Mir? Any idea why so little playing time?

[SVCBeercats]

Isn't next year's team going to be exactly the same as this year's except the team adds Fudd, DeBerry, and Ducharme? If you can't get minutes this year, doesn't seem like it gets any easier going forward.

Actually you are correct. As you noted it gets much harder considering the recruits arriving next season. Also Poffenbarger will be in the mix. Mir will have to make a heck of an improvement as in expanding her offensive game and understanding the offense. I believe next year will also be tough on Aubrey for the same reasons. Competition for minutes will be intense. Azzi has the shooting game and like Paige can get her own shot. If Caroline and Saylor bring their shooting game to the college level, they can leverage their height and inside game as well. Amari, as a post, may take more time to develop. Depends on her attitude and mentality. Hopefully she is more athletic and agressive in the positive way.

 

[Geesworld]

IMO, Mir has yet to play herself out of the rotation. She has shown up in some big moments during the season and she's always good for a few splash plays when called upon. She does look a little loss on offense at times but she makes it up in effort. Especially offensive rebounds and loose balls. Love when she takes a charge.

Free Mir

 

[uconnever]

My confusion isn’t that Mir should get more playing time over Aubrey or anyone else in the regular rotation, I was wondering why did she come in after Saylor and Piath last game. She is far and away better than those two and deserves to be in during garbage time before anyone else. Unless her practice habits have been bad. That’s all.

 

[Vowelguy]

She is far and away better than those two

Can she shoot 3s better than Saylor? If no, then Saylor has more potential to help the team this March.

and deserves to be in during garbage time before anyone else.

Who says?

 

[Bajan Best]

I agree with a lot of the questions and statements stated here...

and I'll add the following thoughts

1) I find it very hard to believe it's an effort issue with Mir in practice based on the effort she gives in games. Chances are it is more likely to be the case of missing assignments or not knowing the plays and therefore causing her teammates to have to cover for her mistakes at times, in other words, Chemistry issues..

2) With regards to other reserves getting into the game in garbage time before her, one can only assume with Poffenbarger Geno may be gambling at this stage that the team may need down the road a certified threat from the outside, more than he needs an energy kid. Or he might just simply be rewarding others for their improved efforts in practice as of late.. The difficulty with an energy kid is where exactly can they show improvement? if what they bring is always the same, effort!

Personally, I think he should put them all into the game with 2-5 mins to go when up 25 or more points..
Practices in this program are very difficult, therefore it should be important that each kid get the chance to experience something other than the mental stress of practice. Those few mins will not break or make the starters or rotation players of this program.. And with the class coming in next year, if these bench players can't make garbage time now, how in heaven's name will they see it next year... ? Highly unlikely...

 

[tower1]

But you are second guessing Geno.

You are not at practices. You do not know or see what happens. One thing we all know, or should know, is that a player's game minutes are earned in practice.

It's the way Geno has run things since her arrived in Storrs. I think Geno's stats speak for themself.

Oh boy another one that thinks Geno is God !

 

[Argonaut]

At the end of the day, it's easy for us to look at the stats and ask questions, but we don't really know what's going on outside of the game tape and the numbers. Is there an issue at practice? Is she 100%? Is there an issue with gameday body language? We really just don't know.

There is a reason both Saylor and Piath got in before Mir -- and we'll never know that reason unless someone in the media asks and Geno doesn't tell them that it isn't their business.

 

[MooseJaw]

Has Saylor moved ahead of Mir? Saylor came in with 5 minutes left and looked much better then her last effort. Piath got 4 minutes and looked much better than her last effort. Mir played 2! Am I wrong to suggest that is now the way Geno considers these players? Do the skillsets brought by Saylor and Piath out weigh what Mir brings to the table? Specially considering just about all her skillset is matched and exceeded by Aubrey.

Maybe, some good points. Your ideas are as good as others. I remember when the season started many on the BY were asking where all the minutes were going to come from and who would get them. Now we know a lot more about the distribution on minutes but still champion our personal favorites. Thankfully Geno gets to decide who plays, just think what it would be like if all of us got to put together the lineup for a quarter. My guess is that our picks would look very much like the coaches. While it's fun to fanaticize reality is usually much different.

 

[Littlemin]

Oh boy another one that thinks Geno is God !

