Jana ahead of the curve after arriving early at UConn

[Zarathustra]

OK Rocky, you lost me. What does Lou's rehab have to do with Jana's development? Based on the reports we're getting, it looks like Geno finally hit the jackpot in recruiting post players with the last two classes. I'm expecting (hoping) that one of our 3 post players will "hit" this coming season. With Amari's back problems fixed, it's very possible we'll have 3 potent and very capable posts players this year, able to rotate in and keep a fresh body in the paint at all times. I like the reports we're getting about Jana and Ice.

Does anyone have any information about the 4 exhibition games in August, if they will be recorded and made available to us? I don't want to hear about those games, I want to SEE those games.

The photo at the top of this threat had Jana in the middle and I believe Lou on the left of the photo, off
Jana's right shoulder... correct?

 

[hoophuskee]

If she can rebound and score in the posy, she will be a much-needed upgrade and counter to all the teams we play with bigs that have dominated us recently, and that inside presence will open up the game of our guards even more. I for one will have to see it first to believe because our recent bigs also had high scouting reports only not to live up to expectations either via injury or not being ready ala Amari, Piath, Ice, Ayanna...let's just hope for the best and not get all hyped.....Yet!!!

I don't care where she scores. I'm hopeful that they can have at least two big productive on Offense and Defense.

As far as what has hurt UCONN - it's been injuries. Not size in-o- itself.

The year they were most healthy- Paiges frosh year - they had two losses for the season. They lost o teams that took it to UCONN with guard play.

The size issue at times gets overstated. For thsi year we need productive players and it would be great if we hsve producitve size.

 

[Galaxyshooter]

Poor Dorka, forgot already

At Uconn, the goal is to win the NC Dorka and Odo and the rest of our bigs did not come to play either bcuz of injury or not being ready as I said but, we appreciate all their efforts and will forever be part of the Uconn family but when you talk of all time greats they will not be on that list..Ayyana, Ice, and, Efly still have a chance I guess we will see

 

[Notyetready]

Yes, but I assume this is an old "file photo." As you know, Lou is currently rehabbing an injury with the Dallas Wings. I also assume she's doing so in Dallas under the care and supervision of the Wings' medical staff. To be honest, I didn't pay any attention to Lou being in that photo. I focused on Jana. If I'm in error in my assumptions, please correct me.

Rocky, clear your cookies. Sometimes old cookies on your computer prevent you from viewing media posts and videos. I suggest using the free version of CCleaner. It's what I use. It works great. It will remove ALL of the cookies on your computer. I run this program before I turn off my computer every time I turn it on.

Jana practiced with the team this past winter so this is a photo from one of those practices.

 

[oldude]

Jana practiced with the team this past winter so this is a photo from one of those practices.

It’s actually part of a pregame warmup when UConn runs through a motion offense drill that involves players passing, screening and cutting to the basket for a layup. The Huskies have run this drill before every game for as long as I can remember.

 

[Bigboote]

The UConn family strikes again. Collier has helped her out, and she'll be wearing Collier's #24. AFAIC, that's a good sign.

 

[Shenandoah]

OMG: How can you not love this kid. When she said that she "wants to be a basketball coach...like my dad". I see big things from this young lady.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Yes, but I assume this is an old "file photo." As you know, Lou is currently rehabbing an injury with the Dallas Wings. I also assume she's doing so in Dallas under the care and supervision of the Wings' medical staff. To be honest, I didn't pay any attention to Lou being in that photo. I focused on Jana. If I'm in error in my assumptions, please correct me.

Rocky, clear your cookies. Sometimes old cookies on your computer prevent you from viewing media posts and videos. I suggest using the free version of CCleaner. It's what I use. It works great. It will remove ALL of the cookies on your computer. I run this program before I turn off my computer every time I turn it on.

Just a little Boneyard humor oh turbaned one. I did not assume Lou was rehabbing in Storrs. Thanks for the tip. I scrub a dub dub every day and sometimes twice. I'll check out CCleaner.

 

[wingsfan055]

Jana can finish with her left hand. Big plus.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I think the Great Pyramid will become a landmark for us!

 

[Carnac]

Alright!! I’m going to do it again. I’m going out on a limb. I’m predicting that all four of our freshmen will have a breakout game at some point during the season. It can happen. If you remember, freshmen Christyn Williams and Crystal Dangerfield both had their breakout games in the first month of the season. I’m saying it will happen sometime between November and the end of March. Book it Danno.

 

[Carnac]

I think the Great Pyramid will become a landmark for us!

No doubt some sports writer/columnist at sometime during the season will find a way to incorporate the pyramids in a piece mentioning or featuring Jana. I can see it now. When it happens, remember ol' Carnac called it way back in June.

 

[JellyBean]

If Jana, or any of the freshmen & Ice, can play and impact the game in a positive way this season, it is going to be a huge plus for the program and themselves. I can't wait for the season to start!!

 

[Bone Dog]

I watched the Mali game and it was painful. Egypt has such weak guard play that it was difficult for them to run any plays. No screens, no pic and roll plays, just a lot of one on one action. Only Jana and one other player (Maya, #13) seemed to be competent ball handlers. And if the coach could have gotten away with it I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him have Jana bring the ball up and then create off the dribble.

