The Battle for Playing Time & a Spot on the Rotation

[Just.A.Fan]

DBB, I appreciate the detailed analysis which is mostly spot on. But as you indicate, I do need to comment on Kaitlyn at Princeton and the Ivies in general.

As you know, there are no athletic scholarships in the Ivy League, so while they get some outstanding players due to the prestige of an Ivy League Sheepskin, every team has holes in their lineup. The scores for most Ivy League games are in the 60’s, with lots of missed shots and turnovers.

Stats aside, you really had to watch Kaitlyn play to appreciate just how good she was at Princeton, which I’ve probably done 10-12 times. Kaitlyn was never an outstanding shooter, although she has really worked on her shooting this last year and is better from the arc than during her time at Princeton. What Kaitlyn did better than any other player in the Ivy League, including Princeton teammate Abby Myers and Columbia’s own Abby Hsu, was to take over games down the stretch and make plays. In short, Kaitlyn has the “clutch gene.”

The best example of Kaitlyn taking over a game was during the 2023 NCAA tournament when Princeton pulled off a stunning upset against NC State. Myers had transferred to MD for her 5th year, and other than Grace Stone and Kaitlyn, the Ivy POY, the Tigers were limited in their ability to score the basketball.

Kaitlyn shot a pretty mediocre 8/25 during the game, but down the stretch she made play after play by scoring, getting to the FT line and dropping dimes in a 64-63 upset. She ended the game with 22 pts, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. In the following game, Princeton put a scare into #2 seed Utah before losing 63-56, with Kaitlyn leading the team in scoring with 19 pts.

I have stated, and continue to believe, that Kaitlyn will come up big for UConn this year, stepping up in a pressure situation to be a difference maker. Time will tell whether or not I am correct.

Thank you Oldude! This was worth so much more than just a like.

 

[packwrap]

I have stated, and continue to believe, that Kaitlyn will come up big for UConn this year, stepping up in a pressure situation to be a difference maker. Time will tell whether or not I am correct.

Agree. All the Chen chirping really has to do with 'why was she our transfer and not Beers/a big'.

I won't get into that, but she is here. She is a gamer, and provides insurance and depth at point/sg/scorer. Most importantly she for sure has the UConn mentality of defense, pass first, keep learning and working. Most importantly just watching you can see she is now loved by her teammates and a true Husky.

I had been mystified all season when on games first posession, or end of a quarter she would race down the floor and make a layup or pullup for 2.

This showed she could pretty much get her shot at will. Then she chose not to shoot for the rest of the game.

I was glad to see her have more of a complete game v Villanova.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

They have at least two elite scorers, so in order to triple-team both the opponent would have to play with six players on the court. Even double-teaming both Bueckers and Strong would leave two players uncovered. I guarantee you that El Alfy, Shade, Chen, and others can score plenty if uncovered.

By the way, Connecticut is now leading the country in scoring defense as well as A/TO ratio and field goal percentage.

They have three elite scorers NOW, earlier in the season they did not. Azzi wasn’t 100% then, she even had to sit out some games to recover. Now she’s back to her old self. Going forward we will be a much tougher team. Also expect some big contributions from Kaitlyn, Ash, Morgan, KK, Allie, Ice and Q. I’m hoping against hope we’ll see Caroline play some minutes on senior night, but maybe not.

 

[oldhusky]

The Creighton game was revealing regarding rotations, but far from conclusive IMO. We mostly went small ball with the two C's combining for just 17 minutes. That doesn't mean, however, that we are going small ball the rest of the season in contested games. Creighton doesn't have dominant interior bigs, so it might have been appropriate against them, but against other teams two bigs will sometimes make more sense.

In addition Aubrey was not used, but obviously most think in time she will be part of the rotation, and that could be in a big or small lineup because both she and Sarah could play the 3 or 4. There are still two rotations to settle on, small and big IMO, and both will need to incorporate the addition of Aubrey with time.

I agree, however, that the small ball lineup is largely set except for Aubrey, but feel it doesn't mean that small ball is the way we go against everybody, and in the games that matter most against very good teams with talented bigs, the big lineup may be the norm and small ball the change of pace lineup.

 

[oldude]

The Creighton game was revealing regarding rotations, but far from conclusive IMO. We mostly went small ball with the two C's combining for just 17 minutes. That doesn't mean, however, that we are going small ball the rest of the season in contested games. Creighton doesn't have dominant interior bigs, so it might have been appropriate against them, but against other teams two bigs will sometimes make more sense.

In addition Aubrey was not used, but obviously most think in time she will be part of the rotation, and that could be in a big or small lineup because both she and Sarah could play the 3 or 4. There are still two rotations to settle on, small and big IMO, and both will need to incorporate the addition of Aubrey with time.

