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Number 9

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chrissaran

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I just finished watching the championship game. Even with Kelly leaving we could be even better in 2013-2014. With Stefanie, Bria and Brianna healthy, with MoJeff starting and Bria returning to her natural shooting guard position, with Breanna and Morgan making big leaps in their sophomore seasons, with Kaleena picking up Kelly's mantle, with Soniya backing up MoJeff, and if Kiah actually plays to her ability, we could go undefeated, again. There are a lot of ifs, health being one of them, but No. 9 is on the horizon.
 
chrissaran said:
I just finished watching the championship game. Even with Kelly leaving we could be even better in 2013-2014. With Stefanie, Bria and Brianna healthy, with MoJeff starting and Bria returning to her natural shooting guard position, with Breanna and Morgan making big leaps in their sophomore seasons, with Kaleena picking up Kelly's mantle, with Soniya backing up MoJeff, and if Kiah actually plays to her ability, we could go undefeated, again. There are a lot of ifs, health being one of them, but No. 9 is on the horizon.
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IMHO, some will cry "mojo", but when you look at what we lost, what we have coming back, and what everyone else who might compete for a NC lost, it's not exaggerating to say UCONN should not only be the unanimous preseason #1, favorite to win the NC, but also poised for what could be an amazing season.

Here's the thing about the coming season and the 2013-2014 UCONN team. There's not a weakness on the team. Zero. Not a single one. Some might say "depth" could be a weakness, but that's only if we suffer substantial injuries, and there's no accounting for that in predictions for a coming season.

I know we have a team filled with players who can play multiple positions - Geno loves the kids who can do many things well. But if you look at position by position... We are literally easily 2 deep in every conceivable way. Yes I know Bria, Briana and Saniya aren't 3's and Ms. Banks has played the 1 with some good success (as has Bria), but... It's just a sick roster. Just imagine if Mo, Breanna, and Morgan all make sophomore jumps and Kiah starts to bring it like her talent has shown she can. That means we basically start 4 kids who already have been, or are shoe-ins, for AA honors this year, and only 2 of them are seniors!!

1 - Moriah, Becca
2 -Bria, Briana, Saniya
3 -Kaleena
4 -Breanna, Morgan
5 - Stefanie, Kiah
 
ericsandiego said:
IMHO, some will cry "mojo", but when you look at what we lost, what we have coming back, and what everyone else who might compete for a NC lost, it's not exaggerating to say UCONN should not only be the unanimous preseason #1, favorite to win the NC, but also poised for what could be an amazing season.

Here's the thing about the coming season and the 2013-2014 UCONN team. There's not a weakness on the team. Zero. Not a single one. Some might say "depth" could be a weakness, but that's only if we suffer substantial injuries, and there's no accounting for that in predictions for a coming season.

I know we have a team filled with players who can play multiple positions - Geno loves the kids who can do many things well. But if you look at position by position... We are literally easily 2 deep in every conceivable way. Yes I know Bria, Briana and Saniya aren't 3's and Ms. Banks has played the 1 with some good success (as has Bria), but... It's just a sick roster. Just imagine if Mo, Breanna, and Morgan all make sophomore jumps and Kiah starts to bring it like her talent has shown she can. That means we basically start 4 kids who already have been, or are shoe-ins, for AA honors this year, and only 2 of them are seniors!!

1 - Moriah, Becca
2 -Bria, Briana, Saniya
3 -Kaleena
4 -Breanna, Morgan
5 - Stefanie, Kiah
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Crimeny - do not temp the fates! Now drink a Rolling Rock turn three times and spit and then eat some wings and things may turn out okay.
 
Saniya will back up MoJeff. In watching her games you can tell she has incredible court awareness. I know she can fill it up, but her greatest strength is her willingness to pass. Don't just look at Saniya's ppg; look at her apg. Her backing up MoJeff frees up Bria and Brianna to play shooting guard, their natural position, which will make UConn even stronger. The key is if Kiah plays to her ability - look out!
 
Say what you want about the upcoming season.....I just cannot wait to win a NC in Tennessee!! Nashville bound
 
Kevin G said:
Say what you want about the upcoming season.....I just cannot wait to win a NC in Tennessee!! Nashville bound
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Indeed. The critics will find themselves hard-pressed to dismiss a UConn championship won in Tennessee. It goes without saying that it will be proclaimed "a down year in women's basketball" because among the self-annointed cognoscenti a UConn championship is the essential defining characteristic of "a down year in women's basketball", but it will be hard to say Geno rigged the venue, which is a standard part of the accusation when UConn wins.
 
