Serah Williams Commits to UConn

[oldude]

I suspect that Geno will do that some of the time. However, running the offense through Sarah in the high post would not maximize Sarah's varied skill set. Better to have her in motion all around the court most of the time.

I’m not suggesting any offensive set 100% of the time. Next year, Geno will have the roster to beat teams a lot of different ways. Sarah at the high post is just one way.

You will also see Sarah & Azzi in the 2-man game that was so devastating with Sarah & Paige this season. You will see a 5-out offensive set with KK attacking her defender off the dribble, like she did repeatedly in the national championship game vs SC.

You could spend all day coming up with offensive sets for UConn to run next year with the personnel that the Huskies will have, and you will barely scratch the surface of the number of options that Geno has in his head.

 

[BobbyJ]

There’s one other thing I reluctantly mention. These kids are also students. Kayleigh Heckel is completing her freshman year of college with finals next week. She’s been traveling for visits to Michigan, Vandy, ND & UConn over the past few weeks. Perhaps she’s studying?

I wasn't referring to Heckel at all. I was addressing in general the point in post #341 about "I like to think that most kids will tell a coach early if they are not interested".

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I’m not suggesting any offensive set 100% of the time. Next year, Geno will have the roster to beat teams a lot of different ways. Sarah at the high post is just one way.

You will also see Sarah & Azzi in the 2-man game that was so devastating with Sarah & Paige this season. You will see a 5-out offensive set with KK attacking her defender off the dribble, like she did repeatedly in the national championship game vs SC.

You could spend all day coming up with offensive sets for UConn to run next year with the personnel that the Huskies will have, and you will barely scratch the surface of the number of options that Geno has in his head.

What I am looking forward to seeing next year (particularly in the post-season run of BE & NCAA) is the "two-hands out + double shoulder shrug" that Hailey Van Lith gave when she "had nothing" to slow down, let alone contain, Caitlyn Clark, by the defenders of Azzi, Serah, Sarah, Ash, KK, and hopefully many others of the upcoming edition of the Huskies.

Second to the above are the multiple steals, blocks, and fast break express in each game that extremely tough defense will generate!

Go Huskies!!!

 

[HuskyNan]

Geno knows what he has in KK and Shade. And he wants on Heckel on the team.

I would think Geno has earned our trust. If he thinks she would be valuable, then this would be a good player to have on the team.

Why that doesn't suffice is what I fail to understand.

People are discussing the potential transfer and its implications for the team. That’s fine. The Boneyard is here for people to discuss the team

 

[The CDR-Ret]

There’s one other thing I reluctantly mention. These kids are also students. Kayleigh Heckel is completing her freshman year of college with finals next week. She’s been traveling for visits to Michigan, Vandy, ND & UConn over the past few weeks. Perhaps she’s studying?

Agreed - something about great minds think alike, but I believe great minds think great thoughts, get together, argue civilly, and agree to make great conclusions and decisions.

Same idea that I posted in "Little Husky coming to town..." thread post #16 discussing time constraints...

Go Huskies and future Huskies!!!!

 

[jazz]

I’m not suggesting any offensive set 100% of the time. Next year, Geno will have the roster to beat teams a lot of different ways. Sarah at the high post is just one way.

You will also see Sarah & Azzi in the 2-man game that was so devastating with Sarah & Paige this season. You will see a 5-out offensive set with KK attacking her defender off the dribble, like she did repeatedly in the national championship game vs SC.

You could spend all day coming up with offensive sets for UConn to run next year with the personnel that the Huskies will have, and you will barely scratch the surface of the number of options that Geno has in his head.

How about Serah and Sarah. How you going to defend that? If somehow you manage, Sarah makes a quick dish around the perimeter to Azzi. Shade and KK in the corners stretching the defence. Can't double on Serah bc you have 4 three point threats to defend. I think this will be a main set for next year. I really don't see how you can defend it.

 

[BRS24]

Officially official.

