Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="BfromCT, post: 3822636, member: 10542"] To follow up on my message of last week on the topic of The Season Thus Far. What does the team’s abysmal performance against a poor Georgetown team tell us? Most importantly, UConn is unlikely to win big games against Arkansas or South Carolina, let alone advancing far in the NCAA tournament without both Paige Bueckers and Anna Makurat. There is no need to repeat what Paige brings to the table. All-American? The Shot against Tennessee on national TV gave her the exposure necessary. Assuming her turned ankle will be better by Thursday, the Huskies should be able to defeat Arkansas, but Anna is needed back asap. She seems to have lost confidence in her shooting and other members of the team have also because I have noticed numerous occasions when Anna was open in the corner and the ball never gets to her. She is not an offensive threat but her high basketball IQ and her passing ability are desperately needed, even if she rarely shoots. As several others have pointed out Evina Westbrook is a gem and the true leader of the team. Her quiet confidence and level of play is the glue that holds the team together. I have been more and more impressed by her play has the season has progressed. Aubrey Griffin has experienced a sophomore jump and she will probably be starting at strong forward for the rest of the season. As for juniors Christyn Williams and Olivia Nelson-Odoba are concerned, my views are unchanged. Williams is too inconsistent. After an excellent game against Tennessee which featured a good deal of attacking the basket, she decided to settle for 3-pointers against Georgetown with minimal success. ONO is a better player today than she was a year ago and is a good center, but not an outstanding one. If she can hold her own against South Carolina’s Boston, then she will have turned a major corner. My concern is, however, that she will be overwhelmed. Given where the team is now, it will need some important contributions from the other freshmen. Aaliyah Edwards has been good all season except for a poor performance against Georgetown in which it didn’t appear as if she knew what she was doing. Is this what is often referred to as the mid-season freshman wall or a one off? Arkansas will tell us. Nika Muhl has not played up to pre-season expectations of a player with international experience. She was slowed by injury earlier in the season, but that no longer seems a factor. Her first start against Georgetown proved to be a mixed bag with an unacceptable number of turnovers and the appearance of being gun shy when given the opportunity to shoot. At this stage of her career, she does remind one as several have pointed out as another Molly Bent, albeit one with better passing ability, and like Bent seeming to suffer from nerves. Muhl will be needed. Mir McLean has played only limited minutes, sometimes quite well, but more is needed. The biggest question remaining, aside from that whether the team is Final Four caliber or not, is Saylor Poffenbarger. When will she be able to practice, what is her physical condition and basketball IQ, when will she get into her first game, and will she see any minutes aside from mop up time? The waiting for Saylor reminds me of the anticipation of UConn fans when the statuesque transfer Sarah Northway first became eligible after the first semester of the 1995-96 season. If my memory is at all accurate, her first game featured a first turnover and first foul and little else. [/QUOTE]

Verification: First name of men's bb coach

Forum statistics

Threads: 164,488

Messages: 4,398,252

Members: 10,212

Latest member: MurrDog