Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="Bone Dog, post: 5327273, member: 12088"] 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. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach