It's ASJHA!

[sarals24]

Oops. You're right. Still, four is pretty good.

 

[sarals24]

Well, if we use the 2001 team we can count Sveta

 

[speedoo]

The US would have been more than fine with either Jones, Dupree or Brunson. All are top tier four players. Jones' experience and savvy obviously gave her the edge.

Pondexter is objectively better than at least 4 players on the roster, but as others have pointed out, there were likely other items preventing her selection.

Which 4 is she better than? She's a 2 guard IMO, and she is not better than DT or Augustus. She is probably a better scorer than Seimone, but better as an overall 2 guard? I say no. And it appears the Committee never considered a guard as the 12th player, so comparing Cappie to frontcourt players serves no purpose.

 

[bbsamjj]

The committee may have never considered a guard as its 12th player, and that's fine. But at this point in their careers, Pondexter is a top 10 player (regardless of position) in the world. Moore, Cash, Whalen and Jones are not. This does not mean Moore, Cash, Whalen or Jones don't deserve to be on the Olympic team--the US team does not need the top 12 players in the world to win Olympic gold. But Pondexter remains one of the elite scorers in the world at any position, and she is also an elite passer. Pondexter can also slide to the point guard position easily, as she has done for more than a decade playing USA basketball.

 

[semper]

Asjha has always been a killer on the boards...amazing rebounder. I can't wait to see them play. Anyone got a schedule?

 

[MilfordHusky]

Asjha has always been a killer on the boards...amazing rebounder. I can't wait to see them play. Anyone got a schedule?

Seattle in mid May and D.C. in mid July. The Olympic pairings have not been set yet, but the dates are late July through about August 11. I have tickets to both semi-finals in London.

 

[bschwartz]

(shudders to see what The Summitt looks like right now)

(doesn't really give a crap)

Congrats Asjha!

Six Huskies going for gold!

Prior to just now, I have never visited the Summit. I wanted to see their reaction too. Fairly nasty -- accusing GA of secretly pulling all the strings among other items.

Sure you could make good arguments for other players, but I think they are blaming Geno when they should be mad/disappointed at the lack of transparency in the selection process. Maybe C Dupree had a better WNBA season than Asjha, but you can not discount Asjha's recent European success -- which is obviously very relevant. Who knows how much that played into the USABB's thinking? would be interesting to have at least a sense of the committee's thinking.

Having gone there once, now. I doubt I will ever go back.

 

[Scotter]

Interesting impression. Statistically Asjha's rebounding has actually always been a relative weak point of her game even dating back to college, and I never thought of Asjha as a killer on the boards.

Asjha has always been a killer on the boards...amazing rebounder. I can't wait to see them play. Anyone got a schedule?

 

[Goodies07]

Great news! I figured it would be between Dupree/Ashja/Brunson. Really happy for her especially after those nagging injuries she had to overcome. This is well-deserved and must be such an honor for her.

Go USA

 

[UConnCat]

A nice piece by Mechelle Voepel on the selection of Asjha and the "Husky-heavy" team. As Mechelle points out, there were bound to be multiple former Huskies on the team regardless of the coach. Why? They're winners.

The six Huskies combined to win six NCAA championships in their college careers (2000-04, 2009-10) and have been part of seven WNBA title teams in Seattle (2004 and 2010), Detroit (2003, 2006), Phoenix (2007, 2009) and Minnesota (2011). Two -- Bird and Taurasi -- will play in their third Olympics, while it will be the second for Cash. All six Huskies were on the gold-winning 2010 World Championship team; Moore was still in college then.

The Committee could've chosen other deserving players, but instead went with someone Geno trusts:

[T]he committee went with the physical strength and well-rounded interior ability of Jones, who like Bird and Cash graduated from UConn in 2002 after a perfect season with the Huskies. Auriemma's trust level with Jones was best displayed in the way he described her last year during the WNBA season, in which she started every game for the Sun and averaged 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds.

"She's like that easy chair you have in your den," Auriemma said at the time. "It's always there, and you can count on it. She did not miss one practice in four years at Connecticut. There were never any surprises, no drama. It was a tremendous comfort for everybody else."

http://espn.go.com/olympics/basketb...olympics-asjha-jones-added-women-hoops-roster

 

[Scotter]

One things that drives me nuts is fans that don't at least ask themselves why a coach or committee makes a decision before complaining about it. At least think about how the decision could be reached without ulterior motives.

I thought why Asjha made the team over Dupree, Brunson, and Young was rather obvious if you just ask what makes Asjha different from the other three? Size!

Asjha's wider body carries more weight than any of the others. Asjha can defend centers where the others are basically pure power forwards. That difference is significant on a roster with only three other true post players. Throw in Asjha's extensive resume playing on top European teams and you have a very logical reason to go with Asjha even if she is not the best individual player in a vacuum. The national team committee making sure there is someone with the size to defend centers in an emergency is a precedent that far precedes Geno becoming head coach.

 

[HuskyNan]

One things that drives me nuts is fans that don't at least ask themselves why a coach or committee makes a decision before complaining about it. At least think about how the decision could be reached without ulterior motives.

