Rocky....I'm sorry if my post seems a bit disrespectful to Becca Pope. It was certainly not meant to be that way. I tried to highlight the incredible story of a local Connecticut kid having a lifetime dream almost come true, only to have it delayed by injury. IF she is healthy and comes back this season, it will be wonderful to see her realize that dream.
I respectfully disagree that we are "scratching for material". The entire back half of the recent Moriah Jefferson thread was all about Pope and the larger issue of the UConn/Geno predicament when it comes to playing time this coming season. In fact, this will be one of Geno's biggest 2013/2014 challenges. Without Pope, UConn would have 9 roster players, including Banks coming back from injury and Saniya, a freshman. The injury bug can reduce that to 7 or 8 in the blink of an eye. Imagine playing at Duke in the Jimmy V classic with only 7 healthy players. The issue is very complicated. Can Geno afford to sit out someone with a "minor injury" when it means extra minutes for someone already playing 30 minutes per game? What about players who were healthy, but saw no action in a game, because they were in Geno's "dog house"? Who plays the last 10 minutes of a 40 point blowout in Texas?
In the Pope thread, Doggy had a great analysis of who/how the 2,000 minutes played by the graduating seniors will get distributed. It will be very interesting to see how Geno and staff balance "earned playing time" with the reality of what could be a "thin roster". There is also the related issue of UConn's practices, which reportedly are more difficult than games. Stewie's injury, as well as other minor ailments, occurred during practice. Does Geno throttle back the intensity of everyday practice to lessen the chance of injury? All this will add to an already interesting season.
If your objection is to having a contest, I can assure you we mean no disrespect. Everyone venturing a guess has an opinion about how the issues outlined above will play out. We will all be watching, not just to see IF Pope plays, but also to see how well she handles D1 competition. And I'm certain the whole BY will be cheering for Becca Pope to make her dream come true. Go Huskies..!!
If you are referring to Pope, I did not say that she'd be embarrassed, or that the team would be embarrassed. However, putting her on the court to guard Grey or Sims or some other elite guard might not be the best recipe for her self confidence, and long term success. I've never seen Geno put a walk on in a game where the other team has all their starters still on the court, but just because I don't recall seeing it doesn't mean he's never done it. I honestly have no idea how good she will be or what kind of success she will have at UCONN. It will be interesting to see what Geno does, but I made my prediction based on my opinion and recollection of how Geno has historically played walk ons.
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Or just pick another number.
