Ice Ice Brady

[Skeets]

Obliterating other teams is never, ever boring. What kind of fan gets bored? I suppose if you secretly root for the opposition you might get bored after the first quarter in an obvious blow out. Me? Show me more highlight film plays. (film? what's film?)

 

[HuskyNan]

And don't forget how devastating it is to get outscored by 2 in the 4th qtr of a 40 pt blowout.

“If we keep giving up so many points in the 4th quarter to bad teams like (whatever), we’ll….”
1. Never get to the final four
2. Won’t be a one seed
3. Will be lucky to get to the tournament at all (yes, someone said this last year)

etc

 

[Bald Husky]

I can't remember the last time that Geno had 15 players on the roster, and I'm talking about 15 HEALTHY players. I think Geno has the injury bug in the back of his mind, because there will be many really good players that won't see the court come February. UConn has a very young team, but a very experienced team. Without the freshmen, without the transfers, UConn has an extremely talented team, but these new people are also talented. The freshmen can wait until next year for big time minutes, but the transfers will demand playing time, especially Serah since it is her senior year. I think our second team would challenge for a Natty, so going forward it will be very intriguing how Geno will be able to find the team, and rotation, that will get us back to where we belong. FF or bust. I really can't wait for the season to start, excited that it starts early on Nov. 5 in Germany.

 

[HopJim]

… and games.

This is not really a disagreement. We’re talking about getting into game shape and I’m using “legs” as a metaphor for this.

An unmentioned detail is that Ice's primary injury last year was to her shoulder. Agree that when you are on a potential National Championship Team that the overall conditioning of every player is key. On a Geno coached team, with the emphasis on going all out every practice, this is even more critical.

 

[Spaceman213J]

why would geno have a trio of stars (assuming serah fits in) on the hardwood for 3/4 of each game when most of the schedule won't be a challenge AND there are a dozen exciting players who should be able to contribute everything the team needs?

Also, in Late February/March, if Geno has found a group/rotation/a few lineups that really click together, the playing time may not be there. He'll still rest people when they are up big. But as the tourney gets closer, a lot of rotations shrink to keep the momentum going and keeping the fitness up.

 

[BBallF]

I can't tell if you're agreeing with me or disagreeing, @BBallF . But you replied directly to me, so that leaves me in a quandary. In a thread about what the next season might hold for Ice, your post goes pretty far afield, but it's reasonable to think there will be limited minutes. And I doubt there's much disagreement on the BY about how many minutes Azzi and Sarah will be on the floor.

• Will Geno surprise us with his creative genius in making use of as much of his roster as possible? Yes of course.
• Will the rotation be much longer in December than in February? Yes, obviously.
• But my question for you is: how will that affect Ice?

As for whether the stars will get 30 minutes, last season probably holds some clues: Paige averaged 30 mins, Sarah 29 and Azzi 26 (though injury time cut into her numbers). They logged fewer minutes against weaker opponents earlier in the season, and a lot more in March and April. Ice and Jana averaged 16 minutes each, though in Ice's case it was more early on and less in March. Will the same pattern recur this season? I doubt it, mainly because of the addition of Serah and the return of Ayanna to the front court, and the impact of Blanca and Morgan in any small-balll lineup that emerges. Those are factors that might limit Ice. On the other side, if she turns a corner in the development of her own offense, she might earn even more minutes.

Ice's role will be as much a function of the way the team unfolds as anything else and that is why a larger team discussion provides context. I don't think you can fully predict her role without seeing the full team on display. This is a very unique year for Geno and I do not subscribe to the viewpoint that Geno will simply employ previous patterns for this team. He completely went outside the box last year with small ball and it was brilliant. The most exquisite example of that for me was watching Chloe Kitts trying to defend against KK's drive in the NC game.