Not sure about the God part but he is the coach and gets to decide who plays when and how much. And I am pretty sure his main criteria is not static statistics, it is what will help the team play to its maximum potential. No knock on McLean but as others have pointed out repeatedly, she brings what Griffin brings and Griffin does it better. Comparing her stats to Muhl makes no sense at all; this team needs Bueckers off the ball which leaves Westbrook and Muhl to initiate offense.

 

[Rb335]

My guess is that Geno was displeased with something that happened in practice. That's been the case with many players for many many years. I wouldn't be so quick to say that Piath and Saylor have moved ahead of her. It is more likely that he is just proving a point, just like what he did with Nika earlier this year.

 

[JoePgh]

My guess is that Geno was displeased with something that happened in practice. That's been the case with many players for many many years. I wouldn't be so quick to say that Piath and Saylor have moved ahead of her. It is more likely that he is just proving a point, just like what he did with Nika earlier this year.

I think Geno is now totally focused on the NCAA tournament in 2021, as opposed to player development for future seasons. And he recognizes that the two big gaps in the present roster are: (a) additional backup to Liv and Aaliyah in the paint, especially since they are now often playing together and may therefore get into foul trouble together; and (b) reliable 3-point or midrange jump shooting from someone other than Paige -- at least reliable enough that defenses need to account for it.

Since Geno isn't going to pick up anyone from the waiver wire or the transfer portal in the next two months, he has to look to his own bench for these resources. With Anna's status not certain or not known, I suspect he is thinking that Piath is his best answer for (a) and Saylor may be his most plausible answer for (b).

Both of these are long shots, of course. For (a), there is really no near-term alternative to Piath. Using Aubrey or Mir in the paint will simply not get the job done, although he may be forced to do that if Piath cannot answer the bell.

For (b), there are far better answers than Saylor: the return of Anna with a reliable 3-point shot, the return of Evina's 3-point shot, or the development of consistency in Christyn's 3-point shot. But if none of these things happen, Saylor may be next in line.

 

[JordyG]

This type of question comes up every year in one form or another. For Geno it's all about how you practice. The simple answer is if Mir is playing so little it's because she's earned it.

 

[HopJim]

My confusion isn’t that Mir should get more playing time over Aubrey or anyone else in the regular rotation, I was wondering why did she come in after Saylor and Piath last game. She is far and away better than those two and deserves to be in during garbage time before anyone else. Unless her practice habits have been bad. That’s all.

I read a number of the top school's basketball blogs and only in the Boneyard will there be a lengthy set of posts trying to come up with the true meaning of 1-2 minutes of garbage time. 🤣

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

Ok, the simple math regarding Mir McLean is this:

Next Season's Front Court will be predominately: ONO, GRIFFITH, EDWARDS, WESTBROOK & DEBERRY
Next Season's Back Court will be predominately: BUECKERS, FUDD, WILLIAMS, MUHL, & MAKURAT

The Rest of the Team will consist of: CAROLINE, SAYLOR, MIR, PIATH, & AUTUMN

That is 15 Players in total for 40 Minutes of Playing Time on the court with only 5 Players allowed on the court at any given time. DO THE MATH !!!

 

[HuskylnSC]

Ok, the simple math regarding Mir McLean is this:

Next Season's Front Court will be predominately: ONO, GRIFFITH, EDWARDS, WESTBROOK & DEBERRY
Next Season's Back Court will be predominately: BUECKERS, FUDD, WILLIAMS, MUHL, & MAKURAT

The Rest of the Team will consist of: CAROLINE, SAYLOR, MIR, PIATH, & AUTUMN

That is 15 Players in total for 60 Minutes of Playing Time on the court with only 5 Players allowed on the court at any given time. DO THE MATH !!!

First of all a game lasts 40 minutes. times 5 is 200 minutes to divide up That is 25 minutes each for 8 players or 20 minutes each for 10 players. there is plenty of time for 12 players to to 8 minutes or more.

Second Anna plays predominantly in the front court and Westbrook is a natural guard who is forced to defend the other teams 4 because the best team right now is 4 guards and Liv.

