Starting Five...Next year | Page 3 | The Boneyard

Starting Five...Next year

EricLA said:
Bingo. For those with longer memories, Diana didn't start her freshman year until an injury forced Geno to put her in as a starter. Nykesha Sales didn't start as a freshman. Maya didn't start right away, again, until an injury forced her to start.

You know what freshmen DID start? Stef Dolson. Know why? Tina had just graduated and Geno's only other option for size was Heather Buck.

My point is that Geno has NEVER started a freshman unless he had no other choices. Next year we will have so much talent that he won't NEED to start Paige. He has said it's generally too much pressure on a freshman.

Perhaps I'll be surprised and he will start Paige. She certainly has the right attitude, confidence, moxie, etc. But I just don't think so. Having said that, she may get more minutes than starters.
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I completely agree. If Evina was eligible and healthy this year she would have started, not Anna or Aubrey. Geno would have had the luxury of slowly introducing them to the game. I also believe we would have at least one less loss. Next year like most years the freshman will have to earn playing time and there will be a lot more competition.
 
EricLA said:
Bingo. For those with longer memories, Diana didn't start her freshman year until an injury forced Geno to put her in as a starter. Nykesha Sales didn't start as a freshman. Maya didn't start right away, again, until an injury forced her to start.

You know what freshmen DID start? Stef Dolson. Know why? Tina had just graduated and Geno's only other option for size was Heather Buck.

My point is that Geno has NEVER started a freshman unless he had no other choices. Next year we will have so much talent that he won't NEED to start Paige. He has said it's generally too much pressure on a freshman.

Perhaps I'll be surprised and he will start Paige. She certainly has the right attitude, confidence, moxie, etc. But I just don't think so. Having said that, she may get more minutes than starters.
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Let’s be careful when you say so much talent for next year . We have to see these newbies play first and how they handle being a freshman at UCONN. Our hope is yes this will be a very deep team with some elite talent. But right now nothing is for certain. Why because we all thought CW would improve greatly and she hasn’t. So until we see that Liv, Meg, CW are better and someone else steps in for crystal and the 5th starting spot is not a rotating door if inconsistency let’s wait before proclamations.
 
ABCDFE said:
Let’s be careful when you say so much talent for next year . We have to see these newbies play first and how they handle being a freshman at UCONN. Our hope is yes this will be a very deep team with some elite talent. But right now nothing is for certain. Why because we all thought CW would improve greatly and she hasn’t. So until we see that Liv, Meg, CW are better and someone else steps in for crystal and the 5th starting spot is not a rotating door if inconsistency let’s wait before proclamations.
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I'm certainly not predicting an NC....................... I am fairly confident the team will be better in a number of ways as it gets bigger, stronger and more skilled with the addition of Westbrook, Bueckers and the other freshmen..................when Geno looks towards the bench and shakes his head I'm hoping it's because he has so many shiny new toys to use..........
 
ABCDFE said:
Let’s be careful when you say so much talent for next year . We have to see these newbies play first and how they handle being a freshman at UCONN. Our hope is yes this will be a very deep team with some elite talent. But right now nothing is for certain. Why because we all thought CW would improve greatly and she hasn’t. So until we see that Liv, Meg, CW are better and someone else steps in for crystal and the 5th starting spot is not a rotating door if inconsistency let’s wait before proclamations.
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You are right. Nothing is certain. We could walk across the street and be hit with a bus. But one thing is certain... UCONN will have a TON of talent next year. Williams, ONO and Walker are all starters and will start next year. All will have a chance to improve over the summer. Add in Evina - who was the #2 recruit in her class, and we have 4 players who were all top 5 coming out of HS, and hopefully will play up to those rankings.

Liv and Megan both showed big improvements from last year to this year. Any reason to doubt they will be at least as good if not better next season? CW spent the entire summer away from school and didn't work on her game like Liv did. A great experience for her but IMHO at the expense of working on her game. She will have a chance this summer to correct that. Evina has been injured so the question is - how healthy will she be? A healthy Evina was one of the best players on talented Tennessee teams as a freshman and sophomore.

Aubrey and Anna have both had great moments as freshmen. There aren't a lot of freshmen who have played better consistently this season. They will have a chance to work hard over the summer and hopefully have that sophomore leap.

Aaliyah has already played for the Canadian national team and had a chance to play against Team USA where she scored something like 9 points and had 6 or so rebounds. Paige is possibly the most hyped player in the history of UCONN. I don't think it's a stretch to say we are getting 2 terrifically talented players.

