I Guess Sooner or Later This Would Happen

[uconnever]

UCONN get 12.1ppg, 9.3 rpg and 2.9 assists combined from Ice and Jana, so not exactly nothing. At this point in the season I'll take that. When Aubrey returns the team will have more flexibility, with hopefully no drop off in production. The larger issue as I see it is the duo's defensive abilities. Together they only average 1 bpg. Against teams with aggressive guards like ND, that number needs to improve. Again Aubrey will help that situation a lot.

Let’s see what we get against teams that matter. I agree it’s way too early to write Ice off, I do think she will be good, but we’ve had some great players here who have recently in my mind been cheating out of a title because of no real contributions from our bigs. Paige doesn’t have time to wait for Ice to get it, that’s where I’m at. Geno doesn’t have that much time either. We have a team that is complete with everything to win it this year except we’re gonna need those young women to step up. This opportunity is here now and we may never get this close again, we need them now. I’m not trying to be rude, but this is a great collection of players we have but we need the bigs to at least rebound the heck of the ball and play super solid defense, we don’t really need scoring if thats asking too much.

 

[CONNCAN]

UCONN get 12.1ppg, 9.3 rpg and 2.9 assists combined from Ice and Jana, so not exactly nothing. At this point in the season I'll take that. When Aubrey returns the team will have more flexibility, with hopefully no drop off in production. The larger issue as I see it is the duo's defensive abilities. Together they only average 1 bpg. Against teams with aggressive guards like ND, that number needs to improve. Again Aubrey will help that situation a lot.

This team absolutely needs Aubrey Griffin to return as soon as she is able to (and is medically cleared to do so). Her presence in Geno's offense changes games. Aubrey is the ultimate 6th on a Championship Team. Yes, Azzi is missed, but Aubrey is missed even more.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

Seems to me, Ms. Brady is best suited as the motion 4, functioning away from the basket at the high post, on the perimeter angle or wings. Seems challenged on offense, back-to-the basket, in the low blocks.

Ms. El-Alfy seems the opposite, classic back-to-the-basket low post player, just needs time to adjust to the speed, contact sensitivity of and lateral quickness demanded by the college game at this level.

For me, seems, given time and work with this staff, Ms. El-Alfy could well develop into a dominant, game-changing presence. Given time...

With your analysis, we may see a three "Big" line-up of Ice, Jana, & Sarah with PB & Chen, then swap out Ice & Jana for a four Guard "Small" line-up and then things "in-between" with Morgan/Ice or Morgan/Jana in for Sarah & Chen. That would be hard for any of the main rivals to UConn to be able to match up with this year. Lots of opportunity for Geno, CD & Company to experiment this year. After ISU and USCal, the "biggest" checkpoints to the UConn readiness for the NCAA tourney is UT. @ Knoxville [2/6/25], and USCar @ Columbia [2/16/25], and whomever they face in the Big East tourney Championship. [5 checks of readiness starting tonight...]

Although no other Big East team is currently ranked [Creighton has 4 votes in the AP, but none in the Coaches Poll this week], there may be a couple of close games in UConn's Big East games, and need some mild heroics in the last 2 mins of the 4th quarter to prevail to be undefeated in the Big East for the third time in the five years they have 'rejoined' the [different] Big East.

 

[Jonathan14]

I didn’t care for this video. Not one of his better efforts. The recurring comparison to Amari is forced and arbitrary — he needs to get Amari out of his brain. He also had a clever play on words and it distracted him from analyzing the very footage he included in his video. Still, it seems not untrue to say that Ice has not yet made herself an effective replacement for what Aaliyah was last season. That may be asking a lot for a sophomore, as someone has already hinted at. It may also require more games this season to really know what either Ice or Jana is capable of.

Agreed on all points, @Bone Dog . The suggestion that Ice isn't filling Aaliyah's shoes is especially irksome. Aaliyah was a second-team All-American, a first-round WNBA draft pick, and an Olympian. Less than a handful of young women in the country could fill those shoes. I just hope Ice has the good sense to block out all the noise, listen to her coaches, keep working hard, and do the best she can do. That's all we can ask of her.

 

[Rowdy831]

I don't see the end of the road coming for Ice. What I would like to see is a new road where Ice and Jana are in together so they could leverage the size and speed of Ice while having an outlet to another big if the switch comes. I have said and I believe this team will go as far as Ice and Jana can take them.

On every team you have your players you know will be there every night and UConn has one of the best in Paige. Once they have Azzi back that will allow them to put three big, strong bodies in the paint and teams like ND can't match up with that team any better than UConn matched up with the guards the other night. I think Geno is looking for that spark from Jana while she is on the floor with Ice to see if that is the way forward.

