Preseason AP Poll

[Bone Dog]

I agree any guard - and Sarah - can ably bring the ball up the court. That’s not all a point guard does

There’s a reason there are separate point guard camps where pgs go in the offseason to improve their skills. A good pg can not only handle the ball she knows which offensive set to begin based on how the opponent is defending her teammates. She sees where to pass the ball, where to go if the defense shifts, and is already thinking of options if teammates have to rebound a missed shot. And that’s my rather simplistic description of how much is involved

Very true, and we’d also have to consider all the responsibilities a pg has on defense. In fact, all the angst about Nika 3 seasons ago shows how right you are. She did so much more than merely bring the ball up the court. And whenever she was unavailable the team floundered. The near loss to Princeton that season is just one example. And this was a roster with other able ballhandlers, like Lou or Aubrey or Inês, and yet without Nika breaking Princeton’s press became a sticky proposition, not to mention defending their pg.

The following season KK and Ash arrived and Paige returned, and suddenly Geno had even more ballhandlers. And yet whenever Nika got into foul trouble, as in the Syracuse game, the game was once again in peril. KK could ‘bring the ball up the court’ but wasn’t quite ready to be the primary pg, and as great as she is neither was Ash. This is why Geno was so eager to sign that Princeton pg the following season. It gave KK more time and less pressure to mature into the position.

This season, Geno has a plethora of able ballhandlers, maybe more than ever, but only one proven pg. Ash does not strike me as a pg, though not for lack of skills. Azzi and Sarah could cover the position but not without a cost. Azzi in particular could probably do much of what Paige did last season, but her a/to ratio has never been nearly as good as what Paige or Nika were able to do. And this is apart from the question of whether she’s more useful playing off the ball on offense. Morgan or Carol could conceivably help ‘bring the ball up the court’ or even help break a press, but they are far from being good choices for pg. Same goes for Allie. And right now Kelis seems like a distant possibility.

If KK were to be unavailable for an extended stretch, Geno could probably find a way to compensate, maybe reimagine the main lineup much as he did last season with the small-ball lineups. But the team wouldn’t be quite the seamless juggernaut we’re all imagining. I don’t put anything past Geno. It wasn’t until late February that last season’s team looked like it might have a destiny. Maybe only @Tonyc truly believed prior to that. The rest of us were mainly worried that KK and Kaitlyn weren’t quite ready, and many of us were even demanding that Paige take on even more pg responsibilities.

An awful lot depends on Kayleigh getting up to speed as KK’s backup. The exhibition game has shaken the confidence of many here that she’s ready for the role. I suspect she’ll grow into it before February. Until then, I imagine Sarah and Azzi and maybe even Ash will fill in the gaps. In transition, Blanca and Morgan might even be able to contribute. Still, the half court game will suffer, perhaps not devastatingly, but probably enough to give us the willies.

There will be plenty of surprises to thrill and delight and alarm all of us this season. I suspect many of us are beginning to get comfortable with the idea of a primary lineup of KK Ash Azzi Sarah and Serah, with Blanca Kayleigh Jana Ice and maybe even Morgan coming off the bench. But subtract KK from this list and our comfort level will decline a bit.

This is KK’s moment, as Azzi’s said in an interview recently. But it may also be Kayleigh’s moment to shine, if she is given enough time to mature. And the team may really need her more than once this season.

 

[FanSince17]

I’m a “glass half full” guy, and the Huskies doggy bowl is considerably more than half full when it comes to pg. Just about every other team in the country would love to have all the options to run the point that Geno has at his disposal.

The best coaching staff in WBB will get Kayleigh and Kelis up to speed. As for Azzi, who played pg for the USA world championship U-19 team, asking her to score and run the offense would be asking her to do exactly what Paige did last season.

And don’t forget about Sarah, who has an exceptional basketball IQ, a great handle, sees the entire court with the ability to drop some beautiful dimes to her teammates. Throw in Ash & Allie who also played pg in HS. Then you have Blanca who has a pretty good handle and ability to pass, something they teach you how to do when you play 4 years of basketball in Europe.

Beyond that, UConn’s offense is never about one single player with the ball in their hands initiating the offense all the time. On UConn everbody passes, cuts and screens. The beauty of UConn’s offense is that opponents can’t try to lock down any one player and hope to stop the Huskies.