I disagree with your earlier post that December will be experiment time. Given the number of players, including 5 new ones and 2 that are new in a sense in Ay and Caroline, that period in my view will extend until early- mid February. Then you will see the rotation he decided on to try to repeat. I also do not see 30+ minutes for Azzi, Sarah and Serah until that time. Last year was a different team, with far fewer options and potential combinations and I think projecting into this coming year on that basis is uncertain at best and inaccurate at worst. I also don't think there has ever been a team here as deep as this one and I don't think that it is depth alone. There is real talent, both for the present and future, that Geno will look to develop.

As for Ice, I am optimistic. She is a 6'3" strong player with a deft, soft, left handed outside shot and has been to the FF each of her two full seasons and is a defending national champion and a smart player who knows the system. This is really the year for her "sophomore bump" because her first year back coming off an injury was just that. She is a team player and an upperclassmen and can fit into anything that needs to be fit into. I am not artificially limiting her time or impact at all and see her her as a real match up problem coming off the bench and as having a very productive season this year.

 

[Bone Dog]

Ice's role will be as much a function of the way the team unfolds as anything else and that is why a larger team discussion provides context. I don't think you can fully predict her role without seeing the full team on display. This is a very unique year for Geno and I do not subscribe to the viewpoint that Geno will simply employ previous patterns for this team. He completely went outside the box last year with small ball and it was brilliant. The most exquisite example of that for me was watching Chloe Kitts trying to defend against KK's drive in the NC game.

I disagree with your earlier post that December will be experiment time. Given the number of players, including 5 new ones and 2 that are new in a sense in Ay and Caroline, that period in my view will extend until early- mid February. Then you will see the rotation he decided on to try to repeat. I also do not see 30+ minutes for Azzi, Sarah and Serah until that time. Last year was a different team, with far fewer options and potential combinations and I think projecting into this coming year on that basis is uncertain at best and inaccurate at worst. I also don't think there has ever been a team here as deep as this one and I don't think that it is depth alone. There is real talent, both for the present and future, that Geno will look to develop.

As for Ice, I am optimistic. She is a 6'3" strong player with a deft, soft, left handed outside shot and has been to the FF each of her two full seasons and is a defending national champion and a smart player who knows the system. This is really the year for her "sophomore bump" because her first year back coming off an injury was just that. She is a team player and an upperclassmen and can fit into anything that needs to be fit into. I am not artificially limiting her time or impact at all and see her her as a real match up problem coming off the bench and as having a very productive season this year.

You’ve done it to me again, @BBallF. Now you explicitly say you disagree with me, but on the point you cite you’re actually agreeing with me. Yes, the final rotation will not be settled until February — I feel like I’ve said that a few times already. Before then, it’s typically tinkering and experimenting, and that will certainly be true this year too. My only conjecture here is that the experimentation will be even more variegated (!) than previous years, and this will be especially marked in December and January.

Does the context of the entire team impact Ice’s role? Of course it does. Who’d deny this? All of us have been sketching those aspects of the context we think will be particularly significant for Ice.

It’s perhaps worth asking why February is the decisive month. I suspect this is an inflection point because it leaves enough time to build tournament chemistry. Geno doesn’t need to settle on a rotation before then and can continue experimenting. Last season’s team only came together according to Geno after the Tennessee game. This is when he saw that they all “loved each other.”

The main difference I expect to see this season is how deep the final rotation will be. Last season it went 8 deep. Will it go 10 deep this season? On the one hand I kinda expect to see exactly this. On the other hand, my very limited experience coaching youth leagues tells me that substitution patters are a lot harder to manage with larger numbers.

[And in case I need to define what I mean by rotation, it’s the portion of the roster who gets more than 10 minutes after January. This is an arbitrary number only intended to capture the difference between garbage time and contested time in games.]

A second difference I am looking for is whether there will be any surprises in that rotation. I think most of us anticipate the usual suspects in the final rotation: Azzi Sarah KK Ash Jana Ice + newcomers Serah Blanca and Kayleigh. That makes 9. But could Morgan or Allie or Ayanna or Carol or Kelis, or even Gandy also challenge for rotation spots? Add just one of them and you have 10. Could more than one force their way into the rotation?

