Questions for next season

[Longtime fan]

You might be right that Geno doesn’t look outside, but you shouldn’t base it on roster numbers but talent. If there is a player Geno & Co. sees could help them next year why not do so. Aubrey is coming off back surgery. Piath and Amari are unproven and we have to bank on Dorka elevating her game as a starter. We don’t have truly offensive proven post players at this point. We need another guard that can be like E and provide offense and defense.

Your point is well taken. I think, however, coach likes the "family" he has. Maybe he is calculating enough to bring in "the right talent," but it has to be someone special. Don't forget, he knows the " character" of everyone on the team, and that suggests he has confidence they will work and develop to a peak. An outsider is always a question mark.

 

[npignatjr]

Sometimes we don’t see the forest for the trees. In 4 years, Liv improved her passing, the ability to finish at the basket against contact, her ability to go to her left, her rebounding range, her ability to screen effectively and her help defense, among other skills.

As for Aaliyah, I somewhat agree, with a caveat. I have felt for some time that Aaliyah regressed because she basically missed summer workouts and conditioning by making the Canadian Olympic team, where she got very little opportunity to play or develop her skills.

It took some time for the UConn coaches to get Aaliyah back to approximately the same place she was at the end of last season, which was pretty good, with tons of obvious potential. This summer, with no distractions, I expect Aaliyah to take her game to the next level.

Here are Olivia's stats, assists up this year. Down to lower than even sophomore year scoring, rebounds, blocked shots. With the exception of recurring turnovers and fouls I will give Aaliyah a partial pass for this year.

 

[oldude]

Here are Olivia's stats, assists up this year. Down to lower than even sophomore year scoring, rebounds, blocked shots. With the exception of recurring turnovers and fouls I will give Aaliyah a partial pass for this year.

Stats are misleading. Different teams. Players asked to do different things. Paige’s ppg & apg are both down from last year, but I am reasonably certain that she hasn’t regressed as a player.

 

[Surly1]

Hold on a moment. folks. We already ( with Aubrey back ) have 11 ( I think). If everyone is much better next season ( our hope 0 , that doesn't leave enough minutes for 11. I mean, we know it can work out. My point is; I don't see Geno looking to add someone from the outside.

I’m hoping Geno is religiously scouring all the posts from the experts here to formulate a plan on how to prepare for next season. Maybe it’s me, but I’d think finishing runner-up is considered a successful season and not the beginning of the end.

Lest we forget that Azzi is a freshman who missed 11 games, particularly important as a freshman to develop consistency in their game. Combined with Paige missing 19 games, and next season’s starting backcourt missed out on a total of 30 games, or almost the equivalent of a season. No to mention that Paige operated at best, 80-85 % of her ability. Look at the Arkansas game again and you can see difference in that game compared to the games after her return. As Husky Nan stated in another post, every coach in the country would rather have Paige and Azzi as their starters.

Looking ahead, this team should/will be better than this year’s team. Caroline is primed to take over Christyn Williams’ spot. No slight against Williams or Evina, but their ceiling had been reached on the collegiate level at least. At 6’2, Caroline has size, length and prior to her missing games, had superseded Williams as a go-to player in Paige’s absence. Her potential has been barely scratched. Instead of harping on what she needs to do, let’s note the things she already does well. She runs the baseline well, posts and finishes well. Her 3-pt shooting should improve, at least as good as Williams, more likely better.

There are two stud freshmen coming in. They’ll have the luxury of not being depended on to provide scoring and can concentrate on adding value by playing defense and rebounding. They bring good size. Too many harp on needing more bigs. Consider Aiyah Blackwell and Morrow are only 6’0 and 6’1 respectively, and they were near the top in rebounding this season. Add in Haley Jones at 6’1 and Saxton from SC at 6’2, and size is not the only factor. Heart, hustle and desire make the difference.

Next season, Aubrey Griffin returns and it’s way to early to call the return on Amari DeBerry. Yes, she has to get physically stronger and work on her conditioning, but she is skilled and it is
up to her how much she wants to contribute next year. If she makes strides, she can be a more offensively gifted Nelson-Odod.

