The best has yet to come...

[AzzisBraids]

I am so optimistic (barring injuries) for this upcoming UConn team. I've mentioned this in a few posts but UConn was missing some key pieces that honestly feels like we picked up top talent in our own portal in Storrs.

1. Azzi Fudd was a NPOY contender before her injuries. A healthy Azzi Fudd makes UConn a dangerous team.
2. Speaking of NPOY, no other team in the NCAA had one sitting on the bench apart from UConn. Paige's return will remind everyone just who she is and why she always has been and will be, THAT GIRL.
3. Ducharme - I took an Ibuprofen everytime I saw her on the court. A fully healed Ducharme will be the secret weapon in the backcourt with proven clutch performances.
4. Aubrey Griffin was gas pedal for UConn. Her senior year will be her competing for a WNBA roster spot. Expect an athletic show, if fully healthy.
5. Ice Brady is what happens when Morgan Tuck has a pull-up jumper. Imagine that. She's the most imposing weapon not seen yet in the post. She's been frozen on the bench but she will bring the heat this Fall.
6. El-Alfy has seen a UConn been in practice, is comfortable in her apartment and has seen a UConn loss. They are going to deploy her in a number of ways and though from what I've seen she is really raw. Geno et all will bring out the best in her.

KK Arnold, Samuels and Shade do NOT want to sit on the bench. They will compete everyday with the best backcourt and learn so much. The sun is bright in Storrs

*There are other developments but my focus here was on partial, incomplete or missing data form injuries or arrivals on key personnel.

 

[Skeets]

I am so optimistic (barring injuries) for this upcoming UConn team. I've mentioned this in a few posts but UConn was missing some key pieces that honestly feels like we picked up top talent in our own portal in Storrs.

1. Azzi Fudd was a NPOY contender before her injuries. A healthy Azzi Fudd makes UConn a dangerous team.
2. Speaking of NPOY, no other team in the NCAA had one sitting on the bench apart from UConn. Paige's return will remind everyone just who she is and why she always has been and will be, THAT GIRL.
3. Ducharme - I took an Ibuprofen everytime I saw her on the court. A fully healed Ducharme will be the secret weapon in the backcourt with proven clutch performances.
4. Aubrey Griffin was gas pedal for UConn. Her senior year will be her competing for a WNBA roster spot. Expect an athletic show, if fully healthy.
5. Ice Brady is what happens when Morgan Tuck has a pull-up jumper. Imagine that. She's the most imposing weapon not seen yet in the post. She's been frozen on the bench but she will bring the heat this Fall.
6. El-Alfy has seen a UConn been in practice, is comfortable in her apartment and has seen a UConn loss. They are going to deploy her in a number of ways and though from what I've seen she is really raw. Geno et all will bring out the best in her.

KK Arnold, Samuels and Shade do NOT want to sit on the bench. They will compete everyday with the best backcourt and learn so much. The sun is bright in Storrs

*There are other developments but my focus here was on partial, incomplete or missing data form injuries or arrivals on key personnel.

I believe you covered them all except for Nika and Inês.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I think they mean the best for this team. Obviously nothing will ever top 2013-16.

 

[meyers7]

I believe you covered them all except for Nika and Inês.

Covered

*There are other developments but my focus here was on partial, incomplete or missing data form injuries or arrivals on key personnel.

 

[oldhusky]

Agree with the positions in this post, but with a touch more caution. Probably no team can expect more of an increase in production from existing players due to better health. I kind of break this down into two categories. First are players who played last year, but were significantly hampered by injuries, whose contribution this year makes a major jump from playing more minutes and being far more effective per minute they are on the court.

Azzi and Caroline are exhibit A for that category. Relying just from memory, after the first 6 games or so last year Azzi had a PER rating of over 30 and there was All American talk about her. By the end of the season she was down to the low 20's, which means her numbers after coming back from injury were probably no better than about average to pull her overall season numbers down that much. Caroline had a season to season drop-off from around 20 in PER her first year to around 12 her second year. Neither player was anywhere close to what they have previously shown they could be. To a minor extent I might include Aubrey in this. I thought she did very well but could possibly be better two years removed from her back surgery.

The second major category is players that missed the whole year like Paige and Ice. Conceptually you could lump them in with this year's recruits. We had one of the top recruiting classes but if you add Paige and Ice as newcomers nobody else is close. Paige has proved she is a top star if healthy and Ice has the advantage of last summer and part of fall in the Uconn program as an extra head start over other freshmen. Of course Jana has a head start advantage as well.