 

[BRS24]

UConn Signs Serah Williams for 2025-26 - University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma announced the addition of transfer forward Serah Williams to the program for the 2025-26 season.

uconnhuskies.com

 

[RockyMTblue2]

How about Serah and Sarah. How you going to defend that? If somehow you manage, Sarah makes a quick dish around the perimeter to Azzi. Shade and KK in the corners stretching the defence. Can't double on Serah bc you have 4 three point threats to defend. I think this will be a main set for next year. I really don't see how you can defend it.

I like your trend of thought, but KK has yet to matriculate into the 3 point club. She'll hit the occasional 3, usually from the left corner, but reliability is not there yet. I hope it is one the top of her summer training list.

 

[Sluconn Husky]

UConn Signs Serah Williams for 2025-26 - University of Connecticut Athletics

UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma announced the addition of transfer forward Serah Williams to the program for the 2025-26 season.

uconnhuskies.com

"When I first stepped on campus at UConn and met the players and staff, it felt like the right place for me to spend my last year in college both on and off the court," Williams said. "The winning environment and atmosphere were everything I was looking for."

 

[Golden Husky]

I’m not suggesting any offensive set 100% of the time. Next year, Geno will have the roster to beat teams a lot of different ways. Sarah at the high post is just one way.

You will also see Sarah & Azzi in the 2-man game that was so devastating with Sarah & Paige this season. You will see a 5-out offensive set with KK attacking her defender off the dribble, like she did repeatedly in the national championship game vs SC.

You could spend all day coming up with offensive sets for UConn to run next year with the personnel that the Huskies will have, and you will barely scratch the surface of the number of options that Geno has in his head.

@oldude for MVP: Most Voluble Poster. Aw, Most Valuable Poster, too.

 

[oldude]

"When I first stepped on campus at UConn and met the players and staff, it felt like the right place for me to spend my last year in college both on and off the court," Williams said. "The winning environment and atmosphere were everything I was looking for."

Hmmm. Come to UConn to be part of a “winning environment.” What a novel idea.

 

[oldude]

How about Serah and Sarah. How you going to defend that? If somehow you manage, Sarah makes a quick dish around the perimeter to Azzi. Shade and KK in the corners stretching the defence. Can't double on Serah bc you have 4 three point threats to defend. I think this will be a main set for next year. I really don't see how you can defend it.

Sometimes these threads drive me crazy. If you go all the way back to my original post in this string of back and forths, you will see that Serah & Sarah was exactly what I suggested.

 

[BRS24]

"When I first stepped on campus at UConn and met the players and staff, it felt like the right place for me to spend my last year in college both on and off the court," Williams said. "The winning environment and atmosphere were everything I was looking for."

Thanks for adding this quote. I copied it and then forgot and posted the link.

 

[jazz]

Sometimes these threads drive me crazy. If you go all the way back to my original post in this string of back and forths, you will see that Serah & Sarah was exactly what I suggested.

sorry oldude. I should have known you would have already suggested this!

 

[jazz]

true

I like your trend of thought, but KK has yet to matriculate into the 3 point club. She'll hit the occasional 3, usually from the left corner, but reliability is not there yet. I hope it is one the top of her summer training list.

True rocky. but i suspect she will improve and in any case, sticking her in the corner, makes somebody take notice on defense. If she can shoot in the low 30s, Id be happy with that.

 

[BobbyJ]

Hmmm. Come to UConn to be part of a “winning environment.” What a novel idea.

And it looks like she'll be able to help out Strong with some serious interior defense. The last two seasons she's had 84 and 69 blocks respectively. By comparison, Strong has been excellent with 66.

 

[BBallF]

I’m not suggesting any offensive set 100% of the time. Next year, Geno will have the roster to beat teams a lot of different ways. Sarah at the high post is just one way.

You will also see Sarah & Azzi in the 2-man game that was so devastating with Sarah & Paige this season. You will see a 5-out offensive set with KK attacking her defender off the dribble, like she did repeatedly in the national championship game vs SC.

You could spend all day coming up with offensive sets for UConn to run next year with the personnel that the Huskies will have, and you will barely scratch the surface of the number of options that Geno has in his head.

