Should Azzi Start over Caroline? | Page 2 | The Boneyard

Should Azzi Start over Caroline?

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AgStatesman said:
YES! YES! A million times yes! Azzi shoots a MUCH higher percentage, specifically .211 points higher from 3 and is able to involve other teammates into the game. Caroline doesn't. We fell in love with Caroline because she filled a void no one else could. Azzi is flat out a better player with much higher upside. Next season it will be a moot point, but if the goal this year is to win a national championship, Azzi gives a chance to do that that Caroline simply does not.
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Sorry, but what a load of crap! Caroline stepping up when needed is what saved our season from falling into the crapper due to all the injuries. She is clever at scoring in many different ways, and her size gives her the advantages that Azzi can't enjoy. Are you a Martian by any chance?
 
Conndog said:
Sorry, but what a load of crap! Caroline stepping up when needed is what saved our season from falling into the crapper due to all the injuries. She is clever at scoring in many different ways, and her size gives her the advantages that Azzi can't enjoy. Are you a Martian by any chance?
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Hey! No Martian bashing here! ;)
 
Start both of them.....until they don't deserve it any more!
 
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AgStatesman said:
YES! YES! A million times yes! Azzi shoots a MUCH higher percentage, specifically .211 points higher from 3 and is able to involve other teammates into the game. Caroline doesn't. We fell in love with Caroline because she filled a void no one else could. Azzi is flat out a better player with much higher upside. Next season it will be a moot point, but if the goal this year is to win a national championship, Azzi gives a chance to do that that Caroline simply does not.
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This is frankly an absurd question! Caroline has proven herself as a player Geno knows will elevate to the moment. Azzi is a great talent and had a great game against DePaul but with the game on the line, he knew Charmer had to be the one with the ball.

But to me the question should have been should Azzi start over Christyn? CW has shown all her career at Storrs that, like today, you just never know when she will inexplicitedly disappear. I love her but she just isn't reliable.

Azzi and Caroline need to be the core of the offense (and both are plus defensively as well) together with Paige from here on for years to come.
 
Rblack335 said:
Seeing as they don't play the same position, I don't see how this is a relevant question? In my eyes, Caroline took Evina's starting role at the 3. Maybe Azzi will take CWs starting role at the 2.

But no matter who starts, I'd guess both Caroline and Azzi will be on the court in crunch time.
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I don't see Geno benching CW. She's a senior and has saved a game or two in her career. Azzi has plenty of time.
 
When Paige is back, and healthy, Nika will not start, Caroline or Azzi will, if she continues to excel, and Christyn along with Dorka and Liv.
 
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I'd love to see Azzi and CD start. I think we see that next year (Paige, Azzi, Caroline, Aaliyah, Dorka - MAYBE)...

But right now, CD is the starter. Here's a thought - when Paige gets back - start Paige, Azzi, Christyn, Caroline, and ONO. Then off the bench you have Evina, Nika, Dorka, and Aaliyah (along with Amari and Piath).

I'm not sure who "deserves", who is better suited, etc., but I think against most teams that could be a really fun lineup to get us off to a quick start, and then use lots of substitutions as we full court press a lot more. And maybe over the next few games, Aaliyah will remind us all of how great she was at the end of last season. Maybe she continues to start.

But as many said, MAN are we gonna be scary good if we can put it all together come March.

Having said that, I do expect more ups and downs the rest of the season. We have to allow for the freshman wall, bringing Paige back slowly, players having bad games, etc. I know we all hope for consistency and incremental improvements, but these ladies are humans, not machines. Still, I'm very encouraged...
 
"Harmony in the house", .... It's the Ws in the win column that
count,.... not who starts. My guess is that Geno will "rotate"
his " starters" based on the opponent ... and will bring in who he
wishes at the right moment to Make Things Happen! Nika accepts her role as
Paige's backup when Paige is "ready" to start. Evina, in
the Tenn. post game "presser", said she is not concerned
about being the '6th' player, and Dorka and Aaliyah know
that they will play and contribute. My hunch is that the
"usual" crew starts: Paige, CW, ONO, ( with Dorka or
Aaliyah, if the opposition calls for the" tall team" ) and some combination of Evina,
Azzi, and Caroline rotating in and out for other teams. Nika subs for
Paige, as mentioned above .... and lets have no one get injuried or hurt!
GO TEAM!, It takes a village, not a starting lineup. Z
 
Wbbfan1 said:
Wondering if Azzi should start over Caroline Its obvious that Azzi is the teams best three point shooter and the more minutes she plays the more opportunities she'll get shooting 3's. It seems when she comes off the bench it takes her awhile to get into the flow of the game, especially on defense. Azzi did miss a lot of shots today, but made up for it by making 7 of 9 three point shots. Today besides scoring 25 points, was Azzi's best game on defense. It seems if Geno wanted to start both Caroline and Azzi then Christyn Williams probably goes to the bench. IMO Nika is needed in the starting lineup as she does a good job running the offense and gets UConn into their transition game. Geno likes starting two post players and I would not sit one of them.

Would you start Azzi over Carolina or do you have a lineup where both would start?
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STOP, for god's sake just stop !!!!!!
 
Other than Evina, who does Geno think will do the best job coming off the bench? I'm sure somebody will ask him that question soon enough.........not sure he'll answer with anything but "we'll find out."..........
 
