Frontcourt Strength

[RSHERMVIKES]

I think we start if healthy Nika, Paige, Azzi, Aubrey and Aaliyah.
Ice is backup for Aaliyah in case of early foul trouble. Ayanna is backup for Aubrey.
KK is first guard off the bench for Paige, Azzi and Nika.
That is 8 girl rotation. All others will have to show they want on the court.
We could play big with Amari, Aaliyah and Ice if necessary. Lots of options for Geno. He will figure it out I have no doubt. Go Huskies!!!!!!

jabstep- - -I agree mostly with your picks but think Caroline Ducharme will be in first group substituting!

 

[Alydar]

It could be pie in the sky, but you may have gone too far in the other direction in this assessment. Yes, there are precisely four competitive teams in the country significantly taller than our front court, SC, ND, Tennessee and UCLA. We matchup really well with pretty much any other front court in D1. Of these, only SC and ND have proven they can dominate. As for Tennessee and UCLA, we'll have to see how Key comes back from her health problems and whether Betts can improve her foot speed. And of this group, only SC, ND and UCLA have a back court in any way comparable to Paige and Co.

So, yes, there are challenges here. And that's what's makes a season fun.

SCar will be starting a completely new front court. History tells us that Dawn always has a strong front court but not an offensively dominating one. As for NDame, I always think of them as a guard-oriented offense and their best guard may be out for the season so while they will still be a top team I don't see "dominant".

 

[MilfordHusky]

Ice and Azzi appear to be the X-factors to me. While Aubrey has the skills to play the 4 or 3, against the bigger teams we will likley need a bigger body to compliment Edwards. UConn also has a number of good 3's that Geno will want to give time to plus suspect he will want to practive with a bigger lineup prior to the playoffs. If Azzi is healthy and hitting her 3's at the end of the year, we will have so many fast offensive guards, having Aubrey in there with them at any position will create more overall speed than most teams can handle.

Aubrey is the fastest player on the team and one of the fastest in the nation, especially at her height.

 

[Next 12]

I'm pretty sure Ashlynn will show that very clearly. My prediction is Ashlynn will not be denied.

I'm with you 100%. I have posted before that Ashlynn is a power forward and with her moves she will score or get free throws. Either way is OK. Ashlynn is not tall.but, she is quick and strong and has some moves that I like. GO ASHLYNN!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[Bone Dog]

How about LSU, UNC and Texas?

LSU is not taller than we are. That was the question we were all wondering about. UNC is also not taller. Texas is taller, but only in Taylor Jones and Amina Muhammad. They have two very tall freshman, but we weren't counting them.

 

[Charliebball]

LSU is not taller than we are. That was the question we were all wondering about. UNC is also not taller. Texas is taller, but only in Taylor Jones and Amina Muhammad. They have two very tall freshman, but we weren't counting them.

Not much taller but Reese and Morrow are two of the best offensive rebounders in college basketball regardless of height and Del Rosario is 6'5" or 6'6"

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

I hope Amari comes to play this season. Geno has to allow her to make mistakes in live games so that she can learn from those mistakes. With that being said, I hope Amari comes into training camp hungrier than ever before. I'm not at all expecting her to be banging bodies down low with a Cardosa type of player or Cameron Brink. Amari has skill assets that can set her apart from both of those players. She just needs to believe, everything she in on the floor, that she is the best center in the country. If Amari averages 10pts 7boards a game, we will be in the NCAA championship game in 2024. Guarantee. Go Huskies

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

I like that Geno scheduled early games with really good defensive minded teams. I think last year's loss to Ohio state exposed the huskies weakness in being pressured defensively. It was definitely a learning curve. I believe our front court really learned a lot from that game. I expect a lot teams will play Uconn the way Ohio did, especially with Bueckers coming back from injury. A lot of teams are going to try and rattle Paige, get in head a bit too.

 

[wingsfan055]

Jana's injury was devastating. To say there are question marks with the front court due to physical and mental health concerns and unknown production is a HUGE understatement.

