On the Importance of Aubrey & Ayanna

[oldude]

It’s early in the season, but I have been able to watch just about all the top teams in WBB. While things are certainly going to change between now and the Big Dance, there are a couple of early observations that I feel compelled to offer up. 1) UConn appears to have more offensive firepower than any team in WBB. 2) SC once again is loaded with physical, athletic players, more so than any other team in WBB. UConn and SC will collide in Columbia on February 16. Regardless of the outcome of that game, another meeting during the Big Dance is a very real possibility.

Dawn’s SC Gamecocks have established a championship blueprint. They play ferocious defense and crash the boards in waves. SC is not always a pretty team to watch. They wear teams down and ultimately prevail over their opponents through attrition.

UConn’s best teams have always been a beautiful symphony of movement and scoring on offense. Make no mistake, the Huskies play tough defense. But at the end of the day, UConn has rolled out some of the most prolific offensive players in the history of WBB. On several occasions during last night’s game, UConn had a lineup on the court that featured Paige, Sarah and Azzi, three of the most talented offensive players in WBB. That trio, along with all the other players that Geno can employ, will be a nightmare to defend for Husky opponents.

During the past few seasons, UConn WBB has been characterized by subtraction, as one key player after another went down with injuries. So far this season appears to be characterized by addition, knock on wood. Last night the Huskies used 11 players, all of whom are talented and capable of contributing meaningful PT this season.

At the same time, there are still 3 players that could add to the positive equation for UConn. Ayanna & Aubrey will hopefully be back in the lineup soon. Caroline is harder to predict, but we all hope to see her on the court as well. Imagine a roster with 14 talented and healthy players! That would certainly create some challenges for Geno and his staff when it comes to putting together an effective rotation. But it’s a challenge the coaches will undoubtedly embrace after managing depleted rosters for the past few seasons.

But what does UConn really need to beat SC as well as some of the other big, physical teams they will face? Ice, Sarah & Jana show a lot of promise as a formidable front line, and they will most definitely get better. But picture this team with a healthy Aubrey and Ayanna, the most physical and athletic players on UConn’s roster, able to come in off the bench, battle opposing forwards, crash the boards and play lock down defense.

Aubrey also brings the added dimension of being able to run the court, finish in transition and she is a significant problem for UConn opponents as the point person on UConn’s press. While we haven’t seen much of Ayanna, who has dealt with a series of injuries, we should all remember that she was the 4th rated player in her class, just ahead of a kid named Ice Brady.

A lot of pieces must fall in place for UConn to win #12 this season. In the big games to come, having the option of bringing in Aubrey and Ayanna just might be the critical factor that puts the Huskies over the top.

 

[Bald Husky]

Getting Ayanna back in the fold is a really big deal. Against the really good teams rebounding is a huge issue, and between Ice, Sarah, Jana, and Ayanna we should be able to hold our own in the paint. Still, if the back court cannot make shots everything else will fall by the wayside. The back court is our advantage, and I am counting on the Bigs to just neutralize our opponent while the guards and forwards do their damage on the perimeter. If we want the NC, we need real contributions from the entire team, and going along with that, I'm happy that Geno is giving the bench a lot of minutes, because we may need Allie, or Morgan to knock down shots if the others are not on their game. Aubrey, Ayanna, yes, we need them, but the entire team is needed to get to the promised land. We have all the pieces for success so it will be fun watching them trying to make it happen.

 

[uconnever]

I agree, we very well may beat them as is, but my guess is we need those two players for those kinds of teams. Jana gets down on herself but she will play them well once she gets comfortable, but we need Ayanna to be a rough and tough inside. That’s really all we’re missing.

 

[yhun89]

Aubrey is important defensively and offensively for this team. Easily our most athletic player.

Will take a bit for rust to shake off, but our big games aren't until Dec-Feb.

 

[EricLA]

Not sure what we can expect from either of them. Aubrey will be rusty. To expect her to look like the player who was literally a game changer off the bench in the past is unrealistic especially given she's not even cleared for full practices yet and will be very rusty. She injured herself Jan 2024 so it's not even been 12 months. I guess a 9-10 month time frame is realistic so we may be getting close.

