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Last Rodeo for Kyla Irwin

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Fairfield Fan said:
The way they rank classes gives equal weight (at least on ESPN) to all ranked players. But the key is whether the best player is picked, and whether that player has one or two top talents to assist her. So a class with 6 kids ranked in the top 100 can be a dud, but a class with two in the top five could be a NC class.
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Exactly. Having a roster of 12 kids all ranked between 50 and 60 will give you a decent team, but a team with four top-5 players all from different classes is likely to put a superior group onto the floor.

And then there's the idea that not all #1s are the same. The gap between a player like Maya and the #2 player her class (Angie Bjorklund) is larger than for other #1s. Here are the top 10 from 2012:

Stewie
Moriah
Alexis Jones
Jewell Loyd
Bashaara Graves
Morgan Tuck
Jordan Adams
Malina Howard
Rachel Hollivay
Courtney Williams (TAMU)

Stewie, Moriah, Morgan, and Jewell have had fabulous careers. Alexis Jones is doing well. Most of the others may not make a WNBA roster.
 
ericsandiego said:
but for their first year, I'd be surprised if they see the court more than 4 minutes at the end of blowouts.
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Wanna see Irwin in game settings, but I'm very optimistic about Bent. I think she's gonna play, probably both the 1 and 2. I'm gonna say about 12 min/gm on average.
 
As I recall, even Geno and CD have said that it's typically not possible to win an NC without top-drawer talent, no matter how good the coaching or how much character and smarts the "pretty good" players have. (Maybe when they made the Final Four in 1991 it was different.) And there is no question that not having Stewart / Jefferson / Tuck (all Top 5 at one point) will reduce the talent level of the UConn roster well below where it has been for the last four years.

BUT ... assuming Morgan leaves, next year's roster will still have 3 players who were Top 5 in high school: Samuelson, Dangerfield, and Collier. You would think that would be enough of a nucleus of raw talent to contend for the NC. The supporting class will include Nurse and Williams (who were around the #10 level, as recall). Ekmark was Top 50, I believe.

So the level of talent for another NC will be there, but it will be "barely there" -- not overwhelmingly so, as we have recently become accustomed to. It's good enough that character and smarts (and coaching) might be enough to be the winning edge.

That should make for a more interesting and less predetermined season that those we have recently witnessed.
 
Rather than focusing on the ranking of the players people need to pay attention to the roster. No Morgan would mean Natalie and Kyla are the only true post player on the roster. I don't see Natalie going from where she is now to playing 30+ minutes per game. I also don't see UCONN running an offense without at least 1 post of the Natalie or Kyla variety. There are minutes available in the post, Kyla is capable so she will play.
Molly situation is a little more iffy because we have more guard depth. Nurse will start at either PG or SG and so will KLS at SF or SG. That leaves backup positions for Dangerfield at PG and Chong
at SG with Molly possibly backing up both of the backup. Both will play and it will have nothing to do with where they were ranked.
 
JoePgh said:
BUT ... assuming Morgan leaves, next year's roster will still have 3 players who were Top 5 in high school: Samuelson, Dangerfield, and Collier. You would think that would be enough of a nucleus of raw talent to contend for the NC.
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Lots of issues to fix, imo. Post defense, post offense being the foremost, imo.
 
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CocoHusky said:
Molly situation is a little more iffy because we have more guard depth. Nurse will start at either PG or SG and so will KLS at SF or SG. That leaves backup positions for Dangerfield at PG and Chong
at SG with Molly possibly backing up both of the backup.
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KLS is playing wing right now, more or less. If the coaching staff can find a PG they like and keep Nurse at the 2, Lou should be able to stay at the 3. If that all happens you essentially have 80 minutes available for two guard spots and 4 players, plus whatever minutes Williams plays guard. Chong would seem to be the wildcard. If she breaks out, minutes might be more sparse. If not, there would appear to be plenty for Bent if she earns them.
 
Look, I am still convinced that Natalie can be a very good player. But, I fear next season wll be very difficult for Geno and the coaching staff. We Husky fans have been vry spoiled, and I understand there are down years in the natural evolution of any team. But, if Geno can't find a way to give more than 7 players minutes this year, with this talent, he will be pulling his hair out next season. I don't normally think this far ahead, but.....something to think abou. For now , let's enjoy what this team is on the verge of accomplishing. 4 Straight Championships may never happen again !
 
magic said:
I was not talking about recruiting " class " rankings, as I don't put much stock in them. I do however feel like individual player rankings are about the raw talent of the individual players. In that aspect it would seem that either none of these kids wanted to play at Uconn, or the coaching staff did not like any of the players in the top 100.
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Geno doesn't attempt to assemble a collection of the highest ranked kids each year, he attempts to assemble a winning team for each year. And based on results, I'd say he's doing at least okay. :D
 
Sluconn Husky said:
Lots of issues to fix, imo. Post defense, post offense being the foremost, imo.
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There is no question that UConn will be a more perimeter oriented team next year than it has been for a long time. That will be a challenge for the coaching staff, but one that they can certainly handle. Think of how many teams without a good "big" have given UConn fits in the past, starting with South Florida this season. UConn's talent next year will be significantly better the USF's talent this year, and USF was competing with Stewie and Morgan in the paint. What other team is going to have a post combination of that quality and experience next year?

