New Starting 5

[jazz]

I always think if Geno 1985-1995 would be coaching THIS group the same way Geno 2021 is.
It's not a new idea: what's right for "the program" and what's right to win the game right in front of you.
Just my opinion, I think the young Geno would be trying more stuff. (and I'd be loving every bit of it)
Sometimes when "the concerns of the program" become overly dominant, things fizzle. We want spark, not fizzle.
The example I think of is Tom Landry in Dallas. It just got flat. Luckily Jimmy Johnson got there before they broke out the wrecking ball.

Now you are talking my language with the Cowboys. Jimmy bought out the whipping stick and the Walker trade helped big time. I could go on for ages but I'll save you my rant.....

Now getting back to Uconn, GA did try some stuff in this past game. I think that small line-up he went with in the second half was genius. I just think once we got 2 up, at 5:30 or so to go in the 4th, it was time to get Liv and AG back in. But that small line-up was great. Unfortunately, Neighbors finally countered by telling his players to go to the rack. This killed us for a few minutes until Liv got back in.

I wonder if GA punted on this game to send a message to Liv. She needs to toughen up but I'm not sure if she can with her body type. Also, I think this game with a lot of little guys harassing her is not her strong suit. But she still has value on defense.

I do wonder why GA can't get more out of some of his players like Liv, AG, CW and some others in the past. But, I'd rather have GA than any other coach.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I was going to ask how long you have been away from Maryland. Frederick County has become a bedroom community for DC and is not the pastoral paradise you make it to be. 😉

100% I'm aware. I was trying to provoke some folks about "Saylor coming from the Boonies". Frederick's super nice too.

 

[AmeriConn]

1. Original starters for all Big East teams (except DePaul). We’ve proven we can win with this lineup for teams that can’t compete. Paige, Liv, Christyn, Evina and Aubrey.

2. For DePaul and SC go small ball. Paige, Christyn, Evina, Nika and Aubrey.

 

[PacoBlaze]

1. Original starters for all Big East teams (except DePaul). We’ve proven we can win with this lineup for teams that can’t compete. Paige, Liv, Christyn, Evina and Aubrey.

2. For DePaul and SC go small ball. Paige, Christyn, Evina, Nika and Aubrey.

If we use your SC lineup, Boston could score 50. (I am not a "fan" of her or SC but have seen her this season and I have no doubt that she would score at will.)

 

[AmeriConn]

If we use your SC lineup, Boston could score 50. (I am not a "fan" of her or SC but have seen her this season and I have no doubt that she would score at will.)

I’m being facetious here. I don’t think Ono and Aaliyah together will be able to guard Boston either.

 

[PacoBlaze]

I’m being facetious here. I don’t think Ono and Aaliyah together will be able to guard Boston either.

Thank you, I was hoping that you were being facetious or sarcastic but wasn't sure.
I agree with you about who can (or can't) guard her but hopefully we will do better against her than we did against Dungee, meaning keep her from scoring 30+ points.

 

[mdmiller6]

Let's just keep the starting line-up the way Geno has it now. I think the game the other night was a great learning tool, it show our area where we need to improve, and it also showed we have players that are ready to step up when called. It will all come together, and we will take our hands off the panic button.

 

[AmeriConn]

Thank you, I was hoping that you were being facetious or sarcastic but wasn't sure.
I agree with you about who can (or can't) guard her but hopefully we will do better against her than we did against Dungee, meaning keep her from scoring 30+ points.

Any idea how NC State beat SC?

 

[Cuango]

Keep the current starting 5 in place (you all are a bunch of arm chair quarterbacks). GEEZ !!!

I am anxious to see Anna get healthy and return to this team. The offense just works better when she is on the floor. If it turns out that her injury was why her shooting declined and she can start hitting threes at a 40+% clip, I’ll be a happy camper!

 

[Cuango]

Liv - this game threw her off with a bunch of little guys harassing her. We don't make the comeback the last few minutes without her. She has value just not the AA we all hope she would be.

