Rhyne Howard, Aliyah Boston top AP preseason All-America women's basketball team

[DeeHusky]

As good as I think Boston can become it needs to be remembered that Charles was thought to be pretty good and yet she struggled in UConn's system for 2 years. And Boston's minutes were limited last season, due in part to a lack of conditioning and in part due to foul trouble.
And remember that Williams had a great freshman year and was tabbed as a preseason AA last year.

I like the way things have turned out, I’m not one of those people who get upset about recruits going elsewhere. I am of the belief that everything happens for a reason. I was just speaking hypothetically or from a different perspective.
Dangerfield, Williams, Makarat, Walker, Boston last year would’ve been a tough team to beat. Even if she didn’t play well offensively, she is master at covering the paint. She can block or alter every shot.

As far as conditioning, remember Stef Dolson’s freshman year?

 

[CocoHusky]

I'm sorry, I didn't realize that the AP was the only pre-season list.

So were was Christyn "tabbed" a pre season AA in 2019?

 

[Alydar]

I like the way things have turned out, I’m not one of those people who get upset about recruits going elsewhere. I am of the belief that everything happens for a reason. I was just speaking hypothetically or from a different perspective.
Dangerfield, Williams, Makarat, Walker, Boston last year would’ve been a tough team to beat. Even if she didn’t play well offensively, she is master at covering the paint. She can block or alter every shot.

As far as conditioning, remember Stef Dolson’s freshman year?

Yes I do. And do you remember that it wasn't until prior to her senior year that she took conditioning seriously?

I never intended to criticize Boston. I was trying to calm the nerves of some who see her as Polyphemus' sister.

 

[CocoHusky]

Yes I do. And do you remember that it wasn't until prior to her senior year that she took conditioning seriously?
I never intended to criticize Boston. I was trying to calm the nerves of some who see her as Polyphemus' sister.

Personally my nerves will be much calmer when UCONN recruits someone that can actually guard Boston. UCONN does have an answer for Boston and apparently the rest of college basketball might not either. BTW Boston is only going to be a sophomore and per Dawn has added range and consistency to her jump shot.

 

[eebmg]

Personally my nerves will be much calmer when UCONN recruits someone that can actually guard Boston. UCONN does have an answer for Boston and apparently the rest of college basketball might not either. BTW Boston is only going to be a sophomore and per Dawn has added range and consistency to her jump shot.

Lets see how our tough minded and aggressive Aaliyah and Liv handle the challenge. I think pretty well. With enough bodies and overall team speed, we can handle any one player. We will force others to beat us and they may but then they have to stop us. Fun to watch.

 

[DeeHusky]

Yes I do. And do you remember that it wasn't until prior to her senior year that she took conditioning seriously?

I never intended to criticize Boston. I was trying to calm the nerves of some who see her as Polyphemus' sister.

I think she’s pretty good, if they have a good season I think she can beat out Howard for player of the year. I don’t think Boston or Dolson had/have conditioning issues to the point where it’s a major concern. However, I’m not over here as a fan scared to play South Carolina because of Boston. When a player is good, I don’t have a problem saying they are whether it be UConn or another team.

 

[Cuango]

I'll play along.

Had ONO come to SC like a lot of people thought she would it's entirely possible that Boston would be at UConn.

Just a hypothetical. I prefer the way it turned out though.

I think people that are dismissing Liv as vastly inferior to Boston are going to eat their words over the next two seasons. Did Liv struggle against Boston? Yes, but let’s see what happens this year before we write Liv off.

 

[soxfan23]

I take it you didn't watch much of SC last year. Boston was fantastic.

Not what her numbers say.

 

[soxfan23]

I like the way things have turned out, I’m not one of those people who get upset about recruits going elsewhere. I am of the belief that everything happens for a reason. I was just speaking hypothetically or from a different perspective.
Dangerfield, Williams, Makarat, Walker, Boston last year would’ve been a tough team to beat. Even if she didn’t play well offensively, she is master at covering the paint. She can block or alter every shot.

As far as conditioning, remember Stef Dolson’s freshman year?

You realize Nelson-Ododa had 14 more blocks than Boston last year, right?

 

[SCspur]

You realize Nelson-Ododa had 14 more blocks than Boston last year, right?

SC as a team last year lead the country in Blocked Shots. It wasn’t all just Boston. But 86 of 284 has to count for something right?

 

[CocoHusky]

I think people that are dismissing Liv as vastly inferior to Boston are going to eat their words over the next two seasons. Did Liv struggle against Boston? Yes, but let’s see what happens this year before we write Liv off.

I think that people who are hoping and thinking that Liv is a comparable player to Boston are the ones being dismissive and more likely to be eating words.

 

[Cuango]

Personally my nerves will be much calmer when UCONN recruits someone that can actually guard Boston. UCONN does have an answer for Boston and apparently the rest of college basketball might not either. BTW Boston is only going to be a sophomore and per Dawn has added range and consistency to her jump shot.

