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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 5190894, member: 1131"] Don't you think Geno would prefer to have a high enough level of play from Jana and/or Ice that he could play one of them with Sarah most of the time? That is how he started out the season, and that is what he continues to try. But now Ice is unavailable (possibly until the NCAA tournament) and Jana (although she rebounds well) is not providing enough offense to make that preferred option viable. That is how we end up with Sarah and four guards, and I think Geno is correct that this is the option that provides the best balance of offense and defense, probably for the rest of the season. When Aubrey is available to play next to Sarah, it will be three guards and one small forward who rebounds well above her height, so that will make the "small lineup" option increasingly viable. I disagree with your claim that the reason UConn shot poorly from mid-range and 3-point land against Tennessee was that TN didn't feel a need to defend the inside game, and therefore concentrated on perimeter defense. Watching the game live (I haven't yet rewatched it), it appeared to me that UConn was simply missing wide open jump shots from those ranges, rather than missing because Tennessee was defending the perimeter so aggressively. And remember that the paint points in the Tennessee game were tied at 42-42, and second-chance points were 12-11, neither of which suggests that UConn's inside game was non-threatening to TN. And that was with UConn playing the Sarah+4 lineup most of the time in that game. Jana's trajectory of improvement over this season (while somewhat positive) is not nearly fast enough to give Geno (nor should it give fans) confidence that she can add a serious threat in the paint beyond what Sarah+4 can provide. And her frequent mistakes mean that her net contribution to the inside game will be less than what can be had from Sarah+4. [/QUOTE]

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