I didn’t see any stats, but I heard (somewhere) that Jana averaged 25 pts and 12 rebounds. Judging from this game, numbers like that wouldn’t surprise me. All of her skills were one display — shooting, face-up drives, post moves, passing out of the post, handles, rebounding, steals. In a way, how complete her skill set is gets concealed by the weakness of the rest of the team. For example, she passes well, but can the player at the other end of the pass actually catch it?

It’s also clear that she plays economically, and she has to since she’s on the floor for almost every minute of the game. She really has to conserve her energy. At UConn, she’ll be able to go all out since she won’t get that many minutes. And she’ll have to, given the speed and skill level of D1 ball. I think Jana playing full tilt will be a sight to see. And having some of the best shooters playing around her, she’ll mainly have a clean lane and wide open midrange shots.

I also like her defensive posture. She’s not a leap-and-swat shot blocker. She just taps the ball, which means she may not be as prone to fouls as Liv was early on. And Jana has long arms and large hands, so can Hoover up stray passes. Plus it’s not easy to wrestle the ball away from her.

 

[HuskyNan]

I watched the Mali game and it was painful. Egypt has such weak guard play that it was difficult for them to run any plays. No screens, no pic and roll plays, just a lot of one on one action. Only Jana and one other player (Maya, #13) seemed to be competent ball handlers. And if the coach could have gotten away with it I wouldn’t have been surprised to see him have Jana bring the ball up and then create off the dribble.

I didn’t see any stats, but I heard (somewhere) that Jana averaged 25 pts and 12 rebounds. Judging from this game, numbers like that wouldn’t surprise me. All of her skills were one display — shooting, face-up drives, post moves, passing out of the post, handles, rebounding, steals. In a way, how complete her skill set is gets concealed by the weakness of the rest of the team. For example, she passes well, but can the player at the other end of the pass actually catch it?

It’s also clear that she plays economically, and she has to since she’s on the floor for almost every minute of the game. She really has to conserve her energy. At UConn, she’ll be able to go all out since she won’t get that many minutes. And she’ll have to, given the speed and skill level of D1 ball. I think Jana playing full tilt will be a sight to see. And having some of the best shooters playing around her, she’ll mainly have a clean lane and wide open midrange shots.

I also like her defensive posture. She’s not a leap-and-swat shot blocker. She just taps the ball, which means she may not be as prone to fouls as Liv was early on. And Jana has long arms and large hands, so can Hoover up stray passes. Plus it’s not easy to wrestle the ball away from her.

Yes, the guard play was weak. Jana got stripped a couple times because the guards waited too long to get her the ball and by the time she got it, she was triple teamed. Jana has had 6 months to learn to get the ball in a better position. Her footwork is good and with Aaliyah and Ice to draw the defense, she shouldn’t have trouble getting to the basket or passing off to the open player

I hope people here are patient. High school and practice are totally different than playing DI basketball. It takes a while to make that step up and “a while” is different for every player

 

[huskeynut]

Jana came here early. She is putting in the work needed to excel. Between CD and Jamelle, she has two great coaches to help her develop.

She will have some adjustment to game speed and physicality. Got a feeling that will come quicker than most expect. And she has teammates who will get her the ball were she needs it to be effective.

Can't wait to see her play.

 

[oldhusky]

Yes, the guard play was weak. Jana got stripped a couple times because the guards waited too long to get her the ball and by the time she got it, she was triple teamed. Jana has had 6 months to learn to get the ball in a better position. Her footwork is good and with Aaliyah and Ice to draw the defense, she shouldn’t have trouble getting to the basket or passing off to the open player

I hope people here are patient. High school and practice are totally different than playing DI basketball. It takes a while to make that step up and “a while” is different for every player

Yea like you I noticed she got stripped a couple of times after quick double and triple teams. The rest of the team was so weak that the Mali strategy was a pretty good one. A quick pass back to an abandoned shooter is the obvious way to avoid the turnover, but since nobody else was an effective scorer her initial reaction was to still look for room to go one on one even against a double team and then sometimes got in trouble.

As you pointed out the guards were not good getting her the ball. They pretty much failed at all three of the W's (who,when, and where) when it came to passing. Her scenario at Uconn will be so different than these games. They won't be able to double and triple team her, she will have Nika and Paige to get her the ball in the right place at the right time, and shooters like Paige, Azzi and caroline to kick out to if they did try to double.

When she goes to play in the age restricted competition it may be similarly frustrating to watch, but also interesting to see what improvements are in her game, conditioning and body, after a semester in the Uconn program. As for the national team (not age restricted) that could be far more interesting to see what level she is at going against way better players and with way better teammates. Regardless of the level of play and teammates many of us will follow her progress there by viewing these game videos.

 

[HopJim]

One of the reasons I am so positive about the upcoming year is the competition Huskies will experience in practice. Jana will face All American talent every day (as will virtually everyone on team). While most blog posts focus on offense, the defense and game speed will be the best any Huskie team has faced at practice in years (maybe ever).

