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The freshmen

MilfordHusky

MilfordHusky

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Updated shooting stats from the frosh:

KK: 54/40/66.

Ash: 54/37/100.

Q: 48/42/75.

I'd love to see them keep those numbers up for the entire season--and have KK improve her FT shooting, because she will get lots of FTAs.

After last night's game, the team is shooting 51/38/72 on the season. I'd like to see the FT shooting improve, especially Paige and KK. P is at 53/48/79. Her FT shooting should be at 85+.
 
I think when there's a lot of turmoil and associated pressure, free throw shooting declines. Now that the rotation is beginning to settle down, I expect the FT percentage to go up.

Paige and Aaliyah are normally very consistent. Aaliyah's was 77% last year and it's only 68% so far this season. I expect her to settle in right around 80%. And Paige will end up around 86% for the year up from her current 79%. And Nika should end up around 72%. KK is the one who needs to settle down at the line, since she's likely to end up there a lot this season the way she plays.
 
MilfordHusky said:
Updated shooting stats from the frosh:

KK: 54/40/66.

Ash: 54/37/100.

Q: 48/42/75.

I'd love to see them keep those numbers up for the entire season--and have KK improve her FT shooting, because she will get lots of FTAs.

After last night's game, the team is shooting 51/38/72 on the season. I'd like to see the FT shooting improve, especially Paige and KK. P is at 53/48/79. Her FT shooting should be at 85+.
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The best thing that can happen to the Freshmen this year is they will only get better the more they play. Uconn's starting five has come together very early in the season, much to their benefit and the rest of the season is looking very good.IF Paige and Aaliyah decide to use their Covid year, Uconn will have a serious run at the NC's the next 4 years and another dynasty? GO HUSKIES!!!!!
 
I have to agree with you all. As the season progresses, the players shooting, especially the free-throws, will get better. A lot will depend on the players getting extra shots up after practice.
 
JellyBean said:
I have to agree with you all. As the season progresses, the players shooting, especially the free-throws, will get better. A lot will depend on the players getting extra shots up after practice.
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I would think FT shooting could improve but FG and 3P shooting will get worse as they play better teams in conference. The one thing that is good and bad for UConn is the better teams in the Big East are pretty good match ups as far as height goes so UConn should win. The guards however will be having to shoot with people in their face and that tends to make the percentages lower.
 
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oldude said:
To paraphrase one of Geno’s favorite comments, “Right now the freshmen are as bad as they will ever be…..” :)
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Only 12 games in and they are this good already, that's really scary when you think of it. For the UConn fans it's a good kind of scary, for their opponents it's a very bad kind of scary....;)
 
The freshmen are good. KK and Ash leading the charge is giving other teams much food for thought.

Qadence and Ice are getting there.

All four will improve as the season goes on. The chemistry is still evolving game by game. The TMU games was a good confidence builder for the freshmen.

Geno and the staff are working their magic on the team. It will be a fun ride with a couple of bumps along the way.
 
The Freshman are very good and will only get better. However, without significant progress from Ice Brady, the team upside is very limited. Especially with Paige taking single digit field goal attempts.

The other two issues are poor rebounding, which can only be improved by further Ice development, and the poor free throw shooting which there is really no excuse for.
 
This team has the genesis of a machine that after a small tune-up will be a powerhouse of scoring with stingy defense and cohesiveness of the players into a juggernaut that will cause havoc in the league and elsewhere.The future for Uconn is indeed bright and the NC is in their future. Once Uconn gets past Marquette and Creighton with wins , they will be solidified into the team this group of players are destined to be, FORMIDABLE . GO HUSKIES!!!!
 
MSGRET said:
Only 12 games in and they are this good already, that's really scary when you think of it. For the UConn fans it's a good kind of scary, for their opponents it's a very bad kind of scary....;)
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It's scary in view of the next 4 years. It may not be scary enough to salvage this year's NC run.

But I will keep on hoping, because who thought a Paige held together with Duct tape could have carried UConn to the NC game two season's ago? One thing I have learned is not to put anything past Paige.
 
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Bone Dog said:
It's scary in view of the next 4 years. It may not be scary enough to salvage this year's NC run.

But I will keep on hoping, because who thought a Paige held together with Duct tape could have carried UConn to the NC game two season's ago? One thing I have learned is not to put anything past Paige.
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I agree. We saw Taurasi do it her junior year. Just about single handily dragged the team to an NC. So, don't put it past Paige. To keep this on topic, where would UConn be if these were just average freshmen? Luck for UConn they are "ready to play" freshmen.
 
The freshmen's quick progress can also be attributed to senior leadership. Aubrey, Paige, Aaliyah and Nika have encouraged the freshmen to be more assertive and shoot when open. I think they have heard that enough from Geno. Since they are so talented, it easy to see the result. The freshmen prior to Paige's class were a lot more tentative and deferred more to the upper classmates. I remembered when, as a freshman, Paige told Saylor to shoot every time she touched the ball during her first outing and Geno was a little irritated... perhaps because the ball didn't go in...
 
