How will the minutes be distributed to all players next season?

[Blueballer]

As Geno has said many times, "It's up to them". If 12 players earn minutes they will get them. If it's 8 then there will only be 8 in the regular rotation.

 

[DEpup]

Just need to go to 48 min like NBA. Problem solved. . ?

 

[Dokey]

If I were guessing, I would only say that Ono and AG will see their minutes go way down. Paige, CW, and Azzi will play minimum of 34 minutes each, Dorka will play 26 minutes, AE 25 minutes, Evina 18 minutes, Nika 15 Ono 8, Caroline 6. The bench will use minutes from last four in blowouts.

In other words, like all of you, I don’t have the slightest idea, though comment on ONO and AG is probable.

 

[cbraarj]

So what happens to Piath, Saylor, Autumn, Mir, Aubrey, and Amari?

Out of those 6 Amari is the only one with a chance for playing time. If Liv doesn't step up she can be on the outside looking in.

 

[Bball244]

I’ve been waiting for someone to post this question! I have also made spreadsheets in my spare time at work (lol). Here’s what I think is most probable in my opinion. This is the average for the whole season. When players don’t get into a game it doesn’t hurt their average (do you know what I mean?). I think there will be a main 7 player rotation with a guard heavy lineup most of the time.

Paige - 33 (Paige is Paige)
Christyn - 26 (if she’s not consistent geno has other options and can pull her. I’d like to see her play a 3.5 position I love watching her drive to the hoop)
Aaliyah - 26 (x factor in my opinion)
Azzi - 25 (I’d like to put her at 30 but who’s minutes do you cut?)
Evina - 23 (loses 7 minutes from previous season, she’s not a standout so I don’t see her playing much more than Azzi/Nika, E is still one of my favorite players though)
Nika - 22 (I’m just a big fan of her, how can you not be?! Don’t necessarily need her to be a scorer, just play her usual D and make smart passes)
ONO - 19 (I really don’t see her as a main focus of the team with Aaliyah now a sophomore, especially if liv plays like she did most of last year - good, solid, but not superb. My guess is her minutes steadily decline as the season progresses)
Dorka - 10 (an unknown but I imagine she’ll grab at least a few quality minutes, given the only bigs ahead of her are AE and ONO)
Aubrey - 5 (unless she has a stellar off season, I don’t see her competing with AA candidates for minutes)
Caroline/Amari - 3 each (freshmen)
Mir/Saylor - 2 each (good players but just not at the level they need to be to get minutes on this team)
Piath/Autum - 0.5 each (garbage minutes)

I think this equals 200

 

[Bama fan]

This is just unbelievable! These kids work every day to contribute to our team and you make some flippant dismissive comment like that? Sad!

You do know he does that just to elicit a response such as yours. Please do not let old 287U get under your skin. I believe he enjoys it too much.

 

[itsasport]

I think that the minutes played will depend on who UConn is playing. (barring injuries)

At the beginning of the season-

For when the A game is required, it will be a 9 player rotation with Paige, Christyn, and Edwards getting 30+ minutes, ONO, and Nika getting high 20's, Azzi and Evina getting teens and Aubry and Dorka getting 8-10 each.

Against lesser teams , the top five will play lesser minutes. Some might be rested entirely (especially to recover from minor injuries that could be aggravated) and the rest of the roster will get minutes, based on performance in practice.

By the end of the regular season, it will be interesting to see who has earned the top spots.

 

[hoophuskee]

Defensive pressure will become big tool next year as UCONN will have enough quality players to play 40 mins of full court pressure!

So 40 minutes of pressure in the Big East and vs some lesser teams - so some of the scores could be something like 130-50?

I can imagine Meg calling the game (sarcasm): "You gotta love UCONN's no quit attitude despite being up by 75 points. They're still pressing with one minute left. What determination! They do have a lot of things to work on though. With all those missed layups this game should have been at least a 90 point win. Oh well- back to the drawing board!!!"

 

[Skeets]

Several people have touched on this, and I'm a little late to post. Might I suggest 2 spreadsheets, 1 for BE and similar games that could be considered "developmental", and another for truly tough OOC and NCAAT games. I expect Geno to maximize the minutes for the 6 (give or take) players who are playing the best and who he trusts the most in tough games. Recognize that these players could change during the year, such as Nika almost bursting in tears on the bench and then becoming a trusted starter.

 

[oldhusky]

What is the best rotation to go up against South Carolina, Stanford, Baylor and Maryland? I think that is what it will come down to.

And that is not "small ball" so we should get used to Aaliyah starting at the 4 and virtually all of the backup minutes there coming from Aubrey and maybe Dorka, no more wings at the 4.

 

[oldhusky]

So 40 minutes of pressure in the Big East and vs some lesser teams - so some of the scores could be something like 130-50?

