On the "need" for big (ie. tall) post players

[socal613ws]

Dorka ONO Edwards were intimidated playing Boston. You could tell in gameplay, Boston was just creaming them for offensive rebounds. This season not sure what will change aside new players pushing them.

 

[Cuango]

And a healthy Dorka?

**Before anyone gets on us, I'll say again SC was the better team. Just sayin though . . . But SC deserved their title. An impressive team.

I’m sooo tired of (generally, not you) people acting as though any reference to our injuries (and the overall mental and health status of our team during the NC game) equates somehow, to disrespect for SC and some kind of definitive claim that SC only won because we had injuries! Well, I will not go that far but I do believe it played a substantial part. Would we have won if we had been completely healthy? Clearly, no one can say for sure but it is very clear (in my mind) that we would have had a far greater chance. That is simply a fact and nothing at all to do with “disrespect” towards SC! They were the favorite, they won, they deserved to win, but I don’t see why anyone should be reluctant to point out the fact that we were far and away from being at our best for that game. Let’s just say I’m looking forward to a rematch!

 

[socal613ws]

I’m sooo tired of (generally, not you) people acting as though any reference to our injuries (and the overall mental and health status of our team during the NC game) equates somehow, to disrespect for SC and some kind of definitive claim that SC only won because we had injuries! Well, I will not go that far but I do believe it played a substantial part. Would we have won if we had been completely healthy? Clearly, no one can say for sure but it is very clear (in my mind) that we would have had a far greater chance. That is simply a fact and nothing at all to do with “disrespect” towards SC! They were the favorite, they won, they deserved to win, but I don’t see why anyone should be reluctant to point out the fact that we were far and away from being at our best for that game. Let’s just say I’m looking forward to a rematch!

yea that user always uses the same excuse.

 

[Stymie]

I’m simply playing devil’s advocate here but this has been the narrative for a little while now and it didn’t come to fruition in either of the matchups last year. In fact, I would say the UConn bigs played SC’s frontcourt closer to a draw than the guards in the national championship match.

Make no mistake, when Paige is healthy, I don’t think there’s a better guard in the nation. I’m a big fan and have been for some time. But I’m not sure how the loss of a strong defensive post and the addition of two unproven freshman will overwhelm two other top teams at the 4 spot. (For what it’s worth, I suspect Brink will primarily play the 4 for Stanford this year).

To me, the national championship question for Connecticut this year is how the multifaceted frontcourt rotation (admittedly deeper than last year) gels together enough so that the offensive and defensive performances aren’t disrupted when players come in and out at the 4 and 5 spots. The UConn bigs range from raw and absurdly athletic (DeBerry, Griffin, Patterson) to skilled and perhaps a touch undersized (Brady and Juhasz), so remaining consistent on both ends of the floor may determine how far the Huskies go.

With all due respect, that’s not what the box score indicates.

 

[jchusky]

With all due respect, that’s not what the box score indicates.

to some ppl Uconn has never lost a game, they only beat themselves. Opposition never gets credit.

 

[GoChips20]

With all due respect, that’s not what the box score indicates.

I think it depends on how you look at it. If I pulled a blind stat and told you Boston/Saxton only won the scoring battle over ONO/Edwards by 5, I think most UConn fans would have felt pretty good about their chances. By the same hand, few of us expected Henderson to go off for 26.

I say all that with the contingency that the rebounding differential was far more pronounced and obviously made a major difference in the game.

Henderson is gone now, as are UConn’s trio of seniors, and so the matchups (hoping that plays out as plural) should have a new flavor with the returning cores and young talent for each team.

In any case, I do think UConn gains more than it lost as far as the frontcourt is concerned (all respect to ONO and Westbrook, who were very good players).

 

[Bone Dog]

Henderson is having a great season in the WNBA, and that testifies to her talent. But I think that 26 pts says more about what the post players did, or didn't do, which meant she was facing a no-help defense most of the night. She made the shots when she was open, so kudos to her. But that was a team accomplishment, as I'm sure she'd be the first to say. Whether she's there or not isn't what matters. It's all gonna rest on what we bring to the game. Of course, without her SC is likely to struggle at the point.

 

[Stymie]

I think it depends on how you look at it. If I pulled a blind stat and told you Boston/Saxton only won the scoring battle over ONO/Edwards by 5, I think most UConn fans would have felt pretty good about their chances. By the same hand, few of us expected Henderson to go off for 26.

