Jana - In Madrid - FIBA Games

[cgshuskie]

So happy Jana is having success. She was already a star before she came to Uconn. Geno and staff have only been buffing up
the diamond. Hopefully she and Paige will lead us to #12. Go Huskies

 

[MSGRET]

I wouldn't be surprised if we saw Jana and Amari playing a twin towers set at times this fall. With the attention Jana is bound to receive, Amari would be pretty much free to score -- which she knows how to do.

Also, watching the Taipei game, I am struck by how big and strong Jana is. I mean really strong. Let Andrea work with her in the weight room for a couple months and I think she'll surprise us all with how much stronger she can be than she already is.

Andrea has worked with her since last January so there is little chance that she will surprise us all for this coming season when it comes to strength.

 

[MSGRET]

Question for the forum:
Do you think any of Jana's success can be attributed to her short tenure at UCONN? Or was she always this talented without the exposure? Has Geno already refined this siamond in the rough? Or is she already a star taking it to the hext level?

Geno and staff, her dad who is the coach for the Egyptian National team, even stated that she was much better than when she left.

 

[Jim]

I feel a new starting five thread coming…

 

[Huskee11]

Jana is already an accomplished scorer and that will create enormous problems for opposing defenses.

The videos of these U-19 games are eye-opening. You can`t help but be impressed with what you are seeing.

Opponents will obviously feel a need to guard the perimeter against Azzi, Paige, Caroline et al, but in doing so they will be giving Jana plenty of room to operate inside.

Opposing coaches are likely to put their best interior defender against Aaliyah, again giving Jana an advantage.

She will be capable of playing down the stretch in close games because she is practically automatic from the foul line.

Coaches will have to pick their poison against UConn, and I think that bodes well for Jana.

 

[MSGRET]

Geno and the coaches are going to enjoy this season, with 14 healthy players they could keep everyone rested during the whole game without a big drop off when he subs. Can't wait to see this group play, hope the European games are posted on You Tube.

 

[EricLA]

Kind of funny that Jana isn't even pictured in the "advertisement", but she's not only #1 in the voting, she has about 5x the votes currently as #2... BTW you can tell who I voted for based on the little green "up" arrow/carrot... LOL

 

[Carnac]

Wasn’t there a recent quote that Jana’s dad, seeing his daughter after her first semester at UConn, was surprised how by how much she’d improved? Dad’s a coach and he would see the improvements clearly

I referenced his observation in two of my comments. He knows her better than anyone. If HE noticed a big difference in her style and skill set, that's good enough for me.

Going against Ayanna, Dorka, and Amari every day in practice while being coached in real-time as the practice is going on can be credited for her performance and success.

No doubt the quality of competition (not to mention the intensity) she saw every day in practice is far and above anything she’ll experience in these games.

Make sure you vote for Jana. I already have. Friends, I think Jana is a keeper.

 

[Bald Husky]

I voted earlier today and at that time she was in third place behind Toby and the Mali girl. It won't let me vote again so there is no ballot stuffing. Jana is killing it.

 

[EricLA]

I voted earlier today and at that time she was in third place behind Toby and the Mali girl. It won't let me vote again so there is no ballot stuffing. Jana is killing it.

Actually, if you copy and past the link to different browsers, you can vote on each one. I voted on Firefox, Chrome, Vivaldi, Opera, and Microsoft Edge...

Also, it's cool. The votes are real time so if you sit there for a minute, you can see Jana's votes going up 2-3 every 10 seconds while everyone else's doesn't change!!

Fan Vote: Who is your MVP of the FIBA U19 Women's World Cup?

MADRID (Spain) - The FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2023 is heading into crunch time and that means ballers built for the clutch are ready to shine and bank their respective nations a medal.

www.fiba.basketball

 

[MSGRET]

Kind of funny that Jana isn't even pictured in the "advertisement", but she's not only #1 in the voting, she has about 5x the votes currently as #2... BTW you can tell who I voted for based on the little green "up" arrow/carrot... LOL

View attachment 89909

Jana has over 5,000 more votes then the other 12 players who are listed in the voting.

 

[Carnac]

Jana is already an accomplished scorer and that will create enormous problems for opposing defenses.

The videos of these U-19 games are eye-opening. You can`t help but be impressed with what you are seeing.

Opponents will obviously feel a need to guard the perimeter against Azzi, Paige, Caroline et al, but in doing so they will be giving Jana plenty of room to operate inside.

