Poll - Will the talented bench force Geno to give them more PT?

[sun]

With so much talent on the bench, how will Geno be able to ignore them?
There will need to be a much more equal distribution of PT then in the past.
LSU was able to win a NC in part by allowing a phenomenal freshmen to start every game, & LSU has another phenom coming in.
Will Geno be able to break his own mold & reward his most talented freshmen & underclassmen with adequate PT?
Or will we see the same old pattern of Geno playing his favorite core players?
Will Geno focus more on developing his bench players & less on winning by blow outs?

 

[Zarathustra]

With so much talent on the bench, how will Geno be able to ignore them?
There will need to be a much more equal distribution of PT then in the past.
LSU was able to win a NC in part by allowing a phenomenal freshmen to start every game, & LSU has another phenom coming in.
Will Geno be able to break his own mold & reward his most talented freshmen & underclassmen with adequate PT?
Or will we see the same old pattern of Geno playing his favorite core players?
Will Geno focus more on developing his bench players & less on winning by blow outs?

Time and Geno will tell us... in the proper " GENO TIME"!!

 

[diggerfoot]

With so much talent on the bench, how will Geno be able to ignore them?
There will need to be a much more equal distribution of PT then in the past.
LSU was able to win a NC in part by allowing a phenomenal freshmen to start every game, & LSU has another phenom coming in.
Will Geno be able to break his own mold & reward his most talented freshmen & underclassmen with adequate PT?
Or will we see the same old pattern of Geno playing his favorite core players?
Will Geno focus more on developing his bench players & less on winning by blow outs?

What mold? In 2000-2001 the rotation was 10-11 players.

In back-to-back with M. Moore the rotation was 9-10.

In Stewart years the rotation was 9.

History reveals Auriemma will play more than a 7 player rotation if he likes what he sees, so the real question is will he like what he sees. Using terms like “force” and “breaking mold” implies an orientation that the evidence does nor support.

 

[Rowdy831]

Geno has had some great benches in the past and he just doesn't play that many players. Now they were so dominant that all the people on the bench did get to play but they certainly weren't part of a rotation and expect that to never change. Geno has been the most successful coach in WBB history so his style and plan works better than any other so he has NO reason to reinvent the wheel at this point of his career.

What I expect is 8-10 players early that will squeeze down to 8 during the majority of the season. I do think they will be so dominant though that the other players will all get time and experience so when their time comes they will be ready.

 

[Charliebball]

If the youngsters are as talented as we think they are then I'd say yes although it's against Geno's usual philosophy of playing his core 7-8 players for most of the game...........

 

[JoePgh]

The idea that Geno always plays with a short bench is as mythical as the idea that he never plays freshmen. Both myths continue to be raised on the Boneyard, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

The best evidence against the "short bench" myth is the way that Geno allocated playing time when he coached the Olympic team. Other examples include the 2000-2002 teams, as @diggerfoot notes.

However, what often happens is that players who seem to be good based on high school accomplishments turn out to be less than advertised, or are slow or reluctant in picking up the UConn offensive and defensive systems. The whole Megan Walker class is an example of this, although Megan herself was better than her classmates.

What he won't allow is a major dropoff in the level of play when bench players enter the game. If the bench players are "almost" as good as the starters, they will get playing time, even if there are a lot of them. But if they don't play nearly as well as the starters (even though they may be just as talented or had a superior high school resume), then they won't be part of his rotation.

 

[CL82]

Force? No. Will he take advantage of the depth? Absolutely.

 

[Bone Dog]

In back-to-back with M. Moore the rotation was 9-10.

In Stewart years the rotation was 9.

Depends what you mean by rotation. 9-11 players got some minutes in lots of years. But if by rotation we mean who got substantial minutes in March/April — 10 or more mins and not just in mop-up time at the end of blowouts — 7 or 8 has been the norm.

As for the poll question, he used much more of the bench last season because of injury than in a normal year. I hope we don’t see that again.

