Tectonic Plates Shifting on UConn Depth Chart

[DefenseBB]

I actually pretty much disagree completely with the OP.

1. Saniya has established herself as the go to starting point guard and the one that the coaches really trust in big games. Don't see that changing any time soon. Crystal is going through a serious funk right now. So ... welcome to blow out city - Chong gets the start and the team establishes itself, and then Geno starts finding minutes for Crystal and Natalie (who I think the coaches 'trust' more, right now, than Crystal.) Start of the second half same situation. Chong gets a fair amount of minutes at the end of the game because she is the one starter who hasn't played as much, and she can help try and organize the bench players.

2. Yeah Molly is getting more minutes than Kyla so in that sense she is 'closer', but they are still both miles away. If USF is able to make a game of it, they will both be glued to the bench.

When Crystal comes out of the funk things may change a bit - but unless she consistently brings her Baylor game, Chong will remain the go-to PG for tight spots.

A couple of my own observations are Crystal Dangerfield hasn't been quite the same since the concussion and Geno plays the hot hand. If Soniya is playing well, she sees more time, if Crystal Dangerfield goes in and doesn't turn the ball over, she plays more. He wants to see plays get made, not just minimal mistakes. Honestly, it's Natalie we need for her size and ability to defend when we play the likes of USC and/or Baylor, Texas or MD again in the NCAAs. All those teams will have improved (Baylor has already) and we need to balance their improved size and inside out games.

 

[UcMiami]

A couple of my own observations are Crystal Dangerfield hasn't been quite the same since the concussion and Geno plays the hot hand. If Soniya is playing well, she sees more time, if Crystal Dangerfield goes in and doesn't turn the ball over, she plays more. He wants to see plays get made, not just minimal mistakes. Honestly, it's Natalie we need for her size and ability to defend when we play the likes of USC and/or Baylor, Texas or MD again in the NCAAs. All those teams will have improved (Baylor has already) and we need to balance their improved size and inside out games.

You and a few others have used the concussion as a demarcation line for Crystal - I see it differently I guess. She has one brilliant game, low error rate and killer shooting against Baylor - not that uncommon for a freshman to produce such a game or a few of them. Beyond that one game she has been pretty much all over the map - good stretches, bad stretches, and mediocre stretches - both before and after her concussion. She has not put together another Baylor full game effort which is not unexpected and she seems to have entered that period of freshman confusion where she doesn't know which end is up most of the time. I don't relate that to her concussion at all, just the natural progression of a freshman and especially a freshman point guard.

 

[baggerbob]

I actually pretty much disagree completely with the OP.

1. Saniya has established herself as the go to starting point guard and the one that the coaches really trust in big games. Don't see that changing any time soon. Crystal is going through a serious funk right now. So ... welcome to blow out city - Chong gets the start and the team establishes itself, and then Geno starts finding minutes for Crystal and Natalie (who I think the coaches 'trust' more, right now, than Crystal.) Start of the second half same situation. Chong gets a fair amount of minutes at the end of the game because she is the one starter who hasn't played as much, and she can help try and organize the bench players.

2. Yeah Molly is getting more minutes than Kyla so in that sense she is 'closer', but they are still both miles away. If USF is able to make a game of it, they will both be glued to the bench.

When Crystal comes out of the funk things may change a bit - but unless she consistently brings her Baylor game, Chong will remain the go-to PG for tight spots.

One thing most don't pay attention too is, Geno is concerned about defense in all his players. If you can play defense you will get minutes, if not you will sit.

 

[oldude]

You and a few others have used the concussion as a demarcation line for Crystal - I see it differently I guess. She has one brilliant game, low error rate and killer shooting against Baylor - not that uncommon for a freshman to produce such a game or a few of them. Beyond that one game she has been pretty much all over the map - good stretches, bad stretches, and mediocre stretches - both before and after her concussion. She has not put together another Baylor full game effort which is not unexpected and she seems to have entered that period of freshman confusion where she doesn't know which end is up most of the time. I don't relate that to her concussion at all, just the natural progression of a freshman and especially a freshman point guard.