A few people have suggested that Ayanna could take Ice’s spot. I don’t know what to expect about this conjecture, though there is a lot of overlap in their respective skill sets. The main difference I see is that Ice is mainly looking to refine existing skills in a third season while Ayanna needs to develop skills that were still pretty ragged the last time she was healthy. But they’re both very strong and good rebounders. Ayanna has a significant speed advantage especially when it comes to running the court in transition, and neither one is a great low post scorer. Ice is brilliant at setting screens, a skill that is all too easy to overlook.

I write all this thinking you will agree with it since it seems all quite uncontroversial. In fact, I think we’ve been in agreement about all the substantive questions in this thread. Perhaps the problem is that I’ve been unclear. That’s what led me to write such a tediously long post.

 

[HuskyNan]

Also, in Late February/March, if Geno has found a group/rotation/a few lineups that really click together, the playing time may not be there. He'll still rest people when they are up big. But as the tourney gets closer, a lot of rotations shrink to keep the momentum going and keeping the fitness up.

It was a big deal, really big, that as other teams got gimpy and tired at the end of the regular season that the Huskies got stronger, primarily because Geno had the luxury of resting key players as needed. Azzi getting mauled? Put Ash in. Jana getting banged up? Ice can give her a breather. Other teams’ stars/starters didn’t have the same stamina in the tourney that we saw in the Huskies and their getting some breaks was a big part of that.

I have to say, Ice doesn’t get credit for things that don’t show up in a box score. She must have tipped dozens of rebounds to teammates, especially during the tournament. And her screens are great. A player doesn’t have to score 20 points to impact a game

 

[BBallF]

It was a big deal, really big, that as other teams got gimpy and tired at the end of the regular season that the Huskies got stronger, primarily because Geno had the luxury of resting key players as needed. Azzi getting mauled? Put Ash in. Jana getting banged up? Ice can give her a breather. Other teams’ stars/starters didn’t have the same stamina in the tourney that we saw in the Huskies and their getting some breaks was a big part of that.

I have to say, Ice doesn’t get credit for things that don’t show up in a box score. She must have tipped dozens of rebounds to teammates, especially during the tournament. And her screens are great. A player doesn’t have to score 20 points to impact a game

I agree completely Nan about both Geno and his depth last year(wait until this year when it is crazy) and Ice. Let's not forget how Ice played 2 years ago in the BE tourney when she was a freshman and sorely needed when Aaliyah was out and made the All Tourney team. She proved right then and there that she was a step up player. She is being undervalued in my mind. Only a few improvements for her like a stronger put back, a little quicker first step, and more confidence in the 15 footers and you have a real force from her natural 4 position.

 

[BBallF]

You’ve done it to me again, @BBallF. Now you explicitly say you disagree with me, but on the point you cite you’re actually agreeing with me. Yes, the final rotation will not be settled until February — I feel like I’ve said that a few times already. Before then, it’s typically tinkering and experimenting, and that will certainly be true this year too. My only conjecture here is that the experimentation will be even more variegated (!) than previous years, and this will be especially marked in December and January.

Does the context of the entire team impact Ice’s role? Of course it does. Who’d deny this? All of us have been sketching those aspects of the context we think will be particularly significant for Ice.

It’s perhaps worth asking why February is the decisive month. I suspect this is an inflection point because it leaves enough time to build tournament chemistry. Geno doesn’t need to settle on a rotation before then and can continue experimenting. Last season’s team only came together according to Geno after the Tennessee game. This is when he saw that they all “loved each other.”

The main difference I expect to see this season is how deep the final rotation will be. Last season it went 8 deep. Will it go 10 deep this season? On the one hand I kinda expect to see exactly this. On the other hand, my very limited experience coaching youth leagues tells me that substitution patters are a lot harder to manage with larger numbers.

[And in case I need to define what I mean by rotation, it’s the portion of the roster who gets more than 10 minutes after January. This is an arbitrary number only intended to capture the difference between garbage time and contested time in games.]