I say all that with the contingency that the rebounding differential was far more pronounced and obviously made a major difference in the game.

Henderson is gone now, as are UConn’s trio of seniors, and so the matchups (hoping that plays out as plural) should have a new flavor with the returning cores and young talent for each team.

In any case, I do think UConn gains more than it lost as far as the frontcourt is concerned (all respect to ONO and Westbrook, who were very good players).

If, If, If....
If you get demolished on the boards as the box indicates, you’d better be prepared to shoot 70%.

 

[socal613ws]

I think it depends on how you look at it. If I pulled a blind stat and told you Boston/Saxton only won the scoring battle over ONO/Edwards by 5, I think most UConn fans would have felt pretty good about their chances. By the same hand, few of us expected Henderson to go off for 26.

I say all that with the contingency that the rebounding differential was far more pronounced and obviously made a major difference in the game.

Henderson is gone now, as are UConn’s trio of seniors, and so the matchups (hoping that plays out as plural) should have a new flavor with the returning cores and young talent for each team.

In any case, I do think UConn gains more than it lost as far as the frontcourt is concerned (all respect to ONO and Westbrook, who were very good players).

in no way did Uconn improve over South Carolina, this offseason if we are talking about players who are going to get serious minutes. South Carolina lost a top recruit because they couldn't even get her playing time. They bring back Saxton who surprised a lot of people, Boston, Beal who is a lockdown defender, Zia Cooke. Just a tough lineup all around and they added a transfer from Georgia Tech.

 

[hoophuskee]

I’m sooo tired of (generally, not you) people acting as though any reference to our injuries (and the overall mental and health status of our team during the NC game) equates somehow, to disrespect for SC and some kind of definitive claim that SC only won because we had injuries! Well, I will not go that far but I do believe it played a substantial part. Would we have won if we had been completely healthy? Clearly, no one can say for sure but it is very clear (in my mind) that we would have had a far greater chance. That is simply a fact and nothing at all to do with “disrespect” towards SC! They were the favorite, they won, they deserved to win, but I don’t see why anyone should be reluctant to point out the fact that we were far and away from being at our best for that game. Let’s just say I’m looking forward to a rematch!

I agree. And it's why I would have always would believe Notre Dame could have given a better fight back in 13-14 if their center didn't get hurt- but CONN won and was the deserved champion. I would want to make clear the Notre Dame fan understood that as well. - Just being fair.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think it depends on how you look at it. If I pulled a blind stat and told you Boston/Saxton only won the scoring battle over ONO/Edwards by 5, I think most UConn fans would have felt pretty good about their chances. By the same hand, few of us expected Henderson to go off for 26.

I say all that with the contingency that the rebounding differential was far more pronounced and obviously made a major difference in the game.

Henderson is gone now, as are UConn’s trio of seniors, and so the matchups (hoping that plays out as plural) should have a new flavor with the returning cores and young talent for each team.

In any case, I do think UConn gains more than it lost as far as the frontcourt is concerned (all respect to ONO and Westbrook, who were very good players).

You are spot on. UCONN will definitely be more formidable this upcoming year. Not only the frontcourt but the backcourt.

Going into that final game our lead center was hurt.
Our backup center/ power forward was unable to play.
Azzi Fud was hurt/ailing.
Ducharme was ailing.
And the prior NPOY Paige was ailing.
The entire team had very limited chemistry.

Adding up all these factors in which all of them together/in unison are unlikely to happen; then it's rather obvious UCONN will be more formidable next year. Though I still give the edge to SC.
And ofc Stanford is always huge.

 

[Skeets]

You are spot on. UCONN will definitely be more formidable this upcoming year. Not only the frontcourt but the backcourt.

Going into that final game our lead center was hurt.
Our backup center/ power forward was unable to play.
Azzi Fud was hurt/ailing.
Ducharme was ailing.
And the prior NPOY Paige was ailing.
The entire team had very limited chemistry.

Adding up all these factors in which all of them together/in unison are unlikely to happen; then it's rather obvious UCONN will be more formidable next year. Though I still give the edge to SC.
And ofc Stanford is always huge.

I mostly agree with you. If healthy and UConn get some help from Lou and the freshmen UConn could be more formidable this year. But the bottom line is SC put the better team on the court and won the game. Period. That should be the end of the "what if" discussion. Time to move on to the coming year and NC #12.