 

[oldude]

But this program also has 5 less titles since they last won in 2016. And a lot of that has to do with a lack of elite front court players.
Mulkey had Brown and Cox with Baylor and Reese with LSU
Dawn had Wilson and Coates in 2017, Boston in 2022 and Cardoso in 2024.
Tara (while she has since retired) had Brink in 2021.
While you might not NEED an elite Big to Win, it sure helps.

Of UConn’s 11 championships, 7 might be considered as won with a true AA post player as follows: Rebecca/Kara (1), Tina (2), Stewie/Steph (2), Stewie (2). The remaining 4 were won with a combination of outstanding guards/wings and decent posts/forwards.

While UConn continues to bring in outstanding guards/wings/small forwards, I have been concerned at the number of true Bigs that UConn has come down to the wire on, only to lose out including: Wilson, Cox, Boston, Collier (TX) Brink and Cardoso.

It is interesting to note that the difference between the AA Bigs UConn got vs the ones that got away is that UConn’s Bigs all were recruited from neighboring states, either MA or NY. All the Bigs UConn lost stayed closer to home with the exception of Boston, who is something of a prodigal center: born in the USVI, played HSbb at a MA prep school and ended up at SC.

IMO, the key loss was Wilson who reportedly really wanted UConn, but in the end decided to stay at home. If UConn gets Wilson, we probably also get Boston and perhaps some other players as well; and today we would all be looking at 14-15+ championships and counting.

 

[packwrap]

I understand the critics of our front court and had higher expectations for Jana and Ice too.

Even though they are so far not dominating, however, they are by no means terrible or weak.

How they play in December is also not important. It's how they play in March!

They get to use each of these games v P4 to keep improving, and hopefully are ready in March. Iowa St with Crooks a nice measuring stick, but SC later in season will be even better.

Even if we did move to a small line up, Ice and Jana will still have to play big minutes as reserves against sweet sixteen teams with big frontcourts.

Ice played well in ncaa last year. I have faith they will both get there this season too.

 

[David54]

Seems to me they will continue to split time fairly evenly at least until one of them leaps ahead in production. Doesn’t matter to me which one starts
I sure liked the lineu with Sarah at 5 Morgan’s at 4 and 3 guards. That lineup will be even more effective when azzi back. All five can shoot the 3 and Sarah is our best rebounder so maybe 13 minutes each for ice, Jana and Morgan.

 

[Cornell Lt]

Trust your eyes, you’ve seen the games. We get nothing from that position. Jana is a freshman who’s never played until now so she is still getting her feet wet and she’s aggressive by nature, so I would start her. Ice comes off the bench if at all if I were the coach.

Your assertion of getting nothing from the two centers is ludacris. The level of production may not be to your liking but it is a far cry from nothing. I'm not giving up on either one of them, and I would expect some improvement from both of them as the season moves forward.

 

[Bone Dog]

What I mainly see in the Paige era is that in the first few years, with Liv Dorka and Aaliyah, Geno usually played two bigs. Small lineups were the exception not the rule. These teams were thwarted in one way or another. But since Dorka left, Geno has not managed to have a two-big lineup. This could change next season, once Gandy arrives.

Even this season, Sarah can play like a big next to Ice or Jana. But Geno seems reluctant to play Ice and Jana together for more than a few minutes. It’s easy to see why given their current skill level. That lineup would be slow and doesn’t currently pack a lot of scoring punch. This is disappointing since both were effective scorers in high school. Sadly, both also endured season ending knee injuries.

 

[DeepThreat]

Let’s see what we get against teams that matter. I agree it’s way too early to write Ice off, I do think she will be good, but we’ve had some great players here who have recently in my mind been cheating out of a title because of no real contributions from our bigs. Paige doesn’t have time to wait for Ice to get it, that’s where I’m at. Geno doesn’t have that much time either. We have a team that is complete with everything to win it this year except we’re gonna need those young women to step up. This opportunity is here now and we may never get this close again, we need them now. I’m not trying to be rude, but this is a great collection of players we have but we need the bigs to at least rebound the heck of the ball and play super solid defense, we don’t really need scoring if thats asking too much.

I feel your passion, concern and sense of urgency, I wouldn't call it rudeness. And I agree the team needs more out of Ice and Jana than their getting. The same could be said of Ash, Chen and the freshmen. However titles aren't won in December. UCONN has the entire BE schedule to develop and figure it out. May there be more hiccups along the way (USC AND SC)? Perhaps, but there are a lot of games left on the schedule.

 

[RedStickHusky]

YouTube click hound posts a hot take overreaction video with a click bait title and his views go through the roof. Angry boneyarders hang his video in a forum thread giving it another boost in views. He doesn't care if he's wrong, he's running up the clicks.

