Three stories

[Inthepaint]

15 Huskies
So many things to look for , so many things to provoke one’s curiosity
Here are my three
Feel free to suggest your own
1) KK Arnold
Will she be able to channel that exuberance into the role of starting point guard?
Don’t want to mess with the whole disruptive package she brings to the floor.
In her junior year, can she augment that with some clever maturity and be one of the leaders we need?
2) Jana El Alfy
As Kara Wolters always pointed out, bigs take longer to develop and make the mental connections required to be A PRESENCE on the court.
Jana looked like she had turned the corner and started to establish herself.
In a roster stocked with post players, will she rise to the challenge of being the power in the paint, and the glass cleaner
3) Caroline Ducharme
We know the long, hard road she’s had to travel.
We also saw what she’s capable of when she’s 100%.
Now a senior and something of a role model & teacher, how will the wisdom & patience manifest itself?
Will she force Geno’s hand by being the glue that holds an extremely talented bunch of athletes together when crunch time comes?
Will Caroline stay healthy enough to earn the minutes and trust needed to make the difference?
Not the only stories waiting to happen.
Just abstart

 

[Bone Dog]

4) WIll Azzi lead this group to a second NC so she can have bragging rights over Paige until the end of time?

 

[PhillyCoach]

Yo--InthePaint
I like the Jana and Caroline stories since we don't know their true potential for a 'great season." KK has already shown me her "talent. We know quite a bit about "KK". Most of us do.
My story to add as the third episode of next season's drama series---"The Mystery of Bianca."
A fourth story would be "Big Girl Battles" - -focus more on the practice seasons.

 

[CL82]

4) WIll Azzi lead this group to a second NC so she can have bragging rights over Paige until the end of time?

That would be mine. I would substitute number two for how will Azzi Fudd adapt to being the number one player to stop on opposing teams scouting reports?

(For the record, there may be some growing pains here or there, but I think she'll do just fine. Last year's championship run showed that she can excel in the spotlight.

 

[Cuango]

While I agree Azzi will be a focus for opposing coaching staffs, I’m not sure she will be the #1 focus. I see Sarah as being the one I would focus on first. I think we’re about to see the whole package from Ms Strong! Let’s face it though, having two players like Azzi and Sarah on a team as talented and deep as the Huskies is going to make for a lot of long nights for a lot of coaching staffs!

 

[BBallF]

Sticking to the theme of the thread, here are my top 3 stories put in question form:

1) How will Serah flourish on a team with two point guards, KK and Kayleigh, who can get her the ball in the right place at the right time? Will she be the third AA on this team?

2) Will Blanca adjust quickly to the defense and speed of the American game and the culture at UCONN? Will she become that vaunted X factor that makes us just ridiculous as a team?

3) What will the team chemistry be like with 15 players? What combos will Geno run? Who will be the leaders on and off the court?

 

[ConnMotors]

Three things! I believe that KK will start. She will be her usual pest while on the floor. With so many players on the team and a low life league she is only going to play 20 minutes a game.

Post minutes are going to be consumed by four players as we know in this order Serah, Sarah, Jana and Ice. The best offense last year was the four guards and Sarah. Geno will not steer to far from what made the team run and score.

Azzi and Sarah will both average 18 to 20 points per game. Most of our scoring will be coming from our guards. They will be fun to watch. Ashlynn, Kayleigh, Caroline are going to will be on the floor often. Blanca is an X factor. Still to be determined.

 

[oldhusky]

15 Huskies
So many things to look for , so many things to provoke one’s curiosity
Here are my three
Feel free to suggest your own
1) KK Arnold
Will she be able to channel that exuberance into the role of starting point guard?
Don’t want to mess with the whole disruptive package she brings to the floor.
In her junior year, can she augment that with some clever maturity and be one of the leaders we need?
2) Jana El Alfy
As Kara Wolters always pointed out, bigs take longer to develop and make the mental connections required to be A PRESENCE on the court.
Jana looked like she had turned the corner and started to establish herself.
In a roster stocked with post players, will she rise to the challenge of being the power in the paint, and the glass cleaner
3) Caroline Ducharme
We know the long, hard road she’s had to travel.
We also saw what she’s capable of when she’s 100%.
Now a senior and something of a role model & teacher, how will the wisdom & patience manifest itself?
Will she force Geno’s hand by being the glue that holds an extremely talented bunch of athletes together when crunch time comes?
Will Caroline stay healthy enough to earn the minutes and trust needed to make the difference?
Not the only stories waiting to happen.
Just abstart

With KK it is more than getting to be the starting point guard, it is also finally getting to concentrate on her point guard skills at her natural position. For that reason I hope we will see a significant jump in her junior year beyond just the normal one year progress.

