Newest Husky Ines Bettencourt [Merged thread]

[Zarathustra]

I just watched 65% of the Portugal vs North Macedonia U 18 Division B game.
Ines Bettencourt with 22 points in 17 ( seventeen) minutes!
No wonder that INES had a high Efficiency rating in the
Tournament. Ines had 10 points in the first three minutes
even with missing a hard driving lay up off of a set play
on the initial tip off. If you want 5 minutes of INES
highlights watch the first half of Quarter One. Final Score 94 - 27.
INES could have scored 40= if she played a full game and
had gone for her shot rather than making some nice
transition and high low passes to her teammates. Portugal
plays as a team, with good ball movement == PASSES not dribbling,
and they unselfishly look for the open player! My only
critique of Ines in this game was some missed foul
shots and , perhaps, those PINK SHOES! NICE PLAY,
INEZ (and Portugal as a team) , condolences to North Macedonia.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Hot dang, I thought I was the long GRINCH on the BY. A-Typically, I don't shout and cheer any new kid. I'm usually happy we get them, but to me they "ain't" players until they play.
Geno is happy with her. Big plus
I believe my eyes--she can shoot, and even under pressure, can pass IMO as well as Paige, and attacks the basket. How that translates to D1 USA --the Geno style, is a wait and see I have great expectations.

The Dickens you say!

I used to get really hyped about new recruits, assuming each was the next UConn All-American. Lately, I've tempered my expectations. It's worked out well--when a new player does well, I'm genuinely thrilled.

I knew Paige was really, really good, but Holy Cow! I knew Azzi was really, really good, but Holy Cow! I didn't know much about Caroline and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it all evens out in the end.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The Dickens you say!

I used to get really hyped about new recruits, assuming each was the next UConn All-American. Lately, I've tempered my expectations. It's worked out well--when a new player does well, I'm genuinely thrilled.

I knew Paige was really, really good, but Holy Cow! I knew Azzi was really, really good, but Holy Cow! I didn't know much about Caroline and was pleasantly surprised. Maybe it all evens out in the end.

Geno thought that Paige and Azzi were the best 2 players in the last few years.

 

[Bone Dog]

She held this team together when Paige was out,

I think Nika is really important to the team, and her voice in huddles is undoubtedly important. I love seeing her wreak havoc on opposing teams. It's a thing of beauty. But, the person who held the team together when Paige first went down was Evina, not Nika. Check out the UCLA game for visual evidence. And check out the Ga Tech game for evidence that the team was in need of a calming hand. Or check out her clutch 3 pt shooting against Stanford, and her rebounding even playing the 4 against Belibi. In fact, she often had to play the 4 during the season agains much larger players because that's what we needed her to do.

Don't get me wrong or tag me as a Nika-hater or some other baloney. I'm a huge fan of hers. But I also recognize her weaknesses. I often cite the Tennessee game as evidence of how great she can be for us, and in ways that don't necessarily show up in the box score. She has the voice of a leader. But she is not who held the team together emotionally and in the stats. That was Evina, and I hate (see, there, I said it) to see her immense contributions dismissed or undervalued. We have no one like her on this year's team. I hope Nika can become that leader, the emotional glue Momma E was for the last two seasons.

Paige called Evina "her MVP" in '21-22, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear her repeat that assessment about last season, too.

 

[ju6381]

Courtney was, in fact one, of the best shooters in her day, she just couldn't make many when someone was guarding her.

Her foot injury was a crushing blow. She wasn't blessed with great speed to begin with and she struggled to get open after the injury.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Those who want Nika to shoot more… be careful what you wish for. We are all rooting for Nika but I for one want her to be efficient in her offense. Having the worst shooter put up shots is not ideal. I don’t want to see my centers shooting 30% from outside either. If Nika can just keep hitting 35% of her 3 pointers that’s fine but I’d rather see Azzi and Lou shoot them at plus 40%. If Nika is not the primary offensive creator at least distribute the ball quickly and with few turnovers. So many people interpret intensity with performance. Paige was a better defender but she did it with a smile. Other teams focused on the other players and literally let Nika shoot. She’s got to make those 3’s.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I just have a feeling that Nika (who would run through a wall for her teammates) is really working on her offense to be some threat each game! Driving to the basket and the stop and pop shot would work wonders for the Huskies!

 

[Bone Dog]

If Nika can just keep hitting 35% of her 3 pointers that’s fine but I’d rather see Azzi and Lou shoot them at plus 40%. If Nika is not the primary offensive creator at least distribute the ball quickly and with few turnovers.

That’s the problem, of course. If she only shoots 3 pointers and the occasional layup on a runout, she won’t be able to distribute the ball effectively. If she’s not a threat to score off the dribble, no one will take her drives through the lane seriously. If no help defense is needed to contain her offense, no one else will be left open to pass to. This is what currently happens.

