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Message: [QUOTE="oldhusky, post: 3978912, member: 9844"] If I had to pick a starting lineup I was rooting for, this would probably be it. Nika as a pure point guard with modest scoring and shooting abilities, but great passing ability that works best with very good three point shooters at the wing positions. Of all the options there Christyn and Evina are the "relative" weak links on perimeter shooting. I am not saying they are weak, just mediocre at 3's. Nika teamed with those two would probably not be very effective, but in some combination with two from Paige, Azzi, and Carolyn probably would be. I always felt the move to have Nika at the point when teamed with Paige was based on several things. Paige could be great at either role, but when she is a point guard with Christyn and Evina she does not have a great shooter to pass to, and the best 3pt shooter (Paige) has the ball in her hands making it hard to free her up for a 3pointer herself. Then when Nika was in with Paige at first she was hanging out in the corner, and being a spot up 3point shooter is certainly not her strength, same for Christyn and Evina. When Paige was moved off the ball, at least Nika had one great shooter to pass to. This year who-ever the point guard is on the first or second unit, they will sometimes have Azzi and Carolyn to pass to in addition to Paige when she is off the ball with Nika. When Paige and Nika are together it works better with Nika at the point. That is not because Nika is the better point guard, but because Paige is much better than Nika as a shooting guard. Both are great passers, Paige can be great at positions 1-3, while Nika is more just a point guard. For all these starter and position battles, how players work effectively with certain pairings may wind up being a decisive factor if the level of play is close. Last year's team added passing (Paige, Nika, and Evina) but was short by Uconn standards of very good three point shooters. This year we add (Azzi, Carolyn, and Saylor) for those traits, and now have the ability to mix and match those traits in many ways. In the close battles it may not be who is the better player, or who is a senior or incumbent starter, but rather who compliments the other players on the court the best, and Geno will need training camp to sort that out. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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