The concern of course is a return to injuries that have largely ruined the last two years. I'm not sure if assuming a return to a more normal level of injuries is necessarily logical. Normal for me would be your top regular rotation players missing 2-3 games each on average or maybe 20-25 game days in total from a rotation of 8 or 9. If you don't have a significant longer term injury you can do much better than that.

Last year we lost around 70 games just from Paige and Ice missing the whole season, before even adding in the games , Caroline and Dorka missed for example. This year who knows. AzzisBraids makes great points if we are healthy, which we might be, and I certainly hope for. Aubrey and Ice have issues I am relatively optimistic about, but with Azzi, Paige and Caroline the concerns are greater.

Azzi and Paige have had multiple knee issues, with both now with an ACL. It could just be bad luck, or it could be that they are injury prone. I hope not, but I think the odds of them having further problems is higher than if they had not experienced any problems to this point. Knock on wood.

In Caroline's case the hip surgery was obviously a bigger problem than I thought it would be, but I presume with more time to recover from that it won't be a long term ongoing issue, but the concussions are another matter. That doesn't have a corrective fix to my knowledge, and that makes her more likely to miss more games in the future for the same reason.

The potential gain from better health is enormous. The prediction of better health approaching normal may still be pretty likely, but far less certain than if our players had few injury issues in their past IMO. I hope we don't lose anybody to a season ending injury before the season starts like we have three times in the last two years, I hope Azzi is not having ongoing issues with her knee, that Paige shows pretty early she is close to 100%, that Caroline isn't having any concussion issues, that Ice is fully recovered and ready to go, that Aubrey isn't suffering from lower back issues like she was a couple of times last year, and that none of our other players add a new concern to the list.

Being extremely optimistic if we are healthy I think is warranted, but if you could quantify it, I think the over/under on how many games our rotation players will miss this season would have to be somewhat higher than for most teams due to our history, and with higher uncertainty and standard deviation as well. On the other hand maybe we are due for some good fortune!

 

[SEbluebood]

Agree with the positions in this post, but with a touch more caution. Probably no team can expect more of an increase in production from existing players due to better health. I kind of break this down into two categories. First are players who played last year, but were significantly hampered by injuries, whose contribution this year makes a major jump from playing more minutes and being far more effective per minute they are on the court.

Azzi and Caroline are exhibit A for that category. Relying just from memory, after the first 6 games or so last year Azzi had a PER rating of over 30 and there was All American talk about her. By the end of the season she was down to the low 20's, which means her numbers after coming back from injury were probably no better than about average to pull her overall season numbers down that much. Caroline had a season to season drop-off from around 20 in PER her first year to around 12 her second year. Neither player was anywhere close to what they have previously shown they could be. To a minor extent I might include Aubrey in this. I thought she did very well but could possibly be better two years removed from her back surgery.

The second major category is players that missed the whole year like Paige and Ice. Conceptually you could lump them in with this year's recruits. We had one of the top recruiting classes but if you add Paige and Ice as newcomers nobody else is close. Paige has proved she is a top star if healthy and Ice has the advantage of last summer and part of fall in the Uconn program as an extra head start over other freshmen. Of course Jana has a head start advantage as well.

The concern of course is a return to injuries that have largely ruined the last two years. I'm not sure if assuming a return to a more normal level of injuries is necessarily logical. Normal for me would be your top regular rotation players missing 2-3 games each on average or maybe 20-25 game days in total from a rotation of 8 or 9. If you don't have a significant longer term injury you can do much better than that.

Last year we lost around 70 games just from Paige and Ice missing the whole season, before even adding in the games , Caroline and Dorka missed for example. This year who knows. AzzisBraids makes great points if we are healthy, which we might be, and I certainly hope for. Aubrey and Ice have issues I am relatively optimistic about, but with Azzi, Paige and Caroline the concerns are greater.

Azzi and Paige have had multiple knee issues, with both now with an ACL. It could just be bad luck, or it could be that they are injury prone. I hope not, but I think the odds of them having further problems is higher than if they had not experienced any problems to this point. Knock on wood.

In Caroline's case the hip surgery was obviously a bigger problem than I thought it would be, but I presume with more time to recover from that it won't be a long term ongoing issue, but the concussions are another matter. That doesn't have a corrective fix to my knowledge, and that makes her more likely to miss more games in the future for the same reason.