A second difference I am looking for is whether there will be any surprises in that rotation. I think most of us anticipate the usual suspects in the final rotation: Azzi Sarah KK Ash Jana Ice + newcomers Serah Blanca and Kayleigh. That makes 9. But could Morgan or Allie or Ayanna or Carol or Kelis, or even Gandy also challenge for rotation spots? Add just one of them and you have 10. Could more than one force their way into the rotation?

A few people have suggested that Ayanna could take Ice’s spot. I don’t know what to expect about this conjecture, though there is a lot of overlap in their respective skill sets. The main difference I see is that Ice is mainly looking to refine existing skills in a third season while Ayanna needs to develop skills that were still pretty ragged the last time she was healthy. But they’re both very strong and good rebounders. Ayanna has a significant speed advantage especially when it comes to running the court in transition, and neither one is a great low post scorer. Ice is brilliant at setting screens, a skill that is all too easy to overlook.

I write all this thinking you will agree with it since it seems all quite uncontroversial. In fact, I think we’ve been in agreement about all the substantive questions in this thread. Perhaps the problem is that I’ve been unclear. That’s what led me to write such a tediously long post.

Since this is an Ice thread, let's discuss her first. I totally agree that she sets the best screens, probably in years, on this team. Without any development over the summer by her such as in strength, stamina, speed, shots or quickness, she is still part of the solid rotation. With any improvements she becomes a force. Putbacks both on double pumping when necessary and simple straight ups, drive moves left and right, consistent 15 footers and some 3s, and a stronger right hand would transform her into a very different player. Really, I will just take her the way she is no matter what. I think she has an intestinal fortitude that we never recognize and never really laud. She has shown it several times while everyone was too busy watching the marquee stars we have. So yes, I am an Isenuh fan and I am very hopeful for a big year from her.

Okay now the rest. I am not sure about 10 in the rotation because Geno loved Morgan last year even when she was in the "no shoot" mode. You could see why. A solid 6'2" frame for a heady floor player who created defensive confusion eveytime she was on the floor. You need players like that and if she is healed and back I see her in the mix. As for Caroline, hold onto your hat because she is a senior and a born leader who has developed her character as she went through her difficult and frustrating rehab and wants to make the most of her last year like Paige did, and is a fearless player. If she is just 85% of what she was freshman year, you get a great 3 point shooter, a finisher right and left, a pull up jump shooter, and a rebounder as a 6'2' guard. She can post up, drive, pull up, pass and move without the ball in a fundamentally sound way. So she is in my rotation also.

Blanca is in your rotation so I will give you that but I haven't seen her so I just don't know. Now we have Kelis, Gandy, Allie, and Ayanna left. The video I saw of Ay driving to the hoop was actually terrifying. Who is going to get in her way? A lot of time off but a very, very strong player. What sub covers her? As for Allie, get the defense down pat and you play more. Great shooter who can wreck a zone. So maybe I have 13 in my rotation until mid- February. Crazy? Well, I will say this. If you had CD, Janelle, Tonya and Morgan as your assistants the substitution patterns on your team I suspect would not be that difficult.

The point is simple. No preconceived ideas, no limits, no patterns yet. Let it all unfold. 3003 ways to win a championship. Kind of catchy, right?

 

[JellyBean]

One of my favorites!! Always cheering for Ice and I continue to wish her all the best.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[oldude]

So I had to look up who was playing at Snapdragon Stadium recently since the Chargers are now in LA. Evidently, Ice was banging the drum in her home town for San Diego FC. Not to be outdone by her teammates, Paige & Azzi, who got to throw out the first pitch at various baseball games, Ice got to bang the base drum prior to a professional soccer match, which is both unique and really cool.

 

[sun]

It's a new season with new players, new chemistry to develop and a whole new set of potential imjuries that could need to be dealt with.
I suspect that some of the new players will earn some PT at the expense of last year's players.
Besides Geno wanting to keep his stars fresh & as injury free as possible for the duration of the season, Ice is a respected member of the team that needs to earn her PT by being as efficient as possible whenever she gets the opportunity to play.
There should be PT for everyone as long as they all do their job & do it well.
Keeping every player as fresh & injury free as possible for the entire season should be a team priority because you never know who will be needed to replace an injured star player.
There's bound to be a new pecking order based on how well each player performs their role. within the new team chemistry.
The coaches like to see the attitude, the improvement & the efficiency that's needed by a championship team.

