Lou Lopez Senechal to UConn! (Merged thread)

[Sifaka]

I asked could she rebound. Wrong thread? Rebounding wasn't a one game problem. Just being realistic...not negative. 49-34 would have been dire too...so anyone who can rebound is a plus.

You did, indeed, ask if she could rebound. That she can and did rebound was made clear many times in the first three pages of his thread. Guess you either didn't bother to read those posts,
or have a leaky memory. In any event, you received a clear, positive answer.

None of that justifies trying to turn this thread into yet another post-mortem of last season's final game. That dead horse is well-beaten.

 

[mbr33ct]

Thoughts on Lou’s height? I’m thinking 6’0”.

I have these heights down to a science, let's see...Dorka's head is about 6" down from basket rim...if my calculations are correct that would put LLS at 6'-1"

 

[cordarone]

I don't get the expectations some have from the transfer portal, like it's the college version of the WNBA waiver wire. Apparently, there has to be a transferee out there who:
1. Is willing to play limited minutes
2. wants to go to Uconn and play in Geno's system
3. Able to immediately match up with the NPOY

That's a tall ask and just maybe it's more realistic that said player doesn't exist and that Geno's taking the best of those who expressed interest, who he thinks would help the team; it's not like Lou is taking the last scholly available.

 

[LarryLegend]

also its all over the Interwebs

 

[Zarathustra]

For those who have not viewed the Fairfield U STAG's highlight videos... consider
a GOOGLE for the Fairfield vs Texas game (March 18, 2022) in the first round of
the NCAA tournament and the Manhatten vs Fairfield (March 12, 2022) MAACC
Championship game. These were better than individual highlight films because they
show the STAGS/Fairfield offensive sets ( some what like UCONN ) and Lou's flow of back door cuts,
drives, and three and two point shooting, and well as movement without the
ball. Also note worthy was the fact that against Texas Lou took a shot to the
mouth, was out in the second quarter, took some stitches, and came back to
score 10 points in the third quarter to spark a brief come back from 22 down
to only 10 down ( then the Stags were crushed by Texas' height and size, an
18 point loss ). Finally Lou played in Ireland at the N.A.B.A. = North Atlantic
Basketball Academy. I view that as a basketball PREP school = she was on
a roster of young men with a Spanish Coach. NABA appears to be a prep school
for European BB players hoping to move on to Euro Basketball or a USA college team
and a scholarship. Has anyone else noted Lou's career 83.2 % free throw
percentage? and that she scored 15 points in 25 minutes against Indiana
University on December 9, 2021? Indiana , of course, won 91 -58 = sounds
like UCONN vs a lower lever BIG EAST team. Let the games begin!! Z

 

[Zarathustra]

The Fairfield University Stags Roster had no player taller than
six foot one inch! It appears that Lou was tied at being the
"tallest" player. I counted at least 6 players at 6' 1" .
They ALL had to rebound = everybody rebounds!!

 

[oldude]

that was last season, this season more minutes were expected of Caroline and possibly Muhl. Now 1 of those 2 will lose minutes

Geno uses at least 3 and sometimes 4 G/W’s on the court. That equates to 120+ mpg. Last season he had 6 G/W’s to divide up those minutes. Next season he will have only 5. The one G/W who will get less PT next season will likely be Lou2, who played 34 mpg at Fairfield as a starter.

Beyond that, what does it matter? All of UConn’s guards buy into a “TEAM first” concept. It’s never about how much PT they get, but rather what they contribute when they’re on the court.

 

[CocoHusky]

Yes Liv was vastly under-rated for the passes she made and the screens she set .. in Liv's first Preseason WNBA game, she had 5 assists, 12 rebounds and set countless screens besides a coupla blocks and 15 points!

Edited for you!

 

[#12in21]

L
Love how as soon as you commit you are part of the 'family'. Who wouldn't want to have these guys as sisters? Looking forward to next season (if only it wasn't half a year away).