 

[sun]

I think that Geno will reward players who are able to play more 1 on 1 as he alluded to last year when he told Azzi that he wanted her to be more like Paige.
He wanted players to take the initiative to become playmakers so as to not only play within his system which can sometimes result in the team becoming one dimensional at scoring.
He wanted them to display their basketball IQ along with their talent.
Some players "get it" more than others, & some players can execute better than others.
And the ones that can execute the best may not always be the core players from last year.
For some returning players it will mean less PT.
Geno will encourage more players to blossom this year.
But it depends on whether some will "get it" in time for the out of conference games or if it will be later on during the season.
Then we'll see how much the added subbing will carry over into the BET & March Madness.
The pack mentality can become a UConn strength this year & maybe even help to prevent some injuries.

 

[oldhusky]

Geno has sounded like he wants to run more and press more. Those goals are more easily accomplished with an expanded rotation. On the other hand if Paige and Azzi are healthy he still may want to have them play pretty high minutes, maybe Aaliyah as well, so the extra available minutes for the bench may come a little more from the 4th and 5th starters, probably Nika or Caroline in the backcourt and Ice or Jana up front.

Regardless I hope in blowouts he goes to the third stringers earlier than he has done in the past, so that we get to see them in at least enough minutes to get an idea what they bring to the table and have them more ready to jump into a deep rotation if needed because of an injury or two.

 

[MooseJaw]

Yes, the young ones will be good and get playing time. No Geno will never be forced to give anyone playing time. If you have watched Geno at all it is impossible to think that he will be forced to do anything. Geno is his own man and coaches as such.

 

[diggerfoot]

Depends what you mean by rotation. 9-11 players got some minutes in lots of years. But if by rotation we mean who got substantial minutes in March/April — 10 or more mins and not just in mop-up time at the end of blowouts — 7 or 8 has been the norm.

As for the poll question, he used much more of the bench last season because of injury than in a normal year. I hope we don’t see that again.

Generally, our most dominant teams featured our longest rotations, so your qualifier is structured in a way that usually cannot be met. The score builds both with the starters and bench players and we get seasons where we do not have close games and a lot of mop up time that counts against your qualifier. So which one of Sauer, Hansmeyer, Schumacher, Ralph, Abrosimova, Bird, Cash, Williams, KJ, or Jones would you claim to not be rotational players, regardless of whatever the subjective “substantial minutes” means or the value of the role they played?

Then there are the ”Gardler years.” Ninth player in the rotation, may not have always got major minutes, but always played a crucial role in the rotation, even saving the team’s bacon at times (a la Rutgers)? Does she fail your test because she did not always get, nor averaged, ten minutes a game?

”Liking what he sees” means there are players Auriemma feel can deliver what he wants in the important roles he places them in thegame, even if they are the fourth player off the bench like Gardler. That is what I consider a rotational player.

 

[SEbluebood]

I think another way to phrase the question is “Will Gene play the bench with enough depth (# of players) and frequency (# of games and minutes) to satisfy the BY? To that question, I say I doubt it. Will all the time that Paige,Azzi and Caroline have missed, they will want and deserve a big chunk of minutes. I don’t think there are enough meaningful minutes to go around on a 14 player roster. Probably not enough for even a 10-11 player rotation. Either way, should be a lively topic throughout the season.

 

[sun]

Yes, the young ones will be good and get playing time. No Geno will never be forced to give anyone playing time. If you have watched Geno at all it is impossible to think that he will be forced to do anything. Geno is his own man and coaches as such.

Geno will force himself to play them if they can make a high percentage of shots when they enter the game cold while the starters have poorer shooting stats & are making costly errors & TO's.
They can force Geno's hand by making good plays, good pressing, good defense.
If the starters ever lose a winnable game then Geno will want to get his revenge!
How many times did he complain that the team was selfish because they wouldn't listen to his advice.
Geno likes playes who are coachable & show him that they can execute.
That's why he said, "Just expletive win!"
It's not an accident that he brought in so many new players.
It includes having an intra-squad competition for PT by pushing each other to play better.

