Sue on KK Arnold

[HuskyNan]

 

[Blueballer]

Sounds good to me! Quite an endorsement.

 

[dtbtbtb]

She seems more of a SG then a PG...

 

[Carnac]

Hard to tell in April how effective KK will be this coming season. I expect her to carve out some meaningful playing time despite the number of guards on the roster. As she learns Geno’s system, and the game slows down for her, I expect her minutes to increase. If UConn can finally enjoy a season free of injuries to its core players, they will be solid at the PG position, as well as 2-5.

 

[Bone Dog]

We will have a bunch of 5’10” guards in KK Inês Ashlynn and Allie. But once Paige and Nika graduate, I think KK will own the pg spot and she’ll put her imprint on the team.

After KK graduates, will it be Kelis or Morgan? I could see Morgan running the point at least part of the time even though she’s 6’2”. She’s quick enough and has excellent handles. It would be a change in Geno’s usual profile at this position.

 

[HuskyNan]

I disagree. What is going to happen is that Geno can have a roster of rested players at season’s end rather than a handful of banged up, exhausted ones because everyone is playing fewer minutes. Players will also be less stressed because they don’t have to be spectacular every game.

Someone having an off night? Geno has the luxury of putting someone else in to see who “has it” that night. Basketball is about matchups and some players will see more minutes against different teams.

I don’t think KK would drop very low on the depth chart regardless. She is one of those quick, athletic guards that, by her own admission, loves to play defense. She could be a matchup nightmare for some opponents.

 

[Alydar]

If she were to get 15 min a game while the rest are healthy then UConn will be blessed. The three ahead of her have a ton of experience and include a Liberman winner and a Liberman finalist.
And what about Shade and Samuels?
The freshmen are going to have to show defensive skills before any of them can break into the rotation. I hope they do.

 

[Bone Dog]

Every year, we dream of the 10-12 player rotation, but Geno rarely goes past 8 once March rolls around. We are likely to see 10-12 in November and December, maybe into January. But February and March is when he focuses on the 5+2 or 3 who represent the best of what he's got. Barring injury, this is what we'll see again this year.

The only thing that might (I say might) alter the formula in March is if he's worried about overplaying the injury sisters: Paige Azzi Caroline. I can imagine him trying to protect them by limiting them to 25-30 mins until the tournament. That would allow 30 mins or so to be divided among the others: Inês KK Ashlynn. I'd add Aubrey and Q to this list, but they'll also get some minutes from the 4 position.

If KK plays more than this in March, it either means someone's injured or she's really found her own niche and wreaking havoc on opponents. I'm hoping for the latter.

 

[Alydar]

Every year, we dream of the 10-12 player rotation, but Geno rarely goes past 8 once March rolls around. We are likely to see 10-12 in November and December, maybe into January. But February and March is when he focuses on the 5+2 or 3 who represent the best of what he's got. Barring injury, this is what we'll see again this year.

The only thing that might (I say might) alter the formula in March is if he's worried about overplaying the injury sisters: Paige Azzi Caroline. I can imagine him trying to protect them by limiting them to 25-30 mins until the tournament. That would allow 30 mins or so to be divided among the others: Inês KK Ashlynn. I'd add Aubrey and Q to this list, but they'll also get some minutes from the 4 position.

If KK plays more than this in March, it either means someone's injured or she's really found her own niche and wreaking havoc on opponents. I'm hoping for the latter.

A 10-12 player rotation is a pipe dream. In their FF loss, SCar played six players who got 88% of the minutes. 40-35-32-29-25-15. Ten played but 4 of them split 24 minutes total. All rotations shrink in high level games. Many coaches use regular season games to let their benches learn in games. Geno doesn't. To him, learning comes in practice. It's been that way forever and this conversation has gone on that long.

 

[Bone Dog]

A 10-12 player rotation is a pipe dream. In their FF loss, SCar played six players who got 88% of the minutes. 40-35-32-29-25-15. Ten played but 4 of them split 24 minutes total. All rotations shrink in high level games. Many coaches use regular season games to let their benches learn in games. Geno doesn't. To him, learning comes in practice. It's been that way forever and this conversation has gone on that long.

I hope you're not replying to me. I agree that such a deep rotation isn't Geno's practice in February and March. However, he has regularly gone 10-12 deep in November and December, even into January for the easy games. You can check box scores from previous seasons, even for the great Stewie-led teams. In 2015, other than for the ND game, he went through December mostly with deep rotations.

 

[HuskyNan]

A 10-12 player rotation is a pipe dream. In their FF loss, SCar played six players who got 88% of the minutes. 40-35-32-29-25-15. Ten played but 4 of them split 24 minutes total. All rotations shrink in high level games. Many coaches use regular season games to let their benches learn in games. Geno doesn't. To him, learning comes in practice. It's been that way forever and this conversation has gone on that long.

I agree the rotation will be tight in certain games. My point is that Geno doesn’t have to play the same 8 players, depending on the matchups. In some games, he might want a big team or maybe a quick team or one with a lot of ball handlers against pressing teams. This is a tremendous luxury

 

[Cuango]

On the other hand, there is the possibility that some among KK, Ashlynn, Allie & Morgan (next season) , Q, Ayanna, Ice, Jana, Ines, and Amari may play so well that even Geno might have to change his spots. Let’s say Kk, Ice, Ayanna, and one of the others plays well enough to be a legitimate contributor (by Geno’s standards) next season. That would be 10, I believe. Do you really believe he would not play them? I don’t believe that for a second! I think he doesn’t play players who fail to reach a certain level (his level) but that if they did, they would play.

 

[Alydar]

On the other hand, there is the possibility that some among KK, Ashlynn, Allie & Morgan (next season) , Q, Ayanna, Ice, Jana, Ines, and Amari may play so well that even Geno might have to change his spots. Let’s say Kk, Ice, Ayanna, and one of the others plays well enough to be a legitimate contributor (by Geno’s standards) next season. That would be 10, I believe. Do you really believe he would not play them? I don’t believe that for a second! I think he doesn’t play players who fail to reach a certain level (his level) but that if they did, they would play.

It looks very possible. It would be a rare situation for Geno. I said last June that UConn had one of their deepest rosters ever. The talent depth has gone up for 2024 in exchange for some experience. Two players out and six players in/back.
Geno could sell out Gampel for an intersquad scrimmage.

 

[Bone Dog]

Paige took the 20-21 team to the final four with 3 juniors, a couple sophomores, a walk-on, 5 freshman and a high school kid. 23-24 looks to be a lot more loaded than that one, as is.

 

[HopJim]

While everyone appears to be focused on KK's offense, predict much of her frosh playing time will be based on her defense. UConn, as most teams, often struggle guarding exceptional quick guards. From what I can see, KK is so athletic that few will be able to out quick her to the basket. Easily see her picking up a few minutes throughout the main part of every game with 5-10 minutes in most 4th quarters. Shade is another strong offensive and defensive player but we will save those comments for another thread.

 

[Bone Dog]

In the McDonald's game, there were 3 really sharp looking PGs: KK, Hidalgo, and Jada Williams. Hidalgo seemed to have the quickest first step, a great perimeter game and she's an adventurous defender. But I liked the potential of KK and Jada a little better. Shouldn't be fooled by the high steals number in an all star game.