Truly. I particularly like the high-low game with Serah and Sarah. Serah seals her man like a pro and Sarah is a great passer. Serah also has a very strong finish underneath. When Sarah has a vulnerable defender on her (almost everyone) then Serah can throw the entry pass. As you indicate, the permutations, combinations, and experimentations are legion.

It will be interesting to see what Geno does with a strong offensive low post game. I include Jana in that as well because her improvement and play in the biggest games was both surprising and great at the same time. A summer of work outs and skills will do wonders. She came back from a very difficult injury and did not play for over a year. There was a good amount of lost timing, learning the defensive and offensive schemes, etc. You can look at film and charts all you want but doing is a different thing. What we saw was the tip of the iceberg I think and Geno's words about Sarah as a freshman are especially true for Jana.

Above all else, last year was a work of art. At times it was ballet with a ball. That "tap" pass by Paige to KC on the break and KC's "tap" pass to Sarah also on the break were thrilling to any basketball fan, men's or women's.

 

[Charliebball]

Top 3 all year, finished first for the season, per NCAA

View attachment 109175

It seems pretty clear that UConn needs to get to the foul line a heck of a lot more, grab more rebounds, and play better defense against the three point shot...........if they get those things figured out, they might get somewhere next season........

 

[Charliebball]

There is a report that Geno made a statement in which he expected both players to commit after their visits. I don’t have any idea how credible that report is/was, it doesn’t sound like sometime he would say but I did see it.

there's no way that Geno would make a statement about players committing until after the fact......not his style......

 

[Bone Dog]

There’s a bit of a chess game Geno was working this season involving the small lineup and Sarah. If the opposition runs a big lineup, they’ll have an advantage rebounding and in low post offense but a significant disadvantage in team speed and defending the perimeter. If Sarah is the only big on the floor, then the opposing big has to guard her on the perimeter and the lane is open for backcuts. This is because she’s both a great perimeter shooter and a great passer.

With Serah in the lineup next to Sarah, Geno loses some of this advantage, but gains a rebounder, rim protector and low post scorer. Sarah is still a problem for teams to guard on the perimeter, but it’s no longer simply a problem for the opposing center. Now a 4 can guard her, which is a little more manageable… unless Serah develops a perimeter shot. Then the whole merry-go-round can be cranked up again.

I think this means Geno will press Serah to improve both her perimeter shooting (she’s already a good midrange shooter) and her hi-post passing game. And this only concerns one lineup Geno might use. The small lineup will still be available if he sees a use for it in any game.

Ideally, both ice and Jana will also be developing these same skills alongside Serah in preparation for the following season, when they will be the primary post options again.

 

[Charliebball]

There’s one other thing I reluctantly mention. These kids are also students. Kayleigh Heckel is completing her freshman year of college with finals next week. She’s been traveling for visits to Michigan, Vandy, ND & UConn over the past few weeks. Perhaps she’s studying?

Students you say???? hmmmm......

 

[oldude]

And it looks like she'll be able to help out Strong with some serious interior defense. The last two seasons she's had 84 and 69 blocks respectively. By comparison, Strong has been excellent with 66.

One of the things I really like about Serah is that she’s really quick off the floor, just like Sarah. UConn’s offense will come along as the season progresses. But the defense will very likely be even better than this past season when the Huskies led the nation in scoring defense.

There will also be an interesting competition between the 2 before the season over which one jumps center next season.

 

[Cuango]

Geno knows what he has in KK and Shade. And he wants on Heckel on the team.

I would think Geno has earned our trust. If he thinks she would be valuable, then this would be a good player to have on the team.

Why that doesn't suffice is what I fail to understand.

I think it does suffice for most of us, but where’s the fun in that? The fun part is getting to yammer on about our beloved Huskies while knowing deep down that Geno & CD have it covered far better than my/our often ridiculous plans/opinions could.

 

[BBallF]

I think it does suffice for most of us, but where’s the fun in that? The fun part is getting to yammer on about our beloved Huskies while knowing deep down that Geno & CD have it covered far better than my/our often ridiculous plans/opinions could.

I thought Geno and CD got all their ideas from the Boneyard? If you go back and read every single post this past season I’m sure we covered everything.