If we imagine her just shooting 3 pointers in the half court set, then we’re pretending she’s a shooting guard, and none of us thinks she can be effective in that role. To be the primary point guard she needs a midrange game and to be able to score off the dribble. This is a skill she hasn’t shown yet. It’s what she needs to develop in the next few months.

The fundamental offensive challenge in the half court set for any coach is how to get open shots for your players. Screening is one way, and forcing the defense to help contain one player and leave another one uncovered. We screen very well. But we can’t rely only on this. We need to complement it with forcing double teams. We typically have more than one player on the court capable of creating in the lane to force double teams — Azzi, Caroline, Aaliyah to name three. But Nika is not one of them. This means that when she’s on the floor, our half court offense is diminished. This is okay at certain moments, if she can create enough mayhem to disrupt the other teams offense and create points off turnovers.

 

[Woof 101]

She looks pretty confident and smart.

She defiantly has some Paige-esk to her game. Not sure of the competition but her moves are undeniable.

Geno was in desperate need for a back up point guard. It was tough to find one in such a limited amount of time and he settled on Ines. That does not mean he sees big things for her. It’s likely she will play less than 10 minutes per game.

No attack @stamfordhusky and absolutely no idea how meany minutes a player will get. But and it's a big BUT, Geno is not known to just bring in players to hand out scholarships. In Geno I trust she will bring value to the team.
I welcome Ines and hope for now she ignores this forum.

 

[MSGRET]

It could be the United Nations of Swearing. This sounds like a topic a George Carlin type could have a field day with!

Saw him live in Vegas, had almost everyone in tears from laughing. Loved his 7 words that you can't say on TV.

 

[Alydar]

Isn’t there a large Portuguese population in the CT-MA area? Perhaps Ines has family here?

I spent a week on the island Bettencourt came from in the Azores. Everyone I talked to had relatives in the US and very few relatives in the Euro mainland. Very nice people. 90% spoke English. The place wasn't a huge tourist destination, or wasn't 15 years ago. 2 great golf courses that were empty in February. Temp 65-75. Six hour flight from Boston. I considered it as a retirement location.

 

[rvwsleep]

In case you were wondering:

 

[Alydar]

no one is saying Nika isn’t important to the team so save the umbrage. Some of us are saying her hesitance to shoot is detrimental to the team. Do you remember last year’s games when the team went into extended scoring droughts? It was the bulk of the games so you must have seen it. Opponents were leaving Nika wide open wherever she was on the floor because they knew she wouldn’t shoot. some of us are saying that’s how she plays and are leery of those declared Nika had some sort revelation over the summer that will turn her into someone we’ve never seen before.

You can love a player and hope for her to grow as a player without having unrealistic expectations that she will become someone new in a matter of months.

Nika averaged 4 fga's per game over her 1st 2 years. She was a 33% 3pt shooter last year. I think you and others overstate her role in scoring droughts. Those 3 seniors were the leaders on the team and they were in the scoring positions. ONO took 9/gm; CW 10/gm; and EW 10/gm. And none of them were working as hard on defense as Nika. Remember, she is/was on the roster as the backup pg. Suddenly some say she NEEDS to be an AA pg. Someone wants her to take 15 shots a game? Someone else want her to take 8 3pt shots a game? I'll be happy if she has a + a/to% and continues to be an energy-giver.

 

[Cuango]

Nika can't do this, Nika can't do that, how many times do some of you Nika haters have to continue to post the same crap. Some of these posts remind me of reading VolNation. Nika has to shoot more, we all know this, but the team always performs well when she is in the line-up. She held this team together when Paige was out, and who else used their voice in the huddles. Some of you may not respect her, but her teammates seem to. We all hope she has worked on her shot, but up to this point she has done an overall great job. Maybe the BE Defensive player of the year doesn't mean a lot to some people, only scoring points does. Defense is the backbone of this program, and nobody did it better than Nika last year. Geno loves the kid, so as @Skeets said, email him and tell him to what you think. Everyone on the team can't be all-Americans, so let's try to have some perspective on the players on this team.

The point that is being made by virtually every post about Nika (those that are not simply gushing adulation) is not that she is unworthy of respect, or that she is not an important part of this team, but rather that she would be a better player, a more important and impactful part of this team, if she were more of a threat to score! It’s really just that simple.
I don’t believe for a second that there is a single regular poster on this site that disrespects her or who is not happy that she is a Husky! We simply want and hope that she can make herself into an actual scoring threat that the opposing team will have to guard diligently. We hope for this because we know that if she does become a threat, it will benefit not only her, but the entire team (probably most specifically Azzi)!