As for Ayanna - apparently she's had nagging injuries since high school. She averaged just under 10 MPG in 27 games scoring under 2 PPG her only year with any stats at UCONN. Once she comes back, not only will she be rusty, but I'm guessing her ability/skill set will have reverted back to high school, so basically she's going to be brand new coming back from injuries and not having played for over a year and a half. If she were able to come back now, I'd expect some kind of production from her come January. If she comes back after Christmas, I expect nothing from her this season.

Not trying to be Debbie Downer, just realistic in expectations. I think the team we have now, with Azzi back, is what we should expect to be able to produce the rest of the season. Yanna and Aubrey are just huge question marks...

 

[oldude]

I get the concerns. Ayanna coming back at a level consistent with her freshmen season, doesn't add much to the team IMO. The hope for something substantially better depends on how much injuries affected her that year. After just a few games I remember her PER was around 20, pretty good but not great. As the season wore on her role and production went down not up, and she ended the season with a PER around 11 or 12, well short of what Uconn normally gets from their bigs.

If that season was indicative of what we can expect from Ayanna when healthy, then there is nothing to get excited about. If on the other hand she was significantly hampered by knee issues all season that just got worse, then there is still hope we may see production that matches what we expected from a highly ranked recruit. Maybe her knee issues are chronic, I don't know, but that first year may have not been a good indication of what she could do if she was healthy either.

If she starts to look like that high recruit, we have a very valuable big backup. If she resembles the first year i suspect Geno will go small ball at least until Aubrey returns to give us a very good backup 4.

You raise an interesting point about Ayana’s freshman season. The first images we had of Ayanna when she was recruited was a video of her dunking a basketball in HS. Not once during her freshman season, did we see that level of elevation from Ayanna. Maybe, just maybe we’ll see that again.

 

[Stagnant]

I think there are teams that are more athletic than UConn. And on paper, Aubrey and Ayanna are the two most athletic players on the team. So, theoretically they could help.

Ayanna has not really proven yet that she can be a consistent contributor at the college level. So, it is premature to hypothetically plug her in against the top teams in the country and expect her to put you over the top.

 

[oldude]

Not sure what we can expect from either of them. Aubrey will be rusty. To expect her to look like the player who was literally a game changer off the bench in the past is unrealistic especially given she's not even cleared for full practices yet and will be very rusty. She injured herself Jan 2024 so it's not even been 12 months. I guess a 9-10 month time frame is realistic so we may be getting close.

As for Ayanna - apparently she's had nagging injuries since high school. She averaged just under 10 MPG in 27 games scoring under 2 PPG her only year with any stats at UCONN. Once she comes back, not only will she be rusty, but I'm guessing her ability/skill set will have reverted back to high school, so basically she's going to be brand new coming back from injuries and not having played for over a year and a half. If she were able to come back now, I'd expect some kind of production from her come January. If she comes back after Christmas, I expect nothing from her this season.

Not trying to be Debbie Downer, just realistic in expectations. I think the team we have now, with Azzi back, is what we should expect to be able to produce the rest of the season. Yanna and Aubrey are just huge question marks...

Not so much concerned with “rust” as I am with their physical health. Aubrey has played in far more college games than Azzi, and we are expecting great things from Azzi in her return. In addition, Aubrey doesn’t have to knock down shots from the arc to meet our expectations. Aubrey’s game is all about effort and athleticism. If she runs the court, plays defense and rebounds to the level she’s capable of, Aubrey will be a big addition to UConn’s lineup.

My expectations for Ayanna are more limited, but not unrealistic. She is the strongest player on UConn’s team. Ayanna is capable of bodying up even the biggest opposing centers, keeping them off the boards and making them uncomfortable in the low blocks. If SC attempts to play “bully ball” with Watkins, Dauda & Walker, then Ayanna could be a definite option off the bench to match up with the Gamecock size and strength.

 

[Rowdy831]

The players they have healthy right now put UConn in a good position this season. Jana is playing like a Freshman but expect her to grow by leaps once she gets comfortable out there. With her, Ice and Sarah on the court they have the length needed to compete with most of the teams but once you add Azzi and Paige you have a team others will have to change personnel to keep up.