I'd feel a lot better if CD was healthy, but after what I saw in Europe, I dont see how anyone could feel confident she can play anymore. We dont know what Brady can do. She could be a positive surprise and contribute right away. But again, a big unknown at this point. AG is reliable (if healthy) but if she has to play big minutes at the 4, we will be in big trouble against the top, bigger teams in the country. AP, and AD are big unknowns due to injury and not showing they can contribute much for the little time they have played.

I'm very surprised Geno didnt go after a veteran Big from the Portal after Jana's injury, but maybe there was not much talent there.

Lets hope Paige & Azzi play at a high level. That will at least free up the spacing and help the Bigs contribute.

 

[Cuango]

SCar will be starting a completely new front court. History tells us that Dawn always has a strong front court but not an offensively dominating one. As for NDame, I always think of them as a guard-oriented offense and their best guard may be out for the season so while they will still be a top team I don't see "dominant".

Why would Miles be out for the season? I thought she was possibly going to be ready for this season? She is a real talent and if she is healthy, ND becomes a threat to beat anybody.

 

[jabstep]

jabstep- - -I agree mostly with your picks but think Caroline Ducharme will be in first group substituting!

I love CD's game but I find it hard to count on her because of her constant head injuries. As I said if others then my 8 get on the court and prove they can play all the better. We all hope Ayanna, CD, Ice and Amari are healthy this year.

 

[UConnCat]

Why would Miles be out for the season? I thought she was possibly going to be ready for this season? She is a real talent and if she is healthy, ND becomes a threat to beat anybody.

Expected back January (maybe) coming off major knee surgery in April, possibly ACL though from the moment it happened no one has talked about the nature of the injury. Maybe because Niele refused to rule her out for the NCAA tournament before the brackets were released, coming clean now would expose her mild gamesmanship with the committee. If it were an ACL tear, they knew shortly after it happened.

 

[Jim R]

Not much taller but Reese and Morrow are two of the best offensive rebounders in college basketball regardless of height and Del Rosario is 6'5" or 6'6"

Actually Del Rosario is listed at 6'7" on USC's website Roster. Having seen her numerous times, I'd say she's a good 6'6". Secondly, since Staley's strategy always seems to be based on the old Summit method of throwing it up there and outrebounding the opposition, from the portal she snagged junior college player of the year, 6'5" Sakima Walker. So, yes, some of our tougher opponents are taller than we are. With Paige & Azzi, our backcourt will shine, pressed or not, they'll be just fine.

 

[Bazz2014]

I am not into who is a 3 or 4 pr 5. I am not into any negative thoughts.I go by what I feel about the players and their past performances. GENO is the secret to Uconn's success. Whatever hand Geno is dealt, he responds to the situation and devises a plan that works. As I have stated many times, irregardless of contrary opinions, Uconn will win the BE. Uconn will win the N.C. Geno will be the coach of the year and finally our future is assured for the next 3 years. The players on this roster will compete with any team out there and prevail. Because of Geno, he takes a GOOD player and makes them a GREAT player. His past records proves that. This year will be a year to remember. Geno will never eat his hat. GO GENO!!! GO TEAM!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!

It’s this for me. Geno will have a specific gameplan for every team we face, and he is the master of strategizing with a focus on taking away something the opponent relies on. In the cases where an opponent relies on front court depth/height, he has tons of options to disrupt that that have no bearing on how tall our players are. Bring full court pressure to force the whole opposing team to adjust higher out to help even get the ball into the front court. Or, have guards double down on any low post entries and prevent players from putting the ball on the deck as they get into their post move (this is of course after our guards have terrorized their guards and made those post entries near impossible ). Throw in the occasional zone to force their offense to adjust and shoot over us. Or maybe do all of the above throughout the game so you never let the other team get into any form of “flow” on offense.

And none of this even touches the fact they’re those same post players then have to spend the other half of the game defending AE and whoever else is playing alongside her. Maybe you go small ball and force the opponents forwards to chase aubrey or Caroline around as they shoot/cut/slash…. And oh by the way, those same post players will also be tasked with being the second line of defense should Azzi/paige/KK/Nika make it into the paint and get past their primary defender.

We will miss Jana…. For sure. But we still have a plethora of ways to disrupt other teams even without her. We may not win every game, but we will for sure be one of the toughest teams every single opponent we face has to contend with and they will need to be darn near perfect (with a healthy dose of luck) to get past us.

