Slo-gro Husky youngsters

[huskyd]

On the “GA Show,” Coach said that this year's and last year's recruits aren't catching on as quickly as young players of the past. But what are the practical implications of this? Does it portend gaps in the starting five and key back-ups beginning next season? Assuming Z stays put and Meg moves into Gabby's slot, the younger players will have another year to hone their skills before much is needed from them. The presence of ONO and Christyn should provide some strengthening of the bench, though neither is likely to start.

If Z leaves, the situation could become more dire. There is no ready replacement for her or the realistic case that ONO can just step into the middle. W/out Gabby, then, there's only 'Pheesa and Lou to provide size inside, but neither is a true 5. The most likely scenario would be to push Meg inside and come up with someone to run with Danger. It won't be Molly Bent. Will Mikayla be ready?

Effectively we'd be back to the team before this year's, with folks playing out of position and being asked to do a lot and with little coming off the bench to provide blows. I think that Kyla is a solid sub, and maybe Andi can help some. After those?

Under the circumstances, it seems essential that Geno finds the next starting guard among his current freshmen. Who it will be is anyone's guess. Ideas?

 

[Fairfield Fan]

I was wondering when someone would pick up on Geno's comments about the freshmen. He mentioned that in their freshman years, Kia was starting, Gabby was playing a lot, as was Napheesa. But he's right that the past two recruiting classes, according to Coach Geno, have been slower than other classes. I don't think we expected a lot out of Irwin and Bent, both of whom came in without hoopla. But the four freshmen in this year's class were much ballyhoo'd. We all certainly want to see AEH come back and thrive. Whatever is happening with her, she showed moments of talent on the court, and I'm sure we all have our fingers crossed.

Lexi Gordon has been curiously relegated to the bench. Coombs has only recently gotten off the bench. Walker is now- this past game?- begun to display the talent that got her named POY in high school.

But we're not seeing excellence elsehwere.

 

[Blaneylover]

I have been very interested in watching the development of this year's freshman. Even more than that, I've been in very interested in watching how HCGA uses them. There's depth this year and there are not automatic minutes for these kids. All of them are better players than Tierney Lawlor, but some of them are playing less minutes. It depends on the year and it depends on the kid.

 

[Charliebball]

I suppose there are two philosophies when it comes to playing freshmen..........Geno's is that if we can't fully trust you in practice you won't see the floor in a game..............other coaches just throw them out there in a sink or swim situation.................I've seen a number of freshmen getting significant minutes and make big contributions already this year...................was it because they were good enough to get those minutes from the start or did the coach simply have no choice with a limited bench?

I would bet that if any of the four freshman saw serious minutes on day one you would see a heck of a lot on mistakes but eventually they would get it and their abilities would shine..................UConn is lucky enough not to have to rely on freshmen.................perhaps Geno would employ a different philosophy if he had to...............

 

[augustaTC]

UConn is lucky enough not to have to rely on freshmen

I think that about sums it up. If he did, Geno would do something differently.

 

[oldude]

A couple comments about freshmen. No matter how hard you work in practice, you still have to be able to perform in games to earn Geno's trust. In the past, some freshmen have stepped up simply because there was no one else available. Steph, Bria, Kia and to some extent, Lou, all had open starting spots on the team with no clear cut player ahead of them. This year, you had the core-4 + Danger & Z. Not a lot of opportunity to get PT and gain Geno's trust. To MW's credit, she's established herself as a key member of the rotation.

Geno is looking for another guard. AEH got some early minutes, but appears to be dealing with some personal issues at home. Molly has not faired well in her limited time on the court and Gordon is clearly not ready yet, That leaves Mikayla who has been getting some minutes with mixed results. Really good, particularly on defense vs Duquesne. That earned her more PT vs Memphis, but her performance was not so good. Yesterday vs ECU, in limited minutes, was her best stretch of the season imo. My hope and expectation is that Mikayla settles into the 3rd guard role earning 15-20 minutes of PT per game backing up both Danger & Kia.

