Starting Lineup

[LasVegasYank]

<<GoldenHusky posted "I didn't get to see any of First Night so I appreciate the analysis and feedback...most of which was quite positive. With Lou, Pheesa and Crystal sure things and Megan "probable" by most accounts, any clues regarding who will join that quartet in the opening game starting lineup?">>

Surprised that someone hasn't already started a thread for this with the season so close at hand. A few posters speculating here and there but nothing like the flurry of activity we saw last year by tis time.

Have at it folks.

Lou, Pheesa, Crystal, Megan and ???? Christyn is my pick with Batouly/Olivia in the post first off the bench with Mikayla as the first G sub, then Bent/Irwin.

 

[oldude]

This is really a question of whether UConn decides to go small or go big. At the very start of the season I don’t expect either freshman to start, but they certainly could surprise. Pheesa starts in the front court, Crystal in the backcourt and Megan on the wing.

Lou is a variable. She can start up front or in the backcourt. I like the idea of Lou at guard, where she is a mismatch in the post for smaller defenders. That would mean Batouly and perhaps eventually Liv as the 5th starter. Adding that size to the lineup also moves Pheesa from the 5 to the 4 where she will dominate and gives the Huskies the ability to pound the boards and play tough physical defense.

The other variable is CW. She may be too talented to keep out of the starting lineup. If so, UConn goes small, spreads the floor and passes and shoots opposing teams to death.

So which way do I believe this will play out. I see Batouly as the 5th starter to begin the season and then at some point, Geno goes small inserting CW in the starting lineup.

How’s that for hedging my bet?

 

[Kaizen]

Geno: Sophomore Megan Walker will be one of those in the mix for a starting spot as well as freshmen Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams . Juniors Molly Bent and Kyla Irwin will look to use their experience to compete for more playing time.

Does this mean Megan, ONO and Williams could be the starters in the rotation 6?

Geno on the lookout for 2 more starters

 

[Carnac]

This is really a question of whether UConn decides to go small or go big. At the very start of the season I don’t expect either freshman to start, but they certainly could surprise. Pheesa starts in the front court, Crystal in the backcourt and Megan on the wing.

Lou is a variable. She can start up front or in the backcourt. I like the idea of Lou at guard, where she is a mismatch in the post for smaller defenders. That would mean Batouly and perhaps eventually Liv as the 5th starter. Adding that size to the lineup also moves Pheesa from the 5 to the 4 where she will dominate and gives the Huskies the ability to pound the boards and play tough physical defense.

The other variable is CW. She may be too talented to keep out of the starting lineup. If so, UConn goes small, spreads the floor and passes and shoots opposing teams to death.

So which way do I believe this will play out. I see Batouly as the 5th starter to begin the season and then at some point, Geno goes small inserting CW in the starting lineup.

How’s that for hedging my bet?

For lots of reasons that I’ve already articulated in previous posts, I can see Camara being promoted to a starter if her knee holds up. She started 15 games for Kentucky her freshman year. We’ll have a better idea in 3 weeks who the leading candidate is for that 5th starter spot.

 

[Tonyc]

The nucleus of this years team is Lou Phessa and CD. Walker the number 1 recruit out of HS will start . She didnt come here to sit and she has a year under her belt and has the tools. The fifth starter will be a guard. We need another guard to gain experience playing and I expect early on against lesser competition and in blowouts all the guards get playtime. If CD does down we are in big trouble. We need our guards to gain experience and most importantly confidence fast. ONO will be brought it for obvious reasons and they are height and post and she needs to gain experience immediately with Lou and Phessa graduating.

In big games it will continue to be the top 7 players who are ready. Could be 6 could be 8 but those ready who can play at that level. So when talking about the starting 5 this early in the season I would think who are the top 7. Who will be the players that see playtime against ND Baylor etc. Its early with such a young team to say and I guess we find out in a few more weeks when the exhibition season starts. I will say this. Megan Walker Williams and ONO will see alot of time to prepare them and the team for the rest of this season and next season. Others will step up and see good minutes and that will determine who sees time in the big games.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I agree with the consensus that Megan will be a starter. She had an inconsistent freshman year, but her games at UCLA and Temple showed her potential. Plus, she worked hard over the summer. It looks as if she lived in the weight room.

The fifth starter is tough to call. I have not seen enough of the veterans to think that they are ready. Batouly plays with energy and physicality, but doesn't seem to be under control. Mikayla is athletic, but has lots of room to improve. Kyla is smart and aggressive but has limited athleticism, and Molly was in great shape but far too nervous. I'm taking the unknown (at the college level) but highly touted freshmen. After the Jordan Brand game, I was impressed with Olivia and thought she would be the starter to give us much-needed size, with Christyn being the instant offense off the bench. Based on the U-18 play, I thought Liv looked more raw than I previously thought. I'm currently thinking that Geno goes small and starts the Legend at shooting guard. That will spread the floor and give Pheesa and Megan room to operate inside.

