The Azzi Experiment

[TCC Kid]

The greatest shooters in basketball “have no conscience.” I sat through games when KML bricked her first five 3-pt shots and then went on a tear hitting shot after shot. I’ve watched games where Katie Lou couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean and then, if my magic, everything started to fall for her. Having a shooters mindset is critical to being a great shooter.

Following the UConn “Exhibition Game” vs Pecs, Hungary there was considerable chatter on the BY about Azzi’s 9 for 31 shooting performance, with lots of questions and concerns about both the volume of shots that she took as well as the number of shots that she missed. I finally watched the game last night and I have a personal observation.

While I have no inside information on what Geno discussed with Azzi and the team before the game, it appears quite apparent that UConn was conducting something I will refer to as the Azzi experiment. The evidence is quite simple. Azzi is a consummate team player who always takes her shots in rhythm during the flow of the game. During the game against Pecs, Azzi shot the ball every time she had a sliver of space and several times when she was covered.

Azzi was catching and releasing the ball faster than I have ever seen her. She was taking and making some shots from “Caitlin Clark” territory. UConn, who typically runs a beautiful motion offense, was often just getting the ball to Azzi and letting her fire away. One action the Huskies ran over and over was to have Nika bring the ball up and dribble to the wing, where she would simply hand the ball to Azzi at the arc, who then fired away. Azzi made 9 pretty remarkable shots. Of course, she also missed 22 shots.

Normally, if any UConn player was firing away and missing as much as Azzi was against Pecs, she would earn herself a spot on the bench. But throughout the game, both Azzi and Geno appeared completely unfazed by the volume of missed shots. Hence, my conclusion that the shooting spree by Azzi was a plan by Geno to get Azzi to be more aggressive and comfortable taking over on the offensive end.

As I said in the postgame thread, I doubt that Azzi will ever take 31 shots or miss 22 shots in a regular season game. But having watched the Pecs game, it seems absolutely apparent that Geno wants Azzi to be far more aggressive on offense, and when she is matched up again on the court with her BFF, the show that is UConn WBB will be something to behold.

IMO DT, Dee, Diana --In a National Championship game against ND--Bricked 15.
Of all players to wear a UC Uniform, none had more confidence in her abilities than DT.
KML was a shooters shooter--thanks to her native abilities and her Step Dad.
Ms Fudd has to ignore those who never could shoot, but are great in critizism. She knows, you know, and UConn world knows shooter have down periods and fantastic shooting spells. That's just the nature of the beast!! If an inventor could come up with a Cell phone App that knows when theses spells shall happen, he/she shall make a fortune..

 

[oldude]

IMO DT, Dee, Diana --In a National Championship game against ND--Bricked 15.
Of all players to wear a UC Uniform, none had more confidence in her abilities than DT.
KML was a shooters shooter--thanks to her native abilities and her Step Dad.
Ms Fudd has to ignore those who never could shoot, but are great in critizism. She knows, you know, and UConn world knows shooter have down periods and fantastic shooting spells. That's just the nature of the beast!! If an inventor could come up with a Cell phone App that knows when theses spells shall happen, he/she shall make a fortune..

As info, DT’s awful shooting game was during her freshman season in the national semifinals, followed by 3 straight national championships.

 

[TCC Kid]

With respect to being in a slump, coaches and players know if you’re in a slump, you have to shoot or hit your way out of it. You can’t sit around and wait for it to pass. It doesn’t work that way. How many times have we seen a player start out 0 for their first 5-6 shots, then get dialed in and get hot? This was an exhibition game in August. Nothing to be overly concerned about. Give Geno the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he’s doing. It was exciting to see our freshmen in action now, and not have to wait until November.

IN the slump shooting coach, none have been more for keep shooting " when the first one falls, the slump is over" than Geno. Stewie, DT, others have heard Geno urging them on to SHOOT.
You are correct in that Geno also tells them when the shots aren't falling---defend, steal, block, assist--get into the GAME.
It was Heart Warming to see the entire team -this far from November. I too enjoyed seeing those freshmen and Soph (that didn't play last season). This is a pretty good team.