 

[Fairfield Fan]

The problem is that next year we will have lost three mainstays of the previous national championship team- Saniya, Kia, and Gabby. But for the past two years, no freshman has come in to take their places. Z may or may not leave for the pros. Walker is showing signs of life, and she certainly was celebrated coming out of high school. But we have not seen the flashes of brilliance from the other five sophomores and freshmen brought in in the past two classes.

Will they be passed over in favor of Crystal and Ono? Will one or more manage to step up over the remainder of the season?

 

[Sluconn Husky]

Let's just say there will be a lot on the shoulders of Crystal Dangerfield next season. Hopefully, Coombs comes on before the end of '19.

 

[JoePgh]

My bet is on Mikayla. She clearly has the physical skills, and I think she has the motivation. It's just a question of processing speed in reading the floor and seeing what she needs to see. Remember that Gabby played very few minutes as a freshman, but became a star after that.

I haven't given up on Molly, as some on this board seem to have done. She also seems to have a processing-speed problem, since she does everything based on instruction rather than natural instinct. But I think it is something that she can work through, just like you learn to solve math problems faster once you have solved many similar ones many times in the past. But clearly she doesn't have the athleticism or the instincts that Mikayla has.

Of course, this whole thread is based on the premise that Azura does not return, an event which I do not think deserves a probability estimate higher than about 5%. So it's really much ado about (probably) nothing.

 

[dtbtbtb]

Coombs is the clear answer for the guard position especially based on her play in the last few games. It seems she is catching on and with confidence her skills will flourish. She's got the ability (especially on defense) to contribute more than she did so far. it was interesting for me that when both Coombs and Molly are in the game, Coombs is the PG...

 

[NewCorn]

On the “GA Show,” Coach said that this year's and last year's recruits aren't catching on as quickly as young players of the past. But what are the practical implications of this? Does it portend gaps in the starting five and key back-ups beginning next season? Assuming Z stays put and Meg moves into Gabby's slot, the younger players will have another year to hone their skills before much is needed from them. The presence of ONO and Christyn should provide some strengthening of the bench, though neither is likely to start.

If Z leaves, the situation could become more dire. There is no ready replacement for her or the realistic case that ONO can just step into the middle. W/out Gabby, then, there's only 'Pheesa and Lou to provide size inside, but neither is a true 5. The most likely scenario would be to push Meg inside and come up with someone to run with Danger. It won't be Molly Bent. Will Mikayla be ready?

Effectively we'd be back to the team before this year's, with folks playing out of position and being asked to do a lot and with little coming off the bench to provide blows. I think that Kyla is a solid sub, and maybe Andi can help some. After those?

Under the circumstances, it seems essential that Geno finds the next starting guard among his current freshmen. Who it will be is anyone's guess. Ideas?

Mikayla will be ready. She has flashed fine skills. I expect her to get better and better this year and make a Crystal size jump over the summer. Next season, she will be #6 in the rotation, as Meg and Z become starters.

 

[HuskyNan]

I was wondering when someone would pick up on Geno's comments about the freshmen. He mentioned that in their freshman years, Kia was starting, Gabby was playing a lot, as was Napheesa. But he's right that the past two recruiting classes, according to Coach Geno, have been slower than other classes. I don't think we expected a lot out of Irwin and Bent, both of whom came in without hoopla. But the four freshmen in this year's class were much ballyhoo'd. We all certainly want to see AEH come back and thrive. Whatever is happening with her, she showed moments of talent on the court, and I'm sure we all have our fingers crossed.

Lexi Gordon has been curiously relegated to the bench. Coombs has only recently gotten off the bench. Walker is now- this past game?- begun to display the talent that got her named POY in high school.

But we're not seeing excellence elsehwere.

Actually, he said Gabby didn't play a lot in her freshman year. She played an average 15.6 minutes a game, fewer minutes early in the season.

 

[Waquoit]

Actually, he said Gabby didn't play a lot in her freshman year. She played an average 15.6 minutes a game, fewer minutes early in the season.

Exactly. But Geno knew he had something there. Remember she got game time in the Final Four and looked over matched? That didn't last long.

 

[hugefan]

Give them time and lots of best wishes.