The potential gain from better health is enormous. The prediction of better health approaching normal may still be pretty likely, but far less certain than if our players had few injury issues in their past IMO. I hope we don't lose anybody to a season ending injury before the season starts like we have three times in the last two years, I hope Azzi is not having ongoing issues with her knee, that Paige shows pretty early she is close to 100%, that Caroline isn't having any concussion issues, that Ice is fully recovered and ready to go, that Aubrey isn't suffering from lower back issues like she was a couple of times last year, and that none of our other players add a new concern to the list.

Being extremely optimistic if we are healthy I think is warranted, but if you could quantify it, I think the over/under on how many games our rotation players will miss this season would have to be somewhat higher than for most teams due to our history, and with higher uncertainty and standard deviation as well. On the other hand maybe we are due for some good fortune!

Agree that the potential gain from returning players is significant. However, the real key is what the Net Gain could be after subtracting the loss of proven production from Lou and Dorka. I think we often underestimate the value of those proven past contributions and believe that they will be easily replaced by potential laden players. While we are all hopeful, I will believe it when I see it… for an entire season!

 

[BobbyJ]

Agree with the positions in this post, but with a touch more caution. Probably no team can expect more of an increase in production from existing players due to better health. I kind of break this down into two categories. First are players who played last year, but were significantly hampered by injuries, whose contribution this year makes a major jump from playing more minutes and being far more effective per minute they are on the court.

Azzi and Caroline are exhibit A for that category. Relying just from memory, after the first 6 games or so last year Azzi had a PER rating of over 30 and there was All American talk about her. By the end of the season she was down to the low 20's, which means her numbers after coming back from injury were probably no better than about average to pull her overall season numbers down that much. Caroline had a season to season drop-off from around 20 in PER her first year to around 12 her second year. Neither player was anywhere close to what they have previously shown they could be. To a minor extent I might include Aubrey in this. I thought she did very well but could possibly be better two years removed from her back surgery.

The second major category is players that missed the whole year like Paige and Ice. Conceptually you could lump them in with this year's recruits. We had one of the top recruiting classes but if you add Paige and Ice as newcomers nobody else is close. Paige has proved she is a top star if healthy and Ice has the advantage of last summer and part of fall in the Uconn program as an extra head start over other freshmen. Of course Jana has a head start advantage as well.

The concern of course is a return to injuries that have largely ruined the last two years. I'm not sure if assuming a return to a more normal level of injuries is necessarily logical. Normal for me would be your top regular rotation players missing 2-3 games each on average or maybe 20-25 game days in total from a rotation of 8 or 9. If you don't have a significant longer term injury you can do much better than that.

Last year we lost around 70 games just from Paige and Ice missing the whole season, before even adding in the games , Caroline and Dorka missed for example. This year who knows. AzzisBraids makes great points if we are healthy, which we might be, and I certainly hope for. Aubrey and Ice have issues I am relatively optimistic about, but with Azzi, Paige and Caroline the concerns are greater.

Azzi and Paige have had multiple knee issues, with both now with an ACL. It could just be bad luck, or it could be that they are injury prone. I hope not, but I think the odds of them having further problems is higher than if they had not experienced any problems to this point. Knock on wood.

In Caroline's case the hip surgery was obviously a bigger problem than I thought it would be, but I presume with more time to recover from that it won't be a long term ongoing issue, but the concussions are another matter. That doesn't have a corrective fix to my knowledge, and that makes her more likely to miss more games in the future for the same reason.

The potential gain from better health is enormous. The prediction of better health approaching normal may still be pretty likely, but far less certain than if our players had few injury issues in their past IMO. I hope we don't lose anybody to a season ending injury before the season starts like we have three times in the last two years, I hope Azzi is not having ongoing issues with her knee, that Paige shows pretty early she is close to 100%, that Caroline isn't having any concussion issues, that Ice is fully recovered and ready to go, that Aubrey isn't suffering from lower back issues like she was a couple of times last year, and that none of our other players add a new concern to the list.

Being extremely optimistic if we are healthy I think is warranted, but if you could quantify it, I think the over/under on how many games our rotation players will miss this season would have to be somewhat higher than for most teams due to our history, and with higher uncertainty and standard deviation as well. On the other hand maybe we are due for some good fortune!