 

[Conndog]

It was a big deal, really big, that as other teams got gimpy and tired at the end of the regular season that the Huskies got stronger, primarily because Geno had the luxury of resting key players as needed. Azzi getting mauled? Put Ash in. Jana getting banged up? Ice can give her a breather. Other teams’ stars/starters didn’t have the same stamina in the tourney that we saw in the Huskies and their getting some breaks was a big part of that.

I have to say, Ice doesn’t get credit for things that don’t show up in a box score. She must have tipped dozens of rebounds to teammates, especially during the tournament. And her screens are great. A player doesn’t have to score 20 points to impact a game

Good point about the non-starters spelling the starters to keep good energy available for latter parts of games. But as regards Ice tipping balls to teammates, why isn’t she just grabbing them? How often did Sarah or Jana tip rebounds to teammates as opposed to snagging them? Yes about her screens- I love them!

 

[Zonepress]

It's a new season with new players, new chemistry to develop and a whole new set of potential imjuries that could need to be dealt with.
I suspect that some of the new players will earn some PT at the expense of last year's players.
Besides Geno wanting to keep his stars fresh & as injury free as possible for the duration of the season, Ice is a respected member of the team that needs to earn her PT by being as efficient as possible whenever she gets the opportunity to play.
There should be PT for everyone as long as they all do their job & do it well.
Keeping every player as fresh & injury free as possible for the entire season should be a team priority because you never know who will be needed to replace an injured star player.
There's bound to be a new pecking order based on how well each player performs their role. within the new team chemistry.
The coaches like to see the attitude, the improvement & the efficiency that's needed by a championship team.

with a15 person roster there are going to be players not happy with lack of playing time
GA pretty much acknowledged that in one of his
conversations with reporters this summer
he also said that next year the roster would be smaller

 

[CL82]

"Ice Ice Brady"

"Ice - the girl so nice they named her twice."

 

[Bone Dog]

with a15 person roster there are going to be players not happy with lack of playing time
GA pretty much acknowledged that in one of his
conversations with reporters this summer
he also said that next year the roster would be smaller

As long as they’re well spaced out by class, everyone can expect to have a fair shot at getting good minutes eventually. Of course, the superstars like Paige and Sarah can create a bit of a logjam because they start all four years.

 

[NYCHUSKIES]

Uconn is soo spoiled on the 3 and 4 spot. Ice, Ayanna, Serah, Sarah, Blanca and optional Morgan, are just too talented and athletic. Im hoping for a strong and solid season from those positions. Blanca and Sarah can definetly play the 3 and 4 spot. Ayanna too. The guard play is going to be key and I know KK is ready to spearhead this team. She just needs to control her fouls a little better because Uconn will need her on the floor.

 

[Bone Dog]

Uconn is soo spoiled on the 3 and 4 spot. Ice, Ayanna, Serah, Sarah, Blanca and optional Morgan, are just too talented and athletic. Im hoping for a strong and solid season from those positions. Blanca and Sarah can definetly play the 3 and 4 spot. Ayanna too. The guard play is going to be key and I know KK is ready to spearhead this team. She just needs to control her fouls a little better because Uconn will need her on the floor.

I don’t see Ayanna playing the 3 this season. She’s not a good enough shooter and she’s too good as a rebounder to mover her out to the wing. Serah could conceivably play the 3 but why would anyone want her to? Obviously, on offense any or all of them could conceivably set up away from the basket. But on defense it’s a very different story.

The natural defensive 3s I see are Blanca Carol Morgan and maybe Sarah. But putting Sarah out there would only make sense in a very big lineup. Would you have Sarah defend the perimeter unless Jana and Serah or Ice or Ayanna weren’t also on the floor? What would be the point? I mean, try to picture a lineup with Sarah at the 3 and Morgan and Carol or Blanca at the 4 and 5. They might end up defending the low post through switches. But would you really station them there?

