Serah and Jana Since The Holiday Break

[JoePgh]

It seems to me that in recent games, Serah and Jana have been about equally effective, and they have been surprisingly close in minutes. Here are their stats since the holiday break:

@Butler 12/28:

Serah 15 minutes, 9 points on 3-4 shooting, 4 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 fouls
Jana 15 minutes, 9 points on 4-8 shooting, 3 rebounds (2 offensive) 2 fouls

@Providence 12/31:

Serah 24 minutes, 8 points on 2-4 shooting, 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 5 fouls
Jana 19 minutes, 10 points on 5-6 shooting, 5 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 fouls

Seton Hall 1/3:

Serah 22 minutes, 7 points on 3-6 shooting, 5 rebounds (2 offensive), 1 foul
Jana 17 minutes, 10 points on 4-5 shooting, 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 fouls

What stands out here to me is Jana shooting 13-for-19 (68%), while Serah is shooting 8-for-14 (57%). Visually, Jana has been able to get into the low post position on the weak side while teammates have the ball, and has thereby put herself in a position for an uncontested layup when they get a pass to her. Serah always seems to be shooting over a defender, often from a difficult angle.

My ears perked up when Geno said in his postgame interview that Jana has been bad in practice this past week, pouting and looking unhappy, and she made a comment to the effect that she didn't "come all this way to be a non-factor". But, he said, she isn't like that in games -- obviously not, based on the above stats.

I wonder if Geno will look at Jana's and Serah's recent performances and decide that their minutes in the post need to be distributed more equally, not just over the entire game but in the early quarters when the game has not been decided. (Today against Seton Hall, all of Jana's minutes were in the second half.) I hope he hasn't ruled out the possibility that Jana may win back the starting center position before the end of the season.

 

[Bone Dog]

If Jana takes (and makes) more of those elbow jumpers, she will not have come all this way for nothing. Geno has been saying this in her direction for several months. When she took and made those two jumpers we all cheered at our house.

 

[Charliebball]

combine their stats together and you've got a really great post player........

 

[topogigio]

Me thinks Jana has been her own worst enemy. Her body language and facial expressions are giveaways after she misses an easy shot, turns the ball over, or fouls. Don't know what is happening in practices, but her game play recently has been very encouraging. Very aggressive rebounding, setting good screens, nice passes and sprinting down court. She has been solid scoring around the rim, and today's midrange shots portend a huge bonus! Her potential is just being scratched!

 

[Bone Dog]

and sprinting down court.

Jana had a great sprint to chase down an SH fast break and deflect a pass. She looked really great doing it.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Personally I think Jana is just starting to trust that achilles. If you watch her... at times she’s very timid regarding where she steps and it breaks her rhythm/concentration. Her conditioning is also improved.

 

[SqueaksFan]

I'll never forget how important Jana was in the playoffs as UConn won it's unprecedented 12th National Championship!

 

[Stagnant]

I just think we can’t get out on three point shooters with Jana in the game. And so, we are not as good defensively. So, she needs to be great on the offensive end to compensate for that. (Audi crooks has the same formula imo. So, I don’t mean that as an insult.) Today, Jana was really good on the offensive end and performances like this should lead to more minutes in non-garbage time.

 

[tomcat]

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but it seems to me that Serah plays against the opponent's first team just about all the time. Jana may see that opposing team for a little while, but often is playing against lesser players, because she comes in later in the game. It just doesn't seem to me to be apples-to-apples.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

Maybe I am misunderstanding, but it seems to me that Serah plays against the opponent's first team just about all the time. Jana may see that opposing team for a little while, but often is playing against lesser players, because she comes in later in the game. It just doesn't seem to me to be apples-to-apples.

Most of Jana’s best games were against tier 1 competition. And if you think about it she hasn’t played that many games considering when she came.

 

[diggerfoot]

You left out stats for assists, turnovers and blocks. To the extent that you are depending on stats to prove your point, those need to be included.

 

[BRS24]

It didn't help that Jana started off pre-season with an injury, which probably impacted her fitness and amount of reps she got in practice. The Oct/Nov timeframe is where the coaches are doing a lot of work with the team to establish a defensive identity, and then work on offensive plays.

 

[jcoton56]

They are both moving in the right direction. We will know much more by the BE Championship

 

[HuskyNan]

combine their stats together and you've got a really great post player........

Exactly. Fans should evaluate the center position rather than Jana vs Serah, point guard position rather than KK vs Kayleigh, Ash vs Blanca and so on. Some fans might argue that one player has better or worse stats in this or that game but that’s the nature of bball, isn’t it? Some matchups are worse for a particular player but as long as the combination of players provide the necessary results, all is good

That’s why I get exasperated when fans say someone needs to start over another player, especially based on one game

 

[jabstep]

I can definitely see the improvement in both of their games recently, but especially with Jana. She is getting better with her low post moves and the elbow jumper, which she showed when she played for Egypt in FIBA ball. We knew it was there. She is running the court well and looks more confident out there.