 

[HopJim]

I agree with the consensus that Megan will be a starter. She had an inconsistent freshman year, but her games at UCLA and Temple showed her potential. Plus, she worked hard over the summer. It looks as if she lived in the weight room.

The fifth starter is tough to call. I have not seen enough of the veterans to think that they are ready. Batouly plays with energy and physicality, but doesn't seem to be under control. Mikayla is athletic, but has lots of room to improve. Kyla is smart and aggressive but has limited athleticism, and Molly was in great shape but far too nervous. I'm taking the unknown (at the college level) but highly touted freshmen. After the Jordan Brand game, I was impressed with Olivia and thought she would be the starter to give us much-needed size, with Christyn being the instant offense off the bench. Based on the U-18 play, I thought Liv looked more raw than I previously thought. I'm currently thinking that Geno goes small and starts the Legend at shooting guard. That will spread the floor and give Pheesa and Megan room to operate inside.

Well said on all points. Geno has history of not giving starting assignments based solely on talent but on effort and practice performance. In big games, not unusual for him to vary lineup based on the competitor's offense and defense. Should be interesting this year.

 

[Crossover]

Geno: Sophomore Megan Walker will be one of those in the mix for a starting spot as well as freshmen Olivia Nelson-Ododa and Christyn Williams . Juniors Molly Bent and Kyla Irwin will look to use their experience to compete for more playing time.

Does this mean Megan, ONO and Williams could be the starters in the rotation 6?

Geno on the lookout for 2 more starters

Those are not Geno's words. It is the reporter's assessment, which he inserts between quotes from Geno. That is a journalistic practice that I find misleading and problematic.

 

[DEpup]

I say Camara like Chong will be the 5th starter at the beginning and we'll see if CW or ONO can take it from her. Danger was never able to take Chong's starting role as a freshman. It's really rare for a freshman to start at UConn.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I say Camara like Chong will be the 5th starter at the beginning and we'll see if CW or ONO can take it from her. Danger was never able to take Chong's starting role as a freshman. It's really rare for a freshman to start at UConn.

It's rare, but not as rare as some might think. It depends on what the other options are. Diana and Maya started, but only after injuries to players. Kaleena didn't start, but got starter's minutes. Some freshmen who did start: Nicole Wolff, Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles, Bria Hartley, Stef Dolson, Kia Nurse, and Pheesa and Lou for parts of the season.

 

[BobbyJ]

It really doesn’t matter who starts. Regardless of the combination on the floor, interior defense, defensive rebounding, and foul trouble are going to be serious problems for this team. Particularly against top 20 teams.

 

[DEpup]

It's rare, but not as rare as some might think. It depends on what the other options are. Diana and Maya started, but only after injuries to players. Kaleena didn't start, but got starter's minutes. Some freshmen who did start: Nicole Wolff, Renee Montgomery, Tina Charles, Bria Hartley, Stef Dolson, Kia Nurse, and Pheesa and Lou for parts of the season.

I would say though Kia took that starting spot from Chong. Kia didn't start game 1 and that was the intent of my post. Freshman typically have to earn/take a starting role. It rarely happens gane 1.

 

[MilfordHusky]

I would say though Kia took that starting spot from Chong. Kia didn't start game 1 and that was the intent of my post. Freshman typically have to earn/take a starting role. It rarely happens gane 1.

Kia took it in game 3. We'll see how things evolve. The starting lineup may change at least once or twice, even absent injuries.

When Kalana Greene was healthy, Geno was content to start her, even though he knew that Maya Moore was possibly the best player in the country. If he has experienced players, it's Geno's preference to go with them. Batouly is the most experienced option, but her experience was not at UConn. I don't see Bent, Coombs, or Irwin as very experienced. CW is skilled and confident. I think she makes her case on the court.

 

[tomcat]

Those are not Geno's words. It is the reporter's assessment, which he inserts between quotes from Geno. That is a journalistic practice that I find misleading and problematic.

It's entirely possible that I missed the point of your post, but let me respond not about the athletics but about the journalism. The person whose post you quoted was paraphrasing Geno, summarizing what the poster thought Geno said. He was not quoting Geno. To do that, he would have to put quotation marks around the words, which would mean, in journalistic terms, that Geno said those exact words.

If you are saying that what reporters do is summarize a person's comments and then put quotes around them and call it good, well, I would agree with you. That violates all the rules. Readers should be able to know that when they see quotation marks, the words are just what the quoted person said (perhaps grammatically cleaned up, but nothing changed other than that). I cannot imagine why a reporter would summarize what a person said and put quotes around it when paraphrasing is perfectly ok to do and gives the reader a better picture of whether or not the speaker said those actual words. As long as the paraphrase is accurate, of course, and that's where journalistic judgment and skill come in.

