Last week of summer workouts | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Last week of summer workouts

Boreifs said:
Who would she replace?
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Last season UConn basically used a 5 guard rotation: Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, Ash & KK. Paige & Kaitlyn are now in the W. That leaves 2 guard spots open…Kayleigh & Allie?

However, that rotation is hardly set in stone. Kelis will compete for guard PT. In addition, UConn will be much deeper at both forward & wing, with Serah, Morgan, Caroline, Blanca, Ayanna & Gandy all competing for PT with Sarah, Jana & Ice.

Geno has been around at UConn for 40 years. I don’t know that he’s ever had a more difficult challenge when it comes to allocating PT and settling in on a rotation than this coming season. But that’s a good problem to have.
 
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Bone Dog said:
I tend to think of Ayanna as being more similar to Ashlyn Watkins, mainly because NaLyssa is rather taller. But I take your point: Ayanna gives Geno another athletic, mobile big, and those are hard to come by. I mean, 6’2” players are aplenty on next year’s roster, but not so many like Ayanna. Morgan and Carol don’t look nearly as strong, and Blanca has great quickness but doesn’t look to be quite as strong either. Sarah alone has the full package of quickness, strength and all the offensive skills.
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Agree. The only issue with Ayanna in her freshman year was the propensity for a succession of quick fouls called when she was a bit too physical under the basket and Geno having to sit her. It is hoped with the coaching she has received in the long interim along with the time observing from the sidelines that she has progressed to where she knows how to properly use her superb physical abilities without fouling. We all await Ayanna's return to the floor. To see that wonderful wide smile and her running the court will be great for all of us to see again. Go Ayanna!
 
We are defiantly doomed!! What's wrong with Husky basketball, we have a glut of Bigs, what's to become of us? Would love to see Ayaana become the beasty of the East. and Jana do Ayaana's or Ash's workout, she would be unstoppable with a little more muscle, legs and upper body. It would hopefully help keep her from being taken to the floor by the opposition players so often Dang, things are starting to get exciting again. I've had enough off season, getting tired of rewatching game videos. Let's go, first night should be tomorrow.
 
jdote33 said:
Jana never wins tips lol. Jk. It was cool to see Allie z in the video knock down some shots. I hope she gets a shot to be in the rotation
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Jana won the tip in early games. The problem was that for some reason she would tap the ball to a player on the other team. Geno mentioned it.
 
Bone Dog said:
Depends what you mean by ‘combined power.’ With Ayanna Sarah Serah Ice Blanca KK Ash Kayleigh, that’s a lot of athletes, by which I mean a lot of tough, strong kids who can move their feet really well. If you ignore the scoring punch they can deliver, this starts to look like one of Dawn’s rosters. Full of athletes, but not always stocked with shooters. And I omitted Jana Gandy and Morgan. If Geno can find a lineup that is as athletic as one of Dawn’s powerhouses but also can shoot lights out from 3, that looks a lot like combined power once you add in Azzi Morgan and Allie to Sarah and Ash.

Edited to add: Ice may be the strongest of all the bigs, judging from the screens she sets. How many perfectly legal screens that flattened opposing guards did she set last season? I particularly remember one against Creighton that left Molly Mogenson lying on the floor for a few moments. Sarah sets a solid screen too. It would be cool if Gandy Serah and Jana could learn this skill from Ice.
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Power players on this team from my perspective are Serah, Sarah, Jana, Gandy, Ayanna and Ice. I have only seen clips of Blanca and she appears to be more of a slashing and driving wing as opposed to a low court or post player. It's not just height on this team, it's strength and physicality. Also, I think Serah "seals" in the Kevin McHale sense, better than Lauren Betts.
 
oldude said:
Last season UConn basically used a 5 guard rotation: Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, Ash & KK. Paige & Kaitlyn are now in the W. That leaves 2 guard spots open…Kayleigh & Allie?

However, that rotation is hardly set in stone. Kelis will compete for guard PT. In addition, UConn will be much deeper at both forward & wing, with Serah, Morgan, Caroline, Blanca, Ayanna & Gandy all competing for PT with Sarah, Jana & Ice.

