How many bigs will play meaningful minutes

[jdote33]

I think having a loaded roster is a good thing. Nevertheless I think Geno prefers to play small especially with a player like Sarah Strong who can play the 5 so effectively. Which begs the question, how many bigs will be a part of the rotation? Right now on the UConn roster there are 4 players 6'3 (Jana, Ice, Serah, Gandy)and over and then Ayanna Patterson and Sarah Strong both listed at 6'2.

 

[veryolddog]

This is a good thing! I agree. Nice to see this as a problem for Geno to sort out. Since no one can predict or account for injuries, having a bench like this will soften the blow for resources that could fit in and make a difference. And, if there are no injuries, even better for the deployment of resources.

 

[Boreifs]

One season and now Geno prefers playing small?! Someone needs a history lesson.

 

[ERWUC65]

I think having a loaded roster is a good thing. Nevertheless I think Geno prefers to play small especially with a player like Sarah Strong who can play the 5 so effectively. Which begs the question, how many bigs will be a part of the rotation? Right now on the UConn roster there are 4 players 6'3 (Jana, Ice, Serah, Gandy)and over and then Ayanna Patterson and Sarah Strong both listed at 6'2.

I expect Geno to make a major change in strategy this year. He has to compensate for the loss of 20-30 points from the 2 (Paige). With the candidates for PG (KK,Kelis,K9) maybe good for 10 and Azzi good for 20, the rest has to come from the 3,4 and 5. Sarah is good for 20 and the rest (Serah,Jana,Ice,Gandy,Blanca) have to make up the difference.

 

[Bone Dog]

I think having a loaded roster is a good thing. Nevertheless I think Geno prefers to play small especially with a player like Sarah Strong who can play the 5 so effectively. Which begs the question, how many bigs will be a part of the rotation? Right now on the UConn roster there are 4 players 6'3 (Jana, Ice, Serah, Gandy)and over and then Ayanna Patterson and Sarah Strong both listed at 6'2.

Some version of this question is what we’re all wondering about. And it applies to the littles, too?

Speaking loosely, I’d put it this way: who do we think will get minutes when a game is on the line from mid-February on? My utterly arbitrary guess is Sarah Serah Jana and Ice among the bigs. Similarly, in the backcourt, I’d guess Azzi KK Ash Kayleigh Carol and Blanca.

This is all just a guess, because I don’t really know who among the underclassmen will find their sea legs with Geno’s offense and defense by mid-February. For example, I picked Carol thinking she already understands Geno’s system, and Blanca because of her European experience. But it may not turn out that way, and Morgan could well displace either of them. The same goes for Ayanna. If she makes herself an energetic defender who can shut down bigs in the post and at the elbow, I think she plays.

And yes, Carol is an upperclassman, but in terms of her career, she’s a little like an underclassman. She played with the smarts of a senior as a freshman, but she hasn’t played two full healthy seasons yet.

 

[CL82]

Some version of this question is what we’re all wondering about. And it applies to the littles, too?

Speaking loosely, I’d put it this way: who do we think will get minutes when a game is on the line from mid-February on? My utterly arbitrary guess is Sarah Serah Jana and Ice among the bigs. Similarly, in the backcourt, I’d guess Azzi KK Ash Kayleigh Carol and Blanca.

This is all just a guess, because I don’t really know who among the underclassmen will find their sea legs with Geno’s offense and defense by mid-February. For example, I picked Carol thinking she already understands Geno’s system, and Blanca because of her European experience. But it may not turn out that way, and Morgan could well displace either of them. The same goes for Ayanna. If she makes herself an energetic defender who can shut down bigs in the post and at the elbow, I think she plays.

And yes, Carol is an upperclassman, but in terms of her career, she’s a little like an underclassman. She played with the smarts of a senior as a freshman, but she hasn’t played two full healthy seasons yet.

Sarah, Serah, Jana and Ice
Is the big rotation that seems most nice,
Scoring and playmaking is there to be found,
While depth from the bench does also abound.

But what, you ask, about Yana and Gandy?
Their talent and size will also be handy.
But, alas, I see few minutes this season.
We can only play so many, that is the reason.

Just my opinion, so feel free to debate,
But please don't reply with anger or hate.
It's a guess with the facts known at this time.
Feel free to make yours, but answer in rhyme.

 

[Skeets]

I expect Geno to make a major change in strategy this year. He has to compensate for the loss of 20-30 points from the 2 (Paige). With the candidates for PG (KK,Kelis,K9) maybe good for 10 and Azzi good for 20, the rest has to come from the 3,4 and 5. Sarah is good for 20 and the rest (Serah,Jana,Ice,Gandy,Blanca) have to make up the difference.

