Princeton vs. UConn, 12/8/2022

[JoePgh]

Pssst -- don't tell anybody, but the replay of the full Princeton - UConn game in December 2022 is still up on YouTube.

It's worth re-watching because it allows observation of Kaitlyn Chen against some reasonably good defense. Regarding UConn players, it offers some observations of those who have been in sick bay for a while but are expected to return for the upcoming season: Aubrey, Caroline, and Ayanna. And it allows us to see some non-garbage minutes from the two players who recently departed: Amari and Ines.

You may remember this game for a number of reasons. UConn was up 15 early in the 4th quarter, and ended up winning by only 5 after Princeton got the lead all the way down to 2 in the last minute. The reason was UConn's 27 turnovers, most of which occurred near the end of the game. Princeton outscored UConn by 28-12 in points off turnovers. It's true that UConn was hampered in the final minutes by Nika's unavailability (she took an Aaliyah knee to her head early in the third quarter and was unavailable after that) and Lou's sitting out the last 5 minutes of the game due to a nagging ankle problem.

Regarding Chen, she scored 18 points against UConn in that game, but did so in a relatively inefficient way. She was 7-21 on field goal attempts,and 0-6 from 3-point land. She did score a few driving layups against Lou and Aaliyah which were impressive. She had 7 assists, 3 turnovers, and 3 steals. I thought that she was relatively inconspicuous on the court compared to other Princeton players like Grace Stone, who scored 20 on 7-13 shooting including 5-8 from 3. However, I did notice that Kaitlyn was smiling and positive during the timeouts during the most pressure-packed minutes at the end of the game -- a personal trait that has been commented on by some of her previous coaches. I don't think she is as good a ball handler as KK Arnold (never mind Paige), and she doesn't seem to be nearly as good a shooter as Azzi or even Ashlynn, so I don't think it is clear that she will start for UConn. But she will make intelligent plays and stay within the offense, which may be important late in close games.

Regarding the UConn "walking wounded", Aubrey played probably the best game of her college career on this occasion, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She shot 11-for-11 from the field (!!), including 2-2 from 3. She committed 0 fouls and had 0 turnovers in 34 minutes, and she scored the game-winning layup in the final minute. Ironically, this was immediately after one of her worst games, when she scored just 3 points against Notre Dame. If she gets healthy in the upcoming season and plays even remotely like she did in this game, she will nail down the starting 3 position for UConn.

Caroline had a very mediocre game against Princeton, although she appeared to be fully healthy. She scored only 2 points and had 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. She did get 4 defensive rebounds at critical moments. Obviously, she will have to play a lot better than that next year to get significant minutes, but if she is healthy, she is clearly capable of that.

Ayanna played 7 minutes and managed to commit 3 fouls in that time. She had 1 rebound and 1 turnover. She was in the game at the end to pressure Princeton's inbounder (someone named Chen), and she and Caroline forced a Princeton turnover on that pass. That, too, was a critical play in saving the victory for UConn.

What will probably surprise you if you don't have a detailed recollection of this game is that Amari played 26 minutes because Dorka was injured and on the bench. She scored 4 points on two early field goals in the paint, but she had 0 rebounds, 4 fouls, and 5 turnovers. Despite having a huge height advantage over every Princeton player, she made enough mistakes to remind us why she really was not (and is not) a player who can be counted on for serious minutes.

Ines played better, despite 4 turnovers in just 9 minutes. She made 3 out of 4 free throws near the end of the game, including a couple that must have reminded Carla Berube of her own free throws against Tennessee in a similar end-of-game situation. Ines dribbled against pressure for most of the time that she was in the game, and showed that she can be a very good player with more seasoning. I think Gonzaga will be happy to have her. But I don't think she would have any chance at non-garbage minutes next year if she had stayed at UConn.

Overall, I can't think of a better way to "scout" next year's UConn team than to re-watch this game.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[LGITB]

I really don't think one game is an indication of any players' ability and potential, positive or negative. And a game that happened two seasons ago at that.

 

[siouxzieb]

Pssst -- don't tell anybody, but the replay of the full Princeton - UConn game in December 2022 is still up on YouTube.

It's worth re-watching because it allows observation of Kaitlyn Chen against some reasonably good defense. Regarding UConn players, it offers some observations of those who have been in sick bay for a while but are expected to return for the upcoming season: Aubrey, Caroline, and Ayanna. And it allows us to see some non-garbage minutes from the two players who recently departed: Amari and Ines.