Opposing coaches are likely to put their best interior defender against Aaliyah, again giving Jana an advantage.

She will be capable of playing down the stretch in close games because she is practically automatic from the foul line.

Coaches will have to pick their poison against UConn, and I think that bodes well for Jana.

Agreed. It looks like Geno will field a two-headed monster this year, and as you suggest, coaches will have to pick their poison. One of our players will demand a double team. That means an open look for somebody. But who?

Teams will have to honor and respect our perimeter shooters. What coach in his/her right mind is bold enough to leave Paige or Azzi unguarded while trying to double-team the post?

I look for whoever is on the block for Geno to hold up their end, and perform as expected on both ends of the court be it Ice, Ayanna, Amari, or Jana.

 

[Majic Hands]

Question for the forum:
Do you think any of Jana's success can be attributed to her short tenure at UCONN? Or was she always this talented without the exposure? Has Geno already refined this siamond in the rough? Or is she already a star taking it to the hext level?

As I understood Geno's comment. In a phone conversation with Jana's father, Jana's father said something to the effect of Jana was almost unrecognizable with how much she had improved in such a short period of time.

So I would say that "YES", I think Jana upped her game during the shot time sh has been at Stores.

 

[Zarathustra]

May be more than " head and shoulders". It is a closely knit team.... but one player is the primary mover (per Thomas Aquinas' argument for the existence of "Allah"! )

 

[Majic Hands]

I love this latest set of clips from the Taipei game. On the fast break, Jana gathers in the pass and just before she bowls over the defender, a sudden pivot and she goes around her to avoid the charge. I’ve never seen Aaliyah or Dorka do something like that.

On the drive from the elbow, the double team is coming so she eurosteps through it with the ball high and flips it in. But what caught my eye is how quick Jana’s first step is. Big girls don’t typically have a quick first step. But Jana does.

Bone Dog
Check out the Dorka thread.
Dork steals the pass and runs to the other end for a layup. May have been fouled, can't remember.

 

[Zarathustra]

Jana has over 5,000 more votes then the other 12 players who are listed in the voting.

Looks like that margin might be up to 11,000 votes. Note: it is my understanding
that the "fan vote" only counts for one vote, I think there are 5 or so official
voters so this margin of victory of "fan vote" (I assume it includes a lot of Huskie fans
including myself)
will not win the day... but it may influence the official voters. I think the
next two game will be decisive. Egypt is a rather big underdog to their
next opponent, Australia. PPG Aus 75.8 Egy 64.4 ; FG % Aus 45.9
Egy 37.4, Three point % Aus 42.7 EGY 25.3m free throw % AUS 74.6 %
Egy 73.3, and assists AUS 20.2 Egy 13.6. Both have TOO many Turn
over Egy 23.2 pg and AUS 24. 2. AUS is # 6 in EFFiciengy and Egy #12 but
Egy is # 5 in Double Doubles Guess WHO??=== J. EL AFRY! AUS is # 13 in Double
doubles. .
So... Let's hope Jana has solid numbers/ stats. She will only lose
the PPG stat if she has a very bad game and the Spanish?? player
has two very good games. I think the margin in close to 4 - 5 ppg in
Jana's favor. Go EGYPT, win and help JANA get that award!
THE GAME IS LIVE at 9:30 am ,EST tomorrow morning Saturday 7 / 22/ 2023

 

[Majic Hands]

I just clicked the little up carrot. It turned green and Jana's number when up 1.

 

[dtbtbtb]

It is so very hard not to get excited about Jana play for UConn....She is probably one of most versatile bigs that UConn had since Stewie. Right hand, left hand, taking players off the dribble, shooting ability, making bunnies, ability to make quick decisions on the move, Free Throw shooting. She is the complete package on offense.

 

[oldhusky]

I feel a new starting five thread coming…

Maybe, but it still won't settle the Nika vs. Caroline vs. Aubrey debate. Now it just looks like Jana could handle the 5, and still a decent chance Ice gives her a run for the money there. It would seem to limit the rationale for Aaliyah moving to the 5, which I didn't want to see anyway.

 

[JoePgh]

I just finished watching the full game between Egypt and Chinese Taipei. My view of Jana's current capability is somewhat in the middle of the opinions listed above.