UConn will not lose 20-30 points. Someone else will take the shots that Paige would have taken. Maybe they won't hit 50%, but 40% is not out of the question. Considering this, the "loss" doesn't look so insurmountable.

When Geno feels the need for speed, he'll go small.

 

[huskeynut]

Many questions remain about how Geno will mix it all together. We all have our favorites that we think should get minutes. And there are some obvious choices.

As Geno said early on last season, the small lineup developed quickly and was the best option. That proved true. What this season brings is unknown. Could we see twins towers or 3 bigs on the frontline? Geno has done it before. Could we see the small lineup - probably. And the traditional lineup of a post, power forward, small forward, shooting guard and point guard.

Will the sophmore jump show up for some? Will the frosh live up to some of the hype? Time will tell.

 

[Centerstream]

Hopefully, every one of them!

 

[Bigboote]

I think having a loaded roster is a good thing. Nevertheless I think Geno prefers to play small especially with a player like Sarah Strong who can play the 5 so effectively. Which begs the question, how many bigs will be a part of the rotation? Right now on the UConn roster there are 4 players 6'3 (Jana, Ice, Serah, Gandy)and over and then Ayanna Patterson and Sarah Strong both listed at 6'2.

Caroline, Morgan, and Blanca are listed at 6-2 or thereabouts (Eurobasket has Blanca at 186, which is a generous 6-1).

As has been pointed out, it’s all guesswork now, and it also depends on whom you call a big. I think there will be times with Strong at the five, someone like Ducharme or Cheli as the other forward, and three guards. And there will probably be times with Williams, Brady, and Strong up front and maybe a big shooting guard with the point guard the only player shorter than six foot.

My guess is most of the time there will be two bigs and three guards, with one guard being tall much of the time.

 

[Bone Dog]

Caroline, Morgan, and Blanca are listed at 6-2 or thereabouts (Eurobasket has Blanca at 186, which is a generous 6-1).

I agree with your main point, that Geno will be able to put a lot of big kids on the floor without sacrificing speed or versatility. But this little factoid has been taking up way too much of my mental time for the last few months.

FIBA and Eurobasket are usually pretty careful about such details. The earliest measurements I could find listed her at 182cm or ~6’. Other (perhaps later) measurements had her at 186cm or 6’1 1/4”. Yet other measurements (perhaps even later?) showed her to be 188cm or 6’2”.

In her regular season games which were with the pros she didn’t look all that big, maybe 6’1”. But in the final tournament where it was just the high school kids she looked very big, like at least 6’2”.

I don’t think this really matters much. What we care about is ‘how big she plays.’ Sarah plays much bigger than her 190cm, just like her mom did. Blanca has long limbs but isn’t slight. She doesn’t shrink from going up against taller players. I suspect she’ll seem plenty big to us and to all the opposing teams. Size only matters if it’s mobile, and Blanca is quick if she’s anything.

 

[EricSD]

Many questions remain about how Geno will mix it all together. We all have our favorites that we think should get minutes. And there are some obvious choices.

As Geno said early on last season, the small lineup developed quickly and was the best option. That proved true. What this season brings is unknown. Could we see twins towers or 3 bigs on the frontline? Geno has done it before. Could we see the small lineup - probably. And the traditional lineup of a post, power forward, small forward, shooting guard and point guard.

Will the sophmore jump show up for some? Will the frosh live up to some of the hype? Time will tell.

I think this is spot on. Geno didn't start the season playing a majority of games small ball. It developed over the season as it became obvious that it was our best lineup both offensively and defensively, even against teams with size.

This year is different obviously. I couldn't find the stats by game but IIRC, each had 1 game last season with big production and a lot of points scored. So we think they are capable of showing more than they did on average. I think a LOT depends on what Ice and Jana do over the summer.

Blunt assessment here, but for Ice, she needs to slim down and get more athletic. She struggled to get the ball up when around the basket (has limited hops), did not show a consistent mid range jumper, and her outside shooting was below average. A more agile and athletic Ice will give her more maneuverability around the basket and IMHO more chances to be able to score. She has soft hands and a nice touch, but at 6'3", she's not tall enough to succeed with very average athleticism. We know Geno was complimentary of her often, especially on defense. If you assume Serah and Jana play the 5, that puts Ice at the 4 behind Sarah, and competing against more athletic Ayanna, as well as possibly Blanca, Carol, and Morgan. Ice could get squeezed if she doesn't up her game.