 

[TCC Kid]

As info, DT’s awful shooting game was during her freshman season in the national semifinals, followed by 3 straight national championships.

I bow to your accuracy, and YES she WAS a freshman-but one unlike any Freshman in WCBB to that time. When DT was on the floor you knew it. ND, with great off passing between Riley and (I forget the forwards name, passing 90 does that to brains sometimes ) did much to end Uconn's season that year.

 

[hoophuskee]

To be fair Clark takes many more high-difficulty 3s than anyone else. She’s taking a ton of unassisted, pull-up, deep 3s. Often double-teamed. Shooting 38% from 3 considering the level of difficulty shots she’s taking is super impressive, and that’s where her reputation comes from.

Is she "double-teamed from 3 as she takes the shot" often? I doubt that.

I used to argue with a Laker fan on the old ESPN board. He was a pro-Kobe fan even over Jordan, and one of his comments I'll never forget was that "Kobe is better than Michael Jordan because he takes tougher shots."

I kid you not.

 

[oldhusky]

I know it is the offseason, so there's a void to be filled. Realizing November is still almost 3 months away, these "games" are secondary to the overall experience and bonding amongst the players.

While I share in the excitement of what the freshman & Ice bring, for me, this season is about the realization of having Paige, Azzi & Caroline being on the court together and 100% healthy. Correct me if I am wrong, I can't recall when all have been 100% healthy at the same time over the last 2 years. We are talking about three top 5 recruits (2 #1's) and mostly we are waiting for their combined potential to be exhibited.

If this is Paige's last season, then I selfishly want to see her play as much as possible, along with Azzi, Aaliyah, Caroline, Aubrey and Nika. If everyone stays healthy, then I believe we will see a juggernaut UConn team of lore. There will be minutes for the freshmen to shine, but I want this season to be the manifestation of what we've been waiting for since Azzi & Caroline committed to play with Paige.

You are spot on about never getting to see a healthy Paige, Azzi and Caroline at the same time. I thought they would be a terrific trio for three full years together and now I am hoping we get at least one. We also have not seen how good Nika passing to two great shooters (Paige and Azzi) could be. Remember she was second in the country in assists with no Paige, mostly an injured Azzi and Caroline, and Aubrey, not a 3pt shooter at the 3, although Aubrey was on the receiving end of many fast break baskets early in the season.

After a while teams concentrated on taking away the break, leaving Nika with just one injured perimeter shooter to pass to in the half court offense. If healthy, most of the time out of our players at 1-3, we will probably have two great outside shooters (from Paige, Azzi and Caroline) with two great passers (from Nika, Paige, and KK) in the game. Paige of course is both at the same time.

 

[AzzisBraids]

Wasn’t this ball they were using a totally different weight? I have to believe that could be a factor?

The double rims were the factor this game, playing on double rims is a totally different kind of basketball

 

[AzzisBraids]

I agree - seeing her take that many shots is great. She won't miss many, her shot is a thing of beauty. Who cares if she misses, more rebounds for the posts.

 

[Blond D.]

Once Michael Jordan was something like 1 out of 17 but he kept on shooting. The reporters asked him why? Michael said his rule is "when you're on shoot. When you're not on, shoot till you're on.

 

[Bone Dog]

You are spot on about never getting to see a healthy Paige, Azzi and Caroline at the same time. I thought they would be a terrific trio for three full years together and now I am hoping we get at least one. We also have not seen how good Nika passing to two great shooters (Paige and Azzi) could be. Remember she was second in the country in assists with no Paige, mostly an injured Azzi and Caroline, and Aubrey, not a 3pt shooter at the 3, although Aubrey was on the receiving end of many fast break baskets early in the season.

