Fair enough, although if you reread my posts, I never said she wouldn’t be starting.
Possibly, because continuing to start both seems like insanity, i.e., doing the same thing as before but expecting a different result.
Fair enough, especially since you seem to be at least “tiptoeing” toward my side, i.e., she may be a Game 1 starter, but she’ll be on a short leash, so if she “falters,” she may be replaced.
If CW plays next year like she finished this year we won't have worry about her leash. I hope she has a monster year so we can put this debate behind us and move on to the next point of contention.
No she wont
Well if you go by that standard "elite player" then Paige is the only guaranteed starter for UCONN next year.
So Geno is going to leave the returning BE Co-Defensive Player of the Year, and a Senior, out of the starting lineup. Don't see that happening.
Aren't you forgetting someone named Evina?
I believe she had a little injury to start her junior year. Caroline Doty, who herself had injuries in the past, started that season (2012-13), but Bria played the majority of minutes.
When she came back out of respect to Doty she asked to continue off the bench. C was loose and that way after warming up her leg didn't get stiff from sitting to start the game.
Agree, but I understand the argument to the contrary given Olivia‘s tendency not to show up for big games.
You and I know she technically should start but like you said, Geno likes scoring off of the bench, and I agree. The only problem with the guard rotation would be if Caroline is a guard, then things get crowded. If she’s a three, then that small forward spot gets crowded with her, Mir and Aubrey and also Saylor. Aubrey will find minutes anywhere because of her defensive flexibility and so would Mir, but she’s so much like Aubrey she may find it hard to get minutes. Also Saylor although new, I didn’t see much that would lead me to say she will be in the rotation. I think Saylor, Piath, Mir and Deberry if we get the Ohio State transfer don’t play as much as the other girls. I think Fudd and Ducharme contribute right away.
True because Geno said that when they first started planning for this season, Paige was going to start the season coming off the bench. Then practices started and he knew that he had to start her. So the same could happen with Azzi, especially since Anna has transferred, but I am guessing that Azzi will still come off the bench because he will have the same starters next year that he ended this season with: Nika, Paige, Evina, Christyn and Liv.
It is probably a moot point but Anna first lost her starting spot to Aaliyah Edwards not Nika. After starting the first 6 games of the season Anna was replaced in the starting lineup by AE. This was not due to injury because Anna played 36 minutes in the Providence game compared to only 16 for AE. Aubrey Griffin would start the next two games before being replaced in the starting line up by Nika for the Georgetown game. I don’t know who the starters will be next year & and IMO only one player has played consistently well all year to deserve to be a returning guaranteed starter. I’m also very aware that Geno favors upperclassmen as starters as has been pointed out by @HuskyNan. There will be 3 senior starters returning- just don’t see any of the three being replaced as starters although reduced minutes is a distinct possibility for all three seniors. That only leaves 1 starting spot to contend for and there will be plenty of contenders. My bet would be on Aaliyah to be the 5th starter.
Azzi, Paige, Ayana, Ice, Aliyah.
That’s a scary lineup! I have Nika in front of Ayanna that year ? just for fun
Agree. Was originally leaning towards Nika as the 5th starter but now I'm leaning more towards Aaliyah. Think the deciding factor for me is that a lineup of Paige, Williams, Evina, Edwards, and ONO can match up well with any team in the country and having Westbrook have to play the 4 position is not ideal against bigger front courts. Geno opted to started Nika over Edwards this year, which I think there were a few reasons for. If he started Edwards, he had no offense off the bench this year. This year he will have a lot more options to be able to bring offense off the bench, headlined by Azzi. Secondly, both Aaliyah and ONO are somewhat foul prone so you ran a risk of both getting into foul trouble by starting both, and we had no depth in the front court. Still true to an extent this year but we will have a Deberry and a more developed Piath.