Ice has some nice moves and footwork against Audi Crooks

[SVCBeercats]

Ice may push for more playing time than I thought. Nice short to intermediate range jumper as well. Interestingly Ice did not guard Audi much in this highlights video.

 

[Carnac]

Ice may push for more playing time than I thought. Nice short to intermediate range jumper as well. Interestingly Ice did not guard Audi much in this highlights video.

I’m reserving judgment on Ice until I see her in live-game action. I have a feeling that Ice is going to be everything Geno and UConn fans want and expect her to be. Her up and under move is smooth, as is her 15’ mid-range jumper. When Ice is on the floor, I think we’re going to like what we see. I like all of our newbies.

 

[eebmg]

I’m reserving judgment on Ice until I see her in live-game action. I have a feeling that Ice is going to be everything Geno and UConn fans want and expect her to be. When Ice is on the floor, I think we’re going to like what we see.

Everyone talks about how Defense earns minutes but I think Geno above all else looks for
good offensive feel for the game. He cares what the team looks like on that side of the ball, not just wins or losses. That is why I see Ice in the lead over Ayanna to begin.

 

[Carnac]

Everyone talks about how Defense earns minutes but I think Geno above all else looks for
good offensive feel for the game. He cares what the team looks like on that side of the ball, not just wins or losses. That is why I see Ice in the lead over Ayanna to begin.

Me too.

 

[Bone Dog]

Everyone talks about how Defense earns minutes but I think Geno above all else looks for
good offensive feel for the game. He cares what the team looks like on that side of the ball, not just wins or losses. That is why I see Ice in the lead over Ayanna to begin.

I’m sure you’re right. But I think the focus on defense has a second function he values very highly: it builds team culture and cohesion. This is why it gets so much attention in practice and in games.

Geno has talked about this in a couple of interviews, that lots of kids come out of high school with good scoring skills, but only a few of these are willing to put in the grinding work of playing team D. The reason for this lopsided distribution of skillls is that there’s little immediate glory to be had in team D beyond a flashy blocked shot or steal. You can’t build team culture on that, but you can build it on a steady commitment to close coverage, precise switching, keeping your feet and hands active, and the immense energy this requires. Finding teenagers willing to commit to this work is not easy, and it’s why Geno isn’t interested in lots of kids the scouts tout.

 

[SVCBeercats]

Everyone talks about how Defense earns minutes but I think Geno above all else looks for
good offensive feel for the game. He cares what the team looks like on that side of the ball, not just wins or losses. That is why I see Ice in the lead over Ayanna to begin.

If defense was the high pole for Geno's post players then Kiah Stokes would have played 30+ minutes per game.

 

[DEpup]

I generally agree. He doesn't focus on offensive scoring but he does focus on whether the ball gets stuck on offense and who is the source of breaking up the flow....

 

[Bone Dog]

Another way to put this: you can’t win if your team can’t score. Some scoring will come from D — steals and turnovers that lead to runouts — but most of it will come from the half court sets the team runs. If a player can’t contribute effectively in the half court, this makes it hard for Geno to give her a lot of minutes in the 4th quarter of close games.

But as true as this is, there’s two kinds of offensive players, one-on-one players and those who can score within a team passing scheme. Ideally, you have kids who can score on their own and can also make the team concept work. If the team concept falters, then merely playing deny defense on the one-on-one scorer can disrupt the offense. This is what we did to Iowa two years ago, assigning Christyn and Evina to contain Clark. There were other scorers on the team, to be sure, but containing Clark disrupted their offensive flow. It’s also what Baylor tried to do to Paige in the next game with DiDi Richards and what Arizona successfully did with Aari Macdonald.

The unexpected thing, I think, is that successful team offense, as a state of mind, grows out of an intense focus on practicing team D.

 

[Charliebball]

For my money Brady has the most complete offensive arsenal of any incoming UConn big since Stewie..........she's got the inside game, the mid-range game and can shoot the three............just a matter of perfecting them at the collegiate level......

 

[Scud49]

Ice is smooth, she knows what she is doing with the basketball - no hesitancy. And, as many have noted, she has the soft touch on her mid range jumper.

One other thing - I'm seeing some Kevin McHale type up and under low post moves - now that stuff I really love.

 

[CL82]

Ice is smooth

 

[Jim R]

For my money Brady has the most complete offensive arsenal of any incoming UConn big since Stewie..........she's got the inside game, the mid-range game and can shoot the three............just a matter of perfecting them at the collegiate level......

