Short memories on the BY and short lineups on the floor

[MdStang]

There have been numerous discussions about possible starting lineups for this season and now the Jana injury has fueled even more (though I doubt she would have started). Remember last season when Dorka broke her thumb? We played successive games against 4 NCAA tourney bound teams: Texas, NC State, Duke and Iowa. We won them all with this smaller lineup: AE, Aubrey, Nika, Azzi and Lou. This season sub in Paige for Lou and you have a very similar starting five (with the addition of Paige's exception passing). We can still bring in bigs from the bench (Ayanna, Ice, Amari) and an experienced, flexible G/F in Caroline. Add the "quick kids" (KK, Ashlyn, Q) and this is still a stacked roster.

 

[CL82]

There have been numerous discussions about possible starting lineups for this season and now the Jana injury has fueled even more (though I doubt she would have started). Remember last season when Dorka broke her thumb? We played successive games against 4 NCAA tourney bound teams: Texas, NC State, Duke and Iowa. We won them all with this smaller lineup: AE, Aubrey, Nika, Azzi and Lou. This season sub in Paige for Lou and you have a very similar starting five (with the addition of Paige's exception passing). We can still bring in bigs from the bench (Ayanna, Ice, Amari) and an experienced, flexible G/F in Caroline. Add the "quick kids" (KK, Ashlyn, Q) and this is still a stacked roster.

While I really enjoyed the tremendous progress Jana has made since the end of the season, I think we can weather for loss successfully, particularly if we are going to be running a four out offense. That said, my heart really breaks for her. It seemed like everything was coming together for her.

 

[Bone Dog]

Jana is the future of team — and a bright future it appears to be! She isn’t the present as she still needs time to grow her defensive skills, injury or no injury. But the offensive side of her game sure is shiny!

 

[Alydar]

There have been numerous discussions about possible starting lineups for this season and now the Jana injury has fueled even more (though I doubt she would have started). Remember last season when Dorka broke her thumb? We played successive games against 4 NCAA tourney bound teams: Texas, NC State, Duke and Iowa. We won them all with this smaller lineup: AE, Aubrey, Nika, Azzi and Lou. This season sub in Paige for Lou and you have a very similar starting five (with the addition of Paige's exception passing). We can still bring in bigs from the bench (Ayanna, Ice, Amari) and an experienced, flexible G/F in Caroline. Add the "quick kids" (KK, Ashlyn, Q) and this is still a stacked roster.

Great post. But by the time the NCAA's rolled around both Nika(foot/ankle) and Lou(knee) were worn down and Griffin was having back spams. Edwards was an iron women but she was also worn down.
UConn without El Alfy still has far more inside depth than they played with with last year.

 

[Geew1992]

I'm glad there are some positive people here because what I just read before this left me speechless.

 

[GoUconn7961]

I'm glad there are some positive people here because what I just read before this left me speechless.

We have a lot of gloom and doom on this board, unfortunately.

 

[oldhusky]

The optimism regarding our ability with the existing roster, to compete for a championship, or the examples of past successes with smaller lineups on occasion is valid, but it still is Plan B in my opinion. Our Plan B could be very good, but a Plan A with two very talented 5's like Ice and Jana potentially doing a very good job at C, while every other position dominates with talent and depth, had more upside than we have after Jana's injury.

Can we be very good?, of course, whether we go with the next tier of bigs, or go small ball, but our ceiling as to how good we could be if everything developed as hoped, has been lowered somewhat. Having a great C sized player is very rare. There are very few, and most teams can only dream of getting one much less two.

But some of the true national contenders, think South Carolina and Stanford, have had an abundance of outstanding bigs in general, and not one but two future pro C's. Boston and Cardosa, and Brink and Betts were almost unbelievable combinations at the 5. Their backup C was better than all but a few Division 1 starters.

Most of the season we can dominate more ordinary teams with small ball if we have to, and the Big East won't present many, if any star big 5's, but the ultimate road to a championship is likely to face one or two of them, and that is where not having Jana could make the biggest difference. Hopefully Ice can hold her own in those kind of match-ups, but she is only 6-3 and doesn't seem to be a big leaper, and we don't have a proven C sized backup unless Amari improves big time, which is possible but time will tell.

 

[Bone Dog]

But some of the true national contenders, think South Carolina and Stanford, have had an abundance of outstanding bigs in general, and not one but two future pro C's. Boston and Cardosa, and Brink and Betts were almost unbelievable combinations at the 5.