On the negative side, I think that there are clear conditioning issues that need to be addressed. I think they will be addressed, but I don't think we'll see a fully fit Jana until her sophomore year (as was the case with Stef Dolson). Even then, I don't see the athleticism (speed, strength, leaping) that was apparent in Aaliyah Edwards even in her freshman year. At this point, I think Jana's athleticism is inferior to Ayanna Patterson's, and (assuming that reports of Ayanna's improvement are proven out) I would be surprised if Jana gets more minutes than Ayanna in the upcoming season.

On the positive side, I agree that her driving ability and court awareness are superior to any of the current UConn bigs whom we have seen play except Aaliyah (leaving Ice out of the comparison since we really haven't seen her play since high school). I'm not sure about shooting -- I didn't see her take a shot from more than a foot or two from the basket in the entire game against Chinese Taipei. Is it just the foul shooting that causes posters to think that her shooting is currently at a high level?

On the whole, UConn should be happy to have her, but comparisons to Stewie at this point are quite silly in my opinion.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

I just finished watching the full game between Egypt and Chinese Taipei. My view of Jana's current capability is somewhat in the middle of the opinions listed above.

On the negative side, I think that there are clear conditioning issues that need to be addressed. I think they will be addressed, but I don't think we'll see a fully fit Jana until her sophomore year (as was the case with Stef Dolson). Even then, I don't see the athleticism (speed, strength, leaping) that was apparent in Aaliyah Edwards even in her freshman year. At this point, I think Jana's athleticism is inferior to Ayanna Patterson's, and (assuming that reports of Ayanna's improvement are proven out) I would be surprised if Jana gets more minutes than Ayanna in the upcoming season.

On the positive side, I agree that her driving ability and court awareness are superior to any of the current UConn bigs whom we have seen play except Aaliyah (leaving Ice out of the comparison since we really haven't seen her play since high school). I'm not sure about shooting -- I didn't see her take a shot from more than a foot or two from the basket in the entire game against Chinese Taipei. Is it just the foul shooting that causes posters to think that her shooting is currently at a high level?

On the whole, UConn should be happy to have her, but comparisons to Stewie at this point are quite silly in my opinion.

@JoePgh in the footege I'v seen she dropped 3 pretty rangey 3s. Nothing but the beautiful sound of ball meeting net.

 

[Cuango]

Both.
No way can you say it was all Geno. That would sort of be insutling. Jana had to execute.
But no way can anyone say little-to-nothing either.
I'm also counting the player's whom Jana competed agaianst as "part of Geno." because it's his practices that set the drills and other competitions etc.

She is clearly very talented and was well taught by her father but she is also much improved since arriving at UConn. Her father said she was almost unrecognizable! I think that says it all! I’m getting pretty excited about this young lady! Between her, Ice, and Aaliyah, there’s going to be some brutal days for our opponents! Now if only Ayanna and Amari step up and show what they are capable of, it may become almost unfair!

I know people are complaining that some of us are overstating the potential of this team but I have to say, if everyone on this team stays healthy, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a team this talented throughout the entire roster! Of course, I realize this is all on paper so to speak, (most of it). However, We do have a pretty solid expectation for some of them. Paige, AalIyah, Azzi, Caroline, Aubrey, and Nika objectively range from NPOY/AA-very good. Each of those six players, if healthy, would likely start on 98-99% of all teams across the country!

The rest; Ice Brady-McD‘s AA #5 ranked player, Ayanna Patterson-McD‘s AA, #4 ranked player, Indiana Miss Basketball, 2 Player of the year awards, KK Arnold, #7 ranked player, McD‘s AA, 2 time Gatorade Wisconsin POY, #2 PG in her class, (#6 Hannah Hidalgo), Ashlynn Shade, #15 ranked player, McD’s AA, Gatorade Indiana girls POY, Amari DeBerry, #15 ranked player, McD’s AA, #2 Post in class (Maryam Dauda), Quadence Samuels, #31 ranked player, Jordan Brand Classic National Team Member, Jana ElAlfy, Egyptian National Team Member, Current points per game leader in FIBA U19 World Cup, Top/highly sought after foreign recruit for 2023, Ines Bettencourt, Played for Portugal on U18 FIBA European Championship where she led her team and ranked fourth in the tournament with 14.4 ppg, 3.7 reb, 3.6 ast, 4.6 stl

Again, I realize all this mean exactly squat until they actually produce on court, but I’d like to hear if anyone can come up with a more talented roster (on paper) than this one?

 

[NEforceUConn]

........ Kind of got her Nika going........

Priceless