Ice Brady's Freshman Year

[Geesworld]

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. At any rate don't expect Geno to change his modus operandi at this late date.

Nope I don't expect him to change. The benchmark for this program is getting to the final four.

 

[uconnfan68]

Hey I love Geno, too. However That's all yesteryear talk. All those you mentioned were great post players. Now please Move to current resume and tell me what you got.
With that said my post was about Ice and the phenomenal season that is headed her way.

Brady went from watching to contributing by the BE tourney. She filled in for our All-American post player nicely. She looked a little overwhelmed against some of the tournament teams, but I think she’ll make a nice jump for next year. I also think Geno has a potential gem in Jana. If she plays with the enthusiasm she showed on the bench, I think we’ll be fine. I don’t know what to think of Gandy yet. Not enough film. Hope we get a nice portal find.

 

[uconnfan68]

Charles didn't struggle. Geno just tried to make her into super woman and got aggravated when she wasn't. Her freshman year Tina had 8.6 win shares and a net rating of almost 41. Ice had 2.1 win shares and a net rating of 8.

To be fair, Tina Charles wasn’t great at finishing for a while. It often took 2 shots to score, and she got a lot of her own shot rebounds. That’s what frustrated Geno.

 

[hoophuskee]

Takes even longer when you don't get the minutes. That starts with instilling confidence thru trial and error on the court. It really does work. I've seen other programs do it.

I have 100% opposite pov than you.

1--- Brady's did get minutes she averaged over 17.4. In Cardoso’s first year with Dawn she averaged just over 13.3 and Brink averaged just over 18.3. So, should we also criticize Dawn and Tara for not giving their 1st year posts "the minutes?"

2--- I would think we would be praising Geno for what the team did this year. Also, we all saw how Brady played at the end -- how is it that anyone can feel that he hasn't instilled confidence in Brady when we all saw how well she did in the Tournament?

3--- And to further this - you've seen other teams do trial-and-error and you see all but 2 maybe 3 if that perform better overall (and that's a stretch) than UCONN overall in recent history. OFC no team has had recent injuries UCONN has had.

Soo--- Geno is supposed to go away from what has made him the most successful coach in wcbb history, and also break away from what even Dawn and Tara did with Cardoso and Brink, instead emulate what other less successful programs have done (trial-and-error)?

****And anyone pushing for Beers and/or Irafen, who's minutes do you think they are going to impact? Yet Geno will sort of get criticized for not getting them in which maybe he has the very confidence that many fans do not? Just throwing that out there.

 

[hoophuskee]

To be fair, Tina Charles wasn’t great at finishing for a while. It often took 2 shots to score, and she got a lot of her own shot rebounds. That’s what frustrated Geno.

Don't agree. She was honorable Mention A/A her frosh year. You don't get A/a by missing your own shot often then getting the rebound consdering you are playing among the toughest schedules in wcbb. She shot 59% as a frosh.

Or if you did, then it highlights her relentlessness which then highlights the point slu had made. .

 

[Geesworld]

I have 100% opposite pov than you.

1--- Brady's did get minutes she averaged over 17.4. In Cardoso’s first year with Dawn she averaged just over 13.3 and Brink averaged just over 18.3. So, should we also criticize Dawn and Tara for not giving their 1st year posts "the minutes?"

2--- I would think we would be praising Geno for what the team did this year. Also, we all saw how Brady played at the end -- how is it that anyone can feel that he hasn't instilled confidence in Brady when we all saw how well she did in the Tournament?

3--- And to further this - you've seen other teams do trial-and-error and you see all but 2 maybe 3 if that perform better overall (and that's a stretch) than UCONN overall in recent history. OFC no team has had recent injuries UCONN has had.

Soo--- Geno is supposed to go away from what has made him the most successful coach in wcbb history, and also break away from what even Dawn and Tara did with Cardoso and Brink, instead emulate what other less successful programs have done?

****And anyone pushing for Beers and/or Irafen, who's minutes do you think they are going to impact? Yet Geno will sort of get criticized for not getting them in which maybe he has the very confidence that many fans do not? Just throwing that out there.