Agreed, and will repeat what was said on previous thread over a year ago concerning Ice vs Crooks:

ce - what can you say? So impressive. Can face the basket, shoot the 3, play back to the basket, has moves going both left and right, and is athletic. Reminds me of A'ja Wilson, and not just because she's a lefty...

"Much much better shooting range and outside shot….not even close..."

Wilson's range in college was limited...was great going left and getting rebounds & garbage baskets around the boards due to her athleticism...but, Ice reminds me a bit of the smoothness of Jamaal Wilkes (whose nickname was "silk" due to the smoothness of his game) and John Wooden's adage, "be quick but don't hurry".... she'll be a fan favorite!

 

[Bone Dog]

One last thought on the significance of practicing team D (I promise) -- I suspect that the teams that don't emphasize it also tend to have poor cohesion and weak team culture. In the case of Maryland, I don't think Brenda Friese succeeded in inculcating a strong culture of camaraderie and sacrifice for the team, and this seems to be connected to their attitude about defense. As the slogan from two years ago -- All gas, no brakes -- suggests, their concept was simply to outrun opponents rather than to smother their offense with tight defense. It was thrilling to watch when it clicked. But it led to lots of transfers, which I take to be an indicator of a weak team culture.

There are other ways to build team culture, as Lisa Bluder's teams at Iowa demonstrate -- they are usually weak on D, but they stick together. I also think of what Terri Moran does at Indiana. They play very consistent, intense team D, and their scoring tends to come mainly from sets and a team concept... and they seem to have a very cohesive team culture.

Contrast that with Kentucky or Baylor or LSU or Tennessee after Pat's tenure and what you often see on offense is a bunch players who happen to be standing near one another. They may run screens or even a weave, but often this gives way to planned or unplanned isolation sets. If you look at their deffensive schemes they're either a close woman-to-woman set that doesn't switch well or a loose, passive zone. A close cover woman-to-woman defense that switches well is not easy to run -- this is what Geno mainly runs along with an active (i.e. rotating) zone, and the two schemes complement each other.

But I digress. My main point is that a focus on D builds team culture, and the sign of the lack of it is that the starters tend to transfer. I haven't seen interviews with Angel Reese, for example, in which she explains why she left, and she may not fully realize what the problem was at Maryland. I'm just speculating here.

 

[Bone Dog]

Ice may push for more playing time than I thought. Nice short to intermediate range jumper as well. Interestingly Ice did not guard Audi much in this highlights video.

I'm not surprised about her not being assigned to guard Crooks here. That's an exhausting task, and I don't think you give that to your primary scoring threat in an AAU game.

 

[CocoHusky]

For my money Brady has the most complete offensive arsenal of any incoming UConn big since Stewie..........she's got the inside game, the mid-range game and can shoot the three............just a matter of perfecting them at the collegiate level......

Stewie was other worldly athletically and basketball wise. A better comparison for Ice Brady is Morgan Tuck both have elite elite footwork and a well rounded offensive game which the defense MUST account for.

 

[Zarathustra]

I'm not surprised about her not being assigned to guard Crooks here. That's an exhausting task, and I don't think you give that to your primary scoring threat in an AAU game.

I thought was that ICE was not guarding COOKS to stay out of foul trouble. Ice
was too important for offense and overall game play.... why risk picking up easy
fouls by guarding Ms. Cooks!

 

[MilfordHusky]

On offense, Ice knows good shots and can make them. Geno will like that.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I thought freshmen weren't allowed cars on campus. Was Ice's Audi damaged in the attempted car jacking? Yeah, that's where the thread title took me.

 

[Carnac]

Agreed, and will repeat what was said on previous thread over a year ago concerning Ice vs Crooks:


"Much much better shooting range and outside shot….not even close..."

Wilson's range in college was limited...was great going left and getting rebounds & garbage baskets around the boards due to her athleticism...but, Ice reminds me a bit of the smoothness of Jamaal Wilkes (whose nickname was "silk" due to the smoothness of his game) and John Wooden's adage, "be quick but don't hurry".... she'll be a fan favorite!

I played against Wilkes when he was a freshman at UCLA. Bill Walton was on that team also. The freshman team was referred to as "The Brubabes." (the Bruin Babies). Back then, freshmen could not play on the varsity team. They beat us by 35. Walton looked every bit of 6'11". There was NOTHING we could do with him. He only played the first half. I guarded Wilkes while I was in the game. At that time he went by his given name of "Keith" Wilkes.

