It's Been a Befuddling Season so Far

[Surly1]

Before the season started, expectations for this team were high. After 3 early season losses, the sky was falling. Now, 5 successive wins, the sun is shining brightly again.

In June, we expected a roster of 14 healthy players. After the upheaval of the previous 2 seasons, this was looking like a welcome respite. Now, UConn is back into recent, familiar territory, playing at most an eight-man rotation.

Three players who were expected to play pivotal roles, including two projected starters are either out for the season or on indefinite status. The incoming freshmen anticipated working themselves in, but none expected they would basically salvage the season.

It seemed likely that Paige would play more off the ball this year, particularly with Azzi & Caroline missing, but few could foresee Paige playing at the "4" position.

After Jana went down, many, myself included figured Geno would continue using 2 bigs in the lineup like last season with Dorka & Aaliyah. I don't imagine many fans or Geno himself would have seen UConn playing small ball and starting essentially four guards.

Once Azzi went down, the talk was Paige was going to have to all the heavy lifting and take on more of a Caitlin Clark role. In the last 5 games, Paige has become almost an afterthought on offense, serving as the third option behind Aaliyah and a surging Ashlynn.

So what lies ahead? The team is building its chemistry and while roles are not clearly defined, players are becoming more comfortable. Yes, UConn is undersized & team rebounding will be an ongoing concern, but UConn is developing a way to utilize its talent and play to its strength. Against tougher opponents, the games will come down to whose team strengths prevail.

I have no crystal ball, but this team is talented and success in the tournament can depend on the draw and potential upsets. UConn may not match up well against the size of SC, UCLA & Texas, but if they reach the Elite 8, anything can happen in a single game. I suspect UConn will need a dose of Bueckers magic to pull out those tight ones.

UConn's style of play has turned exciting again. It will be interesting to watch going forward how teams take notice of KK, Ashlynn and Q and recalibrate the thinking that the way to beat UConn is to shut down Paige and Aaliyah.

 

[my2cents]

Paige has not been an after thought.

 

[veryolddog]

UConn's style of play is exciting if they are playing a short team like they are and if the young shooters are making baskets.

 

[Gordo]

Paige has not been an after thought.

If you keep that statement within the context of how it was meant, it was appropriate. We don't think (at the moment at least) that Paige needs to carry the heavy load. Hopefully that means she can relax and have fun instead having tons of stress on her shoulders. Others are stepping up beautifully. Aubrey is back, Ash, KK & Q appear to be coming on very fast. Aaliyah is adjusting to the fact that we just don't have another capable big in the lineup. Nika, even when not scoring, is still racking up the assists and giving us strong defense.

 

[FanFromMaine]

Before the season started, expectations for this team were high. After 3 early season losses, the sky was falling. Now, 5 successive wins, the sun is shining brightly again.

In June, we expected a roster of 14 healthy players. After the upheaval of the previous 2 seasons, this was looking like a welcome respite. Now, UConn is back into recent, familiar territory, playing at most an eight-man rotation.

Three players who were expected to play pivotal roles, including two projected starters are either out for the season or on indefinite status. The incoming freshmen anticipated working themselves in, but none expected they would basically salvage the season.

It seemed likely that Paige would play more off the ball this year, particularly with Azzi & Caroline missing, but few could foresee Paige playing at the "4" position.

After Jana went down, many, myself included figured Geno would continue using 2 bigs in the lineup like last season with Dorka & Aaliyah. I don't imagine many fans or Geno himself would have seen UConn playing small ball and starting essentially four guards.

Once Azzi went down, the talk was Paige was going to have to all the heavy lifting and take on more of a Caitlin Clark role. In the last 5 games, Paige has become almost an afterthought on offense, serving as the third option behind Aaliyah and a surging Ashlynn.

So what lies ahead? The team is building its chemistry and while roles are not clearly defined, players are becoming more comfortable. Yes, UConn is undersized & team rebounding will be an ongoing concern, but UConn is developing a way to utilize its talent and play to its strength. Against tougher opponents, the games will come down to whose team strengths prevail.

I have no crystal ball, but this team is talented and success in the tournament can depend on the draw and potential upsets. UConn may not match up well against the size of SC, UCLA & Texas, but if they reach the Elite 8, anything can happen in a single game. I suspect UConn will need a dose of Bueckers magic to pull out those tight ones.

UConn's style of play has turned exciting again. It will be interesting to watch going forward how teams take notice of KK, Ashlynn and Q and recalibrate the thinking that the way to beat UConn is to shut down Paige and Aaliyah.

Sorry but I have to say this: i know Elmer Fudd but not Bea!

 

[Bone Dog]

UConn may not match up well against the size of SC, UCLA & Texas, but if they reach the Elite 8, anything can happen in a single game.

Nice post, @Surly1. One observation to add: tOSU made it to the Elite 8 playing small ball last season. I think we can too.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

Nice post, @Surly1. One observation to add: tOSU made it to the Elite 8 playing small ball last season. I think we can too.

Iowa made it to the championship game and they were smaller than Ohio State.

 

[Shenandoah]

UConn's style of play is exciting if they are playing a short team like they are and if the young shooters are making baskets.

Unfortunately, as the UConn men's team showed, against Seton Hall, the farther the shot comes from the hoop, the lower the percentage. And there will be those 4/21 games

 

[hoophuskee]

Unfortunately, as the UConn men's team showed, against Seton Hall, the farther the shot comes from the hoop, the lower the percentage. And there will be those 4/21 games

And forfunately when UCONN is playing taller teams they have a shot to beat them just as iowa had a chance to beat South Carolina. The game is basketbal not who is the tallest. There will be some games when the tall team falls.

 

[JoePgh]

Unfortunately, as the UConn men's team showed, against Seton Hall, the farther the shot comes from the hoop, the lower the percentage. And there will be those 4/21 games

As the men's game against Seton Hall also showed, having a 7-2 center and a 6-10 backup center does not assure a win, or even a competitive game.

In the WNBA, the Connecticut Sun had 7-2 Margo Dydek as their center for three or four years, surrounded by a capable team that included Lindsey Whalen and Katie Douglas, and they never won a championship. Obviously the teams that beat them lacked a center of comparable height to Dydek.

The recent game at Mohegan Sun between South Carolina and Utah demonstrated the same thing. SC had 6-7 Cardoso and 6-4 Chloe Kitts (and several less distinguished bigs off the bench), but Utah (Pili specifically) had no problem scoring in the paint. Cardoso was almost a statue with her lack of mobility, and in that game Kitts played mostly on the perimeter on defense. So Utah's drives to the basket were often unopposed -- they beat SC by 46-44 on points in the paint, and were nearly equal in offensive rebounds (8-9). Ultimately it was a conventional game where shooting percentage (SC 55% vs. Utah 45%) and free throws (12-8 for SC in made FT's) were the main determinants of victory.