Thank you for the feed back.
I'm really trying to make my replies about Ice. I know I did the deadly sin in this forum and made a comment about Geno. My mistake!

1. Geno resume is stellar. Nothing to debate when it comes to that. He's the Goat.

2. I think it's clear Geno has had a short leash when it comes to Post play. He'll run a Post player into the ground or foul trouble before he even thinks about substitutions the backups. That's including Big East or AAC games. Post is the only position, where it is game to game if whether they play or not. Ice averaged 17 minutes of a 40 minute game, with 6 player rotation. Let that sink in. All the while we had two other freshman play heavy minutes. 30 plus. Ice, 17 minutes comparison is way different circumstances to Brink or Cardosa.

3. My POV was positive. My original Post was about Growth for Ice and Not about Geno. I'm not touching Dawn or Tara because it so far from the point I was making for my squad which is UCONN and Geno.

 

[hoophuskee]

Thank you for the feed back.
I'm really trying to make my replies about Ice. I know I did the deadly sin in this forum and made a comment about Geno. My mistake!

1. Geno resume is stellar. Nothing to debate when it comes to that. He's the Goat.

2. I think it's clear Geno has had a short leash when it comes to Post play. He'll run a Post player into the ground or foul trouble before he even thinks about substitutions the backups. That's including Big East or AAC games. Post is the only position, where it is game to game if whether they play or not. Ice averaged 17 minutes of a 40 minute game, with 6 player rotation. Let that sink in. All the while we had two other freshman play heavy minutes. 30 plus. Ice, 17 minutes comparison is way different circumstances to Brink or Cardosa.

3. My POV was positive. My original Post was about Growth for Ice and Not about Geno. I'm not touching Dawn or Tara because it so far from the point I was making for my squad which is UCONN and Geno.

Well again I don't agree. I hope my post doesn't come across as mean. It is not meant to be. - Anyhow, I asked before to name the player’s Geno blew it with - with post play. You only spoke of Ice. Who else? Let's discuss them along with Ice? You are making a sweeping comment he has a quick hook (i.e. more than just Ice).

You also said you wanted to see more "trail-and-error," -- yet if you think Geno is so stellar and you make other comment that you've seen other programs do it-- then why do you want to see something that overall is less stellar than what Geno is doing?

After the 4-3 start, UCONN was 28-3. When you say "sink in" -- how is it that when you are on a roll like UCONN was, matter of fact when bracket announced they were on such a roll they were favored to go to FF- so how is it that you mention anything about Geno not instilling confidence? How could any of the 7 players that played, not have confidence when you saw the roll they were on?

You may not want to touch SC and Stanford but I felt it needed to be addressed because you talking about lack of minutes for Brady, and Geno having a quick hook when in fact she got more minutes than one and slightly less than the other. And tehcomment about growth for Ice - and yet you saw how she performed late and you see that she got representative minutes that other star bigs have gotten in their 1st year, then how can you make a comment about more trial-and-error, and confidence when you see how well she did late and it compares to Cardoso and Brink? He gave no less of ahook to Ice vs these two.

We went on to go 28-3 the last 31- it just so happens some players are going to play more. Please I don't mean to be mean-- I just believe the quick hook comment is mispresenting what the team needed. IMO Ice did well enough- in fact I've predicted she will start next year (ofc if they don’t get a transfer.) becuase of hwo she performed late. As a result, what you call a quick hook, I call a sound substitution without further trial-and-error needed. No need to emulate lesser successful teams (when you said "you've seen other teams do it.). So, I’m not arguing for argue sake—it's just that I saw Ice improve and am very happy about that,and I'm just wondering what you and other are seeing different vs what I saw?. You don't agree that she didn't improve? If she did- then ofc Geno gave her confidence, right?

 

[oldhusky]

Statistically there are some stats that tend to get much better with time and experience and others that don't. Rebounds, blocked shots and steals are often related to the player's physical ability, and you often pretty much know what you have after the first year. Ice is not going to be a great rebounder or shot blocker, and the rebounding could be classified as a weakness.

