Jana's Lay Up

[Alydar]

Too many of those lob passes into the post are being picked off. I'm not a lip-reader, but I think what exercises Geno, when he turns in frustration to his assistants on the bench, is that Jana needs to sense when she needs to help out the guard by taking a step toward the passer.

And the passers need to improve their passing. I see El Alfy open with space and the ball handler looking to pass into the corner.
As Bird has said, basketball is a game of "when", not what. Timing in a motion offense is critical and getting the ball into the low post requires great anticipation by the ball handler, a knowledge of what the post is about to do and getting them the ball at the right moment.

It seems that this discussion happens every time a talented freshman post shows up in Storrs. They get compared unfavorably to Bill Walton or Kevin McHale.

 

[MooseJaw]

Too many of those lob passes into the post are being picked off. I'm not a lip-reader, but I think what exercises Geno, when he turns in frustration to his assistants on the bench, is that Jana needs to sense when she needs to help out the guard by taking a step toward the passer.

Bingo.... Too many young players need to go to the ball, if not another player will. Case in point our past 5 who is no longer with the team. Jane does go to the ball just not often enough. There has been a little progress in this area, I'm sure she will only get better with a little time and practice. Most important, Jana seems to be racing 100 miles a minute. When her brain slows down the game will follow for her. When that happens, we will see improvement in every aspect of her game. Give her a little time, and remember she is what she is, not what you expect or what you want her to be. I for one am thrilled she is a Husky.

 

[Bone Dog]

Too many of those lob passes into the post are being picked off. I'm not a lip-reader, but I think what exercises Geno, when he turns in frustration to his assistants on the bench, is that Jana needs to sense when she needs to help out the guard by taking a step toward the passer.

Just to be clear, coming to the ball from the low post means giving up position on the block. This may be the best move under the circumstances. But if we’re looking for a no-dribble pivot move, this negates that. On the other hand, if we’re looking to see Jana put the ball on the floor and drive to a layup occasionally, then this can be useful.

 

[Jumpy Radar]

Jana's conditioning is not were it needs to be currently. So many missed close shots are indicative of poor upper and lower body strength. This can result in coordination issues as well as not being able to finish through contact. We have to remember this is essentially her freshman year. She really has not rounded into basketball form as of yet. If she truly puts in the work, she will get there. I for one am looking forward to it!

 

[BBallF]

I remember Geno saying about Caroline after that first summer that she seemed to have a chip on her shoulder about being overlooked in the rankings. At least, that may be how she saw it… and I’m not inclined to argue with her about it.

I have a great deal of sympathy for Caroline. That kid was a player through and through. I hope she plays again.

 

[BBallF]

I love Caroline’s game and what she did in the injury-plagued year. What could she be now if she’d never gotten the concussions? Her talent is unmistakable and what she accomplished as a freshman is undeniable. Please don’t doubt my admiration of her. My opinion, which is worth no more than anyone else’s, is that while Caroline is very talented, she’s not a generational player.

Certainly true. I remember her having every move and shot and being fearless. Who knows where she would have been by now. Just a shame.

 

[Cuango]

Not a baby hook shot, a baby jump shot. You go straight up and release the ball at the top of your jump at eye level or above, just like Ash's or Paige's.

Yes, it would be good if she were to be able to shoot that shot well, however, that shot is simply a lower percentage shot than a layup! Let’s get her to where she makes the bunny first.

 

[Steelerone]

I disagree with you about statistics being who you are as a player. The game is about so much more than stats. Stats can be misleading and your attitude and fire for the game are as important. Somebody like KK can dominate a game on the defensive end alone and end up with very few stats. Jana has that fire and intensity and that drive to be the best player that she can be. She wants to help the team and her teammates any way that she can. There are several posters that stated it very well. She has a lot of skills and has improved dramatically over the first half of the season. If she keeps developing at half that speed for the rest of the season she will provide what we need her to provide for the tournament.
I want to address a few people that are blaming players missing bunnies on the coaches because has been happening for years. It’s been happening for years because UConn keeps getting freshmen. What happens by the time these players are sophomores, juniors, and then seniors? They miss less and less bunnies and they play more and more. A lot of them end up being AA players and even more make it to the W. That is because of the coaching. I’ve been watching the program for decades because I enjoy watching excellence. And UConn Women’s bball is the epitomy of excellence. Geno and CD still do it better than anyone else (although there are some young coaches that I believe are doing it very well - Dawn S for instance). I understand that they are not perfect, but this is certainly not something that should be blamed on the coaches.

