Next Year's Roster

[SLY63]

Lots of possibilities. IMO, the only definite starters are Paige and CW. I see ONO, AE, Azzi, Nika and Evina filling the other three spots. Depends on WNBA (Evina), health and progress over the summer.

 

[bluedevil]

Bold prediction: Uconn wins the highly competitive Big East next season.

 

[Centerstream]

That may be true but what I remember about her drives was, more often than not, that she was reckless and didn't have a plan, often ending up trapped and turning the ball over. I think it is referred to as reckless abandon.

 

[ConnMotors]

from what I read many are assuming that everyone returns. hopefully so but I don't think that that is going to happen. to many players next year and a bunch of very good ones. wished that we had a MoJeff coming in to play some defense.

 

[Superhuskies]

Can we get an experienced Big, as a transfer in?
And who's to be the #2 seed to us in Bridgeport ? Not Baylor ...(?)

 

[Cuango]

Unless they improve at least 20%, I say Liv and Christyn better get ready to come off the bench. In three years, they’ve plainly demonstrated they’re not “ready for prime time” players.

The starters will be Paige, Nika, Aaliyah, Azzi, and Aubrey/Mir/Caroline/Evina.

SMH Christyn finally makes real progress toward fulfilling her number one potential and you want to bench her!

 

[PacoSwede]

That may be true but what I remember about her drives was, more often than not, that she was reckless and didn't have a plan, often ending up trapped and turning the ball over. I think it is referred to as reckless abandon.

she's capable of improving .... i was wait-and-see concerning her prospects pre-season; tapes and stats from overseas didn't show much promise as a perimeter threat ... early season wasn't encouraging either ... but then someone posted (or it was reported) that she was doing extra long distance shooting practice (with shea, i think) and by february she'd become reliable, if not extremely confident ... there was a question about her ability to adjust to american style of defending, but she did

nika's got what it takes to refine her game further. geno sees it, i think

i'm excited to discover how much more she can accomplish. she's no paige, but now i think she's a potential standout on any other team.

 

[Griggs]

Think A. Griffin needs to develop an offensive game if she wants ANY playing time. Did not see any improvement at all this season.

 

[Zanzman]

Maybe Caroline, Aubrey is a spot player, Mir unlikely, but Evina would probably start. That lineup is short.

It’s an auto correct world. We self correct when reading posts.

Wow this may be your first post without telling us Anna should start or be the star

 

[HuskylnSC]

If Azzi is a consistent outside shooter with a lethal pull up jumper , it should allowed Paige to play her natural position at point guard. The two sharing the back court will take some scoring and playmaking pressure off Paige. If Azzi is a decent or above average defender, I think she will take over for Nika.

In high school Paige was often the point but in international Carla had Caitlin on point and Paige played off. You don't want your primary offensive threat bringing the ball up court.

 

[HuskylnSC]

True but she needs to become a scoring threat so that opponents have to defend everyone. She is capable of making 3s but if she drives to the basket she isn't a threat. This is probably why Azzi will be the on the floor during any crunch time.
I hope Nika makes a tremendous sophomore jump, much like she had after the infamous Butler game.

Nika was a proficient 3 point shooter which is all she needs to be to run the point. Her job is to get the ball to the scorers how and when they need it. Nika also brings an intensity to the defense that is necessary for the team and for Geno everything starts with defense. I fully expect all the freshman to make the sophomore jump. I believe Mir will jump over Aubrey in the rotation and Piath will become a 3rd option in the post capable of taking up space, disrupting shots and grabbing rebounds. Autumn will require gloves for the 3 point double high fives.

 

[Conndog]

I'm not on the Nika bandwagon, sorry. What good effects that happened when she was point would happen if anyone was point- namely, that Paige & others are more free to move & shoot. That Nika can play tenacious defense and is true against the other league teams and average opponents, but against a high quality team and dynamic opponent, too often I would see the other player blow past her & get to the basket. I haven't seen Nika shoot much except for maybe a couple of games, so I'd say her offense contribution is quite limited. Again, if she is setting up others, so should any other competent point guard. What I like about Azzi being the point is that Azzi can flat out shoot it which Nika can't or doesn't. How many times would Nika take it into the lane and then not shoot? Azzi would unleash her deadly pull-up jumper.
How about a compromise? Let Nika start while Azzi picks up the finer points of Geno's game plan, give Azzi increasing minutes as the season progresses, and when it's time for more offense, get Azzi in as soon as possible.
What I don't know about Azzie is 1) can she play defense well , and 2) how quickly will she become comfortable with running Geno's offense?