NM has been better than advertised here on the board. We need to understand that there is upside with a freshie. She has game and I think will help us as a strong role player. I love that she has dealt with a lot of adversity this year with the injury, having some very bad moments and getting benched, but this kid is tough and nobody is going to hold her back. Solid to good role player at minimum and anything else people want from her is just not fair or realistic. She has been good on offense and defense the last couple games.

CW - She's been awful. I'm taking some heat on my negative comments on her. I honestly believe people don't criticize her because GA doesn't. I think GA doesn't criticize her because her knows she is a bit weak emotionally. Before people jump on me for this, many players are weak emotionally, especially now a days. It is the life we live in today...Players are not nearly as tough as they used to be, both mentally and emotionally. As an educator, I notice the same and to be honest, it is shocking. I hope and I think she will get better on offense but her defense is shockingly bad and I'm not very confident it will improve much. She just has no instinct on defense.

I don’t agree that Christyn should be moved out of her starting spot. While she may not be as good as some of our other number 1s, she is not exactly chopped liver! If she were to never shoot more than three threes in a game for the rest of her career I believe we would all be very pleasantly surprised! There is simply no way that she is not solidly among the top five players on this team. Personally, I would rank her as no worse than third and possibly second.

 

[CL82]

I’m being facetious here. I don’t think Ono and Aaliyah together will be able to guard Boston either.

I think the plan will be to try and deny her the ball as much as possible. Maybe add a big to little double to make her uncomfortable.

 

[Woof 101]

I would start Edwards in place of Ono .

Yes, bring Olivia off the bench.

Aaliyah needs more minutes. She should have started the second half over a floundering Liv.

This is not an attack or confrontation with fellow fans. Simply a question about comments with no follow up or reasoning. And to those that agree with likes. I to very much like Aaliyah but does anyone realize she played all of 13 minutes and fouled out? Yes she had 6 rebounds in that short time but also had 4 turnovers.
Let the staff do what they do and take a breath before the knee jerk reactions. Aaliyah needs some time to acclimate to how things are called here, starting her is not going to speed that up. Just get her out of the game sooner.

As for those that want her to start over ONO, I would have liked to have seen both ONO and Aaliyah down low on both ends of the court to start. Dungee would have to had make different decisions. She would not have been able to run over / shove a guard trying to catch up. But to have met a wall much taller ready for the block or take / in position to take a charge.
Strange game in a strange season but this loss in not on ONO, she played where the staff ordered and even they are not always perfect. Suck it up boys and girls and let's move on.

 

[MD#12Fan]

I think the plan will be to try and deny her the ball as much as possible. Maybe add a big to little double to make her uncomfortable.

Music to my ears-denial. I don’t see us denying anyone. I wish we were in the passing lanes. Occasionally PB will anticipate and get a steal but I don’t think it’s a defensive philosophy. Fronting the post is almost a lost art, anywhere. I love your strategy though. Did we try to front the Baylor center last year? Don’t think so.

 

[eebmg]

I don’t agree that Christyn should be moved out of her starting spot. While she may not be as good as some of our other number 1s, she is not exactly chopped liver! If she were to never shoot more than three threes in a game for the rest of her career I believe we would all be very pleasantly surprised! There is simply no way that she is not solidly among the top five players on this team. Personally, I would rank her as no worse than third and possibly second.

I would not mind if CW was as good as Chopped Liver.

 

[NormanDale]

Liv is unable to execute when she is double or triple teamed, which she always is .. therefore, it is up to the rest of the team to hit some damn shots to give Liv some breathing room, eh?

UConn shot over 50% from 3 in the Arkansas game and ONO still did nothing, Liv's struggles are on Liv. She needs to get physically and mentally tougher, plain and simple.

 

[NormanDale]

Any idea how NC State beat SC?

Because they(SC) are NOT nearly as good as some on this board make them out to be, EVERY team has deficiencies this year! They were beaten by NC State, only beat LSU by 4, beat Kentucky by only 5, and Gonzaga by 7.

