On the starters for next year...

[jdubct]

How versatile a scorer is Gabby Williams? How many points has she scored from more than 8-10 feet away? I can't even imagine her shooting a three point shot based on what she's shown this year. Don't get me wrong, I love her game and her athleticism is crazy good but I need a lot of convincing that she could play the two or three!

Agree. I have a wait and see attitude about her playing those other positions well this coming season. She has the athletic ability and determination to achieve that, but it may take a couple of years to achieve.

 

[chrissaran]

You all need to get off Natalie's back. You probably said the same things about Stef and look at how those teams turned out. She will start and free up Breanna to take off down the court as Moriah leads the break. She will be a glass cleaner of the best kind. The points will be in the basket as fast as Moriah can get to the other end. Breanna did a lot of the dirty work when it came to rebounding. This will free her up to run the lanes as well as any big in women's college basketball.

 

[CocoHusky]

It's going to take All-American play by somebody to take Nurse out of the starting line-up

I don't disagree with that. KLS and The Pheenom are both capable of AA play IMO.

 

[CocoHusky]

My starters for 2015-2016 would be:
C - Natalie Butler
PF - Morgan Tuck, interchangeable with SF/C
SF - Breanna Stewart, interchangeable with PF/C
SG - Kia Nurse
PG - Moriah Jefferson

OFF THE BENCH:
PG - Saniya Chong
SG - Courtney Ekmark
C/SF/PF - Gabby Williams/KL Samuelson/Napheesa Collier, Boykin, all interchangeable parts
And right now History is spelled: UCONN!

Only one slight nit pick and it's very slight. I don't see a center or even a "solid" PF among your interchangable parts.

 

[Sonny44]

There may not be just one starting team. Against a team loads with bugs like SCU Geno may go wth Natalie, but against a Dayton he may prefer a guard as he did a couple weeks ago. He'll try several match ups even in the same game.

 

[CocoHusky]

Nurse isn't going anywhere. The UCONN women have built their reputation and success on great defense for at least the last few years and she's one of the best defenders on the team. She showed a lot of spark (diving for a loose ball to retain possession) and courage (taking and making a critical three with the game very much on the line, even after missing a few) against ND. I'm sure that made an impression on Geno and staff if there wasn't one there already. To even suggest she won't be starting seems absurd. Decisions aren't always made based on offensive production and frankly, there's nothing wrong with 10 points a game.

Love Kia and all she brings, glad she is on our team, that was a gutsy shot against ND no doubt. But it is definitely not "absurd" to think she will not be a starter next year 1) Chong beat her out for the starting spot at the beginning of this year 2) Brianna Banks transferred before Kia was on campus. My point is you have to look at who she is competing against for a starting spot. In this case there is a difference of opinion as to weather KLS and the Pheenom can play the SG position. IMO they both can play the position well enought so that 1 or the other "could/may/might" displace Kia as a starter. Just my opinion always subject to being wrong of course. When we did this drill last year I projected Courtney as the starter at that position-I was wrong.

 

[Huskies Rule]

There may not be just one starting team. Against a team loads with bugs like SCU Geno may go wth Natalie, but against a Dayton he may prefer a guard as he did a couple weeks ago. He'll try several match ups even in the same game.

It seems to me that once Geno has found the lineup he likes, he absolutely stays with it. He does not change starters based upon the opponent, rather preferring to make in-game adjustments and substitutions. If a kid is not getting it done in practice or pissing Geno off (or needs motivation i.e. Stewie+ Tuck @Memphis), she may sit. Or as he did with the insertion of Nurse after Stanford, but that move had more to do with realizing HE made a mistake, and nothing to do with matching up with future opponents' starters. As Geno says- if we're playing our A game nobody is gonna beat us. He surely prepares for the opponents' individual players' tendencies, but his focus is always on his guys doing what they need to do to win. I cannot remember Geno changing his starting lineup solely based on the opponents' size or speed.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Only one slight nit pick and it's very slight. I don't see a center or even a "solid" PF among your interchangable parts.