Jana needs to work in finishing, developing stronger post moves, and finishing by putting the ball in the basket. I think a summer of playing against boys who are strong and 6'5" will help, or going up against someone who has a blocking pad and pushes her around with it will help. While I think Serah starts, Jana should get a lot of minutes.

Gandy is a project. NO idea what to expect out of her, so very little from my perspective. Jess Moore took a non-medical redshirt her freshman season as the post was loaded, and it worked out great for her. Given that likely Serah, Jana, and Ice are all ahead of her, that could be an option.

Serah IMHO will be the starting 5. I think she's good enough to be HM AA. How many minutes she gets will be determined by the level of opponent, and how much the other bigs have improved etc.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

Too much importance is being put on a player's height. Quickness, positioning, experience, natural ability, and possessing a vertical jump are qualities much more desired than height. Jana is supposedly 6'5, but can't jump. Geno got tired of never winning the opening tip. He replaced Jana with Sarah and we began winning the opening tip. Sarah at 6'2 can, of course, play with anyone.

On the team we expect to have this coming season, I doubt anyone outside of perhaps Azzi and Sarah are going to get enough minutes to average more than 20 points per game. And, even they might not. If the defense we put on the floor over the last half of the season is improved upon, we might not need any high scoring individuals to carry us to #13.

 

[jcoton56]

The fastest way to the end of the bench is treat any of your minutes like they do not matter. For the players who work all week like its meaningful, Geno will find a way to get you some action. Also we have a ton of kids who make a large impact in a few minutes. KK, Ash, Chen and even Janna vs SC.

 

[cgshuskie]

I think our bigs are super strong. Obviously, Serah Williams will start and play the most minutes. If Jana works hard, gets stronger and restores her moves, she will also see at least 10 minutes. Her and Serah can be monstrously scary for other teams. Ice and Yanna can also form an effective team as substitutes for Serah and Jana. I expects, in the spirit of competition, Ice and Yanna, who I think were rated 4 and 5 in Hoopgurlz coming out of High School; to be very competitive with the starters. They want glory too !!!! Finally, Gandy will benefit from all of this talent in years to come. But overall, watch out for Jana, who I expect to blow up big in the coming year. By her Junior year I think she will be unstoppable in the post.

 

[Bone Dog]

Serah IMHO will be the starting 5. I think she's good enough to be HM AA.

I'm with you on the whole, but this remark got me thinking. Who exactly do we think will be Serah's competition in the AA competition? Betts, obviously. But who else? Beers? Strack? Koval? Okot? Tac? Oldacre? Crooks? Merkle?

When I look over this list, Beers looks like the main competition for 2nd team AA and Serah had better stats on a weaker team. Of course, it's not just about stats, but if Serah shows out on a top-5 team and displays a wider range of skills an greater mobility than Beers, I think she's got a shot at 2nd team.

It would take something seismic to knock Betts off the 1st team, but it's not inconceivable, especially if Serah makes herself an indispensable part of an NC run. Sometimes, it's hard to shine on a team as balanced as UConn, but it can also be a platform to launch her into the public eye.

 

[Plebe]

I'm with you on the whole, but this remark got me thinking. Who exactly do we think will be Serah's competition in the AA competition? Betts, obviously. But who else? Beers? Strack? Koval? Okot? Tac? Oldacre? Crooks? Merkle?

When I look over this list, Beers looks like the main competition for 2nd team AA and Serah had better stats on a weaker team. Of course, it's not just about stats, but if Serah shows out on a top-5 team and displays a wider range of skills an greater mobility than Beers, I think she's got a shot at 2nd team.

It would take something seismic to knock Betts off the 1st team, but it's not inconceivable, especially if Serah makes herself an indispensable part of an NC run. Sometimes, it's hard to shine on a team as balanced as UConn, but it can also be a platform to launch her into the public eye.

Are the All-American teams designated per position? That's not my understanding of how it works, but I don't pay close attention to their procedures.

 

[Bone Dog]

Are the All-American teams designated per position? That's not my understanding of how it works, but I don't pay close attention to their procedures.

That's my sense of it too. No formal position distinctions are required. But they tend to sort themselves out roughly in terms of front and back court. For example, I doubt you'd see Betts and Ayoka Lee both listed on the 1st team together. But they probably wouldn't distinguish too carefully between forwards and centers, or between PGs and SGs. So, Serah could probably be considered as either a forward or a center, for all it matters.