 

[huskyd]

My bet is on Mikayla. She clearly has the physical skills, and I think she has the motivation. It's just a question of processing speed in reading the floor and seeing what she needs to see. Remember that Gabby played very few minutes as a freshman, but became a star after that.

I haven't given up on Molly, as some on this board seem to have done. She also seems to have a processing-speed problem, since she does everything based on instruction rather than natural instinct. But I think it is something that she can work through, just like you learn to solve math problems faster once you have solved many similar ones many times in the past. But clearly she doesn't have the athleticism or the instincts that Mikayla has.

Of course, this whole thread is based on the premise that Azura does not return, an event which I do not think deserves a probability estimate higher than about 5%. So it's really much ado about (probably) nothing.

I'm not assuming that Z will leave after this season. For one, she's having a great time, especially compared to her Duke experience. For another, I suspect Geno has a commitment from her to stay for 2 years. However, I believe she'll be high on the draft list for the WNBA whether she stays another year or not. So: IF she leaves, then what?

 

[hoophuskee]

On the “GA Show,” Coach said that this year's and last year's recruits aren't catching on as quickly as young players of the past. But what are the practical implications of this? Does it portend gaps in the starting five and key back-ups beginning next season? Assuming Z stays put and Meg moves into Gabby's slot, the younger players will have another year to hone their skills before much is needed from them. The presence of ONO and Christyn should provide some strengthening of the bench, though neither is likely to start.

If Z leaves, the situation could become more dire. There is no ready replacement for her or the realistic case that ONO can just step into the middle. W/out Gabby, then, there's only 'Pheesa and Lou to provide size inside, but neither is a true 5. The most likely scenario would be to push Meg inside and come up with someone to run with Danger. It won't be Molly Bent. Will Mikayla be ready?

Effectively we'd be back to the team before this year's, with folks playing out of position and being asked to do a lot and with little coming off the bench to provide blows. I think that Kyla is a solid sub, and maybe Andi can help some. After those?

Under the circumstances, it seems essential that Geno finds the next starting guard among his current freshmen. Who it will be is anyone's guess. Ideas?

Very little practical implications. This is all much-ado about nothing but worried fans who are scared of their own shadow/ awaiting the next asteroid to hit. We heard to start the season that there would be "problems" with minutes this year that could affect the team. We know that was a myth. Secondly we heard how the freshmen were getting wiped out this year implying/suggestiing huge troubles ahead (2/3/4 years) while many of just said -" it's early and it's the competition (number 1 schedule) of playing against top teams that don't pull many if any of their top players." Now what do we see? They aren't doing bad and aren't getting wiped out. A freshmen team with non all-american sophomores will rarely beat / play well early vs a good team. It's that simple.

Now we hear Geno's comment about the frosh "are a little behind." It's much ado about nothing. This is the same coach that calls his posts "the worst in america." Were they "the worst?" No. This is the same coach that didn't start Maya Moore. It's not his nature to praise freshmen. He's not going to do it much. Mainly because frosh have many flaws and are more likely to to be less confident in key situations.

And for those that say this class was some sort of super class. They are wrong. Their perception was wrong. It's not the player's. As for Meg Walker, she has had two strong games against the 2 best teams UCONN played against. What did Stewie do when she had to play against the best as a frosh early on? Early on when she played against the best she got wiped out. Big deal none of the current frosh are starting. As Geno said-- each player develops within their own time. Unlike the class of 2 years ago -- you had two player's in Lou and Pheesa that were considered "the best or near the best." In Stewie's class -- Stewie, MoJeff were 1 and 2. And Tuck was very high too. OFC this class isn't as good as those two. You have Meg Walker. The other 3 were NOT elite recruits in which you would think they are the best in their class like for example you could think Pheesa was the best. UCONN won 111 in a row for a reason. They had amazing classes. This class imo is a very solid class.

I wouldn't worry about next year yet. Even in Stewie's soph year there were many suggesting she should play sf so she didn't have to get beat up. The other team's have young players and flawed players that are human beings too. It's okay if a UCONN player isn't perfect. The team will survive.