UConn 2012-13: The USA Olympians of WCBB?

[JoePgh]

If I were Geno (perish the thought), I think I would see a similarity between my summer job in 2012 and my "real job" in 2012-13. In both situations, I would have the deepest and most talented team in its field of competition. The USA Olympians had Cambage and the Aussies to contend with them (and no one else close to that level); the Huskies of 2012-13 have Griner and the Waco's (and no one else very close).

Looking at my team (both in the summer and winter), I would see 9 players who would probably start and play 30+ minutes for any other team in the field, and the 10th and 11th players could make solid contributions as well. I would see a good mixture of youth and experience. On my winter team, 8 of those players (barring injury and assuming the WNBA stays roughly intact until everyone graduates) will surely play in the WNBA; on the summer team, everyone did. The 9th player (Caroline), like Shea Ralph, would certainly have played in the W if her knees had not failed her, but she is at that level.

So I would probably conclude that I should manage the minutes of my winter team in much the same way that I did the summer team, with everyone except the very end of the bench getting significant minutes (12-15), and few if any getting huge minutes (above 25). Even though I never made hockey-style substitutions previously in my college coaching career, I would do it in 2012-13 just as I did it in the summer of 2012, because the ability and contributions of the players justified it, and it took a toll on even the most hardy of opponents.

For the winter team, I would look at front-court "platoons" of Stef/Morgan (perhaps) and Kiah/Breanna, with a view toward having one strong scorer and one strong rebounder at those 2 positions at all times. In the back court, the two platoons would be Bria/Kelly and Caroline/Moriah. KML, because of her unique game (great shooter and good rebounder with size and toughness), would command most of the minutes at the 3, but Kelly might be her backup there when the other backcourt platoon was in the game.

Brianna and Heather (the 10th and 11th players on the roster) would get spot duty -- maybe 8-10 minutes in competitive games. Heather might get more against that Texas green team since she seems to be gifted as "Griner kryptonite". Brianna might displace some of Caroline's minutes if Caroline struggles physically and Brianna shows maturity and development over her freshman year, as seems to be occurring. The role of Heather and Brianna would be similar to the role of Asjha and Swin on the summer team -- and just as vital.

If I were Geno, the possibilities would make my mouth water.

 

[Phil]

One of my fears is that Geno will struggle with the difference between the Olympic team skill level, and the college team. I've heard some positive reports which suggest otherwise, so I'm cautiously optimistic on that point.

I like your analogy between the two team. Very interesting. A little unfair, as I think the gulf between UConn and the third best NCAA team, whomever it may be, will be less than the gulf between the USA and France, but that's a detail.

I am intrigued by the notion of hockey subs. Doesn't work perfectly with eleven players, but I thought it worked well in the Olympics. I don't really expect it to happen; I think it was a clever move in the Olympics, because they had so little prep time, and early on, it meant he could almost have two teams who played together as a group, and not have to deal with all combinations of players. I believe he used it early, but after a few games, abandoned it, not because it wasn't working, but because the purpose had been served, and there was no more need for it. I don't see quite the same need with this team, but I'd love to see it tried.

 

[meyers7]

If I were Geno, I would probably wait until I had my first practice with the players to determine how many minutes I was going to hand out and how I would platoon them.

Now if I was a Boneyarder, yea I would have all the lineups, minutes, scoring/rebounding/assist averages already figured out.

 

[Scotter]

Diana Taurasi also told Geno during the Olympics that the hockey style substitutions needed to end, and he did stop them. I agree with Dee on that one. That type of stuff is somewhat antithetical to the program's core values. Geno did in it in the Olympics to try and be fair to professional level players, no matter how talented this team may be I don't believe he feels that same obligation.

 

[JoePgh]

Why are hockey-style substitutions anthithetical to the program's core values if they prove to be useful in winning games? I assume you mean that this substitution pattern goes against the idea that the best players should play the predominant number of minutes. But if those on the bench are nearly as talented and just as committed (or more talented but less mature, perhaps), and if even a good opponent will be ground down by having to play against a fresh group of talented players when they have no option to substitute their own players without greatly diminishing their talent level on the court, then hockey-style substitutions will help to win the game. It will make UConn's depth a tangible asset in games. And I think that is a core value of the UConn program.

By the way, even if the practice of substituting 5-for-5 diminished as Geno got deeper into the Olympic competition, the pattern of playing 10 out of 12 players for 15-25 minutes, with hardly anyone getting 30+ minutes, continued until the final game.