 

[TeamFirst!]

Haven’t we discussed Nika more than enough already? Every thread ends up being about Nika somehow. We all value her and most of us are fully aware of her strengths and weaknesses. Let’s support her and cheer her. I’m done with critiquing her game.

 

[Zarathustra]

I think Nika is really important to the team, and her voice in huddles is undoubtedly important. I love seeing her wreak havoc on opposing teams. It's a thing of beauty. But, the person who held the team together when Paige first went down was Evina, not Nika. Check out the UCLA game for visual evidence. And check out the Ga Tech game for evidence that the team was in need of a calming hand. Or check out her clutch 3 pt shooting against Stanford, and her rebounding even playing the 4 against Belibi. In fact, she often had to play the 4 during the season agains much larger players because that's what we needed her to do.

Don't get me wrong or tag me as a Nika-hater or some other baloney. I'm a huge fan of hers. But I also recognize her weaknesses. I often cite the Tennessee game as evidence of how great she can be for us, and in ways that don't necessarily show up in the box score. She has the voice of a leader. But she is not who held the team together emotionally and in the stats. That was Evina, and I hate (see, there, I said it) to see her immense contributions dismissed or undervalued. We have no one like her on this year's team. I hope Nika can become that leader, the emotional glue Momma E was for the last two seasons.

Paige called Evina "her MVP" in '21-22, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear her repeat that assessment about last season, too.

I agree with the EVINA sentiments. "E" is class, smoothness, and unselfishness. Those attributes are
excellent ones for a "Mom". I loved Nika from the start, but....... "E" gets my vote!

 

[Conndog]

I spent a week on the island Bettencourt came from in the Azores. Everyone I talked to had relatives in the US and very few relatives in the Euro mainland. Very nice people. 90% spoke English. The place wasn't a huge tourist destination, or wasn't 15 years ago. 2 great golf courses that were empty in February. Temp 65-75. Six hour flight from Boston. I considered it as a retirement location.

My wife talks about retiring there too. Temperature is moderate year round, easy to get to from US or to go elsewhere in Portugal or Europe. Went to Portugal itself last May and it was the best vacation trip I’ve taken- beautiful, historic and affordable.

 

[#12in21]

The point that is being made by virtually every post about Nika (those that are not simply gushing adulation) is not that she is unworthy of respect, or that she is not an important part of this team, but rather that she would be a better player, a more important and impactful part of this team, if she were more of a threat to score! It’s really just that simple.
I don’t believe for a second that there is a single regular poster on this site that disrespects her or who is not happy that she is a Husky! We simply want and hope that she can make herself into an actual scoring threat that the opposing team will have to guard diligently. We hope for this because we know that if she does become a threat, it will benefit not only her, but the entire team (probably most specifically Azzi)!

Speaking for myself, and possibly most posters who have cited Nika's impact and importance on the team, I have never claimed Nika to be the most talented or important player on the team. I have acknowledged and noted in posts Nika's need to become effective enough on offense to make her defender stay on her. This would require developing a more efficient mid-range game and ability to finish at the basket, complimenting maintaining a decent 3pt percentage. I haven't heard anyone suggesting that they expect or desire for her to become one of the leading scorers.

I have said this before and will repeat one more time. Nika self professed, more than once over her first two years that she didn't see her role as a scorer. She felt there were much better options , several great shooters/scorers among her teammates. Again, I have said this before but I will repeat it, clearly Geno did not share this opinion, as many have eluded to ad nauseam, she needs to be an effective enough threat to keep the defense honest.

So far I assume I haven't stated anything that anyone will dispute. Where the omission by those who continually restate Nika's deficiencies exists, is that she has acknowledged this herself prior to heading home this summer. She has stated in essence that she gets it, she has had a change in perspective, she understands and agrees with what Geno has challenged her to do and that is/has been her current focus. So before others post again that she hasn't been that player in the two years she has been here so we shouldn't expect her to change, let's take her at her word. She is coming back with a different mindset. She has stated that she still intends to be the player she has been for the team, she will still look to pass first if that is the best option but - and this is the change - she will also look for her own shot, being quite cognizant of the fact that is necessary for the best flow of the team offense.

So how about we take her at her word and see what she comes back with this season rather than pigeon hole her into what she has been in the past. She is a very focused and intense individual so I for one am expecting to see these changes on the offense end.

 

[Tonyc]

IMO first of all Nika has to be a threat to score and shes gonna have to shoot a little more. That takes the pressure off everybody else being double teamed. Watching Nika and her attitude she will do what Geno wants her to do. Shes a spark plug for the team. We have alot of scorers and shooters. Nika needs to be the leader at the point guard position and she will. I welcome Ines to the team. She will take alot of pressure off the team. We dont know how Ines will fair until we see her play against UConn opponents.