 

[reelfan]

Peeking inside the laboratory it looks like the Chemistry is doing great.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

You did, indeed, ask if she could rebound. That she can and did rebound was made clear many times in the first three pages of his thread. Guess you either didn't bother to read those posts,
or have a leaky memory. In any event, you received a clear, positive answer.

None of that justifies trying to turn this thread into yet another post-mortem of last season's final game. That dead horse is well-beaten.

If that's your interpretation, then have at it.

 

[hookshot]

The Fairfield University Stags Roster had no player taller than
six foot one inch! It appears that Lou was tied at being the
"tallest" player. I counted at least 6 players at 6' 1" .
They ALL had to rebound = everybody rebounds!!

'everybody eats' - she seems like a good fit

 

[oldude]

Watched a good deal of film on Lou2 and have some thoughts on her game:

• As an undersized team, Fairfield runs a 5-out motion offense with lots of screens and cutting to get open shots. Lou2 should be right at home in UConn’s motion offense.
• Like many European players she is really skilled at the offensive end.
• First and foremost, she is a great shooter with a quick release, excellent form and great range. She also shoots a legitimate jump shot with good elevation making her very hard to defend
• As the primary scoring threat for Fairfield Lou2 attracted lots of attention from opponents. Despite that, she regularly knocks down shots with defenders up in her grill.
• If defenders overplay her she’s very capable of putting the ball on the floor and getting to the rim.
• While she was not the primary ball handler for Fairfield, she has good court awareness and is a solid passer.
• While Fairfield does play some man defense, their primary defense is a 2-3 zone. Lou2 plays the wing on defense. In the zone she shows good awareness, boxes out well and is a solid rebounder.
• It’s difficult to evaluate Lou2’s man-to-man defensive ability with only limited film. I would expect that is the element of her game she will need to work on the hardest once she arrives at UConn.

 

[CL82]

View attachment 75886

I have these heights down to a science, let's see...Dorka's head is about 6" down from basket rim...if my calculations are correct that would put LLS at 6'-1"

She looks to be 1.0735 HU.

 

[sno-cat]

Can someone please explain why Lou2 is referred to as a forward all over the internet and also by Geno "UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma announced the addition of transfer forward Lou Lopez Sénéchal." and yet the boneyard consistently refers to her as a guard. IMO she can play both positions and this makes here a very valuable substitute?

 

[oldude]

Can someone please explain why Lou2 is referred to as a forward all over the internet and also by Geno "UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma announced the addition of transfer forward Lou Lopez Sénéchal." and yet the boneyard consistently refers to her as a guard. IMO she can play both positions and this makes here a very valuable substitute?

She played forward for the undersized Fairfield Stags. At UConn she will likely play either guard or wing.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Watch the video of the Fairfield's championship game against Manhattan. She averaged nearly 20 a game getting tons of extra defensive pressure from the opposition. I don't know if she can defend like Caroline but her offensive skill set is similar.

Some of Caroline’s best attributes are her court awareness, passing ability, knows when to cut to the basket, not to mention her defense in the form of blocks, steals, and doesn’t foul a lot. Many of her fouls I remember were very questionable.

 

[Tonyc]

OK, just who is our newest member of the family?​

Lou Lopez-Senechal Stats, News, Bio | ESPN​

A reprint of CTPost article already posted in case you missed it.

Fairfield basketball standout Lou Lopez-Senechal is seeking new challenge. Could she land at UConn?​

Lopez-Senechal is coming off a season she refers to as “the cherry on top” of her time at Fairfield. She was the MAAC player of the year as a senior, when she was named a first-team all-conference player for the third time.
“Lou is a phenomenal shooter and a true jump shooter, not a set shooter,” Frager said. “At 6-1, when she rises up, she’s able to get that shot off very well. She does a nice job reading screens, which has gotten better over four years, and she’s really developed a scoring mentality.

Fairfield basketball standout Lou Lopez Senechal is seeking new challenge. Could she land at UConn?

