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Message: [QUOTE="Surly1, post: 4827910, member: 11599"] 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. [/QUOTE]

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