I agree, however, that the small ball lineup is largely set except for Aubrey, but feel it doesn't mean that small ball is the way we go against everybody, and in the games that matter most against very good teams with talented bigs, the big lineup may be the norm and small ball the change of pace lineup.

The other interesting aspect of UConn’s rotation vs Creighton is that Morgan did not play in the 2nd half after a somewhat uneventful stint in the 1st half. During the 2nd half, Ice subbed in at forward and arguably contributed more to UConn’s win than Morgan…….Just one more thing for Geno to chew on as he contemplates his rotation in March.

 

[packwrap]

The other interesting aspect of UConn’s rotation vs Creighton is that Morgan did not play in the 2nd half after a somewhat uneventful stint in the 1st half. During the 2nd half, Ice subbed in at forward and arguably contributed more to UConn’s win than Morgan…….Just one more thing for Geno to chew on as he contemplates his rotation in March.

No Jana, no Ice, no Morgan, no Aubrey?....I was scratching my head. Who is our power forward?

It was Paige again...and when Paige ran the offense it was Azzi! Azzi defended Creighton forwards and played 4 for us in the quirky line up.

That also explains why Azzi had a quiet shooting day.

I find it hard to believe Geno would roll with that line up against SC, but it does give you all scorers.

KK/Chen, Ash, Paige, Azzi & Sarah.

Paige or Azzi would have to guard Kitts, and Sarah would have Feagin/Edwards.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

The Creighton game was revealing regarding rotations, but far from conclusive IMO. We mostly went small ball with the two C's combining for just 17 minutes. That doesn't mean, however, that we are going small ball the rest of the season in contested games. Creighton doesn't have dominant interior bigs, so it might have been appropriate against them, but against other teams two bigs will sometimes make more sense.

In addition Aubrey was not used, but obviously most think in time she will be part of the rotation, and that could be in a big or small lineup because both she and Sarah could play the 3 or 4. There are still two rotations to settle on, small and big IMO, and both will need to incorporate the addition of Aubrey with time.

I agree, however, that the small ball lineup is largely set except for Aubrey, but feel it doesn't mean that small ball is the way we go against everybody, and in the games that matter most against very good teams with talented bigs, the big lineup may be the norm and small ball the change of pace lineup.

Small ball works if everyone on the court can at varying degrees hit a three. That means Paige, Azzi, Sarah, Ash, and Ice. Kaitlyn has her place but not as a starter, she hasn’t shown me that she is a good shooter on either side of the arc, and she scares me when she try’s to penetrate and picks up her dribble and immediately gets double teamed, the reason that happens is because she usually is looking to pass instead of looking to score. IMHO KK or Morgan are more offensively minded and add more to the defense if it’s needed . The pluses for Kaitlyn are being a great ball handler, has fast hands on defense, and is a good passer when she doesn’t pick up her dribble.

 

[packwrap]

Small ball works if everyone on the court can at varying degrees hit a three. That means Paige, Azzi, Sarah, Ash, and Ice. Kaitlyn has her place but not as a starter, she hasn’t shown me that she is a good shooter on either side of the arc, and she scares me when she try’s to penetrate and picks up her dribble and immediately gets double teamed, the reason that happens is because she usually is looking to pass instead of looking to score. IMHO KK or Morgan are more offensively minded and add more to the defense if it’s needed .

Note: Geno played a lot of that game with no Ice, but KK/Chen in that spot. Playing Sarah and Ice together really isn't small, it's 2 posts.

I don't think the Chen/KK platoon is going anywhere. KK offers better defense, but on offense they are more similar than different. Although capable, they have both been struggling to hit the 3 and they both drive into heavy traffic without a bailout plan.

Creighton actually chose not to cover KK/Chen hoping they would shoot and baiting them to drive into their packed interior defense.

 

[HuskyNan]

The other interesting aspect of UConn’s rotation vs Creighton is that Morgan did not play in the 2nd half after a somewhat uneventful stint in the 1st half. During the 2nd half, Ice subbed in at forward and arguably contributed more to UConn’s win than Morgan…….Just one more thing for Geno to chew on as he contemplates his rotation in March.

This was Ice’s third time playing Creighton and second time on the road. Freshmen can have trouble adjusting to the travel so maybe Morgan is still learning, as freshmen do.

 

[oldude]

This was Ice’s third time playing Creighton and second time on the road. Freshmen can have trouble adjusting to the travel so maybe Morgan is still learning, as freshmen do.

No doubt. You have to wonder if Geno believes that Morgan is up to the task of playing against TN or SC, as she clearly was not completely ready for Creighton.

 

[Bone Dog]

This was Ice’s third time playing Creighton and second time on the road. Freshmen can have trouble adjusting to the travel so maybe Morgan is still learning, as freshmen do.

