Mir? Any idea why so little playing time?

[Longtime fan]

Plenty of ideas, no facts.

Can only guess. Mir hasn't shown much progress ( to my eyes) on the court. She shows athleticism and speed, but also seems out of control. Often, what appears to be an aggressive defensive stop by her turns out to be a foul call. We have seen her win rebounds and then lose the ball ( not convert an offensive rebound into
points ). She has not shown much of a game on offense ( she hit one 12 footer, I think ), isn't particularly prominent on making steals or fast-breaks, and I can't even recall a three point attempt. So, she is a 5'11" forward? More likely, Geno feels she has not learned the defense and/or is not sufficiently disciplined when playing it. Usually, playing time for freshman begins with defense. To me, she looks exactly the same as the first time I saw her on the court. Like everyone else, I can't wait for her to emerge as a superstar. But she hasn't emerged, period.

 

[Longtime fan]

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.

Good stats, but we all know statistics do not tell the whole story. Autumn probably has the team's best statistic for three point shots made per minute played. But does that mean she should be playing more minutes?

 

[hoophuskee]

View attachment 64793

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)

No.

The big question is will they win it all? That's the only big question and has always been the only big question. And if you don't achieve the ultimate answer to the big question - that doesn't make you a failure. Not even close. There may be fans with a complete unrealistic view of basketball and sports but that doesn't change the points that UCONN - the current number 1 team in the country - has been and IS extremely successful.

There are other smaller questions too that get achieved but there has been and only is one big one. .

And what we've seen over the years is a team in Storrs Ct -coached by Geno- becoming the team with the most championships in WCBB History, and getting to the most/consecutive Final Four's in WCBB History - all-the-while being blocked from entering a P5 Conference.

 

[Cuango]

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 !!!

I think people are really underestimating Caroline and Saylor upsides. Caroline is the 5th ranked player in her class (on what I believe is a rating service that does everything it can to minimize the placements of UConn recruits) She is 6’2” and a very good shooter from three. I don’t claim to be an expert on women’s basketball but I will be very surprised if she is not a regular contributor by mid-season next year. Saylor, while not as highly regarded, has basically the same skill set (with perhaps a little more experience/skill in the post. She also, is a good three point shooter. I absolutely love Mir! I think she has the potential to be really impactful for this team but the simple truth is that she has to be able to shoot the ball out to (at least) 12 feet and she has to be able to play team basketball. She simply cannot be relied upon unless she knows where to be/go and what to do on offense and defense. I’m hoping she goes home and spends the whole summer working on her shot. If she comes back able to shoot 45+% from 12-14 feet, she will force Geno to play her!

 

[dragon]

I see Caroline Ducharme going in for Paige and CW next year and then starting her second year along with Paige and Azzi.

 

[huskeynut]

Oh boy another one that thinks Geno is God !

That is your opinion. You said God, I didn't.

Geno is the coach and his record speaks for itself. Are you another couch coach?

 

[schmendrick]

smdh
Only a matter of time before we get a "why doesnt Autumn play more?" thread.

Is this comment facetious? Autumn is a walk-on, a delightful one, it seems. Mir is a special, if raw, talent. I, too, wondered where Mir was when Piath and Saylor were on the floor before her.

 

[MD#12Fan]

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.

