Think about the debates/discussions we've been having lately...

[EricLA]

this year - should KML start over one of the current starters? she may well be the best overall player on the team (note i said MAY). next year, with the UBER talented Breanna and Moriah coming on board, not to mention Tuck, some are asking "how can you NOT start Breanna"?

those are great questions. but my point is - how incredibly lucky we are that Geno has recruited such amazing kids and players that we are even able to have this argument! then there's all the talk about how to get PT for Heather, Kiah, Lauren and Michala and people have noted how much they've improved this year.

i fully get that people will disagree - personally i feel KML comes off the bench the entire year unless someone gets hurt. but i think she may well end up playing close to the most minutes of any player, or if not, certainly "starters" minutes.

next year i think the starters will be Caroline, Bria, Kelly, KML and Stef. even if Breanna and KML are the two best players on the team. my point isn't to debate who should start, but to marvel at the fact that we are even able to have that conversation.

if Geno continues to recruit like this, and no reason to think he won't, we will be having similar debates in the next several years. and we will all be very happy fans. what a great time to be a UCONN fan...

 

[alexrgct]

There's a certain UConn fatigue that's driving the "age of parity" articles being penned by the media that cover WCBB. The real story is that UConn is going to be good this year, top 8-caliber at worst and possibly much better, returns 10 of its 11 players next season and adds the top two high school players in the country AND Morgan Tuck. No one is touching that. But I guess that story is boring...or at least tiresome.

 

[EricLA]

well it's b oring to people who aren't UCONN fans. i could read about that every day. and still enjoy this season that promises to be exciting and interesting. no guarantees this year!!

 

[Moose]

I don't really see KML starting over any of the other starters and I think it's about respecting the players who have risen to the occasion in the past. The only problem, though, is that I don't think that Kelly is quite cut out for defending the other team's PF. Maybe, the solution is zone, but depending on how big the other team is, and appropriateness of a zone defence within the overall game plan, I could see KML sliding into the starting line up solely because she's bigger.

I have always seen Geno as giving the start to certain players as a mark of respect for what they have proven of themselves in the past. I don't think it's about who is best, but about who is dependable. That said, KML will get a lot of minutes and possibly be in the game when the game is on the line.

 

[pppggg]

I have a thought on the talent and number of players Geno is getting. Geno is a student and historian of the game. Does anyone remember the North Carolina teams under Dean Smith that subed in 5 eqaully talented players at a time.

Smith basically had 2 teams and subed them in 5 at a time. He always had five fresh players on the court that were equally talented as the 5 they subed in for. He player a very high paced game anmd ran opponents into the ground.

Geno may be headed in that direction. He subed in the 3 freshmen against Pace. Imagine adding 2 more top notch player to that group. The best may be yet to come!

 

[VAUConnFan]

I have a thought on the talent and number of players Geno is getting. Geno is a student and historian of the game. Does anyone remember the North Carolina teams under Dean Smith that subed in 5 eqaully talented players at a time.

Smith basically had 2 teams and subed them in 5 at a time. He always had five fresh players on the court that were equally talented as the 5 they subed in for. He player a very high paced game anmd ran opponents into the ground.

Geno may be headed in that direction. He subed in the 3 freshmen against Pace. Imagine adding 2 more top notch player to that group. The best may be yet to come!

I go back as far as Larry Miller, and have always respected Dean Smith and the Tar Heel program. I remember when Coach Smith used to sub en masse. However, IMO, his more successful teams were not as deep. Either that or his starting unit was uber talented. That would certainly apply to his 1982 team.

 

[Zorro]

Geno will have a tough time this season putting in the scrubs in blowouts, cause there pretty much ain't no scrubs! Looks like a job for WATERGIRL

 

[pppggg]

I go back as far as Larry Miller, and have always respected Dean Smith and the Tar Heel program. I remember when Coach Smith used to sub en masse. However, IMO, his more successful teams were not as deep. Either that or his starting unit was uber talented. That would certainly apply to his 1982 team.

You may be right about the subs. However imagine a team that is stacked 10 deep. They all get playing time and they all contribute. It would be someting to see, won't it.

 

[alexrgct]

Starting players based on "spilled blood" and not on merit is a terrible way to run an organization. Geno is a better leader than that.

 

[semper]

I think, once the fresh get their sealegs, etc., that it won't matter who starts very much. Geno may mess around, and finally he CAN! Putting in the three freshies was so great! This is going to be such an interesting year...I'm eager...

 

[Sonny44]

I think, once the fresh get their sealegs, etc., that it won't matter who starts very much. Geno may mess around, and finally he CAN! Putting in the three freshies was so great! This is going to be such an interesting year...I'm eager...

I was sorprised he put all three of them in at once, but it sure worked.

 

[ThisJustIn]

You may be right about the subs. However imagine a team that is stacked 10 deep. They all get playing time and they all contribute. It would be someting to see, won't it.

You mean like in 2000 and 2001

 

[alexrgct]

It is interesting to note that a lot of Geno's best teams weren't especially deep. In 1995, you really had a seven-girl rotation (Lobo, Jen, Kara, Pam Webber, Jemelle, Nykesha, and Berube). In 2002, you had the TASS+D, which was a ridiculous starting lineup, but again, not much of a bench. In 2010, only Kelly saw any PT off the bench against Baylor or Stanford in the NCAAs. Two of Geno's deepest teams to start the season (2001 and 2008) ended their seasons with defeats in the Final Four. Much is made of that 2001 team (which, when everyone was healthy, had five girls whose names are on the Huskies of Honor, plus Asjha, Tamika, Conlon, and Shumacher), but that 2008 team was loaded (nucleus of girls who ran the table in 2009 and 2010 plus Ketia Swanier, Charde Houston, Mel Thomas, and Brittany Hunter).

In 2012-13, UConn will have an amazing combination of depth and experience. To have the top two high school players in the country coming in and playing alongside two fifth-year seniors? That's not something you get every year, and I think it will be immensely beneficial to UConn to have that range next season.

 

[DaddyChoc]

this year - should KML start over one of the current starters? she may well be the best overall player on the team (note i said MAY). next year, with the UBER talented Breanna and Moriah coming on board, not to mention Tuck, some are asking "how can you NOT start Breanna"?

those are great questions. but my point is - how incredibly lucky we are that Geno has recruited such amazing kids and players that we are even able to have this argument! then there's all the talk about how to get PT for Heather, Kiah, Lauren and Michala and people have noted how much they've improved this year.

i fully get that people will disagree - personally i feel KML comes off the bench the entire year unless someone gets hurt. but i think she may well end up playing close to the most minutes of any player, or if not, certainly "starters" minutes.

next year i think the starters will be Caroline, Bria, Kelly, KML and Stef. even if Breanna and KML are the two best players on the team. my point isn't to debate who should start, but to marvel at the fact that we are even able to have that conversation.

if Geno continues to recruit like this, and no reason to think he won't, we will be having similar debates in the next several years. and we will all be very happy fans. what a great time to be a UCONN fan...

well said, sorry I missed this

 

[pppggg]

You mean like in 2000 and 2001

Yes, only deeper and maybe, just maybe, overall better!

They would be a sight to see.