You are spot on. Crystal has been over-analyzed. She is a freshman and she is learning the system. Anyone who thinks otherwise should go back and look at Mo's performance her freshman year. She too was up and down with both sloppy play and moments of brilliance.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Saniya is having a really good season as a PG. She does have to shoot more but her TO's to ASST's is fantastic! And her defense has improved!
Crystal Dangerfield will get her time but Geno knows with the really good comes the clueless moments as a freshman. She'll have more really good as her minutes increase! He loves a game changer and she comes in and they play at another speed!
In the end Saniya and Crystal Dangerfield will wind-up with about the same minutes played per game average! 18 to 22mpg.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I glad you picked up that first item as I intended .... being a risk taker is an asset.

With respect to you questions ... certain of those freshmen at MD, Baylor etc are ready to go. That Slocum is something else! Holmes, Young, Cox are getting minutes but certainly not more than Crystal. But all in all I think the difference is defense. Geno just isn't going to put a player on the floor that can't play competent defense within his system.

I don' know why but Crystal makes me think of Svet ..... Geno was constantly on Svet to play the UConn way.

\
Geno and Svetie (as Sue calls her) were constant and public back and forth comments. At the time i thought it terrible--but as i think of it--it shows again how good Geno is--he could have stopped it by sitting her forever--but he took her public punches and went on.
Slocum--and those like her--got me wondering--what is it about UConn/Geno that he NORMALLY sits his frosh for longer than other top 10 coaches---and as much as I moan about this--Geno's kids become AA's.
That begs the question---how come Baylor/MD freshmen are 'ready to go' and uconn's kids hardly ever are///????

 

[BroadwayVa]

You are spot on. Crystal has been over-analyzed. She is a freshman and she is learning the system. Anyone who thinks otherwise should go back and look at Mo's performance her freshman year. She too was up and down with both sloppy play and moments of brilliance.

Ahh but those moment's of brilliance was worth some of the Freshman thinking. Dangerfield has proven (baylor and the past game) that she is going to be one of the most outstanding guards .
The question is; At what time do you accept some Freshman/Soph mistakes and accept the excellence that is there otherwise?? The pat answer is ; when Geno says so.(actually that isn't a Pat answer--it's a Geno answer!)

 

[oldude]

\
Geno and Svetie (as Sue calls her) were constant and public back and forth comments. At the time i thought it terrible--but as i think of it--it shows again how good Geno is--he could have stopped it by sitting her forever--but he took her public punches and went on.
Slocum--and those like her--got me wondering--what is it about UConn/Geno that he NORMALLY sits his frosh for longer than other top 10 coaches---and as much as I moan about this--Geno's kids become AA's.
That begs the question---how come Baylor/MD freshmen are 'ready to go' and uconn's kids hardly ever are///????

I touched on your question in another post. Most of the top HS players are scorers 1st. If you ask them to do exactly what they did in HS, i.e. score, there is no real learning curve required. Hence you get performances like Slocum's against UConn or Danger's against Baylor where they are playing exactly the same way they did in HS.

In contrast, Geno takes the long view. He will break down a player's bad habits and teach them to play within a team oriented, motion offense & switching defense. That takes time, and playing time is earned much more slowly then at other programs.

The good news is that once that process is complete, UConn has developed a complete BBall player who may become an AA, Pro or Olympian.

 

[ThisJustIn]

So are you suggesting that Crystal is the only player that turns the ball over? BS!

LOL. You so brought in your own agenda it's not even funny. And grumpy about it, too. Follow the narrative - the post is about the # of Crystal Dangerfield's turnovers increasing. You want to get cranky, bring facts to back up your opinion.