Lastly, given the influx of players in the transfer portal, it’s not unreasonable to think that UConn might add a player or two to the mix. Whether they do or not, there is plenty of talent already and the team can easily run 10 deep right now. Looking ahead, next year’s team will be more talented and in my opinion, will work more cohesively than this year’s team. I can see no reason why the 2022 team won’t be a Final Four team or more again.

 

[bayern7]

You can X-out Piath and Amari from that list. They are just not going to play. It's quite clear that Coach Geno has no faith in them, nor intends for them to fulfill meaningful roles. If he did, he would have used them vastly differently than he did. Ice Brady is listed at 6'3", with Ayanna at 6'2". So we have one big post-size player in Dorka. Will Aubrey come back and play effectively as a small forward after major back surgery? We'll have to see....But we're not looking at a NPOY-type post player on this roster.

Jesus the negative energy is strong with you…Amari and Piath can both have meaningful minutes next year, depending on how they develop over the next 7 months. Amari especially, she’s both more skilled and stronger than Olivia is and she’s only a freshman. So this idea that she’s not gonna have a bigger role next year is laughable. Isuneh plays bigger than 6’3” and is listed by some sources at 6’4” and there’s been discussion that Ayanna may still be growing a bit and that she maybe be 6’3”/6’4” same situation that we’ve seen with Nalyssa Smith. Putting aside their actual listed heights which you’re arguing over literally an inch (do you get joy from being so annoyingly pedantic?)…both of them play bigger than they might actually be, in terms of their length, strength, and athleticism. Obviously I don’t know what Aubrey will look like but unlike you I choose to have a positive outlook on the future and am looking forward to having Aubrey back. I guess you’re just not gonna mention Aaliyah who many think has AA potential. So yeah we may not have Boston or Brink or Betts but we do have the talent, size, and depth to compete with the two teams who have those NPOY type posts. Not every team can have a Boston level post player, but no other team has a Beucker AND Fudd level backcourt.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

DT went 1 for 15. When she was crying on the bench, Coach Geno went over to her, and according to him, told her that, yes, she helped lose the game for us. But she was the one who got us this far. Words to that effect. DT was a bonafide star her freshman year. Path and DeBerry weren't even put into blowouts until the last couple of minutes. Coach Geno doesn't play games with players. He lets them know where they stand. I don't see either player all of a sudden becoming dependable, important, impact players next year.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

Stats are misleading. Different teams. Players asked to do different things. Paige’s ppg & apg are both down from last year, but I am reasonably certain that she hasn’t regressed as a player.

Paige was down after coming back from a major injury to her knee and leg. Whether she ever makes it back to pre-injury form is a big question. We've seen so many players who never did. I hope she does. But her drop in stats was clear and the reason undeniable.

So, too, for Descharmes. After incurring that concussion (yes, there's no other word for it), she was not the player she was before it. I wouldn't be surprised if CD comes out and tells us at some point in the off-season that she's been bothered by headaches and other symptoms of the concussion that she didn't reveal to the coaching staff. She wouldn't be the first athlete who covered up the after-effects of a concussion in the hopes of getting back on the court or playing field. But the stats show she was a different player after the injury.

 

[dcheng021]

I'm probably in the minority on this, but I like having Ducharme or Azzi come off the bench as 6th man and having a starting lineup of Paige, Nika, Edwards, Dorka, and then Fudd/Ducharme. Gives the team the option to bring more offensive firepower off the bench when needed, and with Paige, Fudd, and Ducharme being our best offensive options, it limits the amount they cannibalize shots from each other. Nika is a perfect complement to pair with them since she doesn't shoot a ton and you can put her on the other team's Caitlin Clark or Maddie Siegrest so that the other guards can save their legs for the offensive side of the court and keep them out of foul trouble.

 

[HuskyNan]

I suspect if you asked Diana's teammates if she won two national titles by herself, they might look perplexed. I remember well watching those late-round games both in '03 and '04 and there were plenty of times Taurasi was not the only player on the court for UConn.

Advocate for DT as you wish, but it's overstating to say she won two titles by herself. Certainly she was the team leader, and the player the Huskies looked to in big moments. I'd say the same could have been said of Maya and Stewie. You also left out some rather significant resume items for the latter two which I'd guess you know well but don't help your case here.

And you’re overlooking National POY Tina. Maya needed Tina for her two championships and vice versa. Neither one could do it on her own.