Her offensive skills suggest she could show dramatic improvement in the numbers that often do improve. Fewer fouls and turnovers, more assists, better assist/turnover ratio, higher usage rate, learning what is and isn't a good shot against high level competition, shooting percentages etc.

Being a good player for us and maybe better than good on the offensive end is still in the cards or at least possible, but there is a lower ceiling on her rebounding/shot blocking ability and good but not great is IMO the most we can hope for at this point.

 

[Staven]

I agree with just about everything that has been said about ICE's play and there were plenty of up and downs throughout the season that many of us witnessed. However, I felt that towards the end of the regular season and into the Big East Tourney then the NCAA Tourney her game picked up and ICE played like she had to prove something. Now that she has a full year under her belt and a talented incoming freshman class ICE will devout herself in off season training and will return to UConn next year hungrier than ever.

 

[Rb335]

The good news for Ice is that she was trending in the right direction to end the season. I thought her game conditioning improved a lot over the course of the year, evidenced by the big minutes she played in the Big East Tournament. I think next Season you’ll see the game slow down for her. You could really see her thinking about what to do whenever she was out there. When you get comfortable in a system and with your teammates, playing becomes more instinctual.

We saw she has the ability to shoot, which was a game changer against USC. Don’t know if we make the final four without her hitting a handful of big jumpers, that must’ve done wonders for her confidence going into the off season. Next season I hope to see her greatly improve her finishing around the rim. Off cuts, against collapsing defense on guard drives, and some back to the basket moves. Her midrange game will follow. And with her improved conditioning, I expect we’ll see better defense without fouling.

It was a rocky first year, but I could see the glimpses. I’m really rooting for her, and foresee her being a really great player for this program.

 

[Jim]

I know the issue of young players getting minutes comes up a lot here on the BY. My view is that it is a double edged sword. Players do need actual game time against skilled opponents to develop more skills and gain confidence. The downside is when a player is put into a new situation/game, does poorly, and loses confidence which might be hard to get back. Geno makes players show they can handle things during practice before throwing them to the wolves (except when injuries dictate otherwise.) I recall Dee saying how in the fall Geno pushes so hard, beats you down, but when the calendar turns he builds you up so that by the end of February the players are ready to run through walls. This year Ash and KK were thrown into the fire early and they responded well. Ice was having issues until the BE tournament when Liya went down and there was no one else but her. She responded well and that upward trajectory will guide her to greater things next year and beyond. I am one of those who think Ice will be a starter in the fall until the frosh earn their minutes in the practice gym.

 

[Geesworld]

Well again I don't agree. I hope my post doesn't come across as mean. It is not meant to be. - Anyhow, I asked before to name the player’s Geno blew it with - with post play. You only spoke of Ice. Who else? Let's discuss them along with Ice? You are making a sweeping comment he has a quick hook (i.e. more than just Ice).

You also said you wanted to see more "trail-and-error," -- yet if you think Geno is so stellar and you make other comment that you've seen other programs do it-- then why do you want to see something that overall is less stellar than what Geno is doing?

After the 4-3 start, UCONN was 28-3. When you say "sink in" -- how is it that when you are on a roll like UCONN was, matter of fact when bracket announced they were on such a roll they were favored to go to FF- so how is it that you mention anything about Geno not instilling confidence? How could any of the 7 players that played, not have confidence when you saw the roll they were on?

You may not want to touch SC and Stanford but I felt it needed to be addressed because you talking about lack of minutes for Brady, and Geno having a quick hook when in fact she got more minutes than one and slightly less than the other. And tehcomment about growth for Ice - and yet you saw how she performed late and you see that she got representative minutes that other star bigs have gotten in their 1st year, then how can you make a comment about more trial-and-error, and confidence when you see how well she did late and it compares to Cardoso and Brink? He gave no less of ahook to Ice vs these two.

