The Freshmen

[Dooooooomed]

I don't see Evina not starting.

 

[Steelerone]

Have to think Paige starts in place of Crystal. Then I say Megan and Olivia and most likely Christyn have starting Slot. I have to think the Westbrook has too much talent to come off the bench. My starters in order of how sure who the starters will be.

Megan Walker
Olivia Nelson-Ododa
Paige Bueckers
Evina Westbrook
Christyn Williams.

Under normal circumstances I would have Westbrook ahead of Paige, but I think the team needs a PG that can distribute the ball and even as a Freshmen, I think Paige will be better then Anna Makurat, That's a Nice Lineup.

I'm not sure that by next season Westbrook could start ahead of Aubrey and we don't really have a read on the other freshmen. Of the players you posted the only two who I feel are assured of starting are Walker and Ododa. Won't it be an interesting summer in the boneyard?

 

[tchalla1]

Makurat's been a better player than Christyn Williams for more than a month now. I wouldn't have believed it, but if she doesn't show something better than this, I don't know why CW starts.

AMEN.

 

[hoopsfan22]

I'm not sure that by next season Westbrook could start ahead of Aubrey and we don't really have a read on the other freshmen. Of the players you posted the only two who I feel are assured of starting are Walker and Ododa. Won't it be an interesting summer in the boneyard?

Geno is going to maintain the status quo. He only has to replace one player in his starting line up, and it just so happens we have a player who will have three years of collegiate basketball under her belt available at the same position that he needs to replace. This decision is easy.

 

[Steelerone]

Makurat's been a better player than Christyn Williams for more than a month now. I wouldn't have believed it, but if she doesn't show something better than this, I don't know why CW starts.

Great point Slu. I would rather have a player who hits 300 for the entire year that one who hits 400 every fifth week and 210 the other four.

 

[hoophuskee]

But I doubt if she would have started a lot of games without Mel Thomas and Kalana Greene having knee failures. Diana didn't start many games as a frosh.

I don't agree about your point on Maya at all. Maya played a lot of PF in her career. He would've taken Charde's spot and eventually given it to Maya. Though he did love Hunter. But she should never have started. The lienup should've been Maya starting at PF.

And in regards to DT-- I don't agree with your point of comparing this situation to hers. There were 3 A/A's ahead of her. Secondly, that team won a title the prior year. UCONN didn't lose a thing from pg/sg/sf when DT was a frosh. IMO the DT situation vs Paige aren't even close to being the same. So if UCONN wins a championship this year and Danger comes back (which she can't) -- then I agree Paige is probably not starting. But that starting unit is impossible to happen.

 

[Steelerone]

sitting Bueckers as a freshman would be a sin of epic proportions.................like taking the paint brushes from a young Picasso........

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie - Megan and Christyn both came in as top ranked players in their class. I can't remember them finishing their freshmen year with any great accolades. Like all the rest of the boneyard I hope she is everything perceived but jumping from high school in Minnesota to the Big East and some of the schools Uconn schedules can be a huge adjustment for even the best players.

 

[Charliebball]

I have no idea who will start overall. A lot of that has to do with Geno. A few years ago he chose not to start Stevens who was better than Danger because he must've felt Danger was "the better fit." For example I thought it possible to have Nurse start games at PG. So imo no one knows what Geno feels will be "the best fit."You're just as right as anyone else.

In addition, Geno is a big Celts fan of the past. He loves having a 6th man as a huge weapon sometimes. No one can predict if he wants that.

But I will say this: It is extremely extremely extremely rare that a junior (last year I'm referencing Paige) is considered in some publications better than any junior or senior. from people who saw many games of the top players That's "rarefied air." And I see some tremendous freshmen this year. I'm not going to close my eyes to this. I know it can be considered "hype" and if you are from "the state of Missouri" then you won't believe it until you see it no matter what.

But for others as a counter point- they know what they think they see and what if they agree with the publications (some of the people that have seen many of the top kids play a lot-- much more than you and I.) that say that Paige is better than all the college freshmen of this year based on last year's performance? If they believe what they see with their own eyes-- then to them it's not "hype." Thus anyone having a view of "show me first then I'll believe" - they've haven't seen her play much while the ones who believe have for maybe even up to a few years and have seen her play with and against college kids (such as the freshmen this year.) - the show me's will never believe. Yet the publications and many who have seen Paige and many others play - they are "telling you" that Paige "is the hype." They've seen them a lot more than me. That counts to some degree.

as I've said countless times since first seeing PB play a few years ago...........I believe she would have started for the majority of college teams as a sophomore in high school..........just for fun here's Bueckers as a freshman in high school............she was already playing well beyond her years

Freshman PG Paige Bueckers Mixtape With North Tartan @ AAU State Qualifier!

