KK or Kayleigh, who's your guess?

[RSHERMVIKES]

KK will start as she's earned the spot with her play over 2 seasons!

 

[Happydad745]

Probably KK will start at PG, she has the experience....luckily Geno will be the one to figures it out.

 

[Tonyc]

Wow alot of good points about who will start. One thing is for sure alot of players will get alot of playtime. A lot of that will depend on our injured players coming back and how ready they are physically. Alot will also depend on preparing players to be ready for next season. Last season we had 3 great shooters. Pull up jumpers were a big part of our game with 3 point shots taken when open. This season defenders will focus on Azzi and Sarah on the outside and Searh will get a lot of attention on the inside. I would like to think that Ash will have a good pull up jumper and that would be huge. Question marks preseason are Caroline Yana and Morgan. How will the come back and how long will it take? This presents how much playtime everyone gets . Team chemistry and being able to execute the offense and defense will play a large part on playtime minutes. We are such a strong team this season that developing everyone may not hurt our performance. Starters will most likely be based on being able to execute and team chemistry. Next the development of players for this and next season. The first part of the season will be a learning process on playing as a team within the team. Once everyone is on the same page they will see more playtime. The competition and comroderity at practice will be huge. This team is one of Genos most talented and most promising.

 

[PacoSwede]

adjustment to the absence of paige also should interesting. will the team adapt? how long will it take? will some players radically change their games/approach/attitude?

 

[Urshurak]

KK. I don't think there is any question about that, unless Geno is going to change it up now and then. These two will interchange beautifully IMHO.

 

[Bone Dog]

adjustment to the absence of paige also should interesting. will the team adapt? how long will it take? will some players radically change their games/approach/attitude?

I think this will be one of the most interesting stories next season. I doubt Sarah or Azzi will change much. They are exactly who they are. But KK and Ash are a different story. They made their sophomore leaps and it was wonderful to watch. Now they have an opportunity to take it up even another notch. They are still “works in progress.” It’s going to be an exciting year for those two.

Everyone else is too new or too re-newed to recognize a change in them. Maybe Carol, though I suspect we all asssume she’s just aiming at recovering her previous basketball persona. And that would be more than enough for anyone.

 

[Bigboote]

adjustment to the absence of paige also should interesting. will the team adapt? how long will it take? will some players radically change their games/approach/attitude?

My one question about that is who will be the secondary ballhandler. Paige was a second point guard. Azzi and Ashlynn are both heady offensive players with good shots and good handles (1.7 and 1.2 turnovers per 40 minutes). Neither has Paige's court vision, though. I have no doubt that KK and Kayleigh will spend some time on the floor together, but that's giving up a lot of shooting.

As we all say, Geno will figure it out.

 

[oldude]

My one question about that is who will be the secondary ballhandler. Paige was a second point guard. Azzi and Ashlynn are both heady offensive players with good shots and good handles (1.7 and 1.2 turnovers per 40 minutes). Neither has Paige's court vision, though. I have no doubt that KK and Kayleigh will spend some time on the floor together, but that's giving up a lot of shooting.

As we all say, Geno will figure it out.

Don’t get hung up on the idea of “pg”. Sarah is the best passing forward that UConn has had since Gabby.

 

[Bone Dog]

My one question about that is who will be the secondary ballhandler. Paige was a second point guard. Azzi and Ashlynn are both heady offensive players with good shots and good handles (1.7 and 1.2 turnovers per 40 minutes).

I agree with this. A pg is a very specialized position and one that doesn't exactly fit Azzi or Ash. It's not just about bringing the ball up the floor, which is just the tip of the iceberg of what a pg does. It involves a complicated set of responsibilities on both ends of the floor.

Azzi can play pg in a pinch, but it's not her best position and could well take away from her strength as a spot-up shooter. In so many games, her defensive positioning allowed her to get down the court to the opposite wing on a steal or a long rebound, ready for a 3. As others have noticed, this spread the floor and put immense pressure on the opposing team's ability to defend against Uconn's transition offense. If Azzi is your pg in the full sense of the word, that position may slow her down in transition. Paige was rarely the one who finished plays in transition unless they began with her stealing the ball up top. She was usually the one who initiated the transition game, and trailed behind the break to clean it up if needed. The 'tip of the spear' was mostly Sarah and Azzi.