You are completely correct, KCD, but what I was saying is that people are expecting more than there is with every player. I can remember when Diana played that people were critical of her shooting too much and not being a good enough defender. We all know where she wound up, but not every player is Diana and to expect that is unrealistic.

 

[Cuango]

I think @BobbyJ objected to the implication that freshman Caroline = Sarah as a player. Yes, she filled in as high scorer in Paige’s absence but unlike Sarah, Carol had 50 turnovers to 40 assists, shot 29% from three, and averaged 3.2 rebounds a game. Please don’t mistake my comment as criticism- Carol was tremendous in her freshman year and she saved the team more than once. But she is not like Sarah, who is a generational player

Though certainly not at the same “generational” type level as Sarah, I too would have loved to see Caroline as a fourth year player who had stayed healthy throughout her time! I believe we would likely be watching an All American level player!

I pray that she will still be able to play a healthy season before she leaves but mostly, that she can simply return to full health and have a happy life! It would not surprise me to see her as a coach in the not too distant future!

 

[ccwarrior]

I will never understand the folks who consistently say that college players (adult women in this case), who have layed basketball for years - will get better at making layups if we just wait. These are the easiest shots in basketball (layups), and in this thread we are talking about a 6’5” player. We can like a player and still be honest about assessing things like missing layups, can we not?

 

[Alydar]

I've been living with blown bunnies for decades. El Alfy isn't any different from Charles or Dolson or even Stokes in that regard. Juhasz, a favorite of mine, transferred in as a B1G 1st teamer for 2 years and still missed bunnies and brought the ball down in traffic for a season. That's a lot of successful WNBA players and if El Alfy develops to that level I'll live with my frustration and vent myself by screaming profanities at the video screen in my living room.

 

[Skeets]

For some reason, she fades away on her layups and misses them a lot. She’s also rushing, she’ll calm down, but it does take away from her height by doing that and the really athletic players may block her. But she is clearly improving. We shall see.

Jana seems to have what Rebecca would call the "yips" when bunnies are an opportunity. She will overcome that and get progressively better.

 

[Skeets]

Overlooked? At #5? She and DeBerry (#15gulp) should have been thrilled. For comparison Miles was at #8, Harmon #10, Citron #16, Iriafen #19 and Sellers #22. More evidence that a dartboard gets used for a lot of these rankings and that GA probably doesn't pay much attention to them.

I agree. GA probably knows better than anyone that each class is pretty much a box of chocolates. Wasn't Sue Bird something like #28 coming out of HS? Geno said he wanted to meet the 27 kids ranked higher than her. Sue wound up having a pretty good basketball career.

It might be easy to get the top 2 or 3 right but after that get out the dart board. Plus, everyone is different. How can anyone know someone's upside? How can anyone know if a player is at their absolute peak coming out of high school and there's only 1 direction left to go? Chocolates.

 

[HuskyNan]

I will never understand the folks who consistently say that college players (adult women in this case), who have layed basketball for years - will get better at making layups if we just wait. These are the easiest shots in basketball (layups), and in this thread we are talking about a 6’5” player. We can like a player and still be honest about assessing things like missing layups, can we not?

As is discussed in a thread on the recruiting board, the girls that come out of high school with gaudy scoring records have not been playing against the same type of talent as college players. Watch a typical high school games - opponents are smaller, slower, and less talented than Div I players.

College players have also worked with trainers that have increased their strength and endurance. Freshmen post players like Jana have rarely played against girls their size that are also quicker and stronger. Jana can no longer just reach for a rebound or merely reach her hand up over a smaller player for a lay-in, now she’s got to fight for everything and get pushed, pulled, and hacked in the paint while doing so. It’s fatiguing, too. Every time a player moves up a level - high school to college, college to pro - an adjustment needs to take place.

Earlier in the season Jana was visibly frustrated and I assume that’s because her height alone wasn’t enough any more. The frustration is fading, finally, and she’s getting more done on the court and winning more small battles but she still has a ways to go. Hence the calls for patience

 

[oldude]

This discussion should be a cautionary tale for next season when Gandy shows up at Storrs. I fear that it will not be and once again some BY’ers will be asking some version of, “What’s wrong with our Big?”

Some of us will once again argue that it takes time for Bigs to adjust to the college game, she has been playing against smaller, less athletic girls in HS and the game is moving too fast for them right now, etc.

Patience Grasshopper……..

 

[OldSchooler]

As is discussed in a thread on the recruiting board, the girls that come out of high school with gaudy scoring records have not been playing against the same type of talent as college players. Watch a typical high school games - opponents are smaller, slower, and less talented than Div I players.