 

[DEpup]

It's really the only path to #12. The bench needs to be healthy and playing well in order to get through the whole season and win it all.

 

[meyers7]

What mold? In 2000-2001 the rotation was 10-11 players.

In back-to-back with M. Moore the rotation was 9-10.

In Stewart years the rotation was 9.

History reveals Auriemma will play more than a 7 player rotation if he likes what he sees, so the real question is will he like what he sees. Using terms like “force” and “breaking mold” implies an orientation that the evidence does nor support.

Exactly. Geno will normally use all the players he trusts. If the bench is really good and he trusts them, he'll be glad to use them. No force needed.

The only things that "force" Geno to play the bench are injuries and fouls.

 

[Aluminny69]

The universal answer - IT DEPENDS. Are we talking about all games, or just the highly competitive games? Probably the topic of another thread, which games will be high competitive next season, including the two Final Four games. I don't see much competition in the Big East, so I would expect Geno to spread playing time in those games.

Another question, how much playing time should the eighth player ( third off the bench ) get, to be considered a fair amount of playing time? I think at least 10 minutes.

I believe those posters looking back at past seasons, are including all games. Instead look at just those games that were close, against top ranked teams. How deep did Geno go in those games? For example, in the famous 2001 loss to Notre Dame in the Final Four, only seven players got significant playing time, with the 8th player, Maria Conlon, getting 9 minutes. And that's with Asjha Jones sitting most of the game with foul trouble.

 

[Blueballer]

Except for walk-ons all our players have "talent". How much they play depends on how much they earn in practice. It's always been that way and always will at UCONN.

 

[Bald Husky]

If any of the newcomers can display any feature that they may excel in, then it's possible the situation can decide when a new player gets in the game. If its late in the game and we need to press, maybe KK, Q, or Ashlynn have proven in practice that defense, and I mean close in your face defense a la Nika, can come in to do the dirty work to prevent fouls on our main players. If our shooters don't have it or are in foul trouble, those same three players may have to come in to shoot the 3 pointers to help us along. Foul trouble in the paint, can our new post players play good defense or defend the rim? The point is, we don't need them to be all around great players as freshmen, but if they can excel in some area that can help us in certain situations, then Geno can use them at his discretion with confidence. The are all talented, so I think they may be spot go-to players this season.

 

[hoophuskee]

Yes he'll use his bench more because there will be more blowouts.

 

[Bone Dog]

Generally, our most dominant teams featured our longest rotations, so your qualifier is structured in a way that usually cannot be met. The score builds both with the starters and bench players and we get seasons where we do not have close games and a lot of mop up time that counts against your qualifier. So which one of Sauer, Hansmeyer, Schumacher, Ralph, Abrosimova, Bird, Cash, Williams, KJ, or Jones would you claim to not be rotational players, regardless of whatever the subjective “substantial minutes” means or the value of the role they played?

Then there are the ”Gardler years.” Ninth player in the rotation, may not have always got major minutes, but always played a crucial role in the rotation, even saving the team’s bacon at times (a la Rutgers)? Does she fail your test because she did not always get, nor averaged, ten minutes a game?

”Liking what he sees” means there are players Auriemma feel can deliver what he wants in the important roles he places them in thegame, even if they are the fourth player off the bench like Gardler. That is what I consider a rotational player.

I’ll address the bolded lines in reverse order.
1. You mean something different by rotation player than I do. I mean players who are regularly on the floor when the game is still on the line in the second half of the season.

2. So my answer to your question about Meghan Gardler is yes and no. She was not yet a rotation player her freshman year. In her sophomore year, she averaged 10 mins/g and got significant playing time in the tournament. In other words, she was in the rotation that year. In her junior year she averaged >10 mins though got almost no minutes in close games during the season or in the tournament. She seemed to have fallen out of the rotation. That’s what we all saw too. In her senior year she was again in the rotation, was on the court for important minutes in still close games and in the tournament, though not in the final game against Baylor.