 

[Rb335]

The big question for me is just how good will Azzi be? If she is truly at a similar level as Paige, you can’t keep her off the court. That will bump NM not because she’s a bad player, but because there is just a better option. Paige and Azzi based on the hype could be one of our best backcourts ever. It just remains to be seen if that happens.

Our front court will get better by virtue of more experience. Amari shouldn’t have the pressure to come in and be our best post.

The wing spot returns experience and brings in different types of players. We know what EW and CW can bring. I’m curious to see if Ducharme can come on and play defense and knock down open shots.

We will see how many players emerge as worthy of being in the rotation, and where

 

[Fairfield Fan]

So look at it this way. The team will have a total of 200 minutes of playing time each game: five players on the court X 40 minutes total.

If we assume that Paige plays 30 minutes a game, Azzi gets 20 more each game on average, Edwards, ONO, and DeBerry record 75 minutes between them, and Muhl gets 25 herself, that means that the top six players would account for 150 of the available 200 minutes between them. This assumes that Westbrook doesn't return. If we assume that Aubrey, Saylor, and Caroline each record 15 minutes, that accounts for 45 additional minutes, and 195 of the 200 available. We assume that the three will get significant playing time, because they're each highly rated, and Coach Geno will want to use them.

But that means that, should Evina return, she, Mir McLean, Piath Gabriel, and Anna Makurat would be fighting for a total of just 5 available minutes between them.

Of course, there could be other scenarios. But if the top players coming in, plus the top players who have contributed this year are given at least 15 minutes of playing time each, the remaining four would be nearly cut out. If Makurat needs 10 or more minutes, then where do they come from? Would Azzi be reduced to 10 minutes? Would Muhl's playing time be cut in half after her stellar performances starting late season? Could Evina hope to get playing time if she returns? At whose expense? This is literally a zero sum game. Thirteen talented players all vying for a share of the 200 minute pie.

Something's got to give.

Player Minutes
Paige 30
Azzi 20
Edwards 30
ONO 25
DeBerry 20
Muhl 25
Griffin 15
Poffenbarger 15
Ducharme 15
McLean
Westbrook
Makurat
Gabriel
Total 195
5
Total Possible 200

 

[Fairfield Fan]

The starters will be fine vs. BE cupcakes but vs. good teams?

I don't believe that ONO will be a starter. She hasn't proven herself in big games. Indeed, she has disappeared in big games. The front court is up in the air with DeBerry in the mix, and the two tall forwards/guards- Saylor and Caroline possible starters, or in for significant minutes.

I don't think Coach Geno will award ONO a starting position just because she started this year. He wants to return to the Final Four and finish what he started. Loyalty won't be a factor.

 

[visitor123]

you're absolutely right on. BYers don't appreciate nika's key contribution, i guess, because they never seem to mention it: her intensity, focus, and great dynamism. they are vital to this team. it is the spark it needs to get its abundance of talent running in sync. Because of this alone, she is integral to the team's success.

I think the majority of people in this thread are predicting Muhl to start so I'm pretty sure everyone appreciates what she brings to the table. And by the way, just because you don't start, it doesn't mean you're at the end of the bench playing mop up minutes. A rotation of 8-9 contributing significantly throughout the regular season is pretty commonplace.

However, I don't see how Azzi Fudd isn't starting by the middle of the next season. We're not talking about another highly touted recruit, we're talking about one of the most highly touted recruits of all time. She was probably the most highly touted recruit as a sophomore in high school, her main competition was Paige Bueckers! Come on, we think Muhl is going to start over her just because she's had an extra half season of experience starting and that she brings intangible qualities that are a bit overlooked? Muhl is a great glue player, a player every winning team needs, but she's not guaranteed to start.

Paige was used this year in the off guard position precisely because we lacked consistent outside shooting and scoring. If you watched her at Hopkins she is possibly more comfortable as the primary facilitator rather than the main scorer. She's almost somewhat of a reluctant leading scorer. That makes Fudd the perfect backcourt mate for her.