 

[oldude]

Paige was down after coming back from a major injury to her knee and leg. Whether she ever makes it back to pre-injury form is a big question. We've seen so many players who never did. I hope she does. But her drop in stats was clear and the reason undeniable.

So, too, for Descharmes. After incurring that concussion (yes, there's no other word for it), she was not the player she was before it. I wouldn't be surprised if CD comes out and tells us at some point in the off-season that she's been bothered by headaches and other symptoms of the concussion that she didn't reveal to the coaching staff. She wouldn't be the first athlete who covered up the after-effects of a concussion in the hopes of getting back on the court or playing field. But the stats show she was a different player after the injury.

Did you not see the NCSt game? I’m pretty sure that was Paige who lit up the Wolfpack with 27 pts. As for Caroline, I know we have lots of would be doctors here on the BY, but suggesting that she may still be suffering from headaches and other concussion related symptoms with no evidence is one hell of a stretch, even for the Boneyard.

Caroline’s biggest issue was that she is just not as effective coming off the bench as she was starting. It’s not easy to come into a game cold and immediately contribute, which is why Evina was incredibly valuable this season. But Caroline looked fine against SC, and she’ll be much improved next season.

 

[HuskyNan]

Did you not see the NCSt game? I’m pretty sure that was Paige who lit up the Wolfpack with 27 pts. As for Caroline, I know we have lots of would be doctors here on the BY, but suggesting that she may still be suffering from headaches and other concussion related symptoms with no evidence is one hell of a stretch, even for the Boneyard.

Caroline’s biggest issue was that she is just not as effective coming off the bench as she was starting. It’s not easy to come into a game cold and immediately contribute, which is why Evina was incredibly valuable this season. But Caroline looked fine against SC, and she’ll be much improved next season.

Geno told us what the issue was - after getting hit in the head in 3 consecutive games, Caroline was skittish about going into the lane.

Since she doesn’t shoot threes like Azzi, and who does?, she didn’t play because he didn’t need another person parked on the perimeter taking bad shots, he needed a scorer.

 

[oldude]

Geno told us what the issue was - after getting hit in the head in 3 consecutive games, Caroline was skittish about going into the lane.

Since she doesn’t shoot threes like Azzi, and who does?, she didn’t play because he didn’t need another person parked on the perimeter taking bad shots, he needed a scorer.

Whatever Caroline’s issues were, she looked pretty good vs SC. 3 of 4 of her baskets were in the lane, along with 1 x 3. I thought her defense was generally decent, maybe a little over aggressive, as she certainly had no problem mixing it up, drawing 5 fouls in just 22 minutes.

 

[Longtime fan]

Stats are misleading. Different teams. Players asked to do different things. Paige’s ppg & apg are both down from last year, but I am reasonably certain that she hasn’t regressed as a player.

Okay. Here is my final challenge for the off-season.

South Carolina is the defending champion, and everyone agreed that they were better than UCONN and deserved to win, injuries and illnesses notwithstanding.

So far this off-season (in three days ), the following has occurred in Columbia, SC:

1. Saxon ( 6'2" senior) has decided to return for a fifth year, to win another championship.

2. South Carolina has acquired ( portal ) Kierra Fletcher ( guard ) from Georgia Tech to replace Destinee Henderson ( the only member of the team who is apparently not returning ). Fletcher was a four year starter at Tech averaging 13 points per game; 3.7 assists; 5.5 rebounds and shooting 41.6% from the field. She did not play this passed season due to a foot injury.

3. SC also expects the return of Raven Johnson, the No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2021, who missed the entire season due to a knee injury.

4. SC has had the No.1 ranked recruiting class in women's basketball two of the past three years. Their incoming class ( 2022) is ranked 6th vs. UCONN ranking 4th.

5. The 6'7" Brazilian transfer ( Cardoza ) from Syracuse last off-season has now had a full year, and championship run, under Dawn Staley's guidance. She knows the system and is settled in.

The challenge is to identify what would have to happen for UCONN to defeat this SC team, given the assets ( players and coaches ) we now have in place. I say " assets now in place" because I don't think UCONN will use the portal this year ( we already have 11 players returning ) , and too many wild and crazy guesses might be so unrealistic as to become meaningless ( eg Morrow comes
to UCONN, etc ).