On the other hand, if what you are saying was that there was a quote from Geno, then the reporter's assessment, and then another quote from Geno, that is not a "journalistic practice." That's called writing, and there are a number of reasons to do it. Let's assume, for the moment, that it's an accurate summary of what Geno said on that subject. It may be that when Geno said it, he said it in a way that does not lend itself to direct quotation (remember that what's between the quotes should be exactly what the guy said). It may be that when Geno said it, he sprinkled his words with vulgarisms (What? Geno? Heaven forfend!!), and the reporter could not make it into a cogherent sentence once those were deleted.

Or it may simply be that the reporter needed to break up the text. You cannot have the story be one big quote from Geno. If that were the case, the reporter would be a transcriptionist and nothing more. The reporter is being paid to add his/her knowledge of the situation and the people involved so the story becomes a narrative that the reader can learn from. If the story is about Geno, it should end up being Geno's story, but the reporter's knowledge and skill will help knit the story together in a way that's more informative than just a bunch of quotes strung together with punctuation marks.

If the reporter's paraphrase is not accurate, all bets are off. They failed at their job.

 

[Bama fan]

This is really a question of whether UConn decides to go small or go big. At the very start of the season I don’t expect either freshman to start, but they certainly could surprise. Pheesa starts in the front court, Crystal in the backcourt and Megan on the wing.

Lou is a variable. She can start up front or in the backcourt. I like the idea of Lou at guard, where she is a mismatch in the post for smaller defenders. That would mean Batouly and perhaps eventually Liv as the 5th starter. Adding that size to the lineup also moves Pheesa from the 5 to the 4 where she will dominate and gives the Huskies the ability to pound the boards and play tough physical defense.

The other variable is CW. She may be too talented to keep out of the starting lineup. If so, UConn goes small, spreads the floor and passes and shoots opposing teams to death.

So which way do I believe this will play out. I see Batouly as the 5th starter to begin the season and then at some point, Geno goes small inserting CW in the starting lineup.

How’s that for hedging my bet?

Hedging with the best of them! If i did not know better, I would think you were from Athens,Ga.

 

[Golden Husky]

<<GoldenHusky posted "I didn't get to see any of First Night so I appreciate the analysis and feedback...most of which was quite positive. With Lou, Pheesa and Crystal sure things and Megan "probable" by most accounts, any clues regarding who will join that quartet in the opening game starting lineup?">>

Surprised that someone hasn't already started a thread for this with the season so close at hand. A few posters speculating here and there but nothing like the flurry of activity we saw last year by tis time.

Have at it folks.

Lou, Pheesa, Crystal, Megan and ???? Christyn is my pick with Batouly/Olivia in the post first off the bench with Mikayla as the first G sub, then Bent/Irwin.

Well, thanks for picking up the ball, LVY. As you suggest, I'm sure my question will be better addressed in its own thread.

 

[Hayven]

Megan has a starting position locked. Batouly will get the 5 spot,l but I don’t think she will keep it as the season progresses. ONO or C.Williams will be starting near the end of the season depending on how Pheesa can handle the 5, and our defense helps her

 

[paisan]

Right on BobbyJ .. you seem to be the only poster who grasps that it will be the defense or lack there of that will most likely define the season. The team can beat the conference teams by simply out scoring them, but against the top tier teams the defense will determine the outcome.

 

[Carnac]

I would say though Kia took that starting spot from Chong. Kia didn't start game 1 and that was the intent of my post. Freshman typically have to earn/take a starting role. It rarely happens game 1.

I agree 100% with the premise of your comment, but Kia did not take (semantics) Chong's starting spot away from her, Geno did. He plugged Kia in for Saniya and Kia kept it. Geno made that adjustment after the Stanford game in November 2014. Chong scored 20 points that game, but the player she was assigned to guard (Lili Thompson) scored 24.

She could not keep Thompson in front of her or keep her from scoring (the duo of Thompson & Amber Orrange (17) scored a total of 41 points that evening. Almost half of their team's 88 points. Geno was frustrated, and said so in his post game presser. Kia's ability to play defense was better than Chong's at that time, and improved each year going forward.

Remember that Kia was not your normal incoming freshman. She was the youngest member (at the time) of the Canadian National Women's Basketball Team. She had already been exposed to play at the international level during the summer. Chong's injuries and her inability to play defense to Geno's liking kept her on the bench until her senior year.

If you remember, Geno also replaced another starter after that game. Kiah Stokes was replaced by Morgan Tuck who remained a starter the rest of the season and for the next 3 years. That adjustment proved to be sufficient as that was the only game UConn would lose that season, propelling them forward to win the national championship.