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I can't imagine anyone beating us this year barring serious injury problems Only MD would have the slightest chance if we had a terrible game.
 
39-0! Agreed, barring injuries or a real clunker of a game (which is possible), this could be another of Geno/UConn's unbeaten teams. There really is great balance and a possible 4 All-Americans on the court at any given time (and the possibility of more down the road in their careers). I'm afraid we're going to see more of those 40+ point blowouts all season long with a rare close game thrown in against the likes of Duke or Stanford or Maryland or someone like that.

The question nagging at me... do you prefer the easy victories that showcase UConn's talent and desire? Or is it fun to believe they can actually lose (i.e. against Notre Dame the last two years) and have to sweat out a final result?
 
rjuconn said:
39-0! Agreed, barring injuries or a real clunker of a game (which is possible), this could be another of Geno/UConn's unbeaten teams. There really is great balance and a possible 4 All-Americans on the court at any given time (and the possibility of more down the road in their careers). I'm afraid we're going to see more of those 40+ point blowouts all season long with a rare close game thrown in against the likes of Duke or Stanford or Maryland or someone like that.

The question nagging at me... do you prefer the easy victories that showcase UConn's talent and desire? Or is it fun to believe they can actually lose (i.e. against Notre Dame the last two years) and have to sweat out a final result?
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You have a point; 40+ wins can be a little boring, 30 is about right.
 
I will say that losing to ND made beating them in the FF that much sweeter.

That said, I will take 39-0 any day of the week.
 
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40+ wins might seem a little boring, but scheduling 2 more & making a new seasonal record a possibility might be a great "holy grail" for Season 2013-2014
(I'll step aside here for the imminent "200-wins-in-a-row" thread that usually arises at this time of year.)
 
The best thing about sports is that nothing is a sure thing. With the exception of Tony, what UCONN Fan last year truly believed that Baylor would not win the NC? I felt that this year would be the year that UCONN would win another NC. Now I believe UCONN has the chance to win four in a row.
 
I will not anoint UConn just yet......There are still the games to be played and there are some very good teams out there. But barring injuries UConn should be in the mix. I too think the keys are if Kiah plays up to her vast potential , and if the sophomores make an expected Leap. If those 2 things happen its going to be hard to stop UConn from repeating. But UConn could run into a bad night here or there ; or the injury bug could rear its ugly head...........Anything is possible. But its also possible that we could escape major injury ; Kiah step up; and the sophomores make a leap. And if those things happen , Geno will be drinking his own brand of wine , while holding the Trophy of No. 9.

LET'S GO HUSKIES !!!!
 
rjuconn said:
The question nagging at me... do you prefer the easy victories that showcase UConn's talent and desire? Or is it fun to believe they can actually lose (i.e. against Notre Dame the last two years) and have to sweat out a final result?
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Easy victories that showcase UCONN's talent and desire.
 
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We do a lot of things better than most teams, but we pass the ball better than everybody. It is not only our guards passing , and making plays its everyone. You can tell they would rather asisst than make the shot. Although Geno wiil give Kaleena the evil eye if she starts passing to much. Bria will play the 2 most of the time, but she makes plays and has the instincts of a point guard. Stef is only the best passing center in WCBB.

Always remember, one of the main attributes Geno looks for in a recruit is unselfishness. It sure seems to be working so far ! Another Nat. Championship this year to put us all on Cloud 9 !
 
chrissaran said:
I just finished watching the championship game. Even with Kelly leaving we could be even better in 2013-2014. With Stefanie, Bria and Brianna healthy, with MoJeff starting and Bria returning to her natural shooting guard position, with Breanna and Morgan making big leaps in their sophomore seasons, with Kaleena picking up Kelly's mantle, with Soniya backing up MoJeff, and if Kiah actually plays to her ability, we could go undefeated, again. There are a lot of ifs, health being one of them, but No. 9 is on the horizon.
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"with Kaleena picking up Kelly's mantle" puzzles me. Kelly was "the stopper" and to do it you sacrifice some energy that would otherwise be expended on offense. I question whether Kaleena is physically capable of it and whether it would be the way to use her to maximum team efficiency.
 
slimmer56 said:
We do a lot of things better than most teams, but we pass the ball better than everybody. It is not only our guards passing , and making plays its everyone. You can tell they would rather asisst than make the shot. Although Geno wiil give Kaleena the evil eye if she starts passing to much. Bria will play the 2 most of the time, but she makes plays and has the instincts of a point guard. Stef is only the best passing center in WCBB.

