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Next season

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I was among the few last June who thought she would make improvements this season
I was glad you had my back last summer. If Paige hadn’t gotten injured we might not have seen just how great a pg Nika would become. And now that we have, Paige will return to a different team, an even better one.

The other problem with Muhl starting is the you either have a front court of 6'3 Edwards and 6'1 Griffin.
Exactly. This is our small lineup. And our big lineup will be awesome too. As I’ve suggested, a lineup of Nika Paige Azzi Caroline/Aubrey will be formidable. It’s a transition lineup, a hustle lineup, a shoot the lights out lineup. A minor adjustment — bring Ice or Ayanna in for Nika and it’s a big lineup. Bring in Amari and you have Paige Azzi Ayanna Aaliyah Amari and we’re bigger than any team we’ll face, but still unpressable.

The core lineup — the small one — is the key. The others are just variations on it. We could run it for 20 mins/game and not have to give any ground to anyone.
 
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Everyone assumes that Azzi and Paige will come back along with "ICE" and will play an entire season. Considering that they both have suffered leg injuries two years in a row, the probabilities have increased for the two of them that they may suffer again an injury that may end their playing a full year for UConn.

Folks have correctly pointed out a couple of weaknesses and what would be required to solve those issues such as a couple of eperienced "Bigs" 6 foot 5 or better and another shooter who can score like Lou. If Paige and Azzi are there, there has to be another who will do the job? Caitlan Clark?

This is a good thing to hypothesize and it is fun read.
 
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The Nika "dislikers" (I'll try to stay away from the word "haters") are coming out of the woodwork again. Nika is leading the nation in assists (and will probably set the UConn record), on the list for the nation's best PG (although a long shot), she will once again be considered for the BE DPOY, she should be in the discussion for one of the AA teams, and Geno really likes her and says the team plays better with Nika on the floor. Did I miss anything? So of course, she should not start next year. I don't get it.
 

Dillon77

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Maddy is a 6-2 forward. I agree her coming to UConn is just wishful thinking

Interesting initial brain-scratcher there, HuskyNan, and good follow-up, Bills Fan.

- Did this thought come about because Dorka Juhasz is departing? While Dorka's a mobile post/forward, I think of Aaliyah Edwards as being the heavy-duty inside force for UConn; so, yes, I could see a player like Siegrest fitting into the scheme. Besides the scoring, she also averages 9.5 rpg. And most certainly, the ethos.

- But, I think Bills Fan is right about not taking accepting someone from the Big East. Besides, you don't want Harry Perretta coming out of retirement to bust you on the side of the head. ;)

- And Siegrest is ready for the next step. Her inside-outside combination will come in handy.

However, if she decides to further her NCAA playing time for one more year, I know a team she'd fit in with just fine with off Route 80. The one with the Golden Dome? She and Maddy Westbeld got along famously this summer ....:rolleyes:
(not gonna happen).
 
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HuskyNan

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Interesting initial brain-scratcher there, Huskynan, and good follow-up, Bills Fan.

- Did this thought come about because Dorka Juhasz is departing? While Dorka's a mobile post/forward, I think of Aaliyah Edwards as being the heavy-duty inside force for UConn; so, yes, I could see a player like Siegrest fitting into the scheme. Besides the scoring, she also averages 9.5 rpg. And most certainly, the ethos.

- But, I think Bills Fan is right about not taking accepting someone from the Big East. Besides, you don't want Harry Perretta bustin' you on the side of the head. ;)

- And Siegrest is ready for the next step. Her inside-outside combination will come in handy.