Nika and Mir are bigger question marks, but Nika has played on a professional Croatian team and had a chance to work hard overseas. Geno has said she's fearless. Mir is as athletic as any player we've ever gotten. Still, question marks. And I'm not counting on anything from Piath. Raw with upside, but IMHO won't contribute next season...

So I'm pretty confident in saying "we will have a tremendously talented team next season".
 
CajunHusky said:
A revision? done on New Year's eve when every one else was home for the holidays (or just returned). Doesn't seem scheduled to me. More likely she tweaked the knee while she was home.
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I believe most of the team was in New York for New Years, I think it was more of a get the Surgery now because we’re gonna need you to be fully healthy next year.
 
Go/huskies said:
I believe most of the team was in New York for New Years, I think it was more of a get the Surgery now because we’re gonna need you to be fully healthy next year.
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Of course it was!
 
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EricLA said:
Bingo. For those with longer memories, Diana didn't start her freshman year until an injury forced Geno to put her in as a starter. Nykesha Sales didn't start as a freshman. Maya didn't start right away, again, until an injury forced her to start.

You know what freshmen DID start? Stef Dolson. Know why? Tina had just graduated and Geno's only other option for size was Heather Buck.

My point is that Geno has NEVER started a freshman unless he had no other choices. Next year we will have so much talent that he won't NEED to start Paige. He has said it's generally too much pressure on a freshman.

Perhaps I'll be surprised and he will start Paige. She certainly has the right attitude, confidence, moxie, etc. But I just don't think so. Having said that, she may get more minutes than starters.
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All good points with some additions. Typically frosh don't play strong minutes until their defense and stamina is at UConn level. Love everything I have heard about Paige but its her offense, not defense, that provided all the awards. Still a great player but like all the Huskies you mentioned, she may not start right away.
 
UConnCat said:
From the moment she arrives on campus Bueckers will be the best PG on the team. She needs to be a starter immediately and I think she will be.
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I agree with your first sentence and will go so far as to say that at some point in the season ESPN will declare her the best pg in wcbb. But starting is far less important than finishing. Bueckers will finish every game UConn plays starting game 1, and by finishing I mean she will be on the court until the outcome is no longer in doubt.
 
Totally agree with HopJim. My starting five are:
Anna
Christyn
Evina
Meg
Ono
I think a lot of the other players will get decent minutes or more, just depends on how quickly they adapt to the college level. I can’t wait to see Paige in-person and she may end up eventually starting......you just never know!
 
My starting 5 at the "Start" of next season would be:

ONO
C. Williams
M. Walker
E. Westbrook
A. Griffin

6th and 7th players would be Paige and Anna. Then Mir McLean as the 8th, Piath Gabriel as the 9th (spelling ONO), the Nika Muhl and Aaliyah Edward's battling for time at the 10th and 11th slots
 
As I stated previously there is noway in hell that Geno is not going to start Paige. She will be the best player on the team from day one. There isn't any player in the the country that can do what she can do. I predict she will be an All-American as a freshman. She is a once in a generation player.
 
HopJim said:
All good points with some additions. Typically frosh don't play strong minutes until their defense and stamina is at UConn level. Love everything I have heard about Paige but its her offense, not defense, that provided all the awards. Still a great player but like all the Huskies you mentioned, she may not start right away.
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Of course nobody gets awards for defense in HS. I think you're going to be surprised by her defense. Her hands are everywhere and her footwork is very good.
 
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connboy77 said:
As I stated previously there is noway in hell that Geno is not going to start Paige. She will be the best player on the team from day one. There isn't any player in the the country that can do what she can do. I predict she will be an All-American as a freshman. She is a once in a generation player.
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She is good, but very rarely do freshmen become all Americans let alone start for UConn.
 
BobbyJ said:
Of course nobody gets awards for defense in HS. I think you're going to be surprised by her defense. Her hands are everywhere and her footwork is very good.
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Many players, such as ONO, get kudos for their HS defense but hope you are right in your assessment of Paige's defense. She appears committed to be the best at everything so expect her to excel. Just not frosh year.
 
I love Paige already but come on! We’re already heralding her as a starter and she hasn’t even finished HS. We’ve all watched tape and I believe the hype but we all know it is very difficult for frosh to come in and immediately start. Are we ever going to have the REAL convo that UConn probably doesn’t win the national championship Stewie’s first year if Griner & Baylor hadn’t been upset?? (LUCKY US) We finally had gotten the Notre Dame monkey off our backs!