As a team we still dont know where we're at with our injuries. The most important thing is to get everybody up to speed and in condition to play their minutes. Getting Ines tells me Geno wants Azzi as his number one shooter along with Lou and Caroline as scorers. We have the height and that needs to be developed. We are in a good place right now. We filled a void for another guard. Its more important to look ahead they in the rear view mirror meaning what Nika did last season verus what she needs to do this season. Last year we had Paige and Azzi. Without Paige this season Nika will play a different role. I read a post somewhere on this board where the coaching staff is working with Nika on her pull up jumper and her outside shot. Last season before Paige went down and the injuries happened we werent dependent on Nika to score. This year we need her to score and more importantly be a threat especially when shes open. I am confident eno will make that happen

 

[Bone Dog]

My prediction — yes, it’s turban time again — is that the lineup in the 4th quarter on close games will be Azzi Caroline Lou Aaliyah Dorka. At least until the freshmen and Aubrey come into their own, that is.

If Nika’s offense has evolved, she’ll take Lou’s place in the 4th quarters, and not just on an offense-defense platoon. It would be awesome to have her energy and mayhem on the floor in such moments. And her scrappy rebounding.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Isn’t there a large Portuguese population in the CT-MA area? Perhaps Ines has family here?

Don't think so. Connecticut features the largest Italian-American population of any American state. But you have to move one state to the east, Rhode Island, to see the big Portuguese population.

 

[CocoHusky]

Speaking for myself, and possibly most posters who have cited Nika's impact and importance on the team, I have never claimed Nika to be the most talented or important player on the team. I have acknowledged and noted in posts Nika's need to become effective enough on offense to make her defender stay on her. This would require developing a more efficient mid-range game and ability to finish at the basket, complimenting maintaining a decent 3pt percentage. I haven't heard anyone suggesting that they expect or desire for her to become one of the leading scorers.
I have said this before and will repeat one more time. Nika self professed, more than once over her first two years that she didn't see her role as a scorer. She felt there were much better options , several great shooters/scorers among her teammates. Again, I have said this before but I will repeat it, clearly Geno did not share this opinion, as many have eluded to ad nauseam, she needs to be an effective enough threat to keep the defense honest.
So far I assume I haven't stated anything that anyone will dispute. Where the omission by those who continually restate Nika's deficiencies exists, is that she has acknowledged this herself prior to heading home this summer. She has stated in essence that she gets it, she has had a change in perspective, she understands and agrees with what Geno has challenged her to do and that is/has been her current focus. So before others post again that she hasn't been that player in the two years she has been here so we shouldn't expect her to change, let's take her at her word. She is coming back with a different mindset. She has stated that she still intends to be the player she has been for the team, she will still look to pass first if that is the best option but - and this is the change - she will also look for her own shot, being quite cognizant of the fact that is necessary for the best flow of the team offense.
So how about we take her at her word and see what she comes back with this season rather than pigeon hole her into what she has been in the past. She is a very focused and intense individual so I for one am expecting to see these changes on the offense end.

When Nika next takes the court for UCONN she will be the most experienced players with the most starts and a Junior. While we all cling to the hope that Nika now finally gets it and does improve her shooting accuracy and volume what I will point out is it should not have taken this long. The calls for Nika to become a better shooter began within her first few practices at UCONN.

"There is this moment I’ll never forget,” Muhl said this week. “It was the beginning of the year, maybe October or something, and we were in practice. I shot the ball maybe two times and I missed both. He completely stopped practice and in front of my face said, ‘You’re the worst shooter that UConn has ever seen.’ He told me, ‘You’re never going to be a shooter.’ "

For Muhl, high energy is a feature, not a bug

Believe it or not this is a kinder gentler but classic Geno. Geno does not throw out that kind of challenge unless her knows that the player has the ability to deliver and as I have written before he does not go to the press to throw out the challenge until he has done so with the player privately.

So what I will actively dispute and continue to harp on is the notion that being surrounded by greater shooters was what has enabled Nika to not individual improve her shooting. The challenge for Nika to become a better shooter was laid down on day 1- that almost two full years ago.

 

[AmeriConn]

Don't think so. Connecticut features the largest Italian-American population of any American state. But you have to move one state to the east, Rhode Island, to see the big Portuguese population.

The state of New York has the largest population of Italian Americans, at 3.1 million people. The majority of Italian Americans in New York City originated from southern parts of Italy.

 

[Golden Husky]

In case you were wondering:

If she's a good defender she can be Nedge the Nudge.

Sorry.

 

[AmeriConn]

If she's a good defender she can be Nedge the Nudge.

Sorry.

To go with Gnika the Gnat!