Personally I was encouraged by Amari and Ines play. Amari was improved on her performance against K-Town. It takes time I think for that confidence. What struck more than anything is I kept thinking at least in her carriage that she looked to be 16 or 17. and not a sophmore. Ines looks really good. She'll get lot more competitive minutes as the season goes on.
Interestingly enough, there have been 22 performances where a Uconn player has fouled out from the 2014/15 season through last year. Over our last 8 seasons, we’ve averaged 2.75 foul outs per season, as a team. A really cool stat to emphasize how the program has taught defense without fouling, and showcases the depth we’ve had.
I think that if Brady had remained healthy, UConn would have had a really good chance of winning an NC..........her ability to score from anywhere on the court and her muscle on the boards will be sorely missed.......
Those are pretty high expectations for someone that’s never played a college game and never had that kind of pressure. Freshmen are notoriously unreliable
True but Brady was better prepared fundamentally, especially offensively, than most bigs coming out of HS. Defensively she would need to make consistent progress like any freshman at UConn to increase her PT during the season but Auriemma knows exactly what he has in her on the offensive end. IMO she would have been the first big off the bench behind Edwards and Juhasz this year and will start next season.
I agree she’s physically gifted. If there’s an issue, and I’m certainly not wishing any on Ice, the problem would be between her ears.
This is about where I am with Monday's game. We play a high energy game, we score in bunches, we throw some overly ambitious passes, we have some defensive lapses, and we are strong in the paint. Vic's game plan is likely to be to try to slow us down. The only question is whether he has the players to do it.
Thanks--the Girt term I used, is often stated in the current vernacular as Attitude. I'm pleased Ameri performed better. Uconn obviously needs that size, with ATTITUDE.
I agree that could have been the case for those kids. But I don't think that will be a problem for Brady. Obviously, fundamental preparation for bigs is much different than for guards/wings. Not sure how prepared Houston and Strother were coming out of HS but although she had excellent athletic ability and adequate BB skills, I didn't think Williams saw or thought the game that well when she arrived at UConn but the lack of true CG depth allowed her enough PT to play through mistakes. As for bigs, Brady is much more prepared than Stokes was coming in and part of that is being able to play against top kids her size throughout HS and AAU like Iriafen, Cunningham, Betts etc. Plus someone, (Dad, HS coach?) did a great job teaching her interior footwork, sealing, keeping the ball high, setting quality screens etc. All things that most college freshman bigs are just starting to learn. Brady had this stuff in Jr. High. So I think she can have a very productive career at UConn.
I agree with Charde, but her background suggests, there were reasons for her mental state/attitude/lack of concentration.
I certain hope You are correct. I like all of what you state.
No, they play Louisiana- Lafayette tonight in Austin. Big difference.
I suggest LOU has shown to Geno all he needs to see. However, you and I know Geno may see things he'd rather not have in some games (for the life of me I can't think of what that may be) but Geno, is always evaluating.The more Lou plays at this level of success, the more she will endear herself to Geno. I join other posters here in expressing my enjoyment for what I'm seeing from her. Lou has been a very pleasant breath of fresh air for us. Before I "crown" her (A Denny Green reference, and still one of my all time favorite rants), like Skip Bayless says, I need to see more. These first two games were against weak less talented teams.
I suggested that UConn would pick up against Northeastern where they left off against Kutztown, I was right. One media columnist wrote that Northeastern was nothing more than another exhibition game for UConn. The final score bore that out. By the time UConn returns from their 2-game west coast road trip to Oregon for the Phil Knight showcase (5 games into the season, 2 against top 10 teams), the jury will be in, and we'll have a verdict.
I agree, Geno has taken on bigger and more talented than Boston (she is very good) and made it difficult to get the ball to those "bigs". Shave a few points from Boston can be the difference in W or L. With Azzi, Lou, Edwards, Griffin, (hopefully Ayanna) SC will be a fun game. But there are a lot of games to be played and a lot of LEARNING to be done and some very good teams to play before then. I'm not concerned with a loss here and there ( I don't like em) as long as there is something learned or that can be taught, progression.
Frankly, Uconn needs to prove they can play with SC from the standpoint of toughness, mentally and physically. They lost by 15 and 16 respectively last year and were absolutely dominated on the boards, 91-49 in the 2 games. Bueckers was Uconn‘s leading rebounder with 11 in the 2 games, Edwards had 5 total in both games, Juhasz only played in the 1st game and had 3. Anyway you slice it, those are getting manhandled numbers. On top of that, Uconn had 1 more TO than assist in each of those games. SC returns 4 starters, Uconn 2. I would think Uconn would be very happy if it is a fun game, being objective.
What they did this summer; we hoped Aubrey would return with a 15 footer(or better) and Amari would mature; we saw her game faces ; Ayanna made a statement, lead, follow or get out of the way. Their improvement and committment made me smile. Now, if nobody goes down-------.
IMO more importantly they have to learn to beat elite teams without Paige Bueckers. The heck with SC. There's a lot more other games that also are needed that will probably be nailbiters.
She is slightly injured and is described as day-to-day. Something with her leg (reportedly she's in a boot).
Me too. Without her, I’m not sure the game will be particularly competitive. She’s one of the great D1 players right now.
I hate to speculate here, but to me it's obviously more than a simple stiff neck. With a simple stiff neck you take 2 Advils, rub some Icy Hot on it, and you're good to go. You don't sit out 2 games. Nevertheless, I'm hoping all the best for Caroline.