CocoHusky- - - That's the strength of what the Staff will have next year, IMHO they'll start the 5 I said above but in his substitution pattern they will NOT have positions per se, Tuck will be at Center some times, Butler will be at Center other times, then at other times they'll rotate KLS, Collier, Boykin, Williams, on the front line rotating through depending what scheme Geno is after at that time! They will be so quick and athletic that opponents will not be able to matchup with them!

 

[Huskies Rule]

Love Kia and all she brings, glad she is on our team, that was a gutsy shot against ND no doubt. But it is definitely not "absurd" to think she will not be a starter next year 1) Chong beat her out for the starting spot at the beginning of this year 2) Brianna Banks transferred before Kia was on campus. My point is you have to look at who she is competing against for a starting spot. In this case there is a difference of opinion as to weather KLS and the Pheenom can play the SG position. IMO they both can play the position well enought so that 1 or the other "could/may/might" displace Kia as a starter. Just my opinion always subject to being wrong of course. When we did this drill last year I projected Courtney as the starter at that position-I was wrong.

Coco- Saniya started because she had been the "best practice player" and that early in the season (game 2) Geno had practically zero game play by which to judge. That quickly changed.
- After 3 difficult, injury-prone years, Brianna B. only started those 8 games when Kaleena went down vs. Stanford and Geno was out of options; a default starter. I'm not suggesting that Nurse owns the starting position, because in fact I'd love to see Napheesa and Lou perform off the charts great and give Geno reasons to start them. But aside from a few freshman moments, Kia proved her mettle and was an essential part of NC#10. Geno will start and stay with Kia unless (nahhhh) she or one of the newbies show that to be a mistake. Won't happen. Kia will learn exponentially from her first year with Geno, work hard on her offensive game, come back even better and become a superb fixture in the starting lineup for years to come.
- Like you said, just opinions, and I, too, could certainly be wrong. Happens all the time.

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco- Saniya started because she had been the "best practice player" and that early in the season (game 2) Geno had practically zero game play by which to judge. That quickly changed.
- After 3 difficult, injury-prone years, Brianna B. only started those 8 games when Kaleena went down vs. Stanford and Geno was out of options; a default starter. I'm not suggesting that Nurse owns the starting position, because in fact I'd love to see Napheesa and Lou perform off the charts great and give Geno reasons to start them. But aside from a few freshman moments, Kia proved her mettle and was an essential part of NC#10. Geno will start and stay with Kia unless (nahhhh) she or one of the newbies show that to be a mistake. Won't happen. Kia will learn exponentially from her first year with Geno, work hard on her offensive game, come back even better and become a superb fixture in the starting lineup for years to come.
- Like you said, just opinions, and I, too, could certainly be wrong. Happens all the time.

The good news is that we both can"t be wrong, the better news is Geno will have options, the best news is the team will be loaded and I can't wait to see them crush people.

 

[Bill In Georgia]

A few posters need to do a little research ... Butler is a gift from Heaven ... you need to watch some video from her frosh season, this girl is a brute.....and yes, I'm told she played on the practice squad against Stewie and is well versed on UConn's flow, and that the coach's gave her instructional time to get her in a UConn post mindset. . She may need a little more in the strength room, a little more elevation but she is A#1 ..

Actually there is enough AA talent on this team to field two teams...

The new multitalented 15-16 incoming group are extremely very good, and all are in the UConn team spirt mold and will fight for position.

The big ..real big concern, is minutes ..... when your active squad are all top ten players out of HS, there are only so many minutes to go around and this is a concern...

Coach will give a free flow to Stewie who will have A BANNER YEAR making her the Very Best WCBB has ever seen. But his mind set will be on molding the team for the three-four years after Stewie.

