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Will CD or AG be a starter? Any transfer come in?
Questions for next season
- Thread starter mhshuskies
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I don't think either will be. Bueckers, Fudd and Edwards are locks. Dorka (if ready) will slide into the starting line up. That leaves 1 spot. I think AG will be eased into the lineup. CD has the best shot, but that puts Muhl back on the bench. I think Muhl's defense gives her the edge.
I'm curious to see if Geno looks to the transfer portal to bring in some guard depth.
I'm curious to see if Geno looks to the transfer portal to bring in some guard depth.
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Paige Azzi Edwards Dorka are a lock. Aubrey coming off a back surgery and a year away from basketball has me believing she comes off the bench and CD gets the start. Geno loves offense.
Aubrey and Nika will be defense plugs with 1st rotation. Amari will battle Ice for first post off the bench.
Aubrey and Nika will be defense plugs with 1st rotation. Amari will battle Ice for first post off the bench.
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The 2nd best team in wcbb learned that injuries can be a huge problem.
UCONN is going to be beast next year provided Aubrey and Dorka are back and healthy.
I'd be interested to know if Patterson is actually 6'4. She is listed as 6'2 but looks taller than Brady by a fair amount.
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CD may fill a 6th man role as Geno likes a player who can score to come in. I'd give her 35 minutes though.
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I agree. I think you start Nika, Paige, Azzi, Aaliyah, Dorka and have CD come off the bench for an offensive spark.
I really hope Geno goes with Nika in the starting lineup after she has proven two straight years the impact she can have on the team in that role.
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Am I the only one that sees (mostly) good things happen whenever Nika steps on the court. She is a facilitator on offense, and a disrupter on defense. Nika is not afraid to slug it out for rebounds with the bigs, or dive for loose balls.
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Wish UConn could get Blackwell, she would add physically to UConn that IMO will be required to beat SC next season
i am a huge fan of nika but its a hard choice between her and CD. Maybe I'm tripping but I really felt like CD was playing at just below an all american type level before she went out. To think back she had 24 against louisville, which was one of her first starts I believe. So its hard for me to say she should be a six man, not that there is anything wrong with that. But I get having nika,paige, and azzi start. It relieves some of the ball handling responsibilities off of your best shooters and they both can look for their shot. I just think next year with the spacing and ball handling skills dorka provides you may not need an extra ball handler. So I'd lean towards starting pb,azzi,cd,ae,and dorka, but its a win-win either way.
oldude
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The off-season development of Amari & Piath will be critical next season for UConn. Neither has to earn a starting spot, but we observed yesterday how dominant a team with multiple Bigs can be in championship games.
if one or both UConn Bigs can develop to the point where they establish themselves as key reserves, UConn has a much better chance to battle teams like SC & Stanford for the championship next season.
Looking forward to Jamelle working her magic on Amari, Piath, Ice & Ayanna, to go along with Aaliyah, giving UConn a real chance at banner #12.
if one or both UConn Bigs can develop to the point where they establish themselves as key reserves, UConn has a much better chance to battle teams like SC & Stanford for the championship next season.
Looking forward to Jamelle working her magic on Amari, Piath, Ice & Ayanna, to go along with Aaliyah, giving UConn a real chance at banner #12.
While watching the game last night, especially seeing the development of Azzi being sick, I kept imploring Geno to bring in CD. It’s as if we forgot she led our team in scoring for a stretch of time. It was so nice to see her come in and be productive and have that urgency of wanting to get things done.
If she and Azzi have the usual sophomore leap, I definitely see them starting with Paige, Edwards, and Dorka. That way you have a guard to come off of the bench to keep the lineups balanced. Especially against good teams, you have to matchup length wise from the start.
If she and Azzi have the usual sophomore leap, I definitely see them starting with Paige, Edwards, and Dorka. That way you have a guard to come off of the bench to keep the lineups balanced. Especially against good teams, you have to matchup length wise from the start.
agree and besides, Nika and AG together constitute the perfect wrecking crew to bring off the bench by the second quarter or earlier, as may be needed
Just adding Patterson and Aubrey return to Paige ,Nika , CD and AE means offensive rebounding goes to a new level. I believe our sometimes swarming defensive attack will only grow into more consistency next year. Dorka, Amari , Brady and I bet a big transfer will compliment with post play . This team is going to get not just better but a lot better !
BRS24
LisaG
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100%. I keep saying there's a parallel of Diana's frosh year and Azzi this year. Less than average performance and sophomore year was a huge improvement.
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The defense was actually good last night. SC didn't shoot lights out...although it may have felt that way. REBOUNDS were the problem. SC had something like 21 O boards, but only six more FG attempts! Fix that and we're good. And the FT attempt disparity was just eye-popping, but unfortunately, you really can't control that.
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Defense wasn't the problem last night. South Carolina scored 13, 11, and 18 in the final three quarters, and think of how many of those points were from free throws. That's usually good enough defense to win. For as much as the game started off looking like it was going to be a blow out, it was still a 2 possession game with 1:33 left in the 3rd quarter.
Rooting for Nika as well.
She really has to learn how to penetrate and score. You can see in the tournament, we need offense from every player and we averaged in the 50s in regulation - the whole tournament.