You may remember this game for a number of reasons. UConn was up 15 early in the 4th quarter, and ended up winning by only 5 after Princeton got the lead all the way down to 2 in the last minute. The reason was UConn's 27 turnovers, most of which occurred near the end of the game. Princeton outscored UConn by 28-12 in points off turnovers. It's true that UConn was hampered in the final minutes by Nika's unavailability (she took an Aaliyah knee to her head early in the third quarter and was unavailable after that) and Lou's sitting out the last 5 minutes of the game due to a nagging ankle problem.

Regarding Chen, she scored 18 points against UConn in that game, but did so in a relatively inefficient way. She was 7-21 on field goal attempts,and 0-6 from 3-point land. She did score a few driving layups against Lou and Aaliyah which were impressive. She had 7 assists, 3 turnovers, and 3 steals. I thought that she was relatively inconspicuous on the court compared to other Princeton players like Grace Stone, who scored 20 on 7-13 shooting including 5-8 from 3. However, I did notice that Kaitlyn was smiling and positive during the timeouts during the most pressure-packed minutes at the end of the game -- a personal trait that has been commented on by some of her previous coaches. I don't think she is as good a ball handler as KK Arnold (never mind Paige), and she doesn't seem to be nearly as good a shooter as Azzi or even Ashlynn, so I don't think it is clear that she will start for UConn. But she will make intelligent plays and stay within the offense, which may be important late in close games.

Regarding the UConn "walking wounded", Aubrey played probably the best game of her college career on this occasion, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. She shot 11-for-11 from the field (!!), including 2-2 from 3. She committed 0 fouls and had 0 turnovers in 34 minutes, and she scored the game-winning layup in the final minute. Ironically, this was immediately after one of her worst games, when she scored just 3 points against Notre Dame. If she gets healthy in the upcoming season and plays even remotely like she did in this game, she will nail down the starting 3 position for UConn.

Caroline had a very mediocre game against Princeton, although she appeared to be fully healthy. She scored only 2 points and had 5 turnovers and 4 fouls in 29 minutes. She did get 4 defensive rebounds at critical moments. Obviously, she will have to play a lot better than that next year to get significant minutes, but if she is healthy, she is clearly capable of that.

Ayanna played 7 minutes and managed to commit 3 fouls in that time. She had 1 rebound and 1 turnover. She was in the game at the end to pressure Princeton's inbounder (someone named Chen), and she and Caroline forced a Princeton turnover on that pass. That, too, was a critical play in saving the victory for UConn.

What will probably surprise you if you don't have a detailed recollection of this game is that Amari played 26 minutes because Dorka was injured and on the bench. She scored 4 points on two early field goals in the paint, but she had 0 rebounds, 4 fouls, and 5 turnovers. Despite having a huge height advantage over every Princeton player, she made enough mistakes to remind us why she really was not (and is not) a player who can be counted on for serious minutes.

Ines played better, despite 4 turnovers in just 9 minutes. She made 3 out of 4 free throws near the end of the game, including a couple that must have reminded Carla Berube of her own free throws against Tennessee in a similar end-of-game situation. Ines dribbled against pressure for most of the time that she was in the game, and showed that she can be a very good player with more seasoning. I think Gonzaga will be happy to have her. But I don't think she would have any chance at non-garbage minutes next year if she had stayed at UConn.

Overall, I can't think of a better way to "scout" next year's UConn team than to re-watch this game.

Thanks for this. I remember that game well, particularly for the Nika bell ringer. I think yours is an interesting and insightful analysis & indeed a good predictive snapshot. Hopefully Chen has grown significantly. I became a Princeton fan toward the end of this past season, in part because of her. And agreed that the game did really highlight the very particular upside and downside tendencies of both our returning and non-returning Huskies. Can’t wait, and really, really excited to see Griffin healthy.

 

[Bone Dog]

Thanks, @JoePgh. I’ve watched replays of this game many times and appreciate any reminder of it. Your sense of it is exactly mine too.

Aubrey was insanely great in this game. If only she could be the starter and give minutes like this every game. But I don’t think it’s in the cards. Her back and acl may not support this. On the other hand, as a “sixth woman” she has also had magical games, and this is a role she might be able to sustain and thrive in for the long term.

Though this may not have been her best game, Chen was a good player in that season and became a very good (even great) one this past season. One thing that game showed me was what happens when the team loses its point guards. Playing without Paige Azzi and ultimately Nika made us vulnerable to precisely the sort of press and smart defense Princeton runs. Adding Kaitlyn is very wise insurance against a repeat of the same sorry situation.

The other thing that stands out for me, as for many of us, is Inês. She was thrust into a high pressure situation and faltered initially, as any freshmen with so little experience would, and then gathered herself, steadied the ship, so to speak, and finally sank a few free throws when it really mattered. This started many of us dreaming about what she might grow into given more opportunities. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen at Storrs, and I’m sure we all hope it does in Spokane.