Gotta wonder if past first-years might have shown similar development had they had the opportunity to play many minutes. Likely that players play looser and freer when they figure that mistakes are not going to lose them playing time. So can coaches find a way to "free up" their frosh , not just when players are injured and the coach has no choice? Seems to me that coaches should be able to figure that out. Painful to watch talented recruits, used to playing most minutes in games, wallowing on the bench, given a couple of minutes here and there. Players successfully stepping in, when coaches have no choice, is nothing new in sport .Think of Earl Morrall stepping in for Unitas and Griese. Who?
 
jcoton56 said:
Setting aside proficiency, efficiency and chemistry for a moment, I find this group of players to be extremely entertaining to watch. I think attendance will continue to be solid, home and away. These guys are just plain fun no?
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Maybe, if they keep winning...
 
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boontonbomber said:
Gotta wonder if past first-years might have shown similar development had they had the opportunity to play many minutes. Likely that players play looser and freer when they figure that mistakes are not going to lose them playing time. So can coaches find a way to "free up" their frosh , not just when players are injured and the coach has no choice? Seems to me that coaches should be able to figure that out. Painful to watch talented recruits, used to playing most minutes in games, wallowing on the bench, given a couple of minutes here and there. Players successfully stepping in, when coaches have no choice, is nothing new in sport .Think of Earl Morrall stepping in for Unitas and Griese. Who?
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Maybe, but Geno knows exactly what he has from practicing with these kids. Only in rare instances will game performance change from practice performance. What is fair game for discussion is when a super freshman does not start in favor of an upper classman. I can think of a few who should have been starters from game #1. Thankfully Paige did not sit.

George Blanda, now that was entertainment (hero of old people).
 
Of course, it is all speculation. Right now there is a solid 6 player rotation with the two frosh. IMHO Q is going to be the 7th player to make a difference. In fact, she already has. She scored lots of points in a few games. Ice has not. Q plays better D than Ice. Q has mixed it up down low and has battled for important rebounds. Ice likes to hang around the foul line (like Amari.) Ice has a good shot, but she has to learn to fake and move to get open. She is not a good defender and gets beat too often. Q stays in front and sometimes looks to help out, but loses her man at times. Q is long and quick. Ice not so much. Like Paige and Aubrey have been doing (playing the forward)--I believe Q can keep up with that.
I am looking forward to watching Q get her minutes up to 15+. She has good BB instincts and does not mind battling down low. WE DO need more rebounding!!
 
PhillyCoach said:
Of course, it is all speculation. Right now there is a solid 6 player rotation with the two frosh. IMHO Q is going to be the 7th player to make a difference. In fact, she already has. She scored lots of points in a few games. Ice has not. Q plays better D than Ice. Q has mixed it up down low and has battled for important rebounds. Ice likes to hang around the foul line (like Amari.) Ice has a good shot, but she has to learn to fake and move to get open. She is not a good defender and gets beat too often. Q stays in front and sometimes looks to help out, but loses her man at times. Q is long and quick. Ice not so much. Like Paige and Aubrey have been doing (playing the forward)--I believe Q can keep up with that.
I am looking forward to watching Q get her minutes up to 15+. She has good BB instincts and does not mind battling down low. WE DO need more rebounding!!
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A big Q fan, eh? What she really needs to do is put on 15 lbs of muscle before next season. She is often talked about on this board as an "Aubrey" type player but she does not have anywhere near the athletic skills of AG.. Aubrey survives (make that excels) due to her natural physical skills. Q is similar but will need some added strength to replace Aubrey's contributions.

Now, if we could just get Q to get over her hesitation to shoot the ball.:D
 
PhillyCoach said:
Of course, it is all speculation. Right now there is a solid 6 player rotation with the two frosh. IMHO Q is going to be the 7th player to make a difference. In fact, she already has. She scored lots of points in a few games. Ice has not. Q plays better D than Ice. Q has mixed it up down low and has battled for important rebounds. Ice likes to hang around the foul line (like Amari.) Ice has a good shot, but she has to learn to fake and move to get open. She is not a good defender and gets beat too often. Q stays in front and sometimes looks to help out, but loses her man at times. Q is long and quick. Ice not so much. Like Paige and Aubrey have been doing (playing the forward)--I believe Q can keep up with that.
I am looking forward to watching Q get her minutes up to 15+. She has good BB instincts and does not mind battling down low. WE DO need more rebounding!!
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Ice is a completely different type of player and while you are correct that she has not had as much success as Q, she is a big, she has been inactive for more than a year, and is coming back from a major injury! She will be a big contributor here but is simply going to take a little more time. As for defense, yes she is struggling but so is Q. They will both get it, hopefully sooner rather than later.
 
Since Ice is a big, just wondering if she is staying out near the foul line rather than down low--because of her injury/recovery. Will she get into the basket area more in the future as she gets stronger? Or will she follow Amari's lead and look to pass from the circle as a standard play? Seems like she wants to shoot more than block and rebound. Hopefully she does both as the season progresses.
 
