Gotta Have A Preseason Top 10

[RockyMTblue2]

Are these UConn's Top 10 Preseason Factors? Has Geno found the formula to push Paige where he wants her? Husky fans are dying to know.

 

[Centerstream]

My opinion of this guy...he reads The BoneYard.

 

[Bone Dog]

I like his optimism. And it's a good list of reasons for optimism.

As for the #1 reason, Paige, I hate to say this because the summer is not the moment to worry about injuries. But Paige has been cheated of so much these past 4 years. Twice injuries tripped her up, and once her teammates let her down. In her best chance, while held together with kinesio tape and string, she willed the Huskies to the NC game only to lose to Scar. I really hope this year, she gets the team she deserves and leads them to the NC her talents and personality merit. She can set an example that the young Huskies can take forward and build on after she's moved on.

 

[Centerstream]

As for the #1 reason, Paige, I hate to say this because the summer is not the moment to worry about injuries. But Paige has been cheated of so much these past 4 years. Twice injuries tripped her up, and once her teammates let her down. In her best chance, while held together with kinesio tape and string, she willed the Huskies to the NC game only to lose to Scar.

Seriously??????

 

[Bone Dog]

Seriously??????

Sorry, that's how I saw that Arizona game in her freshman year. She carried them in all the big games -- against Tennessee and Scar and Baylor. Arizona plays ball deny defense against her and no one else stepped up.

 

[yhun89]

Not a fan of his Nika take. Sure she made some dumb errors but she was easily one of our most lockdown defenders and a big reason we made it to the FF. Locking Dyaisha down for as long as she did before fouling out, helping to force Juju into tough shots, and overall being a defensive menace to Caitlin Clark (single digits in a half). How can you say “good riddance” to her like that as a fan?

 

[Centerstream]

Sorry, that's how I saw that Arizona game in her freshman year. She carried them in all the big games -- against Tennessee and Scar and Baylor. Arizona plays ball deny defense against her and no one else stepped up.

Oh, ok. I guess Aari McDonald's game played no part in our loss. Or maybe that's 7 of her teammates fault too.

 

[Bone Dog]

Oh, ok. I guess Aari McDonald's game played no part in our loss. Or maybe that's 7 of her teammates fault too.

Take it easy there. I have no interest in debating you or anyone else. If you see that season differently, then say so. When I look at those games -- not just one game taken out of context -- what I see is a team that relied too much on Paige. And in the last game, Aari played really well (26 pts on 7-17, with formidable defense) and held Paige to below average scoring (18 pts on 5-13 shooting), and Christyn played well (20 pts on 7-17) until she fouled out. The rest of the team seemed out of sync to me, and I think of games not in terms of just one player taken in isolation, but as a team effort. Being out of sync against a tough opponent is more or less what happened against Tennessee and SCar too, though Paige was able to pull those games out with a bit of her magic. And bear in mind that this was a season she played on a bad ankle that required post season surgery. So don't try to take anything away from her.

So, seriously, if you see it differently, explain how. Don't just snark at me.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I like his optimism. And it's a good list of reasons for optimism.

As for the #1 reason, Paige, I hate to say this because the summer is not the moment to worry about injuries. But Paige has been cheated of so much these past 4 years. Twice injuries tripped her up, and once her teammates let her down. In her best chance, while held together with kinesio tape and string, she willed the Huskies to the NC game only to lose to Scar. I really hope this year, she gets the team she deserves and leads them to the NC her talents and personality merit. She can set an example that the young Huskies can take forward and build on after she's moved on.

Love the post @Bone Dog

 

[Centerstream]

Take it easy there. I have no interest in debating you or anyone else. If you see that season differently, then say so. When I look at those games -- not just one game taken out of context -- what I see is a team that relied too much on Paige. And in the last game, Aari played really well (26 pts on 7-17, with formidable defense) and held Paige to below average scoring (18 pts on 5-13 shooting), and Christyn played well (20 pts on 7-17) until she fouled out. The rest of the team seemed out of sync to me, and I think of games not in terms of just one player taken in isolation, but as a team effort. Being out of sync against a tough opponent is more or less what happened against Tennessee and SCar too, though Paige was able to pull those games out with a bit of her magic. And bear in mind that this was a season she played on a bad ankle that required post season surgery. So don't try to take anything away from her.

So, seriously, if you see it differently, explain how. Don't just snark at me.

I think that the phrase you used is a bit too derogatory, about that UConn team or any UConn team. Just an opinion I voiced.
I am done now.

 

[Dugway]

Sorry, that's how I saw that Arizona game in her freshman year. She carried them in all the big games -- against Tennessee and Scar and Baylor. Arizona plays ball deny defense against her and no one else stepped up.