People act like we’ve never had to play a team with a big, strong, and skilled center before! I promise you that Geno knows what to do and will have a plan to deal with Boston. On top of that, Liv is a finesse center and needs more experience in order to cope with a center like Boston who has the natural advantage of her weight and power. We will see soon enough if Boston can dominate Liv enough to beat us this year. Color me doubtful! She (Boston) is a good player but I’m not ready to say she’s a great one yet. She may become one, but Liv may as well! Also, Liv will have some help this season.

 

[Cuango]

UCONN lost to South Carolina by 28 points

I think that people who are hoping and thinking that Liv is a comparable player to Boston are the ones being dismissive and more likely to be eating words.

We’ll see! Boston wasn’t solely responsible for that margin.

 

[JDuro]

SC as a team last year lead the country in Blocked Shots. It wasn’t all just Boston. But 86 of 284 has to count for something right?

Playing next to a shot blocker like Kiki will certainly tamp down your block stats.

It will be interesting to see how ONO puts it together as an upperclassmen as she still has all the potential to be really good, but the reality is, last season she would have been competing for SEC Sixth WOY if she played for South Carolina.

 

[SCspur]

Playing next to a shot blocker like Kiki will certainly tamp down your block stats.

It will be interesting to see how ONO puts it together as an upperclassmen as she still has all the potential to be really good, but the reality is, last season she would have been competing for SEC Sixth WOY if she played for South Carolina.

Saxton has potential to be a better shot blocker than Boston and Amihere has more potential than both IMO. I can’t wait to see it this year.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Boston was one of the best players in the nation last year regardless of stats.

Christyn did not play to her full potential last year because of the hype from her freshman season. She couldn’t stop thinking about it and just play. Despite her not playing her best, she still had a good year and that says a lot about what she can do.

She didn't have a good year .... she had a good finish to her year but well past the midway point of last year, her play was really seldom good, mostly mediocre or poor .... she resurrected herself and closed out the year at a much higher and more expected place but overall, it was NOT a GOOD year

 

[Buzzyboy]

She didn't struggle.

Honorable Mention A/A as a frosh.
3rd team A/A as a soph.

That was silly being considered third team A/A last year because until the last part of the season where she finally got to playing at close to a level that most people expected she was either putting in mediocre or poor performances .... She must have gotten some attention from voters for that last third of the season because if they were tuning in earlier, she wouldn't have had a chance to get any votes from anyone who follows women's basketball .... it was good seeing her playing better but it was far from a GOOD season .....

 

[soxfan23]

She didn't have a good year .... she had a good finish to her year but well past the midway point of last year, her play was really seldom good, mostly mediocre or poor .... she resurrected herself and closed out the year at a much higher and more expected place but overall, it was NOT a GOOD year

Then I guess Boston didn't have a very good year either, because they put up very very similar numbers.

 

[soxfan23]

SC as a team last year lead the country in Blocked Shots. It wasn’t all just Boston. But 86 of 284 has to count for something right?

Yeah, it counts for exactly 14 less than Nelson-Ododa had.

 

[soxfan23]

UCONN lost to South Carolina by 28 points

I think that people who are hoping and thinking that Liv is a comparable player to Boston are the ones being dismissive and more likely to be eating words.

No, UConn lost by 18 to SC last year. Liv put up 10pts 9rbs and 3 blks, Boston put up 13pts, 12rbs, and 2 blks, the notion that Boston dominated ONO in that game is delusional. Boston is a damn good player, but she is NOWHERE near the player that some of you make her out to be.

 

[hoophuskee]

I think Liv is going to be an A/A this year (whether it be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd). UCONN has one legit low post scorer and it's her. That means they are going to look for her. The superior guard play for UCONN's 1st option is going to be to look inside. There are 3 very good passing guards (Paige, Evina, and Nika) and a very good passing wing in Anna that's going to look for her.

So if UCONN is a top 3 team it probably means they found her a lot. Her scoring will pretty good, her fg% will be terrific. And on defense she would be the anchor leading in blocked shots and rebounds for a team arguably having among the nation's best defenses (if they wind up in top 3).

Thus, the players that beat her out either have to be on a team better or slightly below, or the player needs to put up tremendous numbers with tremendous efficiency.

 

[hoophuskee]

She did struggle by every conceivable measure including her own.

“Offensively it wasn’t flowing right, and defensively, I’ve always struggled defensively but I’ve depended on my offense so it kind of balances out,” Williams said. “But really nothing was going right, and I wasn’t mature enough yet to just take it one game at a time.”

UConn’s Christyn Williams looking to bounce back after ‘worst season of basketball’

UConn junior Christyn Williams was unhappy with her sophomore basketball season, but she...

www.ctpost.com

I was talking Tina Charles.

 

[hoophuskee]

Those are awards, not measurable performance. And how does she make 3rd team AA as a sophomore? Or is that a prediction? And I'm not saying she didn't have a great freshman year, just that it's a low bar. With the loss of the seniors Boston will have more responsibilities, at both ends. Maybe she will handle them but as I stated about Williams, freshman numbers don't necessarily translate.
Again, I wish UConn had gotten her but I think there's too much hand-wringing about playing against her. She'll be tough, but not impossible. Should be fun to watch.

I was talking Tina Charles.

