Let’s play 5 on 5. Who do you have? | The Boneyard

Let’s play 5 on 5. Who do you have?

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Since UConn has 14 players I split the team into two squads. Each has two newcomers in the starting five. So let’s play a game of 5 on 5 with subs. These are my two teams with subs. Who would your starters be along with your reserves? Who wins the game?

Team Geno

Center: Olivia Nelson – Ododa
Power Forward: Amari DeBerry
Point Guard: Paige Bueckers
Wind Guard: Caroline Ducharme
Off Guard: Evina Westbrook

Sub: Saylor Poffenbarger
Sub: Aubrey Griffin

Team Chris

Center: Dorka Juhasz
Power Forward: Aaliyah Edwards
Point Guard: Nika Muhl
Wing Guard: Christyn Williams
Off Guard: Azzi Fudd

Sub: Mir McLean
Sub: Piath Gabriel
 

EricLA

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Honestly, I think if they played 10 games, it might well go 5-5, If you go position by position (like we often do when a big game is coming up),

Ono MAYBE slightly > Dorka
Liya >>> Amari
Paige >> Nika
Christyn >> Caroline
Evina = Azzi (Azzi the better scorer obviously, but Evina has leadership, experience, strength etc., and Azzi hasn't even played a game yet at UCONN).

This would be a fun question for a poll! You really split the teams very evenly. Nicely done!
 
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This team is loaded like no other. Some will be watching from the bench for much longer than they feel they should be. Will we see the….

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psconn

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I'd pay $$$ to see that game. Nice job splitting up the players. I'd say Team Chris wins a 7-game series BUT Team Geno's bench appears stronger and there's that Bueckers kid. So yeah, I'd dig deep to see that series. Probably more so than any Big East or exhibition game.
 
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Since UConn has 14 players I split the team into two squads. Each has two newcomers in the starting five. So let’s play a game of 5 on 5 with subs. These are my two teams with subs. Who would your starters be along with your reserves? Who wins the game?

Team Geno

Center: Olivia Nelson – Ododa
Power Forward: Amari DeBerry
Point Guard: Paige Bueckers
Wind Guard: Caroline Ducharme
Off Guard: Evina Westbrook

Sub: Saylor Poffenbarger
Sub: Aubrey Griffin

Team Chris

Center: Dorka Juhasz
Power Forward: Aaliyah Edwards
Point Guard: Nika Muhl
Wing Guard: Christyn Williams
Off Guard: Azzi Fudd

Sub: Mir McLean
Sub: Piath Gabriel
Wow! You did a great job with choosing your teams! I think I’d have to bet on team Geno by the thinnest of margins but really it’s pretty much a toss up. Nice job!
 
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Team Geno is shooting well in all range, and team Chris is more physical.
I would like to watch this kind of scrimmage as well.
 
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I would put Deberry at the five and Dorka at the four, but that’s inconsequential; the four and five are interchangeable in a high-low that Geno often runs.
 
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That’s because she is the only pure point guard on the team. Paige is so much more effective on the wing.
? As far as I can see that completely unsubstantiated. The reason Geno moved her to off the ball was for strategic reasons. He saw that his team was not a great shooting one a found a way to put the best (by far) shooter in a position where she could focus exclusively on scoring rather than on running the team and scoring. He was able to do this because he had an effective pg in Nika (as well as good to very good passers in Evina, Anna, and ONO. This was a strategic move to maximize one of Paige’s skills without losing a lot on the pg side. This does not mean that Paige is not the best pg on this team! She clearly is and will likely remain so throughout her career at UConn. Now we are in a completely different situation with reportedly the best shooter since KML as well as Caroline Ducharme who actually beat Azzi in a three point contest as well as a more experienced team overall. I think Nika will be a very important backup this year.
 
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? As far as I can see that completely unsubstantiated. The reason Geno moved her to off the ball was for strategic reasons. He saw that his team was not a great shooting one a found a way to put the best (by far) shooter in a position where she could focus exclusively on scoring rather than on running the team and scoring. He was able to do this because he had an effective pg in Nika (as well as good to very good passers in Evina, Anna, and ONO. This was a strategic move to maximize one of Paige’s skills without losing a lot on the pg side. This does not mean that Paige is not the best pg on this team! She clearly is and will likely remain so throughout her career at UConn. Now we are in a completely different situation with reportedly the best shooter since KML as well as Caroline Ducharme who actually beat Azzi in a three point contest as well as a more experienced team overall. I think Nika will be a very important backup this year.
Look at them defensively. Nika is best on the ball, whereas Paige is best guarding the passing lane. That is the primary reason why I have this opinion. It would be impossible to look at game tapes and come to any other conclusion on that side of the ball. If you want to argue offense, there is some merit, although Paige’s best one on one moves are clearly when she is on the wing and Nika’s best moves come from the top of the key.
 
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That’s because she is the only pure point guard on the team. Paige is so much more effective on the wing.
I am not sure. Even in the usa team, the coaches put her in the pg position and controlled the ball. I believe pg is her best position.
 
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Since UConn has 14 players I split the team into two squads. Each has two newcomers in the starting five. So let’s play a game of 5 on 5 with subs. These are my two teams with subs. Who would your starters be along with your reserves? Who wins the game?