Yup. It’s not quite fair to critique Morgan for her struggles in this game. She has greater potential than she showed yesterday. Creighton is a scrappy team that plays really tough D, and she hasn’t seen this level of play much. The fact that Geno played Paige Azzi and Sarah for 34+ mins shows how seriously he takes Creighton as an opponent.

When we made mistakes on defense, they took advantage, and because we didn’t hit much from 3 in the first half they packed the paint. That changed in the second half once Paige hit a few, plus Creighton looked a little fatigued by their effort in the first half. In any event, it was good to see that Sarah could score even against their packed defense, with Paige’s help. And it was reassuring to see that Ice could play tough defense in the second half and that Creighton wasn’t willing to challenge Jana in the lane in the first half.

 

[Zarathustra]

Listen to Geno talk about Kaitlyn, first question

For those Boneyarders who have not listened to this
Post Game Presser (post- Villanova), I recommend it
as an insight into GENO's thoughts on NIL, the Transfer
Portal and its effect on the BIG EAST (Villanova in particular)
and the ability of any program to grow and develop their
teams. Sort of a (somewhat) different take on the Elephant in the Room.
See post # 74, above, for the link to the Post Game Presser

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Note: Geno played a lot of that game with no Ice, but KK/Chen in that spot. Playing Sarah and Ice together really isn't small, it's 2 posts.

I don't think the Chen/KK platoon is going anywhere. KK offers better defense, but on offense they are more similar than different. Although capable, they have both been struggling to hit the 3 and they both drive into heavy traffic without a bailout plan.

Creighton actually chose not to cover KK/Chen hoping they would shoot and baiting them to drive into their packed interior defense.

Of course they would rather do that and then they can double team any legit scorer who has the ball. When Ash was in, those same defenders were chasing her all over the court.

 

[Longtime fan]

The starters: Paige, Kaitlyn, Azzi, Sarah and Jana.

The subs: Ash and KK for sure. Now it becomes tricky. Morgan is probably one and I think Ice has to be one.

I would put Aubrey on the list but right now, she still has to get in gamer shape.

I would not be surprised if Geno went 10 deep for games.

Morgan isn't good enough yet. She plays okay against Xavier, but did zero positive things in limited time against Creighton. Alli never got off the bench. Kaitlyn would have been 0-10 if she didn't refuse to shoot again after 0-7. So her one good game did not carry over. Without much, much more from her, we can't get beyond elite 8. Jana is easily out classed. She is likely to get better each year-end be terrific in another 2 seasons. ICE is an enigma, but playing better. But she is no post player. She is a decent forward. UCONN has still not solved the "BIG'"problem.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Morgan isn't good enough yet. She plays okay against Xavier, but did zero positive things in limited time against Creighton. Alli never got off the bench. Kaitlyn would have been 0-10 if she didn't refuse to shoot again after 0-7. So her one good game did not carry over. Without much, much more from her, we can't get beyond elite 8. Jana is easily out classed. She is likely to get better each year-end be terrific in another 2 seasons. ICE is an enigma, but playing better. But she is no post player. She is a decent forward. UCONN has still not solved the "BIG'"problem.

Ice is a big girl and she has an outside shot now, something she didn’t have last year. She is light years better right now than Jana at kicking the ball back out to a shooter on the perimeter.

 

[Kat]

I'm glad that Kaitlyn is on the team but if we're talking about playing time, I think it would be better if she had less minutes. She went 4-12 FG, 0-6 3s. An experienced player with a reputation for scoring misses shots because they are tired. I think fewer minutes would give more quality scoring. Give Morgan some of that time.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I'm glad that Kaitlyn is on the team but if we're talking about playing time, I think it would be better if she had less minutes. She went 4-12 FG, 0-6 3s. An experienced player with a reputation for scoring misses shots because they are tired. I think fewer minutes would give more quality scoring. Give Morgan some of that time.

Kaitlyn was offered for her last year in college to give Paige and Azzi a rest on the bench, and it’s been a good experience for her.

 

[packwrap]

Morgan isn't good enough yet. She plays okay against Xavier, but did zero positive things in limited time against Creighton. Alli never got off the bench. Kaitlyn would have been 0-10 if she didn't refuse to shoot again after 0-7. So her one good game did not carry over. Without much, much more from her, we can't get beyond elite 8. Jana is easily out classed. She is likely to get better each year-end be terrific in another 2 seasons. ICE is an enigma, but playing better. But she is no post player. She is a decent forward. UCONN has still not solved the "BIG'"problem.

I keep watching the games and seeing a large woman with surprisingly good ballhandling skills playing for UConn at forward/center. I think her name is Strong. She's pretty good in the post.