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I have seen a few posts mentioning where the posters think that Morgan & Ayanna will fit into the lineup next year. Does anyone have an update on their recovery timeline(s)?
Recovery timeline(s) for Ayanna and Morgan?
- Thread starter mainerhuski
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Centerstream
Another loooooong offseason
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Should be fine by October (fingers crossed) is my guess/hope.
Bald Husky
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I believe Ayannas surgery was the minor type, so she may already be doing workouts. Morgan, I don't really know what was wrong with her foot but whatever it was she should be ready by late summer at least. My opinion of course, and when am I wrong? hehe
MilfordHusky
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Morgan was on crutches in early April. I think she was in a boot by the end of the month.
It is pretty important for Morgan that she is ready to go when fall practice starts. She missed a ton of practice during season 1. I think she is talented, but not generational. She needs the reps if she is going to play a pivotal role on this team.
Yanna seemed fully energized and going out with her reactions during the final 4 so I think she is generally ready. She is also the one I am most excited for. I think we all forget how much of a natural athlete and rebounder she is, so with the experience of even just being at UCONN for 3 years she can provide a lot for us.
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MilfordHusky
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I hope Morgan is ready soon. I’m curious to see if Geno plays her in the frontcourt (as he did last season) or in the backcourt.
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We are blessed with UConn having so much talent coming into the new season....
Hope she has learned & evolved more into a "basketball player" versus big athlete. That would be exciting to see.
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I can't wait to see Ayanna playing again! Same with Morgan. Ayanna reminds me of Deanna Nolan (Georgia/Detroit Shock) in terms of her energy, athletic ability, and overall game. People said Deanna couldn't do "X" or "Y" but all she did was help Georgia become a major program back in the day and become a 3x WNBA champion with the Shock. Ayanna is in that mode. She has that raw energy that is ready to take over! I can't wait!!
Morgan grew on me last season. I hope that she is able to bounce back from her injury, in due time. No need to rush back. If the doctors are saying X day you are cleared, take an additional week or two. But Morgan has so much potential and I hope that she just takes her time healing.
Morgan grew on me last season. I hope that she is able to bounce back from her injury, in due time. No need to rush back. If the doctors are saying X day you are cleared, take an additional week or two. But Morgan has so much potential and I hope that she just takes her time healing.
CL82
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I hope her raw athleticism has not been in anyway reduced via injury. If it hasn't, she may be the best "athlete" on the team. I think of her as a bigger and stronger version of Aubrey Griffin, in terms of physicality and leaping ability.
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Not sure how minor the surgery would be if she missed the entire season. Morgan had ankle surgery.
Bigboote
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Did we find out what Ayanna’s shoulder injury was?
I had arthroscopic shoulder surgery, and there was nothing minor about it. The weirdest things happened. About four months post-op I started to bottle a batch of beer. I had to switch hands, because I literally couldn’t lift an empty 12 oz bottle to the spigot in front of me. That was after lifting a 5-gallon carboy up to the same table. But that was a different motion.
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Foot injuries, and the subsequent surgeries to correct them, are not insignificant. Morgan could be out until December. But we have no information at all,
When I was younger, I did a lot of 12 oz lifts, but none of those involved filling the bottle.
I don’t remember stokes at UConn what her offense was like but in the pros she always finds a place to play due to defense and rebounding. If Ayanna can match that type of contribution she will be impactful.
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If we get to see a one year of a healthy Ayanna it will be miraculous.
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And I hope to see Allie break out as well. As coach says, "Allie can do whatever Allie wants to do." In other words, she can emerge as a starting guard, or remain fourth choice off the bench, It is up to her. C'mon Allie!
I remember her HS dunking videos (in warm-ups). I was so fired-up to see her in action.
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I’m still waiting for any UConn player to be courageous enough to dunk the ball during one of our games! They can’t all be afraid of Geno’s reaction can they?
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Ayanna’s injuries have been really unfortunate for her in terms of the timing of a career at UConn. She missed two prime years to develop her talent and a chance to have a major role in an NC run. Now she’s returning to a roster with much tougher competition at her position than when she was last healthy.
I think Ayanna is fully capable of cracking the rotation this fall, but it will be a real challenge with Blanca’s arrival and Morgan and Carol returning. Two years ago, with Ice’s injury rehab she had a starting spot practically lined up for her next to Aaliyah, and she could have made a difference in yet another NC run. It’s not hard to see that loss to Iowa going differently with her in the lineup.
Ayanna’s skills don’t fit one version of Geno’s new style. As a muscular and quick footed defender and rebounder she can complement Serah as a backup to Sarah in a traditional lineup. But her limited offensive skills don’t suit the small-ball lineup as well. Key to this lineup is forcing the opposing center to try to guard Sarah on the perimeter. Having Ayanna on the floor would allow the opposing center to remain in the paint on defense. Carol or Blanca or even Allie may be better fits given their offensive skills.
I think Ayanna is fully capable of cracking the rotation this fall, but it will be a real challenge with Blanca’s arrival and Morgan and Carol returning. Two years ago, with Ice’s injury rehab she had a starting spot practically lined up for her next to Aaliyah, and she could have made a difference in yet another NC run. It’s not hard to see that loss to Iowa going differently with her in the lineup.
Ayanna’s skills don’t fit one version of Geno’s new style. As a muscular and quick footed defender and rebounder she can complement Serah as a backup to Sarah in a traditional lineup. But her limited offensive skills don’t suit the small-ball lineup as well. Key to this lineup is forcing the opposing center to try to guard Sarah on the perimeter. Having Ayanna on the floor would allow the opposing center to remain in the paint on defense. Carol or Blanca or even Allie may be better fits given their offensive skills.