 

[rvwsleep]

If Butler starts, there isn't a true #4 or #5 on the bench. It won't matter in AAC games but it might in some of the OOC games that they play.
This season, the general consensus was that Stokes would take Dolson's spot in the starting line up. That didn't work out.
Geno may very well start Butler but if he doesn't that leaves a number of possibilities, Collier, Samuelson, Williams, Ekmark and Boykin.
If we go by the theory that Geno only starts freshman when he's forced to, that leaves Williams and Ekmark. To me that means Williams.

Stewart - Butler
Tuck - Boykin
Williams - KLS
Nurse - Collier/Ekmark
Jefferson - Chong

It is possible, though I think not probable, that Collier or KLS so dazzle Geno in practices that one of them is elevated into the starting line up.
Say KLS for demonstration purposes

Stewart - Butler
Tuck - Williams/Boykin
KLS - Collier
Nurse - Ekmark
Jefferson - Chong

And with Butler starting

Butler - Boykin (who else ?)
Tuck - Williams
Stewart - Kls
Nurse - Collier/Ekmark
Jefferson - Chong

I can't imagine Tuck not starting but that would provide a legitimate big coming off the bench. Off course if they did start the big line up (Butler, Stewart and Tuck) and one of them picked up a couple of quick fouls, The other 2 could easily play the #4 and #5 positions. The best part is that there are no bad choices.

 

[rvwsleep]

A few posters need to do a little research ... Butler is a gift from Heaven ... you need to watch some video from her frosh season, this girl is a brute.....and yes, I'm told she played on the practice squad against Stewie and is well versed on UConn's flow, and that the coach's gave her instructional time to get her in a UConn post mindset. . She may need a little more in the strength room, a little more elevation but she is A#1 ..

Actually there is enough AA talent on this team to field two teams...

The new multitalented 15-16 incoming group are extremely very good, and all are in the UConn team spirt mold and will fight for position.

The big ..real big concern, is minutes ..... when your active squad are all top ten players out of HS, there are only so many minutes to go around and this is a concern...

Coach will give a free flow to Stewie who will have A BANNER YEAR making her the Very Best WCBB has ever seen. But his mind set will be on molding the team for the three-four years after Stewie.

I would be very interested in watching video of Butler. Do you have a link ? I have never been successful in finding much.

 

[rvwsleep]

Bill in Georgia brings up an interesting question. How many minutes will each player log next year.
2015 Mins. played 2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 27
Tuck 25.6 25
Nurse 25.1 24
Jefferson 28.8 27
Butler 24
Williams 15.6 17
Collier 12
KLS 12
Boykin 10
Ekmark 9.7 8
Chong 19.1 14
200 mins

 

[hoophuskee]

There may not be just one starting team. Against a team loads with bugs like SCU Geno may go wth Natalie, but against a Dayton he may prefer a guard as he did a couple weeks ago. He'll try several match ups even in the same game.

IMO there is no way UCONN should play like that. As CD has said for years. We make teams react to us, not us to them. If in the beginning first 4 minutes or so you see it isn't working then make the switch. No need with our talent to go back and forth vs inferior opponents.

 

[meyers7]

I'd like to add a request - and this is just my personal opinion/plea to other fans - can we refrain from "blanket" criticisms of players? I think it's totally fair to comment on the need for Gabby to have a better FT%, or for Courtney to work on fitness, etc. But what makes me cringe are comments like "Player X can't hang with the big dogs", or "Player Y isn't good enough to contribute".

Can Chong play at this level at UCONN...IMO, she seems out of her class..

Well that didn't take very long.

 

[hoophuskee]

There may not be just one starting team. Against a team loads with bugs like SCU Geno may go wth Natalie, but against a Dayton he may prefer a guard as he did a couple weeks ago. He'll try several match ups even in the same game.

I think it's okay if she clogs the lane sometimes. Because she is also supposedly a very good offensive rebounder. SO sometimes she can get the ball inside on low post and score. Other times she can get offensive rebounds especially if her man leaves to help out on another. Plus she'll be bale to set picks for outside shooters. And maybe you can use her on pick-and-rolls.