After a while teams concentrated on taking away the break, leaving Nika with just one injured perimeter shooter to pass to in the half court offense. If healthy, most of the time out of our players at 1-3, we will probably have two great outside shooters (from Paige, Azzi and Caroline) with two great passers (from Nika, Paige, and KK) in the game. Paige of course is both at the same time.

Very insightful

 

[tchalla1]

I also thought it was an in game practice strategy. I think he is trying to get her comfortable with having an uncomfortable shooting situation for when she has to put the team on her back and win ugly.

This was primarily a 3 pt situation but it also reminded me of the Maya Moore days where the offense was largely about her. Maya knew she had to make something out of nothing for the team.

Your points are well taken, and I agree with Old Dude's assessments as well--Geno undoubtedly told Azzi to shoot every time she touched the ball--however playing alongside Azzi this year, just happens to be a pretty country fair shooter of her own right. I don't think Azzi will have to be sharing the scoring load alone... And the offense won't be largely about Azzi..

 

[Geesworld]

This Azzi experiment is a great call and makes sense if that is truly what it is. Watching these exhibition games and it's very noticeable that we are undersized and we'll be depending on perimeter play way more than we ever had in the past. Azzi, reluctance to take shots or should I say, hunt for her shot could be a hinderance if we aren't able to get the ball inside against much taller teams.

 

[awhom111]

A lot has been said about the double rims in the gym. One must keep in mind that Murano is a series of islands famous for glassworks and tourists, with a population of less than 5000 people. I was surprised they even had a gym, but it was certainly not built to be a major sports venue.

It is the home court of a men's team in the lower divisions.

 

[Skeets]

I don't have a problem with the 9 for 31 shooting exhibition so long as Azzi's teammates were dialed in and supportive of the "Azzi Experiment". Geno is the Philadelphia Experiment

 

[diggerfoot]

I agree Fudd’s shot volume was by Auriemma’s design. I am uncertain what the purpose was, but more certain what it was not.

Fudd is not a reluctant shooter. Her shots per minute has always been high for a UConn player, while her assists per minute for a UConn guard has been low. Has she passed up shots? Absolutely, as has every great UConn player, with the possible exception of M. Moore (her career spg was over 18, 2 shots higher than any other player’s season high). They pass up the occasional shot because they are trained in an efficient team offense to take the best shot.

Which might explain the lower shooting percentage for Fudd in that game. The training for high efficiency offense was overridden which led to shots Fudd did not take psychologically in the flow for her. Though every shooter has bad games, I doubt we will ever see a 9/31 stat line from any UConn player in a real game. I do not know what Auriemma’s purpose was, I just know he is a great coach while Fudd does not have a reluctance to shoot problem.

 

[Jumper33]

As far as I know, only Sue Bird.

Believe it or not, Diamond Johnson shot 50/40/90 her freshman year at Rutgers. This was over the course of just 19 games though. But still, nice accomplishment for a freshman.

 

[Bone Dog]

They pass up the occasional shot because they are trained in an efficient team offense to take the best shot.

Absolutely. Though I have wondered sometimes with Azzi in the first two years (or partial years) whether she too often passed up the shot a play was run to get her even though it was a decent shot. The hope to get "the best shot" with one more pass may sometimes undermine the rebounding setup that is built into a particular play.

I've seen two versions of Geno's frustrations with this:

1) he publicly urged players two years ago to adopt more of a "just break off the play and go [to the rim]" mentality. Nika has been the recipient of this advice, but I think Azzi, too. Paige has always understood this as well as anyone in he history off the game.

2) he discourages prolonging the play to get an even better shot than planned.

Without a creator like Paige on the floor, 2 can be deadly for an offense because the shot eventually taken (assuming there is one) is out of the flow. And by "flow" I mean the rest of the team expects the shot at one of the inflection points in the play they're running, and they know when to get position for a rebound. 1 doesn't suffer from this, since breaking off the play early to get a shot usually means midrange or closer and the need to have position for the rebound isn't quite as urgent.