You may also remember Georgetown's team of a few years ago, before their coach left for Auburn. They had Sugar Rogers and several other players of that type, but (as I recall) no player above 6-0. They competed very effectively against a UConn team with Stef and Maya -- almost beating them in the Sweet 16 one year.

Teams don't have to have a major star in the paint to be top-level contenders. Hopefully UConn will demonstrate that again next year.
 
JoePgh said:
There is no question that UConn will be a more perimeter oriented team next year than it has been for a long time. That will be a challenge for the coaching staff, but one that they can certainly handle. Think of how many teams without a good "big" have given UConn fits in the past, starting with South Florida this season.
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I learned a lot from this post, JoePgh, but I'm a little puzzled still. Will UConn be more of a perimeter offense or defense? and what personnel do you see as contributing to each (or both) to make it more that way then this year? thanks!
 
erics&iego
<<I don't have access to online rankings that far back ... no idea about Wolters or Rizotti...>>

Hey, those guys go back so far, they were still being ranked in Roman numerals...
[Not to mention that the original "Big Girl" was VI' VII". Geno was the only coach that could "ca-pishe"]
 
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JoePgh said:
Was Laurin Dixon ranked when she was in high school? What about Megan Gardler? For that matter, what about Kara Wolters and Jen Rizzotti? What about Ketia Swanier?

But I understand your point -- in the last 10-15 years, it would be hard to point to a player who was "NR" in high school who made a serious impact on the court when she got to UConn.

On the other hand, role players in that category have existed and have made serious contributions. In addition to Dixon and Gardler, I can think of Ashley Valley and Carla Berube. There must be others.

I do NOT think that Kyla Irwin will be limited to "4 minutes at the end of blowouts" next year. UConn will have a thin front court next year, so I expect that Kyla will be used as much as she can be relied on. And hopefully that will be quite a bit. No, I don't think that she will start (or that she should).[/QUOT

With all due respect to the others mentioned, I take exception to Carla Berube being called a role player. She was an important role player as a freshman and sophomore, but after that she was an important cog. A fan favorite and a great all around player , think of Kelly Faris but with higher scoring efficency.
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JoePgh said:
There is no question that UConn will be a more perimeter oriented team next year than it has been for a long time. That will be a challenge for the coaching staff, but one that they can certainly handle. Think of how many teams without a good "big" have given UConn fits in the past, starting with South Florida this season. UConn's talent next year will be significantly better the USF's talent this year, and USF was competing with Stewie and Morgan in the paint. What other team is going to have a post combination of that quality and experience next year?

You may also remember Georgetown's team of a few years ago, before their coach left for Auburn. They had Sugar Rogers and several other players of that type, but (as I recall) no player above 6-0. They competed very effectively against a UConn team with Stef and Maya -- almost beating them in the Sweet 16 one year.

Teams don't have to have a major star in the paint to be top-level contenders. Hopefully UConn will demonstrate that again next year.
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I can't but agree with what you say. But think how many players UConn will have that want and need to play inside next year. Butler, Gabby, Pheese, Irwin. Perhaps this team will play outside/inside more than today's inside/outside, but it will, I think, still be a strong team in the paint. Better than supposed. But I agree, Irwin will not just be a garbage time player. I think she'll get significant minutes from early games through the Dance, though not a starter. What this team lacks in size it will make up in scrap, grit and smarts. And of course deadeye shooting. I've said it before, but in many ways a more fun team to watch than this one.
 
Gabby doesn't need to play inside. She great ability to do so when needed.
 
magic said:
Dangerfield should be a special player. But, the rest of the class is dissapointing to me. Not one other player in the top 100. I understand recruiting is cyclictic, but you would think that Husky Pedigree should have gotten them a higher ranked recruiting class. Not one post player from a class that is talented.
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I agree totally
 
JoePgh said:
Was Laurin Dixon ranked when she was in high school? What about Megan Gardler? For that matter, what about Kara Wolters and Jen Rizzotti? What about Ketia Swanier?

But I understand your point -- in the last 10-15 years, it would be hard to point to a player who was "NR" in high school who made a serious impact on the court when she got to UConn.

On the other hand, role players in that category have existed and have made serious contributions. In addition to Dixon and Gardler, I can think of Ashley Valley and Carla Berube. There must be others.

I do NOT think that Kyla Irwin will be limited to "4 minutes at the end of blowouts" next year. UConn will have a thin front court next year, so I expect that Kyla will be used as much as she can be relied on. And hopefully that will be quite a bit. No, I don't think that she will start (or that she should).
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If she makes as much of a contribution as Carla Berube, she will be very good indeed!
 