Just an FYI regarding Fudd and Bueckers. The risk of retearing the same ACL after surgery is about 5%. About the same as the risk of tearing it in the first place for all sports except skiing.

How Likely Are You To Tear The Same ACL Twice? — Dr. Bill Sterett

Although you have about a 5% chance of tearing the ACL again, the post-surgery risk is inherently no higher than it was before your first surgery. However, additional factors may raise this probability.

drsterett.com

 

[Bone Dog]

The statement game from last season that most resembles what we might expect this season is the early win over Iowa. No Dorka and Caroline just feeling her way back. Nika shut down Caitlin -- yes, some late baskets, but not a dominant performance (9 of 24) -- and Azzi and Aaliyah had statement games, and Aubrey went 5 for 6 with 6 rebounds. We withstood the best punch Iowa had with Kate Martin having a career shooting night, and then Azzi and Caroline closed it out. Lou played well but hadn't hit her stride yet and it took Caroline until the second half to find her stroke. Czinano had 8 pts (3 of 7) and 7 rebounds vs Aaliyah's 20 pts (10 of 16) 13 rebounds and 6 assists.

This win was with no help for Aaliyah in the post besides Caroline and Ayanna (7 mins), which is probably what we'll see in the big game in Nov-Dec. I'm not concerned at all. By January, Ice and Jana will have stepped up for some solid rotation minutes, and we'll know whether Amari has turned a corner. And Paige will either be her old self in Nov. or she'll be that by Dec. Even without Paige, our lineup was simply too much for one of the teams that played in the NC game. Let's just remember that.

 

[Surly1]

I am so optimistic (barring injuries) for this upcoming UConn team. I've mentioned this in a few posts but UConn was missing some key pieces that honestly feels like we picked up top talent in our own portal in Storrs.

1. Azzi Fudd was a NPOY contender before her injuries. A healthy Azzi Fudd makes UConn a dangerous team.
2. Speaking of NPOY, no other team in the NCAA had one sitting on the bench apart from UConn. Paige's return will remind everyone just who she is and why she always has been and will be, THAT GIRL.
3. Ducharme - I took an Ibuprofen everytime I saw her on the court. A fully healed Ducharme will be the secret weapon in the backcourt with proven clutch performances.
4. Aubrey Griffin was gas pedal for UConn. Her senior year will be her competing for a WNBA roster spot. Expect an athletic show, if fully healthy.
5. Ice Brady is what happens when Morgan Tuck has a pull-up jumper. Imagine that. She's the most imposing weapon not seen yet in the post. She's been frozen on the bench but she will bring the heat this Fall.
6. El-Alfy has seen a UConn been in practice, is comfortable in her apartment and has seen a UConn loss. They are going to deploy her in a number of ways and though from what I've seen she is really raw. Geno et all will bring out the best in her.

KK Arnold, Samuels and Shade do NOT want to sit on the bench. They will compete everyday with the best backcourt and learn so much. The sun is bright in Storrs

*There are other developments but my focus here was on partial, incomplete or missing data form injuries or arrivals on key personnel.

I echo a lot of your sentiments and I am also optimistic for the upcoming season. It is unfortunate that this optimism has to be tempered by acknowledging the injury history of the past two seasons. I am not implying the pattern will continue, simply restating what has transpired.

While other teams have worked the transfer portal to fill in needed gaps or simply refortify their teams, UConn will receive the greatest talent boost by having a healthy roster.

If we look at the past 2 seasons, UConn has played 73 games. Caroline has played in 54, Azzi in 40 and Paige only 17. Now, consider how many games this trio played together. How many of them, if any, when all were fully healthy? The mind boggles waiting for the three to fire on all cylinders. Add in Brady, who was on ice last season, and the potential makes one absolutely giddy.

A healthy return of the above is enough to make a grown man cry. Combined with a sterling freshman class, UConn is ready for all takers. However, I feel there is one final point to address. Any player who comes to UConn is aware of its legacy. They come to UConn to develop their game, be pushed to be the best they can be, and win. For the past 2 seasons, living up to the past weighed on them. The media focused more on writing about the number of ridiculous UConn winning records coming to an end. By implication, the current team wasn't measuring up to the standards laid down by past titans. I am unclear how much of this preyed on the players' minds, but it may have introduced doubt into their individual games.

Fortunately, this year is about creating their own legacy and inclusion to the pantheon of greats.

Give this team a clean bill of health and no other prescription is needed.