 

[AfroQueen]

LOL. You so brought in your own agenda it's not even funny. And grumpy about it, too. Follow the narrative - the post is about the # of Crystal Dangerfield's turnovers increasing. You want to get cranky, bring facts to back up your opinion.

Right, LOL! It's all good. Didn't mean to offend you.
I'll let the experts continue the narrative and I will just SMH and LOL. It's not that serious.

 

[BroadwayVa]

I touched on your question in another post. Most of the top HS players are scorers 1st. If you ask them to do exactly what they did in HS, i.e. score, there is no real learning curve required. Hence you get performances like Slocum's against UConn or Danger's against Baylor where they are playing exactly the same way they did in HS.

In contrast, Geno takes the long view. He will break down a player's bad habits and teach them to play within a team oriented, motion offense & switching defense. That takes time, and playing time is earned much more slowly then at other programs.

The good news is that once that process is complete, UConn has developed a complete BBall player who may become an AA, Pro or Olympian.

Why is it when I read your post--I want to do the Uconn Cheer.!!!
The highlighted portion above --say more than just words. It is why Slocum, or Loyd, or many others on other teams --appear successful. But as successful as they appear--Geno finds a way to stop them. When a player of that talent plays for Geno--by the end of the Soph year--it's much harder to stop them.

The "Ready to Go" statement was to another poster's comment with that statement. I think after the AAC
games : Dangerfield shall be READY TO GO.

 

[wire chief]

Couldn't disagree more. I think it is obvious to even the casual observer, UConn is a much better team with Saniya on the floor. Crystal is getting minutes because she needs time with the core four. She is just starting a multiyear learning curve while Saniya is a senior at the top of that learning curve. Molly and Kyla are getting minutes now because Geno wants them to get some meaningful game time and he can do that during the conference schedule (and keep his core four from burning out).

P.S. I find it interesting that nobody has mentioned that meaningless layup Crystal took at the end of the ECU game.

That was a freshman desire to get at least one basket.

 

[augustaTC]

Couldn't disagree more. I think it is obvious to even the casual observer, UConn is a much better team with Saniya on the floor. Crystal is getting minutes because she needs time with the core four. She is just starting a multiyear learning curve while Saniya is a senior at the top of that learning curve. Molly and Kyla are getting minutes now because Geno wants them to get some meaningful game time and he can do that during the conference schedule (and keep his core four from burning out).

P.S. I find it interesting that nobody has mentioned that meaningless layup Crystal took at the end of the ECU game.

Dangerfield has a long way to go. She had one good game, but she makes poor passes, rushes shots, fouls too much and turns it over. She'll be fine if she listens to her coaches but it won't be overnight. Agree that shot she made at the end was kind of bush.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Crystal Dangerfield most definitely heard from the coaching staff about her last second basket vs ECar and obviously will never occur again.
Several "new" players have committed that faux pas through the years and after a sit-down has never been repeated.
Chalk it up to youthful exuberance and they'll move on.
A good story on this unwritten rule is TN at Illinois with Pat Summitt vs Teresa Grentz, CD's old Rutgers Coach, two old rivals.
Tn is winning by 40+ points with about 1 minute to go and TN is in a full court press, steal, 3 point basket, press, steal 3 point basket, press, steal 3 point basket and final buzzer. In the post game hand shake line Coach Grentz gave Coach Summitt an earful and at the press conference she thought it was bush league especially coming from someone like Pat Summitt!
Pat didn't mention the incidence and wouldn't answer questions on the subject!

 

[Bigboote]

I'm a little late, but regarding UConn being a better team with Chong on the floor -- I've been a little taken aback how few assists she has. (I think she averaged about ten assists a game in high school in addition to her 30 points.) BUT -- her low assists, very low turnovers, and Gabby's assists are all related. The last couple of games, I've noticed how many times Pheesa has been working in the low post, is just about open, Saniya makes a safe pass to Gabby at the high post, Gabby whips it right in to Pheesa for an easy two, all perfectly timed and impeccably executed.