I have always said UConn has the best roster in college basketball and this year is not different. My expectation is high with what they have so far, but once Azzi and Jana are full speed this team could make a serious run. Undefeated? Maybe, but they have a lot of good teams on the schedule so we will see.

 

[hoophuskee]

Of course having more quality players to fill positions is always better but as Sue Bird/DT had said on one of their podcasts "You can't have everything." In this regard, I'm not sure what Ayanna is. Her frosh year she seemed less athletic but bigger than in h/s yet she was hurt but overall not playing much her frosh year. I remember on this site we had debates whether she was going to be a SF or PF. Yet when we saw her - imo she didn't have the same athleticism and was more like a PF/C. So how healthy is she and what is she? Hopefully she is that healthy super-athletic player recruited and could be a 3/4/5. On the flipside she is 6'2? If so, she is Sarah’s size. And if Sarah is closer to the athletic player That Ayanna was in College then Sarah is the better Center too. Ayanna is a huge question mark.

And how many minutes do you want give her because while SOCar is loaded with upfront players which is their strength, Notre Dame is loaded with perimeter players and an inside out Wing, and SoCal is loaded with the Juju/Kiki duo? Morgan needs minutes. Aubrey will need minutes. Jana and Ice will need minutes. Consider UCONN wants to play fast and UCONN is threatned by not just super inside teams.

IMO most important thing for UCONN is for their Superstars to play like Superstars. If they don't- they lose. Can’t have everything. Of course hope we can. Thne again if they have everything then as a fan I'd get even more nervous before and during each tight game which is not good for an old man like me.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Yeah, I’m liking what I am seeing with this very young roster:

• Even with possessions in the mid-60s #1 and up (more half-court than the running game which wasn’t the case with TASSK’s first year), Geno has praised his team for always finding the right open shots in the flow of the offense;
• This means to me that Geno has found some success in practices and games using 10, now 11 (with Azzi) with his points of emphasis: instilling in his young players some confidence that they can play UConn basketball without Paige and I believe on half-court play;
• Some younger players still get nervous, which should become less with more games but all players seem to be getting it;
• The younger players must love being able to learn through practice with 10+ really talented players.

Aubrey and Ayanna’s return will make more obvious that this team has the potential to be as dominant as prior dominant UConn teams by March in a pick-your-poison, game-wide dominant play.

Gone are the constraints on last year’s F4 (5)+1 team:

• avoid play that leads to foul trouble and exhaustion;
• only play at a certain pace with efficient offense and defense;
• only press in small spurts, if at all;
• rebounding is nice, but the imperative to avoid foul trouble was the higher imperative for a 40-minute game.

With Aubrey and Ayanna:

• the advantage by teams that mainly rely on rebounding-enabled phone booth play is negated;
• UConn’s press will become more lethal with Aubrey;
• Aubrey’s X-factor play is well documented and will become valuable later in the season — hopefully manifesting by the South Carolina game;
• As with UConn’s past dominant teams, UConn’s beautiful offense beats the opponent’s otherwise-stingy defense;
• We don’t even know what Ayanna, with all her down time, brings to the table besides being a bruising low-post presence; she was working on her mid-range is the last thing I recall;
• UConn has enough shooters that any of Aubrey’s and Ayanna’s outside shooting deficiencies, if they persist, are not too concerning in the minutes they are expected to play.

#1 65 for the USF game, 69 for the UNC game.

 

[oldude]

Of course having more quality players to fill positions is always better but as Sue Bird/DT had said on one of their podcasts "You can't have everything." In this regard, I'm not sure what Ayanna is. Her frosh year she seemed less athletic but bigger than in h/s yet she was hurt but overall not playing much her frosh year. I remember on this site we had debates whether she was going to be a SF or PF. Yet when we saw her - imo she didn't have the same athleticism and was more like a PF/C. So how healthy is she and what is she? Hopefully she is that healthy super-athletic player recruited and could be a 3/4/5. On the flipside she is 6'2? If so, she is Sarah’s size. And if Sarah is closer to the athletic player That Ayanna was in College then Sarah is the better Center too. Ayanna is a huge question mark.