 

[sun]

There's always going to be the typical types of injuries & ailments even if mostly due to there being a larger roster.
It's mostly a matter of whether they will happen at critical times during the season or not.
The larger issues are consistency & finding the balance of subs that can step in without the team losing too much efficiency & performance.
Nearly everyone on the team has had consistency issues at some point that hopefully can be overcome with the help of bench depth.
Some returning players can improve but even if they don't, there's bound to be a freshmen or even a returning player who will be a sleeper, someone who isn't expected to contribute as much but will because of the need for balance, when either the ailments or the consistency bug hits.
The best way to prevent recurring injuries & to improve consistency is to keep players fresh & not to let them get too fatigued when it's not really necessary.
I'm optimistic about the team's potential bench depth but it needs to be utilized & developed to be a benefit.
Paige & Azzi shouldn't need to carry the team each & every game for the whole season, that would be putting a big burden on them & maybe even cause them to end up playing with some ailments.
I don't want our stars to be hobbled at the end of the season like when it happened to Lou.

 

[oldhusky]

I echo a lot of your sentiments and I am also optimistic for the upcoming season. It is unfortunate that this optimism has to be tempered by acknowledging the injury history of the past two seasons. I am not implying the pattern will continue, simply restating what has transpired.

While other teams have worked the transfer portal to fill in needed gaps or simply refortify their teams, UConn will receive the greatest talent boost by having a healthy roster.

If we look at the past 2 seasons, UConn has played 73 games. Caroline has played in 54, Azzi in 40 and Paige only 17. Now, consider how many games this trio played together. How many of them, if any, when all were fully healthy? The mind boggles waiting for the three to fire on all cylinders. Add in Brady, who was on ice last season, and the potential makes one absolutely giddy.

A healthy return of the above is enough to make a grown man cry. Combined with a sterling freshman class, UConn is ready for all takers. However, I feel there is one final point to address. Any player who comes to UConn is aware of its legacy. They come to UConn to develop their game, be pushed to be the best they can be, and win. For the past 2 seasons, living up to the past weighed on them. The media focused more on writing about the number of ridiculous UConn winning records coming to an end. By implication, the current team wasn't measuring up to the standards laid down by past titans. I am unclear how much of this preyed on the players' minds, but it may have introduced doubt into their individual games.

Fortunately, this year is about creating their own legacy and inclusion to the pantheon of greats.

Give this team a clean bill of health and no other prescription is needed.

Regarding how many games they have played together healthy in the last two years, at least for Paige and Azzi, I think the answer is zero. Paige was only healthy for the first 6 games of 21/22 when Azzi was not, and Azzi was only healthy for the first 6 games of 22/23. The dynamic duo we expected for a full three seasons, will get their first chance to be healthy together in this their third year, a concept that would have been unimaginable heading into their first year together on campus.

 

[SEbluebood]

The statement game from last season that most resembles what we might expect this season is the early win over Iowa. No Dorka and Caroline just feeling her way back. Nika shut down Caitlin -- yes, some late baskets, but not a dominant performance (9 of 24) -- and Azzi and Aaliyah had statement games, and Aubrey went 5 for 6 with 6 rebounds. We withstood the best punch Iowa had with Kate Martin having a career shooting night, and then Azzi and Caroline closed it out. Lou played well but hadn't hit her stride yet and it took Caroline until the second half to find her stroke. Czinano had 8 pts (3 of 7) and 7 rebounds vs Aaliyah's 20 pts (10 of 16) 13 rebounds and 6 assists.

This win was with no help for Aaliyah in the post besides Caroline and Ayanna (7 mins), which is probably what we'll see in the big game in Nov-Dec. I'm not concerned at all. By January, Ice and Jana will have stepped up for some solid rotation minutes, and we'll know whether Amari has turned a corner. And Paige will either be her old self in Nov. or she'll be that by Dec. Even without Paige, our lineup was simply too much for one of the teams that played in the NC game. Let's just remember that.

I guess this is what makes this off-season discussion so interesting and gives us something to do. All you write about of the statement game is true. What is equally true is that same line-up PLUS Dorka got trounced by OSU. That’s the problem with one game sample sizes. What we are all pondering is which version of the Huskies will we get next year? Can’t get there fast enough to find out!!

 

[wingsfan055]

I think next year will be UConn's best chance to win a Title for a long time. After next year, we'll probably lose AE,, Paige. Aubrey, Nika and maybe even Fudd. Geno's left to build around a very unproven core with no dominant Bigs. The hope is that Geno's recent recruits will excel, but as we know, players don't often live up to expectations.

