It was a nice start to the season. I was at the game and was impressed with what UConn did, especially considering it is the first game of the season. I was hoping for a larger crowd and I would give the enthusiasm level a B, but it is the XL Center and it was Dayton. The next home game is Maryland at Gampel and it will be full, louder and crazier.
Aaliyah is just a monster. Her inside moves are simply fantastic. She has put in an enormous amount of work on her post moves and is able to get to the hoop many times when you think there is no room there. Nice outside shot as well. Her game translates well to the next level.
It was nice to see us play a full court game defensively. Last season did not afford UConn the luxury of doing this. As I had predicted, ten players played in the first half, with a lot of interesting combinations. I thought that the defense looked solid early, even though some breakdowns early. led to open threes by Dayton. Hopefully they will clean that up. Fun to see the team play defense when KK, Nika and Aubrey are on the floor together. Suffocating.
What should be especially encouraging is that we looked dominant despite Paige and Azzi having pretty average games based on what we know they can do. The only injury concern I could see was Caroline at times favoring her left leg/hip. Hope that`s nothing. She did go back into the game after I noticed it, so she should be good to go.
The freshman were very good. KK clearly - she and Aubrey were the quickest players on the court tonight - KK will be a fan favorite and a factor in every game for the next four years. And I really like both Samuels and Shade. Brady as well.
Nika`s game has improved. She is playing like a Senior, which of course she is. Hope Yanna is in the mix soon, we did not need her tonight but I think we will over the next month.
It is clear that we are a guard oriented team. If we run into trouble over the next few weeks it will be because of our interior defensive/rebounding, especially if Aaliyah gets into foul trouble. But that is for another day, this was a nice win to get things rolling.