Caroline Ducharme and Saylor will be significant players by January if next year is a normal season. They both bring tough D, rebounding and 3 point shooting. Things which have been lacking until St. Johns

Just from the St. John's game I believe Saylor has moved ahead of Mir in the rotation and we will probably see her minutes increase until the BET. I was very pleased with her increased court awareness. She appeared less like a deer in the head lights than her last adventure.

 

[Rb335]

I think Geno is now totally focused on the NCAA tournament in 2021, as opposed to player development for future seasons. And he recognizes that the two big gaps in the present roster are: (a) additional backup to Liv and Aaliyah in the paint, especially since they are now often playing together and may therefore get into foul trouble together; and (b) reliable 3-point or midrange jump shooting from someone other than Paige -- at least reliable enough that defenses need to account for it.

Since Geno isn't going to pick up anyone from the waiver wire or the transfer portal in the next two months, he has to look to his own bench for these resources. With Anna's status not certain or not known, I suspect he is thinking that Piath is his best answer for (a) and Saylor may be his most plausible answer for (b).

Both of these are long shots, of course. For (a), there is really no near-term alternative to Piath. Using Aubrey or Mir in the paint will simply not get the job done, although he may be forced to do that if Piath cannot answer the bell.

For (b), there are far better answers than Saylor: the return of Anna with a reliable 3-point shot, the return of Evina's 3-point shot, or the development of consistency in Christyn's 3-point shot. But if none of these things happen, Saylor may be next in line.

Yeah, sure that's a possibility. But I highly doubt it. He played Piath and Saylor for 5 minutes at the end of 45 point blowout win. Their minutes had vitually zero impact on the game. If he was so concerned about your two scenarios and needed to actually address them, he would be playing these two players in Q2 to see how they play when the outcome of the game hasn't been fully determined. Come tournament time, just one month away, the rotation will become tighter, not expand.

 

[Tonyc]

At this point in the season with the tournaments just a few weeks away we need to get to where Geno wants us as a team. Our top 7-8 players need to be up to speed which means the team must be able to play together and score. We need players who will score and play defense. I expect to see more plays designed to get everybody not named Paige to score over the next few games. As far as Paith goes we may need her height as well as Saylors height and shooting. They need to be options if we get into foul trouble. Other then that our starters are going to start and Griff Edwards and if Anna is ready will come off the bench. Everybody else isnt ready unless there is foul trouble, or injuries. At this point in the season thats it. We are what we are and we must tweak where we need it because there isnt much time left before tournament time.

 

[hoophuskee]

The stats show that Mir has hit 49% of her shots, good for 5th highest on the team. She's scored 20 FG's, which is more than Muhl has scored, who has played two and a half times more minutes. She would rank (rough estimate) 5th on the team in points scored per minute, trailing only Paige, Cristyn, Edwards, and ONO. She's second on the team in FT%, having hit 11 of 14 FT's. She's 7th on the team in FT attempts, though she's 9th in minutes played. She's 6th on the team in blocked shots with 5, just one behind Cristyn Williams. She's tied with Aaliyah Edwards for 7th place in assists with 9. And let's keep in mind that Muhl and Evina have only scored (?) 49 points together in the past five games, and were shut out against St Johns. Yet Mir has remained virtually nailed to the bench.

So what in the world is going on? Of course, not second-guessing Coach Geno. But there must be a back story here.....

Don't take this the wrong way. We're just disagreeing. You have to recognize sometimes each of us have biases. I prefer ball movement with stronger guard play. Over the years with your posts-- imo - let's face it you prefer low post play. Your posts seem to always have a huge concern of the next big player they are going ot get. Then it means you are always going to ask the same questions regarding players who have higher fg%'s because they score more inside. FG% is not as important for guard play when you compare an inside scorer vs a perimeter guard. Style of play also impt. As well as EFG% and TS%. You're referencing the stat that is bias for post players without context.

The post you made here shows that imo. The individual stats you are referencing can’t take one bit into account ball movement, effectiveness in a passing offense, and running fastbreaks. In half court sets the best option (ofc not the only) is Paige for example. You saw the SC game in which SC contests many of the passes. The passes needed consistently to be thrown toward the outside hand. The 2nd and 3rd pass leading up to the 4th and 5th pass are important in order to free a player. Guards aren't just important because they can shoot 3's. It's clear here that's your bias - you're looking to quote fg% - and not the difference between what a guard does vs an inside scoring forward. You're not even looking at efg% or TS% while comparing a guard vs low post type of forward.