3. Therefore, the dominant seasons don’t count against my qualifier. It’s the very meaning of the qualifier. Yes, of course, Geno will play a deeper lineup in games that aren’t close, especially in the early season when those games tend to happen. That’s how he figures out who the rotation is. In dominant season, the pressure to settle on a rotation is less which means he can go until February with a long lineup, as Gardler’s freshman year amply shows. In her sophomore and senior years, she was in the rotation through March. But in her junior year, she’d fallen out of it by March.

I think you meant to show that generally Geno uses a deep rotation and the 5+2 seasons are exceptions. I think there are definitely exceptions, but I think the pattern goes the other way. He typically settles on a short rotation by February. But this pattern is obscured in a few years in which the team was especially dominant, which allowed the longer early season rotation to last until March.

 

[Majic Hands]

The word "forced" for me was a total disqualifier.

I'm hoping that every kid earns a chance in games. And when they get in. . . They make positive things happen so coach is looking forward to UConn being bad again.

 

[EricLA]

Some of you are too picky IMHO. Who cares if the OP used the word "force" Geno to play the bench more? The intent of the poll/comment is clear for all to see. Sometimes it seems like people are just itching to find something to disagree or argue about...

Is this better? "Will the talented bench cause Geno to play them more?" Bottom line for the most part (IMHO) is "it depends". In big games early on (or even later on), if the games are remotely close, I think he shortens the bench to whatever he feels is the "core best". That could be 6, 7, or 8 players. My comments below assume everyone is healthy.

My GUESS is the core will consist of...

Paige
Azzi
Nika
Liya
Aubrey

Most likely next 3 (of these, will just 1, or will all earn PT in big games?)...

Jana
Ice
Carol

Then comes...

Ayanna
KK
Ashlynn

The jury is out on these 3 (but i think Qadence could move up to the tier above)...

Qadence
Amari
Ines

It's WAAAAAY early. All we know about this team is that apparently Geno is high on them. We've heard him say nice things especially about Jana. We know the team has great chemistry already. ANY player in my "lower" tier list could easily move up (I'm betting some think Jana will start over Aubrey or Nika). How fast do the new kids acclimate to the speed and strength needed to succeed this level? I'm betting even Geno doesn't know.

But he's getting a feel for the newbies. Based on his comments and comments from other players, we know the "new kids" are competitive, talented, and hard working. As I've said before, am more excited for this upcoming season than any I can recall in recent history.

 

[Carnac]

I think another way to phrase the question is “Will Gene play the bench with enough depth (# of players) and frequency (# of games and minutes) to satisfy the BY? To that question, I say I doubt it. Will all the time that Paige,Azzi and Caroline have missed, they will want and deserve a big chunk of minutes. I don’t think there are enough meaningful minutes to go around on a 14 player roster. Probably not enough for even a 10-11 player rotation. Either way, should be a lively topic throughout the season.

Indeed. There are always fans that want to see their favorite players on the bottom of the depth chart get minutes. And Eric, I think your core rotation is spot on!

 

[JellyBean]

I picked "False". For a host of reasons.
1). The coaches control the minutes. Even though coaches give the classic line of "Practice is where you earn your minutes" those of us that have played a sport and put in the work, sweat, and did all of the little things possible in those practice sessions, know that in a game a coach will go with the players that they trust the most. No matter how hard you went in practice or how much you stood out from the pack, it became a "who do I trust more" type of a situation.

2). What is considered more pt? 8 minutes a game? 6 minutes a game? 20 minutes? Alot is going to depend on what is happening on the court and how the coaches feel players are doing out there. We all remember how we were hoping that Caroline, Saylor, or Mir would get minutes during a game. Once they got in, if they got in, one mistake and they were on the bench for the rest of the game. For Caroline, if took some injuries in order for her to get any minutes on the court.

3). Usually, especially towards the end of the season, Coach Auriemma likes to go with 7-8 players. This year, we have a lot of talent, on paper, and we are drooling at what could become of this talented group, but the games are not won on paper. The players will have to show what they can do, if they get on the floor. I just hope that each player has that "Forget About it and Drive On" mindset if they make a mistake.