Will not get it done.
We always had a point guard that could put up 20 on a good night.
CocoHusky
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By skill set the needs are what they have been for the past 4 years- A large skilled post presence and a better perimeter defender that not going to be an offensive liability.
Dorka and AE will start at 4/5 respectively and Ayanna and Ice will provide adequate backups. Amari and or Piath will have to improve to make this regular rotation 5 instead of 4. Patterson appears to be a rebounder deluxe which UCONN has been lacking and Ice is the type of player that you can run your offense through from the high post.
At the wing position CD can start and if healthy Aubrey can back her up.
At the guard positions Azzi and Paige will start. Nika can backup Paige as a PG but CW and Evina are going to leave quite a few minutes to fill at SG and I think this is where the portal comes in. I've been advocating for Abby Meyers (Princeton) and want to throw out a new name in the Portal Pricilla Williams ( Syracuse). Both are experienced players that IMO can press UCONN's roster for a starting spot and would definitely get minutes and here is the best part: Either/both player(s) would improve the UCONN perimeter defense significantly and while not being an offensive liability.
Dorka and AE will start at 4/5 respectively and Ayanna and Ice will provide adequate backups. Amari and or Piath will have to improve to make this regular rotation 5 instead of 4. Patterson appears to be a rebounder deluxe which UCONN has been lacking and Ice is the type of player that you can run your offense through from the high post.
At the wing position CD can start and if healthy Aubrey can back her up.
At the guard positions Azzi and Paige will start. Nika can backup Paige as a PG but CW and Evina are going to leave quite a few minutes to fill at SG and I think this is where the portal comes in. I've been advocating for Abby Meyers (Princeton) and want to throw out a new name in the Portal Pricilla Williams ( Syracuse). Both are experienced players that IMO can press UCONN's roster for a starting spot and would definitely get minutes and here is the best part: Either/both player(s) would improve the UCONN perimeter defense significantly and while not being an offensive liability.
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The question next year will be the same one with which we began this year: Bigs. Coach Geno understood completely at the beginning of the season that Edwards and ONO just would not bring us a NC, when he pointed out that Dorka could be that key addition in the front court that could take us to the highest level. But Dorka was not there for the Final.
This year we lose ONO, but bring back Dorka. Dorka will undoubtedly play better than ONO, and give us a more dependable presence underneath. Indeed, it could be that with a better understanding of Coach Geno's system, she'll do vastly better than she did this year.
But we're not bringing in another Boston, or Cunane, or Brink or Betts. Ice and Ayanna are 6'2" and 6'3", which means they're not the size to go toe to toe with a great post. The question is whether they can help form a credible and physical ensemble cast for the front court. That's something we haven't had since 2015, when Breanna Stewart teamed up with Kiah Stokes and Morgan Tuck. The year before was the last time we had an unstoppable front court, adding Stephanie Dolson to Stewart and Stokes. We won the NC with HOF'er Breanna at the post. But since then, we've cobbled together a front court that just couldn't get us to the Promised Land. Napheesa was undersized for the position she was forced to play at UConn. And KLS was a tall guard who was forced to play under the basket on defense.
I hold out no hope that either DeBerry or Gabriel will step forward, or will be given the go-ahead to step forward next year. I think Coach Geno has made up his mind about their prospects, and he's not likely to all of a sudden have Gabriel as the first front court player off the bench. Nor will DeBerry likely turn into a bruising back-to-the-basket post player. Instead, she's likely to, ONO-like, keep heaving threes from beyond the arc. That's not what the team needs.
Unless a great post player decides to transfer in, we will be looking at yet another year of excellent guard play, but a questionable front court. And until those questions are answered, the odds-on favorites for the next NC will be South Carolina and Stanford.
This year we lose ONO, but bring back Dorka. Dorka will undoubtedly play better than ONO, and give us a more dependable presence underneath. Indeed, it could be that with a better understanding of Coach Geno's system, she'll do vastly better than she did this year.
But we're not bringing in another Boston, or Cunane, or Brink or Betts. Ice and Ayanna are 6'2" and 6'3", which means they're not the size to go toe to toe with a great post. The question is whether they can help form a credible and physical ensemble cast for the front court. That's something we haven't had since 2015, when Breanna Stewart teamed up with Kiah Stokes and Morgan Tuck. The year before was the last time we had an unstoppable front court, adding Stephanie Dolson to Stewart and Stokes. We won the NC with HOF'er Breanna at the post. But since then, we've cobbled together a front court that just couldn't get us to the Promised Land. Napheesa was undersized for the position she was forced to play at UConn. And KLS was a tall guard who was forced to play under the basket on defense.
I hold out no hope that either DeBerry or Gabriel will step forward, or will be given the go-ahead to step forward next year. I think Coach Geno has made up his mind about their prospects, and he's not likely to all of a sudden have Gabriel as the first front court player off the bench. Nor will DeBerry likely turn into a bruising back-to-the-basket post player. Instead, she's likely to, ONO-like, keep heaving threes from beyond the arc. That's not what the team needs.
Unless a great post player decides to transfer in, we will be looking at yet another year of excellent guard play, but a questionable front court. And until those questions are answered, the odds-on favorites for the next NC will be South Carolina and Stanford.