So Serah, Azzi, Sarah, and Kayleigh/Ash are not enough offense? If the need for 4 scoring/shooting players like small ball last year is that important than I don't see much room for KK either. We both know that won't happen. You will get a lot of points off your defense this year. You are also getting a lot of points underneath this year. In fact, maybe 30-40%. Geno always coaches the team he has and he has beaucoup size and power this year to go along with speed.
Aubrey was definitely more athletic and a better jumper and rebounder but Morgan is a solid 6'2" and a better offensive player than almost everyone thinks with a better 3 point shot and pull up than Aubrey at this stage. You just never saw it. Sometimes you just want a "glue" player out there. I see her on the floor for a full or half court press as well. We will press and a lot. The sheer numbers and implicit demands for playing time will require it and why wouldn't you with this team?
So start hypothetically KK,Azzi, Caroline , Sarah and Serah. Next subs are K9, Ash, Blanca, Ice and Jana. You still have Gandy, Kelis, Morgan, Allie and Ayanna. You have to find the best 5 at some point but that depends upon who you are playing and what you are running.
I think Geno's job this year is daunting. It's the total opposite of what he usually has. He saw last year though what Tennessee's press can do and with our numbers you can wear anybody down. So I think he plays that hand a lot.
Bear in mind that the question I was responding to was whether Morgan would get a lot of rotation minutes, like last season. It wasn't about whether 4 scorers was enough or not. Having 3 or 4 scorers on the floor is one of the things that made the small-ball lineup work so well last season. And it also depended on who the scorers were, ie what skills they had. With Paige and Sarah, you had 'ultimate weapons' on the floor together, while Azzi was almost as ultimate. Let's call her 'penultimate.' Put Ash and Kaitlyn or KK -- who were not as good from the perimeter but were excellent defenders and absolute ball hawks -- out there with those three and you had a formidable group that would exhaust whatever bigs were stuck out there trying to defend them. And all 5 were excellent ball handlers, and good to great passers. In effect, Geno forced opponents to go small just to keep up, and this was not something they had designed their rosters to do.
This was the situation in March. Now look further back, to December/January when Morgan was getting a lot of minutes. She was on the floor with the Big Three and either Kaitlyn or KK. If Geno put Ash on the floor instead of KK or Kaitlyn, this meant Paige had to be the PG, and we have all discussed the limitations this puts on Paige's game. She's great at it, but letting her be off the ball opens a lot of things up for her. Here we see the cost of putting Morgan in: she's not quite the offensive force the Big Three + Ash and a PG can be. It's not disastrous, of course, but it does reduce the problem Geno's small-ball offense poses for opponents.
My question was whether this situation, and all the compromises it entailed, could be replicated next season. And don't forget, I think there are other sorts of roles Morgan can play for this team besides being the 'little-big' next to Sarah. Now, without Paige, we may only have 2 'ultimate weapons' -- and I call Azzi ultimate because I think she'll return in November as Sophomore Azzi, who was a clear NPOY candidate until the injury. She will have picked up her drives, her passing, and her rebounding. But even assuming this, we still lack the 3rd weapon, the 'penultimate weapon' that gives Morgan cover when she's on the floor. Could it be Ash? Yes, if her passing improves. Could it be Kayleigh? Yes, if she improves her perimeter game to the level of Kaitlyn's. Same goes for KK, as you already intuited. Could it be Blanca or Caroline? Yes, with similar reservations, though in those cases, it isn't clear that Morgan has a role on that roster that isn't already covered.
So, yes, I think Morgan can make the small-ball roster, but only with a few caveats, and they aren't all about things she needs to improve upon. Others need to up their games to create the right space for her. And she also needs to improve her midrange shooting and finishing at the rim. Whatever happens, I'm sure Geno will give her the chance to prove herself in that lineup -- and I'm sure you will agree. I'm also wondering about other lineups she can contribute in. What about a more traditional big lineup with Serah Sarah and Morgan next to Azzi and KK or Kayleigh. This could work in other ways, and might be pretty amazing. It would have lots of shooters, lots of people who can finish at the rim, and some serious rebounding punch. Geno could position Azzi and Sarah on the perimeter, let Serah and Morgan roam the paint, and have KK or Kayleigh threaten to drive, much the way we saw with Moriah on Stewie's later teams. A squad like this won several NCs in a row, as I seem to recall.