 

[Geew1992]

Actually Del Rosario is listed at 6'7" on USC's website Roster. Having seen her numerous times, I'd say she's a good 6'6". Secondly, since Staley's strategy always seems to be based on the old Summit method of throwing it up there and outrebounding the opposition, from the portal she snagged junior college player of the year, 6'5" Sakima Walker. So, yes, some of our tougher opponents are taller than we are. With Paige & Azzi, our backcourt will shine, pressed or not, they'll be just fine.

Pretty sure she's at LSU

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Why would Miles be out for the season? I thought she was possibly going to be ready for this season? She is a real talent and if she is healthy, ND becomes a threat to beat anybody.

Cuango- - Paige Bueckers was told it would take 12+ months to recover enough to return to play this season!
Miles got hurt end of Feb. or beginning of March so she's been rehabbing just over 7 months!
She could be back the end of 2023 -2024 season or possibly next year!

 

[Bone Dog]

Utah was two free throws away from playing Iowa in the NC game and their starting center was 6’0”. The height issue is overrated. Iowa’s starting center was 6’3”. Angel liked to taunt smaller players but they didn’t get to the NC by being taller than everyone. They were quick and strong and Morris had a great tournament. They won because Jasmine Carson had the shooting night of her career.

The only contending teams with 6’7” centers will be UCLA and SC, and they will be formidable largely because they have good backcourt players opening things up for their frontcourt players. It won’t surprise me to see either or both of them in the NC game. But I think it is more likely that UConn will play one of them in that game.

What will surprise me is to see LSU in that game this year. Kim improved her frontcourt by adding Morrow, but her backcourt is weaker than last year. If they surprise it won’t be because they lack height, but because they lack perimeter shooting. I fully expect SC to run the table in the SEC with LSU coming in third.

As for folks saying Del Rosario will supply that height for LSU, sure, why not? I hope that means they’re counting Amari too, then. An untested lumbering freshman vs someone with a few years of experience at this level. If that height matters, then we’re definitely in that same league.

Will Amari impress this season? I have a good feeling about how she’ll play. But I don’t think she’ll be the key for us. Aaliyah Ice Ayanna Aubrey and Caroline will do the job for us without having to break any expectations.

 

[sun]

Height is a lot like money.
Money isn't everything but it sure helps to have some.
One minute highilights of Lauren Betts when she won Pac 12 Freshman of the Week.

 

[Jim R]

Pretty sure she's at LSU

Ooops, my mistake, meant Cardoso

 

[stamfordhusky]

Cuango- - Paige Bueckers was told it would take 12+ months to recover enough to return to play this season!
Miles got hurt end of Feb. or beginning of March so she's been rehabbing just over 7 months!
She could be back the end of 2023 -2024 season or possibly next year!

But there are many players who have returned from torn ACLs in 6–8 months. Many.

 

[veryolddog]

I had to read every post in this thread before I started to think about a putting forth an opinion. This team is too short in height especially in the front court. I thought that this might have been remedied by Janet but the injury really put an end to that until the next year. Amari really has not shown much and I do not know if putting high epectations upon her for this year is beyond her capability. Caroline D took a very serious bang last year hat has not really been corrected. Having seen Marines effected by explosions, it is highly likely that she will ever recover. That leaves people we have not yet seen play and one that had a iffy year. They are still too short.

I am hopeful about Paige and Azzi but I am also worried about the possibility of re-injury. The first 6 to 10 games will tell the story about the season. I hope that they patched these people up properly so that they can perform up to expectations. Sure would be nice to see Amari peform so well that each one of us is extolling her skill set and cheering her on.

 

[FormerCTrez]

View attachment 91796View attachment 91797

Paige seems to have grown an inch!!! I thought she was always listed as 5’11”.

 

[Rowdy831]

Too many people are stressing the taller players but many of them are tall but not great athletes. UCONN will force almost every team to go small or they will get run out of the building. Secondly you have Ice and AE in there that are both strong and if they play good fundamental BB which is a hallmark of Geno's teams they will hold their own against any player, even if they are an inch or two taller.