But you can say things like;

1. Paige will be player of the year again and able to play 40 minutes per game at full tilt. ( reasonable )
2. AZZI will lead the nation in scoring ( possible)
3. Piath will emerge as Tina Charles 2.0. ( dream on, dudes ).
4. etc.

Later, we can assess the likelihood of any of these scenarios. I can't think of anything else to do to get me to next season.

 

[hoophuskee]

Okay. Here is my final challenge for the off-season.

South Carolina is the defending champion, and everyone agreed that they were better than UCONN and deserved to win, injuries and illnesses notwithstanding.



But you can say things like;

1. Paige will be player of the year again and able to play 40 minutes per game at full tilt. ( reasonable )
2. AZZI will lead the nation in scoring ( possible)
3. Piath will emerge as Tina Charles 2.0. ( dream on, dudes ).
4. etc.

Later, we can assess the likelihood of any of these scenarios. I can't think of anything else to do to get me to next season.

1-- Paige be Paige.
2-- Azzi and CD become "highly efficient scorers." (Azzi couldn't get open enough while CD wasn't that consistently efficient).
3-- Assuming a healthy Dorka, of three others between DeBerry, Brady and Patterson- if 2 of them can become impact players off the bench. Not "bench contributors" but "Impact (ofc not All-American or Honorable mention but impact) bench players."
4-- Griffin come back healthy and Patterson plays /is productive as a top national frosh with elite gifts ready to play. The team's athleticism could match anyone with the idea of press press press allowing Paige, Azzi and CD more open space to score.

 

[hoophuskee]

Unless Geno wants to keep losing the big games then he's going to need to experiment with different sub's for when the injuries/illnesses happen.

So last year beating Baylor wasn't a big game?
This year beating NC State and Stanford weren't "big games?"

SO when those other teams lose and maybe play their bench more that goes unnoticed that maybe they used their bench too much? Yet with UCONN using their strategy to win with a smaller bench that doesn't count either for a "big game?"

Is the definition of a big game only when UCONN loses?

 

[Tonyc]

Azzi was sick, Evina got hurt, Liv had a pulled groin and the fouls were something like 26 to 4. We were down 18 pts and pulled to within 5. This is what went wrong. This team over came alot to get to the final game. They learned how to overcome alot this season. When you play aggressive defense like SC did and they call 4 fouls on then well I have to wonder. It was an unbelievable season to go through what we went through and make the final game.

 

[jchusky]

Azzi was sick, Evina got hurt, Liv had a pulled groin and the fouls were something like 26 to 4. We were down 18 pts and pulled to within 5. This is what went wrong. This team over came alot to get to the final game. They learned how to overcome alot this season. When you play aggressive defense like SC did and they call 4 fouls on then well I have to wonder. It was an unbelievable season to go through what we went through and make the final game.

the elite 8 game will go down as one of the greatest games in college sports history, and that includes men.

 

[Tonyc]

I think we will see more opportunities on every team for players now that there is a portal. I read there are something like 1,000+ players in the portal. For some that may be good for others well we will see how it pans out. Play me or I will leave has to be in the back of coaches minds as well as players minds and parents minds. Many kids dont go to college to sit. Perhaps wait there turn as there are upper classman ahead of them but not to sit for 4 years. UConn has a good core of players for the next few years. Geno will take care of those players. Is the portal an option for UConn. Maybe for a player or two has UConn will not be deep at the guard position. With that said Nika Azzi and Paige are the guards. Caroline can play there too or she can play the wing. Paige and Nika seem to be who Geno will have play the point. Azzi Paige and Caroline can play the wing/ shooting guard. IMO Caroline is a really really good player and can do alot and score in a lot of different ways. She will see alot of minutes during her career at UConn. Caroline imo will be a key to next seasons team.

 

[JBK]

One point I do agree is Paige's playing style is a bit different in high school and college. I understand that she wants to be a good team player in college.

Quick question
Does all players get a CoVID year. Does Paige have 3 years left if she desires. With NIL and sold out arenas, why not get your masters and stay ??

 

[tchalla1]

Geno said on the presser that Caroline was impacted be the three consecutive games when she got bonked on the head and was then skittish about going to the basket. The finals were a departure from that. She played a strong game and banged with Boston. Too bad about getting blocked by Boston out on the perimeter that one time. I think the skittishness Geno saw was his reason for not playing her more. I imagine he must have seen some of that skittishness in practices.