I think you are oversimplifying complex dynamics. You know it is more complicated than that. Haven't you quoted John Wooden? Maybe now would be a good time to take a gander at Wooden's pyramid. Remember for Wooden, wins are a natural result of doing all the little things well.
I respect Geno's integrity as well. I think one huge reason UConn is playing perhaps better than anyone else right now, is how he has handled Covid. IMO it says a lot about him. He's demonstrated patience, straightforwardness, honesty, consistency and the strength of his program including assistants has taken care of the rest.
Recruiting has to be the hardest thing to do. How about an analogy to dating, which we all know is next to impossible. Can you have that ultimate integrity to be able to tell your girlfriend(s)/boyfriend(s) how you really feel about them at any given time? Have you ever said "I love you" back when that's not how you really feel.
Long story short (if that's still possible) IMO Geno has a responsibility to every one of his recruits. That responsibility could depend on what was "promised" at the outset. He could have told Mir that based on returning players, and recent recruiting classes, that it may be unlikely that she will be in a position to play a key role at UConn and that she is welcome to enroll with a scholarship and an opportunity to prove him wrong. We don't know what Mir's expectations were.
I believe it's more than just stockpiling talent, putting a solid 6-7 rotation out there and win as many games and NC's as possible. These are quality young people in his care. He is responsible to every one of them.
You know a little hoops: are you old enough to remember Dean Smith's "Blue Team"? I played against a guy in high school that went to UNC and contributed on the Blue Team. That concept would work so well at UConn. Play 5 guys for 2-3 minutes each half. Huge morale booster. Keep 1 "leader" out there with them. Could be Nika, E, CW, or PB. You see if they can maintain or increase the lead. They are fresh, so they play with intensity and passion. Then they come out. If they're killing, leave them out there another minute or so.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think you are oversimplifying complex dynamics. You know it is more complicated than that. Haven't you quoted John Wooden? Maybe now would be a good time to take a gander at Wooden's pyramid. Remember for Wooden, wins are a natural result of doing all the little things well.
I respect Geno's integrity as well. I think one huge reason UConn is playing perhaps better than anyone else right now, is how he has handled Covid. IMO it says a lot about him. He's demonstrated patience, straightforwardness, honesty, consistency and the strength of his program including assistants has taken care of the rest.
Recruiting has to be the hardest thing to do. How about an analogy to dating, which we all know is next to impossible. Can you have that ultimate integrity to be able to tell your girlfriend(s)/boyfriend(s) how you really feel about them at any given time? Have you ever said "I love you" back when that's not how you really feel.
Long story short (if that's still possible) IMO Geno has a responsibility to every one of his recruits. That responsibility could depend on what was "promised" at the outset. He could have told Mir that based on returning players, and recent recruiting classes, that it may be unlikely that she will be in a position to play a key role at UConn and that she is welcome to enroll with a scholarship and an opportunity to prove him wrong. We don't know what Mir's expectations were.
I believe it's more than just stockpiling talent, putting a solid 6-7 rotation out there and win as many games and NC's as possible. These are quality young people in his care. He is responsible to every one of them.
You know a little hoops: are you old enough to remember Dean Smith's "Blue Team"? I played against a guy in high school that went to UNC and contributed on the Blue Team. That concept would work so well at UConn. Play 5 guys for 2-3 minutes each half. Huge morale booster. Keep 1 "leader" out there with them. Could be Nika, E, CW, or PB. You see if they can maintain or increase the lead. They are fresh, so they play with intensity and passion. Then they come out. If they're killing, leave them out there another minute or so.

I think there is such a thing as over-coaching. and over-analyzing things that aren't so difficult.

Further- I don't know what Geno said to Mir (I have no way of knowing). But imo it had little do with promising her time. And imo without a doubt with him it's about getting his team best prepared for titles as number 1 objective.

Third I remember Dean Smith and the Blue Team vaguely. However, I do remember his title team vs GTOWN in which he had yet to win a title. He didn't play a deep bench while GTWON did, yet he won - I believe his 1st title.

I remember the year in which Pitino's vaunted pressure team went against NC's short bench squad and again Dean Smith's short bench team came out on top vs the 10 man squad.

In summary, a few of Dean's titles were short bench teams not The Blue Team - he might have had a title team with a deep bench maybe the team that beat the Fab 5 but his short bench teams I cited did win too. And as you indicate right now UCONN is number 1-- and yet he hasn't done the full court pressure and use ten players that some wanted etc. Geno's style is not the Rick Pitino or John Thompson style and he is more successful than them.

I look at the most successful coach in men's game after Wooden and it's Coach K. I look at the women's game - the most successful coaches were Geno and Pat. Geno doesn't employ ten player types and neither does Coach K unless both are desperate. IMO it's over-coaching, over-analyzing to go away from what they are doing. Until someone knocks Geno off his mantle as the lead number 1 program - then his style reigns the best.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I think there is such a thing as over-coaching. and over-analyzing things that aren't so difficult.

Further- I don't know what Geno said to Mir (I have no way of knowing). But imo it had little do with promising her time. And imo without a doubt with him it's about getting his team best prepared for titles as number 1 objective.

Third I remember Dean Smith and the Blue Team vaguely. However, I do remember his title team vs GTOWN in which he had yet to win a title. He didn't play a deep bench while GTWON did, yet he won - I believe his 1st title.

I remember the year in which Pitino's vaunted pressure team went against NC's short bench squad and again Dean Smith's short bench team came out on top vs the 10 man squad.

In summary, a few of Dean's titles were short bench teams not The Blue Team - he might have had a title team with a deep bench maybe the team that beat the Fab 5 but his short bench teams I cited did win too. And as you indicate right now UCONN is number 1-- and yet he hasn't done the full court pressure and use ten players that some wanted etc. Geno's style is not the Rick Pitino or John Thompson style and he is more successful than them.

