toes whereas the shorter defended needs to leap & then come back straight down to the floor to not foul.
And then because of her long legs she can cover a lot of ground with a single step on both offense & defense.
Plus Amari can be a good shooter too.
So Amari has pluses & minuses like every player does.

I figure that Geno will be damned if he does & damned if he doesn't play her depending on the final score of big games.
But I do expect Amari to average 5-10 meaningful minutes because I expect Geno to be platooning more players this year & her specialization seems to be needed.
Plus she offers some passing ability from the high post & in traffic that Paige may be able to coax the best out of her.
Paige has a way of elevating the level of play of those around her.
The chemistry connection between Paige & other players shouldn't be discounted because Amari was never really able to play with Paige before.
Maybe Geno has taught Amari few new plays that we don't know about yet.
I can't help but think that Geno will be giving her more opportunity because he needs to incorporate her into the offense to be more effective for the team.
It would be a waste of a needed weapon if he doesn't so I'm betting that he will.
Amari needs to rise to the expections of being a Junior, & I think that she has a do or die attitude.
We saw glimpses of it last year that she can have an edge like when she got clocked in the jaw.
We saw Amari block a shot by palming the ball while in the player's hands & the player bent over backwards almost to the floor.
She's a powerful women,don;t let her slender muscles fool your.
She has those slender explosive muscles that Paige has.

 

[Bone Dog]

I don't know how Amari will get more exerienced if she doesn't get to play much.
Practice just isn't the same as real game time.

What I like about Amari's height & finesse as a defender is that she doesn't need to move as much as a shorter player does to block shots or obstruct shots taken by another big.
In that respect it's good that Amari isn't overly aggressive because she won't tend to foul as much.
She also has a really big wing span & long arms. She only needs to put her hands up & be on her toes whereas the shorter defended needs to leap & then come back straight down to the floor to not foul.
And then because of her long legs she can cover a lot of ground with a single step on both offense & defense.
Plus Amari can be a good shooter too.
So Amari has pluses & minuses like every player does.

I figure that Geno will be damned if he does & damned if he doesn't play her depending on the final score of big games.
But I do expect Amari to average 5-10 meaningful minutes because I expect Geno to be platooning more players this year & her specialization seems to be needed.
Plus she offers some passing ability from the high post & in traffic that Paige may be able to coax the best out of her.
Paige has a way of elevating the level of play of those around her.
The chemistry connection between Paige & other players shouldn't be discounted because Amari was never really able to play with Paige before.
Maybe Geno has taught Amari few new plays that we don't know about yet.
I can't help but think that Geno will be giving her more opportunity because he needs to incorporate her into the offense to be more effective for the team.
It would be a waste of a needed weapon if he doesn't so I'm betting that he will.
Amari needs to rise to the expections of being a Junior, & I think that she has a do or die attitude.
We saw glimpses of it last year that she can have an edge like when she got clocked in the jaw.
We saw Amari block a shot by palming the ball while in the player's hands & the player bent over backwards almost to the floor.
She's a powerful women,don;t let her slender muscles fool your.
She has those slender explosive muscles that Paige has.

I'm totally with you on Amari, and I like your optimism about her.

One thing I wish she would do more of -- and frankly all shot blockers could benefit from this -- is to approach a block not as a downward swat as much as an upward tip. Any disruption of the arc of the ball is likely to cause a miss. But tipping the ball up increases the blocker's chance off simply grabbing it a moment later. Even more importantly, tipping the ball up reduces the likelihood of getting a foul called. It's the swat that draws the attention of the refs. Amari tips the ball sometimes. Dorka did it too. I hope she focuses on this more.