My biggest concern

[Tonyc]

My biggest concern is getting Azzi Caroline and Patterson some playtime before the Tenn game. We have in the past gotten some southern home cookin at Tenn. We are going to need a bench as precautionary. Tenn is a tuff place to play. I remember in the Strother Turner days we lost by a few points and Tenn went to the line somethin like 41-10. Im always concerned playin at Tenn. We need all hands on deck even if its for a few minutes which means we need to get Caroline and Patterson some minutes against Seton Hall and Butler to get ready for Tenn. Those of you who werent around in the ole days may not understand. Those of you who were may understand.

 

[Bone Dog]

At this rate, unless something important changes, we might limp into Tennessee with a tired team. I'd hate to see that happen. Azzi torched them last season, and I was really hoping to see her do it again. And Caroline could be a huge contributor, too, if only she's healthy.

 

[JellyBean]

My concern is, rushing the players back for those games (Seton Hall, Butler, and DePaul) leading up to Tennessee, only to lose them for that game, multiple games, or for the season.

 

[oldhusky]

Yea it's sneaking up on us. Going back a few games most of us were not that worried about being relatively healthy for the Tennessee and South Carolina games. It appeared we could survive the easier Big East schedule while wounded, and be ready for the two big remaining out of conference games that would largely determine what our ultimate ranking and seeding would be.

Clearly you don't want to reintroduce a key player to the lineup in one of the most important games of the year, without getting their feet wet a game or two before that, but that window is closing fast. You can't make up for a loss to Tennessee or South Carolina with an impressive win against Villanova or Seton Hall, or by rolling thru the Big East tournament. The big games that can move you in the ratings are over after those two.

If we can win those two games we might be a number 1 seed, be favored to return to the Final Four, and be able to possible avoid South Carolina until a championship game. If we lost both I could see us as the 3rd or 4th, #2 seed at best, probably having to beat a South Carolina or Stanford in the Elite 8 just to get to the Final Four. The odds in those two scenarios are pretty different even if we are relatively healthy for the tournament.

The day to day, game to game not knowing what team we will have is maddening, but it is what it is, and we find out when we get there.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Assuming we run the table of the big East schedule ( big assumption ) I think we end up a #1 seed with even one win against SC or Tennessee. A whole lot of teams are doing very well with worst schedules right now ( OSU, LSU... )

 

[hard2please]

you people worry too much ... enjoy the ride, if all are healthy at the end of the season, we have a really really good team

 

[JBK]

My biggest concern is getting Azzi Caroline and Patterson some playtime before the Tenn game. We have in the past gotten some southern home cookin at Tenn. We are going to need a bench as precautionary. Tenn is a tuff place to play. I remember in the Strother Turner days we lost by a few points and Tenn went to the line somethin like 41-10. Im always concerned playin at Tenn. We need all hands on deck even if it’s for a few minutes which means we need to get Caroline and Patterson some minutes against Seton Hall and Butler to get ready for Tenn. Those of you who werent around in the ole days may not understand. Those of you who were may understand.

Did anyone hear an Azzi update. Geno said the doctor was evaluating yesterday

 

[HuskyNan]

Did anyone hear an Azzi update. Geno said the doctor was evaluating yesterday

The UConn AD has said that the coach and school won’t be making announcements about injuries. The program and Athletic Department are closing ranks to protect the team from the incessant questions they’ve been answering for the last two years

 

[JBK]

The UConn AD has said that the coach and school won be making announcements about injuries. The program and Athletic Department is closing ranks to protect the team from the incessant questions they been answering for the last two years

Understand. Thank you

 

[Topdawg]

Patience is a good virtue!
We will be told if the team does not have 7 players. Otherwise, we will find out close to game time who the players will be. I look forward to more players getting healthy as the season progresses.

 

[Wrong Track]

I welcome comments on what I'm going to write here. I realize that Geno is a great coach with an outstanding record.
What I have never understood, however, is why Geno plays his starters almost the entire game. Not just when the roster is depleted, as we have currently, but regularly for years. I realize that he reportedly views playing time as a reward for quality of practice. However, that strategy also runs the risk of needless injuries to the starters in a game than would be the case if he would allow the bench players to play the last quarter of the game unless we are in a very close, competitive game. Even so, could the bench players not play at least seven or eight minutes of a game? I realize that a lot of our recent injuries didn't occur during a game, but would it not be a good idea to let the bench play for the last quarter, especially if the game isn't close at all. Last year I seem to recall our being ahead by around 35 points, yet one of the bench payers didn't get into the game until the fourth quarter 1:38 mark. Just letting the bench play the fourth quarter if possible would certainly reduce by 25% the likelihood of a starter getting injured needlessly with a huge lead.
Also, in a non-competitive game, given our long list of injuries, should our players be diving for loose balls? Is the risk worth it in a setting like that? In a playoff game, by all means dive, and always wear protective devices on their knees.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

The UConn AD has said that the coach and school won be making announcements about injuries. The program and Athletic Department are closing ranks to protect the team from the incessant questions they been answering for the last two years

That seems like a good way get more questions. And the school has been giving detailed updates on injuries since he made that comment. If Azzi was out for the season I would imagine there would be an announcement and not a game to game status update.