And yet both of these teams fell short. Guard play turned out to be the difference, not the bigs. I know Geno has said something to the effect that you need a big to win an NC. But I’m not entirely sure what he meant by that, since his NC teams wouldn’t have succeeded without great guards. Did he mean that guards aren’t enough, or that you need some rebounding, or that you need an inside scoring threat to open up the perimeter? I’m not sure there’s an easy answer to this one, especially after last season. Both teams in the NC game were not powered by a big center.

Hopefully Ice can hold her own in those kind of match-ups, but she is only 6-3 and doesn't seem to be a big leaper,

I don’t think leaping ability is as important as being strong for a C, and Ice is plenty strong, rather like Aaliyah. Being able to play them together ought to make the paint a scary place even for taller opponents. Leaping is more useful for small forwards like Aubrey, as it was for Maya the Magnificent.

 

[Blueconn]

The “Greatest Team of All Time” didn’t have a starter taller than 6’2”.

 

[HuskyNan]

The “Greatest Team of All Time” starters didn’t have a starter taller than 6’2”.

I added the word Starters to your post because Jess Moore was on that team. She was the only one over 6-2

 

[Blueconn]

The 2010 team‘s tallest starter was 5” shorter than was Baylor’s 6’9” center. Jamelle is 5’11. Look out for the Griffin and Edwards Show.

 

[hoophuskee]

The optimism regarding our ability with the existing roster, to compete for a championship, or the examples of past successes with smaller lineups on occasion is valid, but it still is Plan B in my opinion. Our Plan B could be very good, but a Plan A with two very talented 5's like Ice and Jana potentially doing a very good job at C, while every other position dominates with talent and depth, had more upside than we have after Jana's injury.

Can we be very good?, of course, whether we go with the next tier of bigs, or go small ball, but our ceiling as to how good we could be if everything developed as hoped, has been lowered somewhat. Having a great C sized player is very rare. There are very few, and most teams can only dream of getting one much less two.

But some of the true national contenders, think South Carolina and Stanford, have had an abundance of outstanding bigs in general, and not one but two future pro C's. Boston and Cardosa, and Brink and Betts were almost unbelievable combinations at the 5. Their backup C was better than all but a few Division 1 starters.

Most of the season we can dominate more ordinary teams with small ball if we have to, and the Big East won't present many, if any star big 5's, but the ultimate road to a championship is likely to face one or two of them, and that is where not having Jana could make the biggest difference. Hopefully Ice can hold her own in those kind of match-ups, but she is only 6-3 and doesn't seem to be a big leaper, and we don't have a proven C sized backup unless Amari improves big time, which is possible but time will tell.

To what level do you define "a great big?" For example are you suggesting that Stanford won their last title becasue of a great Big? Brink wasn't the star of their team as a frosh. What other dominant Big did Stanford have? And the other team that got to the finals, Arzona certabily didn't have.

Barring any further injuries, UCONN's ceiling will be foremost determined by Paige and Azzi. This potentially is "two Cailtyn Clark's"- not just one.

Give me quality of play any day over height. The two Bigs you reference don't hve much a ceiling in their frosh year (now one is out). Not so with Paige and Azzi. If they hit their respective ceilings, they make everyone around them much better.

 

[Gordo]

All this continual talk about people who have never played a single minute of D1 basketball blows my mind. Could we have a better lineup with a quality "big"? Of course we could, but at this point we do not have a proven one. Perhaps we will through play and development by March, but the strength of this team (barring any further serious injuries) will come from the play of Paige, Azzi, Liya, Caroline, Aubrey and Nika. That's it! Everyone else is an unknown quality.

 

[Next 12]

We have a lot of gloom and doom on this board, unfortunately.

That is true. some posters praise Uconn's team players and then come up with nonsense posts about how iffy they are. As I have posted many times, I have never posted a negative post on any player or Uconn. I always look at our potential and possibilities and wait and see if I am right. I still predict that Uconn will be undefeated in the BE and win the conference title and then on to the NC. My montra is "it;s possible" and I will believe that until it isn't. In 6 days I will be 90 years old and I have a long history of "it;s possible " in my lifetime. THINK POSITIVE AT ALL TIMES! Some disappointments, yes, But not earth shattering. GO HUSKIES!!!!