We went on to go 28-3 the last 31- it just so happens some players are going to play more. Please I don't mean to be mean-- I just believe the quick hook comment is mispresenting what the team needed. IMO Ice did well enough- in fact I've predicted she will start next year (ofc if they don’t get a transfer.) becuase of hwo she performed late. As a result, what you call a quick hook, I call a sound substitution without further trial-and-error needed. No need to emulate lesser successful teams (when you said "you've seen other teams do it.). So, I’m not arguing for argue sake—it's just that I saw Ice improve and am very happy about that,and I'm just wondering what you and other are seeing different vs what I saw?. You don't agree that she didn't improve? If she did- then ofc Geno gave her confidence, right?

I'll say it one more time. My post is about Isuneh Brady....Not Geno.
I tend to tread lightly on all topics Geno. I know in this Forum it can get a bit sensitive if his name is mentioned.
Bringing up 32-6 season has nothing to do with my original point and as I said in my last post he is all things Great. With that said even the best can trial and error or be innovative in it's approach and still hold true to past principals.

Addressing the Tara and Dawn point. Both coaches have had stacked rosters. Especially at the post position. Their rotations had other post players, subbing their starters.
UCONN had ONLY a Six man rotation for a large portion of the season and Ice, ONLY had 17 minutes a game.
It's just a bad comparison, when we know if UCONN had a healthy team, Ice doesn't average those 17 minutes. Take a look at the month of December minutes. Ice barely seen the court in the first game against Marquette, 30-point win. If I recall correctly, the announcers said Ice must be in the doghouse.
In all fairness Ice didn't always make good use of her court time. That seemed more mental then physical.

 

[Skeets]

Tina Charles struggled too as I recall. That turned out just fine. I feel confident that Ice will build on her improvement she showed at the end of the year.

Tina had shoulder problems that took a while to resolve. Once fixed, Tina was Tina.

 

[Newfie]

From an article in the Courant from March 2007. The difference also is that Brady did not play the minutes Charles did. Don’t know if that would have mattered.
“As the top high school player in the country in her senior season at Christ the King in New York, Charles had no problem finishing. But as the Big East preseason freshman of the year, getting shots to fall was a problem — the first she had ever encountered on a basketball court.”
“Auriemma said he didn’t anticipate that Charles would struggle as much as she did. But he never doubted that she would improve.”

 

[Geew1992]

Seriously? Ever watch Kerry Bascom, Kara Wolters? The triplets, Cash, Jones, and Williams? Jess Moore? Tina Charles, Stef Dolson? Our rosters have had many great post players, and Geno would be the first to tell you we would have no where without Edwards this year. His problem was that he didn’t have the backup for her that he wanted until late.

The Boneyard doesn't consider most of those players as bigs. When they are talking bigs, they mean Dolson Wolters, players 6'5-6'6. The triplets, Moore, even Edwards are undersized bigs.

 

[Geew1992]

Charles didn't struggle. Geno just tried to make her into super woman and got aggravated when she wasn't. Her freshman year Tina had 8.6 win shares and a net rating of almost 41. Ice had 2.1 win shares and a net rating of 8.

I'm gonna disagree here. Tina walked into Storrs saying she wanted to be an All-American. So, in order to do that, she had to out the work in. Obviously it didn't hit her until her Junior year, the work she was doing wasn't enough and she needed to start listening to the coaches.

 

[ktuck911]

Geno has said numerous times that it is difficult to transition as a big from high school to college.

even Aaliyah had to endure in the beginning...

 

[Bigboote]

And don't forget, folks, ICE was coming bak from a lengthy absence and serious surgery. That is not an easy transition. I think ICE had a fineyear. One in which she found herself in big games, and proved that she can be super.

Well said.

When I saw footage of Ice in high school, I thought the sky was the limit. Nothing in my mind changed this past year. She already shoots out to a few feet with both hands, over either shoulder. Another year with CD and Jamelle, improve the footwork and toughness in traffic, I think she'll be terrific.