Geno has made it clear the only freshman ready since Day 1 has been Maya & sorry but she was and will be the only one. Maya didn’t even start. Paige wouldn’t even start on that 07-08 team, we were THAT good (injuries aside) and she’s no Maya Moore.

Starters :
Westbrook
Williams
Walker
Griffin
Liv

I think Aubrey will have earned that starting spot. That spot will most likely be interchangeable but here’s to hoping we maintain good health as we haven’t been this deep in a long time & have been able to avoid major rotation player injuries since the 07-08 season.
 
MooreMayaNY said:
I love Paige already but come on! We’re already heralding her as a starter and she hasn’t even finished HS. We’ve all watched tape and I believe the hype but we all know it is very difficult for frosh to come in and immediately start. Are we ever going to have the REAL convo that UConn probably doesn’t win the national championship Stewie’s first year if Griner & Baylor hadn’t been upset?? (LUCKY US) We finally had gotten the Notre Dame monkey off our backs!
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I think you could be vastly underestimating Evina's injury along with the potential need for caution, and possibly she isn't that great of a pg but more of a wing. Maybe she is a terrific pg -- I don't know. Justsaying possibly she isn't? Secondly, please stop with the "what if's" and "Luck." How can you talk "real"in any fashion and then look to use "what if" as your primary point?!!

I'm sorry that your Baylor Bears lost. Umm actually Im not. But I think you need to get over it. Your Bears lost.

And I'm not sure of your point about ND. UCONN beat them soundly in game 4.

And why did you even bother to bring Stewart into this thread- especially bringing up vs Baylor?
 
hoophuskee said:
I think you could be vastly underestimating Evina's injury along with the potential need for caution, and possibly she isn't that great of a pg but more of a wing. Maybe she is a terrific pg -- I don't know. Justsaying possibly she isn't? Secondly, please stop with the "what if's" and "Luck." How can you talk "real"in any fashion and then look to use "what if" as your primary point?!!

I'm sorry that your Baylor Bears lost. Umm actually Im not. But I think you need to get over it. Your Bears lost.

And I'm not sure of your point about ND. UCONN beat them soundly in game 4.

And why did you even bother to bring Stewart into this thread- especially bringing up vs Baylor?
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Im a Husky fan through & through. Everyone is on the thread discussing Paige and she hasn’t gotten here yet meanwhile Evina has proven her ability in college.
 
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The automatics on day one
MW overall game improves
Anna frequent great play as freshman becomes consistent
Ono learns to finesse position even more
The likely
CW junior year bounce, she missed Lou this year.
EW year off rust
With Paige possibly replacing CW or EW early

By NCAA tourney
MW
Anna
Ono
Paige
Edwards at midpoint. Just a feeling.
If ball movement is what you want, the combo of Paige and Anna just might be the best pairing in nation next year and the key to NC. I suspect Geno is already planning his offense around them, facilitators who can shoot. The question who moves well enough for them to dish to. ONO gets a lot.

But CW and EW get a lot of minutes
Aubrey is a wait and see. She is too much of a liability on offense. It isn’t just missing FTs or bunnies, that can be fixed, she just doesn’t facilitate ball movement. Watch her on offense. Her best attribute is getting ORs but she frequently misses follow ups, gets stuffed, or draws a foul and then misses FT. She is excellent on defense but once we have the ball she disappears. You need five players moving the ball.
 
connboy77 said:
As I stated previously there is noway in hell that Geno is not going to start Paige. She will be the best player on the team from day one. There isn't any player in the the country that can do what she can do. I predict she will be an All-American as a freshman. She is a once in a generation player.
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In the modern (NCAA) era, AP All-Americans who were freshmen: Courtney Paris and Maya Moore. Paige could be the 3rd. Sabrina will be gone. Paige could be her successor.
 
Jingo said:
We'll see .. I haven't seen evidence that Megan is team-oriented .. wishful thinking on my part..
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I disagree. Megan is all about team. She came back after a tough freshman year, she got bigger and stronger as a sophomore, and she got leaner and a lot better this year. She'll be back and even better next year. However, next year's team may be "Paige's team." The kid from Minnesota has talent, toughness, and chutzpah. She'll help elevate Megan's play.
 
EricLA said:
You are right. Nothing is certain. We could walk across the street and be hit with a bus. But one thing is certain... UCONN will have a TON of talent next year. Williams, ONO and Walker are all starters and will start next year. All will have a chance to improve over the summer. Add in Evina - who was the #2 recruit in her class, and we have 4 players who were all top 5 coming out of HS, and hopefully will play up to those rankings.