Even if her individual stats are better than Mir's - which they probably are-- it doesn't take into account not only competition but more importantly how the offense runs. Guard play usually lends itself to better ball movement which is super important for this team. They don’t have a dynamic post player but they do have an unreal perimeter player. In the 3 tough games vs SC, Tenn, and Ark. - scoring by the guards was critical.

And-in terms of 2pt fg%-- Mir is behind UCONN's 3 other post type of players- Liv, Edwards, and Griff. And how much of a scoring option were UCONN's "big 3" vs South Carolina, Tenn and Ark? So how much are you expecting from Mir in a more perimeter type of offense? She is going to struggle more than the big 3 (she's not shooting as well as them) and she isn't going to play defense as well as the big 3 either.

Unless you want to play Mir or Griffin at sf? But that's "Baylor Basketball." You've heard before how Geno wants his teams to emulate The old Edmonton Hockey Team led by Gretzky. He wants a fast-paced offense. Not just with fastbreaks but quick moving through passing in half court. And a pass is faster moving than a player can run. Nika can lead fastbreaks and make very good passes in half court sets which leads to opening up the floor and playing at a fast pace. Your questions are more addressed to old-time basketball which Geno doesn't want to play. .For me -I'm thankful for the style Geno wants UCONN to play.

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

First of all a game lasts 40 minutes. times 5 is 200 minutes to divide up That is 25 minutes each for 8 players or 20 minutes each for 10 players. there is plenty of time for 12 players to to 8 minutes or more.

Second Anna plays predominantly in the front court and Westbrook is a natural guard who is forced to defend the other teams 4 because the best team right now is 4 guards and Liv.

Caroline Ducharme and Saylor will be significant players by January if next year is a normal season. They both bring tough D, rebounding and 3 point shooting. Things which have been lacking until St. Johns

OK, me being over 65, I guess my knowledge of the time per quarter is a bit off 🙂 . No matter who player plays FRONT COURT or BACK COURT or BOTH, this Coaching Staff will certainly be challenged to get enough playing minutes for "15 Total Players" to A) be effective and extremely competitive, B) to come up with the BEST overall combinations, game in and game out, and C) to keep everyone happy. It will NO DOUBT be the most challenging season that Geno and his Coaching Staff will face in all of his years at UCONN.

 

[hoophuskee]

OK, me being over 65, I guess my knowledge of the time per quarter is a bit off 🙂 . No matter who player plays FRONT COURT or BACK COURT or BOTH, this Coaching Staff will certainly be challenged to get enough playing minutes for "15 Total Players" to A) be effective and extremely competitive, B) to come up with the BEST overall combinations, game in and game out, and C) to keep everyone happy. It will NO DOUBT be the most challenging season that Geno and his Coaching Staff will face in all of his years at UCONN.

Giving "15 players enough minutes" is not HIS challenge. Nor is it "to keep everyone happy."

His challenge is coach his team to win as many games as possible including the title game.

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

Giving "15 players enough minutes" is not HIS challenge. Nor is it "to keep everyone happy."

His challenge is coach his team to win as many games as possible including the title game.

BUT, the BIG question still remains, what will "The Individual Players" want and expect ?????? (and we all know what Geno doesn't really care what the Players personally want and need, it is what the TEAM needs. But we have seen over the years, that those 2 things 'sometimes' don't always go hand in hand)

 

[BostonBay]

Mir has shown spurts of energy & some scoring here & there. But, not enough to give up minutes to the 7 players that looks to be the horses Geno's going to run with. I dont think Geno has ever gone more that 7 deep when its Tourney time.

 

[slepers]

Oh boy another one that thinks Geno is God !

No, but he is the coach of the most successful program in the past 25 years and has developed the most and best players in the women’s game

 

[Cuango]

Oh boy another one that thinks Geno is God !

Oh boy, another one that thinks he’s a better coach than Geno!

 

[dtbtbtb]

I think that Geno sees Saylor as an insurance in case Ana doesn't come back healthy any time soon and Piath as insurance in case ONO or AE get's injured. Mir situation is tricky as she is a sub (in skills) to AG who is a sub herself.