And how many minutes do you want give her because while SOCar is loaded with upfront players which is their strength, Notre Dame is loaded with perimeter players and an inside out Wing, and SoCal is loaded with the Juju/Kiki duo? Morgan needs minutes. Aubrey will need minutes. Jana and Ice will need minutes. Consider UCONN wants to play fast and UCONN is threatned by not just super inside teams.

IMO most important thing for UCONN is for their Superstars to play like Superstars. If they don't- they lose. Can’t have everything. Of course hope we can. Thne again if they have everything then as a fan I'd get even more nervous before and during each tight game which is not good for an old man like me.

So here’s the thing. When UConn matches up with SC, it will be a challenge for either team to shoot 40% from the floor. In the last 5 games vs SC, UConn is 1-4, has shot a better percentage from the floor 3 times, they were about even 1 time and only last year did SC outshoot the Huskies. But in those 5 games SC outrebounded UConn by 13, 17, 25, 12 & 9.

No matter how much offensive talent UConn brings to the game with SC, unless they can close the rebounding differential, the Huskies have little chance of winning. We need some 2nd chance points to pull off the upset imo.

 

[DEpup]

They are super important so that Sarah can get some rest and be fresh come March. She is playing a lot of minutes right now which is good for her development. But as the season goes on all those minutes will take their toll. Having Aubrey in particular able to come in a take 10+ minutes at the 4 a game will be huge leading towards March.

 

[Huskee11]

For what it is worth, both Aubrey and Ayanna participated in pre-game warmups prior to the FDU game. I think it was the first time for Ayanna. Both looked good. I would not be surprised to see Ayanna in the near future, and actually thought when watching her that she might have been cleared for FDU.

The contributions which they can provide are mostly on the defensive end and rebounding. And oddly enough, one thing that gives me some encouragement in that regard is the ferocity that Azzi showed on defense against FDU. She is about a year removed from ACL surgery and she was able to move very well laterally, harass, and stay in front of her player. So Aubrey will come up on the one year mark sometime in January, and hopefully her highly regarded defensive skills will be on full display at that point or soon thereafter. Even going at 90%, she is probably the best athlete on the team.

Another good thing is that both Aubrey and Ayanna will likely have been back on the court for at least a couple of months by the time the NCAA Tournament comes around and we can match SC wave for wave.

 

[Alydar]

So here’s the thing. When UConn matches up with SC, it will be a challenge for either team to shoot 40% from the floor. In the last 5 games vs SC, UConn is 1-4, has shot a better percentage from the floor 3 times, they were about even 1 time and only last year did SC outshoot the Huskies. But in those 5 games SC outrebounded UConn by 13, 17, 25, 12 & 9.

No matter how much offensive talent UConn brings to the game with SC, unless they can close the rebounding differential, the Huskies have little chance of winning. We need some 2nd chance points to pull off the upset imo.

There's more to this than simply comparing rebounding stats.

SCar needs to dominate the boards because they miss a lot of shots. They need to get a lot of offensive rebounds. UConn doesn't. (as long as they shoot well) UConn's offensive rebounding is consistently higher in games where their fg shooting % is mediocre or poor. Offensive rebounds follow missed shots. In the USF game UConn had only 6 offensive boards, but from only 19 missed shots. Against UNC they had 11 offensive boards from 37 missed shots. About the same OB/missed shot percentage. Against FD UConn missed 39 shots but rebounded 44% of their misses. I think FD was the worst team UConn played so far.

 

[oldude]

There's more to this than simply comparing rebounding stats.

SCar needs to dominate the boards because they miss a lot of shots. They need to get a lot of offensive rebounds. UConn doesn't. (as long as they shoot well) UConn's offensive rebounding is consistently higher in games where their fg shooting % is mediocre or poor. Offensive rebounds follow missed shots. In the USF game UConn had only 6 offensive boards, but from only 19 missed shots. Against UNC they had 11 offensive boards from 37 missed shots. About the same OB/missed shot percentage. Against FD UConn missed 39 shots but rebounded 44% of their misses. I think FD was the worst team UConn played so far.

I don’t disagree. There are times when Dawn’s offense is nothing more then getting a shot up and crashing the boards.

The problem is that in only one of the past 5 matchups did UConn shoot particularly well (over 50%), the game at XL two years ago, which the Huskies lost. The only win was the OT game at Gampel during Covid, Paige’s freshman year (the bounce).

