Here Comes Tomorrow

[Tonyc]

Another big game with against Fla St. I think I can say we're all thrilled that Nika and Dorka are back. Its hard to believe that we had almost our entire starting 5 on the bench and we struggled and I feel we grew from it. We were playing with injured players who were still recovering and playing out of position. We lacked shooters and ball handlers and we stumbled forward. A tuff task.

So Im sure many of you are thinking we will have Nika and Dorka back and things are going to be back to where they were. We will see how many minutes both get and how effective they are coming back. Im excited to see Dorka and Edwards playing together now. I can tell you this. A couple of things will change. One we wont be playing out of position but we will be playing injured and that wont change for a while. I expect less turnovers, more steals and better defense. We will win this game by double digits as long as we are healthy.

UConn is at a whole different level then most teams they face. Most teams couldve never survived what UConn has been through. First we have a very tuff schedule and we are winning games with walking wounded. Azzi is still out. Just think when she gets back and up to speed. I know we were told 3-6 weeks Yeah and we were told Dorka 3-5 games and that didnt happen. Azzi will be back when Azzi is ready. We are really good right now and when Azzi and Caroline get up to speed UConn is gonna be very tuff to beat. There may be some rust however UConn will win tomorrow by double digits.

 

[Centerstream]

Are we sure that Dorka is back? I thought her status for tomorrow's game is the same as it was for the Princeton and Maryland games, game time decision. If I am not mistaken, she had her latest thumb protection put on for the Princeton game but still didn't play.
Don't get me wrong, I am hoping, along with most everyone else, that she plays and give us some meaningful minutes, but...

 

[Next 12]

If Dorka plays tomorrow,along with Aaliyah and Aubrey, we will win the rebounding. With Nika in the game, we have best defender on the floor. If the BIG 5, Aaliyah, Dorka, Caroline , Lou and Aubrey do their normal scoring , we will win by double figures. Even with our walking wounded we are still formidable and I really,really pray everybody comes out of this game healthy..GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[JordyG]

The return of Nika and Dorka does a few things. First of course, Nika's better defensively than any other guard UConn has. Second, UConn now has enough bodies to press full court again, which should drastically shrink that TO ratio and get UConn some easy baskets. Third of course, Nika gets the ball to her scorers in a well placed and timely manner. Better than anyone available. Fourth, Dorka was rebounding well before her injury and was showing some improvement both at the line and with her mid range. Plus, Dorka was playing good positional defense making her opponents shoot over her and getting some blocks because of it. This takes a lot of pressure off AE defensively while giving UConn a chance to work a little high low action offensively. Also either Dorka or AE can drift out or fade off the screen for their midrange shot without losing rebounding strength inside. I wouldn't be surprised if neither played more than 25 minutes, but I'll take it. 9 players in uniform. Wow.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[Tonyc]

You know whats great about these comments? We arent at full strength and we're all talking about winning this game. I can only imagine how bright the rest of the season will be.

 

[TCC Kid]

Another big game with against Fla St. I think I can say we're all thrilled that Nika and Dorka are back. Its hard to believe that we had almost our entire starting 5 on the bench and we struggled and I feel we grew from it. We were playing with injured players who were still recovering and playing out of position. We lacked shooters and ball handlers and we stumbled forward. A tuff task.

So Im sure many of you are thinking we will have Nika and Dorka back and things are going to be back to where they were. We will see how many minutes both get and how effective they are coming back. Im excited to see Dorka and Edwards playing together now. I can tell you this. A couple of things will change. One we wont be playing out of position but we will be playing injured and that wont change for a while. I expect less turnovers, more steals and better defense. We will win this game by double digits as long as we are healthy.

UConn is at a whole different level then most teams they face. Most teams couldve never survived what UConn has been through. First we have a very tuff schedule and we are winning games with walking wounded. Azzi is still out. Just think when she gets back and up to speed. I know we were told 3-6 weeks Yeah and we were told Dorka 3-5 games and that didnt happen. Azzi will be back when Azzi is ready. We are really good right now and when Azzi and Caroline get up to speed UConn is gonna be very tuff to beat. There may be some rust however UConn will win tomorrow by double digits.

I didn't you didn't and Uconn Ladies didn't stumble. They were depleted, they were under strength Yet, through it all, they survived and excelled.
Experiences gained: Ines, DeBerry, Ayanna all obtained experience against a very very physical Maryland and a very intelligent Princeton team.
Come MARCH, this will show its pretty head by the quality of SUBS Geno can apply then. Every bad break is an opportunity for one Uconn kid or another to display courage and show who they are.
Ines , Ayanna, Deberry, Edwards, Lou, all showed up in these games. Edwards showed she is the STAR she was in CANADA. Lou is learning Div ONE opponents, and showing us SHE is the REAL DEAL.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Florida State is probably a sleeper team this year. Young with a lot of emerging talent. They will not be a pushover. Hopefully we can get out to a strong start. They went on a 20-2 run against a team earlier this week.

