Newest Husky Ines Bettencourt [Merged thread]

[UConnCat]

So, are people thinking that she adds point guard depth? I’m not sure she does at the high D1 major level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve added her. I’m just not clear on where she fits in the rotation.

When Nika sits against elite competition (fouls, rest) someone will have to take over the PG responsibilities. Who will it be? I'm guessing Azzi though obviously that's not ideal.

Not sure we can expect Ines to handle back-up PG responsibilities against the elite teams UConn will play this season. That's not to say she won't have an important role to play on the team.

 

[UConnFanMSM]

Welcome to Connecticut, Ines!!!

 

[sun]

So, are people thinking that she adds point guard depth? I’m not sure she does at the high D1 major level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve added her. I’m just not clear on where she fits in the rotation.

She has the entire season to prepare for March Madness.
Of course she will need to play to begin learning the ropes for when she's needed, based on her progress.
It's possible that she'll become an important contributor this year depending on her skill level, what Geno wants her to do, compared to other PG's on the team and line up circumstances like injuries.
I doubt that anything is set in stone, and a lot can happen between now and March Madness.
The Big East teams have a forgiving enough level of competition that should allow competent freshmen to get adequate playing time to display their mettle.

How do you pronounce Ines? Is it literally In-ez?

How to pronouce Ines in French & English.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Bem-vindo, Ines!

 

[ochoopsfan]

How do you pronounce Ines? Is it literally In-ez?

Listening to the announcers in the video, one pronounced her name as ee-nes, and the other called her eye-nes.

 

[Bone Dog]

So, are people thinking that she adds point guard depth? I’m not sure she does at the high D1 major level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve added her. I’m just not clear on where she fits in the rotation.

"Inês is a true point guard. She loves to distribute the ball and can make shots," Auriemma said.

Geno may have settled this question for us. In the videos I've seen, she's mainly off the ball. But she can distribute the ball, seems to have real creativity as a passer, reminiscent of Paige, and like KK is totally able to finish at the rim. I wouldn't be surprised if Ines and KK compete with Nika for the starting slot next year.

 

[UConnCat]

Geno may have settled this question for us. In the videos I've seen, she's mainly off the ball. But she can distribute the ball, seems to have real creativity as a passer, reminiscent of Paige, and like KK is totally able to finish at the rim. I wouldn't be surprised if Ines and KK compete with Nika for the starting slot next year.

 

[CocoHusky]

Geno may have settled this question for us. In the videos I've seen, she's mainly off the ball. But she can distribute the ball, seems to have real creativity as a passer, reminiscent of Paige, and like KK is totally able to finish at the rim. I wouldn't be surprised if Ines and KK compete with Nika for the starting slot next year.

Let's worry about next year later. I thought Geno other quote about Ines' ball movement and her ability to play 2/3 man game was very revealing.

 

[MilfordHusky]

The statistic that stands out for Inez is steals. She averages nearly 5 spg. She and Nika could perform some major international theft.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Wow, thank God the shoe has dropped. A long July and August of delicious speculation and debate. I hope she becomes a regular contributor and enjoys her time at UConn.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Listening to the announcers in the video, one pronounced her name as ee-nes, and the other called her eye-nes.

From an article,
Inês Bettencourt (pronounced ee-NEDGE bet-ten-QUART)
She will wear #21.

MSN

 

[Charliebball]

So, are people thinking that she adds point guard depth? I’m not sure she does at the high D1 major level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve added her. I’m just not clear on where she fits in the rotation.

No way to know how her game translates over here but I would be happy if she can contribute 5-7 minutes of competent basketball off the bench and fill in as needed if injuries or foul trouble impacts the other UConn guards........

 

[veryolddog]

Oooorah! Carnac, the Great, called it. Very good news. In the video, it showed that she can make a layup.

 

[ochoopsfan]

Ines, in the video posted, played for Sportiva. They are in the top women's league in Portugal, La Liga Femina. She played all last season as a 17 year old, which she still is, until 9/29/04. I would gather she played as a junior, or cadet player, with no pay, but expenses covered.
Her Sportiva team went to the finals last season, but lost.
Her best game was 12 points, 14 rebounds and 3 assists, in 38 minutes.

 

[bschwartz]

In European basketball circles, Geno is very much considered to be a legend. We’ve seen with Nika, Dorka, Lou & others that the chance to play at UConn for Geno carries enormous weight in their decision making.

In North American circles too

 

[CocoHusky]

So, are people thinking that she adds point guard depth? I’m not sure she does at the high D1 major level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve added her. I’m just not clear on where she fits in the rotation.