100% on all points.
The classic point guard is going the way of the Dodo. The whale is soon to go from a land dweller to the sea. How many pure points can we think of? Len Wilkins, Buddy in “Hoosiers”. The back to the basket, block to block center may be too. Doesn’t mean the small player is obsolete or tall player either of course.
Isn’t the game about matchups? Last year Geno had a toolbox full of mismatches. This year even more? TBD
Is KK the new Nika? I contend that she’s had a terrific UConn career so far. Started as a freshman on a thin team that went to the Final 4. Imagine 2024 with a little more depth and UConn having the ability to extend the D for 40 minutes, led by KK on top. (I can picture Dawn with her head back shouting obscenities rather than making adjustments) Last year as a catalyst for a historically cohesive defensive unit.
This year can we embrace passing the torch to KK? It’s her turn. I think she’s ready. Why wouldn’t she be? She’s done everything asked of her and more. It’ll help if she can hit that wing J, but is that truly essential? Remember down the stretch in 2024 when Paige kicked it to her?

 

[FanSince17]

Very true, and we’d also have to consider all the responsibilities a pg has on defense. In fact, all the angst about Nika 3 seasons ago shows how right you are. She did so much more than merely bring the ball up the court. And whenever she was unavailable the team floundered. The near loss to Princeton that season is just one example. And this was a roster with other able ballhandlers, like Lou or Aubrey or Inês, and yet without Nika breaking Princeton’s press became a sticky proposition, not to mention defending their pg.

The following season KK and Ash arrived and Paige returned, and suddenly Geno had even more ballhandlers. And yet whenever Nika got into foul trouble, as in the Syracuse game, the game was once again in peril. KK could ‘bring the ball up the court’ but wasn’t quite ready to be the primary pg, and as great as she is neither was Ash. This is why Geno was so eager to sign that Princeton pg the following season. It gave KK more time and less pressure to mature into the position.

This season, Geno has a plethora of able ballhandlers, maybe more than ever, but only one proven pg. Ash does not strike me as a pg, though not for lack of skills. Azzi and Sarah could cover the position but not without a cost. Azzi in particular could probably do much of what Paige did last season, but her a/to ratio has never been nearly as good as what Paige or Nika were able to do. And this is apart from the question of whether she’s more useful playing off the ball on offense. Morgan or Carol could conceivably help ‘bring the ball up the court’ or even help break a press, but they are far from being good choices for pg. Same goes for Allie. And right now Kelis seems like a distant possibility.

If KK were to be unavailable for an extended stretch, Geno could probably find a way to compensate, maybe reimagine the main lineup much as he did last season with the small-ball lineups last season. But the team wouldn’t be quite the seamless juggernaut we’re all imagining. I don’t put anything past Geno. It wasn’t until late February that last season’s team looked like it might have a destiny. Maybe only @Tonyc truly believed prior to that. The rest of us were mainly worried that KK and Kaitlyn weren’t quite ready, and many of us were even demanding that Paige take on even more pg responsibilities.

An awful lot depends on Kayleigh getting up to speed as KK’s backup. The exhibition game has shaken the confidence of many here that she’s ready for the role. I suspect she’ll grow into it before February. Until then, I imagine Sarah and Azzi and maybe even Ash will fill in the gaps. In transition, Blanca and Morgan might even be able to contribute. Still, the half court game will suffer, perhaps not devastatingly, but probably enough to give us the willies.

There will be plenty of surprises to thrill and delight and alarm all of us this season. I suspect many of us are beginning to get comfortable with the idea of a primary lineup of KK Ash Azzi Sarah and Serah, with Blanca Kayleigh Jana Ice and maybe even Morgan coming off the bench. But subtract KK from this list and our comfort level will decline a bit.

This is KK’s moment, as Azzi’s said in an interview recently. But it may also be Kayleigh’s moment to shine, if she is given enough time to mature. And the team may really need her more than once this season.

Nice job!
Disclaimer: of course I love Paige. But she was there last year as the team wobbled early on against their competition. Paige, as Geno said a million times, basically orchestrated practices. She was indisputably the team leader. There were a lot of moving parts. KK was there too. Kaitlyn. What changed?
I say it started with the defensive “connectiveness” (the players referred to it in interviews, Sarah’s one word responses). I’m looking for that this year. And the ball movement that Geno likes. That’s why the team destroyed opposition in the final four. KK and Sarah are the catalysts.

 

[Bone Dog]

One last thought about the role of the pg in some of Geno’s greatest teams. When I think of the transcendent stars who’ve passed through Storrs, like Diana or Maya or Stewie or Paige, they engineered great things with the assistance of great point guards. But they also did more than even other great players did. Diana or Maya could probably have covered the pg position if needed, but at a cost, and they did so much more than what any single position required. The same goes for Paige. I suspect we’ll say similar things about Sarah when we look back at this era in a few years. Having a reliable pg frees tremendous stars so they can do what few others can even imagine. With a solid pg like KK (and hopefully Kayleigh), Sarah and Azzi will have the freedom to amaze us all.