 

[PAHuskeyFan]

Florida State is probably a sleeper team this year. Young with a lot of emerging talent. They will not be a pushover. Hopefully we can get out to a strong start. They went on a 20-2 run against a team earlier this week.

Context is always important. Teams they beat have combined 48 wins 65 losses. Only 3 teams they beat have a record above .500... 1 of those was 1 point win over Purdue, a 15 point win over Florida, and 9 points over Kent State. They have feasted on weak teams and played nail biters vs the better teams.

No team should be taken for granted, but UCONN has superior size and Coaching.

Go Huskies!!

 

[Centerstream]

Florida State is probably a sleeper team this year. Young with a lot of emerging talent. They will not be a pushover. Hopefully we can get out to a strong start. They went on a 20-2 run against a team earlier this week.

What team was that?

 

[MSGRET]

What team was that?

Florida State is probably a sleeper team this year. Young with a lot of emerging talent. They will not be a pushover. Hopefully we can get out to a strong start. They went on a 20-2 run against a team earlier this week.

Presbyterian College is rated #327 by Massey ratings, another words there are only 34 teams rated lower out of the 361 teams in Div I basketball. FSU has only played 4 teams in the Top 100, going 3 - 1. They haven't played a team like UConn and I don't think that they will be within 20 points of the Huskies at the end of the game.

 

[tkaes]

Are we sure that Dorka is back? I thought her status for tomorrow's game is the same as it was for the Princeton and Maryland games, game time decision. If I am not mistaken, she had her latest thumb protection put on for the Princeton game but still didn't play.
Don't get me wrong, I am hoping, along with most everyone else, that she plays and give us some meaningful minutes, but...

It was on the ESPN crawl yesterday (Friday). Both Nika and Dorka. The info on the crawl is usually reliable.

 

[Tonyc]

Well tomorrow is here today. Its gonna be hard for a shorter FLa St team to score inside on UConn. Its gonna be hard for a one dimensional Fla St team to score with Nika and Aubrey guarding their top scorers. Fla St will need help and I dont think they have enough. UConns height, athleticism, will control UConns defense and offense. I expect alot of scoring inside from alot of rebounding. This will be a good test and a great game for Nika and Dorka coming back.

 

[Bone Dog]

If Dorka plays, I wonder if Geno will put her or Aaliyah at the free throw line on D to disrupt their guard play. If they can play Nika Lou and Aubrey most of the game and rotate Ayanna Caroline and Dorka, our D could be pretty impenetrable.

 

[Centerstream]

It was on the ESPN crawl yesterday (Friday). Both Nika and Dorka. The info on the crawl is usually reliable.

I believe that the ESPN information was from Geno's Pre-game Availability on 12/16 and I thought that he said that Dorka had practiced this week but he was still waiting to see how her practice was on Saturday.
But let me be clear, I am hoping that Dorka is available and can play some minutes but on the other hand... Also I am encouraged because in the Santa thread, her thumb appeared to have minimal protection.

PS I am a lifelong pessimist, so there's that.

 

[Bone Dog]

I believe that the ESPN information was from Geno's Pre-game Availability on 12/16 and I thought that he said that Dorka had practiced this week but he was still waiting to see how her practice was on Saturday.
But let me be clear, I am hoping that Dorka is available and can play some minutes but on the other hand... Also I am encouraged because in the Santa thread, her thumb appeared to have minimal protection.

Maybe I misheard Geno in that presser, but I thought he said Dorka was going to play... and then he said they'd look at it on Sunday. That's pretty much what you said -- a game day decision -- but he seemed more positive initially, then retreated. I'm not sure if there's any point reading these tea leaves, but I suspect he (secretly) expects her to play. It may be a confidence thing for Dorka. Now, how many minutes she plays is probably a different question.

 

[Hedge]

Last night I watched the Florida St game from six years ago, the first one after Stewie et al graduated. I don't know if my anxiety level can handle another nail biter.

 

[Bone Dog]

Didn't Ali Patberg play for like 12 years?

 

[Centerstream]

Last night I watched the Florida St game from six years ago, the first one after Stewie et al graduated. I don't know if my anxiety level can handle another nail biter.

Are any players from that game on either team? Does FSU have the same coach?
Apples and oranges.