 

[UConnCat]

Barring any further injuries, UCONN's ceiling will be foremost determined by Paige and Azzi. This potentially is "two Cailtyn Clark's"- not just one.

This.

 

[Blueconn]

I added the word Starters to your post because Jess Moore was on that team. She was the only one over 6-2

Why writers ultimately surrender to editors…said Jefferson to Franklin. It reads more good and more better.

 

[Blueconn]

This.

I’ve checked and I think both healthy are worth 4 Clarks.

 

[The deacon]

I’ve checked and I think both healthy are worth 4 Clarks.

Optimism and love for one's team are wonderful, but this borders on delusional.

 

[Gordo]

Why writers ultimately surrender to editors…said Jefferson to Franklin. It reads more good and more better.

It read perfectly the way you wrote it. It actually makes no sense the way it was edited!

 

[Blueconn]

To what level do you define "a great big?" For example are you suggesting that Stanford won their last title becasue of a great Big? Brink wasn't the star of their team as a frosh. What other dominant Big did Stanford have? And the other team that got to the finals, Arzona certabily didn't have.

Barring any further injuries, UCONN's ceiling will be foremost determined by Paige and Azzi. This potentially is "two Cailtyn Clark's"- not just one.

Give me quality of play any day over height. The two Bigs you reference don't hve much a ceiling in their frosh year (now one is out). Not so with Paige and Azzi. If they hit their respective ceilings, they make everyone around them much better.

Here’s the thing…Geno has fielded more than a few teams that have been considered “undersized” compared to many of the best teams. Record speaks for itself.

And here’s the other thing : for most of 39 years UConn has played the game differently than most teams. “Bigs” are expected to hit jumpers, dribble up the floor, pass, and expected to be contributing at all times. Like he expects the “shorts” to hold their own under the boards, box out, etc.

This season may be another for the ages. Your words re Paige and Azzi “if they hit their respective ceilings” says it well and this team is boiling to hang a flag. And so is the old guy !

 

[Blueconn]

Optimism and love for one's team are wonderful, but this borders on delusional.

So was the idea in 1985 that Storrs would become the Basketball Capital of the World.

 

[Bone Dog]

Optimism and love for one's team are wonderful, but this borders on delusional.

Are you suggesting that they’re worth 5 Clarks? And just to be clear, is a Clark part of the Hartley system of measurement?

 

[Rowdy831]

The optimism regarding our ability with the existing roster, to compete for a championship, or the examples of past successes with smaller lineups on occasion is valid, but it still is Plan B in my opinion. Our Plan B could be very good, but a Plan A with two very talented 5's like Ice and Jana potentially doing a very good job at C, while every other position dominates with talent and depth, had more upside than we have after Jana's injury.

Can we be very good?, of course, whether we go with the next tier of bigs, or go small ball, but our ceiling as to how good we could be if everything developed as hoped, has been lowered somewhat. Having a great C sized player is very rare. There are very few, and most teams can only dream of getting one much less two.

But some of the true national contenders, think South Carolina and Stanford, have had an abundance of outstanding bigs in general, and not one but two future pro C's. Boston and Cardosa, and Brink and Betts were almost unbelievable combinations at the 5. Their backup C was better than all but a few Division 1 starters.

Most of the season we can dominate more ordinary teams with small ball if we have to, and the Big East won't present many, if any star big 5's, but the ultimate road to a championship is likely to face one or two of them, and that is where not having Jana could make the biggest difference. Hopefully Ice can hold her own in those kind of match-ups, but she is only 6-3 and doesn't seem to be a big leaper, and we don't have a proven C sized backup unless Amari improves big time, which is possible but time will tell.

Last year UCONN did not lose in the tournament to a team with a bunch of tall players. They lost because they didn't take care of the ball and they didn't attack the press at the end. The teams you mentioned with all the talented tall players didn't even make the final so I don't think your logic even won your argument let alone one that headlines three All Americans and a Defensive Player of the Year.

If UCONN has their whole roster minus one or two tall players they should still win every game. I wouldn't go so far as to say I would take any of the 4 over Clark but I would take UCONN's best 5 available against any other team in the country and give the points. The fire power they have is something they haven't had in a very long time if ever and Geno is still a great coach. He will cry and moan about how tough it is to be a Husky but on the inside he is laughing at how much talent he has at his fingertips.