 

[Cuango]

Statistically there are some stats that tend to get much better with time and experience and others that don't. Rebounds, blocked shots and steals are often related to the player's physical ability, and you often pretty much know what you have after the first year. Ice is not going to be a great rebounder or shot blocker, and the rebounding could be classified as a weakness.

Her offensive skills suggest she could show dramatic improvement in the numbers that often do improve. Fewer fouls and turnovers, more assists, better assist/turnover ratio, higher usage rate, learning what is and isn't a good shot against high level competition, shooting percentages etc.

Being a good player for us and maybe better than good on the offensive end is still in the cards or at least possible, but there is a lower ceiling on her rebounding/shot blocking ability and good but not great is IMO the most we can hope for at this point.

My two cents. I think it’s way too early to make an assumption about Ice’s ceiling. Yes, she had an up and down freshman (RS) season (more down than up, I would say) but seemed to show the most improvement/confidence at the end of the season. I just don’t think we can make any kind of valid prediction on anything at this point. I would agree that she does not appear to be a potentially great shot blocker but even there she may surprse us. As for rebounding, that is largely desire and effort. I doubt many would have predicted Saylor to become the third best rebounder in the country when she was here either. I really have no idea as to whether she will become a strong rebounder but she obviously was an elite recruit, a big strong young woman and I am confident that Geno & Co will take her as far as her talent and effort will allow. I doubt we will be disappointed with the final product.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

even Aaliyah had to endure in the beginning...

Edwards had a terrific freshman season.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

I'm gonna disagree here. Tina walked into Storrs saying she wanted to be an All-American. So, in order to do that, she had to out the work in. Obviously it didn't hit her until her Junior year, the work she was doing wasn't enough and she needed to start listening to the coaches.

My last post on this only because the topic is Ice, but in comparing her to Charles, Tina was already an excellent player as a frosh. She would get better--become dominant in fact--but she was really good right away. If Ice ends up as good as Charles was as a freshman UConn should be thrilled.

Tina Charles College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Tina Charles - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

 

[uconnfan68]

My last post on this only because the topic is Ice, but in comparing her to Charles, Tina was already an excellent player as a frosh. She would get better--become dominant in fact--but she was really good right away. If Ice ends up as good as Charles was as a freshman UConn should be thrilled.

Tina Charles College Stats | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com

Tina Charles - Stats, Game Logs, Splits, and much more

www.sports-reference.com

Ice may have a better shooting (especially long shots) stroke now, but if she becomes the rebounder, shotblocker, and defender that Tina was, I’ll be thrilled. I felt that Tina played out of position for us (by necessity). She’s a true 4.

 

[hoophuskee]

I'll say it one more time. My post is about Isuneh Brady....Not Geno.
I tend to tread lightly on all topics Geno. I know in this Forum it can get a bit sensitive if his name is mentioned.
Bringing up 32-6 season has nothing to do with my original point and as I said in my last post he is all things Great. With that said even the best can trial and error or be innovative in it's approach and still hold true to past principals.

Addressing the Tara and Dawn point. Both coaches have had stacked rosters. Especially at the post position. Their rotations had other post players, subbing their starters.
UCONN had ONLY a Six man rotation for a large portion of the season and Ice, ONLY had 17 minutes a game.
It's just a bad comparison, when we know if UCONN had a healthy team, Ice doesn't average those 17 minutes. Take a look at the month of December minutes. Ice barely seen the court in the first game against Marquette, 30-point win. If I recall correctly, the announcers said Ice must be in the doghouse.
In all fairness Ice didn't always make good use of her court time. That seemed more mental then physical.

Don't agree what you're saying in re to Geno -- you say it's not about Geno but you make comments in bold below as you have done -- it is about Geno. And overall it's not accurate and/or misrepresents Geno. I do agree with you that at times Ice didn't make best use of her time. -- But that is the crux of my argument-- why I cite 28-3 -- because the guards were making better use of their time while you seem to be picking at Geno a bit (not a lot) by being so focused on "six" players. My point has been to highlight the record which provides an understanding that Geno plays his best whether it be 6 or 7 or 8 – if you can get seconds away from Finals why be so focused on 6 when you are winning so much?. It sems you try to put that 6 player into "losing patience" and you put that in a negative light. IMO it is "good substitution." When your guards play better than your big(s)-- your guards are going to play not because the coach loses patience in a negative manner btu because he is giving his team the best chance to win.

