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Message: [QUOTE="MilfordHusky, post: 3744571, member: 366"] I'm not confident I can pick the starting 5 this season, but I'll offer a few thoughts: --It's not as important who starts as who gets meaningful minutes, especially in tough games. Recall that Morgan Valley, Brittany Hunter, and Caroline Doty, late in their careers, started games but didn't play many minutes due to injury. In contrast, Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis didn't start as a freshman, but typically played the rest of each half after she came in off the bench--and she led the team in scoring. --Geno tends to start upperclassmen, everything being equal, and rarely demotes a former starter to a non-starting role. This bodes well for Anna. --As has been noted, some of the greatest UConn players ever didn't start as freshmen until injuries to teammates (Shea Ralph for Diana and Kalana Greene for Maya, for example) gave them opportunities. --Geno has started some freshmen when they were the best options at their positions. I think Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles, Caroline Doty, Stef Dolson, Bria Hartley, and Christyn Williams all basically started from Day 1. --In Evina's case, her physical status early on may determine how much she plays, including whether or not she starts. --Last year, we were confident that Crystal, Megan, Christyn, and Olivia would be starters, but most of us had trouble finding a single player who would be the 5th starter. I thought it could be Aubrey, while others thought it would be Kyla, Batouly, or Molly. Some, though not many, thought it would be Anna. In essence, there was a dearth of good options. All of them were unproven or needed to improve substantially. This year is very different. Almost all of us agree that Christyn, Liv, and Anna--the 3 remaining starters--will keep their starting spots. When asking, "Who will fill the remaining 2 spots?" we offer 4 or 5 options, all of which look pretty good: Evina started 2 years for Tennessee, Aubrey was an impact player last year and is now "100 times better," Paige is the most heralded freshman anywhere since Stewie, Aaliyah has played internationally at the highest level and is likely our best option at power forward, and Nika is a tough 19 year-old with years of playing in a pro league under her belt. This year, there seems to be an abundance of options, not a dearth. I really, really like our top 8! [/QUOTE]

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