I can imagine Meg calling the game (sarcasm): "You gotta love UCONN's no quit attitude despite being up by 75 points. They're still pressing with one minute left. What determination! They do have a lot of things to work on though. With all those missed layups this game should have been at least a 90 point win. Oh well- back to the drawing board!!!"

The potential beauty of pressing a great deal, and utilizing the bench is yes you can run up the score by using the bench. You reduce the effective minutes of both teams starters, and both teams play a greater percentage of the game with their bench players. This year the gap between our bench and other team's is probably even bigger than our edge, starters vs starters.

So yes there could be some extreme blowouts, but it is kind of hard to complain that we used our bench "too much". The critique of running up the score by keeping starters in until a couple of minutes left in a 40 point win is a more legitimate complaint, and one Geno is sometimes guilty of. This roster has legitimate very good college players on the third team. How much of the roster we use against everyone, and the best teams, will have a direct relationship on how much of this talent we can keep around.

You can increase the margin of victory, and keep more of the roster happy.

 

[Conndog]

I agree that there should be more time for non-starters to play in games if the team is as potent offensively as seems likely. Why keep starters in if the lead is 30 or 40 points or more? Decide who’s working hardest in practice and give them minutes.
But, don’t just put in 5 new players and have them sink or swim. Give one or two some minutes with the starters so the offense keeps moving, and they can see in a real game how the best players move and play.

 

[Stymie]

Heaven forbid that with this personnel, up 45 points, a starter suffers a serious injury.
I realize that injuries can occur at any time.
But like the mob boss said in Goodfellas, “ Why take the risk?”

 

[SVCBeercats]

Dokey (26 min), Ralph (Min. 20 min), mbr33ct (30.2 min) and huskyd (play a lot) are closest to Dorka playing time come the 2021-22 season. Geno didn't pursue Dorka to sit on the bench. Clearly he is not pleased with Liv's performance. Perhaps with Aaliyah and Dorka squeezing her for playing time, she will apply herself by learning more moves, shots (baby hook), screening, and making layups within the restricted area. After watching OSU games I think Dorka will be on the court for significant minutes (25-32).

 

[Go/huskies]

And that is not "small ball" so we should get used to Aaliyah starting at the 4 and virtually all of the backup minutes there coming from Aubrey and maybe Dorka, no more wings at the 4.

Seems like most of the elite teams outside of South Carolina and NC state are playing small ball. Stanford starts Jones who’s a wing at the four, Maryland starts a face up four, and Smith isn’t necessarily a back to the basket player, even Louisville and Arizona went with small ball line ups.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Considering the roster size for this upcoming season and minutes played last year, Dorka's included, a total of 234.7 minutes are in play, 34.7 minutes over the 200 allotted per game.

UConn adds Azzi, Ducharme and DeBerry to roster, now the hard part, what do you believe/think the breakdown in minutes each player will get? I have provided what I believe minutes each player will get (all columns slightly tweaked from each other). Columns are not in any preference, just 5 potential versions with an "Avg" column. I don't know how many have gone through this exercise but I found it to be very difficult. I'll be curious, as well as others, how some will divvy up the minutes.

View attachment 66948

I did this exercise previously. It results in nearly half the scholarship players getting virtually no minutes, and no meaningful minutes. We should expect Paige to get 30 mpg. Same for Christyn, Edwards, and Azzi. That's 120 of the available 200 minutes. Assume that Muhl, DeBerry, and Westbrook log an additional 20 mpg each. That's 180 of the available minutes. That means that the other seven scholarship players will be fighting for a total of 20 mpg of playing time, or less than 3 mpg each.

Something will have to give. It won't be the playing time allocated to Edwards, Azzi, Chrystin, or Paige. Nor is it likely that Coach Geno will dock DeBerry either.

 

[Bald Husky]

After Geno experiments and decides on a starting line up its curtains for the rest of the team. He is hell bent on having this line up the best they can be, and that's why he plays them over 3 quarters. That is his MO, and we can see this as a problem. I think he never trusts more than 8 players, and that is one of the reasons we can possibly may fail. You don't have to be a superstar to contribute to this team, and next year will be a test. He may never have the talent he has now, so I'm hoping we get a new assistant that can help making him see that. This is a chance to see how his coaching philosophy can move into the current climate, and not only notice the increased talent that he has, but embrace it, and use it.

 

[Rb335]

It's obvious that Paige, Nika, Evina, Christyn, Olivia, and Aaliyah will all get minutes since they are the returning core of this past season. Aubrey was also in the rotation, so I expect her to get regular minutes. Azzi is also a lock in the rotation, just based on her credentials and how good she is supposed to be. I honestly see her eating away minutes from Nika. So far that is an 8 player rotation.

I can't see Dorka not getting minutes. There is a reason she was brought in and she will provide much needed post depth. So those are the 9 players I expect to see play even in big games.