I look at the most successful coach in men's game after Wooden and it's Coach K. I look at the women's game - the most successful coaches were Geno and Pat. Geno doesn't employ ten player types and neither does Coach K unless both are desperate. IMO it's over-coaching, over-analyzing to go away from what they are doing. Until someone knocks Geno off his mantle as the lead number 1 program - then his style reigns the best.

I would request that you and I NOT have any more back and forths about short benches vs long benches. You disagree with me and I disagree with you. Besides neither of us is 100% correct. Too many examples on either side. Do me a favor and don't just sluff off Dean's "Blue Team" approach. Dean is way up on one of the top branches of the history of college basketball tree. He was just a branch below Naismith himself, having begun his illustrious career at Kansas. His career is so much more than NC's. He was a preeminent innovator.
I tried to pose a couple of kind of nuanced points, but you went straight to your short bench argument.
One reason for teams, even great teams having short benches is that they don't have a full bench of players that can contribute. I believe deeply in the idea that if you have players on your team that are capable of contributing to the team's success, then you should play them. There are multiple benefits to doing that, and a large one is the maximum development of each player in your charge. Nika IMO is the perfect example. IMO we're better with Nika. If Anna's healthy in this short bench world, maybe Nika never plays. Maybe PB never gets to play off the ball.
In addition to winning NC's, Geno has a responsibility to each young woman put in his charge. If these top recruits develop there is going to be a logjam for playing time. What's going to happen? He doesn't graduate anybody. Players even get another year of eligibility. E should stay. She has the best coaching and best training staff she will ever have. She can prove herself to be 100% healthy before entering the draft. And another monster recruiting class coming in. What's he gunna do HoopHuskie? I contend he has a responsibility to every player recruited at UConn to help them be the best players they can be. Priority #1. Did you bother looking at Wooden's pyramid?
You ever heard of Sven Nater? We're gunna have 3, 4, or 5 Naters next year.

 

[GRIFFBIFF20]

 

[uconnever]

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

Who says?

There’s no way Saylor can help us more than Mir can this year. Have you watched Saylor play when she got in there. I’m sure she is gonna be a great player for us, but I have not seen anything to suggest that she can help us AT ALL this year. Mir on the other hand, I wouldn’t put it past her to come up with a HUGE offensive or defensive rebound to help us win number 12. It might only be because she got here late, but still. I believe that Mir deserves more playing time than those two, because anyone should be able to see by her playing time that she is far and away better than both Saylor and Piath. Mir I believe can actually help us now if Geno gave her the chance. I think the other two would be more of a liability than Mir because she has her flaws also.

 

[JRRRJ]

... She would rank (rough estimate) 5th on the team in points scored per minute, trailing only Paige, Cristyn, Edwards, and ONO....

No need to estimate -- confirmation of your guess will be found in the per-40 spreadsheet.

 

[Go/huskies]

I see Caroline Ducharme going in for Paige and CW next year and then starting her second year along with Paige and Azzi.

I agree, you don’t go from that low in the rankings then skyrocket like Ducharme did, she’s a hard worker, and will definitely get some minutes next year, also who was the last top 10 recruit that didn’t get minutes at UConn?
About Mir I think Geno is set on his rotation of 7, idk if Anna will even get time once she makes it back. Mir is a skilled player but she’s undersized with not a lot of confidence in her outside shot, I know people are saying Saylor is a better shooter, but I believe they have both only made 1 3pointer in college. When Mir committed to UConn Edwards was still uncommitted, I think Mir would see time more if Edwards wasn’t here, because we would still be lacking depth in the post. I like Mir and I thought she could have been similar to Gabby Williams, but I often think to myself would Gabby have turned into the player she became if UConn had signed Cox in the 2016 class? I also say no because Cox would have likely been our starting center.

 

[Vowelguy]

There’s no way Saylor can help us more than Mir can this year. Have you watched Saylor play when she got in there. I’m sure she is gonna be a great player for us, but I have not seen anything to suggest that she can help us AT ALL this year. Mir on the other hand, I wouldn’t put it past her to come up with a HUGE offensive or defensive rebound to help us win number 12. It might only be because she got here late, but still. I believe that Mir deserves more playing time than those two, because anyone should be able to see by her playing time that she is far and away better than both Saylor and Piath. Mir I believe can actually help us now if Geno gave her the chance. I think the other two would be more of a liability than Mir because she has her flaws also.

