The team believes
- Thread starter HuskyNan
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Brewski
To infinity and beyond!
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This rag-tag group we call the starting five will take us to the final four come hell or high water. And you can bet your bottom dollar that Azzi and Caroline will come back as soon as safely possible so they too can be part of this history in the making. When that happens we will again play for the national championship. Get your game face on everybody!
The game against South Carolina helped to firm up those beliefs. They know they were competitive with the best team in the land while still very short-handed, so they know beating them is doable.
I remember my reaction when we found out Paige was lost for the season. In my mind we went from a co-favorite to the next tier of contenders, still with a puncher's chance along with a bunch of other teams, but a clear notch down from SC and Stanford. At that point a solid goal seemed to be snatching one of the last two number 1 seeds, but that was assuming reasonable health for everyone else.
Then I learn Ice is also out for the season, Dorka, Azzi and Caroline miss major time, we have trouble putting 7 players on the court, and are forced to frequently use two (Amari and Ines) that would not normally be in the rotation for important games. At that point I was hoping we could hang on until the key players returned, and maybe still manage one of the last two number 2 seeds,, but figuring a few of the second tier contenders would pass us.
Now having survived many shorthanded games, with a starting 5 that includes three anticipated backups, we are still not healthy but are right there competing for a 1 seed, with the potential to be higher than even Stanford with a #2 ranking overall now possible, and having just gone toe to toe with the best.
Instead of starting off as a contender that might have a chance if everything goes right, we have become perhaps the best challenger to South Carolina and right there, when it seems everything has gone wrong from an injury standpoint. Doing so they have shown their character, and earned a belief that they can beat anybody, and Geno's trust and admiration enroute.
I remember my reaction when we found out Paige was lost for the season. In my mind we went from a co-favorite to the next tier of contenders, still with a puncher's chance along with a bunch of other teams, but a clear notch down from SC and Stanford. At that point a solid goal seemed to be snatching one of the last two number 1 seeds, but that was assuming reasonable health for everyone else.
Then I learn Ice is also out for the season, Dorka, Azzi and Caroline miss major time, we have trouble putting 7 players on the court, and are forced to frequently use two (Amari and Ines) that would not normally be in the rotation for important games. At that point I was hoping we could hang on until the key players returned, and maybe still manage one of the last two number 2 seeds,, but figuring a few of the second tier contenders would pass us.
Now having survived many shorthanded games, with a starting 5 that includes three anticipated backups, we are still not healthy but are right there competing for a 1 seed, with the potential to be higher than even Stanford with a #2 ranking overall now possible, and having just gone toe to toe with the best.
Instead of starting off as a contender that might have a chance if everything goes right, we have become perhaps the best challenger to South Carolina and right there, when it seems everything has gone wrong from an injury standpoint. Doing so they have shown their character, and earned a belief that they can beat anybody, and Geno's trust and admiration enroute.
I have posted this before. Uconn players go into every game believing they are going to win and the only discussion between them is by how much. The way Geno coaches them is where they get that belief. This team can not do any better than they have with what they have to work with than what they have achieved up til now. Uconn is a smooth running efficiency machine and I believe when Caroline and Azzi come back at 100% we will go all the way. GO HUSKIES!!!!!
ochoopsfan
OC Hoops Fan
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UConn will have to play 3 games in 3 days to win the BE Tournament. If they dont have previously injured players return by then, playing 5, or 6 players, 35+ minutes, is going to be a difficult task.
Lucky they will have at least 10 days to recover before the big dance starts.
Lucky they will have at least 10 days to recover before the big dance starts.
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We're going to have 9 possibly as soon as today, and 10 in a couple of weeks. They'll be OK.UConn will have to play 3 games in 3 days to win the BE Tournament. If they dont have previously injured players return by then, playing 5, or 6 players, 35+ minutes, is going to be a difficult task.
Lucky they will have at least 10 days to recover before the big dance starts.
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That pic of the bench kind of captures the true concept of "team". They are in it every bit as much as the girls on the floor.
oldhuskie, I gave your post a Like and agree with all your points, with one exception. I don't think our current starting five - the Fab Five, as someone called them, includes three anticipated backups, at least from my perspective. I don't want to get into a Nika starting discussion, but I thought she would. I think all of us thought Aaliyah and Dorka would be starters, so that brings us to Lou and Aubrey. After watching preseason video where Geno had so many positive comments about Lou's scoring ability, I viewed her as a starter, which leaves us (or at least me) with one player who I anticipated would come off the bench, maybe like the number 7 or 8th rotation player. I guess at this point it doesn't make a difference, but Aubrey has certainly made more of an impact than many of us thought she would, on both sides of the court; OFF and DEF. Actually, what Geno and others often say about Lou, you could say about all of the Fab Five---where would we be without any one of them?
Rightly or wrongly my "presumed" starters heading into the season were Paige, Azzi and Caroline. For most Paige and Azzi were a given, and the main debate was Nika vs. Caroline, with Lou and Aubrey being likely super-subs. I thought Caroline was going to be the starter at the 3 for the next 3 years.
Things change, some players improve, others regress, and injuries create opportunities for others to shine. I had no idea that Caroline's recovery from her hip surgery would set her back as much as it did, or that she would have more difficulty recovering from a concussion. Aubrey I figured was the far greater health risk heading into the season. So both of those scenarios were different from my expectations.
I had Caroline at the head of that threesome before the season, but now she is a distant third as both Lou and Aubrey have excelled. The other major difference is how Nika handled the role that was thrust upon her. Needing to play major minutes she controlled her fouling, and as the sole PG, picked up the offensive pace and was turned loose by Geno to create for others. She took to that role like a duck to water and now has likely moved ahead of Aubrey and Caroline as most likely to start with Paige and Azzi next year.
We have a long season left this year and it is a bit early to wonder who may start next year.