Lou Lopez Senechal, who averaged 19.6 points as a senior at Fairfield, is in the transfer...

www.ctinsider.com

I like this alot. She is a great get for us. Lou has experience and height at 6'1. I do understand some doubters concerns as she comes from a small school and small conference, however she was the best in her conference and her stats are really good. Consider too that we have Paige Azzi Caroline and Nika who she will most likely sub for. We will have to see but I think she fills the role perfectly.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

This young lady has the same goal as many. She wants to play professional ball. Over 5 years ago, as a youngster, she left her home country to take a year in a private academy where she practiced twice a day with male players. Getting to Fairfield was a recruiting job she mostly did on her own. Off she went to Fairfield, another foreign country, for four years. And look what happened. I suspect she'll give this coming year all she has. The pros are still her goal and it sure looks like she has sand.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

View attachment 75886

I have these heights down to a science, let's see...Dorka's head is about 6" down from basket rim...if my calculations are correct that would put LLS at 6'-1"

Nika's smile a little less glossy than normal. Seems Dorka is finding a way to work out with a broken wrist.

 

[Kaizen]

For those who have not viewed the Fairfield U STAG's highlight videos... consider
a GOOGLE for the Fairfield vs Texas game (March 18, 2022) in the first round of
the NCAA tournament and the Manhatten vs Fairfield (March 12, 2022) MAACC
Championship game. These were better than individual highlight films because they
show the STAGS/Fairfield offensive sets ( some what like UCONN ) and Lou's flow of back door cuts,
drives, and three and two point shooting, and well as movement without the
ball.

I posted the highlight of Fairfield vs, Texas in post #62. Lou2 scored 17 pts in this game.

 

[Conndog]

The photo of our foreign born players makes me realize that Geno is going to have to master multiple languages if he wants to effectively communicate with his entire team. He already knows Italian & English. But he now needs to work on: Spanish, French, Hungarian, Croatian and Canadian (eh)…

I like her smile & think she will do great here

 

[Conquistador]

Lou Lou has a motor that won’t stop. Similar to Rip’s on the men’s side years ago. And she will bring some emotional fire that at times has been lacking.

 

[EricLA]

Lou Lou has a motor that won’t stop. Similar to Rip’s on the men’s side years ago. And she will bring some emotional fire that at times has been lacking.

When? Have you seen Paige or Nika play? I'd be hard pressed to find even a small handful of other players in all of WCBB who have emotional fire than those 2...

 

[Carnac]

I think she can and will be helpful for us on offense because she is a better three point shooter then we had at the wing last year. She shoots better than CW, EW, and Caroline Ducharme. She, as others have pointed out has good elevation on her shot and has a high release point. In our offense she will be able to get shots off on screens and as we can see on film she knows how to backdoor cut. My only question will she learn our switching man to man defense and be quick enough. She had to play inside on Fairfield's zone and she did not look as good as Walker and Evina did when they were tasked to do so. I think she will bring the right attitude and will work hard. That is good enough for me. Good luck Louuuuuuuuuu2

Good post. I understand that she is able to adapt quickly to new people and situations. I hope so. She will arrive on campus at the end of May with the rest of the team for summer school. I’m not sure if the coaches can be in the gym with them at that time during pick-up games but the players can.

If she can learn the system in the next 7 months, she will fit in very nicely. If she can do for UConn what she did for Fairfield, UConn’s fortunes next season look very bright. Especially if either of our incoming freshmen can work their way into the rotation.

We have the personnel to win it all next season, but they must all play up to their individual potential. THAT will be the biggest hurdle the team will face this coming season. After all of the trials and tribulations they went through this year, if they can go the entire season without any major injuries to their core players, I think they can find themselves right back in the final four with a better than even chance of winning the National Championship this time. I fully expect the same teams that made the great 8 will be there again.

UConn beat 2 one seeds this year. A healthy and experienced UConn team should be able to grab the flag this time.