If neither team shoots particularly well, then the team that gets a lot more shots has a better chance of winning the game. That’s the math that most teams, including UConn, face against SC.

 

[freshler40]

For what it is worth, both Aubrey and Ayanna participated in pre-game warmups prior to the FDU game. I think it was the first time for Ayanna. Both looked good. I would not be surprised to see Ayanna in the near future, and actually thought when watching her that she might have been cleared for FDU.

The contributions which they can provide are mostly on the defensive end and rebounding. And oddly enough, one thing that gives me some encouragement in that regard is the ferocity that Azzi showed on defense against FDU. She is about a year removed from ACL surgery and she was able to move very well laterally, harass, and stay in front of her player. So Aubrey will come up on the one year mark sometime in January, and hopefully her highly regarded defensive skills will be on full display at that point or soon thereafter. Even going at 90%, she is probably the best athlete on the team.

Another good thing is that both Aubrey and Ayanna will likely have been back on the court for at least a couple of months by the time the NCAA Tournament comes around and we can match SC wave for wave.

Azzi had impressive quickness, well prepared and eager to be in the court. Her shots will fall soon and provide us with mid-range and 3 point opportunities.

 

[Bone Dog]

If I just forecast a little based on as few assumptions as possible, this is how it looks to me.

• Assumption 1: Azzi returns to form and becomes a premier scorer and defender.
• Assumption 2: Sarah progresses
• Assumption 3: Kaitlyn fits herself into Geno’s scheme as lead PG and KK grows into a great backup PG.

These are not outlandish assumptions. As soon as I make them explicit, it’s clear what the shape of this team is likely to be.

• Paige Sarah Azzi will likely be the most consistent scorers and defenders.
• They will all be on the floor together sometimes, and at other times any two of them will be.
• Ash and Morgan will sub in here and there for one or another of them.
• Ice and Jana will largely platoon at center but there may be times when both sit (we’ve already seen this in the last couple games) or when both are on the floor together.
• Kaitlyn and KK will platoon in roughly the same way as Ice and Jana.

Now if we try to mix a healthy Aubrey and Ayanna into the mix we’ll see an expansion of one sort of lineup or another. Aubrey will tend to enhance the transition game and Ayanna will fit nicely in the perimeter game (not as a shooter but as a rebounder and put-back specialist). I can see Geno using either or both of them on the floor at once, though not without at least two of Paige Sarah and Azzi on the floor with them.

The great thing about having Aubrey and Ayanna back fully healthy is the athleticism: quickness and strength.

 

[hoophuskee]

So here’s the thing. When UConn matches up with SC, it will be a challenge for either team to shoot 40% from the floor. In the last 5 games vs SC, UConn is 1-4, has shot a better percentage from the floor 3 times, they were about even 1 time and only last year did SC outshoot the Huskies. But in those 5 games SC outrebounded UConn by 13, 17, 25, 12 & 9.

No matter how much offensive talent UConn brings to the game with SC, unless they can close the rebounding differential, the Huskies have little chance of winning. We need some 2nd chance points to pull off the upset imo.

Just want to make clear I'm not arguing that Ayanna couldn’t be beneficial but imo can't look at the last 4-5 games between the 2. SoCar has been fortunate that they have gone against a shell of past UCONN teams. They were beaten by Iowa two years ago (the same Iowa team UCONN beat early in the year w/o Paige). And the next year/last year the same Iowa type team gave SoCar a pretty tough game.

This UCONN team has 3 1st team H/S All-Americans. One is a Generational 5th year sr. Sarah appears to be Generational. And Azzi was considered Generational while not being healthy, though that did have a 6 game run without Paige that was extremely special and when healthy had a pretty good frosh year. This Offense is as potentially prolific as 17-18 team or maybe even greater. If we're going to assume 40% or below with this talent, then when will they ever be able to beat offensively any tough defensive elite team?

