Starting Line-Ups 22/23

[Bald Husky]

There will not be any second team, instead it will be 4 or 5 individuals sent in by Geno according to how the game is progressing. Now, as far as the starting line-ups, Paige is a given, as well as Dorka. After that, we must be aware of the impact we need from the secondary players. Nika does not start as we need her to come in and change the pace of the game from the semi boring pace to a quick one that will put the other team back on their heels. We might want to split the two freshmen Bigs and two vets. AE with Ayanna and Dorka with Ice, or whatever combo Geno comes up with. Aubrey earlier was practicing as a guard early on, so we don't know really what his intentions are for her. Aubrey is versatile, and she has made outside shots during her freshman year. Just saying the line-up he comes up with has to have a quality PG and a good outside scorer coming off the bench. Can't put all the fire power on the first team lineup.
Thinking out of the box. Last year we had, I think 12 different lineups, and we got to the last Game. We have alot of talent, so name a different starting lineup every game to make the opponents have to think about who they have to guard as opposed to who they were planning on. ?????

 

[Bone Dog]

I love this thread. Just gaming out these options shows how strong the team is likely to be.

 

[Drew8]

I would start Nika. She is so much more impactful in that role.

 

[JBK]

I think of the back court primarily as Paige and Azzi, with Caroline at the wing, and Aaliyah and Dorka in the front court.

It's not the speediest lineup, but with Nika spelling the backcourt, getting 20 mins/game, and Lou spelling Caroline, they won't have a fatigue or a foul problem Similarly, with Amari spelling Dorka, and Ice and Ayanna spelling Aaliyah, they are again foul-proof and not going to wear out. The important thing for me is having a 10 man rotation, rather than who starts. What matters is getting Paige, Azzi, Aaliyah and Dorka ~30 mins each, but also making sure Amari and Ice get ~10 mins. If Aubrey can come back, then this gets a bit more complicated.

I like all your thoughts.
We need all starters to be able to score 20 points in any given night . I really hope Nika improves her offensive game in the off season. With most of our championship teams our point guard was an offensive threat.
Aubrey is the key question. We lack the crazy athleticism that she once had — to compete with the best, we need an Aubrey
type to defend, rebound and get to the hoop.

 

[HopJim]

I really don't care who starts in the beginning of the season. My focus is who starts in the NCAA's. Looking at the size of the top teams - SC, Stanford, etc., you have to start Dorka and Edwards, with DeBerry or one of the frosh off the bench for these two. You also have to assume a healthy Paige will play most of the playoff games with Azzi hopefully earning full minutes. My view is that Caroline is a more complete wing with Nika and Lou Lopez backing up Paige and Azzi. This is a very balanced team - Geno won't be forced to make many tradeoffs. All the starters can score, adequate rebounding and defense, with a healthy Paige and hot shooting Azzi creating the excitement and intensity we need to win it all.

 

[CocoHusky]

Given the recent information regarding Caroline's hip surgery to correct a condition that goes back to high school I'm revising my starting line up.
C: Dorka
PF: AE
SF: L^2
SG: Azzi
PG: Paige

 

[eebmg]

Given the recent information regarding Caroline's hip surgery to correct a condition that goes back to high school I'm revising my starting line up.
C: Dorka
PF: AE
SF: L^2
SG: Azzi
PG: Paige

I thought they said she would be able to participate in summer workouts?

 

[Bone Dog]

I really don't care who starts in the beginning of the season. My focus is who starts in the NCAA's. Looking at the size of the top teams - SC, Stanford, etc., you have to start Dorka and Edwards, with DeBerry or one of the frosh off the bench for these two…

This is a good thought. I agree with much of what you say. But I’m also struck by this recurrent theme in the boards this season of how big all the real competition is likely to be. This is true. Still all of them, and us too, like to play 4-out for at least part of the game. It’s not all about being big, since big is also slow.

Stanford tended to play 4-out most of the time. Tara could do this last year because HJ and the Hulls were on the long side and very high energy. Her lineup was full of 6-1s and 6-2s. But Prechtel was the only real big who came off the bench and she’s not primarily a low post player like Brink. Belibi is a great post, but at 6-3 she’s pretty much got the same dimensions and similar skills to AE. When they had Brink and FB on the court together, they were quite similar to Liv and AE in size and energy.

SC’s primary lineup also didn’t feature two bigs. Saxton played the 4 but wasn’t a shooter so folks tended to think of her as a big. She’s a great rebounder and defender and she’s really athletic. But she’s only 6-2. She is, however, a quick 6-2. Amihere is a long 6-4, but she wasn’t their starting 4 and even did time at 3.