 

[Geew1992]

One last thought about the role of the pg in some of Geno’s greatest teams. When I think of the transcendent stars who’ve passed through Storrs, like Diana or Maya or Stewie or Paige, they engineered great things with the assistance of great point guards. But they also did more than even other great players did. Diana or Maya could probably have covered the pg position if needed, but at a cost, and they did so much more than what any single position required. The same goes for Paige. I suspect we’ll say similar things about Sarah when we look back at this era in a few years. Having a reliable pg frees tremendous stars so they can do what few others can even imagine. With a solid pg like KK (and hopefully Kayleigh), Sarah and Azzi will have the freedom to amaze us all.

We must have been watching different games cuz Diana was def the point guard in 2003 and 2004

 

[FanSince17]

One last thought about the role of the pg in some of Geno’s greatest teams. When I think of the transcendent stars who’ve passed through Storrs, like Diana or Maya or Stewie or Paige, they engineered great things with the assistance of great point guards. But they also did more than even other great players did. Diana or Maya could probably have covered the pg position if needed, but at a cost, and they did so much more than what any single position required. The same goes for Paige. I suspect we’ll say similar things about Sarah when we look back at this era in a few years. Having a reliable pg frees tremendous stars so they can do what few others can even imagine. With a solid pg like KK (and hopefully Kayleigh), Sarah and Azzi will have the freedom to amaze us all.

I agree re: D, Maya, and Stewie. Paige is the unicorn. I would contend that Paige was always the point guard. She was the maestro, the leader of the orchestra. I think it may take a while for any of us to understand the dynamics of last year’s team with Paige.

 

[HuskyNan]

Very true, and we’d also have to consider all the responsibilities a pg has on defense. In fact, all the angst about Nika 3 seasons ago shows how right you are. She did so much more than merely bring the ball up the court. And whenever she was unavailable the team floundered. The near loss to Princeton that season is just one example. And this was a roster with other able ballhandlers, like Lou or Aubrey or Inês, and yet without Nika breaking Princeton’s press became a sticky proposition, not to mention defending their pg.

The year before that, our beloved Momma E, Evina, who is a wing, was forced to play the point out of necessity. It’s not Evina’s fault, but the number of turnovers that season was awful. That’s what happens when someone plays out of position at the point guard spot

 

[DEpup]

Every year is different. The strengths shift and so then the strategy shifts too. We just may be going through a year where the creation doesn't come from the PG position and that's OK. We've done it before. Honestly I think Sarah is going to be the "creator" this year and the point forward will be in full effect in the half court. I thought she was great in the exhibition game. She came out Maya Moore style and got the scoring going, folks exhaled, and then she started creating point forward style from there. This is the earliest open exhibition game I've ever seen so if this is the starting point, we're in pretty good shape. I have to think the rest of our competitors took one look at that game in mid October and said they are going to be a problem....

 

[jake0414]

I don’t know what to say about UConn’s pg depth, though I’m confident we’re a contender and with my dull eyes I don’t see any other obvious candidates for #1.

On the question of #2, I thought that was clearly SC until Chloe’s injury. There’s a lot of potential in that lineup, but I’ll need to see how Dawn puts it together before I can have much confidence in some of the pieces. Okot may turn out to be great, Makeer and McDowell may crack Dawn’s rotation, Latson may turn out to be able to play good enough defense to satisfy Dawn, and Maryam and Adhel may make significant leaps. What I mainly know is that Joyce is an AA candidate and Raven is an excellent pg, and Tessa is a really good all-around player. After those three, it’s a lot of question marks.

By contrast, UCLA has a solid, really big veteran lineup with fewer question marks around it. Maybe Kneepkens will be able to do for Cori what she did at Utah, maybe Timea will rehab really well, maybe Sienna will fit right in to Cori’s frontcourt, and maybe Dunn and Charlisse will turn out to be effective backups for Kiki. But the veteran core of Lauren, Angela, Gabriela and Kiki is solid as is. As a group they’re easier to forecast for than SC is, even if they don’t address last season’s weaknesses.

All of this says to me, 1. UConn 2. UCLA 3. SC, at least until events prove otherwise.

Uhhh Dunn transferred to the “School across town” not UCLA. While the discussion is whether or not the Huskies are thin at PG for the Bruins it’s pretty much Rice and Leger-Walker.

We should know by Dec 1 if South Carolina, UCLA or some other team should occupy the #2 spot. Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas at Thanksgiving with Duke, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA will reveal a lot.