Class of 2020 (MN)

www.courtsidefilms.com

 

[hoopsfan22]

as I've said countless times since first seeing PB play a few years ago...........I believe she would have started for the majority of college teams as a sophomore in high school......

Disagree. There's a world of difference between high school competition and collegiate competition just as there is a world of difference between the college and pro levels.

 

[chrissaran]

Breanna had even more upside than Paige. Breanna wound up on the bench, and she wasn't great until the tournament.

 

[Charliebball]

Disagree. There's a world of difference between high school competition and collegiate competition just as there is a world of difference between the college and pro levels.

if you don't see the greatness in this kid now you'll see it next year.........she may need to add some muscle but in most respects she's not just ready to play against college players she's ready to dominate them..........

 

[eebmg]

Great point Slu. I would rather have a player who hits 300 for the entire year that one who hits 400 every fifth week and 210 the other four.

Not in the new MLB.

 

[Charliebball]

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie - Megan and Christyn both came in as top ranked players in their class. I can't remember them finishing their freshmen year with any great accolades. Like all the rest of the boneyard I hope she is everything perceived but jumping from high school in Minnesota to the Big East and some of the schools Uconn schedules can be a huge adjustment for even the best players.

she's just a different kind of player then those two............she can take over a game without scoring a point...............her passing ability is simply uncanny and with the quality of players she will be playing with it will translate from day one..............

 

[hoopsdiva]

Geno won't start a freshman unless he has to, and he won't have to next year as he'll have enough players with experience to fill a starting lineup. Next year will be an older team with two seniors (Evina and Megan), two juniors (CW and ONO), and a sophomore (Anna) starting. Geno only has to replace Crystal, and he'll have a senior in Westbrook that can do that. Aubrey will be the first "big" off the bench, and Paige will be the first guard off the bench. The rest of the newcomers will play as opportunities arise.

I think Edwards is also going to get some significant non-garbage minutes. Not sure where Gabriel, Muhl and McClean fit in. I guess it will depend on how quickly they learn the system.

 

[victor64]

I love watching Aubrey play as much as the next person but unless she develops another way to score besides free throws and layup and improves her understanding of "where she supposed to be", it is possible, though remote that she could see a decrease in minutes. She passed up at least two wide open jumpers insides the key today.

 

[hoopsfan22]

if you don't see the greatness in this kid now you'll see it next year.........she may need to add some muscle but in most respects she's not just ready to play against college players she's ready to dominate them..........

What leads you to believe this? I've watched the videos posted here, and haven't been blown away. She's great at no look passes, but so was Crystal when she first got here, and you can count on one hand how many of those we've seen since her freshman season. I feel a bit let down after Megan and CW were dubbed the next big things only to underwhelm for the most part so far.

 

[Charliebball]

What leads you to believe this? I've watched the videos posted here, and haven't been blown away. She's great at no look passes, but so was Crystal when she first got here, and you can count on one hand how many of those we've seen since her freshman season. I feel a bit let down after Megan and CW were dubbed the next big things only to underwhelm for the most part so far.

granted I don't go back much more then a decade in closely observing women's high school talent but PB is the most impressive high school player at her position I've ever seen................if you don't see the creativity, timing and precision in her passing never mind the rest of her offensive game then I'm afraid I can't help you.............frankly the #1 ranking is one of the least important things about Paige Bueckers as far as I'm concerned............

 

[hoophuskee]

Charlie, Charlie, Charlie - Megan and Christyn both came in as top ranked players in their class. I can't remember them finishing their freshmen year with any great accolades. Like all the rest of the boneyard I hope she is everything perceived but jumping from high school in Minnesota to the Big East and some of the schools Uconn schedules can be a huge adjustment for even the best players.

IMO there is a better way to look at this. It's what I mentioned on a prior post. Look back historically at whenever a junior is regarded by many/most publications as the best H/S player - how did they turnout? I don;t know. But the names of Parker and Maya come to mind. Was Stewie considered the best as junior too?