A "read and react" offense is built around the communal improvisational skills of the whole team. But we haven't had a steady enough roster the last two years to develop this shared sense. This may be why he has focused more on 1, since mistakes in this mode are less deadly and demoralizing than passing around for 30 seconds and never getting "the best shot" or being stuck with an off-balance perimeter shot with no chance for a rebound.

In the annals of the "read and react" offense, we've had a lot of great teams. The Gabby-Katie Lou-Phee years were particularly well-attuned to each other. They read each others' movements as well as the defense, knew when to make one more pass and when to break off the play. The beginning of this past season looked like it could recreate that magic, until Azzi went down, and then Dorka, etc. Nika was able (almost single-handedly!) to compensate for this a bit, but in the end we just were not a great "read and react" team by the end of March. I won't dwell on this sore subject.

Think back to two seasons ago, when Paige came back in March, and even though it took a few games, they began to look like one of those teams, especially in the Indiana game. Well, Paige is coming back again, and it begins to look like we might have another inspired "read and react" squad. It's not just about who will be the pg, since everyone has to be ready to trigger the offense when we're really clicking. But it won't hurt to have Paige making lots of decisions, and Nika able to find Azzi Aubrey Q and Caroline in the clutch, and KK who seems to have a strong sense of when to break a play off and just go.

 

[TCC Kid]

I agree Fudd’s shot volume was by Auriemma’s design. I am uncertain what the purpose was, but more certain what it was not.

Fudd is not a reluctant shooter. Her shots per minute has always been high for a UConn player, while her assists per minute for a UConn guard has been low. Has she passed up shots? Absolutely, as has every great UConn player, with the possible exception of M. Moore (her career spg was over 18, 2 shots higher than any other player’s season high). They pass up the occasional shot because they are trained in an efficient team offense to take the best shot.

Which might explain the lower shooting percentage for Fudd in that game. The training for high efficiency offense was overridden which led to shots Fudd did not take psychologically in the flow for her. Though every shooter has bad games, I doubt we will ever see a 9/31 stat line from any UConn player in a real game. I do not know what Auriemma’s purpose was, I just know he is a great coach while Fudd does not have a reluctance to shoot problem.

You are correct, Geno is the Boss, she shoots or not as Geno decides. However, when a shooter thinks--take or don't take it ruins accuracy. I'm sure the words from Geno are --always--if open shoot.
Poor Geno, Poor Uconn--talent, talent, talent, shooters, shooter shooters--what is Geno to do??? I hope Mulkey reads this.

 

[The deacon]

'as well as anyone in the history off the game.'

Lots of good perspective here, Bone Dog, as usual, yet it's tough to get by your praise for Paige above. I'm sure I'm as much a fan and admirer of Paige as you are, but maybe something like 'the best on the team,' or 'right up there amongst the best in WCBB right now' would work just fine?

I agree Paige is outstanding in that regard, but why embellish it?

Hyperbole like this doesn't suit you. We've got plenty in the BY who are willing to make statements like that without one of our wiser souls falling prey, too.

 

[Bone Dog]

Lots of good perspective here, Bone Dog, as usual, yet it's tough to get by your praise for Paige above. I'm sure I'm as much a fan and admirer of Paige as you are, but maybe something like 'the best on the team,' or 'right up there amongst the best in WCBB right now' would work just fine?

I agree Paige is outstanding in that regard, but why embellish it?

Hyperbole like this doesn't suit you. We've got plenty in the BY who are willing to make statements like that without one of our wiser souls falling prey, too.

Thanks for the compliment, @The deacon.

But I don't mean it as hyperbole. I only said she was comparable to the best.

But back to the question: I have to say Paige when healthy has always had a really finely attuned sense of the moment on the court, a coach's sense. I can't think of another recent player in D1 WCBB who is this finely attuned. Even Caitlin and Hailey Van Lith and Grace Berger... I could go on. The closest recent player I can think of is Aari Macdonald but only in her senior year.