 

[jazz]

I don’t agree that Christyn should be moved out of her starting spot. While she may not be as good as some of our other number 1s, she is not exactly chopped liver! If she were to never shoot more than three threes in a game for the rest of her career I believe we would all be very pleasantly surprised! There is simply no way that she is not solidly among the top five players on this team. Personally, I would rank her as no worse than third and possibly second.

We will have disagree on this one Cuango.

IMHO, thus far this year she has been inconsistent at best on offense, a horrible 3 point shooter and horrible at defense. She has never been a great passer either. As far as being one of the top 5 players, she may be but sure isn't showing it now and it could be we are a better team with a little less CW and more NM or possibly Saylor down the road and others. CW is just not getting it done.

I do hope she rebounds on offense though. I have little confidence in her defence.

I'd like to see how we would do with PB at the two and NM at the one and a bit less CW on the court. See if that helps. I don't think it will hurt.

 

[npignatjr]

1. Original starters for all Big East teams (except DePaul). We’ve proven we can win with this lineup for teams that can’t compete. Paige, Liv, Christyn, Evina and Aubrey.

2. For DePaul and SC go small ball. Paige, Christyn, Evina, Nika and Aubrey.

CW EW 3 freshmen starting

 

[npignatjr]

I am anxious to see Anna get healthy and return to this team. The offense just works better when she is on the floor. If it turns out that her injury was why her shooting declined and she can start hitting threes at a 40+% clip, I’ll be a happy camper!

Yes without Anna playing 4 on 5 on offense. Right now lost a good passer missing that.

 

[ubasketball]

Yes without Anna playing 4 on 5 on offense. Right now lost a good passer missing that.

I agree. The thorny issue now is not whether one player is better than another, but rather what combination of players puts the best starting TEAM on the court and who are the best players to come off the bench. The TEAM is simply better with Anna starting than without her, albeit a mute point right now. CW and ONO should start, but their games need to be adjusted to their limitations. CW being a more scrappy scorer than shooter, and ONO staying around the basket where she can block shots and make easy layups from great passes by PB and EW. AG is serviceable as a starter, if she can shake off a bad game, but she is still far more valuable off the bench. The freshmen are proving to be terrific, and I trust Geno to use them appropriately as well as teach Aaliyah to do her thing with less fouling. Finally, if EW and, especially, PB, step it up a bit, we'll be fine even though we are very "fine" already.

 

[darkstar1]

Should be Nika, Paige, Ev, Cw, Olivia...even when Anna returns. Even though she’s still a bit raw... she is ready and already a natural leader on the floor. When Nika is in the ball moves and she provides defense, relentless effort, scoring, and they will be able to get out in transition more. And If she can consistently knock down her shot, she will be the surprise of this years squad! Also you can move Paige off the ball more when needed to the 2 and the offense will flow more with two great passers also on the floor. Also I like Aubrey off the bench more. So that teams can’t sag in the lane and this will open up the floor. Then along with her bring AE, Anna, and McLean off the bench! Just my opinion after watching the last few games.

Watching Syracuse v Notre Dame. Oh what Huskies could have done with Camilla Cardoso!

 

[Jingo]

She is also not a good passer out of the double team. It is what it is.

GA will need to really earn his money this year! He needs to figure out how to put these players in the best situation for them to succeed and that may not be necessarily his preference for the perfect passing/motion offense. Fortunately for him, he has PB and EW! Few teams have players like this and we have 2!

At this point, I think we have enough to challenge for the title this year. It is up to GA to use his players in a way that they can be at their best. We have one dominate player, one very good player and the rest are role players whose success is dependent on that one dominate player.

Coaching needs to make up the rest of our deficiencies to at least get us to the final 4.

Finally, against Depaul, GA ordered the team to reward our big people with a lot of touches. The results were startling!
Our offense ran through Liv and AE against Depaul and we looked like a well-oiled machine. Liv especially with her screens and catches and passing opened it up for the rest of the team.
Running the offense through our two forwards, reminded me of the John Wooden offense with Wicks & Rowe. It was a great change and a big improvement over prior games. And a great boon for CW who played her best game as a Husky.

