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Message: [QUOTE="#12in21, post: 3969553, member: 10763"] I think both Nika and Aliyah evolved to meet the needs of the team and earned their playing time this season and along with Paige joined the three juniors as the core of the team. I also think that had Nika not gone down in the tournament that core of players could have raised the trophy this past season. They were in a very good place going into the tournament. Many on the board seem to discount Nika's contributions to the energy and flow of the team on both offense and defense. I get and accept that Azzi is obviously a more gifted offensive player than Nika but I don't get that that translates to Nika becoming only a backup to Paige at point next season. We will have the greatest depth of talented players [B]at every[/B] position on the floor next season than I can remember. I can see approaching how to use that not by and either, or but rather an also, and. Specifically in terms of the guards, Azzi and Caroline add what was missing this season, reliable multiple options from the outside. I don't see sacrificing an excellent passer/ball handler, high energy player like Nika or an explosive driver like Christyn as the trade off to add the shooting accuracy of an Azzi or a Caroline. If you have all those skills on your rooster you incorporate them all, not chose one over the other. Dividing up the minutes in a way to exploit all the talent we will have will be a challenge that I believe the coaching staff will relish. All these players came to UCONN to win titles and be part of what is 'bad for women's basketball' - to do that they have to do what they need to do to be the best [B]team, [/B]so they may not get the minutes they would get if they went somewhere they were [B]the star. [/B]I think they all want to be an impactful part of the best team in the country, which next year may mean less minutes. This team should develop into a thing of beauty to watch - with a fast moving, sharp passing, high assist, high shooting accuracy offense and a stifling, seamless switching, relentless defense, and I expect to see Nika right in there as part of it all. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

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