College players have also worked with trainers that have increased their strength and endurance. Freshmen post players like Jana have rarely played against girls their size that are also quicker and stronger. Jana can no longer just reach for a rebound or merely reach her hand up over a smaller player for a lay-in, now she’s got to fight for everything and get pushed, pulled, and hacked in the paint while doing so. It’s fatiguing, too. Every time a player moves up a level - high school to college, college to pro - an adjustment needs to take place.

Earlier in the season Jana was visibly frustrated and I assume that’s because her height alone wasn’t enough any more. The frustration is fading, finally, and she’s getting more done on the court and winning more small battles but she still has a ways to go. Hence the calls for patience

And although this is relatively insignificant, we're finally beginning to win the opening tip.

 

[Longtime fan]

Jana does not have bad hands. She actually catches the ball well and has a soft shot with either hand in the paint. The problem for Jana is the same problem that just about every Big had when they started playing college basketball. The game is moving too fast for her right now. It will slow down.

As for bad hands, Kiah Stokes had the worst hands I’ve ever seen. It took her 2 1/2 seasons to figure out how to catch a pass or rebound. Once she did, Kiah became a valuable member of UConn’s rotation and ultimately a 1st round pick in the W.

I have to disagree about Jana, although this is a pure judgement call. I saw Kiah and she had the same problems that Jana is having. When a ball is contested, Jana too often loses control of it. She doesn't do so on every touch...some she executes perfectly. But I would say that is 50% of the time and it needs to be 90%. It will come with time. Coach knows what he has.

 

[oldude]

I have to disagree about Jana, although this is a pure judgement call. I saw Kiah and she had the same problems that Jana is having. When a ball is contested, Jana too often loses control of it. She doesn't do so on every touch...some she executes perfectly. But I would say that is 50% of the time and it needs to be 90%. It will come with time. Coach knows what he has.

So you are suggesting it’s bad hands, which is a problem with coordination. I am suggesting that she’s thinking too much and processing the game too slowly, I.e. the game is moving too fast for her.

Forget about Kiah. Another player that missed a whole bunch of layups her first couple years at UConn and committed a bunch of fouls by just running over opponents without looking was Aaliyah. Once things slowed down, Aaliyah became a pretty decent player. The same thing will happen with Jana.

 

[HuskyNan]

So you are suggesting it’s bad hands, which is a problem with coordination. I am suggesting that she’s thinking too much and processing the game too slowly, I.e. the game is moving too fast for her.

Forget about Kiah. Another player that missed a whole bunch of layups her first couple years at UConn and committed a bunch of fouls by just running over opponents without looking was Aaliyah. Once things slowed down, Aaliyah became a pretty decent player. The same thing will happen with Jana.

Aaliyah had a great freshman year but then she played with the Canadian National team the following summer. She returned to UConn a different player - hesitant, almost confused about her role. I think the Canadian coach’s requirements were different from Geno’s and that made Aaliyah think too much. She returned to the freshman version of herself the following year.

Watch how many fouls she draws in the video below. Keep in mind she’s (maybe) 6-3

 

[oldude]

Aaliyah had a great freshman year but then she played with the Canadian National team. She returned to UConn a different player - hesitant, almost confused about her role. I think the Canadian coach’s requirements were different from Geno’s and that made Aaliyah think too much. She returned to the freshman version of herself the following year.

Watch how many fouls she draws in the video below

Yes, I had forgotten about Aaliyah’s stint with the Canadian National team. It wasn’t so much bad coaching by the Canadian coaching staff as much as it was no coaching whatsoever. After Aaliyah made the national team, she was the last person off the bench. It happened during Covid so the Canadian team travelled to FL to live and practice at IMG Academy for several weeks before the Olympics. During that period of time there was little to no player development, which was exactly what Aaliyah needed after her freshman year. She did backslide during her sophomore year.

 

[Longtime fan]

So you are suggesting it’s bad hands, which is a problem with coordination. I am suggesting that she’s thinking too much and processing the game too slowly, I.e. the game is moving too fast for her.

Forget about Kiah. Another player that missed a whole bunch of layups her first couple years at UConn and committed a bunch of fouls by just running over opponents without looking was Aaliyah. Once things slowed down, Aaliyah became a pretty decent player. The same thing will happen with Jana.

I am suggesting it is more a matter of hand strength ( which is fully correctable ). But I concur that the game is moving a bit fast for her. It is as if a pass comes in at one speed and her body ( and hands ) are moving a quarter beat behind. Good point. There is no doubt she is getting better in every respect, game by game. Fun to see. And critical for the team's success.

 

[Longtime fan]

She has a bad habit of pulling the ball down to just above her waist when she shoots. She becomes more like 5'11" than 6'5", plus it's very slow. When she is wide open she speeds up her motion to not get blocked and she throws it over the rim.
I am sure they are working with her to catch it and go up with one motion.