 

[Carnac]

For my money Brady has the most complete offensive arsenal of any incoming UConn big since Stewie..........she's got the inside game, the mid-range game and can shoot the three............just a matter of perfecting them at the collegiate level......

THAT is the way I see it too. That's why I really think she's going to be special.

 

[Charliebball]

Stewie was other worldly athletically and basketball wise. A better comparison for Ice Brady is Morgan Tuck both have elite elite footwork and a well rounded offensive game which the defense MUST account for.

I certainly wasn't comparing Brady to Stewie.............that's not even close but I just couldn't think of a better inside out offensive game from a 6'3" plus player as a freshman in recent times...........I think Brady has a more extensive offensive arsenal than Tuck had but will be lucky to come close to Tuck's formidable footwork inside.............I'm surprised Geno hasn't asked her to work with the UConn bigs on that.......

 

[Carnac]

Ice may push for more playing time than I thought. Nice short to intermediate range jumper as well. Interestingly Ice did not guard Audi much in this highlights video.

I thought was that ICE was not guarding COOKS to stay out of foul trouble. Ice
was too important for offense and overall game play.... why risk picking up easy
fouls by guarding Ms. Cooks!

Audi Crooks (6'3" post) is rated as a four-star recruit in the class of 2023, and is considered among the best high school prospects of that class. She is ranked as the no. 42 overall recruit by Prep Girls Hoops, as well as no. 58 by ESPN.

She received her first Division I offer from Illinois State in July 2020. By that September she had received offers from all four Division I programs in Iowa (Iowa, Iowa State, Northern Iowa, and Drake) as well as Maryland.

The following year, Crooks received offers from Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Kansas, Ole Miss, Penn State and Oklahoma. She committed to Iowa State on April 14, 2022.

Cooks comes from an athletic family. Her father, Jimmie Crooks, starred at Fort Dodge Senior High School before playing college basketball at Mankato State and Southern Nazarene. He died in 2021. Her mother, Michelle Cook, is one of the all-time leading scorers for the Bishop Garrigan basketball team.

 

[Alydar]

If defense was the high pole for Geno's post players then Kiah Stokes would have played 30+ minutes per game.

He also had Dolson and Stewart in those seasons.

 

[oldhusky]

THAT is the way I see it too. That's why I really think she's going to be special.

Agree that she seems to have a complete package of under control moves, and I think the way she rises up for a quick lefthanded jumper reminds me some of Aja Wilson. An inch shorter and probably not as athletic but I can see some similarities in their games.

 

[sweetspot]

One last thought on the significance of practicing team D (I promise) -- I suspect that the teams that don't emphasize it also tend to have poor cohesion and weak team culture. In the case of Maryland, I don't think Brenda Friese succeeded in inculcating a strong culture of camaraderie and sacrifice for the team, and this seems to be connected to their attitude about defense. As the slogan from two years ago -- All gas, no brakes -- suggests, their concept was simply to outrun opponents rather than to smother their offense with tight defense. It was thrilling to watch when it clicked. But it led to lots of transfers, which I take to be an indicator of a weak team culture.

There are other ways to build team culture, as Lisa Bluder's teams at Iowa demonstrate -- they are usually weak on D, but they stick together. I also think of what Terri Moran does at Indiana. They play very consistent, intense team D, and their scoring tends to come mainly from sets and a team concept... and they seem to have a very cohesive team culture.

Contrast that with Kentucky or Baylor or LSU or Tennessee after Pat's tenure and what you often see on offense is a bunch players who happen to be standing near one another. They may run screens or even a weave, but often this gives way to planned or unplanned isolation sets. If you look at their deffensive schemes they're either a close woman-to-woman set that doesn't switch well or a loose, passive zone. A close cover woman-to-woman defense that switches well is not easy to run -- this is what Geno mainly runs along with an active (i.e. rotating) zone, and the two schemes complement each other.

But I digress. My main point is that a focus on D builds team culture, and the sign of the lack of it is that the starters tend to transfer. I haven't seen interviews with Angel Reese, for example, in which she explains why she left, and she may not fully realize what the problem was at Maryland. I'm just speculating here.

I assure you that Reese and Owusu did not transfer because they felt the defense was not up to par. Owusu in particular did not commit to getting into the shape she needed to play defense.