 

[UcMiami]

Breanna started and scored more points in her first 10 games than any freshman at Uconn ever - she went into a tailspin from there and did not start for a month or so until she finally got her head straight and rejoined the starting line-up.

Maya did not join the starting lineup in her freshman year until injuries decimated the starters - she did play a ton of minutes and was the teams leading scorer from the beginning of her freshman year as the super sub.

DT did not start her freshman year on a loaded team until Sveta went down in game 17 I believe - she was getting solid minutes before she started.

Sue, Nicole, Renee, Bria, and Crystal all started as freshman because they were much better point guards than what were returning and they did very well. Kelly, Kia, and Christyn started as freshman for the same reason.

We do not have a PG that has played a minute of Uconn basketball next year and Geno loves true point guards. Evina is maybe a combo guard at best a 2 guard probably more naturally. Admittedly TN offense was nasty but Evina did lead the team in assists with 163 as a sophomore, but also had 101 TOs (she had 121 as a freshman.) I certainly cannot name the last player at Uconn who had 100 turnovers in a season let alone a PG who made it to triple digits. And Evina has only been on the floor a a few practices at Uconn so while I am sure she has learned a lot watching and listening she certainly doesn't have '3 years of college experience.'

Christyn has started every game she has played at Uconn but 1. She is #8 on the Uconn freshman scoring list. She may not be very popular with posters, but her stats are good and she does play solid defense and Geno trusts her. I do not see her playing 30+ minutes next year as she has for her first 2 years, but I suspect she will start the year as a starter.

For Aubrey to start, she would need a huge jump in her jump shooting. She had a fabulous game today and yet she shot 33% from 3 feet and 65% on her FTs.

Anna for the last month has been starting and playing well - took her a while to find her groove within the offense but she has found it and is playing really well. She is a big body which adds value to an otherwise undersized team this year. She has probably shown enough to get first shot at starting next year at 2G.

All that said I think it comes down to Evina and Page for the 5th starter game one next year and I have no idea who gets it. And I also don't know who will get the most minutes but I suspect no one will be logging more than average of 28. I think there is enough talent coming in that every one of the returners will see their minutes drop. Right now Walker, Williams and Dangerfield are all above 34 minutes.

 

[JoePgh]

I'm not sure, but it seems that many of you who are discussing next year's starting lineup are ignoring the most obvious fact: Geno himself surely has absolutely no idea at this point who the starting five will be or how the minutes will be distributed. That will all be determined between October 15 and the first game that counts. He and all the coaches need to keep a completely open mind about how that will turn out. They know that, and I am sure that they will.

 

[DefenseBB]

sitting Bueckers as a freshman would be a sin of epic proportions.................like taking the paint brushes from a young Picasso........

Ok now I hit my tolerance. No, Just NO it would not be a sin of epic proportions! Seriously, people need to be realistic. Evina was a 2-year starter at one of the most storied top 3 programs in the History of WCBB who averaged 15 points per game against top D1 competition. She was #2 ranked player in her class. She has PROVEN HER SKILLS against collegians. Paige for all her accolades and potential will get significant playing time early and often BUT IT IS NOT A FOREGONE conclusion she will start.
We will be deep and talented and time and a talent will price who will be starters by the time the Big East Tournament starts. Maybe it could be Paige but my guess is Geno does not want to put that burden on her so soon with correct perspective.
While I love all the Paige enthusiasm, let’s be fair and see how it plays out and BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED. Stop with the excessive hyperbole. And yes Charlie that especially includes you!
I do believe Paige is the best recruit since Breanna but she will not be THE PLAYER day 1. Day 110 maybe...

 

[UcMiami]

IMO there is a better way to look at this. It's what I mentioned on a prior post. Look back historically at whenever a junior is regarded by many/most publications as the best H/S player - how did they turnout? I don;t know. But the names of Parker and Maya come to mind. Was Stewie considered the best as junior too?

There is definitely a difference between #1 ranked players coming out of HS and it is not always apparent even in this modern era of everyone tracking junior HS kids through HS. Some of the issue can be the result of college coaching, but mostly it is that maybe one year in 5 there is an exceptional HS player headed to college Maya, Parker, EDD, Griner, Stewart are the ones that stood out from early in HS and everyone knew they were going to be Great. DT didn't actually separate from her HS classmates, but with Geno and as a pro has become special. Ionescu was ranked 4th (Cox, Holmes, and Dangerfield were #1-3) in HS but is clearly the best player in her college class.