I did not say Saylor was better.
I said the team could use outside shooters.

If Saylor were a great 3 point shooter, then she has potential to help the team in March.

I do not expect that to happen.

 

[BBallF]

I am arriving late to this party but Geno is a self- professed student of Wooden and the mantra is "you play as you practice". We don't know how Mir is doing there. Does she know the plays? Does she perform well on defense in practice? Does she switch well? She can be a very valuable player for us, some other BYers notwithstanding, but only the coaching staff knows whether we are seeing a set pattern or just a temporary chateau de bow wow.

 

[Zinethar]

OK first I love watching Mir be Mir. But Geno determines who plays and as far as I see does it well. He praised Mir earlier this season and she started to get more minutes. Then she seemed to hit a wall and all that evaporated. She fouls too much and flops too much. Flopping leaves her man unguarded and slows others in the area. In one press conference Geno referred to it. Not a good look. She still does not seem to have the concept of the offense - like Aubrey last year. It takes longer for some people. If she shows the growth Geno is looking for she will play.

 

[Bajan Best]

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.

And here I was thinking his Challenge was to develop All his players to become the best versions of themselves while learning how to work together as a team to achieve that elusive goal of excellence.. Silly me

 

[Carnac]

Oh boy another one that thinks Geno is God !

This is the official UConn Women’s Basketball Think Tank. Geno is our coach, and thus sits on a very high roost here. Geno is not God, more like a Demigod, and we‘re proud and glad he’s our coach.

 

[Carnac]

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.

I doubt there is a coach in HS or college basketball that has 15 players on his/her roster, and can/is keeping all of them happy with an acceptable amount of playing time.

 

[CTisballers]

I did not say Saylor was better.
I said the team could use outside shooters.

If Saylor were a great 3 point shooter, then she has potential to help the team in March.

I do not expect that to happen.

But she’s like 1-10 right now while Mir hit a 3 too. I’m not seeing that outside shot from her yet. What I like about Mir is her heart she battles and plays hard every time she’s in there. I think Geno should put these girls in earlier than 3 and 4 minutes when we up by 40. The big East seem as weak as the AAC so our freshman’s now should be able to compete with teams alone.

 

[dragon]

Saylor is not afraid to shoot and has a nice quick shot. Once she starts making them she will put up points quickly.

 

[HiDribble]

Great athelete, shooting not so much.

 

[Husky pride]

Any idea why so little playing time?

There very well be key coach reasons to which we are not privy to, that factor into her limited minutes. Short of that being the case, it would be great if she could gain some valuable experience— at least toward the end of blow-out games.

 

[Cuango]

I would request that you and I NOT have any more back and forths about short benches vs long benches. You disagree with me and I disagree with you. Besides neither of us is 100% correct. Too many examples on either side. Do me a favor and don't just sluff off Dean's "Blue Team" approach. Dean is way up on one of the top branches of the history of college basketball tree. He was just a branch below Naismith himself, having begun his illustrious career at Kansas. His career is so much more than NC's. He was a preeminent innovator.
I tried to pose a couple of kind of nuanced points, but you went straight to your short bench argument.
One reason for teams, even great teams having short benches is that they don't have a full bench of players that can contribute. I believe deeply in the idea that if you have players on your team that are capable of contributing to the team's success, then you should play them. There are multiple benefits to doing that, and a large one is the maximum development of each player in your charge. Nika IMO is the perfect example. IMO we're better with Nika. If Anna's healthy in this short bench world, maybe Nika never plays. Maybe PB never gets to play off the ball.
In addition to winning NC's, Geno has a responsibility to each young woman put in his charge. If these top recruits develop there is going to be a logjam for playing time. What's going to happen? He doesn't graduate anybody. Players even get another year of eligibility. E should stay. She has the best coaching and best training staff she will ever have. She can prove herself to be 100% healthy before entering the draft. And another monster recruiting class coming in. What's he gunna do HoopHuskie? I contend he has a responsibility to every player recruited at UConn to help them be the best players they can be. Priority #1. Did you bother looking at Wooden's pyramid?
You ever heard of Sven Nater? We're gunna have 3, 4, or 5 Naters next year.

You are right that Geno has a responsibility to each player. However, that does not mean he has a responsibility to play them if he does not feel they are meeting his requirements for playing time. His responsibility is to teach them and if they meet his standards, then they get the opportunity to play. If not, it is on them. He owes them opportunity, not an outcome.