My question is, can CD match up with Saxton or Amihere? She’s not as strong as Saxton, but she plays excellent D and is a much more skilled scorer than either of them. With her at the 4 in a 4-out scheme, the pressure is on them to guard her. I don’t know if Lou is really ready for such a role at this level, though she played the 4 often enough at Fairfield. But they mainly played zone.

I’m not saying this would be our main scheme. But if we use a 4-out for part of these games, like when Geno sees that CD or Lou is having a good shooting night along side Paige and Azzi, the problem is on them more than on us. How will they match up with us?

 

[Stymie]

I think that Nika is MUCH more valuable coming in off the bench to change the tempo of the game.
Let the opponent try to get into their offensive flow, then unleash Nika to throw a wrench into their plan.
Still gets plenty of minutes.
Maybe not as a starter.

 

[CocoHusky]

I thought they said she would be able to participate in summer workouts?

They did. Quiet as it kept, Caroline's numbers really really fell off towards the end of the season especially her deep shooting-Caroline finished the season shooting 7 of 30 from deep. How much of that was due to the bad hip is unknown. Even before the hip surgery Caroline was not a part of the starting line up. A healthy Aubrey, L^2 and & Patterson were going to be pressing for minutes or to start at that position anyway.

 

[Purchase1]

They did. Quiet as it kept, Caroline's numbers really really fell off towards the end of the season especially her deep shooting-Caroline finished the season shooting 7 of 30 from deep. How much of that was due to the bad hip is unknown. Even before the hip surgery Caroline was not a part of the starting line up. A healthy Aubrey, L^2 and & Patterson were going to be pressing for minutes or to start at that position anyway.

They said she was facing the hip injury before she even got to campus though. Also her head injury definitely played a factor in her late season dip in numbers.

 

[jdote33]

Now compare her to another highly ranked Freshmen on an elite team.

Player (Ducharme) had 3 phases last season:

1. Pre-Paige injury (5 games)
2. Pre-Caroline injury (12 games)
3. Post-Caroline injury (14 games)

Team (UConn) had 3 phases last season:

1. Pre-Paige injury (5 games)
2. Paige injury (15 games)
3. Post-Paige injury (11 games)

During the 'Off' games she averaged similar minutes (13.5 and 12.6 respectively) but had an opportunity during the 'On' games to show her potential.

View attachment 76181

I saw this great post in the transfer portal thread and thought it also made sense in this thread. I don't believe Caroline played that much differently post injury, but she did not get the same opportunity. It was probably a hard decision for coach, as PB, , CW, EW were playing most of the minutes at the guard and forward spots. Nevertheless, I probably will always believe that she could''ve been a bigger contributor, admittedly I'm a huge fan of her game/attitude.
I remember after Azzi's big time performance in her first start vs Tennessee, there was a thread about whether she should remain a starter once PB and CD get healthy. It was pretty contentious, as CD had had a pretty impressive stretch leading the team in scoring. Fast-forward and I guess she's still battling health issues, but its a bit shocking that she's not a lock to be a starter next season.

 

[Bone Dog]

I remember after Azzi's big time performance in her first start vs Tennessee, there was a thread about whether she should remain a starter once PB and CD get healthy. It was pretty contentious, as CD had had a pretty impressive stretch leading the team in scoring. Fast-forward and I guess she's still battling health issues, but its a bit shocking that she's not a lock to be a starter next season.

I think she's the favorite if she's healthy. She just brings too much not to be. Remember Geno joking before Paige's return that she'd have to earn her minutes in practice just like everyone else. And then he started laughing. I suspect the only reason CD wasn't playing 20-30 mins at the end of the season was because the hip was hurting. Whatever else anyone may say about Geno, he is very cautious about players' health. We complain when he leaves Paige in too long, and we complain when he doesn't play someone we like enough.

I think the only locks are Paige, Azzi, and CD. And even that depends on health. Dorka if healthy is a lock, and maybe AE, too.

 

[CL82]

I think that Nika is MUCH more valuable coming in off the bench to change the tempo of the game.
Let the opponent try to get into their offensive flow, then unleash Nika to throw a wrench into their plan.
Still gets plenty of minutes.
Maybe not as a starter.

Nika is a bit of a hand grenade, isn’t she? Just as opposing teams begin to get comfortable with the pace and pressure of the starters, Nika comes in and is a disruptive as only she can be. It’s probably pretty tough for opposing coaches to fully prepare their players for her impact. I can only imagine them saying “Thay woman is a menace!”

 

[tower1]

I think Aaliyah, Dorka, Paige and Azzi are locks. The question is Nika or Caroline. Besides the obvious scoring advantage, Caroline may help with rebounding vs Nika, but Nika can be so disruptive defensively. Will Lou2 cut into Caroline’s playing time?

Caroline of course !!!!