 

[JordyG]

Meg will start. Pheese plays the 5 by default. Honestly guys with the lack of size up front the choice then is really between 'Touly, Kayla and ONO. It really is that simple. "Touly with her experience and girth gets the nod. If ONO steps up early, which I don't see, then she's the gal. Otherwise this sounds like a no brainer to me.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

As far as I'm concerned, and I don't mean this meanly, but Batoully is as much a newbie as the day she arrived. I'll believe it when I see it again and again. To me this is a que sera, sera November/December coming up.

 

[huskyd]

You guys really can't agree about this, and why should you? There are so many variables to consider. Watching First Night (with its usual fine production values), I had a few random thoughts. The music enjoyed by today's kids is anathema to most oldies (eg, me). My first sight of Ono was a surprise: the girl is filling out nicely (so is Geno, but not nicely). I loved seeing that Lou's 3 remains a thing of beauty. Crystal looks as if she is totally confident and in control; she'll be one of the nation's best points. I agree that Meg will start, but who's the 5th? Can Christyn play the 2? One element no one has mentioned is "edge," as in Kia Nurse had edge (she'd rip your arm out of its socket to get the ball--and did). Coach complains about all of his nice players and always looks for someone to stir the pot. I'm not sanguine about Batouly; she seems very unfinished. Geno may count on Lou, Pheesa, and Meg to get rebounds. Playing Lou outside w/out a true center will be risky. Anyway, this will be an interesting year from the get go. As always, Geno will figure it out. Can't wait.

 

[Crossover]

It's entirely possible that I missed the point of your post, but let me respond not about the athletics but about the journalism. The person whose post you quoted was paraphrasing Geno, summarizing what the poster thought Geno said. He was not quoting Geno. To do that, he would have to put quotation marks around the words, which would mean, in journalistic terms, that Geno said those exact words.

If you are saying that what reporters do is summarize a person's comments and then put quotes around them and call it good, well, I would agree with you. That violates all the rules. Readers should be able to know that when they see quotation marks, the words are just what the quoted person said (perhaps grammatically cleaned up, but nothing changed other than that). I cannot imagine why a reporter would summarize what a person said and put quotes around it when paraphrasing is perfectly ok to do and gives the reader a better picture of whether or not the speaker said those actual words. As long as the paraphrase is accurate, of course, and that's where journalistic judgment and skill come in.

On the other hand, if what you are saying was that there was a quote from Geno, then the reporter's assessment, and then another quote from Geno, that is not a "journalistic practice." That's called writing, and there are a number of reasons to do it. Let's assume, for the moment, that it's an accurate summary of what Geno said on that subject. It may be that when Geno said it, he said it in a way that does not lend itself to direct quotation (remember that what's between the quotes should be exactly what the guy said). It may be that when Geno said it, he sprinkled his words with vulgarisms (What? Geno? Heaven forfend!!), and the reporter could not make it into a cogherent sentence once those were deleted.

Or it may simply be that the reporter needed to break up the text. You cannot have the story be one big quote from Geno. If that were the case, the reporter would be a transcriptionist and nothing more. The reporter is being paid to add his/her knowledge of the situation and the people involved so the story becomes a narrative that the reader can learn from. If the story is about Geno, it should end up being Geno's story, but the reporter's knowledge and skill will help knit the story together in a way that's more informative than just a bunch of quotes strung together with punctuation marks.

If the reporter's paraphrase is not accurate, all bets are off. They failed at their job.

I may have overstated my concern. First let me say that I think Carl Adamec is a superb reporter. I don't for a second question his professionalism. I also appreciate the many virtues of paraphrasing. However, when a paraphrase is sandwiched between two quotations and "speaks" in a similar"voice," the quotation marks tend to disappear. Like you, I am not worried in this particular case because I trust Adamec to represent Geno fairly and accurately (which isn't easy to do, given Geno's sardonic tendencies), but not every reporter is as knowledgeable or careful. A less skilled or less scrupulous reporter can, in effect, put words in a interviewee's mouth by moving too seamlessly between quotations and a paraphrase.

 

[LasVegasYank]

My bad, I forgot to include Lexi Gordon as the second G off the bench.

Ah, these Senior moments.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

I have been saying since Batouly Camara transfered in that she will become a starter down the road! Her severe injury made last season a lost year! So now that all sources have been saying she's healthy this will be her time starting at Center. I loved her game as a freshman at KY and with Geno andd staff working with her she can only get better! She's aggressive on the offensive and defensive boards and has a nice 12' to 15' shot but she's really talented cleaning up the missed shots inside! I think the G's will find her often going to the hoop!
I'll compare her game to Jamelle Elliot, who wasn't too shabby inside the lane herself!