It's really just a question how far to extend this praise. Now, I've watched a lot (A LOT) of videos of Paige's HS games -- Minnesota is a well developed market for televised HS sports -- and you can see the remarkable way she developed from 8th grade through senior year. it's really quite distinctive. The local NBA players even came to her games occasionally. I would include Diana, Maya and Sue as comparable players, to be sure. Cynthia Cooper, Katie Smith, Jewell Lloyd, Kelsey Plum, even Nancy Lieberman. Yes, all comparable. You can see I'm mainly focused not on bigs. In any event, that's why I said what I said. Paige belongs in this comparison group -- mainly on potential, but also on the basis of the developmental curve lots of folks saw when she was in HS.

And remember, Diana and Sue agree with me.

 

[CTBballfan243]

Wasn’t this ball they were using a totally different weight? I have to believe that could be a factor?

Yeah, I believe they were using the Fiba Molten basketball. That basketball takes some getting use to.

 

[The deacon]

Thanks for the compliment, @The deacon.

But I don't mean it as hyperbole. I only said she was comparable to the best.

But back to the question: I have to say Paige when healthy has always had a really finely attuned sense of the moment on the court, a coach's sense. I can't think of another recent player in D1 WCBB who is this finely attuned. Even Caitlin and Hailey Van Lith and Grace Berger... I could go on. The closest recent player I can think of is Aari Macdonald but only in her senior year.

It's really just a question how far to extend this praise. Now, I've watched a lot (A LOT) of videos of Paige's HS games -- Minnesota is a well developed market for televised HS sports -- and you can see the remarkable way she developed from 8th grade through senior year. it's really quite distinctive. The local NBA players even came to her games occasionally. I would include Diana, Maya and Sue as comparable players, to be sure. Cynthia Cooper, Katie Smith, Jewell Lloyd, Kelsey Plum, even Nancy Lieberman. Yes, all comparable. You can see I'm mainly focused not on bigs. In any event, that's why I said what I said. Paige belongs in this comparison group -- mainly on potential, but also on the basis of the developmental curve lots of folks saw when she was in HS.

And remember, Diana and Sue agree with me.

I enjoyed the elaboration, Bone Dog, and would suggest only replacing shoot-first proponents Van Lith and Loyd with perhaps Olivia Miles (don't like her, but she's a great player) in your list. Lots of room for discussion here, and I'm drifting from 'The Azzi Experiment.'

Keep 'em coming.

 

[Audi1954]

Sounds like something Dawn Staley would say.

I like that! Very true. I do remember reading somewhere that the ball for the overseas trip was heavier?

 

[Skeets]

I have a theory about what might appear as a reluctance to shoot. This isn't about Azzi, just a comment in general. When I was playing sometimes I would pass up a relatively open shot because "it just didn't feel right". Or it was from a spot on the floor I didn't like (being a horrible baseline shooter). So, when we see someone, a good shooter, pass up an open shot, maybe it just didn't feel right. When it doesn't feel right the odds of it going in are lower. Ever try to hit a golf ball when something didn't feel right? How did that work out?

 

[Bone Dog]

I have a theory about what might appear as a reluctance to shoot. This isn't about Azzi, just a comment in general. When I was playing sometimes I would pass up a relatively open shot because "it just didn't feel right". Or it was from a spot on the floor I didn't like (being a horrible baseline shooter). So, when we see someone, a good shooter, pass up an open shot, maybe it just didn't feel right. When it doesn't feel right the odds of it going in are lower. Ever try to hit a golf ball when something didn't feel right? How did that work out?

I hated elbow jumpers. Something never felt right. I’d try to compensate by going for a bank shot but this was not a good tactic beyond 10 feet out. On the other hand, baseline jumpers really suited me. Maybe it was a visual thing. I could more easily imagine what the ball would look like going in. Some kids prefer the view from the top of the arc.

I’m sure you’re right about this. Geno and CD often emphasize the importance of kids knowing their spots. I expect they run plays for those spots.