 

[baggerbob]

Stewie continues to show why she is one of a kind. Two plays the other day, gets the block brings the ball up almost to the free throw line, passes to Sloot, and gets the return for the basket.
Later grabs the defensive rebound, and dribbles length of the floor for layup and 1.

 

[Skeets]

Covered

*There are other developments but my focus here was on partial, incomplete or missing data form injuries or arrivals on key personnel.

Well, OK. I almost buy that. However, Griffin does not fit into any of those categories and for a very brief period of time Nika was in concussion protocol. Insufficient missing data? You could make that argument...

 

[Cuango]

I think next year will be UConn's best chance to win a Title for a long time. After next year, we'll probably lose AE,, Paige. Aubrey, Nika and maybe even Fudd. Geno's left to build around a very unproven core with no dominant Bigs. The hope is that Geno's recent recruits will excel, but as we know, players don't often live up to expectations.

I agree that AE and Aubrey will be one but I believe PB, & possibly Nika will stay for one more year. Assuming they are healthy of course! Paige and Azzi are already making investable money and I think they will want to put down a bigger footprint at UConn before they leave.

 

[#12in21]

No question that if those that were either out ( Paige and Ice) and those that were not 100% ( Azzi, Caroline and to some degree Aubrey) are back at there best coupled with a exceptional freshman class - next season has the potential to be tremendous.

One thing not to be overlooked is the return of seniors Nika and Aaliyah who both will hopefully build on the career years they had last season. I would add Aubrey to that list as well, even while being hampered with back spasms she had an exceptionsl season.

 

[AzzisBraids]

Well, OK. I almost buy that. However, Griffin does not fit into any of those categories and for a very brief period of time Nika was in concussion protocol. Insufficient missing data? You could make that argument...

if you're looking to argue, I agree, yes you could. Griffins back spasms started back up late in the season and she did not look the same. She needed ice and heat at every time out. Nika was in concussion protocol for one game, so I left her out.

 

[The CDR-Ret]

I think they mean the best for this team. Obviously nothing will ever top 2013-16.

Unless....five NC's in a row starting in 2024....

Time for someone to say, "We're DOOMED!!!

 

[southofnorth]

Just an FYI regarding Fudd and Bueckers. The risk of retearing the same ACL after surgery is about 5%. About the same as the risk of tearing it in the first place for all sports except skiing.

How Likely Are You To Tear The Same ACL Twice? — Dr. Bill Sterett

Although you have about a 5% chance of tearing the ACL again, the post-surgery risk is inherently no higher than it was before your first surgery. However, additional factors may raise this probability.

drsterett.com

Not to be a downer, but this is not necessarily true and depends on a number of factors including the sport played and how soon the player returns to the sport/strenuous activity--studies say a re-tear is possible anywhere from 2-20% depending on a host of factors that include genetics. It also depends on the length of time injuries are reported from the initial injury (i.e., much more likely to have a second ACL injury when measuring over 15 years than only 5 years).

Young Athletes Who Return to Sport Before 9 Months After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Have a Rate of New Injury 7 Times That of Those Who Delay Return

Risk of Secondary Injury in Younger Athletes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Incidence and Predictors of Second Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury After Primary Reconstruction and Return to Sport

3 Things Most People Don’t Know About ACL Surgery

What Are the Chances of Retearing Your ACL After Surgery?

 

[meyers7]

Well, OK. I almost buy that. However, Griffin does not fit into any of those categories and for a very brief period of time Nika was in concussion protocol. Insufficient missing data? You could make that argument...

Seemed pretty clear to me. And you didn't ask about Griffin. You asked about Muhl who played all but one game and Bettencourt who I don't remember being injured at all. I don't think you could make a very good argument. Or really one at all.

 

[Bone Dog]

Since people have mentioned it, I think Aubrey’s back was an issue all season. She just played through it. A remarkably tough kid. Geno described practices early in the season when she’d play hard for stretches and then lie on the floor to rest her back. I suspect playing 30-40 mins/g exacerbated the problem.

But if we have a solid rotation and she doesn’t have to play more than 20 mins/g I predict she’ll have a great season. And this suits her style better too. She’s most effective as a sprinter, not a long distance runner, so to speak. She’s the fuel you throw on the fire in the middle of the bbq. Flame on!