As a lead up to the Players Era the Bruins will play Oklahoma and UNC then finish November hosting Tennessee. That’s quite a challenging non-conference gauntlet.

 

[meyers7]

I agree 100%. I do see one problem with the poll; it gives us nothing to bitch about. Much more fun when we can tear apart the poll for throwing dirt on our Huskies. Wonder what we are all going to do with all our free time. Asking for a friend.

Tell your friend to work on the starting lineup (for a real game) and minutes distribution (for a real game)......that should keep them busy.

 

[Centerstream]

A Texas Longhorn news item appeared on my Google page this morning that featured the announcement that Madison Booker is the SEC Preseason Player of the Year. Also that she is a member of the Preseason Conference First Team.
So...when does the BE announce their Preseason selections?

 

[Bone Dog]

We must have been watching different games cuz Diana was def the point guard in 2003 and 2004

I think we must have been. Maria Conlon was clearly the pg on both those teams. Diana did so much more than what a pg is responsible for that it’s easy to mistake her for a pg in those seasons.

Similarly, Kaitlyn and KK were clearly the PGs last season. They clearly weren’t SGs. Still, folks could be forgiven for thinking it was Paige. But like Diana she mostly played off the ball. Of course, since she organized everything about the offense, it’s easy to think that made her the pg.

The irony is that there’s so much more to the PG position than people usually notice. It’s not just about bringing the ball up the court. But there was also so much more to Paige’s game, and Diana’s, that to call either of them a point guard really misses a lot about what they did for the team.

 

[Skeets]

I agree any guard - and Sarah - can ably bring the ball up the court. But that’s not all a point guard does

There’s a reason there are separate point guard camps where pgs go in the offseason to improve their skills. A good pg can not only handle the ball she knows which offensive set to begin based on how the opponent is defending her teammates. She sees where to pass the ball, where to go if the defense shifts, and is already thinking of options if teammates have to rebound a missed shot. And that’s my rather simplistic description of how much is involved

A shooting guard, like Ash, is hunting shots rather than setting up the offense for other scorers. That’s her job, so to speak, like Azzi. The skill set might be similar but the mindset is different

Players really aren’t interchangeable. Just because a player is tall doesn’t mean she can play post. Remember when Geno had few post players and 6-3 Ann Strother played in the paint? It did not work . Coach can’t move players around that easily. Turing a SG or wing into a pg won’t work either

The mindset is certainly different. Yes, Ash's job is to hunt her shots and do her part in running plays. Geno will probably never sub-out KK for Ash. Having said that, I believe Ash's experience at PG in HS and her familiarity with the offense and basketball IQ would enable her to play PG in a pinch. I don't believe UConn would suffer greatly with Ash at the point. Are the better options at PG? I hope so, but you never know...

 

[PacoSwede]

i only viewed the first 3 quarters of the BC exhibition (thanks to posts leading me to "azzi update" on utube). watched this morning and i am now confident that kayleigh will be fine as kk's replacement -- if it comes to that.

i don't know why all the concern about her arose in the postgame thread, except for the doom-hunters of the BY. it was her first game. i's glad i finally watched the game for myself this a.m.

BTW, why do some pooh pooh morgan as point guard? the huskies may never need it, but she was a super good PG in high school. i'd certainly prefer her over other emergency PG suggested.

 

[meyers7]

A Texas Longhorn news item appeared on my Google page this morning that featured the announcement that Madison Booker is the SEC Preseason Player of the Year. Also that she is a member of the Preseason Conference First Team.
So...when does the BE announce their Preseason selections?

Last year it was on 10/23. So probably sometime next week.

 

[Majic Hands]

Yep. I felt I had a grasp of what Nika meant for the team. Without her they struggled.

I was hopeful when Ms Chin appeared until I heard her say “we didn’t play read & react at Princeton”!

Halfway through the season I was like. . . Thankful Ms Chin picked us for a year. To me she was Nika with a mindset of being the second or third scoring option not the fourth or fifth.

Watching the replay of the BC I saw a number of interesting things. The biggest to me was who is that wing or forward fowling their PG on the break?

Come to find out it’s GupGup! HolyCow she looks tremendously bigger than KK & Keylie. I was having flashbacks of Magic bringing the ball up court.

This is what our girls look like after 3 weeks??? 😎 👍

 

[Cuango]

Actually we scored 70 in Columbia during our regular season matchup last December. Unfortunately the chickens scored 81.

I’m calling it now. Nov. 26 your Blue Devils will outscore SC and win a close game at Colonial Life Arena! No, no, don’t thank me. I just calls em as I sees em! 😎