 

[CTisballers]

I'm good with that one as well. CW needs to sit.

Huh? Nika couldn’t guard my grandmother not a scorer like CW and well never mind. Geno hardly sits her and will never consider your starting 5. Lol Nika over Williams 😂

 

[jazz]

Huh? Nika couldn’t guard my grandmother not a scorer like CW and well never mind. Geno hardly sits her and will never consider your starting 5. Lol Nika over Williams 😂

It is not just the scoring that matters and not just a straight swap of NM for CW. I'd want to move PB to the 2G which I think would be a huge improvement over CW and then have NM at the point. Not permanently for the entire 40 minutes, but more often. NM is starting to play more and more and the results, including her defense have been encouraging.

At this point CW is a high volume shooter who shoots very poor from 3 pt land...about 28% for the year (Pre Depaul game). In fact, before the Depaul game she was shooting it at 22% the previous 5 games from when she got benched and only played 14 mins against Providence. She has also missed her mid-range shots, and keep in mind, she has been wide open on these shots. They have not been forced or with a hand in her face.

Overall, CW is shooting at 42% since she got benched through the Ark game. Considering she has been wide-open on the majority of her shots, she has an excellent PG in PB to get her the ball and we played a lot of weak teams during that stretch, she has not been good to say the least. Her defense has been much worst than that.

Although you might think your comment about Nika's defense is funny and clever, it is ignorant of reality. You would be more accurate to say that CW can't guard your grandmother, although I'd say that comment would still be ignorant and adds nothing to the conversation.

I would like to see PB at the 2G in place of CW with NM as the point more often.

This all comes before the Depaul game, which I have not seen yet, but am fully aware that CW went off on offense. I for one, am thrilled she did.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Mir and Saylor are the first two players from Maryland in quite a few years.

De'Janae Boykin--who didn't stay very long--was from Maryland. I think Kaili McLaren was from D.C., but her school was in the Maryland suburbs.

 

[CTisballers]

It is not just the scoring that matters and not just a straight swap of NM for CW. I'd want to move PB to the 2G which I think would be a huge improvement over CW and then have NM at the point. Not permanently for the entire 40 minutes, but more often. NM is starting to play more and more and the results, including her defense have been encouraging.

At this point CW is a high volume shooter who shoots very poor from 3 pt land...about 28% for the year (Pre Depaul game). In fact, before the Depaul game she was shooting it at 22% the previous 5 games from when she got benched and only played 14 mins against Providence. She has also missed her mid-range shots, and keep in mind, she has been wide open on these shots. They have not been forced or with a hand in her face.

Overall, CW is shooting at 42% since she got benched through the Ark game. Considering she has been wide-open on the majority of her shots, she has an excellent PG in PB to get her the ball and we played a lot of weak teams during that stretch, she has not been good to say the least. Her defense has been much worst than that.

Although you might think your comment about Nika's defense is funny and clever, it is ignorant of reality. You would be more accurate to say that CW can't guard your grandmother, although I'd say that comment would still be ignorant and adds nothing to the conversation.

I would like to see PG at the 2G in place of CW with NM as the point more often.

This all comes before the Depaul game, which I have not seen yet, but am fully aware that CW went off on offense. I for one, am thrilled she did.

Your comment isn’t reality lol sit a # 1 recruit jr out of the starting line up for a freshman who is still learning to play America ball?? If your saying we our playing weak teams and still beating teams by a margin of 33 ppg, what’s the point of changing?? Your right about Nika getting more minutes but she comes in for evina Westbrook who is also a Pg/ playmaker. Williams is a star who just struggles at time with her shooting but still is elite. I mean look at the game Sunday against DePaul. Taking Williams out of the starting 5 will only hurt her confidence. Geno keeps her in to get her out her slump. Why you think she plays the most minutes behind Paige??