And Ash is not a pg by temperament or skill set. Nor does she typically lead the break. She is a tremendous spot-up shooter, a fierce on-ball defender, and is great at harrying opposing rebounders under the rim at both ends of the court. None of these really fit with the role of a pg.

I am pretty confident that only KK and Kayleigh will play like true point guards this season. But once again Geno has stacked the team with excellent ball handlers. I'm thinking of players who can break a press, but also who can slash into the lane, score off the dribble, as well as beat opponents in the open court. KK and Kayleigh fit this bill, of course, but also Azzi and Morgan and Kelis. These are all very skilled players. Slightly less skilled, but still very good ball handlers are Ash, Sarah, Allie and Carol. These players won't freeze anyone with a 'killa-crossover' but they are heady enough to break a press in a pinch. The new x-factor as a ball handler is Blanca. Videos suggest she can break down a defense with her handles and actually does have a 'killa-crossover.'

What I see is 10 very strong ball handlers on this roster. This means I think Geno will always have at least 3 of them on the floor in any unit. Last season, UConn was not a press-able team, and this will be even more true this season. Of course, it also means that Geno doesn't really need to have a simple pg on the floor. His positionless offense thrives when anyone can initiate the transition game or the half court offense.

 

[Stagnant]

KK will start as she's earned the spot with her play over 2 seasons!

I agree KK will start. I disagree with this rationale. To me “she’s earned the spot” should only be a factor if it is a tie between her and Kayleigh. If Kayleigh Heckel is just better in camp and in preseason… then she should start.

My money is on KK winning that battle.

 

[Bigboote]

I agree with this. A pg is a very specialized position and one that doesn't exactly fit Azzi or Ash. It's not just about bringing the ball up the floor, which is just the tip of the iceberg of what a pg does. It involves a complicated set of responsibilities on both ends of the floor.

Azzi can play pg in a pinch, but it's not her best position and could well take away from her strength as a spot-up shooter. In so many games, her defensive positioning allowed her to get down the court to the opposite wing on a steal or a long rebound, ready for a 3. As others have noticed, this spread the floor and put immense pressure on the opposing team's ability to defend against Uconn's transition offense. If Azzi is your pg in the full sense of the word, that position may slow her down in transition. Paige was rarely the one who finished plays in transition unless they began with her stealing the ball up top. She was usually the one who initiated the transition game, and trailed behind the break to clean it up if needed. The 'tip of the spear' was mostly Sarah and Azzi.

And Ash is not a pg by temperament or skill set. Nor does she typically lead the break. She is a tremendous spot-up shooter, a fierce on-ball defender, and is great at harrying opposing rebounders under the rim at both ends of the court. None of these really fit with the role of a pg.

I am pretty confident that only KK and Kayleigh will play like true point guards this season. But once again Geno has stacked the team with excellent ball handlers. I'm thinking of players who can break a press, but also who can slash into the lane, score off the dribble, as well as beat opponents in the open court. KK and Kayleigh fit this bill, of course, but also Azzi and Morgan and Kelis. These are all very skilled players. Slightly less skilled, but still very good ball handlers are Ash, Sarah, Allie and Carol. These players won't freeze anyone with a 'killa-crossover' but they are heady enough to break a press in a pinch. The new x-factor as a ball handler is Blanca. Videos suggest she can break down a defense with her handles and actually does have a 'killa-crossover.'

What I see is 10 very strong ball handlers on this roster. This means I think Geno will always have at least 3 of them on the floor in any unit. Last season, UConn was not a press-able team, and this will be even more true this season. Of course, it also means that Geno doesn't really need to have a simple pg on the floor. His positionless offense thrives when anyone can initiate the transition game or the half court offense.

Bingo! A secondary ballhandler isn't the same thing as a second point guard. We saw the importance of a secondary ballhandler in a few games when Nika was all UConn had.

And as OD said, Sarah will likely be a point forward.