Geno is known for how well his teams run their Offense. He has said this past year in FF loss how important he feels his Offense is. With UCONN's potential firepower, if SoCar holds UCONN to 40% EFG% then they have the huge advantage. The chance UCONN wins playing SoCar defensive battle especially with UCOON's youth inside, playing SoCar style chance is minimal UCONN wins like that. It's a test of wills. An anticipated UCONN power offense vs a known terrific power defense. If SoCarl had so much trouble vs Iowa these past two years and this version of UCONN is potentially much better than Iowa, then instead of SoCar imposing their will upon UCONN, that maybe UCONN can impose their will on SOCar based on an Offense (talent) than what they have never seen before.

In the last 3 years that SOCar has been extremely dominant. But which team has had a supereme offense in particular with the one that UCONN might be able to present this year?

 

[jabstep]

There are some outstanding teams this year, such as SC, Notre Dame, UCLA, Texas, and USC, to name a few. We will need as many of our players healthy and able to contribute to beat many of those teams. Kudos to Geno for playing anybody for his players to acclimate to a high standard of competition.
Some of the process has already started, with Azzi playing her first game in a year and Jana and Sarah getting on the court. Our two point guards besides Paige are finding their way to run the offense for Geno. KK learning to pull up and Chen learning when to score.
I know that Aubrey if healthy can be an important piece for the rotation. She adds defense, rebounding transition scoring, and athleticism not sure what Ayanna can bring to the table yet and won't count on it until I see it.
The freshmen so far have shown some of their potential. Sarah is the case in point that when her 3-point shot is feared her ability then to use her extremely quick first step to drive to the hoop for either a basket or a great pass to an open player makes her one of our core strengths. Jana is big and fierce and will be learning day by day. When I saw Bett's play this year she had learned how to play in and out with the ball this helps her keep from getting triple-teamed. I don't know how long it will take Jana to learn that but when she does look out.
Morgan and Allie are both good players who can add elements to our team such as 3 point shooting and Morgan seems to have a nose for the ball on rebounding.
The most important thing we have though is the fantastic coaching staff that can mold all of our players into a joy for us fans to enjoy and root for.

 

[Bone Dog]

not sure what Ayanna can bring to the table yet and won't count on it until I see it.

There's so little to go on with Ayanna. I mainly remember how she did in a game early in her freshman season against Iowa. We won this game, mainly powered down low by Aaliyah against Czinano. But Ayanna spelled her for a few minutes (maybe 7 mins?) and she held her own. This was Czinano at her college peak, as strong as pretty much any 5 in D1 and with really quick low post moves. Ayanna was simply stronger and didn't allow herself to get bulled out of the way. She grabbed a few rebounds and ran the court really well. If she can bring that sort of strength to the 4, and sustain it for longer, she'll add a lot. She doesn't have great post moves... yet. But they could emerge if she can stay healthy. And she really does run the court well and could conceivably fill a role in the transition game.

But so far, this is all what-if's. I'm hoping she gets a chance to shine.

 

[Dugway]

Has anyone seen any reports of Ayanna's shoulder recovery? This was obviously something a little more serious than, 'she just banged it'. I don't recall the date, but I think this is like nine weeks now.

 

[HuskyNan]

Has anyone seen any reports of Ayanna's shoulder recovery? This was obviously something a little more serious than, 'she just banged it'. I don't recall the date, but I think this is like nine weeks now.

UConn has become very closed-mouthed about injuries. I imagine the University's attorneys have asked that personal info be kept confidential unless the player makes a statement since this is the same for other UConn teams as well. Perhaps a parent made a complaint at some time? No injury/illness details are released and usually the first we hear anything is when a return is imminent.

I know it's frustrating for fans, but someone's medical history is very personal information and shouldn't be shared.

 

[HuskyNan]

Here are Ayanna's freshman stats. She's played a total 303 minutes as a college player. By comparison, at the end of the freshman year, Q had 443 minutes, KK had 1,178, and Ashlynn 1,194. Patience, people. Let Ayanna find her game at her own speed.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Has anyone seen any reports of Ayanna's shoulder recovery? This was obviously something a little more serious than, 'she just banged it'. I don't recall the date, but I think this is like nine weeks now.

Nan rightly points out HIPPA shuts down access to medical information, but when the coach says two players banged shoulders and intimates it will just be a little while, that quickly crosses into the BS territory and I think fans deserve better treatment that that. It is not idle curiousity to want to know who is available and when.