As for 15-18 foot shots - she had better be super shooting them otherwise don't do it often. I'd rather she be patient set picks to free up players for 3's rather than take 15-18 foot shots if she is only "pretty good" from there.

 

[rvwsleep]

That didn't line up well and I ran out of edit time so
Bill in Georgia brings up an interesting question. How many minutes will each player log next year.
2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 --------------27 mins
Tuck 25.6 -----------------25
Nurse 25.1 ----------------24
Jefferson 28.8 ------------27
Butler ---------------------24
Williams 15.6------------- 17
Collier ---------------------12
KLS------------------------ 12
Boykin ---------------------10
Ekmark 9.7---------------- 8
Chong 19.1 ----------------14
--------------------------200 mins

 

[CocoHusky]

A few posters need to do a little research ... Butler is a gift from Heaven ... you need to watch some video from her frosh season, this girl is a brute.....and yes, I'm told she played on the practice squad against Stewie and is well versed on UConn's flow, and that the coach's gave her instructional time to get her in a UConn post mindset. . She may need a little more in the strength room, a little more elevation but she is A#1 ..

Actually there is enough AA talent on this team to field two teams...

The new multitalented 15-16 incoming group are extremely very good, and all are in the UConn team spirt mold and will fight for position.

The big ..real big concern, is minutes ..... when your active squad are all top ten players out of HS, there are only so many minutes to go around and this is a concern...

Coach will give a free flow to Stewie who will have A BANNER YEAR making her the Very Best WCBB has ever seen. But his mind set will be on molding the team for the three-four years after Stewie.

Very interesting last point about the mind set being post Stewie and having AA talent on the roster. If that is the focus, then isn't UCONN more likely to need role players in 2016 and beyond to complement AAs? (Faris types vs. KML types). Just an example people save the key strokes!

 

[CocoHusky]

That didn't line up well and I ran out of edit time so
Bill in Georgia brings up an interesting question. How many minutes will each player log next year.
2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 --------------27 mins
Tuck 25.6 -----------------25
Nurse 25.1 ----------------24
Jefferson 28.8 ------------27
Butler ---------------------24
Williams 15.6------------- 17
Collier ---------------------12
KLS------------------------ 12
Boykin ---------------------10
Ekmark 9.7---------------- 8
Chong 19.1 ----------------14
--------------------------200 mins

I appreciate your straw man on minutes but someone is bound to chop your head off for any or all of the following: Chong is getting less minutes than last year: Gabby getting more minutes. KLS #1 player getting 12 Mins a game: What about the walkons: Courney deserve that many minutes….Yadah yadah ….

 

[rvwsleep]

I appreciate your straw man on minutes but someone is bound to chop your head off for any or all of the following: Chong is getting less minutes than last year: Gabby getting more minutes. KLS #1 player getting 12 Mins a game: What about the walkons: Courney deserve that many minutes….Yadah yadah ….

Do I look worried ?
Anyway, there are only 200 minutes. Distribute them in any manner you prefer.

 

[baggerbob]

You all need to get off Natalie's back. You probably said the same things about Stef and look at how those teams turned out. She will start and free up Breanna to take off down the court as Moriah leads the break. She will be a glass cleaner of the best kind. The points will be in the basket as fast as Moriah can get to the other end. Breanna did a lot of the dirty work when it came to rebounding. This will free her up to run the lanes as well as any big in women's college basketball.

Rebounding outside of Stewie, and Kiah, no-one else was very good at it, that's why Stewie spent so much time inside. Having Natalie in the lineup will allow Stewie to move around, and create more problems for other teams defense.

 

[Sonny44]

IMO there is no way UCONN should play like that. As CD has said for years. We make teams react to us, not us to them. If in the beginning first 4 minutes or so you see it isn't working then make the switch. No need with our talent to go back and forth vs inferior opponents.

