Returners, newcomers fighting for minutes on deep, talented team

[Stymie]

First hyper inflation and now enabling by blaming the refs for Liv's

No energy required because Evina and CW do not have a "history" of foul trouble. Both Evina and Christyn played poorly in this game.

Coco- you’re losing credibility.
JMHO

 

[CocoHusky]

Coco- you’re losing credibility.
JMHO

I'm not sure you can lose something you never had-with this crowd.

 

[CocoHusky]

That is, with qualifications, a valid point. However, I think it's more subtle than the dichotomy that you have described.

Suppose that Liv were talented and productive at an AA level, but still foul-prone? That would limit her minutes despite her productivity, and would provide minutes for Dorka or someone like her.

Or what if Liv were not foul-prone and was performing at an AA level on both offense and defense, but was limited in her (reliable) shooting range? In other words, what if she could score reliably within 5 feet of the basket, but still could not sink longer shots at any reasonable percentage? That, too, would open up minutes for a player such as Dorka.

Or, what if Liv were AA in every dimension and not foul prone, but Aaliyah remained (or remains) foul prone. That scenario would open up minutes for Dorka and Liv to play together. If it turns out (which I doubt) that Dorka is as strong a rebounder as Aaliyah and is as quick running the floor, that may happen anyway.

If I were Dorka, I think I would be confident enough of my own abilities to believe that I could get my minutes irrespective of the level of competition on the team. So I would still come to UConn if the opportunity beckoned.

Almost in universal agreement with you @JoePgh. Keep in mind that Dorka played against UCONN in both her freshman and sophomore seasons while at Ohio State. Dorka knew what UCONN was about and could have transferred to UCONN after her freshman season when she would have almost certainly been a starter at PF. UCONN starter at PF during those seasons were Megan Walker and Anna Makurat- both of who are better suited to play the S/F position. My point is that as much as it seems like the sky is falling, with UCONN returning two bigs (Liv and Aaliyah) this season provides the least opportunity for Dorka to get minutes than at any time since she started playing college basketball.

 

[oldude]

Let me make one more comment about the SC game and who played well and who didn’t. SC is a really good defensive team that gives everyone they play trouble. In the national semifinal vs Stanford, Jones absolutely carried Stanford, much as Paige carried the Huskies against SC. Wilson, Smith, both Hull sisters & Belibi were a combined 8 for 37 (22%).

One of the things Geno always harps on is that if a player is not scoring, they need to contribute in other ways. That’s exactly what Liv did. It wasn’t her best game, but she absolutely found ways to contribute to help her team win the game.

 

[Purchase1]

No energy required because Evina and CW do not have a "history" of foul trouble. Both Evina and Christyn played poorly in this game.

It’s like you’re missing the point on purpose lol

 

[DEpup]

If you were talking about 10 years ago, I would agree with you. But the game is changing and so is Geno. SC & Stanford both have loaded and deep rosters.

Geno made a conscious effort to sign more players bringing in transfers like Nat, Z, Touly, Evelyn & Dorka. He also started recruiting foreign players, something he had done only rarely before, with Kia, Anna, Evelyn, Nika, Aaliyah & Dorka.

Geno used to bring in maybe 3 recruits per year. Last year he brought in 6. This year he brought in another 4 plus a transfer. He has 15 scholarships available. If Anna had not decided to turn pro, he would have filled every single one this year, the same as Tara & Dawn.

I attribute that to him being a visionary coach. He sees what is happening in the game and that depth matters over a long season and competing with teams who can just keep throwing bodies at his players. He is adapting and that is what winners do.

I think he would also say he learned from a couple rough recruiting classes where plan A didn't work out and he had no plan B....

 

[CocoHusky]

It’s like you’re missing the point on purpose lol

 

[CocoHusky]

I attribute that to him being a visionary coach. He sees what is happening in the game and that depth matters over a long season and competing with teams who can just keep throwing bodies at his players. He is adapting and that is what winners do.
I think he would also say he learned from a couple rough recruiting classes where plan A didn't work out and he had no plan B....

Is that really visionary though?
Seems rather obvious-if you can score go ahead and score. When or if you are not scoring there other things you can do to help your team out like not repeatedly making silly fouls.

 

[DEpup]

Is that really visionary though?
Seems rather obvious-if you can score go ahead and score. When or if you are not scoring there other things you can do to help your team out like not repeatedly making silly fouls.

Sorry but you conflated two different issues. My comment was about recruiting bigger numbers than usual.

 

[Cuango]

You would think one bad call would have been enough to learn from and not repeat for a Junior UCONN player?

Pretty hard to instantly stop doing something you have trained your muscles to do over a long period of time!

 

[Stymie]

You would think one bad call would have been enough to learn from and not repeat for a Junior UCONN player?

This comment is reflective of someone whose competitive experiences are limited to the High School Chess Club.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that...

 

[CocoHusky]

This comment is reflective of someone whose competitive experiences are limited to the High School Chess Club.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that...

Nah.. @Stymie I didn't have time to be on the High School chess club. I was too busy playing all four sports. In HS basketball I was lucky enough to be coached by Geno. My competitive experiences were far from limited. Yours?

 

[oldude]

Nah.. @Stymie I didn't have time to be on the High School chess club. I was too busy playing all four sports. In HS basketball I was lucky enough to be coached by Geno. My competitive experiences were far from limited. Yours?

So you played at Kenrick?

 

[CocoHusky]

Pretty hard to instantly stop doing something you have trained your muscles to do over a long period of time!

The staff is not asking Liv to stop instantly- the staff has been asking Liv for 3 years now and it's about to be four years.

 

[CocoHusky]

So you played at Kenrick?

Bishop Kenrick.

 

[oldude]

Bishop Kenrick.

Yes of course. I understand the diocese has a shiny new HS now in place of the merged Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic.

 

[CocoHusky]

Yes of course. I understand the diocese has a shiny new HS now in place of the merged Kennedy-Kenrick Catholic.

Not sure the rest of the board is as curious and interested as you are, if you want to know more hit my inbox,.

 

[oldude]

Not sure the rest of the board is as curious and interested as you are, if you want to know more hit my inbox,.

That’s OK. I’m sure the change doesn’t sit well with you. My HS is still around, but I was PO’d that they changed the mascot.