I honestly thought you were referencing the 2022 NCAA Tournament run! UConn beat up Indiana, then a 3-OT game to get past NC State, and another very close game against Stanford, before getting crushed by So. Carolina in the National Championship game.

The first game against Indiana, the entire team was involved, and UConn beat the Mackenzie Homes lead Hoosiers rather handedly. It really was a team win, and they beat 'em handedly. After that game however, it was pretty much the Paige Bueckers show while the rest of the team stood around and watched her work. “Go win it for us Paige, go win it for us!” Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa were the three Seniors on that team, and frankly they all disappointed me.

I am not certain that Evina ever really had the same talent that the others had. I liked her play, she was a hustler, gave great effort, but even as a fifth-year senior she was not a starter. As noted, I just don’t think she had the talent that others had, she was coming off the bench, and had less minutes to impact games, so I am not going to be too harsh on Westbrook. But she certainly did not outplay her expectations any.

Olivia was solid that year, but I would not say great, and when it came to the Final Four in 2022, she was not good. In games where she was up against teams with a center, Olivia would often prove not to be the best of the two. She would be okay against some, but against a decent player she would be beat, and just get crushed if up against a really good center.

Example: the NC State game against Elissa Cunane; Liv’s defense could not stop her at all! And on offense, Olivia scored just 6 pts in a triple overtime game where she played a huge number of minutes. I realize there are other things to impact a game then just scoring, but triple overtime and just Six Points? Against Stanford, she was up against Cameron Brink; it didn’t go much better in that game. She scored 8 against Stanford and half of those were free throws. In the meantime, Cam doubled her. Against the Gamecocks in the National Championship Game, it was like Olivia didn’t even show up; 4 Points and 2 Rebounds! Read that again, FOUR POINTS and TWO REBOUNDS!!! Aaliyah Boston just beat the crap out of her – 16 Rebounds, 11 Points and 2 Blocks (both against Nelson-Ododa).

I just do not know how to explain Christyn Williams; she was the #1 ranked player out of high school - envision the hype that Sarah is receiving today. And yet, in her senior year, believing Christyn would be really hungry as not having even been close to winning a National Championship and we get: in the triple overtime game, she scored 21 pts; okay! Yet she shot 22 times to get those points and had exactly ZERO assists, and was a non-factor when it was crucial during those overtime minutes. Unfortunately, that was her highlight for the NCAA Tournament. From then on, we can only describe her performance as ‘very poor‘. Against Stanford, she went 3-13 in field goals; a whopping 23% - very poor! Against the Gamecocks in the National Championship Game, she went 1-7 in field goals for a total of 2 Pts … um, this is our senior leader??? “Go win it for us Paige, go win it for us!”

 

[Bone Dog]

I honestly thought you were referencing the 2022 NCAA Tournament run! UConn beat up Indiana, then a 3-OT game to get past NC State, and another very close game against Stanford, before getting crushed by So. Carolina in the National Championship game.

The first game against Indiana, the entire team was involved, and UConn beat the Mackenzie Homes lead Hoosiers rather handedly. It really was a team win, and they beat 'em handedly. After that game however, it was pretty much the Paige Bueckers show while the rest of the team stood around and watched her work. “Go win it for us Paige, go win it for us!” Christyn Williams, Evina Westbrook, and Olivia Nelson-Ododa were the three Seniors on that team, and frankly they all disappointed me.

I am not certain that Evina ever really had the same talent that the others had. I liked her play, she was a hustler, gave great effort, but even as a fifth-year senior she was not a starter. As noted, I just don’t think she had the talent that others had, she was coming off the bench, and had less minutes to impact games, so I am not going to be too harsh on Westbrook. But she certainly did not outplay her expectations any.

Olivia was solid that year, but I would not say great, and when it came to the Final Four in 2022, she was not good. In games where she was up against teams with a center, Olivia would often prove not to be the best of the two. She would be okay against some, but against a decent player she would be beat, and just get crushed if up against a really good center.

Example: the NC State game against Elissa Cunane; Liv’s defense could not stop her at all! And on offense, Olivia scored just 6 pts in a triple overtime game where she played a huge number of minutes. I realize there are other things to impact a game then just scoring, but triple overtime and just Six Points? Against Stanford, she was up against Cameron Brink; it didn’t go much better in that game. She scored 8 against Stanford and half of those were free throws. In the meantime, Cam doubled her. Against the Gamecocks in the National Championship Game, it was like Olivia didn’t even show up; 4 Points and 2 Rebounds! Read that again, FOUR POINTS and TWO REBOUNDS!!! Aaliyah Boston just beat the crap out of her – 16 Rebounds, 11 Points and 2 Blocks (both against Nelson-Ododa).