However, if she decides to further her NCAA playing time for one more year, I know a team she'd fit in with just fine with off Route 80. The one with the Golden Dome? She and Maddy Westbeld got along famously this summer ....:rolleyes:
(not gonna happen).
Harry retired. Denise Dillon is the coach, and she’s a good one
 

Dillon77

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The Nika "dislikers" (I'll try to stay away from the word "haters") are coming out of the woodwork again. Nika is leading the nation in assists (and will probably set the UConn record), on the list for the nation's best PG (although a long shot), she will once again be considered for the BE DPOY, she should be in the discussion for one of the AA teams, and Geno really likes her and says the team plays better with Nika on the floor. Did I miss anything? So of course, she should not start next year. I don't get it.
The New York Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu had her best stretch in the WNBA when they put Crystal Dangerfield into the starting lineup and had Sabrina play off-guard. However, Ionescu still had her chance to slice, dice and set up players from that set...to the tune of 6.0+ assists per game.

Bringing the ball up, controlling tone and guarding the other team's best ball handler takes a boatload of energy and distributing the load often works for both individuals and the collective good. Nika, knock on wood, has remarkable endurance and gets the UConn approach and system. Why not augment it by having Paige -- at least occasionally -- play off-ball?
 

Dillon77

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Harry retired. Denise Dillon is the coach, and she’s a good one
I'm aware of that, thanks. That was my thought: Harry would come out of retirement to smack 'em in the head. I'll set up the joke better next time. (In fact, I've got my 15 minutes to react...thanks editor! ;))
 
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Geno used Paige as his shooting guard because she was his best shooter and scorer. Paige, when playing the point loves to pass and would defershooting as much as Geno wanted. Nika loved to pass and Geno ran plays for Paige all game long like he does for Lou right now, so the team was better as Geno said when Nika was the point guard. This year with Paige out Azzi and Lou filled the role of the shooter. They are two of the best 3 point shooters in the country. Nika again being the point guard.

Next year we will hopefully have a healthy Paige and Azzi who will be the shooters in the starting lineup. Nika again being the point guard. Geno should be happy.

Aaliyah will start in all lineups. I think if Aubrey comes back she will start as well. Why She now knows she can hit the 3 point shot and the the pullup jumper as well as the transition runouts and the steals. She is a great defender and rebounder. So that is my starting lineup if healthy. The bench will be loaded and very competitive for playing time. It should be interesting. I personally can't wait!!!!
 

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Everyone assumes that Azzi and Paige will come back along with "ICE" and will play an entire season. Considering that they both have suffered leg injuries two years in a row, the probabilities have increased for the two of them that they may suffer again an injury that may end their playing a full year for UConn.

Folks have correctly pointed out a couple of weaknesses and what would be required to solve those issues such as a couple of eperienced "Bigs" 6 foot 5 or better and another shooter who can score like Lou. If Paige and Azzi are there, there has to be another who will do the job? Caitlan Clark?

This is a good thing to hypothesize and it is fun read.
I'm reconsidering my post (#2). I was concerned about speculation of transfers, however after reading the thread, it got me thinking about how the team will be comprised next year. Next year's roster will provide depth and flexibility, both of which Geno has not had in a few years. Both the Jr/Sr classes next year have seen two years of crazy situations with injuries, covid, etc, that could provide the buy-in for more players to get PT. IMHO, right now, a lot of open questions:

Right now - how to replace the productivity of Dorka & Lou?

Super Seniors
Aubrey Griffin (W) - will she return for covid year? It depends on how she's received by WNBA scouts, what improvement she can make for the '24-25 W season.

Seniors
Paige Bueckers (G) - One year injury hiatus. How will the rehab year impact her playing style? Many unknowns.
Aaliyah Edwards (W) - continue growth towards potential WNBA career
Nika Muhl (G) - continue growth towards potential WNBA career. She will take whatever role the team needs.

Juniors
Amari DeBerry (F) - continue to learn, grow, progress.
Caroline Ducharme (G) - injury filled Soph year. Huge upside for Jr year.
Azzi Fudd (G) - same as Caroline.