 

[donalddoowop]

I agree (I assume you're talking about Ayoka Lee of Kansas State). She is one of the best posts in America and, like Boston, is I believe only a sophomore.

Yes, that is to whom I am referring. I was surprised when I found out she was a freshman. She should be one of the best sophomores in the country this season.

 

[hoophuskee]

Then I don't think they watched Charles and Geno in her 2nd year, and actually even the first half of her junior year. He yanked her out of many games, not to give her a blow, but because he didn't like her play. Like Boston, Charles did some great things and had great games, but she would also disappear for entire games at times and was a semi-permanent resident in Geno's dog house.

He yanked her out of one game because of "body language." "Body language." At one point in the season he even questioned if he was being too tough on her (wish I had saved the quote back then.). As a soph, she averaged 17.6 ppg and 11 rebounds yet she disappointed?

More like fans expectations out of whack for a frosh/sophomore expecting she is going to be "Lew Alcindor/Bill Walton." Yes he yanked her. He also yanked Stewie and Tuck in their junior year and Stewie many times in her frosh year. I can remember him making a comment during one game when they were jr's that it was the worst basketball he saw in his life. Geno yanking players as motivation and teaching doesn't mean the player was struggling when/if in fact she averaged 33.4 minutes per game. You get that many minutes and you're a top 4 team in which you are one of the 3 scoring leaders and top rebounder- you are NOT struggling. Your coach is just trying to do his job and "get more." That's all his benching and screaming was. How much "benching" did she get when she played 33.4 minutes? UCONN got beat in S16 2 years before. And Elite 8 2 other years (one year with Tina). He was just pushing for more.

Again -- Honorable Mention A/A her frosh year. That's really good. Her soph year 3rd team A/A is NOT struggling. Averaging 17.6 ppg and 11 rebounds for a top 4 team while getting 33.4 minutes is NOT struggling. Freshmen and Sophomores generally can get outplayed by juniors and seniors. Geno yelling at her and benching her wasn't as relevant as Geno playing her while Tina scored and rebounded in the manner she did.

We hear now from Sue Bird and others how Geno has mellowed. He was NOT mellow back then when the team wasn't making it to Final Four in 2-3 straight years.

 

[Carnac]

Then I don't think they watched Charles and Geno in her 2nd year, and actually even the first half of her junior year. He yanked her out of many games, not to give her a blow, but because he didn't like her play. Like Boston, Charles did some great things and had great games, but she would also disappear for entire games at times and was a semi-permanent resident in Geno's dog house.

Speaking of Geno's Dog House (or as Kara Wolters refers to it, "Casa de Bow Wow"), Can anyone think of who is the last UConn WBB player to take up residence in Geno's dog house for an extended period of time? I think I know the answer, but I may be wrong.

 

[Carnac]

Yes, that is to whom I am referring. I was surprised when I found out she was a freshman. She should be one of the best sophomores in the country this season.

Hi Don, A friendly suggestion...................When you refer to a non UConn player, use their first and last name. I've been in the yard for a short while, and I had no idea who you were referring to. Visitors (and some of us yarders) that drop in from time to time can't follow comments that only refer to players by their last name or their initials. Thanks.

 

[hoophuskee]

Then I don't think they watched Charles and Geno in her 2nd year, and actually even the first half of her junior year. He yanked her out of many games, not to give her a blow, but because he didn't like her play. Like Boston, Charles did some great things and had great games, but she would also disappear for entire games at times and was a semi-permanent resident in Geno's dog house.

Ooops I screwed up my stats. I referenced the wrong numbers. I couldn't get into the UCONN site and I looked it up on wiki-- that was her WNBA stats I used incorrectly.

Soph year she averaged 14.2 ppg, while averaging 25.8 minutes while shooting 60.4% while averaging 9.2 rebounds. Well we can argue this point- yes Geno did "pull" Tina. I'm way off about 33.4 minutes. I shoulda known that looked funny. Frosh year 12.7 shooting 59.4% while averaging 8.2 rebounds. This is good for a frosh center.

Comparing to past UCONN centers in Lobo era to now: Her stats numbers in her 1st two years are overall about even to Wolters.

and superior to anyone else not named Lobo for a center (excluding Stewie. Don't want to get into an argument if Stewie was center or not.).

I just don't agree that this is "disappointing." I won't hijack this thread any more. Her 1st two years she is only beaten by other all-tiem greats.

 

[JonathanXIV]

Yes I do. And do you remember that it wasn't until prior to her senior year that she took conditioning seriously?

I never intended to criticize Boston. I was trying to calm the nerves of some who see her as Polyphemus' sister.

Nice Homer reference. The Boneyard never ceases to surprise and delight.

 

[Buzzyboy]

Then I guess Boston didn't have a very good year either, because they put up very very similar numbers.

Nobody is talking about the numbers .... she improved her numbers radically in the last ten games or so of the season which helped her ppg and rebound averages but prior to that she was mediocre or worse with horrible shooting percentages, many turnovers and less than impressive defense .... I saw a major change towards the end of the season and that may have boded well for our chances in the tournament, if there had been one .... if she builds on how she was playing in that stretch, she's going to have a very impressive season and help the Huskies a lot .... Numbers DO LIE sometimes