Caroline and Amari are unknown entities. It really depends on how well they practice. Saylor, Mir, and Piath will all need to improve a lot in order to crack the rotation. And any minutes for Autumn are a bonus for fans.

I think it will be a season where the starters sit many 4th QTRs, when the games are well at hand. A lot of the younger players will get minutes, but may not be in the rotations for big games. Really no reason for any player to average over 30 mpg for the entire season.

 

[Aluminny69]

Here is the 1999-2000 roster. How would you divide up the playing time?

Stacy Hansmeyer

Paige Sauer

Svetlana Abrosimova

Marci Czel

Shea Ralph

Christine Rigby

Kelly Schumacher

Sue Bird

Swin Cash

Asjha Jones

Keirsten Walters

Tamika Williams

Kennitra Johnson

 

[Drew8]

I think we should roughly distribute the minutes something like this:

Olivia: 25
Aliyah: 25
Evina: 30
Christyn: 30
Paige: 35
Azzi: 30

That would leave Nika, Aubrey and Dorka to battle for the 7th, 8th, and 9th off the bench. Unless someone else surprises.

Assuming Azzi is good as advertised then Olivia's, Aliyah's, Nika's and Dorka's minutes will be the one's that create the most debate.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

As Geno has said many times, "It's up to them". If 12 players earn minutes they will get them. If it's 8 then there will only be 8 in the regular rotation.

But the problem is that, as hard as each is certainly going to work in practice, and no matter how much they devote themselves to impressing the coach, it's likely that half of the team members will get nearly shut out of playing time. So it's really not up to this team of 14 extremely talented athletes. It's up to the 200 minutes.

There's no way that all of this talent gets in the game. The math just doesn't work.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

The high minute numbers for PB, CW, and EW in particular this season had a lot to do with necessity. With added depth and assuming improvement from other sophomores and perhaps AG, these projections of 30-35 minutes I believe are well off. Far more likely to be in the 25-27 range. Even then, finding minutes for 4-5 players will be tough.

Geno will tell you it's not how many minutes you get but what you get done in your time on the floor. Hopefully, the team accepts that premise.

 

[Blueballer]

But the problem is that, as hard as each is certainly going to work in practice, and no matter how much they devote themselves to impressing the coach, it's likely that half of the team members will get nearly shut out of playing time. So it's really not up to this team of 14 extremely talented athletes. It's up to the 200 minutes.

There's no way that all of this talent gets in the game. The math just doesn't work.

Let's not forget inevitable injuries. But aside from that, there's no guarantee that each and every one will work hard enough. There have been other players who couldn't wait to get here and then just as quick to get out because they had no idea how hard would be. Will every single new person on this roster next year make it through to graduate at UCONN? Stay tuned. Nobody knows what the future holds.

 

[Cuango]

If I were guessing, I would only say that Ono and AG will see their minutes go way down. Paige, CW, and Azzi will play minimum of 34 minutes each, Dorka will play 26 minutes, AE 25 minutes, Evina 18 minutes, Nika 15 Ono 8, Caroline 6. The bench will use minutes from last four in blowouts.

In other words, like all of you, I don’t have the slightest idea, though comment on ONO and AG is probable.

I would bet a lot of money that Liv gets closer to 20 than eight! You actually believe that she played so poorly as to go from starter to only playing in blowouts? This is a tough crowd! Anybody interested in making a (verifiable) wager that Liv will only play in blowouts next season can just take all my money right now! Furthermore, I would say that, based on our history with transfers, the odds that DJ outplays Liv next season are pretty slim. I’m not smart enough to do all this computer stuff but I have to think that the success rate for transfers into UConn is extremely low. Of course, I hope she’s an All-American, but I just think (in true Boneyard fashion) some posters are letting their imagination run wild!
I desperately hope Liv comes back and plays like Tina next season and really sticks it up some of these ungrateful naysayers noses! (Mangled sentence alert!)

 

[HuskyPhan]

Of course no one, including Geno and staff, have any idea about where the minutes will go next year but it sure is fun speculating about it. Last year so much was debated on Paige starting/not starting. There may have been ore or two people out there that made the call that she would lead the team in scoring. But the vast majority of us couldn't envision Paige just taking over the team from Day 1!!

For a moment, let's just imagine that Azzi arrives with guns a blazin' and Geno figures out after about 3 practices (like he confessed he did with Paige) that she is another 'generational' player who needs to be on the floor 35 minutes a game with her bestie Paige. It could happen!! And if it does we are in for a bigger minute squeeze than we thought! I do agree with many on BY that the minutes will be widely spread for most of BE games but when we play the heavy hitters I doubt Geno will play more than 7-8 players unless we see big offseason improvements with our #8-12 players.

Last year was probably my all-time favorite year of spectating UCONN Women's hoops but I have a very strong feeling that with Azzi, Dorka and the rest of the excellent newbies joining the party, 2021-22 will raise the bar again!!! Go Huskies