 

[Plebe]

That's my sense of it too. No formal position distinctions are required. But they tend to sort themselves out roughly in terms of front and back court. For example, I doubt you'd see Betts and Ayoka Lee both listed on the 1st team together. But they probably wouldn't distinguish too carefully between forwards and centers, or between PGs and SGs. So, Serah could probably be considered as either a forward or a center, for all it matters.

Iriafen and Crooks were both on 3rd team this year. Kitley and Cardoso were both on 2nd team the previous year. I don’t think it matters much.

 

[Bone Dog]

Iriafen and Crooks were both on 3rd team this year. Kitley and Cardoso were both on 2nd team the previous year. I don’t think it matters much.

That’s what I said. They don’t tend to distinguish carefully between forwards and centers. But just so you know, Iriafen was clearly a 4, but Crooks played like a 5 with her back to the basket most of the time and pretty much never went out to the wing. So at least on the 3rd team the distinction held.

 

[Plebe]

That’s what I said. They don’t tend to distinguish carefully between forwards and centers. But just so you know, Iriafen was clearly a 4, but Crooks played like a 5 with her back to the basket most of the time and pretty much never went out to the wing. So at least on the 3rd team the distinction held.

What about the year when Kitley, Brink and Pili all ended up on 2nd team?

 

[Bone Dog]

What about the year when Kitley, Brink and Pili all ended up on 2nd team?

More confirmation of my point.

 

[Plebe]

More confirmation of my point.

So then we agree then that the evidence contradicts your point that two posts can’t end up on first team or that Serah is in “competition” with other post players for a spot on a specific AA team.

 

[DefenseBB]

To me, Serah's best chance to land on the AP teams was this past year when her stats were awesome-She averaged 19.2 pts per game. 9.8 rebounds had an efficiency of 22.7 and 3.0 Win Shares. With both Sarah and Azzi as our dynamic duo, it will be hard for Serah to warrant inclusion simply because there are so many good players now. Betts, Hidalgo, Latson, Miles, Booker, Blakes, Flau'jae Johnson, Crooks, Beers, Edwards all garnered votes last year. Add in Strack, Kneepkens now on UCLA and Kimora Johnson at Virginia and you have a stacked list of names. Even if UConn is totally dominant, there simply are too many other notable players to say Serah will get vots over. UCLA will be loaded with Betts, Rice, Kneepkens and Leger-Walker. SCar will have Edwards and Latson plus a Ashley Watkins and Chloe Kitts. LSU will have Johnson, Fulwiley, Koval and Williams. Texas will have Booker, Harmon, Oldacre and Breya Cunningham. Heck even hated Tennessee will have Cooper who will put up gaudy stats.

To me, the playing field is just way too crowded to think UConn could land 3 players on the top 15, never mind the top 10. Plus our history of fully incorporating an experienced "Big" into our scheme is not the best (See Azura Stephens, Natalie Butler, Dorka Juhasz) as we are a high post team. Geno will not be changing his philosophy which has won him 12 tittles-that is just an absolute silly notion. His rotation will be deeper-maybe 10 now but the ball movement and passing will still be integral.

 

[Bone Dog]

So then we agree then that the evidence contradicts your point that two posts can’t end up on first team or that Serah is in “competition” with other post players for a spot on a specific AA team.

That wasn't my point. Read more carefully. I merely said that they tend not to do that, not that they won't or haven't. But let's not belabor this point. It's tedious.

The latest example is interesting for other reasons: Brink, Pili (two 4s) and Kitley (a 5) are indeed on the same 2nd team. I call Brink a 4 because though she is a great rim protector, like a traditional 5, she has an excellent face-up game. But the committee put 3 obvious front court players instead of 2 on the same list, one at 6'6", one at 6'4" and the third at 6'0".

 

[oldhusky]

I think in terms of the number of bigs in the rotation, the answer is 3, 4 or 5 and I'm not trying to be a wise ass with that comment. There are circumstances for all three of those. My best guess is a traditional 2 big lineup with Sarah and Serah starting, and Ice and Jana backing them up, I think that would be ideal, but Ice in particular is not a lock in my opinion, and has more potential challengers, and I think she will be used more as a 4 this year.

She could be challenged in several ways, by Ayanna at the same position (4), by a guard in small ball, or even by Jana playing more at the 5 with Serah playing the 4 alongside her. Remember Geno used a three big rotation a few years ago with Liv, Dorka and Aaliyah. My point is the 4th big has to be close to as good as the third big or Geno could go with just three,

As for the possibility of 5, that probably would only happen when Geno went even bigger with Sarah at the 3, Serah at the 4 and occasionally Gandy at the 5 but Jana getting most of the minutes there.

