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Message: [QUOTE="JoePgh, post: 4032294, member: 1131"] I have a definite opinion on two specific issues that have been raised in this thread, even though I agree with the main consensus of the thread. [LIST=1] [*]I don't agree that Azzi will have to be more selfish, or that Geno will want her to be more selfish, to contribute as much as she can to UConn's success. Nothing in the U19 tourney suggests to me that Azzi is shy about taking an open shot from any range, and I think that is what Geno will expect of her. If her jump shot is as good as we all expect, opponents will make sure that they defend her even if it stretches their defense, and that is when she will get opportunities to pass or drive. She showed in the U19's that she can pass. If she isn't able to drive past an opponent who is tightly guarding her 20 feet from the basket, or make a backdoor cut to get past that opponent, that is a weakness in her game that will need to be fixed, but just because she didn't do it in the U19's doesn't mean that it isn't in her repertoire. I don't remember seeing any backdoor plays from the USA offense in the U19 tournament, by anyone. [*]Some have suggested that Azzi may start if Geno decides to go with a 4-guard offense as he has for the past several years. I don't think Geno will do that again this year, for a number of reasons: (a) He hasn't won an NC since the last time he played a 2-big offense in 2015-26; (b) the teams in UConn's peer group this year (especially South Carolina and Stanford) are massively big teams in terms of height, and UConn will be at a disadvantage if it is not accustomed to playing with similar height most of the time; and, most important, (c) the 2021-22 roster only has four true guards (five if you count Evina) and [B]nine[/B] front court players. The depth of this team is in the front court, and it makes sense to play two at a time (at least) to take advantage of that depth. [/LIST] I think Geno got Dorka and built this roster because he recognizes that the teams since 2016 have simply not been big enough (and deep enough at the front court positions) to compete with other top teams at those positions. Having gone to a lot of trouble to acquire that depth of talent in the front court, I expect Geno to use the flexibility that this roster affords him. [/QUOTE]

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