 

[jazz]

Your comment isn’t reality lol sit a # 1 recruit jr out of the starting line up for a freshman who is still learning to play America ball?? If your saying we our playing weak teams and still beating teams by a margin of 33 ppg, what’s the point of changing?? Your right about Nika getting more minutes but she comes in for evina Westbrook who is also a Pg/ playmaker. Williams is a star who just struggles at time with her shooting but still is elite. I mean look at the game Sunday against DePaul. Taking Williams out of the starting 5 will only hurt her confidence. Geno keeps her in to get her out her slump. Why you think she plays the most minutes behind Paige??

GA has already sat her once this year (only 14 minutes against Providence) and I have been clear that this is before the DePaul game. CW has been awful at shooting the 3 and playing defense and I could care less what her rating was 3 years ago coming out of HS. Less CW and more NM without affecting the rest of the players could or would be more effective than having CW miss three after three and not being able to guard anybody she is on.

I can see CW had a good game against Depaul, although I haven't finished watching it, but my comments are based on the previous 11 games. She has not been an AA during those games.

Anyway, your most recent comments are certainly more productive than your original ones. Referencing your grandmother in trying to make your points is well......pointless.

 

[CTisballers]

GA has already sat her once this year (only 14 minutes against Providence) and I have been clear that this is before the DePaul game. CW has been awful at shooting the 3 and playing defense and I could care less what her rating was 4 years ago coming out of HS. Less CW and more NM without affecting the rest of the players could or would be more effective than having CW miss three after three and not being able to guard anybody she is on.

I can see CW had a good game against Depaul, although I haven't finished watching it, but my comments are based on the previous 11 games. She has not been an AA during those games.

Anyway. you most recent comments are certainly more productive than your original ones. Referencing your grandmother in trying to make your points is well......pointless.

Yes he sat her down. ONO and Westbrook was bench too. Geno done this before in the past if his starters aren’t performing up to his standard. And they all usually get the message like CW did. Speaking of 3s besides Paige and Westbrook the whole team been awful from 3. So instead of Williams missing 3 after 3s means she has to take less and do what she did against DePaul which is drive to the basket and crash the offense of boards not replace her from the starting lineup. And I definitely was being sarcastic when mentioning my Gma but they all get beat off the dribble and slow on rotation even though yesterday game was the best defense game of the season in my eyes.

 

[jazz]

Yes he sat her down. ONO and Westbrook was bench too. Geno done this before in the past if his starters aren’t performing up to his standard. And they all usually get the message like CW did. Speaking of 3s besides Paige and Westbrook the whole team been awful from 3. So instead of Williams missing 3 after 3s means she has to take less and do what she did against DePaul which is drive to the basket and crash the offense of boards not replace her from the starting lineup. And I definitely was being sarcastic when mentioning my Gma but they all get beat off the dribble and slow on rotation even though yesterday game was the best defense game of the season in my eyes.

I know you were being sarcastic. I just don't think it is appropriate nor does it add anything to the conversation. Also, GA sat CW far more than the rest of the players you mentioned. IIRC, she didn't even start the second half.

It doesn't matter as much about the rest of the team's stats with 3s, CW is the starting shooting guard and needs to shoot better than the rest because of that fact alone! Expectations for her are a bit higher than others, so to compare her to other players on the team is inconsequential.

She has been 22% over a the previous 5 games from 3 and missing multiple open mid-range shoots (42% in total) and only 7-12 from the FT line is awful for a starting shooting guard. Not to mention her defense was the worst of any player thus far this year.

It looks like she got going in the DePaul game.

I'm not saying to give up on her. I am a big fan of CW, but she certainly hasn't lived up to the #1 ranking in HS as you pointed out. She is not a consistent dominate player, even against lesser competition. Play her less and maybe we get more from her...

 

[mattlow710]

Huh? Nika couldn’t guard my grandmother not a scorer like CW and well never mind. Geno hardly sits her and will never consider your starting 5. Lol Nika over Williams 😂

If CW playing more driving attack the basket then CW>NM
if not , CW playing lazy just wait there for 3s shooting then i prefer NM >CW