That's rhetoric. He consistently brought in Kiah when we needed defense inside. Isn't that a reaction? And against Dayton he needed perimeter help and brought in Saniya, another reaction to what was needed. All good coaches play to opponents' weaknesses.

 

[CocoHusky]

That's rhetoric. He consistently brought in Kiah when we needed defense inside. Isn't that a reaction? And against Dayton he needed perimeter help and brought in Saniya, another reaction to what was needed. All good coaches play to opponents' weaknesses.

I don't want to speak for him but the "reaction" hoophuskee was talking about was UCONN changing the starting lineup game to game depending on the opponent. I believe you are talking about in game adjustments which every coach is required to make.

 

[hoophuskee]

That's rhetoric. He consistently brought in Kiah when we needed defense inside. Isn't that a reaction? And against Dayton he needed perimeter help and brought in Saniya, another reaction to what was needed. All good coaches play to opponents' weaknesses.

yes read coco's post. That's why I said after 4 minutes Geno can make moves. In other words when I first said Geno can make moves after the 1st four minutes I was implying "send in Stokes etc" i.e. "make in-game adjustments."

 

[hoophuskee]

Rebounding outside of Stewie, and Kiah, no-one else was very good at it, that's why Stewie spent so much time inside. Having Natalie in the lineup will allow Stewie to move around, and create more problems for other teams defense.

I'm not sure that does create "more problems." When she is on the inside she's a force too. And overall in no way this year did I think her offense was affected by not having a true center. That's what makes her so great. She was free to move all over.

 

[rugbymate]

That didn't line up well and I ran out of edit time so
Bill in Georgia brings up an interesting question. How many minutes will each player log next year.
2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 --------------27 mins
Tuck 25.6 -----------------25
Nurse 25.1 ----------------24
Jefferson 28.8 ------------27
Butler ---------------------24
Williams 15.6------------- 17
Collier ---------------------12
KLS------------------------ 12
Boykin ---------------------10
Ekmark 9.7---------------- 8
Chong 19.1 ----------------14
--------------------------200 mins

Very good! However, as a slight quibble, we may see Nurse up her minutes next year. She is the heir apparent to Mo for the following year and I suspect Geno will want her to spend some time at the PG position in addition to the SG position( recognizing that her starting isn't 100% certain). She had a great year and from the limited research I did, I couldn't find a UCONN freshman guard that had a higher shooting percentage.

 

[Dougie]

I'm sure some people are already sick of hearing about this and it's just the beginning of the start of next season but...

I think 4 of the 5 spots for starters are already taken - Jefferson, Nurse, Tuck and Stewie. I actually believe the 5th starter could come from any 1 of 4 players - Butler, Williams, Collier, or Samuelson. I know there are pros and cons to each one and I bet there will be interesting and spirited debates over the summer. Honestly I have little idea who I'd "prefer", but the only opinions that matter come from Geno and the staff...

1. Put Butler out there and you have a legit and skilled back to the basket center and she can bang around in the post with the other teams' center leaving Stewie more free to roam. You also have a kid who has already proven herself on a legit D1 team logging lots of minutes and putting up lots of good numbers. AND she's had 1 whole year to grow and learn without having to use up a year of eligibility.
   
2. Put Williams out there and you have an undersized kid who is crazy-athletic and tough as nails and plays like she's on a pogo stick. She might be the most athletic kid UCONN has ever had. I agree she needs to work on her guard skills, but she has 3+ years now to do that.
   
3. Put Samuelson out there and (yeah she's a freshman as is Collier) you have a kid who shoots like KML but is 3" taller. She's a kid who led Team USA U17 while nursing strep throat and a sore ankle.
   
4. Put Collier out there and you have a do everything 3/4 who has a game that is almost as good as Maya Moore's. She's a kid who was #2 in scoring, #1 in rebounding, #4 in assists, etc etc. on Team USA AND she played up a year on the U18 team with kids like Wilson and Turner (and she had stats at least as good as theirs).