Would agree….her skill set is centered around the “muscular and quick footed defender and rebounder” we needed pre Sarah Strong…with her arrival and performance, she provided the much needed front court (could we have asked for more?) presence we were looking for…having said that, you can never have too many rebounders….the luxury is, Ayanna will have time to transition back in and refine her offensive skills….you gotta love being a Husky fan with the line-up we’ll have over the next 3-4 years
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Bigboote
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Just a couple of comments on this: As he showed this past season, Geno doesn't have a single style. He mixed up his regular lineup, the small lineup, and occasionally before Morgan was hurt, a bigger lineup.
Along with this, UConn doesn't need five scorers on the floor at all times. What percentage of Aubrey's baskets were from plays run for her, or came in the flow of the half-court offense? I'd bet that way more than half of her baskets were from offensive rebounds or breakaways. With four scorers on the floor, Ayanna's value would be in rebounding and generating offense with her defense.
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I agree with your entire post. But I'd amend this paragraph a little. You're clearly right about Aubrey, and (by the way) I can see Ayanna contributing in similar ways even in transition. But I think Geno does want to have 5 scorers on the floor at all times, and he wants them to be versatile scorers, not just one-weapon scorers. He reported saying as much to Jana this season, that if she doesn't take elbow jumpers occasionally, opposing teams won't defend her outside the low post. This was a liability. Folks on the BY used to say the same thing about Nika in her first two seasons, that she simply didn't take enough shots to force teams to come out to guard her. And she addressed this in her final two years, improving her 3-pt shooting and her finishing at the rim. These were also keys to her record-setting assists year.
I think we can say something similar about Aubrey's best seasons: she started taking (and making) the occasional 3-pt shot. Her role in transition was obvious. But in the half court offense she was not always able to be effective until after a shot had been taken. Then she could be her usual Tasmanian devil on the offensive glass. But that would often limit her usefulness to an overly narrow window of opportunity. This is one reason Geno preferred having her come off the bench rather than start. He didn't want to restrict the range of offensive threats on the floor for too long.
I'd amend that statement to read, UConn doesn't need five perimeter shooters on the floor at all times. But I think Geno wants five scorers -- versatile scorers -- on the floor as much as possible. This clearly favors Carol and Blanca (and Sarah, of course) over Ayanna. What keeps her on the floor as a valuable asset will be her rebounding and defense and whatever putbacks and back cuts she score on. This will be enough, in my estimation, to give her some important minutes.
The comparison to Kiah Stokes is illuminating, I think. When she was on the floor, Kiah limited the offense to 4 scorers plus whatever putbacks she could get. Geno worried about this. But he had great scorers elsewhere on the floor, and because even double-teamed, Stewie was still a scorer and could pass so dazzlingly well that the other scorers were threats even with Kiah not occupying a defender. This made the tradeoff worthwhile. And Kiah's shot blocking, defense and rebounding were important too.
Ayanna can play a similar role, especially with Azzi, Sarah and Serah on the floor. Both Sarah and Serah can score even against double-teams and, depending on who the fifth player is, there can be 3 perimeter shooters on the floor at once. You can see why KK needs to improve her perimeter shooting so she can be the fifth player in this lineup. But this is also why Carol and Allie and Ash could be better contributors to such a lineup even if they aren't the rebounders and defenders Ayanna is.
This post is already way too long. But the questions are so compelling and complex that it's hard to keep it short. Plus, I'm very confident Geno has more tricks up his sleeve than I can think of to make the best use of his players. What this season shows is not that he favors a small-ball lineup, but that he figures out ever new configurations to suit the team he has. He's not looking for eternal truths of basketball. He's solving particular problems. Other teams will figure out a response to the small-ball lineup soon enough. Geno will also figure out a new form of lineup with his current players just as bedeviling as that one was.
Edited to add: Dawn won one NC and competed for 2 others while playing Victaria Saxton at the 4 next to Aliyah Boston. Saxton was as limited a player on offense as Ayanna (or Kiah), but she was a great defender and rebounder, and this was enough to get them an NC. I'd put Ayanna's potential a notch above Saxton's merely because she's bigger and stronger.
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Yes and she can DUNK!
Totally agree. Both Ayanna & Aubrey were recruited (and even drafted) because you can't teach size, athleticism and drive.
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Everyone is worried about a crowded roster and adding players out of the portal. Realistically, both Ayanna and Carol have not played competitive BB in 2 years (yes Carol got in for a bit in mop-up time) and the game has gotten faster, more physical with players bigger, stronger and ultra-competitive as well. Morgan may miss the start of the season, leaving her hopefully catching up later to be of value in the tournaments. I also think Geno is going to watch Azzi's minutes, especially early in the season. And Ice and Jana, who were somewhat limited by past injury, will hopefully be up to speed to start league play. Thus the season starts with 3 freshman, 2 sophomores and 2 juniors ready to operate at full speed and no concerns.
I confess that when thinking about competing against the best teams (SC, UCLA, LSU, etc.) I don't even factor Ayanna, Caroline, ICE, Morgan, Blanca and Gandy into my theoretical rotation of meaningful contributors (barring injuries). That's why I really want/need Heckel to join to help with high-level ball handling and shooting skills.
PS - I know that many believe that Blanca will be an immediate starter and all-conference/all-american
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