 

[Jonathan14]

But this program also has 5 less titles since they last won in 2016. And a lot of that has to do with a lack of elite front court players.
Mulkey had Brown and Cox with Baylor and Reese with LSU
Dawn had Wilson and Coates in 2017, Boston in 2022 and Cardoso in 2024.
Tara (while she has since retired) had Brink in 2021.
While you might not NEED an elite Big to Win, it sure helps.

@DefenseBB , out of curiosity, when you think about elite front-court players in this case, are you thinking more of players at the traditional 5 position? Since 2017, UConn has had Azurá, Napheesa, ONO, Dorka, and Aaliyah, all of whom are doing respectably (well, more than respectably in Napheesa's case!) in the WNBA. Though some of these women tend toward the 3-4, I still think of them as front-court players, but none in the traditional 5 mold, even though some were forced into that role at UConn. Just trying to educate myself on the terminology.

 

[Zinethar]

Geno starts the season with games against the best teams he can find because he knows they will need that experience to make a NC run because the conference is likely not to give what is needed. Mulkey on the other hand starts out soft to build confidence and get wins ( or pad her career stats) because she knows she will get the experience they need in conference play. Many here are unfair to Ice who missed a ton of time with her injury and just started to blossom at the end of last year. I think she compares well to Edwards at the same experience level so why are we comparing her to the senior Edwards became? I believe Ice will get there.

 

[HuskyNan]

I didn’t care for this video. Not one of his better efforts. The recurring comparison to Amari is forced and arbitrary — he needs to get Amari out of his brain. He also had a clever play on words and it distracted him from analyzing the very footage he included in his video. Still, it seems not untrue to say that Ice has not yet made herself an effective replacement for what Aaliyah was last season. That may be asking a lot for a sophomore, as someone has already hinted at. It may also require more games this season to really know what either Ice or Jana is capable of.

I refuse to link to this guy’s videos. Any schmoe with a smartphone can make a video and throw it on YouTube. Why people give this guy credence is beyond me

 

[BBallF]

I expect Ice and Jana to get big minutes tonight, banging in the low blocks against Audi Crooks. There is no way Geno will play Sarah or Morgan at the 5 so long as Crooks is in the game. In fact, I suspect that Geno was sending a message to both Ice and Jana last game with upcoming games against Iowa St (Crooks) and USC (Iriafen).

Of course he was sending a message. I also hope it was received. We will see soon enough. We are not going where we want to go without them.

 

[MooseJaw]

the loss of nika's heart has been terribly apparent so far this year. this team clearly has much superior talent to last season but it's been missing something: nika's leadership.

paige hasn't replaced it, though she is an incredible player and person. neither have kaitlyn and kk, who have assumed nika's role -- and exceeded her in some ways but don't provide her inspiration and spirit.

the most promising chance for an approximation of nika is morgan. she has got the spark, i think, even though she is just beginning her college career. nika did far less when she first arrived.

if i'm right about morgan, she'll make an enormous contribution to husky glory as the season progresses. BTW, the importance of that contribution seems to be badly overlooked by fans. i think geno's well aware of it -- but you cannot teach it. it's innate. he only can encourage it and thank god he had/has such a kid.

Nika had 4 years to develop what you regard as heart. Please remember that during her 1st year she was regarded by many here on the BY as wild, un-coachable while being nothing more than a sub. It was a couple of years, and many were still wondering if Nika would ever get it. I guess you remember it, you were here, right? 10 games, I think heart will develop and I whole heartedly believe you are correct about Morgan. I posted a month or 2 before the season that Morgan was my dark horse this year, now we are hearing from Geno that he sees what you and I see. Morgan is on the way, good for the Huskies, good for Geno, good for PacoSwede:, good for the fans here on the BY.
Heart will come, maybe we need a good punch in the mouth by an opponent, or maybe just a little more time. In any event it will come, or we will be watching the end of the tourney with our Toungs hanging out, wondering what happened.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Well the reaction of people to the question raised is about what I figured.

 

[Viet Vet]

Ice has developed a nice outside jumper since last season. She will be dangerous if left open.

“if left open?” It is her job to get open.

 

[uconnever]

Your assertion of getting nothing from the two centers is ludacris. The level of production may not be to your liking but it is a far cry from nothing. I'm not giving up on either one of them, and I would expect some improvement from both of them as the season moves forward.

When we play the elite teams, you will see that what we’re getting from them is not enough. It won’t matter in the big east but come tournament time, the production we are getting up front is t going to cut it. I do believe in Sarah and Aubrey but they are undersized. What if we run into UCLA or South Carolina. They are big, athletic and most importantly super aggressive on the boards.