Always remember, one of the main attributes Geno looks for in a recruit is unselfishness. It sure seems to be working so far ! Another Nat. Championship this year to put us all on Cloud 9 !
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Good stuff, but I think ND is our equal or better at passing the ball, but that's it.
 
connboy77 said:
The best thing about sports is that nothing is a sure thing. With the exception of Tony, what UCONN Fan last year truly believed that Baylor would not win the NC? I felt that this year would be the year that UCONN would win another NC. Now I believe UCONN has the chance to win four in a row.
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Actually I thought that UConn had a great shot at beating Baylor, particularly if Baylor went undefeated and they met in the Championship game. All the pressure in the world would have been on Baylor and by that time, I surmised that the freshmen would no longer be FRESHMEN, that they would be seasoned and playing like sophomores. The only thing I got wrong is that Baylor got beat by someone else. The surprise was that UConn took those three hits from Notre Dame, all of which UConn could easily have won. The most upsetting loss to Notre Dame might have been that 3 overtime game when so many things went wrong after UConn pulled away including missed free throws by seasoned very efficient foul shooters, plus that clunky 3 point shot to tie the game by McBride.
 
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HGN said:
I will not anoint UConn just yet......There are still the games to be played and there are some very good teams out there. But barring injuries UConn should be in the mix. I too think the keys are if Kiah plays up to her vast potential , and if the sophomores make an expected Leap. If those 2 things happen its going to be hard to stop UConn from repeating. But UConn could run into a bad night here or there ; or the injury bug could rear its ugly head...........Anything is possible. But its also possible that we could escape major injury ; Kiah step up; and the sophomores make a leap. And if those things happen , Geno will be drinking his own brand of wine , while holding the Trophy of No. 9.

LET'S GO HUSKIES !!!!
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It would be hard to assume that Breanna won't be better, just by being stronger and more confident than she was for much of this year. Her conditioning certainly will be better and I'm sure she'll work on upper body strength. To have Stephanie Dolson totally healthy will be nice, as well.
 
Breanna is going to play more then 23 minutes a game this year, unless every game is a blowout. She showed in the Final Four she can erase layups on defense, steal the ball at half- court, then lead the break. She scored a lot of points in the final four, but when Kelly made the statement after the Final Four, " we needed her to play like that", she was talking about the other parts of Stewie's game. The ability of someone her size to step out, and play defense on the perimeter, but get back to erase an inside shot makes this possibly, the best defensive team in history. When you add all the other great defenders, you don't need one person to replace Kelly, they all will.
 
Kibitzer said:
I like cognoscenti. Perhaps you would prefer literati? Any other suggestions?
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Using these big words, you gotta remember the intellectual level of the people on the Boneyard (or any internet board for that matter). :p
 
Kaleena spent a lot of time with Kelly last year. A lot of "Kelly's mantle" is attitude, which Kaleena certainly picked up. She was much tougher inside, whether it was scoring or rebounding. As incredible as Kelly was even she said her unselfishness didn't always get the team where they needed to be. Defense certainly sparks the Huskies, but you also have to be able to score the basketball. That's what Kaleena does best. Will she be the defensive stopper Kelly was? No. Then again Kelly will never be the scorer Kaleena is. Everybody does their part.
 
Buzzyboy said:
Actually I thought that UConn had a great shot at beating Baylor, particularly if Baylor went undefeated and they met in the Championship game. All the pressure in the world would have been on Baylor and by that time, I surmised that the freshmen would no longer be FRESHMEN, that they would be seasoned and playing like sophomores. The only thing I got wrong is that Baylor got beat by someone else. The surprise was that UConn took those three hits from Notre Dame, all of which UConn could easily have won. The most upsetting loss to Notre Dame might have been that 3 overtime game when so many things went wrong after UConn pulled away including missed free throws by seasoned very efficient foul shooters, plus that clunky 3 point shot to tie the game by McBride.
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If Stef was healthy and Brianna was healthy, yes we could have beaten Baylor. Mostly Stef being healthy. No one else could have defended Griner the way Stef did in the Baylor game. Why do you think Griner committed those two hard fouls? Most teams collapse three people around her. It's frustrating when it's just one person with a bit of help, but not three people constantly.
 
Kibitzer said:
I like cognoscenti. Perhaps you would prefer literati? Any other suggestions?
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I was going to chime in with intelligentsia.

Also, the scary thing for the rest of the WCBB landscape is the fact that our two best players in the Final Four were a freshman and a sophomore. Yikes.
 
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