I’m really curious to see what roster experiments Geno will try this season. Might he go superbig at times, maybe have Jana Serah and Sarah on the floor together? We know he’s comfortable going with a small lineup, maybe with Sarah Blanca Ash Azzi KK or Kayleigh. But how big will he go?

We know Sarah and Serah give him impressive defense and offense inside the arc and even in the low post. And Sarah gives him a great perimeter shooter. I suspect this will mean he’ll want to have one or the other of them on the floor at all times starting in February. And he’ll also want both of them playing together for long stretches. This is easy to picture if they get ~30mins that partially overlap. But things are rarely that simple.

 

[oldude]

I don’t see Ayanna playing the 3 this season. She’s not a good enough shooter and she’s too good as a rebounder to mover her out to the wing. Serah could conceivably play the 3 but why would anyone want her to? Obviously, on offense any or all of them could conceivably set up away from the basket. But on defense it’s a very different story.

The natural defensive 3s I see are Blanca Carol Morgan and maybe Sarah. But putting Sarah out there would only make sense in a very big lineup. Would you have Sarah defend the perimeter unless Jana and Serah or Ice or Ayanna weren’t also on the floor? What would be the point? I mean, try to picture a lineup with Sarah at the 3 and Morgan and Carol or Blanca at the 4 and 5. They might end up defending the low post through switches. But would you really station them there?

I’m really curious to see what roster experiments Geno will try this season. Might he go superbig at times, maybe have Jana Serah and Sarah on the floor together? We know he’s comfortable going with a small lineup, maybe with Sarah Blanca Ash Azzi KK or Kayleigh. But how big will he go?

We know Sarah and Serah give him impressive defense and offense inside the arc and even in the low post. And Sarah gives him a great perimeter shooter. I suspect this will mean he’ll want to have one or the other of them on the floor at all times starting in February. And he’ll also want both of them playing together for long stretches. This is easy to picture if they get ~30mins that partially overlap. But things are rarely that simple.

While Geno can go BIG, small and everything in between, I have tried to imagine opponents where Geno might use a big lineup that would include say, Jana, Serah & Sarah. UCLA, TX & SC might be options. But none of those matchups would occur before the postseason. So Geno really wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to try out that lineup against any opponent that could matchup with it.

But I do remember, years ago, attending a conference tournament game in Albany, where Geno rolled out Steph, Stewie, Kiah Stokes, Tuck and KML. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who the opponent was. Stewie brought the ball up and the other team couldn’t buy a rebound.

 

[Bone Dog]

While Geno can go BIG, small and everything in between, I have tried to imagine opponents where Geno might use a big lineup that would include say, Jana, Serah & Sarah. UCLA, TX & SC might be options. But none of those matchups would occur before the postseason. So Geno really wouldn’t have much of an opportunity to try out that lineup against any opponent that could matchup with it.

But I do remember, years ago, attending a conference tournament game in Albany, where Geno rolled out Steph, Stewie, Kiah Stokes, Tuck and KML. Unfortunately, I don’t remember who the opponent was. Stewie brought the ball up and the other team couldn’t buy a rebound.

The problem with superbig lineups is that they tend to be slower overall. Geno hasn’t had super speedy players since MoJeff and Crystal, though KK is close. But overall, his lineups have been quicker than opponents because they make decisions more quickly. Their switches and screens are crisp. And they tend to have excellent stamina. Even with Ice and Jana on the floor last season, the team was quicker than most opponents and thus became especially pronounced in the tournament. In other words, it’s not just about foot speed. They practically ran UCLA off the court. South Carolina too, and they have a lot of athletes. The only team that was able to stay competitive in the tournament was USC, but it was a struggle for them.

The problem for all the new players — the freshmen, the ones returning from injury and the transfers — is learning to play at this speed all the time. Ice has a significant advantage in already having experienced this game pace. Jana too. The other bigs will have to get up to speed. Mental speed. As Yogi said, 50 percent of the game is all mental.