Sophomores
Inês Bettencourt (G) - Still learning. Lots of room for growth since she didn't have the summer session acclimation. Learn from Nika & Paige.
Isuneh Brady (C/F) - Same as Paige - One year injury hiatus. How will the rehab year impact her playing style?
Ayanna Patterson (W) - A lot of growth potential. Similar to Amari, I'm ok with a more gradual learning curve.

Freshmen
Jana El Alfy (C) - understudy to AE
Kamorea Arnold (G) - understudy to Nika, Paige, Inês. Not all frosh PGs are ready for prime time
Qadence Samuels (G) - understudy to Azzi, Caroline
Ashlynn Shade (G) - understudy to Azzi, Caroline
 
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The Nika "dislikers" (I'll try to stay away from the word "haters") are coming out of the woodwork again. Nika is leading the nation in assists (and will probably set the UConn record), on the list for the nation's best PG (although a long shot), she will once again be considered for the BE DPOY, she should be in the discussion for one of the AA teams, and Geno really likes her and says the team plays better with Nika on the floor. Did I miss anything? So of course, she should not start next year. I don't get it.
I’ve about had a bellyful of the “if you say anything but”, “Nika is a basketball goddess that should always start”, you are a hater! Once again, slowly, having an opinion about the relative skills and/or use of a player vs another player does not qualify as hate or dislike! It simply means one person disagrees with another person. I have followed this debate pretty closely and have never seen any instance of hate for Nika on this board. I have seen many posts wishing/hoping for her offense to improve (which it has) and others contending that she will revert to a backup when Paige, Azzi, and Caroline are fully healthy. None of those are hate! (Or dislike) To the contrary, I would guess every one of those posters is very glad she is a Husky and fully appreciates her value to this team! Disagreement/criticism does not equal hate, or dislike, or disrespect…!
The material question is, are (healthy) Paige, Azzi, Lou (now)/Caroline (next year), Aubrey, and Aaliyah better than Nika, Azzi, Paige, Aubrey, and Aaliyah? I happen to think they are, though I will admit that Nika’s improved scoring (should she become a consistent 10-15 point scorer) could change that assessment. Finally, I suppose it’s possible I have missed some truly hateful post. If so, I’m happy to acknowledge that particular post’s issues. I’m pretty sure, however, that any hate towards any player would be immediately deleted by the moderators.
I love Nika! Imo, she is our clear MVP this season but I still don’t think she’s a better point guard than Paige and Paige’s play at the point imo, results in an overall upgrade in the starting five. I realize others may disagree. That’s fine, I don’t think you are a hater for disagreeing with me. Go Huskies!
 
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Really need an impactful big …. Any 6’5” + in the portal / graduate year… ?… Wishful thinking
 
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Ya think? :eek: I think 3 words can describe next year for us............................"it's our year." ;) Geno will have a full roster (14 or 15 players depending on if Aubrey Griffin comes back. She's eligible for the draft. Her HS class graduates college in May) complete with uber talented players from top to bottom. I fully expect Ayanna and Amari to improve their game over the summer and hit their stride next year and become part of the regular 8-9 player rotation.
I dread to be so hopeful that we can actually have a healthy year, with all our players in fine shape to compete. I used to take it for granted. Now I take the opposite for granted. Send gummies.
 
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Really need an impactful big …. Any 6’5” + in the portal / graduate year… ?… Wishful thinking
Are you assuming Ice Brady will be injured again, and that the player from Egypt will succumb to injury as well? Ice is the person you are seeking. No one has a clue about the talent we have in the Egyptian. I don't disagree with you, however,. A team can never have enough quality Bigs.
 
