Questions for next season

[TeamFirst!]

I think Ayanna and Ice will both help us next year and I can see Amari getting some time in the rotation as well. Injuries happen and we need all of them. I wouldn't be surprised if Ice, Amari or Ayanna is a regular in the rotation. We need to move forward with deeper rotations. We are a better team if everyone is moving. The top teams ( Stanford, SC ) now generally don't play most of their players more than 25-30 minutes a game. We probably are a better team with a deeper rotation. You can't expect every player to give it their all when the other team's specific winning tactic is to wear out our stars with very aggressive defense. We have enough talent to play a deeper rotation. If they do it all year it benefits them in the playoffs.

 

[bayern7]

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.

I agree with everything you said involving competing with SC which with all due respect to Stanford will be by far the best team in the country next season. We are not going to have anyone on the expected roster next season who go toe to toe with Boston and Cardoza, and then throw in Saxton and Amihere and Feagin for depth. But no one else in the country will either. IF Amari and Piath can take steps forward in their development that allows them to be given more substantial playing time and carve out roles. And Ayanna and Isuneh can both find ways to contribute in the paint (which I think they can). And you add in Aailyah, Dorka, and Aubrey. We have plenty of depth and size at the 3-5 to at least wear SC down and absorb fouls. Like I said in a prior post on this thread, I just hope Geno’s swallows a little bit of his pride in terms of everything needing to be as perfect as possible and really gives all these players real minutes throughout the season. Not only reduce injury risk which has obviously been

 

[bayern7]

I agree with everything you said involving competing with SC which with all due respect to Stanford will be by far the best team in the country next season. We are not going to have anyone on the expected roster next season who go toe to toe with Boston and Cardoza, and then throw in Saxton and Amihere and Feagin for depth. But no one else in the country will either. IF Amari and Piath can take steps forward in their development that allows them to be given more substantial playing time and carve out roles. And Ayanna and Isuneh can both find ways to contribute in the paint (which I think they can). And you add in Aailyah, Dorka, and Aubrey. We have plenty of depth and size at the 3-5 to at least wear SC down and absorb fouls. Like I said in a prior post on this thread, I just hope Geno’s swallows a little bit of his pride in terms of everything needing to be as perfect as possible and really gives all these players real minutes throughout the season. Not only reduce injury risk which has obviously been

I agree with everything you said involving competing with SC which will be by far the best team in the country next season. We are not going to have anyone on the expected roster next season who go toe to toe with Boston and Cardoza. Then throw in Saxton, Amihere, and Feagin for depth. But no one else in the country will either. IF Amari and Piath can take steps forward in their development that allows them to be given more substantial playing time and carve out roles. And Ayanna and Isuneh can both find ways to contribute in the paint (which I think they can). Annnddd you add in Aailyah, Dorka, and Aubrey. We have plenty of depth and size at the 3-5 to at least contain and wear SC down and absorb some fouls. But most importantly to rebound the ball and not get worn down like they did to us. Like I said in a prior post on this thread, I just hope Geno swallows a little bit of his pride in terms of everything needing to be perfect basketball at all times and really gives all these players real minutes throughout the season. Not only reduce injury risk which has obviously been an issue for us but get all that depth into the system and allow them to figure out how they can contribute in a setting other than practice…We can still play uconn basketball while using that depth and we’re gonna need players like Piath, Amari, and the incoming freshmen come March that much is clear looking at SC’s roster for next year.

 

[JBK]

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.

Well stated —

 

[fan4eva]

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.

must be the fro...afro....lol when I take my hair out my fro makes me look taller as well

 

[BRS24]

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.

And, adding to this, if Paige earns significant income from NIL in college, and represents causes that are meaningful to her, her offseason could involve these causes, rather than play overseas, unlike Breanna, Maya, etc, that have had no choice income-wise to play in the offseason, until just recently.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

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.

But let's not overlook the glaring fact that CD's numbers were way down post-concussion compared with pre-concussion. Coach Geno mentioned being scared to go in the lane, but is that really it? Was CD suffering from symptoms that she kept covered up? I'm guessing that we'll find out as time goes by.

 

[oldude]

But let's not overlook the glaring fact that CD's numbers were way down post-concussion compared with pre-concussion. Coach Geno mentioned being scared to go in the lane, but is that really it? Was CD suffering from symptoms that she kept covered up? I'm guessing that we'll find out as time goes by.

Again, I attribute her lower numbers to the fact that she wasn't starting, she was less effective off the bench and she played fewer minutes. I think it's a stretch to blame it on a concussion.

 

[Charliebball]

A point about Azzi. I think her foot injury was the most impactful after that of Paige. She lost a lot of game time and was still a freshman coming up to the Tourney. She is a great talent but does not have the flare Paige does and will have to work harder at being an all around guard and possible All American.

If she remains healthy I think you are going to see a much different Azzi next season........more aggression, more use of her superb mid range game and drives to the basket........

 

[TeamFirst!]

Both Azzi and CD got more attention eventually. More teams knew their tendencies and focused upon stopping them. I think CD was clearly hurt also and it sure looked like a concussion. Cuncussion diagnosis seems like an inexact science.

 

[Charliebball]

Again, I attribute her lower numbers to the fact that she wasn't starting, she was less effective off the bench and she played fewer minutes. I think it's a stretch to blame it on a concussion.

her three point form suffered for some reason.........earlier in the season her threes all looked like they were going in, towards the end of the season the trajectory was clearly off......she needs to do a reset this summer which I'm sure she will.......

 

[sun]

Maybe when many on the team were injured and the team really needed her to step up, Caroline was excelling on a combination of instinct, adrenaline and other neurochemicals.
Maybe her body can't easily replicate that kind of metabolic cocktail without there being urgent circumstances.

 

[Conndog]

This makes me happy

Ayanna Patterson

I love how she goes to the basket, isn’t afraid to put it up. Hope that continues against taller centers

 

[npignatjr]

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.

Stats can be, not always. Paige was hurt. This team with all the injuries and illness needed more from Olivia.

 

[visitingcock]

My comments on :

She only played two games her senior season of hs and was limited in her last year of AAU. This limited her ability to truly shine as a freshman.

Her shooting is not in question. She is THAT GOOD AS A SHOOTER. however, she needs to work on movement to get her open shots and on defense. She looks a bit slow but that may just be mental hesitancy. With her injury this year added to her previous injury and Covid lapses, she is behind where she could have been.

I’m not saying she is not good. She is! I’m just talking about the transition from good to great.