The other #1 players are more like Lou and KML and Christyn and Walker and ... with good college coaching and good teammates and good health they can be very good, or they can have plateaued in HS and be passed by peers who continue to develop, but for whatever reason they don't separate themselves from their age mates.

 

[BobbyJ]

Breanna started and scored more points in her first 10 games than any freshman at Uconn ever - she went into a tailspin from there and did not start for a month or so until she finally got her head straight and rejoined the starting line-up.

Maya did not join the starting lineup in her freshman year until injuries decimated the starters - she did play a ton of minutes and was the teams leading scorer from the beginning of her freshman year as the super sub.

DT did not start her freshman year on a loaded team until Sveta went down in game 17 I believe - she was getting solid minutes before she started.

Sue, Nicole, Renee, Bria, and Crystal all started as freshman because they were much better point guards than what were returning and they did very well. Kelly, Kia, and Christyn started as freshman for the same reason.

We do not have a PG that has played a minute of Uconn basketball next year and Geno loves true point guards. Evina is maybe a combo guard at best a 2 guard probably more naturally. Admittedly TN offense was nasty but Evina did lead the team in assists with 163 as a sophomore, but also had 101 TOs (she had 121 as a freshman.) I certainly cannot name the last player at Uconn who had 100 turnovers in a season let alone a PG who made it to triple digits. And Evina has only been on the floor a a few practices at Uconn so while I am sure she has learned a lot watching and listening she certainly doesn't have '3 years of college experience.'

Christyn has started every game she has played at Uconn but 1. She is #8 on the Uconn freshman scoring list. She may not be very popular with posters, but her stats are good and she does play solid defense and Geno trusts her. I do not see her playing 30+ minutes next year as she has for her first 2 years, but I suspect she will start the year as a starter.

For Aubrey to start, she would need a huge jump in her jump shooting. She had a fabulous game today and yet she shot 33% from 3 feet and 65% on her FTs.

Anna for the last month has been starting and playing well - took her a while to find her groove within the offense but she has found it and is playing really well. She is a big body which adds value to an otherwise undersized team this year. She has probably shown enough to get first shot at starting next year at 2G.

All that said I think it comes down to Evina and Page for the 5th starter game one next year and I have no idea who gets it. And I also don't know who will get the most minutes but I suspect no one will be logging more than average of 28. I think there is enough talent coming in that every one of the returners will see their minutes drop. Right now Walker, Williams and Dangerfield are all above 34 minutes.

Good points. I don’t believe that Auriemma cares if the kid is a freshman or not. IMO, Bueckers is much further advanced both mentally and physically than any HS PG I’ve seen in a long time and if she picks up his offensive concepts and grabs control of that offense at the start of practice, she’ll play a lot. IMO, the faster pace and more open court because of the better spacing will actually make her more dangerous. I think she’s at the level of Bird coming out of HS and has the chance to have Bird’s type of college career also.

 

[hoophuskee]

DT didn't actually separate from her HS classmates,

I think she did. I can recall when UCONN got her she was spoken of as "once-in-a-decade" type player. I know there was talk of that she might not be the best some suggested Ashley Robinson was better. Hard to tell back then but it turned out that it was a joke.

Also there was some significant anti-UCONN sentiment. Mel Fortner I think (maybe someone else) said some pretty outrageously stupid things about DT as a high school player. What former coach slams a kid coming out of high school in the manner she did? IMO it was to downplay UCONN.

But from what I remember- DT was thought of mostly as amazing once-in-decade type.

 

[donalddoowop]

I'm not sure that by next season Westbrook could start ahead of Aubrey and we don't really have a read on the other freshmen. Of the players you posted the only two who I feel are assured of starting are Walker and Ododa. Won't it be an interesting summer in the boneyard?

Did you ever see Westbrook play? She has the potential to be a special player. Playing for Tennessee hindered her growth as a player. Turnovers? Anyone could see whoever plays for UT will commit a number of turnovers with their unstructured offense and lack of good coaching. I believe Bueckers is better than most, if not all, of the really good freshman guards who are having successful seasons this season.