Geno has been around at UConn for 40 years. I don’t know that he’s ever had a more difficult challenge when it comes to allocating PT and settling in on a rotation than this coming season. But that’s a good problem to have.
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I agree. I think a lot of what he winds up doing will depend on what he sees especially as we go through our BE schedule which was pivotal last year in devising "small ball" with chaos and confusion coming off the bench in Ash and KK. While there is a never ending chant of "stronger conference is critical" it really didn't hurt us very much last year. :)
 
Geew1992 said:
I don't think she has to replace anyone to be part of the rotation.
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Well, she is a prototypical shooting guard on a team that has Azzi and Ash. Small forwards are Carol, Blanca and Morgan; point guards are KK, Kaleigh and Kellis. She has a rough road to crack that group with meaningful minutes; only five players can be on the court at the same time.
 
jdote33 said:
It was cool to see Allie z in the video knock down some shots. I hope she gets a shot to be in the rotation
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I think Allie is in an interesting position, certainly not a hopeless one. I suspect she’ll get rotation minutes (ie >10) in conference play during the experimentation period. But she probably won’t get rotation minutes in March once Geno starts contracting the rotation. That’s just a guess so don’t hold me to it.

In any event, what Allie does this season will likely determine what she can accomplish in the following season, once Azzi Caroline and Serah have moved on. In her junior year, if she can develop her defensive presence I suspect she’ll divide the SG spot with Ash. Come March, that could make for a guard rotation of 4, maybe 5: KK Kayleigh Ash Allie and maybe Kelis. I’d also look for a frontcourt rotation of Sarah Jana Blanca Ayanna and Morgan. It’s harder to see what Ice’s role will be.
 
LwrcasefaN said:
Azzi bringing the ball up and shooting off the dribble. That's some new aggression from the third level.
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Only in rare end of game circumstances. PG on UCONN starts the offense.
 
Bone Dog said:
I think Allie is in an interesting position, certainly not a hopeless one. I suspect she’ll get rotation minutes (ie >10) in conference play during the experimentation period. But she probably won’t get rotation minutes in March once Geno starts contracting the rotation. That’s just a guess so don’t hold me to it.

In any event, what Allie does this season will likely determine what she can accomplish in the following season, once Azzi Caroline and Serah have moved on. In her junior year, if she can develop her defensive presence I suspect she’ll divide the SG spot with Ash. Come March, that could make for a guard rotation of 4, maybe 5: KK Kayleigh Ash Allie and maybe Kelis. I’d also look for a frontcourt rotation of Sarah Jana Blanca Ayanna and Morgan. It’s harder to see what Ice’s role will be.
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If Allie becomes a more efficient 3 point shooter which I think will happen because she will be stronger, and if, a big if, she can play his defense, I see her getting minutes even later in the season. Defense is critical. Why did Morgan get so much time last year before she got hurt? She wasn't scoring, she wasn't even shooting. It was her floor play, rebounds, defense, deflections, diving on the floor etc. It's why I think Kayleigh will get a lot of minutes. Smart, unselfish and a good defender. I honestly see a crazy scenario with her, KK, Azzi, Ash, and Sarah on the floor at the same time in a full court press. Lotsa speed in that group and it's only 1 of oldude's 3003 combinations..
 
BBallF said:
Why did Morgan get so much time last year before she got hurt? She wasn't scoring, she wasn't even shooting. It was her floor play, rebounds, defense, deflections, diving on the floor etc.
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This is an interesting observation. I think you have to consider who was on the floor with her. What I remember is that Sarah Azzi and Paige and either Kaitlyn or KK meant that there was room to have a “floor player” out there. This was a quick lineup that had a lot of scoring punch even with Morgan.

This leads to a natural question: is there going to be a lineup available to Geno next season that Morgan could fit into? Without Paige, this looks trickier at first glance. Would she fit with Azzi Sarah Serah KK or would that be too slow a group, though it will have scoring punch? How about a smaller lineup, like KK Kayleigh Azzi and Sarah? This would be a quicker group, but without as much scoring versatility. And if Geno puts Blanca on the floor in place of KK or Kayleigh, it’s not clear what Morgan would add.

My guesses are based on last season’s Morgan. But if she adds to her game, then it will be a very different story. Of all the things I could wish for with Morgan, a midrange jumper and better finishing at the rim are at the top of the list.
 