If it becomes too much of an issue they he has a 6'6 player on the bench who can come in to help out. In the end every fan focuses on what their team doesn't have and in this case only UCONN has Azzi, Paige, Aaliyah and Nika. If you don't match up with those players you can't beat UCONN>

 

[wingsfan055]

Utah was two free throws away from playing Iowa in the NC game and their starting center was 6’0”. The height issue is overrated. Iowa’s starting center was 6’3”. Angel liked to taunt smaller players but they didn’t get to the NC by being taller than everyone. They were quick and strong and Morris had a great tournament. They won because Jasmine Carson had the shooting night of her career.

The only contending teams with 6’7” centers will be UCLA and SC, and they will be formidable largely because they have good backcourt players opening things up for their frontcourt players. It won’t surprise me to see either or both of them in the NC game. But I think it is more likely that UConn will play one of them in that game.

What will surprise me is to see LSU in that game this year. Kim improved her frontcourt by adding Morrow, but her backcourt is weaker than last year. If they surprise it won’t be because they lack height, but because they lack perimeter shooting. I fully expect SC to run the table in the SEC with LSU coming in third.

As for folks saying Del Rosario will supply that height for LSU, sure, why not? I hope that means they’re counting Amari too, then. An untested lumbering freshman vs someone with a few years of experience at this level. If that height matters, then we’re definitely in that same league.

Will Amari impress this season? I have a good feeling about how she’ll play. But I don’t think she’ll be the key for us. Aaliyah Ice Ayanna Aubrey and Caroline will do the job for us without having to break any expectations.

I agree size is not the only thing, but I would hardly call Uconn a fast or quick team. In fact, average is being generous. Maybe the freshman guards can speed up their game.

 

[Husky fanatic]

Pretty sure she's at LSU

The transfer portal is fast

 

[Bone Dog]

It never ceases to amaze me how May-October posts turn so quickly into “realists” trying to talk the fantasists down. Why do this? The summer is unbearable if we aren’t allowed to fantasize. There will be so much time for realism once the season starts.

 

[hoophuskee]

Height is a lot like money.
Money isn't everything but it sure helps to have some.
One minute highilights of Lauren Betts when she won Pac 12 Freshman of the Week.

Sure but you don't have to be a billionaire to be considered "rich." To suggest UCONN's frontocurt is a weakness or will be weak beucase a radom team is better only because they are taller is like calling a CEO Mega Mega Miliionaire "middle-class."

 

[HiDribble]

I keep hoping and praying that Amari is 100% healthy and has that "I want to dominate" mindset and just comes out balling this year. At 6'6" OMG. The possibilities are off the charts!

The lost of Jana hurts because we all wanted to see her play and her brief summer ball games gave us a window of what a talented young lady she is going to be for the program. Now we just have to sit and wait until next year or the following year to see her at full strength. Just depends on how quickly she recovers.

The rest of the frontcourt, so many options. I just hope that Caroline is able to play. She gives us options on the wing. Q is going to be special because she plays without fear. Ayanna. Like Amari, I think Ayanna is going to have a breakout year. She is strong, athletic, and I believe ready to add to the program.

The rest of the team, with so much versatility, just makes us that stronger and more dangerous.

For Amari to dominate would be nothing short of a miracle.

 

[Steelerone]

I read much of the above as pie in the sky.
The UConn front court is small
and does not have a monster scorer.

I adore Caroline but fret about her head issues
We're one or two incidents away before she'll have to give up competitive sports

Aaliyah's terrif and could even be better than next season...Ice is an unknown as are all rookies.
Aubrey also is capable, huge on defense but offensively is up and down. I'm not getting into Amari optimism despite her size and potential.

One could say, with all the backcourt scoring, who needs a big scoring forecourt...ok, not unreasonable.

The forecourt is not an area of strength; almost weakness; certainly a question mark.

Unfortunately, I agree with you.

 

[Steelerone]

When Uconn started into it's prime our frontcourt was the tallest in the country with Rebecca Lobo and others. We continued with athletic 6'2", 6'3:, frontcourt for several years. At that time the majority of other teams were operating under the same guidelines. Then along came Stewie and four championships later we stopped with the bigs while teams like South Carolina, Stanford and Baylor stepped up their recruitment. In women's basketball 6'3" is no longer a "big", just like 6' is no longer a "big" in men's basketball.