 

[hookshot]

What I mainly see in the Paige era is that in the first few years, with Liv Dorka and Aaliyah, Geno usually played two bigs. Small lineups were the exception not the rule. These teams were thwarted in one way or another. But since Dorka left, Geno has not managed to have a two-big lineup. This could change next season, once Gandy arrives.

Even this season, Sarah can play like a big next to Ice or Jana. But Geno seems reluctant to play Ice and Jana together for more than a few minutes. It’s easy to see why given their current skill level. That lineup would be slow and doesn’t currently pack a lot of scoring punch. This is disappointing since both were effective scorers in high school. Sadly, both also endured season ending knee injuries.

Jana and Ice have had their difficulties fully living up to inflated expectations, so maybe we should just give Gandy the benefit of being a mystery guest

 

[Dogstar]

Trust your eyes, you’ve seen the games. We get nothing from that position. Jana is a freshman who’s never played until now so she is still getting her feet wet and she’s aggressive by nature, so I would start her. Ice comes off the bench if at all if I were the coach.

No disrespect but I'm glad tht you aren’t the coach being tht you'd be replacing the winnest coach in college basketball, you know you're a great coach whn ur team loses 1 game and people come down with Chicken Little Syndrome, and I trust stats, and the stats tell me the both teams had a fg percentage of roughly 48% and a 3-pt percentage of 55% for ND and 18% for UConn, so I'm guessing tht ur eyes told you tht Ice and Jana should have been defending the perimeter players. Being tht you Trust ur eyes Go back and use them to check the box score, it is actually the unbiased story of the game and thts why the coaches read the stat sheets at halftime and after games. Calm down folks its only 9 games into the season.

 

[Geesworld]

I Don't like this video and I don't like this conversation around our two post. Our post play is the most scrutinized position on our team and it's not fair.

 

[huskeynut]

This guy knows little to nothing on post play.

It's getting a little much will this dumping on Ice and Jana.

There is progress there. Some what instant dominant post play. Anything less dooms us. Enough is enough!!

 

[Jumpy Radar]

The problem here is that Ice is not Sarah! People look at Sarah, then wonder why Ice can’t be like that! Well, that is unreasonable and unfair, imo! She will continue to get better and will eventually be a solid contributor for us. Probably not a superstar, but solid! She just needs more time, not minutes but longterm. This is a tempest in a teakettle and Geno is simply trying to light a fire under Ice! Of course, he is also rewarding Morgan. This guy tried to compare Ice and DeBerry! That does not fly at all! At least Ice makes an effort! Ice will be fine! Just don’t expect Sarah just becausej she’s big!

Not completely accurate. Not everyone expects Ice to play like Sarah. I for ine do not. They are two different players with different skill sets. The propblem with Ice for me is that she still lacks confidence. This is obvious with the number of times she hesitates to shoot and chooses to pass instead. I do agree that she is better than last year but only by a small margin, and I would definitely not insult her game by comparing her to DeBerry. More confidence and belief in herself and in her ability is what is needed. She needs to unleash the beast within. The key is in her hand alone.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Not completely accurate. Not everyone expects Ice to play like Sarah. I for ine do not. They are two different players with different skill sets. The propblem with Ice for me is that she still lacks confidence. This is obvious with the number of times she hesitates to shoot and chooses to pass instead. I do agree that she is better than last year but only by a small margin, and I would definitely not insult her game by comparing her to DeBerry. More confidence and belief in herself and in her ability is what is needed. She needs to unleash the beast within. The key is in her hand alone.

In Ice’s defense, she has worked on her outside shot, from the corner, the top of the key, behind the arc, etc., and I’ve seen a lot of improvement, to the point now where Geno is giving her the green light for those shots. More confidence can do wonders for shots that will go through the hoop. That being said, she probably will never have Sarah’s ball handling skills or the ability to poke a ball loose without fouling.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I agree with posters who say it's too soon to write off Ice. But neither Ice nor Jana are making those high percentage shots down low and that really has to change. How many chippies have they missed so far this season? In their favor, they're good at getting rebounds off those misses and kicking the ball out to someone who can shoot. But they have to make those shots; especially as they head into March/April.

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno quote from the Iowa State postgame presser (link to video is in the postgame thread)

 

[fang]

Ice played pretty good defense on Crooks, who apparently has some sort of special dispensation for traveling. Jana looked very frustrated. I think she is going to be very good, but it is not coming easy for her.

 

[Skeets]

YouTube click hound posts a hot take overreaction video with a click bait title and his views go through the roof. Angry boneyarders hang his video in a forum thread giving it another boost in views. He doesn't care if he's wrong, he's running up the clicks.

Not from me.

Ice started slow last year but played pretty good towards the end of the season. I'm willing to give Ice that opportunity again. Not sure why other BY'ers don't feel that way.

As it stands right now Ice is serviceable.