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Are you assuming Ice Brady will be injured again, and that the player from Egypt will succumb to injury as well? Ice is the person you are seeking. No one has a clue about the talent we have in the Egyptian. I don't disagree with you, however,. A team can never have enough quality Bigs.
The question is whether or not Ice or Jana will be ready to contribute significant minutes in their first season playing at the college level. Unfortunately, our recent experience has shown that bigs can have difficulty making the leap to D1 play early in their careers. I hope that being with the team this season (even though they aren’t playing) will give each of them a leg up for next year, and I hope that AP and Amari will each improve enough that they can be counted on in important minutes. Without any of them, there are 6 players who could be likely starters with Paige, Azzi & Aaliyah being locks, and Nika, CD & Aubrey splitting starter and 6th woman duties. If one of the bigs has the skills to play a lot of minutes she could get into the starting lineup at some point during the season. Geno has shown a preference for experienced players, but he also likes playing 2 bigs. Next year he may have to choose between the two. But these are good problems to have if everyone can stay healthy!
 

willie99

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BRS24

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The question is whether or not Ice or Jana will be ready to contribute significant minutes in their first season playing at the college level. Unfortunately, our recent experience has shown that bigs can have difficulty making the leap to D1 play early in their careers. I hope that being with the team this season (even though they aren’t playing) will give each of them a leg up for next year, and I hope that AP and Amari will each improve enough that they can be counted on in important minutes.
Jana's early arrival has a number of benefits that incoming freshmen don't get. First, she's slowly getting acclimated to the team's process and rhythm. Yes, she missed the summer bonding, which is probably more relaxed than jumping in at 2nd semester, however I'll bet that this team is doing a phenomenal job of making sure she feels like she's been with the team all year. As she's practicing, the coaching staff can work on fundamentals with her now, break down parts, improve on others, and give her a head start on what would be the normal freshmen crash course of the UConn way in the summer/preseason. There are no guarantees on where she will be skill wise this fall, but I'll take that chance, as there's probably a pretty good reason why Geno and staff (and yes, I'm betting that it was a group decision) let Jana come to UConn early.
 
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Jana's early arrival has a number of benefits that incoming freshmen don't get. First, she's slowly getting acclimated to the team's process and rhythm. Yes, she missed the summer bonding, which is probably more relaxed than jumping in at 2nd semester, however I'll bet that this team is doing a phenomenal job of making sure she feels like she's been with the team all year. As she's practicing, the coaching staff can work on fundamentals with her now, break down parts, improve on others, and give her a head start on what would be the normal freshmen crash course of the UConn way in the summer/preseason. There are no guarantees on where she will be skill wise this fall, but I'll take that chance, as there's probably a pretty good reason why Geno and staff (and yes, I'm betting that it was a group decision) let Jana come to UConn early.
The debate over who will be ready among our C prospects, the possible need for a grad transfer big, and the potential use of Aubrey and Caroline at the 4 is a good one, but I tend to look at it from the standpoint of what I think would be best for the team, and then the other options in descending order, but the worst option is still pretty good.

We will have 4 exceptional starters if healthy, and a super team is quite likely, but the main question mark is how that fifth starter plays out. At the 5 position there is plenty of potential talent in Ice and Jana, and maybe Amari. I know they could also be considered as 4's, but the team need is far more at the 5.

For me the best case scenario is both Ice and Janna are ready to be good 5's in their first season. Would it be better if they were more advanced players as juniors or seniors? Sure but I think they could be pretty good as freshmen, and if so, between them they could handle almost all the minutes at the 5, Aaliyah can spend the whole year at her natural position, and Aubrey and Caroline could help at the 4 some, but could spend most of their time being super subs for the backcourt.

If you assume that neither Ice nor Janna is ready for primetime minutes, then gameplan B can still be pretty good. Aaliyah play a great deal at the 5, which I think is worse for her and the team, but we still have the 4 covered with some combination of Ayanna, Aubrey and Caroline. Ayanna is a 4 but her development has been slower than anticipated. She might be ready for big minutes, but if not we could go small ball with Aubrey or Caroline. Aubrey as more of a 3/4 is a better fit in my opinion than Caroline, who is more of a natural 3, but since their skills are so different there is a great deal of flexibility there, depending on what the matchup calls for.