Last year many of the same posters said Westbrook was going to come off the bench, that Anna Makurat and Griffin were going to start. Or that Paige was going to come off the bench because 'freshmen don't start' at UConn.

My prediction is that by mid-season, the starting line up will be Paige, Fudd, Williams, Westbrook, ONO if Westbrook stays, and Edwards to replace Westbrook if she leaves. First off the bench are Edwards, Muhl. Ducharme, Griffin, Makurat, DeBerry, McLean, Poffenbarger are going to be fighting for the rest of the minutes. I suspect 3 of those 6 are going to get very few minutes, especially if Westbrook stays.

 

[visitor123]

Something's got to give.

Player Minutes
Paige 30
Azzi 20
Edwards 30
ONO 25
DeBerry 20
Muhl 25
Griffin 15
Poffenbarger 15
Ducharme 15
McLean
Westbrook
Makurat
Gabriel
Total 195
5
Total Possible 200

Does Williams play 0 minutes in this scenario?

There's little chance that Poffenbarger, Ducharme, Griffin gets 45 minutes between them and there's even less chance that Muhl, DeBerry, Poffenbarger, Ducharme, Griffin get 90 minutes between them.

Paige - 30
Williams - 30
Azzi - 25
Edwards - 25
ONO - 25
Westbrook - 25
Muhl - 15
Griffin - 8
Ducharme - 7
DeBerry - 5
Makurat - 5
Poffenbarger
McLean
Gabriel
----------
= 200

If Westbrook leaves this clears up some minutes for some of the other younger players but right now Poffenbarger, McLean and Gabriel are getting garbage minutes only, if even that. Obviously things could change, nobody really knows how good Ducharme or DeBerry are, they could become key rotation players and squeeze minutes out of Griffin or Makurat and even Muhl. But I'm fairly confident of the top 6 or so with Fudd being in the bunch.

 

[HopJim]

The starters will be fine vs. BE cupcakes but vs. good teams?

Devil brings up a good point. Starting 4 guards can work for the in league games but would be a disaster for the S. Carolina's, Baylor's and playoffs.

 

[TWG236]

At the beginning of the season, with our highly rated recruit class, I believed that we would finally have more than one or two players coming off the bench. But with Anna's injury and other issues, we only had Edwards and Griffin. Neither are capable of providing us with outside scoring. We desperately need some scoring on the bench and another front line offense player. Hopefully this year's class will be able to come in when one of our starters is struggling and step in and keep our offense going.

 

[VA Huskie]

you're absolutely right on. BYers don't appreciate nika's key contribution, i guess, because they never seem to mention it: her intensity, focus, and great dynamism. they are vital to this team. it is the spark it needs to get its abundance of talent running in sync. Because of this alone, she is integral to the team's success.

As Geno said, more than once - we’re a different team with Nike in there.

 

[Cuango]

I don't believe that ONO will be a starter. She hasn't proven herself in big games. Indeed, she has disappeared in big games. The front court is up in the air with DeBerry in the mix, and the two tall forwards/guards- Saylor and Caroline possible starters, or in for significant minutes.

I don't think Coach Geno will award ONO a starting position just because she started this year. He wants to return to the Final Four and finish what he started. Loyalty won't be a factor.

I wish I could bet my house that ONO will start on opening day. You cannot think that DeBerry will be better as a freshman than a senior Liv? Besides, I just don’t see Geno sitting Liv her senior year.

 

[Heytherego]

I wish I could bet my house that ONO will start on opening day. You cannot think that DeBerry will be better as a freshman than a senior Liv? Besides, I just don’t see Geno sitting Liv her senior year.

Yeah after 2 years starting her, he’s not going to all of a sudden uproot her. She does alter shots on defense if anything and shows up against smaller competition, just got to be more consistent. She was big East co defensive player of the year, people are acting as if she’s a scrub.

 

[JellyBean]

Hopefully everyone stays. Talk about a devastating roster. Wow! 2nd unit just as good, if not better, than the 1st unit? Nice.

 

[PJCLaw]

That’s easy.
EVERYONE starts from a blank slate.
Gino is very clear about that.
BTW- viewed Gino’s post game presser this morning.
C-L-A-S-S-Y
That is the way to be gracious in defeat.

BTW, it's GENO!