The official start of D1 basketball practice can't get here quick enough!! Thanks for these video clips.
 
Bone Dog said:
This is an interesting observation. I think you have to consider who was on the floor with her. What I remember is that Sarah Azzi and Paige and either Kaitlyn or KK meant that there was room to have a “floor player” out there. This was a quick lineup that had a lot of scoring punch even with Morgan.

This leads to a natural question: is there going to be a lineup available to Geno next season that Morgan could fit into? Without Paige, this looks trickier at first glance. Would she fit with Azzi Sarah Serah KK or would that be too slow a group, though it will have scoring punch? How about a smaller lineup, like KK Kayleigh Azzi and Sarah? This would be a quicker group, but without as much scoring versatility. And if Geno puts Blanca on the floor in place of KK or Kayleigh, it’s not clear what Morgan would add.

My guesses are based on last season’s Morgan. But if she adds to her game, then it will be a very different story. Of all the things I could wish for with Morgan, a midrange jumper and better finishing at the rim are at the top of the list.
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She actually was filling Aubrey's role before she came back if you really think about it. Same type of player not by nature but by UCONN development. Geno loves floor players. Morgan actually was a very good shooter, has a pull up and can drive but it wasn't her role last year.

You will get points from Sarah and Azzi to be sure but also probably double figures every game from Serah. Plus Caroline, Blanca, Ash, KK, Ayanna, Kayleigh and others can score (Ice will be back at her natural 4 position which is great) so I think the total points issue is not going to be a problem. If we have to make up 20 points a game I think we get 60% of that at least from Serah and the other 40% from other players. Plus, I think Jana is better already from the clips we saw. She has to be sky high with confidence and determination after proving so many doubters, many of whom were on this site, wrong.
 
BBallF said:
Only in rare end of game circumstances. PG on UCONN starts the offense.
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Half court offense sure, but playing uptempo and with many guards on the roster, many who were point guards... hope to see more of this. I'm a fan of small ball. And Azzi was a point guard before she came to UCONN. At least 5 were. Gabby was great pushing tempo. Sarah can. And what I've seen of Quinones she can too. The reason this stuck out to me is that she wasn't wasting energy running off picks. I've seen her do this in the mid range countless times, but rarely from distance. Defending this team will be a tall task.
 
BBallF said:
She actually was filling Aubrey's role before she came back if you really think about it. Same type of player not by nature but by UCONN development. Geno loves floor players. Morgan actually was a very good shooter, has a pull up and can drive but it wasn't her role last year.

You will get points from Sarah and Azzi to be sure but also probably double figures every game from Serah. Plus Caroline, Blanca, Ash, KK, Ayanna, Kayleigh and others can score (Ice will be back at her natural 4 position which is great) so I think the total points issue is not going to be a problem. If we have to make up 20 points a game I think we get 60% of that at least from Serah and the other 40% from other players. Plus, I think Jana is better already from the clips we saw. She has to be sky high with confidence and determination after proving so many doubters, many of whom were on this site, wrong.
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I get the comparison, and Aubrey was a great “floor player,” or “the queen of all the little things,” as one analyst described her. But Aubrey was also a great rebounder and slasher and, of course, awesome at finishing at the rim especially in transition. Morgan’s floor game is not nearly as well developed as Aubrey’s, and her scoring is not as developed.

As for your second paragraph, I think you’re right that the scoring talent will be more widely distributed throughout the roster. But that doesn’t mean Geno will want Morgan on the floor as much next season as he did last season. Paige Sarah Azzi and Ash created a perfect storm, so to speak, for a player like Morgan. That’s 4 great scorers at every level on the floor with her. Does next season’s roster have that many all-around scorers on it? I’m not sure it does. I see 3 great perimeter shooters, not 4. And we lost one of the greatest “break you down” scoring guards of all time, and I don’t think we have enough of those left. KK Kayleigh Azzi are pretty good at this, and maybe Blanca will turn out to be great at it. I can’t wait to see.

It’s not about total talent across the roster. It’s about what scoring talent might be concentrated in a group of 4 players in order to create an opportunity for Morgan.
 
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