UCONN will have a major star in the paint next season!
 
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IMO the best team will be Collier, Gabby, KLS, Nurse and Danger. This lineup can't go 35 minutes but it can be formidable. Until I see Irwin vs top tier college players can't see her getting big minutes. Geno has said game is now more wing/guard oriented.Unless Collier or Gabby "disappoints" I believe UCONN will play it's best most of the time during crunch time.

I agreed with joepgh for all of it until he mentioned USF. USF didn't come close once down the stretch vs UCONN. Next year we'll learn what "fits" really means. But vs the top-tier teams Butler and Irwin can't play together other than maybe sporadic minutes. Have to find a different way to win. Because of the superior skills they have - they will.
 
magic said:
Look, I am still convinced that Natalie can be a very good player. But, I fear next season wll be very difficult for Geno and the coaching staff. We Husky fans have been vry spoiled, and I understand there are down years in the natural evolution of any team. But, if Geno can't find a way to give more than 7 players minutes this year, with this talent, he will be pulling his hair out next season. I don't normally think this far ahead, but.....something to think abou. For now , let's enjoy what this team is on the verge of accomplishing. 4 Straight Championships may never happen again !
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Why cant he play Stewie and MoJeff 38 minutes or more? They are super-elite. So now you essentially are subbing for three players. Maximum you'd go with is 8. SO we're going with 7. That one player is a big deal?
 
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Dangerfield should be a special player. But, the rest of the class is dissapointing to me. Not one other player in the top 100. I understand recruiting is cyclictic, but you would think that Husky Pedigree should have gotten them a higher ranked recruiting class. Not one post player from a class that is talented.

I agree totally

One cannot but agree. The raven is calling our name. The handwriting is on the wall. The omens are black and the runes read tragedy. The shadow is growing. We are definitely damnably dolorously disastrously DOOOOMED, one with LaTech, Old Dominion and the Evil Empire!!! :cool:
 
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Zorro said:
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Dangerfield should be a special player. But, the rest of the class is dissapointing to me. Not one other player in the top 100. I understand recruiting is cyclictic, but you would think that Husky Pedigree should have gotten them a higher ranked recruiting class. Not one post player from a class that is talented.

I agree totally

One cannot but agree. The raven is calling our name. The handwriting is on the wall. The omens are black and the runes read tragedy. The shadow is growing. We are definitely damnably dolorously disastrously DOOOOMED, one with LaTech, Old Dominion and the Evil Empire!!! :cool:
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Shall be lifted nevermore. Or until next year.
 
hoophuskee said:
Why cant he play Stewie and MoJeff 38 minutes or more? They are super-elite. So now you essentially are subbing for three players. Maximum you'd go with is 8. SO we're going with 7. That one player is a big deal?
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My point was, that if Geno doesn't trust, Chong, Ekmark, Butler, and sometimes even Collier to play with any of the starting cast he has right now, next year should be a real shock to him. Of course, when you are either coaching the best team in WCBB, or the TEAM USA, you probably tend to get a bit spoiled ?
 
donalddoowop said:
I was responding to a post by JoePgh. The answer is Butler.
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She doesn't impress me at all at the moment. At the moment that is. I hope your correct. Please prove me wrong. I would love to be proving wrong regarding this hope.
 
magic said:
My point was, that if Geno doesn't trust, Chong, Ekmark, Butler, and sometimes even Collier to play with any of the starting cast he has right now, next year should be a real shock to him. Of course, when you are either coaching the best team in WCBB, or the TEAM USA, you probably tend to get a bit spoiled ?
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I don't think next year is going to be a shock is my point. Players get better year-over-year. Two years Stokes was on the bench and she was vital her junior year and came up big in some games in her senior year.

I don't know though if we are "arguing . . " Are we? This team is potentially and plays many times like an all-time great team. A player like Chong and Ekmark are behind "greater" players. As is Collier- but Collier not quite as much but Gabby's ablity to defend guards like Courtney from USF sure makes it hard to not have her on the court at pf. And KLS is superior as wing and you have Stewie and Tuck adept anywhere.

So why would you play lesser players more minutes when it probably doesn't make your team better? Unless you feel a 10 player rotation is superior to a 7 man rotation type of thing? That would be in contrast to what Geno believes though I think eh said 7/8 I ideal. Collier is part of 7 man rotation but sort of last resort. Though again whose minutes do you want to drop from Stewie, Tuck, KLS and GW to get Collier more minutes? She is NOT as good as them right now. The others tremendous for what they do. Collier is really only super at having a nose for the ball. She is "good" defensively" but Gabby is great defensively and better offensively.

And as for next year, you don't believe in some player's getting a sophomore jump? Gabby's shot was bad last year. Awful. Collier's shot is much better than last year's GW. With her very good defense and very good rebounding, you don't think it reasonable to assume that she will be much, much better next year?

**So next year you should have some degree of confidence in 5 players, right? Nurse, KLS, Gabby, Collier and Danger?
 
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