Liv and Megan both showed big improvements from last year to this year. Any reason to doubt they will be at least as good if not better next season? CW spent the entire summer away from school and didn't work on her game like Liv did. A great experience for her but IMHO at the expense of working on her game. She will have a chance this summer to correct that. Evina has been injured so the question is - how healthy will she be? A healthy Evina was one of the best players on talented Tennessee teams as a freshman and sophomore.

Aubrey and Anna have both had great moments as freshmen. There aren't a lot of freshmen who have played better consistently this season. They will have a chance to work hard over the summer and hopefully have that sophomore leap.

Aaliyah has already played for the Canadian national team and had a chance to play against Team USA where she scored something like 9 points and had 6 or so rebounds. Paige is possibly the most hyped player in the history of UCONN. I don't think it's a stretch to say we are getting 2 terrifically talented players.

Nika and Mir are bigger question marks, but Nika has played on a professional Croatian team and had a chance to work hard overseas. Geno has said she's fearless. Mir is as athletic as any player we've ever gotten. Still, question marks. And I'm not counting on anything from Piath. Raw with upside, but IMHO won't contribute next season...

So I'm pretty confident in saying "we will have a tremendously talented team next season".
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I think Mir will replace Aubrey in playing time as she has offense moves around basket better against power forwards as we need against top five teams. However, if Aubrey works out with Chris Daily and Shea on shooting in traffic she will play as much.
 
There have been rumors circulating Geno and coaches have been seen sitting in the cheap seats at some of UConn's Hockey team's practices and games and paying particular attention to the "line changes". :rolleyes:
 
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Its fun to speculate but there are some things Geno does as a coach that really dont change much unless there are circumstances that require it. For incoming classes they have to learn his system and work hard in practice. Geno has to build a nucleus within the team to make those with lesser experience (incoming freshman and transfers) successful as well as making the team successful. When you have Stewie MJ Tuck you have a nucleus and you can put in a freshman and her mistakes can be covered up because the others are that good to pick up the slack. This season we dont have that nucleus. Next season we should. Next season we will also have a bench that can play. There will a lesser learning curve next season too.

With all the talent coming in next season and the following season UConn is gonna be really talented and they will be as good as those coming in, in the next two seasons that execute and learn Genos system. We dont know that yet. Injures could plague who starts. With that said I expect to see alot of players play and gain experience. By the end of next season we should be rolling towards the FF and another NC.
 
mbr33ct said:
There have been rumors circulating Geno and coaches have been seen sitting in the cheap seats at some of UConn's Hockey team's practices and games and paying particular attention to the "line changes". :rolleyes:
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I see a minimum of 9 players competing for serious PT next season, with the possibility of all 11 in the mix at some point in the season. That would present a coaching challenge that Geno hasn’t faced in a very long time, if ever.
 
Evina went through some tough times at Tennessee. Then she had surgery this season. I very much hope that she gets to 100% and shows everyone how much talent she has. She has been an enthusiastic cheerleader from the bench. She deserves a healthy, productive, and fun 2 years.
 
Liv at the 5
Meg at the 4
Anna at the 3
CW at the 2
Westbrook at PG
This will probably be the starting lineup at the beginning of the year. It doesn't mean it will be at the end of the year. Aubrey will be the 6th man to bring energy and come in and shut down anyone who is scoring on us and for Geno to throw some zone traps at teams. Paige will get at least 15 to 20 minutes a game. We hope Edwards or Gabriel can give us some help against the bigger teams. We have been short on size the past couple of years. My assumptions are based on good health for everyone. I think the rotation will be kept to around 8 and others will get blowout time next year. The following year will have two new openings with Meg and Westbrook gone.
 
Reading through, it seems like the wisdom of the crowd thinks we will have Evina, CW, Anna, Meg, and Liv as our starting five, with some votes for Aubrey and Paige. That seems to be a reasonable assessment.

My guess is that the transition from high school to college will prove difficult for many, but that Paige and Edwards have the best chances of getting minutes and Paige starting during the second half of the season. There is also some hope that we will have a bigger lineup than that--with Edwards getting minutes and Aubrey playing "bigger" than Anna.

I think in terms of the following grouping of players, and that we will have a three guard lineup with Meg and Liv providing the muscle up front. Thus, we will continue to be a smallish team.

Guards: Evina, CW, Anna, Paige, Nika,
Wings: Megan, Aubrey, Mir
Bigs: Liv, Edwards, Gabriel
 
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