Yes she adds much needed PG depth as in UCONN did not have any before she signed on. As far as where she fits in the rotation? She appears a more willing and capable shooter than the current UCONN PG- just sayin.

 

[pvdoggy]

Yes she adds much needed PG depth as in UCONN did not have any before she signed on. As far as where she fits in the rotation? She appears a more willing and capable shooter than the current UCONN PG- just sayin.

Nika seems like a willing and capable shooter when she played in Europe as well.

 

[baggerbob]

Yes she adds much needed PG depth as in UCONN did not have any before she signed on. As far as where she fits in the rotation? She appears a more willing and capable shooter than the current UCONN PG- just sayin.

Don't believe Geno would bring in a player at this late date just to sit on the bench.
That would be a waste of a scholarship.

 

[HopJim]

From this past year. #8

Thanks for sharing. One of the best player videos I have seen. Shows off all phases of her game.

 

[CL82]

Yes she adds much needed PG depth as in UCONN did not have any before she signed on. As far as where she fits in the rotation? She appears a more willing and capable shooter than the current UCONN PG- just sayin.

Coco, I don’t think she’ll take many minutes from Nika. Instead, I think she will fill the gap in the time that we would normally expect Nika to be on the bench, allowing Azzi to play more off the ball.

I’ve said this before, but UConn doesn’t necessarily run its offense through the point. It’s a motion offense in which, at its best, everyone’s a threat to score and everyone’s a threat to pass. we don’t need her to be Sue Bird. She just needs to be another person with a solid handle in the ability to score. I think she fits that bill, but, and as we’ve seen with many freshmen, it may take her a while to get into the flow of the offense and understand her role on defense.

I’m very interested in seeing how the maestro makes the pieces fit this year. We definitely have the talent to go far, but it’s not clear to me what it’s going to look like. That again, it’s probably not clear did Geno and Chris yet either.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

It is stunning how international the WCBB game is becoming. I noted that a large percentage of the rosters of the Top 25 WBB teams last year was composed of international athletes. Coach Geno has gone big into overseas players in recent years. Clearly he's seeing a lot of talent outside of the United States. Seems to mirror the dramatic rise of overseas talent in the NBA.

Big, big changes in the game!!

 

[LoboDays]

She pushes the ball up floor. Can find the open player. I don’t get too excited about hi lights videos but it looks like she plays UCONN hoops.

 

[donalddoowop]

Her name is spelled Ines, not Inez.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Great news!
I'd be interested to find out if Geno went to Portugal to scout talent, then talked to Ines and her family then offered the scholarship.
Going by the video Ines has some game to her! The question is how long it takes to catch her up.
How do the 2 Guards coming in next year feel about an extra player on the roster at their position!
All minor, she'll fill a big void in the roster.

 

[Stymie]

So, are people thinking that she adds point guard depth? I’m not sure she does at the high D1 major level. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad we’ve added her. I’m just not clear on where she fits in the rotation.

Uh…
Geno says she does.
Good enough for me.

 

[pvdoggy]

Uh…
Geno says she does.
Good enough for me.

Geno says a lot of things, not all of them turn out to be true . I still remember he said something about Courtney Ekmark being one of the best shooters he had seen at the time.

 

[connboy77]

Fantastic, With Paige being lost for the season I was hoping UCONN would sign another guard!

 

[southofnorth]

From this past year. #8

Anybody else getting some Sue Bird vibes from these highlights?

 

[Zarathustra]

For more stats and videos of Portugal in the FIBA U 18 women's Championships here
is the link I 'm using: fiba.basketball/Europe/u18bwomen/ 2022 and then you
can add, after the 2022 /player/ines-bettencourt.
If you check the box for Statistics and then GUARD, during the tournament Ines was
#1 in efficiency, #2 in field goal %, # 8 in assists ( I did not check for "per 40 minutes")
# 26 in rebounds # 5 in free throws (72 %),,... but a glorious # 28 in fouls .. lower is better ( she is
better than Nika !!!!) Ms. Bettencourt was # 4 in scoring for all positions and #2 for
scoring for guards. Sorry I did not check for "per 40 minutes" but Ines was on the
All Tournament team as mentioned previously. She shared the guard position for
Portugal with Laura Silva. Laura at 27.9 mpg and Ines 27.8 mpg. Remember from
the videos Portugal plays a very uptempo game, so their success was based on many
players getting floor time , not one player with high minutes per game. This should
be a WIN - WIN for Ines and the UCONN WBB team, Go Huskies!! Z

 

[Kaizen]

She looks pretty confident and smart.