The real question should be Azzi or Christyn. Caroline is the closest to a natural 3 we have and has earned her starting role over Evina. Both of those are better overall players than Nika, but we have to have a point guard in the starting lineup and that means Nika until Paige returns.

When everyone is back you have two point guards (Paige and Nika), two shooting guards (Christyn and Azzi) and two small forwards (Caroline and Evina). Yes many can play other positions, but certain combinations are not good such as Nika, Christyn and Evina because Nika doesn't have a great shooter to pass to and of course she is not a big shooter/scorer herself. Nika can play with Paige as demonstrated last year with Paige largely playing off the ball, and Evina can play 4 positions so there are a number of combos that could be good, but we have three great shooters among the guards (Azzi, Paige and Caroline) and three so so ones (Christyn, Evina and Nika).

I think most of the time we need two out of three from the first group on the floor, at a minimum should have one, and should almost never team the three from the second group.
 
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Wbbfan1 said:
Wondering if Azzi should start over Caroline Its obvious that Azzi is the teams best three point shooter and the more minutes she plays the more opportunities she'll get shooting 3's. It seems when she comes off the bench it takes her awhile to get into the flow of the game, especially on defense. Azzi did miss a lot of shots today, but made up for it by making 7 of 9 three point shots. Today besides scoring 25 points, was Azzi's best game on defense. It seems if Geno wanted to start both Caroline and Azzi then Christyn Williams probably goes to the bench. IMO Nika is needed in the starting lineup as she does a good job running the offense and gets UConn into their transition game. Geno likes starting two post players and I would not sit one of them.

Would you start Azzi over Carolina or do you have a lineup where both would start?
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Azzi, if she's healthy, starts, Evina first off the bench, but Caroline and Fudd have earned their chance.
 
Not this mess again. I figure it is whoever Coach wants to start. Then whoever comes in on the 2nd unit, their goal should be to come in and dominant.
 
Azzi is great, she is a deadly shooter, and, well, it looks like she does everything well. I was impressed by her defense, and I loved seeing her energy- she never looked tired. Coming back from a injury, it's always a question mark how long it'll take to get into game shape, but I didn't see her look winded at all- she's fully able to play full game at 100%.

Having even one extra person who can really contribute makes it possible to sprinkle in periods of rest for the team. As a result, I think the 4th quarter collapses that happened a couple times earlier in the season won't happen again.

And Azzi playing so well rubs off on the other players. The other UConn players all looked good today. This was Aaliyah's best game all season; Nika too, and Evina was dynamite. Everyone contributed. Man the passing today was phenomenal, and the help defense was outstanding. What a great game! And I just love the team chemistry.

I'm flat-out assuming Paige will be back this season and she will be playing in the tournament. It doesn't matter to me who starts, but imagine how potent the scoring could be with a line-up of Liv, Aaliyah, Azzi, Paige, and Caroline. This still leaves Christyn, Dorka, Evina and Nika as valuable subs. Swap in anyone you want and there wouldn't be a drop-off.

Minneapolis, here we come!
 
Its pretty clear to me anyway that if everyone is healthy, our starting 5 should be Paige/Fudd/CD/AE/ONO, with CW, Nika, EW, and Dorka coming off the bench. Paige is our QB, CD gives us the flexibility to play inside and outside. Fudd will prevent the defense from just loading up the paint. AE is needed to play physical matchups and help on the boards. Some might say we should start the senior CW, but if we're going by productivity, I'd start either Fudd or CD over CW. It might also take pressure off of CW coming off the bench.
 
Face Palm No GIF
 
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oldhuskie said:
The real question should be Azzi or Christyn. Caroline is the closest to a natural 3 we have and has earned her starting role over Evina. Both of those are better overall players than Nika, but we have to have a point guard in the starting lineup and that means Nika until Paige returns.

When everyone is back you have two point guards (Paige and Nika), two shooting guards (Christyn and Azzi) and two small forwards (Caroline and Evina). Yes many can play other positions, but certain combinations are not good such as Nika, Christyn and Evina because Nika doesn't have a great shooter to pass to and of course she is not a big shooter/scorer herself. Nika can play with Paige as demonstrated last year with Paige largely playing off the ball, and Evina can play 4 positions so there are a number of combos that could be good, but we have three great shooters among the guards (Azzi, Paige and Caroline) and three so so ones (Christyn, Evina and Nika).

I think most of the time we need two out of three from the first group on the floor, at a minimum should have one, and should almost never team the three from the second group.
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I agree totally with your analysis. I’m not sure Geno does, though. He is not going to use six players at three positions. The only solution when all six are healthy is to frequently use four guard sets. I was dead set against that at the beginning of the season, but hardly anyone anticipated that Caroline would play so well so early in her career. All six of them bring something to the table; none of them should be just an 8-10 minute sub at one position.
 
He's going to have options, for sure. I do like Dorka rebounding in the 4 spot.
 
I haven't read most of the responses but IMO people are crazy if they think Ducharme should come off the bench. She's been the most consistent player all year and has proven capable as a go to player.

Fudd was lights out today but between her or Ducharme, stick with Ducharme and use Fudd as instant offense off the bench. If Fudd is hot and Edwards is struggling, stick with Fudd and play small ball and go with a 4 out 1 in offense. It'll create lanes for Ducharme to drive and there are multiple 3pt threats on the floor. If Fudd has an off night, utilize a bigger lineup.
 
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