As far as the SC / USC confusion, maybe they should just change to LC ("Little Carolina") as many folks just north of them refer to them

 

[Stymie]

in no way did Uconn improve over South Carolina, this offseason if we are talking about players who are going to get serious minutes. South Carolina lost a top recruit because they couldn't even get her playing time. They bring back Saxton who surprised a lot of people, Boston, Beal who is a lockdown defender, Zia Cooke. Just a tough lineup all around and they added a transfer from Georgia Tech.

Strongly disagree.
Boston will not have as easy a time in the front court with UCONN’s new additions.
Neither Paige, Azzi or Ducharme were 100% last year.
I think UCONN is a better team-top to bottom-than SC is this year.
That was not true last year.
But this is why they play the games.

 

[oldude]

I’m sooo tired of (generally, not you) people acting as though any reference to our injuries (and the overall mental and health status of our team during the NC game) equates somehow, to disrespect for SC and some kind of definitive claim that SC only won because we had injuries! Well, I will not go that far but I do believe it played a substantial part. Would we have won if we had been completely healthy? Clearly, no one can say for sure but it is very clear (in my mind) that we would have had a far greater chance. That is simply a fact and nothing at all to do with “disrespect” towards SC! They were the favorite, they won, they deserved to win, but I don’t see why anyone should be reluctant to point out the fact that we were far and away from being at our best for that game. Let’s just say I’m looking forward to a rematch!

Agree with your take on the SC game and would add the following. Assuming that both teams were completely healthy, SC probably wins 7 or 8 times out of 10. But as we all know, the national championship is a single game. Historically, no one does a better job of preparing a team for a championship game than Geno and his coaching staff.

This past season, even with injuries, UConn did an extraordinary job just getting to the championship game. The four game run vs UCF, IN, NC St & Stanford came against talented and experienced teams that were all well coached. You could make the argument that both NC St and Stanford were as good or better than UConn, and still the Huskies prevailed.

The Stanford game in particular was a classic example of just how effective Geno and his staff can be when preparing a team to face a potentially superior opponent. UConn largely neutralized Stanford’s size advantage, actually winning the rebounding battle. At the same time, UConn never allowed Stanford’s outside shooters to get on track. Offensively, the Huskies created just enough scoring opportunities to end up with the win.

Like you, I want to see UConn & SC matchup against each other with both teams fully healthy. Hopefully, we see that matchup twice this coming season. The Huskies will likely be underdogs in both games, but with a fully healthy team, I like UConn’s chances.

 

[Bone Dog]

“What if” this: two years ago freshman Paige torched SC and we won in OT. She scored 30 even with Beal trying to play deny defense all game. SC was the favorite then, too. What’s changed since then? We’ve both added and subtracted players, and the core players have gotten more experience. Who improved more? You know my answer.

I’m not trying to pretend we won the NC game. I’m speculating about the next game and the next season. What else is the BY for? The last few games are just evidence for that speculation.

 

[SCspur]

Strongly disagree.
Boston will not have as easy a time in the front court with UCONN’s new additions.
Neither Paige, Azzi or Ducharme were 100% last year.
I think UCONN is a better team-top to bottom-than SC is this year.
That was not true last year.
But this is why they play the games.

There’s more than Boston in the front court for SC. SC also returns 4 of 5 starters and adds a grad transfer from GT and has a top 5 freshman class coming in. I don’t think you can declare UConn better until the teams play, especially considering SC beat them by double digits twice last year.

 

[Stymie]

There’s more than Boston in the front court for SC. SC also returns 4 of 5 starters and adds a grad transfer from GT and has a top 5 freshman class coming in. I don’t think you can declare UConn better until the teams play, especially considering SC beat them by double digits twice last year.

Did not DECLARE.
Merely stated an opinion.
Ending with - “that’s why they play the games.”
BTW- you sound nervous

 

[SCspur]

Did not DECLARE.
Merely stated an opinion.
Ending with - “that’s why they play the games.”
BTW- you sound nervous

Guess we’ll have to see. Clearly you’re very confident in what you said so stand firm on it. I’m not nervous in the slightest I actually think SC could be even better this year. But that’s my opinion as well…

 

[Bone Dog]

@SCspur and @visitingcock can tell me if I get this wrong, but my guess is SC fans are equally hopeful about this year's games (note the plural), and equally worried about the intangibles, i.e injuries, inexperienced players, etc. I expect they're worried about Johnson at the pg, confident about Boston and Saxton winning the post battle, and wary of being able to contain our 1-3. As with our hopes for Aubrey, they wish Amihere (who is probably the best pure athlete on either squad) might finally shed prior injuries and translate her talent into a dominating performance on the court. They're probably not all that disappointed in the departure of Rivers, who may not have been a "good fit" with the team.

