alexrgct
RIP, Alex
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So, I figured I’d revisit my nine questions from before the season. A few people, MilfordHusky in particular, found the analysis useful. What’s also interesting to me is how questions I thought were critical either have become less critical or less relevant.
Heading into the season, my nine questions were (in my personal order of importance):
1. Caroline- can she stay healthy?
2. Kiah- can she play meaningful minutes at the four?
3. KML- how good, how soon?
4. Tiff- can she be a consistent senior leader?
5. Stef- how big a sophomore leap?
6. Bria- same question
7. Banks- can she add significant bench depth?
8. Can we get meaningful minutes from at least one of Buck, Michala, and Lauren?
9. Kelly- can she contribute more consistently on offense?
I postulated that UConn could field a championship caliber team if most of these questions were answered positively, but if not, UConn could be in for a rough season by UConn’s lofty standards.
Here’s where I think we are:
Caroline- This remains a TBD throughout the season, but she’s certainly playing and at times playing quite well. I’m not sure what happened yesterday, but she was obviously not effective. However, I continue to believe her presence is critical, but perhaps not the #1 question for the team’s success, as the plurality of the board thought heading into the season.
Kiah- Although this is a negative so far, the combination of Buck’s emergence and, especially, Kelly’s incredible, herculean efforts as an undersized PF, have rendered this less important. The real question was whether we would be exploited by larger frontcourts because Kelly was undersized, and if so, could someone else step up? Well, Kelly is doing the exploiting, so I’m going to say this has been answered positively. So that’s one for UConn, even if it’s not how I thought the question would be addressed.
KML- Really good, right now. This has been answered positively. She’s a slam dunk for league FOY honors, and I feel pretty good about national FOY honors and maybe some AA consideration (like third-team or at least honorable mention). Two for UConn.
Tiff- You know what? She’s been good. Really good. She’s playing with a controlled intensity. She takes charges better than anyone one the team (and yes, that was a charge on Griner last night that Tiff took and paid dearly for). Her shot isn’t always falling, but she’s consistently a serious asset to this team. Good for you, Tiff. That’s three for UConn.
Stef- Now this is a weird one. First of all, I thought UConn would be more of a post-first offense this year, but that hasn’t really come to pass. Secondly, when Stef’s had opportunities, she hasn’t really shown me that she’s better than last season. However, here’s what I will say. One, she is getting better and better at sealing off driving lanes. Secondly, last night notwithstanding, she’s playing pretty good D. Gary Blair praised her, and I thought she was terrific against Stanford too. Third, she’s stepped into a leadership role on the team. That’s not something you see on the court all the time, but that’s a big deal for a young team and for a sophomore. So overall, I’d say there’s both good and bad here, but if Stef’s role as this team develops over the next few years is kind of a goofier Tamika Williams-type leader, that’s a pretty exceptional outcome.
Bria- Now we’re talking. Bria has worked her way into second-team AA consideration if she keeps playing at this level. And she still has so much room to grow. Will she get there? We’ll see, but this is four for UConn so far.
Banks- BB looked very promising at the beginning of the season, but she’s not earned Geno’s trust yet. So this is a TBD. The good news is that UConn doesn’t play Baylor every night, so BB’s going to have the opportunity to play a lot more minutes and show what she can do.
Buck/Michala/Lauren- Heather has arrived. She is what she is, and that should be good enough for everyone. Five for UConn.
Kelly- This is a no. And although I had this rated at the bottom and still do, when Kelly is hitting her shots, damn it’s tough to beat UConn. But it’s just not going to happen for her consistently. Boy does she do everything else at an elite level, though.
So five of nine questions have been answered positively. Two are TBD (Caroline and Banks), one is neutral for now (Stef), and one is negative. Where does that leave us? At worst, the third best team in the country, and if I had a ballot, I’d definitely rank UConn #2. A little push from Caroline, Stef, or Banks could just be enough to get to the next level in April, and if some of the positives get even more positive, that might not even be necessary.