 

[Carnac]

Yes, the guard play was weak. Jana got stripped a couple times because the guards waited too long to get her the ball and by the time she got it, she was triple teamed. Jana has had 6 months to learn to get the ball in a better position. Her footwork is good and with Aaliyah and Ice to draw the defense, she shouldn’t have trouble getting to the basket or passing off to the open player

I hope people here are patient. High school and practice are totally different than playing DI basketball. It takes a while to make that step up and “a while” is different for every player

For the reasons you mentioned is why I can wait for the season to start in 4 1/2 months. The newbies need that time to assimilate themselves into the fabric and speed of team play. Learning how to play with their new teammates does not happen overnight.

 

[Carnac]

One of the reasons I am so positive about the upcoming year is the competition Huskies will experience in practice. Jana will face All American talent every day (as will virtually everyone on team). While most blog posts focus on offense, the defense and game speed will be the best any Husky team has faced at practice in years (maybe ever).

50 extra likes and 5 gold stars to you sir. You touched on a dynamic that most posters overlook, or fail to mention. Going against the elite quality of the UConn returning players (and the male practice players) should get them up to speed before the season begins. If you can't, don't, or won't play defense to Geno's satisfaction, you don't play.

It's been verified by multiple sources that they can all score, but can they make a stop or cause a turnover on the other end of the floor when we really need one? Aargh matey, there's the rub.

 

[augustaTC]

This is

This is a must-read!! The best piece on El Alfy to date.

Surprise, surprise...another wonderful piece of writing from Maggie. A whole 'nother level of reporting, particularly compared to the usual "less than inspiring" stuff from the usual scribes. Time to up your games, boys.

 

[Rowdy831]

Fast forward past the first 11 minutes. Jana is #8 in red, the one drawing all the attention. This is the African U18 championship game from August 2022

I like that Jana passes out of double teams instead of forcing a bad shot up

Very aggressive on the boards with a good shooting stroke too!

 

[Rowdy831]

If she can rebound and score in the posy, she will be a much-needed upgrade and counter to all the teams we play with bigs that have dominated us recently, and that inside presence will open up the game of our guards even more. I for one will have to see it first to believe because our recent bigs also had high scouting reports only not to live up to expectations either via injury or not being ready ala Amari, Piath, Ice, Ayanna...let's just hope for the best and not get all hyped.....Yet!!!

I really think the teams that "dominated" UCONN are few and far between. But I also think teams could go big against UCONN because they didn't have all their shooters healthy. In fact last year they really only had two shooters healthy for a couple games early and after that it was was Lou and a couple that might or might not have been at 60% health. But I do think having a better post player to go with AE will be a big advantage.

 

[Galaxyshooter]

I really think the teams that "dominated" UCONN are few and far between. But I also think teams could go big against UCONN because they didn't have all their shooters healthy. In fact last year they really only had two shooters healthy for a couple games early and after that it was was Lou and a couple that might or might not have been at 60% health. But I do think having a better post player to go with AE will be a big advantage.

When I say "Dominated us" I'm talking about teams with bigs who could play and match our Bigs and in the tournament recently there's only one team with comparable bigs we beat and that was Sanford..Henderson gave us the business in the NC game but the game was lost inside early and often as for our guard play our guards are always on point and step up if someone is injured we have valid reason for not winning but I thought at Uconn we don't make excuse it's next man up and now it's shut up and just play>>

 

[oldhusky]

50 extra likes and 5 gold stars to you sir. You touched on a dynamic that most posters overlook, or fail to mention. Going against the elite quality of the UConn returning players (and the male practice players) should get them up to speed before the season begins. If you can't, don't, or won't play defense to Geno's satisfaction, you don't play.

It's been verified by multiple sources that they can all score, but can they make a stop or cause a turnover on the other end of the floor when we really need one? Aargh matey, there's the rub.

Agreed, in addition I think Uconn's reputation regarding true bigs is underrated. To a certain extent I believe Dawn's success with Wilson may have helped her land Boston for example, and perhaps Kim has milked BG's stardom to help her recruit two bigs like Cox and Brown at Baylor, and then Reese at LSU.

By comparison I look at Liv and Dorka in the W and so far they look like players that were well prepared for the league. Neither has the talent of Wilson, Boston or Reese, but relative to their draft status they have performed well, particularly compared to Cox and Brown. Maybe we haven't recruited that generational level C for a while, but we have developed the next tier kind of C very well, and as many WNBA coaches say, Uconn players at all positions are generally more ready for the next level than most other programs.

Much of that is as you point out, the competition they get in practice. Kia Stokes is an example too, she was a career backup in college and has turned that into a long WNBA career. It was probably very beneficial for Dolson, Stokes and Stewie to have some time competing against each other,particularly since they brought such different talents to the table.

Ice and Jana fighting for a potential 5th starter role will make each of them better than if they were the only talented C prospect on the roster. Obviously going against Aaliyah is a major plus too, and even if they don't reach previous expectations, Amari with her shot blocking and length, and Ayanna with her athleticism present different challenges to help all of our bigs develop.