 

[CajunHusky]

I'm a little late, but regarding UConn being a better team with Chong on the floor -- I've been a little taken aback how few assists she has. (I think she averaged about ten assists a game in high school in addition to her 30 points.) BUT -- her low assists, very low turnovers, and Gabby's assists are all related. The last couple of games, I've noticed how many times Pheesa has been working in the low post, is just about open, Saniya makes a safe pass to Gabby at the high post, Gabby whips it right in to Pheesa for an easy two, all perfectly timed and impeccably executed.

and Gabby gets the Assist. Remember awarding of assists is subjective. For instance pass the ball to a post, let her dribble the ball once and score - no assist.

 

[UcMiami]

I'm a little late, but regarding UConn being a better team with Chong on the floor -- I've been a little taken aback how few assists she has. (I think she averaged about ten assists a game in high school in addition to her 30 points.) BUT -- her low assists, very low turnovers, and Gabby's assists are all related. The last couple of games, I've noticed how many times Pheesa has been working in the low post, is just about open, Saniya makes a safe pass to Gabby at the high post, Gabby whips it right in to Pheesa for an easy two, all perfectly timed and impeccably executed.

A solid observation. Uconn players are often the second assist in a hockey sense - they made the pass that opened up or changed the angle for the assist on an easy basket.
With a team shooting 51% overall and 42% from three, making a risky pass or play, or taking a heavily contested shot early in the shot clock is not often a good play. Spectacular is often a poor choice when steady can be so successful. And a team needs a balance - DT was often spectacular (and risky) but Maria provided the balance by being steady for the team. Gabby is providing spectacular for this team, Nurse and Chong are providing steady. Very infrequently do you get both in the same package - Moriah was spectacular and steady.

 

[CajunHusky]

Season Stats for Assists

FGM: 426
Assists: 296
Assists per game 21.1
Assist to Turnover: 1.5

-------FGM-- As--- TO--- A/G---A/TO
KLS:-- 98 --- 37 --- 30 --- 2.6 --- 1.2
NC: - 111 ---- 29 --- 21 --- 2.1 --- 1.4
KN: -- 59 --- 58 --- 30 --- 4.1 --- 1.9
GW: - 69 ---- 65 --- 40 --- 4.6 --- 1.6
SC: --- 23 ---- 35 --- 9 ---- 2.9 --- 3.9
CD: -- 32 ---- 43 --- 28 --- 3.3 --- 1.5

The offense is running through Kia and Gabby thus the higher number of assists.
Lou and Phee are the leading scorers thus the lower number of assists. You can't get the bucket and the assist.

I'd call CD and Saniya almost even on assists .... on average CD gets one more assist every other game.

 

[Gus Mahler]

Crystal Dangerfield most definitely heard from the coaching staff about her last second basket vs ECar and obviously will never occur again.
Several "new" players have committed that faux pas through the years and after a sit-down has never been repeated.
Chalk it up to youthful exuberance and they'll move on.
A good story on this unwritten rule is TN at Illinois with Pat Summitt vs Teresa Grentz, CD's old Rutgers Coach, two old rivals.
Tn is winning by 40+ points with about 1 minute to go and TN is in a full court press, steal, 3 point basket, press, steal 3 point basket, press, steal 3 point basket and final buzzer. In the post game hand shake line Coach Grentz gave Coach Summitt an earful and at the press conference she thought it was bush league especially coming from someone like Pat Summitt!
Pat didn't mention the incidence and wouldn't answer questions on the subject!

Is that also the game UT tried to set up Michelle Snow for a dunk? Geno refers to that in his book.

 

[RSHERMVIKES]

Is that also the game UT tried to set up Michelle Snow for a dunk? Geno refers to that in his book.

Gus- - - I think it was, there were several questionable things that made this game exceptional!
There must have been "bad blood" between Summitt & Grentz going back to the Rutgers years.