Team Geno

Center: Olivia Nelson – Ododa
Power Forward: Amari DeBerry
Point Guard: Paige Bueckers
Wind Guard: Caroline Ducharme
Off Guard: Evina Westbrook

Sub: Saylor Poffenbarger
Sub: Aubrey Griffin

Team Chris

Center: Dorka Juhasz
Power Forward: Aaliyah Edwards
Point Guard: Nika Muhl
Wing Guard: Christyn Williams
Off Guard: Azzi Fudd

Sub: Mir McLean
Sub: Piath Gabriel
there's 1 important piece missing for both teams...who's the designated high fiver when their makes a 3 that's an important Uconn tradition
 
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I am not sure. Even in the usa team, the coaches put her in the pg position and controlled the ball. I believe pg is her best position.
She can control the ball from the wing as well. Pick and Roll, give and go, back door, post entry; they all work from the wing equally well if not better. Plus, her best one on one move is that dip to the short corner and the pull up.
 
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Look at them defensively. Nika is best on the ball, whereas Paige is best guarding the passing lane. That is the primary reason why I have this opinion. It would be impossible to look at game tapes and come to any other conclusion on that side of the ball. If you want to argue offense, there is some merit, although Paige’s best one on one moves are clearly when she is on the wing and Nika’s best moves come from the top of the key.
We have vastly different views of Paige. Based on the past year, I view her as one of the best point guards in the country. The fact that she has great shooting skills only make her more effective.
 

diggerfoot

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Look at them defensively. Nika is best on the ball, whereas Paige is best guarding the passing lane. That is the primary reason why I have this opinion. It would be impossible to look at game tapes and come to any other conclusion on that side of the ball. If you want to argue offense, there is some merit, although Paige’s best one on one moves are clearly when she is on the wing and Nika’s best moves come from the top of the key.
? PG only has offensive meaning. You can arrange the defensive match-ups however you want. In 2002 Williams was occasionally assigned the task of stopping a perimeter player, as she was the best on ball defender out of Bird, Taurasi and the others. Whoever performs the pg role on offense is not obligated to a specific role on defense.
 
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? As far as I can see that completely unsubstantiated. The reason Geno moved her to off the ball was for strategic reasons. He saw that his team was not a great shooting one a found a way to put the best (by far) shooter in a position where she could focus exclusively on scoring rather than on running the team and scoring. He was able to do this because he had an effective pg in Nika (as well as good to very good passers in Evina, Anna, and ONO. This was a strategic move to maximize one of Paige’s skills without losing a lot on the pg side. This does not mean that Paige is not the best pg on this team! She clearly is and will likely remain so throughout her career at UConn. Now we are in a completely different situation with reportedly the best shooter since KML as well as Caroline Ducharme who actually beat Azzi in a three point contest as well as a more experienced team overall. I think Nika will be a very important backup this year.
This is a very good analysis. Too many want to make this a debate about Paige's best position. I think Geno's decision to move her off the ball was a sound one, and I think Paige's best position is PG, but it all depends on who else is on the court with her. Also if Paige is a 10 as a PG she is at least a 9 as a SG, she could be All American at either position. Nika on the other hand is much much better as a PG than a SG. When they both are in the game together it is an easy decision to make Nika the primary ball-handler.

When Nika is not in the game, clearly Paige should be the PG, no question there. In fact Paige should be more effective there than last year because Geno has two great three point options he didn't have last year in Azzi and Caroline. Remember Paige did not have one very good perimeter option to pass to for drive and dish three pointers last year. If you were a coach trying to figure out how to defend Uconn you would be trying hard to prevent easy baskets inside to Liv or Aaliyah, and also would be scared to death of giving Paige and open three or one on one opportunities. If concentrating on stopping Paige resulted in wide open threes from Christyn or Evina so be it, it was the easy least bad option.

This year if Azzi or Caroline are in with Paige at the point, leaving either of them open for a three will be a major defensive mistake. You can't help off either of those on Paige, making her life when playing the point much easier. If Nika comes off the bench the same issue pertains for her. If she is teamed with Christyn and Evina her ability to drive and dish is limited to so so options, and defenses can take away her penetration in exchange for occasional open threes by Christyn or Evina.

Between positions 1-3 we probably have three so so three point shooters in Nika, Christyn and Evina, and three great three point shooters in Paige, Azzi and Caroline, that the defense cannot afford to leave open. When Paige is playing the point and cannot pass to herself, I think she needs at least one other great shooter with her, making her playing with Christyn and Evina a less efficient unit. They both have good mid-range games that might compliment an outside shooter at the other wing.
 

JordyG

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I am not sure. Even in the usa team, the coaches put her in the pg position and controlled the ball. I believe pg is her best position.
But if you watched the U17's Berube had Azzi bringing the ball up with the offense working through her instead of Paige. One reason was Azzi rarely turns the ball over, especially under full court pressure. Nice to have these options ain't it?
 

JordyG

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She can control the ball from the wing as well. Pick and Roll, give and go, back door, post entry; they all work from the wing equally well if not better. Plus, her best one on one move is that dip to the short corner and the pull up.
Which is why every team in the NCAA's tried to cut off that baseline fadeaway.
 
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Frankly, I would replace this game with every game on the Big Easy schedule. Not only would they be more fun to watch, they would prepare team for the post season. Of course, we would have to find a way around the qualifying credentials.
 

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