UConn is obviously the most talented team in the country. So talented they won the national championship without really correcting their flaws and still so talented that they could do the same again this year with probably even less fear that the flaws could be exposed yet again. What I'm going to be watching most this season is to what degree this team is able to address the areas of weaknesses that led to losses to less talented teams in recent years because those weak areas aren't easy to fix with coaching, which is a big reason they have persisted. And while the team lost only Kelly Faris and Caroline Doty in terms of critical minutes played, Kelly and Caroline to the degree she still could were the two players who most naturally and instinctively addressed the areas where this team has been most exposed in recent years.
1. Hustle/playing physical - UConn has primarily lost games in recent years in large part because opposing players consistently beat UConn players to the ball. UConn is loaded with talented scorers who like most scorers are not instinctively hustle players. They're used to shooting the ball, not chasing it. Kelly covered up for a lot by herself, and there are no players that naturally can fill that role.
2. Halfcourt offensive execution - with Kelly and Caroline graduated Stef and Kaleena are the only remaining players who have a proven instinctive understanding of the way the UConn halfcourt offense is supposed to function and the skills to function well in it. Kelly and Caroline understood the offense they knew to set the screens to get another player open. They understood where the next pass was supposed to go and kept the offense in rhythm. They could deliver a post entry pass, which isn't a small thing. This team has tremendous size, but a bunch of guards that have yet to demonstrate they can deliver the ball to post players in the halfcourt. Kaleena and Stef can set the screens, make the passes, and read the defense. Everyone else is a question mark at this time. Breanna Strewart was great in the postseason offensively because she was making shotsand was playing with more confidence, not because she had really learned the offense.
Both of these areas are mostly about already formed natural instincts that hard to change, but sometimes those instincts do change over time. I'm going to be watching to what degree players evolve in these areas, particularly because until UConn gets better in these areas I won't have the same confidence that an upset is nearly impossible the way I felt during the Maya Moore led championship runs even though this team is just as talented if not more talented top to bottom. Who is going to get to a loose ball or a long rebound. Who is going to step up and show an understanding of the offense because the margin of error shrinks dramatically if they are dependent on Stef and Kaleena to be the offensive glue by themselves. If the most talented team in the country with the best coaching in the country is going to play like that then there needs to be growth in these areas and that's going to require players to overcome and change their natural instincts.
1. Hustle/playing physical - UConn has primarily lost games in recent years in large part because opposing players consistently beat UConn players to the ball. UConn is loaded with talented scorers who like most scorers are not instinctively hustle players. They're used to shooting the ball, not chasing it. Kelly covered up for a lot by herself, and there are no players that naturally can fill that role.
2. Halfcourt offensive execution - with Kelly and Caroline graduated Stef and Kaleena are the only remaining players who have a proven instinctive understanding of the way the UConn halfcourt offense is supposed to function and the skills to function well in it. Kelly and Caroline understood the offense they knew to set the screens to get another player open. They understood where the next pass was supposed to go and kept the offense in rhythm. They could deliver a post entry pass, which isn't a small thing. This team has tremendous size, but a bunch of guards that have yet to demonstrate they can deliver the ball to post players in the halfcourt. Kaleena and Stef can set the screens, make the passes, and read the defense. Everyone else is a question mark at this time. Breanna Strewart was great in the postseason offensively because she was making shotsand was playing with more confidence, not because she had really learned the offense.
Both of these areas are mostly about already formed natural instincts that hard to change, but sometimes those instincts do change over time. I'm going to be watching to what degree players evolve in these areas, particularly because until UConn gets better in these areas I won't have the same confidence that an upset is nearly impossible the way I felt during the Maya Moore led championship runs even though this team is just as talented if not more talented top to bottom. Who is going to get to a loose ball or a long rebound. Who is going to step up and show an understanding of the offense because the margin of error shrinks dramatically if they are dependent on Stef and Kaleena to be the offensive glue by themselves. If the most talented team in the country with the best coaching in the country is going to play like that then there needs to be growth in these areas and that's going to require players to overcome and change their natural instincts.