If all goes well, we should have two wonderful games together this year!

 

[DEpup]

in no way did Uconn improve over South Carolina, this offseason if we are talking about players who are going to get serious minutes. South Carolina lost a top recruit because they couldn't even get her playing time. They bring back Saxton who surprised a lot of people, Boston, Beal who is a lockdown defender, Zia Cooke. Just a tough lineup all around and they added a transfer from Georgia Tech.

The interesting thing will be who plays PG? This past year Stanford eventually fell even with all that returning talent due to lack of a floor general. I think SC could be vulnerable there this coming year. As good as Dawn's teams have been, there is that tendency for the offense to get bogged down. Not saying they won't be good, just may get challenging for them in the latter stages of the tournament....

 

[SCspur]

@SCspur and @visitingcock can tell me if I get this wrong, but my guess is SC fans are equally hopeful about this year's games (note the plural), and equally worried about the intangibles, i.e injuries, inexperienced players, etc. I expect they're worried about Johnson at the pg, confident about Boston and Saxton winning the post battle, and wary of being able to contain our 1-3. As with our hopes for Aubrey, they wish Amihere (who is probably the best pure athlete on either squad) might finally shed prior injuries and translate her talent into a dominating performance on the court. They're probably not all that disappointed in the departure of Rivers, who may not have been a "good fit" with the team.

If all goes well, we should have two wonderful games together this year!

The only inexperienced players next year are Watkins, Cooper, and Johnson to an extent . Watkins will probably play a lot less due to front court minutes but Cooper definitely will see minutes off the bench and she’s a scorer. The sophomore class should breakout and Cardoso will be even better after a year in the system. I don’t think SC is worried about UConn in particular because everybody will be gunning for them. They’ll likely take it one game at a time as they should. SC has more on the frontline than just Boston and Saxton. Amihere should have her best season yet and should play about every position on the court based on need. Her play is going to be huge for SC this season. I do agree it should make for some great games this year. The matchup seems better than it did last year!

 

[Bone Dog]

The only inexperienced players next year are Watkins, Cooper, and Johnson to an extent . Watkins will probably play a lot less due to front court minutes but Cooper definitely will see minutes off the bench and she’s a scorer. The sophomore class should breakout and Cardoso will be even better after a year in the system. I don’t think SC is worried about UConn in particular because everybody will be gunning for them. They’ll likely take it one game at a time as they should. SC has more on the frontline than just Boston and Saxton. Amihere should have her best season yet and should play about every position on the court based on need. Her play is going to be huge for SC this season. I do agree it should make for some great games this year. The matchup seems better than it did last year!

I hope Amihere is finally able to live up to that potential of playing everywhere on the court. That would be something.

This has always been UConn's position, too -- everyone we play is gunning for us and brings their best game.

 

[visitingcock]

I hope Amihere is finally able to live up to that potential of playing everywhere on the court. That would be something.

This has always been UConn's position, too -- everyone we play is gunning for us and brings their best game.

Well, she did start two games at PG last year when Henderson was hurt. Amihere just needs to let the game come to her. She forces too much and picks up too many offensive fouls as one result.

But yeah, really looking forward to the UConn (and Stanford) matchup with some hesitancy in my confidence because of no PG with experience in our system. We all saw what Stanford did last year after the graduation of their PG. excellent team but lacking cohesiveness.

 

[hoophuskee]

I hope Amihere is finally able to live up to that potential of playing everywhere on the court. That would be something.

This has always been UConn's position, too -- everyone we play is gunning for us and brings their best game.

In College Amihere is a 4 that can also be a 5. Her playing pg and having her set on the perimeter is huge waste other than small minute distributions. Putting her at other positions (other than 4/5) is a waste. I hope UCONN doesn't try to turn Edwards into a Small Forward.

 

[socal613ws]

Strongly disagree.
Boston will not have as easy a time in the front court with UCONN’s new additions.
Neither Paige, Azzi or Ducharme were 100% last year.
I think UCONN is a better team-top to bottom-than SC is this year.
That was not true last year.
But this is why they play the games.

Uconn's new additions have yet to play a game, sorry to think that 2 players that are getting their feet wet would stop the player of the year.