I thought why Asjha made the team over Dupree, Brunson, and Young was rather obvious if you just ask what makes Asjha different from the other three? Size!

Asjha's wider body carries more weight than any of the others. Asjha can defend centers where the others are basically pure power forwards. That difference is significant on a roster with only three other true post players. Throw in Asjha's extensive resume playing on top European teams and you have a very logical reason to go with Asjha even if she is not the best individual player in a vacuum. The national team committee making sure there is someone with the size to defend centers in an emergency is a precedent that far precedes Geno becoming head coach.

All excellent points. There are other factors, too:
1. Asjha is very versatile. She can make other PFs come out of the paint to defend her. I wonder if Geno will let her shoot from the perimeter like she did in college?
2. She's familiar with Geno's system and with most of the other players on the Olympic team. That means a shorter learning curve, which is important as the team doesn't have a lot of time available for practice.

 

[LesMis89]

All excellent points. There are other factors, too:
1. Asjha is very versatile. She can make other PFs come out of the paint to defend her. I wonder if Geno will let her shoot from the perimeter like she did in college?
2. She's familiar with Geno's system and with most of the other players on the Olympic team. That means a shorter learning curve, which is important as the team doesn't have a lot of time available for practice.

I was thinking of the part I bolded as well. Half of the Olympic team are going to be very familiar with Geno and how he works. Like putting on a pair of old, comfy sneakers.

 

[meyers7]

You're kidding, right?

I didn't think it was bad. A couple pissy posts. Heck there were more posts here about their pissy posts than actual pissy posts there.

 

[wire chief]

And I'm reminded how fortunate for her career that she escaped the WNBA's woeful Washington franchise.

 

[meyers7]

It's great she is on the team, and I hope she gets that Gold medal. That would be a great memory/reward for her. However, we do have to realize, the the 11th and 12th players are not going to get a lot of playing time. They may not even be used in the medal rounds.

One reason I think they may have taken Jones. She's mostly going to be a practice player, not someone they rely on. So you get a practice player who knows the system, works hard and works well with the coach.

 

[MilfordHusky]

And I'm reminded how fortunate for her career that she escaped the WNBA's woeful Washington franchise.

Amen to that!

 

[MilfordHusky]

We all know the details, but Mechelle's list of championships won by this group is staggering. A very impressive group!

 

[Timeout]

And I'm reminded how fortunate for her career that she escaped the WNBA's woeful Washington franchise.

or that she choose UConn over Rutgers.

 

[alexrgct]

We all know the details, but Mechelle's list of championships won by this group is staggering. A very impressive group!

By my count, just based on college accomplishments:

• Six total NCs
• Three undefeated seasons, of which all but two games were by doube digit margins. Think about that. Only TWO games in three seasons were even by single digits (Virginia Tech 2002, NC game against Stanford 2010). By contrast, Baylor just finished one undefeated season with five single-digit victories.
• Nine final fours
• 160 combined consecutive wins, 153 of which were by double digits.
• Six seasons worth of NPOY awards (2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• Six top five WNBA draft picks

And by the way, the reason UConn has so much success? Look at where these six women are from:

• Sue- Long Island by way of CTK
• Swin- Pittsburgh
• Asjha- Jersey
• Diana- Cali
• Tina- NYC
• Maya- Atlanta 'burbs

No reliance one area for recruiting. Yes, Geno focuses heavily on New York and Pennsylvania, but if you're good, he's going to find you and recruit you. That's a big part of what makes UConn such a special program- the relentless, national/international pursuit of talent.

 

[Dawson]

Not sure if it's been posted. It may even have been in this thread, but i'm to tired to read back. Check out this video of Top ten highlights from the euro league. Asjha, Maya and Diana are all on there.

 

[Vowelguy]

No reliance one area for recruiting. Yes, Geno focuses heavily on New York and Pennsylvania, but if you're good, he's going to find you and recruit you. That's a big part of what makes UConn such a special program- the relentless, national/international pursuit of talent.

Actually I think causation runs the other way. Success allows you to recruit nationally.

Geno's first big non-NEastern recruit didn't come until Tammy Arnold (HS 1995).

 

[Replicant]

Perfect selection of a perfect Olympian...Congrats Asjha. I am loving this team!

 

[alexrgct]

Actually I think causation runs the other way. Success allows you to recruit nationally.

Geno's first big non-NEastern recruit didn't come until Tammy Arnold (HS 1995).

Yes and no. Yes, Geno leveraged the success had with Northeastern (primarily New England) girls to recruit the bejesus out of everywhere else. But he gets credit for having the cajones to do it. A lot of schools stay/stayed primarily regional.

 

[speedoo]

Actually I think causation runs the other way. Success allows you to recruit nationally.

Geno's first big non-NEastern recruit didn't come until Tammy Arnold (HS 1995).

Actually, considering how Tammy really turned out, I would say that you would have to go a couple of years later, to Shea, Paige and Stacy to find non-NE recruits that made solid contributions (much more than solid, in Shea's case).

Also, there was Amy Duran, maybe in the same class as Arnold. Amy was solid.