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My big concern is that if Sarah has a sophomore leap her mother may have her jump directly to the Boston Celtics.
Sarah Strong
- Thread starter superjohn
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Blue Huskie
Transhumanist Consultant
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It's really something to see how shy she is in interviews. And so fearless on the court. 2 different personas. Most of us don't care if she ever utters a word again into a microphone, as long as she keeps playing like she is!
geno, on the other hand, will probably get a stop watch and make sure she talks for at least a set amount of time!
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Remember that players are only irreplaceable until the next superstar appears and replaces them!
Sluconn Husky
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Why Sarah Strong should have won Most Outstanding Player
No Offseason discusses why Sarah Strong should have been voted the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
www.nytimes.com
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It would have to be called a senior leap because she already plays like at least a junior.
Her hand speed and swiping at any ball in her vicinity is amazing. She possesses superhuman timing and anticipation. With rebounding, she must have hand strength that cannot be measured- I’ll bet she crushes rocks with them as part of her pre-game warmups.
MilfordHusky
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I’ve seen her beat everyone down the floor often!
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Sarah's ability to rotate quickly for defending the basket is amazing, as she very rarely gets out of control and fouls. It is particularly amazing for as quickly as she moves, and it appears to be effortless despite the physics of the situation.
Can hardly wait to see the 'Unveiling" in October's First Night...
Sluconn Husky
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Top 5 Moments From Sarah Strong’s NCAA Freshman Season at UConn
From a 24-pt title game to a championship, here are the Top 5 Game-Changing Moments from Sarah Strong’s Historic NCAA season at UConn.
www.essentiallysports.com
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I might have agreed with you if: (1) Azzi had not decided to return; and (2) Azzi had not displayed such self-possession and personal growth over the past month. She seems ready to step into her power, and I'm all for it. There are other programs where Azzi's princess-like qualities (Paige's description, not mine) would generate resentment and pushback from her teammates, but not at UConn, and especially not with this particular squad.
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Agreed. I think we all want to assume Husky greatness next season, but..... Paige indeed was "the straw that stirs the drink," in more ways than one, and it's not going to be a matter of just picking up where they just left off in the title game. Every season is a new challenge of blending continuing plus new pieces, both skills-wise and personality-chemistry wise. Paige was masterful not only at playing the game on the court but in making them a team, in the psychological/emotional sense -- or, to put it another way, in being an emotional force, which is just as important. As Geno said right after the NC game, somewhere along the line late in the season, their team bond deepened, and that's when the switch flipped to their even higher level of play. Let's hope that somebody else can nurture that next season. Sarah is a great, great on-court player, but I don't see her being vocal enough (at least not yet) to be that emotional force for the team.
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They have said off camera she is far from shy
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I'm not sure she is "shy" on camera. She definitely is humble, which I certainly admire.
huskeynut
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None of us really know who will step forward as a leader. None of us know the internal workings of the team. We will wait and see. Will it be KK or Ash or Sarah or all three? Oe somebody else.
The talent to be a dominante force in web is still there. It will take on a different form than we are use to. And each year sees the same thing. Seniors are gone, freshmen are in and an entirely new team will evolve.
Geno knows this all too well. He sits down with each player now that the season is over. Goals are formulated for each player with their input and knowledge. And leadership is always part of the equation.
I beleive UConn is a final four team for 2026.
Reasons; UConn is a stable program as far as player retention. UConn has the best coaching staff. UCLA has lost their freshman class to the portal, Souther California with be without JuJu and has lost at least 2 freshman plus seniors. South Carolina still does not have the dominant post player that Dawn has had for years. No gaurentees that Latson is SC's answer.
The talent to be a dominante force in web is still there. It will take on a different form than we are use to. And each year sees the same thing. Seniors are gone, freshmen are in and an entirely new team will evolve.
Geno knows this all too well. He sits down with each player now that the season is over. Goals are formulated for each player with their input and knowledge. And leadership is always part of the equation.
I beleive UConn is a final four team for 2026.
Reasons; UConn is a stable program as far as player retention. UConn has the best coaching staff. UCLA has lost their freshman class to the portal, Souther California with be without JuJu and has lost at least 2 freshman plus seniors. South Carolina still does not have the dominant post player that Dawn has had for years. No gaurentees that Latson is SC's answer.
PacoSwede
Creeker in fact
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my views 100% .... particularly the final graph, which makes a point i think many overlook. all these teams that are counting on portal pretties to boost their chances next season may in fact be undermining them. lots of teams could benefit, but for elite teams it well could backfire -- they face a big risk of ruining chemistry by bringing in superior talent, or even equal talent, to their big veteran stars or wanta-be stars. it can be done, but it's far from a good bet ... even if team spirit is maintained, the new blood has to be integrated into a new on-court reality, which is a tough task.
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I’d say Paige has this factor as well, but she was unfortunately injured just enough to only win one championship here. I wholeheartedly agree about the three you mentioned being standouts in a tier above the other UConn greats, and that Sarah is the next one up.
I love the Barkley comparison. I was actually trying to think of a comp in the women's game the other day. The thing is she's a legit 6'2 so it's not like she's super undersized unless she's playing the 5. But she does have the guard skills. So even like an Alissa Pili who was inside and out and great inside isn't a great comp because she is like 6 ft max and also was not nearly as good defensively. I do think of Sarah as more post than guard or wing though. I think her jump shot is so pure, so even though I want to compare her to phee based on size (although she's still probably an inch taller)I just think she has a bit more guard skills. I also love that she has a different personality on the court. I know she said she used to trash talk and stuff. I think statistically she may not be much better year after year but she'll continue to get better. Kind of like Paige. Lastly and she won't get credit for this but I think her approach and demeanor probably helped a lot on this year's team. Of course Kaitlyn as well. But I feel like she never got too high or too low. She never played off the crowd or was trash talking or losing her head in the game. I thought in years past, especially because we had some fiery competitors (Nika, Paige, Dorka, Aaliyah) we would kind of get too high or to low and respond too much to the opponent or crowd. Admittedly this may be a reach and with depth instead of injuries things may have been different in past years like maybe the team's would have been able to sustain excellence longer. But yeah, this years team just put together long stretches of good basketball. I feel like all their wins were by double figures, and I think Sarah's consistency and overall steadiness was a big part of that.
Can you (or anyone) please expand upon the "huge upward trajectory" of Jana? I love her spirit and effort (especially the UCLA game) but I believe she scored zero points in most of the tournament games and was constantly in foul trouble. Why do people see an immediate jump to the next Tina Charles (or even that young lady at Iowa State)? Again, I love her effort and attitude and see no reason to increase from 4 points per game. Maybe it's just a different interpretation of "huge".
And if a frog had wings, it wouldn't have to bounce it's a__ on the ground.
Fingers crossed for just two strategic transfers and that a couple players mentioned above can just be healthy and happy.
MooseJaw
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The game is about so much more than scoring. While scoring is needed to win a game, there is passing, rebounds, defense, position and many more. Jana can improve or progress in many of these areas and she has. Also look at her attitude on court, is she controlling her position, does she have reasonable control of her opponent. Just a few of the many areas to look at. Jana seems to be on the rise, watch more than her point total, she does have at least a big 2 if not a big 4 players on the floor with her to put up points.