That is a plan B that is pretty darn good even if Ice, Janna, and Ayanna are not coming along fast enough. If they all do, however, and if we are healthy, both Aubrey and Caroline can consume just about all the backup small minutes. That could be a 5 small rotation where Paige and Azzi get the largest minutes, and the worst Uconn guard the opponent will get to face, is either Nika, Aubrey or Caroline, or in other words no weak links. Between passing, defense, rebounding, slashing, and perimeter shooting the two probable All Americans can be complimented by whatever traits Geno think are most needed at that time in a very good player.

That potential rotation is spectacular in every way if healthy. If not healthy there are two top guard recruits in KK and Ashlynn that can be much better emergency use players than Ines has been this year, but of course she should be better too.

So if someone comes thru at the 5, great talent and depth is everywhere else, so I hope to see Ice or Jana in the starting lineup next year because that is like the final piece in a great puzzle. But if that doesn't happen plan B or C is one most every other team in the country would love to have.
 
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Ayanna is such an interesting case. On many other teams, she’d have started or at least gotten a lot more rotation minutes. But at UConn she struggled to find her sea legs and to break into the main rotation.

This says a lot about the program Geno is trying to instill in his players. It’s hard to learn you can’t get away with a bit of bluster and some showboating. You have to play intricate team defense. You have to get to your spots on time. A lot of self-discipline is essential. You can see right away how important CD is to this effort, too. She’s the disciplinarian.

It says a lot about who he recruits. Not every talented player has the patience or the humility, or the will power, to make themselves into something more than they already were in high school. Can you picture Rickea or Angel fitting in at Storrs? Ayanna chose this. So did Paige and Azzi. So did Aaliyah and Aubrey. And NIKA!!! And Lou. They all met Geno and heard him say “you won’t play until you earn the minutes in practice.” I think Amari heard it too.

You know who else chose it after hearing this pitch? KK. Ashlynn. Q. Jana. Allie.
 
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Please stop talking about next season. That's what you said last year and look what happened. Two players out for the year and 2 others have only played in 12 and 7 games. Please!
 
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The Big East Tournament is two weeks away. Isn't it time that we acknowledge the reality that neither Azzi or Caroline, if either plays, will be a determinative factor in a run for the national championship? If that is so (and it has been a long time since either competed at full speed), then perhaps these young women should pack it in for this season and look to next season. Given the covid year, such a move could have a major impact on their future eligibility.
 
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The Big East Tournament is two weeks away. Isn't it time that we acknowledge the reality that neither Azzi or Caroline, if either plays, will be a determinative factor in a run for the national championship? If that is so (and it has been a long time since either competed at full speed), then perhaps these young women should pack it in for this season and look to next season. Given the covid year, such a move could have a major impact on their future eligibility.

Neither get the Covid year. And they can’t redshirt so nope… if they can play they will
 
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The Big East Tournament is two weeks away. Isn't it time that we acknowledge the reality that neither Azzi or Caroline, if either plays, will be a determinative factor in a run for the national championship? If that is so (and it has been a long time since either competed at full speed), then perhaps these young women should pack it in for this season and look to next season. Given the covid year, such a move could have a major impact on their future eligibility.
I'm a tad bit more optimistic. Paige came back around this time last year and she was a determining factor. It sounds like Caroline is really close as well. assuming she is, that's around 8 games (hopefully) between the end of the regular season and the big east tournament. We had a scare last year in the 2nd round but that would be 10 games and a approximately a month and a half until the sweet 16, which I do think will be a bit more challenging this year.

But I get ur concern. I do worry about Azzi having confidence in her body. When Paige came back last year it was pretty clear that she was 100 percent ready from the docs perspective and though there would be rust, she couldn't really reinjure herself. Atleast that's how I thought of it. With Azzi, I'm sure UConn staff and everyone will look out for her best interest, but I do worry about her confidence in her body and if she's cleared to come back whether or not there will be concerns about reinjury.
 

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