Once everyone is healthy………

[tchodgd]

……….who are Geno’s starters? I’ll say Paige, Christyn, Ono, Evina, and Caroline or Edwards. He also can go Paige, Christyn, Ono, Dorka, and Azzi, either way it’s one very deep and talented team with Nika, DeBerry, and Griffin coming off the bench. I’d say Griffin might have the toughest recovery, but if she can conquer her back issues this is one scary team. Thoughts?

We are, with one exception, the same team as last year that got beat fairly easily by Arizona. Ono is playing better and Dorka is certainly a plus but Edwards and Christyn are not playing as well as they did last year, so I see it as a draw with the exception of Caroline. Can she help take us over the top, one can only hope.

Evina, and don't get me wrong I think a lot of her, coming back like she did, but she is no point guard. Doesn't take care of the ball, or pass well enough to get the job done. I know she is playing out of position, but it is what it is. If we can get Nika back soon, that will help a lot.

Azzi, whether she plays or not, I don't see her presence determining whether we win a game or not. Sure she can be effective on the three point line, but will she be when she's defended by taller players that are just as quick as she is. Sure, she will be an all American before she is done, but not now.

This current teams standing just exemplifies how good Paige really is. She took probably a 10th ranked team to the final four last year, and could very well do it again.

 

[sun]

Azzi, whether she plays or not, I don't see her presence determining whether we win a game or not. Sure she can be effective on the three point line, but will she be when she's defended by taller players that are just as quick as she is. Sure, she will be an all American before she is done, but not now.

This current teams standing just exemplifies how good Paige really is. She took probably a 10th ranked team to the final four last year, and could very well do it again.

We couldn't beat AZ with Paige which would mean that we would certainly need Azzi.
If Azzi can't score for some reason then someone else will need to.
But all indications are that we can't realistically be considered to be higher than #10 without our freshmen.
We won't be able to make it back to the FF without their scoring and depth.
And even with Paige, she will still need their support.

If Geno encourges Azzi and CD to shoot, then that's what they're going to do until the team learns how to win.
"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" is how battles are won.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Arizona was an instance where we ran into some hot 3 point shooting. Geno wanted Azzi for a reason. Any top 10 team can win any game if their 3 point shooting is above normal and the opponent underperforms. It just happened to us last game. Ergo Azzi and Caroline. We also needed more athleticism and rebounding. Ergo Ice and Ayanna next year.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Sigh. More senior-bashing.

When everyone is healthy, the starting lineup will include CW and EW.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I know that Azzi is off to a slow start, but she doesn’t get enough respect, in my opinion. Paige and Azzi were the best recruits since Stewie. I’ve seen Azzi several times. Geno reportedly thought she could give us 10-15 good minutes when she was a 9th grader. She will be amazing in time. Every coach in the nation wanted her.

 

[CL82]

I know that Azzi is off to a slow start, but she doesn’t get enough respect, in my opinion. Paige and Azzi were the best recruits since Stewie. I’ve seen Azzi several times. Geno reportedly thought she could give us 10-15 good minutes when she was a 9th grader. She will be amazing in time. Every coach in the nation wanted her.

Injured Azzi wasn’t quite as impressive as healthy Azzi. That’s not particularly shocking.

All the lost time, both from being out with injury, and from playing and practicing injured, will probably set her back a little bit this season. Note that what I mean by that is that she may not be her optimal self, in all likelihood, this year. That doesn’t mean that she will not contribute meaningfully.

 

[Skeets]

In another thread I cautioned about wild optimism (see last summer's wild posts), but I'll play along. Between now and late February everyone (except CW, EW and Liv, they will start regardless) will have a window of opportunity to force Geno to either start them or give them starters minutes. OK, "opportunity" is not the right word, but I can't think of another one. Caroline Ducharme appears to be making the most of this "opportunity". Azzi, and maybe Nika, could also force the issue. Aubrey could also demonstrate her value, although I consider her starting or getting starters minutes to be a remote possibility. I think Aubrey will be more of a "situation" type player. Same with DeBerry.

 

[npignatjr]

Who else would Geno start? All the bench players (assuming EW, CW and CD start) are post players. Caroline will likely be in the starting lineup for a long time. The only time Geno would have a conundrum for picking starters is once Fudd comes back, and I doubt she will be ready to go gangbusters right away. Once both Muhl/Fudd come back, I would be shocked if they aren't counted as bench depth for starting PG Evina SG Williams and SF Ducharme.

Azzi has not yet been, at this time her potential is all predicted on her total recovery from both current injury and knee injury.

 

[Gus Mahler]

In another thread I cautioned about wild optimism (see last summer's wild posts), but I'll play along. Between now and late February everyone (except CW, EW and Liv, they will start regardless) will have a window of opportunity to force Geno to either start them or give them starters minutes. OK, "opportunity" is not the right word, but I can't think of another one. Caroline Ducharme appears to be making the most of this "opportunity". Azzi, and maybe Nika, could also force the issue. Aubrey could also demonstrate her value, although I consider her starting or getting starters minutes to be a remote possibility. I think Aubrey will be more of a "situation" type player. Same with DeBerry.

Prior to the season, I went back and rewatched all the games last year from the late December DePaul game on. I had forgotten Aubrey had started so many games before Nika became the permanent starter. Aubrey did a lot of good things on the court. She was consistently disruptive on the defensive end, including against SCar. It's disheartening that she is in this position. I sure feel for her.

Playing the what if game: If she were completely healthy and had a killer mid-range jumper and could shoot 35% from three, this would be an entirely different UConn team.