I'm sorry but other than a little rust, I saw no appreciable differences in Carline's tenacity or her willingness to drive it in the paint before her injury and after. What i saw was jittery playing time IMO predicated by Geno's now quick hook on her. I have to be honest--this all sounds like revisionist history on Geno's part. First, he told us Caroline has not suffered a concussion although she missed several games, then her injury was referred to as her being concussed but that her absence of playing time was due to game strategy and not injury.... Now we're back to it being an injury-related reason for her limited playing time...

Honestly, I thought in the SC game, she was far more assertive than CW or Evina and would have had a pretty solid game had she been given more minutes...

 

[BRS24]

Quick question
Does all players get a CoVID year. Does Paige have 3 years left if she desires. With NIL and sold out arenas, why not get your masters and stay ??

I believe she has 3 years left. She could stay, earn NIL money, and then perhaps not need to go overseas as a pro, however the grind of college and the WNBA bring different challenges. As a student-athlete, there are a lot of perks - access to trainers, therapists, charter flights, etc, etc. As a pro, much of what you need to do is on your own, and many WNBA-ers have commented on the huge void created after college. You don't fly charter. You hire your own trainers, nutritionists, etc. It all depends on her goals. As much as college provides for SAs, there's also a rigidity to lives that might only be tolerable for so long.

 

[GoUconn7961]

This makes me happy

Ayanna Patterson

 

[Jletoile]

Okay. Here is my final challenge for the off-season.

The challenge is to identify what would have to happen for UCONN to defeat this SC team, given the assets ( players and coaches ) we now have in place. I say " assets now in place" because I don't think UCONN will use the portal this year ( we already have 11 players returning ) , and too many wild and crazy guesses might be so unrealistic as to become meaningless ( eg Morrow comes
to UCONN, etc ).

Unfortunately, we'll be dependent on freshman bigs having great years. Otherwise, next year will be like this year and last year, imo.

We can make all the excuses we want, but we simply cannot go toe-toe with South Carolina as currently constructed. I really hope we use the portal.

 

[oldhusky]

Seems to me the main questions are the bigs and at least one more quality guard for depth. Paige and Azzi are exceptional now and Azzi in particular should improve next year. Caroline whether you call her a guard or a wing is a good fit at the 3, her natural position, her first year was very promising, but with areas where further improvement is quite likely, particularly fouls and 3pt shooting where her success in 3pt contests suggests she is way better than what we saw this year.

In short we have championship caliber players there, one backup we can count on in Nika, but injuries happen so getting one more guard that could fit in will be a significant goal in the portal. The issue is upfront, where we have lots of potential contributors, most of which we feel will be good, but whether they are good enough to battle with the SC's or Stanford's of the world is another question and a very high bar indeed.

Liv, Aaliyah and Dorka were all way above average college bigs. But with Aubrey out, and Amari and Piath deemed not yet ready for prime time, the 3 big rotation survived for most of the season but was an accident waiting to happen. We had no margin of error, could not afford injuries, sickness, or foul trouble, and of course being thin there killed us when Dorka missed the last two games.

The floor for our bigs was pretty high, but the ceiling was significantly below teams like SC and Stanford. We tended to feast on mediocre competition, but were at a distinct disadvantage against some (not many) of the very best teams. I expect Dorka to start and be better than last year, mainly because she played about half the time at PF and next year she can concentrate on C. Aaliyah was a huge disappointment, a major drop-off in every way from a freshmen season I thought hinted at an All American future. Mainly she needs to regain her freshmen form and improve upon it. She also had to play some completely out of position as an emergency wing, when we only had 3 guards.

Then we have many talented question marks. Somehow from Aubrey, Amari, Piath and the two freshmen we need to have at least two emerge as very high quality players in the rotation (4 bigs) so we are not vulnerable with only 3 again. I suspect that will happen, but fear their ceilings will still fall short of some of our championship competitors, think SC (Boston, Cardosa) or Stanford (Brink, Betts) not to mention their other very good bigs.

A couple of the very best teams will probably be better than us at the 4/5. In that case we need to beat them because of our superior guard play, but we have to at least get close and be competitive with the best bigs. We can't be dominated there and expect to win a championship IMO.