Ice: What I believe what has happened is that Geno did instill confidence in her. It's why they won as they did. And it's why Ice played pretty well at the end. Instead of knocking the head coach who did an amazing job - for not giving Ice minutes, imo it should be celebrated that what he did- allowed Ice to do well once the toughest games popped up. Ice Brady played pretty well down the stretch. So- in regard to this thread imo we can say “Ice played pretty well and we’re looking forward to her paly for next year.” Agree?

Ice ********I thought Ice’s outside shot emerged. I loved seeing how on 1 rebound she didn’t get she slammed both her hands on the floor in frustration. To me—her late play -this is a hopeful sign of an evolving player. I just can’t agree with the tone of your posts from below when I saw what Ice did late.


Hey I love Geno, too. However That's all yesteryear talk. All those you mentioned were great post players. Now please Move to current resume and tell me what you got.

Takes even longer when you don't get the minutes. That starts with instilling confidence thru trial and error on the court. It really does work. I've seen other programs do it.

i think it's clear Geno has had a short leash when it comes to Post play. He'll run a Post player into the ground or foul trouble before he even thinks about substitutions the backups.

 

[ktuck911]

Edwards had a terrific freshman season.

she did.. but she also had a better supporting cast... less pressure... we lost 4 impact players before the season got going this year.. YET, we still got to the Final 4....

 

[Geesworld]

Don't agree what you're saying in re to Geno -- you say it's not about Geno but you make comments in bold below as you have done -- it is about Geno. And overall it's not accurate and/or misrepresents Geno. I do agree with you that at times Ice didn't make best use of her time. -- But that is the crux of my argument-- why I cite 28-3 -- because the guards were making better use of their time while you seem to be picking at Geno a bit (not a lot) by being so focused on "six" players. My point has been to highlight the record which provides an understanding that Geno plays his best whether it be 6 or 7 or 8 – if you can get seconds away from Finals why be so focused on 6 when you are winning so much?. It sems you try to put that 6 player into "losing patience" and you put that in a negative light. IMO it is "good substitution." When your guards play better than your big(s)-- your guards are going to play not because the coach loses patience in a negative manner btu because he is giving his team the best chance to win.

Ice: What I believe what has happened is that Geno did instill confidence in her. It's why they won as they did. And it's why Ice played pretty well at the end. Instead of knocking the head coach who did an amazing job - for not giving Ice minutes, imo it should be celebrated that what he did- allowed Ice to do well once the toughest games popped up. Ice Brady played pretty well down the stretch. So- in regard to this thread imo we can say “Ice played pretty well and we’re looking forward to her paly for next year.” Agree?

Ice ********I thought Ice’s outside shot emerged. I loved seeing how on 1 rebound she didn’t get she slammed both her hands on the floor in frustration. To me—her late play -this is a hopeful sign of an evolving player. I just can’t agree with the tone of your posts from below when I saw what Ice did late.


Hey I love Geno, too. However That's all yesteryear talk. All those you mentioned were great post players. Now please Move to current resume and tell me what you got.

Takes even longer when you don't get the minutes. That starts with instilling confidence thru trial and error on the court. It really does work. I've seen other programs do it.

i think it's clear Geno has had a short leash when it comes to Post play. He'll run a Post player into the ground or foul trouble before he even thinks about substitutions the backups.

After reading your comment, this is my last post in the Boneyard, for awhile. You are working way to hard, to tell me what exactly it is that I am saying. I'm going to say it for the last time. I Revere Geno, he is the Goat. If you, create a talking point and I respond to enhance my point doesn't say that I'm not in favor of Geno. You are working way to hard on this post when I clearly stated that it's about ICE and her potential.

I was not focused on six players, I was focused on a point to say that Brady got minutes because there was only a six player rotation. That was addressing your Brink and Cardosa point. Peace!!