PhillyCoach said:
Since Ice is a big, just wondering if she is staying out near the foul line rather than down low--because of her injury/recovery. Will she get into the basket area more in the future as she gets stronger? Or will she follow Amari's lead and look to pass from the circle as a standard play? Seems like she wants to shoot more than block and rebound. Hopefully she does both as the season progresses.
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Great questions. Her injury/recovery might be impacting her play. Who knows for sure. But Ice plays on the low block and then she will come out for the high screen and role/pop/fade. Well, we have not seen the fade yet, but I am sure it will happen at some point. But when she is on the block or in the paint and she gets the ball, she goes to work down low. As for her playing near the foul line and out, her shot is so beautiful that once she gets comfortable, her game is going to open up so much more. I just know that she was crushing those shots at the high school level and that was her bread and butter. She would hit you with a jab step and drive by you or she would pump fake and knock down a mid-range or 3-point shot. Ice has skills in the post and out on the perimeter. Same with the blocking and rebounding. That will come in time as her confidence improves. I can tell that she is in her head out there. She just has to learn to play through mistakes.
 
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I'm looking at this year as one of those years when we are saying "Wait till next year." The freshmen will be sophomores with a full years experience and we will be getting some height back along with a couple of power forward freshmen. Having Paige come back will be a bonus. Most of the victories this year will be hard fought and that bodes well for next year.
 
JellyBean said:
Great questions. Her injury/recovery might be impacting her play. Who knows for sure. But Ice plays on the low block and then she will come out for the high screen and role/pop/fade. Well, we have not seen the fade yet, but I am sure it will happen at some point. But when she is on the block or in the paint and she gets the ball, she goes to work down low. As for her playing near the foul line and out, her shot is so beautiful that once she gets comfortable, her game is going to open up so much more. I just know that she was crushing those shots at the high school level and that was her bread and butter. She would hit you with a jab step and drive by you or she would pump fake and knock down a mid-range or 3-point shot. Ice has skills in the post and out on the perimeter. Same with the blocking and rebounding. That will come in time as her confidence improves. I can tell that she is in her head out there. She just has to learn to play through mistakes.
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In watching ice play imho the game is a little too
Fast for her right now and her confidence has been shaken
Due to the endless series of injuries, she was put into a situation of having to play a major role at the beginning of the season against some of the best teams in the country, some of the best Biggs in the country on the road
She has excellent fundamentals and the athleticism and strength to make major improvement
But will have to learn to play more decisively, and with explosion and that will have to improve in order to be a better post player and rebounder
Right now her comfort level is facing the basket And seems to be able to get her jump shot whenever she wants. Unfortunately, she has not shot it well early and is now reluctant to shoot
For me, I think she’s having a good freshman year, ( I don’t view a player based on what their high school ranking was )playing meaningful minutes
And likely to improve
I
 
Steelerone said:
I'm looking at this year as one of those years when we are saying "Wait till next year." The freshmen will be sophomores with a full years experience and we will be getting some height back along with a couple of power forward freshmen. Having Paige come back will be a bonus. Most of the victories this year will be hard fought and that bodes well for next year.
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Didn't we say that last year, and the year before? The one thing I am learning is that the success of our Huskies is like the New England weather. The saying goes, "If you don't like the weather in New England, just wait an hour", or something like that. For the last few years, the future has looked good, only to have our dreams disintegrate right before our eyes. The future does look great, and this summer we all will be speculating on our new starting line-up, just like we have every summer. So, let's just concentrate on this year, as a new cast of characters have emerged to bring some of our mojo back, and who knows, anything can happen, and I think it is our turn to surprise the college basketball world.
 
As we close out 2023 with a home win against Marquette thanks in no small part to the impact of our three freshmen it's no fluke, to do so, that that they will be teamed up with three seniors that were pretty darned impactful their freshman season as well.

Here's a quote from Geno after their BE tourney victory over Marquette their freshman season. “These young kids have come in and really, they’ve reinvigorated everyone associated with our program,” he said. “They are just really unique kids and I’m really happy for them. My life doesn’t change that much, winning another championship. But my life was changed (Monday) because I got a chance to see the way they celebrated. That was worth waiting six months for.”

Here's hoping our Husky's have a healthy 2024 and the bus keeps on rolling right up to cutting down the nets on April 7th in Cleveland, and we see Paige, Aaliyah, Nika and Aubrey, along with their younger teammates, having the celebration they came for!
 
Bills Fan said:
A big Q fan, eh? What she really needs to do is put on 15 lbs of muscle before next season. She is often talked about on this board as an "Aubrey" type player but she does not have anywhere near the athletic skills of AG.. Aubrey survives (make that excels) due to her natural physical skills. Q is similar but will need some added strength to replace Aubrey's contributions.

Now, if we could just get Q to get over her hesitation to shoot the ball.:D
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I'm also a big Q fan, and I think we will have a great 4 years from her. But Aubrey's unique talent, like Gabby's before her, is unreplaceable. Q will have her own way of contributing to this team.
 
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