 

[HuskyNan]

Jana has been at UConn almost 3 years and knows the plays and how her teammates play. Serah, like Dorka before her, has to relearn all that. As I recall, it was just about New Year’s when Dorka felt more comfortable with her new team

 

[Gusaford]

One person's opinion. We're lucky to have both. I give the edge to Jana on the offensive end -- under the basket and at the top of the key; I see them as roughly equal as rebounders; and Serah is the better rim protector. I hope we can keep Jana for her entire career. She'll be pushed by Olivia next year.

 

[Bald Husky]

I am a fan of Jana. I concede that losing PT because of Serah is understandable, but I feel that because Serah has been slow to totally mesh with the rest of the team Jana is being short changed in her gametime experience. Jana showed last year in the tournament how valuable she is, and although we have Olivia coming in next year I believe Jana will end up being a starter again. I think starting last year gave her confidence, and apparently her mind set can be her savior or her achilles heal. Next year Geno should start her and treat her like a starter, playing at least 20-25 minutes, as long as foul trouble doesn't dog her. But, disregarding next year, it is still important to keep her in the loop for now. She will be needed when we get into the tournament against more skilled and taller players in the post. Just play her more, and I mean with the starters, not always with the second team. She will be great.

 

[The Deuce]

Serah is far more active defensively.

 

[LwrcasefaN]

I know that Jana is 6’5”, but when she was recruited she wasn’t playing as a center. So that’s a learning curve in itself. Most film I recall she was driving to the lane from a wing position and exploding to the rim. The injury changed her body and conditioning. She’s just getting back to that level of confidence. Just because the body heals doesn’t mean your mind follows. I wondered if she would get that explosion back and play worry free. Reading the tea leaves I think she is on her way. I thought she was playing well since shortly after the season began. Other than both being big… and playing the same position…I don’t see them as comparative players.

 

[CONNCAN]

One person's opinion. We're lucky to have both. I give the edge to Jana on the offensive end -- under the basket and at the top of the key; I see them as roughly equal as rebounders; and Serah is the better rim protector. I hope we can keep Jana for her entire career. She'll be pushed by Olivia next year.

I, for one, think that Jana will not only be a big factor for UCONN for the remainder of this season, which I feel will be another successful season, but for the following 2 seasons. Olivia, I feel, will be not come out of the gate, being effective. Vukosa will need at least a good portion of her freshman season to understand the offensive and defensive schemes (I watched Olivia play yesterday against Clemson bound Julia Scott and both players neutralized each other, and were non factors in the outcome of yesterday's game)

 

[Stagnant]

Serah is far more active defensively.

The team defense is so much better with Serah on the floor. And if UConn wants to maintain that level of team defense; Blanca is the one to sub in for Serah.

 

[Woof]

Jana has not been very good, until yesterday. That was easily her best game of the season.

 

[BRS24]

Jana has not been very good, until yesterday. That was easily her best game of the season.

She was injured in the pre-season, and it's taken her a bit longer to come back. She's already had a torn achilles, so some hesitation may have played a role, fitness level, along with not getting many reps with either the 1st or 2nd team in practice.

 

[Crossover]

It seems to me that in recent games, Serah and Jana have been about equally effective, and they have been surprisingly close in minutes. Here are their stats since the holiday break:

@Butler 12/28:

Serah 15 minutes, 9 points on 3-4 shooting, 4 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 fouls
Jana 15 minutes, 9 points on 4-8 shooting, 3 rebounds (2 offensive) 2 fouls

@Providence 12/31:

Serah 24 minutes, 8 points on 2-4 shooting, 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 5 fouls
Jana 19 minutes, 10 points on 5-6 shooting, 5 rebounds (1 offensive), 3 fouls

Seton Hall 1/3:

Serah 22 minutes, 7 points on 3-6 shooting, 5 rebounds (2 offensive), 1 foul
Jana 17 minutes, 10 points on 4-5 shooting, 6 rebounds (3 offensive), 2 fouls

What stands out here to me is Jana shooting 13-for-19 (68%), while Serah is shooting 8-for-14 (57%). Visually, Jana has been able to get into the low post position on the weak side while teammates have the ball, and has thereby put herself in a position for an uncontested layup when they get a pass to her. Serah always seems to be shooting over a defender, often from a difficult angle.

My ears perked up when Geno said in his postgame interview that Jana has been bad in practice this past week, pouting and looking unhappy, and she made a comment to the effect that she didn't "come all this way to be a non-factor". But, he said, she isn't like that in games -- obviously not, based on the above stats.

I wonder if Geno will look at Jana's and Serah's recent performances and decide that their minutes in the post need to be distributed more equally, not just over the entire game but in the early quarters when the game has not been decided. (Today against Seton Hall, all of Jana's minutes were in the second half.) I hope he hasn't ruled out the possibility that Jana may win back the starting center position before the end of the season.

I may be wrong (I haven't checked the tape, as they used to say) but I believe that it was Geno who said to Jana "You didn't come all this way to be a non-factor". It was him urging her to impact the game more, and not, as you suggest, her whining about not getting playing time.