 

[KCD]

Statistically there are some stats that tend to get much better with time and experience and others that don't. Rebounds, blocked shots and steals are often related to the player's physical ability, and you often pretty much know what you have after the first year. Ice is not going to be a great rebounder or shot blocker, and the rebounding could be classified as a weakness.

Her offensive skills suggest she could show dramatic improvement in the numbers that often do improve. Fewer fouls and turnovers, more assists, better assist/turnover ratio, higher usage rate, learning what is and isn't a good shot against high level competition, shooting percentages etc.

Being a good player for us and maybe better than good on the offensive end is still in the cards or at least possible, but there is a lower ceiling on her rebounding/shot blocking ability and good but not great is IMO the most we can hope for at this point.

Oldhusky,
I believe that she improved dramatically for rebounding and also somewhat for blocking shots. Her rebounding for the first half of the season had lackluster intensity. But later in the year, I really noticed her having an aggressive attitude towards it. She was grabbing the ball like it had her name on it. She may not be an all-time great, but I think that she will be a good rebounder going forward. I thought that she did a much better job on blocks in the second half of the season as well. I believe that it took her more than half the season to get over the mental aspect of her injury and recovery. She wasn't playing the way that she was used to playing (the way that she played her entire life prior to her injury). I know from experience that takes a huge toll on the mind. You start second guessing everything that you thought that you knew about yourself, until you prove it to yourself again.

 

[asuwish]

Tina Charles struggled too as I recall. That turned out just fine. I feel confident that Ice will build on her improvement she showed at the end of the year.

She has the strength already now she needs quickness, not speed but quickness. That will determine her playing time.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Ice has already established that she can flat out play (see Big East tournament).

As to why she didn’t show that before then, consider:

• Geno had more than 10 practice players to start the season, and then in December-January, the roster became 9.
• Geno then determined that his best starting 5 involved 4 guards with 2 freshmen, Paige playing the 4, and Ice being a backup to All-American Aaliyah.
• Geno then rigorously tested that starting 5 both in practice and in games to be ready for March.
• It’s hard for Ice to show what she can do in practice with basically 5+2 since Geno’s priority is to rigorously test his novel starting 5 for March.
• Perhaps we can second-guess Geno’s game-by-game decisions, but he achieved the totally unexpected: a final four and 1 bad call away from the finals.

With (knock on wood) 10 healthy talented practice players in November, including several bigs, practice (post) play will be lit, providing Ice and others the repetitions they need to improve and showcase their talents.

I expect Ice to take a huge sophomore leap and be an integral part of the rotation in either the 2023 offense with 2 bigs or a big lineup a la Stewie years.

 

[JoePgh]

At this point, Ice's biggest weakness (growth opportunity) is simply to minimize her fouls. Just about every big at UConn has had to deal with this, from Kara W to Tina to Stef to Napheesa to Liv to Aaliyah. All of them got better at it with practice and discipline, and I'm sure that Ice will do the same.

If she doesn't improve the rest of her game at all, but simply manages to stay on the floor as she did in the Big East tournament, she will earn about 15-20 minutes of playing time per game in 2024-25.

Bear in mind that since Jana and Sarah are not experienced at the college level, it is totally predictable that fouls will be an issue for both of them. We know that Ayanna had a big fouling problem in her freshman year. So all four of them will probably hear the whistle a lot in the coming season. Ice will actually have more experience with collegiate officiating, and hopefully more skill in dealing with it, than any of UConn's other bigs.

 

[sun]

I expect Jana & Strong to play much better than Ice did last year or UConn will have trouble.
In order to beat the best competition, UConn needs post players who are ready to play at an elite level, otherwise they're just eating up minutes against mediocre teams.
Aubrey & Ayanna are also question marks as far as being able to stay healthy & their scoring abilities.
Eventually there will be intra-squad competition for PT that didn't occur last year.
Some players are going to be sitting on the bench more often if they don't step up & consistently play their best.
The best players need to play even if they're freshmen.