Jovana video

[Gus Mahler]

UConn is going to have four fearless point guards next season......can't wait to see them all in action.....

Yes. One in each class.

 

[DefenseBB]

Jovanna will compete for a starting spot next season. While the video doesn’t show it, she’s also a pretty good defender in addition to all the offense she has in her bag.

Not so sure I agree with this comment. Sarah, Ash, KK are locks, strong lean on Blanca. the question becomes, Jana, Olivia V, Allie, K9.

Add in Morgan and you have a pretty strong defensive team that we know Geno loves. For all this offense we see from her, her quality minutes will be determined by her defense.

 

[oldude]

Not so sure I agree with this comment. Sarah, Ash, KK are locks, strong lean on Blanca. the question becomes, Jana, Olivia V, Allie, K9.

Add in Morgan and you have a pretty strong defensive team that we know Geno loves. For all this offense we see from her, her quality minutes will be determined by her defense.

Agree on the importance of defense and that’s where you need to watch full game footage of Jovanna. She harasses ball handlers, jumps passing lanes and bodies up opponents. While she certainly has some learning to do once she gets to Storrs, I think her learning curve will be short and her impact will be big.

Morgan has been out all year. Assuming she can get herself back healthy, she’s got a lot of rust to shake off. Jovanna will be competing with Kayleigh, Allie and maybe Kelis for Azzi’s spot in the starting lineup. Whoever emerges as the starter will most certainly have earned it.

 

[EricSD]

Agree on the importance of defense and that’s where you need to watch full game footage of Jovanna. She harasses ball handlers, jumps passing lanes and bodies up opponents. While she certainly has some learning to do once she gets to Storrs, I think her learning curve will be short and her impact will be big.

Morgan has been out all year. Assuming she can get herself back healthy, she’s got a lot of rust to shake off. Jovanna will be competing with Kayleigh, Allie and maybe Kelis for Azzi’s spot in the starting lineup. Whoever emerges as the starter will most certainly have earned it.

I don't see it. KK, Ash, Blanca, Sarah, and a center. Jovana IMHO will be competing for guards coming off the bench replacing the starters.

Don't get me wrong - I think Jovana is a legit top 5 recruit, but we are stacked at the guard spot...

 

[oldude]

I don't see it. KK, Ash, Blanca, Sarah, and a center. Jovana IMHO will be competing for guards coming off the bench replacing the starters.

Don't get me wrong - I think Jovana is a legit top 5 recruit, but we are stacked at the guard spot...

I don’t see 3 forwards starting for UConn, even though Sarah & Blanca have exceptional skills as forwards. Replacing Azzi with another forward just doesn’t feel like Geno. I think he’ll take a hard look at Allie, Kayleigh and maybe Morgan, if she’s healthy. Jovana could be in that mix.

 

[huskyd]

Jovanna will compete for a starting spot next season. While the video doesn’t show it, she’s also a pretty good defender in addition to all the offense she has in her bag.

The conspicuous gap in next year's team is the spot vacated by Azzi (and, before her, Paige). The logical question is how many points will Jovana contribute? Her most recent seasonal scoring stat is about 17ppg with 47% from 2 and 34% from 3. Solid. As a shooting guard, her concentration will be putting up numbers; presumably KK will handle the point and do the major distributing. We may see Ash and Jovana flip-flopping as starters. Heckel will reprise her Super Sub role (with some playing time for the Fish). Jana has become more trustworthy as a back-up. Allie can dazzle; Morgan, too?
With the big O, Blanca, and Sarah, the Huskies' starting 5 will be formidable, giving Geno additional motivation to stick around.
Are more championships in the near-term? Wouldn't trade this team for any other.

 

[Bone Dog]

Oooh, a “who starts?” discussion. These are always delicious, even if this one’s a little early (We’re doomed!) and we don’t know exactly who’ll be available.

Sarah Blanca KK Ash + Jana (in November) and maybe Olivia in February.

Rotation: Kayleigh Allie Kelis Jovana Morgan[?] Ayanna[?] in roughly that order.

However you slice it, Jovana has a pretty tall hill to climb. Maybe she gets over Ayanna Morgan Kelis and Allie, but Kayleigh looks pretty much immovable. And then she’d have to displace either Ash or KK.

But… if she manages it, that could mean she’s having one of the greatest freshman seasons since… well, since Sarah.

Yo, Jovana: you go, girl! We’ll be rooting for you.

 

[Charliebball]

The conspicuous gap in next year's team is the spot vacated by Azzi (and, before her, Paige). The logical question is how many points will Jovana contribute? Her most recent seasonal scoring stat is about 17ppg with 47% from 2 and 34% from 3. Solid. As a shooting guard, her concentration will be putting up numbers; presumably KK will handle the point and do the major distributing. We may see Ash and Jovana flip-flopping as starters. Heckel will reprise her Super Sub role (with some playing time for the Fish). Jana has become more trustworthy as a back-up. Allie can dazzle; Morgan, too?
With the big O, Blanca, and Sarah, the Huskies' starting 5 will be formidable, giving Geno additional motivation to stick around.
Are more championships in the near-term? Wouldn't trade this team for any other.

I know that Geno likes to start his seniors, but it's possible that Blanca and Ash may flip-flop roles next season.........perhaps the Big "O", Sarah, KK and Allie will be the other starters, with Ashlynn and K9 the first off the bench followed by Jovana, Morgan, Jana etc.....i wish we knew whether Ice was going to be available because she would have a role too....

 

[donalddoowop]

I see no way Olivia starts next season, at least not at the beginning of the season. Jovana looks as if she can play a big part next season once she learns the system, another Senechal.

 

[Charliebball]

I see no way Olivia starts next season, at least not at the beginning of the season. Jovana looks as if she can play a big part next season once she learns the system, another Senechal.

Hmmm.....a 6'5" multi-positional player with an excellent three-point shot and a sophisticated inside game not starting? Maybe not at the start of the season but I would think she's just too good offensively not to be on the court a whole lot......the only thing that may hold her back is her defense which needs work.....

 

[Tonyc]

My thoughts. Olivia will see starter minutes. Jovana and Allie on the floor together could light it up. We will see how they develop.

 

[Bone Dog]

When I say KK and Ash will start, platooned with Kayleigh and Allie, it’s not because they’re upperclassmen or because Geno is loyal to some players over others. None of that matters. They’ll start because they already understand the defensive schemes and know what sort of intensity is required. Everything is ‘plug-n-play’ around them. Same goes for Jana, more or less.

For Jovana or Olivia to break into the starting lineup, they have to learn a lot really quickly. And they’ll need to find the right level of intensity, namely 110%. I don’t see that happening in November. Maybe by February if they turn out to be prodigies.

Sarah broke into the starting lineup last season in November because 1) she is a prodigy, and 2) there was no natural competitor for that spot. Aaliyah had just graduated, and Ice didn’t have nearly the shooting or passing skills for what Geno had in mind, and looked more like a 5 given her mobility issues.

Ironically, Sarah ended up rewiring Geno’s team concept around her extraordinary combination of skills, and ‘small ball’ was born, or maybe re-born. That’s a form of the game that no one else was suited to anchor the way she did. Since then, Blanca has arrived and may be just as suited to it as Sarah.

Could either Olivia or Jovana force Geno to rethink his team concept around their skills? They both look really good as recruits. But I’m not sure they have that same dynamism and magic about them, at least not yet. Still, I’m hoping to be surprised. Two summer ago I didn’t believe Sarah would start, and looked what happened.