I just do not know how to explain Christyn Williams; she was the #1 ranked player out of high school - envision the hype that Sarah is receiving today. And yet, in her senior year, believing Christyn would be really hungry as not having even been close to winning a National Championship and we get: in the triple overtime game, she scored 21 pts; okay! Yet she shot 22 times to get those points and had exactly ZERO assists, and was a non-factor when it was crucial during those overtime minutes. Unfortunately, that was her highlight for the NCAA Tournament. From then on, we can only describe her performance as ‘very poor‘. Against Stanford, she went 3-13 in field goals; a whopping 23% - very poor! Against the Gamecocks in the National Championship Game, she went 1-7 in field goals for a total of 2 Pts … um, this is our senior leader??? “Go win it for us Paige, go win it for us!”

I don't share your criticism of Evina or Olivia or Christyn for the 2022 NC run. Evina held the team together early in the season, and she was clutch at the end too. That she often came off the bench was not a criticism of her by Geno. It was a recognition of how versatile she was. Olivia and Aaliyah were playing against a bigger and stronger front court in SC, and without Dorka who broke her wrist against NC St. Those stats you cite don't capture the reality of those games -- Boston was a great player having a great season and with no worries about foul trouble given who her backup was. No one in the country had stopped her. Olivia did what she could given the injury and health situation that day. If Azzi hadn't come down with the flu, the pressure on the SC backcourt might have equalized things for the frontcourt at least a bit. And Christyn played well all season, in my view, on both ends of the floor. This was a team that was utterly discombobulated by the injury to Paige in the ND game early on. And when she returned at the end of the season, there was simply a limit to what they could do. With Dorka in the lineup, I think they'd have been more competitive against Boston and Cardoso. But without her was simply asking too much.

Just to give a little more context. SC that season played with 6 players who would be drafted into the W, UConn was playing with 4 or 5 or perhaps 6, too, but one of them was out with a broken wrist, another was coming off a devastating knee injury, and a third (a freshman) had the flu.

Still, even seeing the game this way, I think injury karma was unkind to Paige in the 2022 tournament run. She made a heroic effort to carry the team to the finish line.

 

[Geew1992]

Sorry, that's how I saw that Arizona game in her freshman year. She carried them in all the big games -- against Tennessee and Scar and Baylor. Arizona plays ball deny defense against her and no one else stepped up.

And you don’t think Williams carried them to the final 4?? And probably was the best player for UConn vs Arizona

 

[Bone Dog]

And you don’t think Williams carried them to the final 4?? And probably was the best player for UConn vs Arizona

See above post, in which I credit Christyn for having a good game against Arizona. I've always loved Christyn's game. She also played really well against Iowa and Baylor. Did she carry the team to the Final Four? No, I don't think so. But she played well. The term 'carry' in this context usually describes the single effort of a dominant player.

 

[cgshuskie]

Bone Dog what games were you watching. Both Christyn and Olivia were awful in 2022 NCAA. Stats don't tell the whole story. As seniors they were bad.....

 

[Bone Dog]

Bone Dog what games were you watching. Both Christyn and Olivia were awful in 2022 NCAA. Stats don't tell the whole story. As seniors they were bad.....

I was thinking of the 20-21 season and tournament. Did I mistype?

Anyway, watch the Iowa game from that season and get back to me. Christyn had a really good game, playing the shutdown defender on Caitlin and scoring 27 if I recall correctly. The Baylor game too.

 

[MSGRET]

Sorry, that's how I saw that Arizona game in her freshman year. She carried them in all the big games -- against Tennessee and Scar and Baylor. Arizona plays ball deny defense against her and no one else stepped up.

I also believe that if Nika had not twisted her ankle and had been 100 percent, UConn would have beaten Arizona.

 

[jdote33]

I also believe that if Nika had not twisted her ankle and had been 100 percent, UConn would have beaten Arizona.

I agree. The what ifs are enough to keep u up at night on a random summer weekday jk. But I also think if Dorka and Azzi r 100 percent in 22, they at least compete against South Carolina a bit better in the championship. They lost the matchup earlier in the season so I won't say win.
But the AZ game was so strange. I think more about CW getting into foul trouble but you're right they definitely could've used a healthy Nika.

 

[Aluminny69]

Not a fan of his Nika take. Sure she made some dumb errors but she was easily one of our most lockdown defenders and a big reason we made it to the FF. Locking Dyaisha down for as long as she did before fouling out, helping to force Juju into tough shots, and overall being a defensive menace to Caitlin Clark (single digits in a half). How can you say “good riddance” to her like that as a fan?

I think you are misunderstanding what he is saying. You have to admit when she fouled out it really hurt the team. And some of her fouls were real head scratchers. As a senior, she should have learned how to stay out of foul trouble. Admit it, you worried whenever she came close to fouling out. But yes, she had a lot of positives too.