 

[Next 12]

My concern is we can't show the competition how good a team we really are because we can't put our first team on the floor at the same time. There is always a key player missing and we have to fight, scrap and play long on the floor without a break to carry on. So far it's been working,but, we need a break, and I don't mean a leg or other. I have concerns,but I also have faith in this team every time they are out there playing the game they love best, doing their best. GO HUSKIES!!!

 

[Monte]

I welcome comments on what I'm going to write here. I realize that Geno is a great coach with an outstanding record.
What I have never understood, however, is why Geno plays his starters almost the entire game. Not just when the roster is depleted, as we have currently, but regularly for years. I realize that he reportedly views playing time as a reward for quality of practice. However, that strategy also runs the risk of needless injuries to the starters in a game than would be the case if he would allow the bench players to play the last quarter of the game unless we are in a very close, competitive game. Even so, could the bench players not play at least seven or eight minutes of a game? I realize that a lot of our recent injuries didn't occur during a game, but would it not be a good idea to let the bench play for the last quarter, especially if the game isn't close at all. Last year I seem to recall our being ahead by around 35 points, yet one of the bench payers didn't get into the game until the fourth quarter 1:38 mark. Just letting the bench play the fourth quarter if possible would certainly reduce by 25% the likelihood of a starter getting injured needlessly with a huge lead.
Also, in a non-competitive game, given our long list of injuries, should our players be diving for loose balls? Is the risk worth it in a setting like that? In a playoff game, by all means dive, and always wear protective devices on their knees.

Yes, I would like to see the "bench" play more. The problem this year is: there is not much of a bench.
I hold my breath every time I see a player dive for the ball, but here is the problem......When you have headstrong players , who give their ALL every second of the game, they play instinctively. They cannot stop and think about whether to dive or not. I wish they could, but many moves in basketball happen in split seconds.

 

[Ct Dog]

The UConn AD has said that the coach and school won be making announcements about injuries. The program and Athletic Department are closing ranks to protect the team from the incessant questions they been answering for the last two years

And there you have it

 

[temery]

'Nothing will satisfy everyone's curiosity, so the best they should do is release minimal information as to an injury, and give the best estimate as to when a player may return.

The rest is nobodies business. Gladys Kravitz lives on in every Internet forum.

My answer to concussions is pretty obvious: We recruit smart kids. Big brains = bigger area to get hit.

 

[Littlemin]

With all due respect. any player playing two minutes a quarter is not going to prevent an injury. I for one completely fail to see any correlation between minutes and the injuries Uconn has suffered. One could argue Bueckers last year versus Notre Dame but that is cherry picking, how many Uconn main players through the years have played those types of minutes and not gotten injured. Bueckers got hurt this year in a pickup game. Players cannot play nor can coaches coach using cocoons.

 

[Littlemin]

Understood, my bad, misread your post.

 

[HuskyNan]

I don’t want to think about what the Boneyard would be like if Geno started pulling players and the reserves let leads disappear, sort of like the end of the Georgetown game. The crowd would be out buying pitchforks and tar.

Geno can’t win with fans because no matter what he does or doesn’t do, someone is going to complain so he might as well continue doing what he thinks is best for the team and ignore the noise

 

[visitingcock]

Assuming we run the table of the big East schedule ( big assumption ) I think we end up a #1 seed with even one win against SC or Tennessee. A whole lot of teams are doing very well with worst schedules right now ( OSU, LSU... )

A loss to SCar alone would not affect your shot at being a one seed. A loss to Tennessee could but possibly not. A loss to both probably, but not definitely, would.

 

[meyers7]

you people worry too much ... enjoy the ride, if all are healthy at the end of the season, we have a really really good team

Only problem is, that's not looking very likely. We've been waiting for 2 seasons now, to have a healthy team. Still hasn't happened. Don't know if it will.

 

[HopJim]

My biggest concern is getting Azzi Caroline and Patterson some playtime before the Tenn game. We have in the past gotten some southern home cookin at Tenn. We are going to need a bench as precautionary. Tenn is a tuff place to play. I remember in the Strother Turner days we lost by a few points and Tenn went to the line somethin like 41-10. Im always concerned playin at Tenn. We need all hands on deck even if its for a few minutes which means we need to get Caroline and Patterson some minutes against Seton Hall and Butler to get ready for Tenn. Those of you who werent around in the ole days may not understand. Those of you who were may understand.

Based on her recent play, giving Patterson more time to watch and learn may be best.