And when she does that , the ball is easily dislodged or tied up by a defender.

 

[Bone Dog]

And when she does that , the ball is easily dislodged or tied up by a defender.

Bringing the ball down unnecessarily is a problem we’ve seen before. Ice does it too, and so did Dorka at first. Surprisingly, one of the virtues of Amari’s game was knowing how not to bring the ball down. She’d catch it high, hold it high, turn and shoot. It’s too bad she couldn’t put the other aspects of her game together. Wishing her well at MD. But the point is each of these kids is a unique combination of strengths and foibles, and they pull it all together each in their own way.

 

[DennieEddy]

We all appreciate your enthusiasm but " unstoppable force" may be a bit of a reach.

How about more powerful than a locomotive?

 

[HopJim]

Yes I agree. I remember Aaliyah as a freshman and I wondered what Geno saw in her. Well, we found out. There is no doubt that Geno is bringing Jana along because we can't get to April without her. There are a lot of good observations about her game on this thread, and she is only effectively 1 year out of high school in playing time and is still not in full game shape yet.

The best bigs have the baby jumper put back, including Stewie. The pre-season All American in the post, Iriafen from USC, shoots it all the time. Very difficult to time as a defender, and often leads to a foul. We certainly have to be patient, but at the same time we have to hurry her up for March. I don't know if we will see that one breakout game as opposed to a steady progression from her but I'm good with any path as long as we get there.

I hope we have the opportunity to put Jana and Aaliyah in the same category at some point in the future.

 

[packwrap]

Overlooked? At #5? She and DeBerry (#15gulp) should have been thrilled. For comparison Miles was at #8, Harmon #10, Citron #16, Iriafen #19 and Sellers #22. More evidence that a dartboard gets used for a lot of these rankings and that GA probably doesn't pay much attention to them.

True about dartboard, but the issue is mainly about the order of the ranking. The #47 recruit may be better than the #5, but we seldom, almost never, see an all-american from outside the top 100.

UConn's entire team now is top 100s, probably even top 50 if recall right. It's not like Geno is sneaking around gyms getting off the radar recruits.

SC, ND, LSU, UCLA, Stanford, TX, USC all have teams stocked full of McDonald's All Americans. No surprise, these are the best teams.

The rest of the Big East, Gonzaga's WCC and other small conferences rarely even get 1 top 100 recruit. Again no surprise, that's why they are bad.

The ranking services are not perfect, but that makes great discussion for fans and motivation for players. The rankings do get the big picture right in finding the best 100 players.

 

[HuskyNan]

True about dartboard, but the issue is mainly about the order of the ranking. The #47 recruit may be better than the #5, but we seldom, almost never, see an all-american from outside the top 100.

UConn's entire team now is top 100s, probably even top 50 if recall right. It's not like Geno is sneaking around gyms getting off the radar recruits.

SC, ND, LSU, UCLA, Stanford, TX, USC all have teams stocked full of McDonald's All Americans. No surprise, these are the best teams.

The rest of the Big East, Gonzaga's WCC and other small conferences rarely even get 1 top 100 recruit. Again no surprise, that's why they are bad.

The ranking services are not perfect, but that makes great discussion for fans and motivation for players. The rankings do get the big picture right in finding the best 100 players.

I always objected to ranking guards and forward on the same list. I still think it’s dumb

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I love Caroline’s game and what she did in the injury-plagued year. What could she be now if she’d never gotten the concussions? Her talent is unmistakable and what she accomplished as a freshman is undeniable. Please don’t doubt my admiration of her. My opinion, which is worth no more than anyone else’s, is that while Caroline is very talented, she’s not a generational player.

Who said she was???

 

[Steelerone]

Can we please not use high-school rankings as any kind of conclusive evidence of anything other than the fallibility of high-school rankings? I need not recount the number of top 5, top 10 and top 15 recruits of the recent past that have fallen well shy of lofty expectations. Aneesah Morrow, by contrast, wasn't even in the top 100 and made All American as a freshman at DePaul.

Curious how a thread titled "Jana's Lay Up" ended up in a debate over the equivalence of Sarah and CarolineTha

 

[Steelerone]

Thank you for that thought. I've followed Alathon for years along with the ESPN and other venues who rank high school players. Amazing how many Hall of Famer's either don't show up or are ranked near the bottom of the "Top Hundred." It seems like every year we have a player who decides to transfer who was in the top twenty but did not feel that they were getting enough playing time. Well, the reason they weren't getting enough playing time is because the player next to them on the bench was more productive.