We can go big or small, not because we have to from injuries, but because Geno wants to. With depth and versatility, every body in the rotation will have to clear a pretty big hurdle. Being the second best player at your natural position doesn't mean you are in if Geno could use a better player that is bigger or smaller instead.

I still hope the rotation will be a full 10.

 

[Plebe]

That wasn't my point. Read more carefully. I merely said that they tend not to do that, not that they won't or haven't.

But that's just inaccurate. All the players are voted on independently, the ballots are tallied, and the teams are named in rank order of the overall voting tally. There's no “tendency” to award only X number of spots to front or back court players.

To circle back to Serah, although she isn't competing with any specific opposing players more than others, it seems doubtful that her offensive output would be close to her level at Wisconsin, given the array of offensive talent that she'll (hopefully) be surrounded by. Not to mention the need to habituate rapidly to Geno's system, a process that has somehow proven difficult with previous transfer posts. But who knows, we'll see.

 

[Stagnant]

Williams and Strong. And Jana and Ice are competing for minutes.

I am sure we will again have some small ball lineups that we like.

 

[Molisanos]

I agree with your main point, that Geno will be able to put a lot of big kids on the floor without sacrificing speed or versatility. But this little factoid has been taking up way too much of my mental time for the last few months.

FIBA and Eurobasket are usually pretty careful about such details. The earliest measurements I could find listed her at 182cm or ~6’. Other (perhaps later) measurements had her at 186cm or 6’1 1/4”. Yet other measurements (perhaps even later?) showed her to be 188cm or 6’2”.

In her regular season games which were with the pros she didn’t look all that big, maybe 6’1”. But in the final tournament where it was just the high school kids she looked very big, like at least 6’2”.

I don’t think this really matters much. What we care about is ‘how big she plays.’ Sarah plays much bigger than her 190cm, just like her mom did. Blanca has long limbs but isn’t slight. She doesn’t shrink from going up against taller players. I suspect she’ll seem plenty big to us and to all the opposing teams. Size only matters if it’s mobile, and Blanca is quick if she’s anything.

Blanca is 188 cm tall, and no one is counting out her chances of playing power forward, where she’s pretty much unstoppable. But with all the players on the roster, I think we’ll see more of Blanca in the 2026/2027 season.

 

[Cuango]

To me, Serah's best chance to land on the AP teams was this past year when her stats were awesome-She averaged 19.2 pts per game. 9.8 rebounds had an efficiency of 22.7 and 3.0 Win Shares. With both Sarah and Azzi as our dynamic duo, it will be hard for Serah to warrant inclusion simply because there are so many good players now. Betts, Hidalgo, Latson, Miles, Booker, Blakes, Flau'jae Johnson, Crooks, Beers, Edwards all garnered votes last year. Add in Strack, Kneepkens now on UCLA and Kimora Johnson at Virginia and you have a stacked list of names. Even if UConn is totally dominant, there simply are too many other notable players to say Serah will get vots over. UCLA will be loaded with Betts, Rice, Kneepkens and Leger-Walker. SCar will have Edwards and Latson plus a Ashley Watkins and Chloe Kitts. LSU will have Johnson, Fulwiley, Koval and Williams. Texas will have Booker, Harmon, Oldacre and Breya Cunningham. Heck even hated Tennessee will have Cooper who will put up gaudy stats.

To me, the playing field is just way too crowded to think UConn could land 3 players on the top 15, never mind the top 10. Plus our history of fully incorporating an experienced "Big" into our scheme is not the best (See Azura Stephens, Natalie Butler, Dorka Juhasz) as we are a high post team. Geno will not be changing his philosophy which has won him 12 tittles-that is just an absolute silly notion. His rotation will be deeper-maybe 10 now but the ball movement and passing will still be integral.

All true and yet it will still come down to how well Serah plays. I see her being somewhere between solid and great for us. I suppose that would look like 15 & 7-20 & 10? I would not be surprised with anything within that range and I also believe either extreme of that range will be plenty good enough to set us up nicely for a chance to repeat. I get no sense that her production is going to be curtailed by the step up in competition as I believe Geno and CD will have her well prepared by the time November comes around.
She is clearly a stud and seems to be confident and eager to show the coaches (and the fans) that she is on a mission to finish out her career as a champion! I truly think she’s going to be a major factor and it will not surprise me in the least if she contends for AA status as I believe she came to UConn for a purpose. If she puts up anything close to 20 & 10 she should be a lock for AA and our odds of repeating will be looking good as well!