 

[npignatjr]

Prior to the season, I went back and rewatched all the games last year from the late December DePaul game on. I had forgotten Aubrey had started so many games before Nika became the permanent starter. Aubrey did a lot of good things on the court. She was consistently disruptive on the defensive end, including against SCar. It's disheartening that she is in this position. I sure feel for her.

Playing the what if game: If she were completely healthy and had a killer mid-range jumper and could shoot 35% from three, this would be an entirely different UConn team.

Big ifs, for a junior. Then again MJ didn't develop a consistent outside shot until a few years in the NBA

 

[Cuango]

I want to see if Ducharme continues her scoring now that she is getting playing time. If she continues to produce, it’s crazy not to have her starting, and I’d easily swap CW or EW for her. If picking between CW or EW, I don’t know, maybe I’d go with CW for her defense contribution but I like Evina’s rebounding too.
The other player I have my eye on is Aaliyah. She seems to be getting a fire under her. Choosing between Dorka or her right now is simple as Dorka is playing well, but if Aaliyah begins to really assert herself and produce, it’ll be interesting. We need a banger down low and she’s the closest thing we have right now (still would like to see if Deberry could do this). UConn needs to do a better job of having the guards deliver to the bigs when they are open

As long as Caroline plays plenty of minutes for the rest of this year I could care less whether she starts or not! I seriously doubt Caroline cares either. I’m reasonably sure she knows she will be a starter for the rest of her career and does not mind a senior (even an inconsistent one) getting the start over her for the rest of her freshman year. Barring some collapse, she (Caroline) will be playing big minutes for the rest of her career! Who cares if she starts?

 

[Tonyc]

For me its a no brainer. Caroline is 6'2 can rebound handle the ball shoot from outside the 3 pt line block shots with her height so she has to see alot of minutes whether she starts or not. I say starts or not because Geno has seniors who have paid their dues and even though against Lville that didnt step up and Caroline did theyve earned their starting spots but that does not necessarily mean they will get alot more minutes then Caroline. Dorka also has earned more minutes and may start. I think CW EW Paige when healthy and Liv start. Caroline Dorka Azzi and Nika will get minutes and AE once on track will get minutes. Understand we need to get alot of people minutes to get them ready for March and next season. Dorka is the rebounder and inside person we needed. She will get you a double double often not always but often. When healthy we have shooters. Maybe after this holiday break we will be refreshed and CW and EW will be shooting at a better pace but right now its Caroline and she will draw alot of attention from defenses. She can score so many ways. It going to be interesting beginning Wednesday nite against Marquette. I do expect over the next month to see DeBerry get minutes and worked in. She is very talented and needs to be developed. So onward to Wednesday

 

[CONN78SEJ]

For me its a no brainer. Caroline is 6'2 can rebound handle the ball shoot from outside the 3 pt line block shots with her height so she has to see alot of minutes whether she starts or not. I say starts or not because Geno has seniors who have paid their dues and even though against Lville that didnt step up and Caroline did theyve earned their starting spots but that does not necessarily mean they will get alot more minutes then Caroline. Dorka also has earned more minutes and may start. I think CW EW Paige when healthy and Liv start. Caroline Dorka Azzi and Nika will get minutes and AE once on track will get minutes. Understand we need to get alot of people minutes to get them ready for March and next season. Dorka is the rebounder and inside person we needed. She will get you a double double often not always but often. When healthy we have shooters. Maybe after this holiday break we will be refreshed and CW and EW will be shooting at a better pace but right now its Caroline and she will draw alot of attention from defenses. She can score so many ways. It going to be interesting beginning Wednesday nite against Marquette. I do expect over the next month to see DeBerry get minutes and worked in. She is very talented and needs to be developed. So onward to Wednesday

Barring injury, Caroline will probably start for the rest of the season. I mean any player who can score in double figures every game, and be capable of a double double in points and assists or rebounds, should be starting. That being said, Ducharme reminds me a lot of Shea Ralph in her freshman year, if anyone recalls Shea would come in off the bench and completely change the complexion of the game in UConn’s favor. Shea was one of the best players on the team that year and Geno would not start her. Of course that whole strategy ended when she blew her knee.

 

[TeamFirst!]

I think we really need our 2nd unit to produce and Caroline and Azzi provide some offensive punch even if Paige, CW and Evina get some rest. Playing time will self administrate by who is producing overall. I'd like to get everyone under 30 minutes PT eventually with this team on average. It makes little difference who starts. Caroline, Azzi, and Dorka need to get PT though.

 

[WFFL]

 

[Alydar]

He needs to shake up the starters and start some freshmen and sophomores. He will never win #12 with these seniors getting the lion's share of the minutes. They are not as talented as the underclassmen. Plus it gives them the experience they need to get a jump on next year.

I agree about the seniors except for Juhasz. The seniors will likely see fewer minutes but if UConn is going go deep in the tournament they need to be the backbone. Not the scoring leaders though. The scoring right now looks to be coming from the perimeter in the halfcourt. Getting some guards back that can score and pass will also help in transition.

 

[Zarathustra]

And I noticed just prior to Paige's injury that CW was getting better penetrating to collapse the defense and firing a quick pass back to Paige for open outside shots. I dont think she has the chemistry to do that with Caroline yet but it should get better

I agree with the "CW has good chemisty with Paige". So when Caroline and
Azzi are both available with their 3 pointer skill (together with Paige , or just the two of them) the "good energy" will be maximized and we will see the First Round Draft pick ability of CW!

 

[Stymie]

Once everyone is healthy...
It will be next year.
Sorry, but true,