You can't go wrong with any of them. I don't think Chong becomes a starter next year mainly because UCONN would them really have no "really skilled" guard off the bench. I think Saniya improved a lot based on what she showed the staff early in in terms of defense, and I look for another big jump in ability for next year...

I'd like to add a request - and this is just my personal opinion/plea to other fans - can we refrain from "blanket" criticisms of players? I think it's totally fair to comment on the need for Gabby to have a better FT%, or for Courtney to work on fitness, etc. But what makes me cringe are comments like "Player X can't hang with the big dogs", or "Player Y isn't good enough to contribute".

I'm not trying to tell people how to post, just trying to remind them that we are in the midst of the Glory Days for UCONN WCBB and a little "charity" in attitude will make everyone happier (IMHO)...

The case for Butler.

Picture this. An opposing player misses a short jumper . Natalie boxes out beautifully and as she's going for the rebound Moriah and Kia are already two-thirds the way to the mid court line on each side of the court while Stewie and Morgan are sprinting towards the other end.

This seems like the blueprint for a great running game.

In a half court set Geno can play her in an infinite number of ways. Depending on the matchups she can call for the ball down low or set a screen for Morgan. Or she can set up away from the basket where a defender will have to come out on her. She can set screens there or become the passer. Maybe Stewie will want to set up low with her back to the basket.

While I love Gabby's athleticism and uncanny ability to score from in close, I think Butler brings too many assets not to start. And this doesn't even address what she brings to the defensive end.

 

[Tenspro2002]

That didn't line up well and I ran out of edit time so
Bill in Georgia brings up an interesting question. How many minutes will each player log next year.
2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 --------------27 mins
Tuck 25.6 -----------------25
Nurse 25.1 ----------------24
Jefferson 28.8 ------------27
Butler ---------------------24
Williams 15.6------------- 17
Collier ---------------------12
KLS------------------------ 12
Boykin ---------------------10
Ekmark 9.7---------------- 8
Chong 19.1 ----------------14
--------------------------200 mins

It might be easier if you simply consider the minutes the seniors got.

KML 28.7
Kiah 18.3

That's 47 minutes to go to Butler, KLS, Collier, and Boykin, plus any net addition in playing time for the returning players. I think your estimate is close, but I don't see Butler getting starter's minutes. The 5th spot will rotate between going big with Butler at the 5, and going small with KLS or Williams at the 3.

2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 --------------27 mins
Tuck 25.6 -----------------25
Nurse 25.1 ----------------24
Jefferson 28.8 ------------27
Butler ---------------------18
Williams 15.6------------- 18
KLS------------------------ 17
Collier ---------------------12
Boykin ---------------------10
Ekmark 9.7---------------- 8
Chong 19.1 ----------------14
--------------------------200 mins

In big games, by the end of the year, you can forget about PT for the bottom 4. I would expect something closer to
2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Stewart 28.3 --------------36 mins
Tuck 25.6 -----------------36
Nurse 25.1 ----------------34
Jefferson 28.8 ------------38
Butler ---------------------18
Williams 15.6------------- 16
KLS------------------------ 20
--------------------------200 mins

If one of those bottom 3 really steps up, they could get closer to 25-28 mpg.

 

[pvdoggy]

It might be easier if you simply consider the minutes the seniors got.

2015 Mins. played ---2016 guess
Williams 15.6------------- 18
Collier ---------------------12
Boykin ---------------------10
Ekmark 9.7---------------- 8
Chong 19.1 ----------------14
--------------------------200 mins

If one of those bottom 3 really steps up, they could get closer to 25-28 mpg.

Based on everything I have heard and seen of Collier play, it is hard for me to believe that she will get less playing min than Williams did this year, and barely more than what Ekmark got. Also what happens to the 4 and 3 min of playing time for Lawlor and Pulido respectively ? Are they never going to see the floor next year ? Unless something changes dramatically
in her game, Ekmark will be buried on the bench next year.