In her first year you could say she was the third PG option in the starting lineup. Clearly Nika ran the show, and Paige was a natural point guard too. KK was more a shooting guard that season, deferring to Nika and Paige, playing more off the ball than on it, and as a marginal 3pt threat, that didn't play to her strengths.

In her second year, Kaitlin ran the point, and you still had Paige to play the point some of the time, so KK still didn't get to spend as much time at her natural position as is ideal.

This year she can and presumably will play PG exclusively as the starter, which should suit her talents far better than how she was used the first two years. At least that is why I am hoping for a significant bump.

I agree than Jana is also a very interesting story. She is talented, but very raw, and made far more mistakes that probably tested Geno's patience. Just from a decision making standpoint, she could elevate her game quite a bit. I think her transition from basketball in Egypt to here was particularly challenging.

She was used totally differently, because on her teams there, the PG's didn't have a clue how to feed the post, and Jana frequently had to come out to get the ball and create her own offense. Here Geno had to in essence convert her into a traditional low post C, because that is what the team needed her to be. So her ability to make good decisions in the post and read the defenses should show a major leap, and going against Serah in practice should accelerate that growth as well.

Blanca is my third major story. We have several candidates at the 3 who could be good to very good, but in my opinion only one in Blanca that could be great. Because we haven't seen her against top division 1 talent, the range of outcomes for her is wide. Maybe a solid backup learning the ropes is the downside, and a first year star starter is the upside. It will be fun to watch.

 

[Skeets]

Stories we will see here:

1. The eternal BY question: who starts and how are the minutes spread.
2. Why doesn't Shade (or pick another name) get very much love here?
3. How is Geno going to keep 15 kids, all chomping at the bit, happy?

 

[mhshuskies]

I look at it this way:
1) Don’t expect too much from the three fresh, it took Sarah a season to get impactful.
2) KK, Ash and Azzi will be the primary guards sharing quite a bit with Kayleigh, Allie and Morgan.
3) Jana El is really the only big body to expect significant time, Serah is a different kind of big. Playing time may be determined somewhat by matchup. Ice will provide backup to these two.
4) Sara, Caroline, Ayanna and Morgan will work as wings and athletic forwards.
I expect that these twelve should have the similar range of playing time, that would average out to 16+ minutes/ game. So maybe they would fall into the 15-25 minutes/ game range.

 

[BBallF]

I look at it this way:
1) Don’t expect too much from the three fresh, it took Sarah a season to get impactful.
2) KK, Ash and Azzi will be the primary guards sharing quite a bit with Kayleigh, Allie and Morgan.
3) Jana El is really the only big body to expect significant time, Serah is a different kind of big. Playing time may be determined somewhat by matchup. Ice will provide backup to these two.
4) Sara, Caroline, Ayanna and Morgan will work as wings and athletic forwards.
I expect that these twelve should have the similar range of playing time, that would average out to 16+ minutes/ game. So maybe they would fall into the 15-25 minutes/ game range.

1) I think many of us are expecting Blanca to have an impact perhaps not immediately but soon. She is a real wild card.

2) I think Kayleigh is going to play a lot more than many anticipate. She is a better 3 point shooter than KK, has a pull up J, can drive also though not as well as KK, and is an excellent ball handler and an experienced passer.

3) I have to disagree. Serah is an accomplished offensive player in the pivot and will thrive with Sarah, KK, Azzi ,Ash, Kayleigh and others getting her the ball. I think she gets the most time at the 5 and also, she has a solid foul line outside shot and is a good foul shooter. You are going to love her. She seals as well as anyone in the country except perhaps Betts.

4) I see Azzi and Sarah getting the most minutes. Two NPOY candidates. I also see Morgan in the same role as last year. Solid floor player who can defend, scrap, rebound and deflect. If she gets her shot confidence back she becomes a big asset. Ayanna is an unknown. She missed a lot of time but she looks really strong in her videos. Who wants to sub in and have to defend her?

I think it is impossible to predict anything other than the obvious right now. However, I like Caroline starting for as long as she stays effective due to her senior leadership. She has been through a lot and you are going to see steely resolve in her that will be contagious.

This is the most exciting team we have had in a long time. 3003 combinations and I bet you see a lot of them this year. You just have to see this team live as often as you can.