The Bigs look good for this season

[Bone Dog]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Post-adjacent ... I like that!

 

[yhun89]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

Allie is 6’1??? I thought she was 5’10.

 

[Huskee11]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

The offense will largely be what it always is. There may be an emphasis on spreading the floor to open the lane for driving and take advantage of three point strength at all positions, while on other occasions taking advantage of Jana and Sarah posting up inside.

On defense, the roster depth finally gives Geno an opportunity to play a suffocating full court press, speed the game up and tire the opponent out, and run, run, run, looking for layups and transition threes. It will be fun to watch.

 

[oldude]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

Aubrey is more like 6’1” and every bit capable of matching up with opposing forwards or centers.

 

[Skeets]

Post-adjacent ... I like that!

Me too. Nika was post-adjacent. Paige is always post-adjacent. Shade sticks her nose in there too. She's a tough kid.

 

[Bigboote]

Me too. Nika was post-adjacent. Paige is always post-adjacent. Shade sticks her nose in there too. She's a tough kid.

"I'm not 4-5, I'm 5-11, I can switch on posts."

 

[DEpup]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

Post adjacent is great!

 

[Gus Mahler]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

I too like "post-adjacent." Clever.

 

[hoophuskee]

The offense will largely be what it always is. There may be an emphasis on spreading the floor to open the lane for driving and take advantage of three point strength at all positions, while on other occasions taking advantage of Jana and Sarah posting up inside.

On defense, the roster depth finally gives Geno an opportunity to play a suffocating full court press, speed the game up and tire the opponent out, and run, run, run, looking for layups and transition threes. It will be fun to watch.

Press agaianst the bad teams. Not much or sparingly vs the good ones.

 

[stamfordhusky]

Allie is 6’1??? I thought she was 5’10.

She is 6’0”.

 

[Skeets]

I too like "post-adjacent." Clever.

A new basketball phrase has just been coined.

 

[Steelerone]

Not sure if anything under 6'3 or 6'4 should be considered "big" anymore. Like the men's side the women's physical sizes are changing with each generation. I think of 6'6 or more in terms of "big" for the women now.

 

[Alydar]

UConn will be big again this year. We have size and speed and outside shooting to give any team a tough time. Here’s the potential post players by size:

• Jana 6’5”
• Ice 6’3”
• Sarah 6’3” (or maybe 6’2”)
• Ayanna 6’2”

And post-adjacent players:

• Caroline 6’2”
• Morgan 6’2”
• Aubrey 6’0”

And long tall guards:

• Q 6’1”
• Allie 6’1”
• Paige 6’0”
• Azzi 5’11”

This is a lot of talent for a position that has seemed undersized in recent years. And that talent is going to loom even larger once Geno forms them up in tandem with the perimeter shooting talent he will have.

Any forecasts about what sort of offensive and defensive schemes we’re likely to see?

Lots of high post offense. Strong is an outstanding passer and can drive from the post or step back for a 3. Brady showed a lot of that late last year. El Alfy's size and that baby hook should be very effective down low but she also seems to have the tools to play high.
With Geno able to put 2 4/5's on the court together for 40 minutes the guards can take more chances on defense. Last year Geno had ten 4/5 fouls per game. (Brady & Edwards) This year he has twenty fouls. I can't say what schemes we'll see but I do think they'll be both more aggressive and more up-tempo.

 

[Bone Dog]

Lots of high post offense. Strong is an outstanding passer and can drive from the post or step back for a 3. Brady showed a lot of that late last year. El Alfy's size and that baby hook should be very effective down low but she also seems to have the tools to play high.
With Geno able to put 2 4/5's on the court together for 40 minutes the guards can take more chances on defense. Last year Geno had ten 4/5 fouls per game. (Brady & Edwards) This year he has twenty fouls. I can't say what schemes we'll see but I do think they'll be both more aggressive and more up-tempo.

I expect fouls will be a problem for Jana and maybe Sarah initially. I just hope they’re mainly defensive fouls, because their offense is too good and tends to the aggressive side. Jana was nimble enough last summer to charge down the lane without getting charges. I hope she keeps bringing this every game. A big who can drive the lane hard can be pretty intimidating.

A lot depends on Ice having learned to avoid foul trouble from the end of last season. If she does, I sure hope Ayanna is available right away. That depth could be really important in November.

And there’s a way it could be useful if Geno has an excuse to use his full frontcourt depth in November. Getting some fouls in the early games could be important if it’s part of the learning curve — better it happen then as opposed to later.

 

[oldhusky]

She is 6’0”.

She was listed on ESPN for what seemed like forever at 5-10 even though it was pretty much common knowledge that she was around 6 feet, and was shown closer to her actual height on several other sites. They also underrepresented Caroline's height for a long time a few years back.

 

[Forego]

I am looking at this through the other end of the telescope. Instead of post-adjacent players I would prefer some 6’4” - 6’6” post players that are perimeter-adjacent like Stewie or Rebecca. There are exceptions of course like Gabby Williams who can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

 

[tower1]

Post adjacent is great!

No Uconn is not a big team. We only have 1 player that is taller than 6' . So stop claiming that we are a big team. We are going to be a tough team because our players are strong and tough!

 

[Cornell Lt]

No Uconn is not a big team. We only have 1 player that is taller than 6' . So stop claiming that we are a big team. We are going to be a tough team because our players are strong and tough!

Hmm I guess the 7 listed on the roster that are 6'1" or taller are a figment of our imagination

 

[hookshot]

No Uconn is not a big team. We only have 1 player that is taller than 6' . So stop claiming that we are a big team. We are going to be a tough team because our players are strong and tough!

No Uconn is not a big team. We only have 1 player that is taller than 6' . So stop claiming that we are a big team. We are going to be a tough team because our players are strong and tough!

 

[hookshot]

The view from the Tower may be distorted

 

[EricLA]

Aubrey is more like 6’1” and every bit capable of matching up with opposing forwards or centers.

I think Aubrey and Azzi still aren't ready. I wouldn't expect much, if anything, from them before January... Fingers crossed that they both can contribute meaningfully this season...