Never enjoy a loss, but this is still going to be a fun season.
Heading into the season, my nine questions were (in my personal order of importance):
1. Caroline- can she stay healthy?
2. Kiah- can she play meaningful minutes at the four?
3. KML- how good, how soon?
4. Tiff- can she be a consistent senior leader?
5. Stef- how big a sophomore leap?
6. Bria- same question
7. Banks- can she add significant bench depth?
8. Can we get meaningful minutes from at least one of Buck, Michala, and Lauren?
9. Kelly- can she contribute more consistently on offense?
I postulated that UConn could field a championship caliber team if most of these questions were answered positively, but if not, UConn could be in for a rough season by UConn’s lofty standards.
Here’s where I think we are:
Caroline- This remains a TBD throughout the season, but she’s certainly playing and at times playing quite well. I’m not sure what happened yesterday, but she was obviously not effective. However, I continue to believe her presence is critical, but perhaps not the #1 question for the team’s success, as the plurality of the board thought heading into the season.
Kiah- Although this is a negative so far, the combination of Buck’s emergence and, especially, Kelly’s incredible, herculean efforts as an undersized PF, have rendered this less important. The real question was whether we would be exploited by larger frontcourts because Kelly was undersized, and if so, could someone else step up? Well, Kelly is doing the exploiting, so I’m going to say this has been answered positively. So that’s one for UConn, even if it’s not how I thought the question would be addressed.
KML- Really good, right now. This has been answered positively. She’s a slam dunk for league FOY honors, and I feel pretty good about national FOY honors and maybe some AA consideration (like third-team or at least honorable mention). Two for UConn.
Tiff- You know what? She’s been good. Really good. She’s playing with a controlled intensity. She takes charges better than anyone one the team (and yes, that was a charge on Griner last night that Tiff took and paid dearly for). Her shot isn’t always falling, but she’s consistently a serious asset to this team. Good for you, Tiff. That’s three for UConn.
Stef- Now this is a weird one. First of all, I thought UConn would be more of a post-first offense this year, but that hasn’t really come to pass. Secondly, when Stef’s had opportunities, she hasn’t really shown me that she’s better than last season. However, here’s what I will say. One, she is getting better and better at sealing off driving lanes. Secondly, last night notwithstanding, she’s playing pretty good D. Gary Blair praised her, and I thought she was terrific against Stanford too. Third, she’s stepped into a leadership role on the team. That’s not something you see on the court all the time, but that’s a big deal for a young team and for a sophomore. So overall, I’d say there’s both good and bad here, but if Stef’s role as this team develops over the next few years is kind of a goofier Tamika Williams-type leader, that’s a pretty exceptional outcome.
Bria- Now we’re talking. Bria has worked her way into second-team AA consideration if she keeps playing at this level. And she still has so much room to grow. Will she get there? We’ll see, but this is four for UConn so far.
Banks- BB looked very promising at the beginning of the season, but she’s not earned Geno’s trust yet. So this is a TBD. The good news is that UConn doesn’t play Baylor every night, so BB’s going to have the opportunity to play a lot more minutes and show what she can do.
Buck/Michala/Lauren- Heather has arrived. She is what she is, and that should be good enough for everyone. Five for UConn.
Kelly- This is a no. And although I had this rated at the bottom and still do, when Kelly is hitting her shots, damn it’s tough to beat UConn. But it’s just not going to happen for her consistently. Boy does she do everything else at an elite level, though.
So five of nine questions have been answered positively. Two are TBD (Caroline and Banks), one is neutral for now (Stef), and one is negative. Where does that leave us? At worst, the third best team in the country, and if I had a ballot, I’d definitely rank UConn #2. A little push from Caroline, Stef, or Banks could just be enough to get to the next level in April, and if some of the positives get even more positive, that might not even be necessary.
Never enjoy a loss, but this is still going to be a fun season.
