UConn has all the pieces

[HuskyNan]

Free article

 

[Bone Dog]

Good article. Thanks for posting it. Connolly thinks of Qadence as cut out of the mold of Aubrey and Ayanna. But I wonder if her natural competition for minutes will be with Caroline. She has some of the same skills — perimeter shooting and slashing to the basket. What remains to be seen is what sort of court savvy she has and whether she can run the floor like Aubrey.

I wonder about Ashlynn in a similar vein. She’s not big enough to compete for minutes at the 4 and may not be quick enough to run the point on a regular basis. She looks like a natural 2. But she’s remarkably strong and could take some minutes at the 3 from Caroline Aubrey and Qadence. She also has that elusive court savvy and knows how to turn a rebound or a steal into an outlet pass. In this respect she’s remarkably like Caroline, as well as being a ball hawk. I suspect she’ll find herself in all sorts of surprising roles on the court in the coming years.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

A refreshing no nonsense get to the point review. I give it a 7.893.

 

[veryolddog]

Another article extolling the virtues of the UConn system and its talented players. It always makes you feel good to read an article expressing optimism for the coming season. There are so many unknowns including health of the individual players, the skill sets to compete to Geno's level of epectation, and the ability to play against the best teams in college basketball. I would contend as I have consistently through out many similar threads that UConn is missing that one singular "Big" (6 ft 7 inches) who is a banger under the basket who can retrieve missed shots and make baskets with the second attempt. With the incoming talent and the talent that exists that one piece would raise the odds of achieving the success the fans desire.

 

[freekimchee]

Having seen both play high school ball in person, I can't help but compare Ashlynn's game to former Wildcats AA Kendra Wecker. Similar build, height (both undersized) and both blue collar tough and strong. Shade's got the better outside shot though. I think she will surprise and become a fan favorite fast.

 

[Rowdy831]

Watching video of Shade I can tell you she has a really good release on her shot. Some players play taller than they are like Maddie Siegrist and I think Shade is much the same but obviously at a different position.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Good article. Thanks for posting it. Connolly thinks of Qadence as cut out of the mold of Aubrey and Ayanna. But I wonder if her natural competition for minutes will be with Caroline. She has some of the same skills — perimeter shooting and slashing to the basket. What remains to be seen is what sort of court savvy she has and whether she can run the floor like Aubrey.

I wonder about Ashlynn in a similar vein. She’s not big enough to compete for minutes at the 4 and may not be quick enough to run the point on a regular basis. She looks like a natural 2. But she’s remarkably strong and could take some minutes at the 3 from Caroline Aubrey and Qadence. She also has that elusive court savvy and knows how to turn a rebound or a steal into an outlet pass. In this respect she’s remarkably like Caroline, as well as being a ball hawk. I suspect she’ll find herself in all sorts of surprising roles on the court in the coming years.

Good post, but gotta say if Caroline is healthy she will start. That being said I can see Shade or Arnold getting major minutes later in the season especially if god forbid another injury hits the team.

 

[oldude]

Aside from keeping everyone healthy, the one question in my mind is who will start alongside Aaliyah in the frontcourt. Certainly, UConn can and will, at times, go with a 4-guard lineup. But in order to bring home a 12th national championship, UConn will need a 2nd forward to establish herself along with Aaliyah to matchup with teams like LSU, SC and Stanford.

There are a number of players capable of filling the role. Aubrey, is the most experienced, but at 6’1” may be challenged against bigger lineups. After Aubrey, there’s a deep roster of forwards: Ayanna, Amari, Ice, Jana & Cadence, all of whom have the potential to play a significant role at forward. But all of which have to answer significant questions relative to experience.

 

[BobbyJ]

Aside from keeping everyone healthy, the one question in my mind is who will start alongside Aaliyah in the frontcourt. Certainly, UConn can and will, at times, go with a 4-guard lineup. But in order to bring home a 12th national championship, UConn will need a 2nd forward to establish herself along with Aaliyah to matchup with teams like LSU, SC and Stanford.

There are a number of players capable of filling the role. Aubrey, is the most experienced, but at 6’1” may be challenged against bigger lineups. After Aubrey, there’s a deep roster of forwards: Ayanna, Amari, Ice, Jana & Cadence, all of whom have the potential to play a significant role at forward. But all of which have to answer significant questions relative to experience.

I’ll take Brady. She’ll be a serious hi-low problem with Edwards. Interchangeable.

 

[oldude]

I’ll take Brady. She’ll be a serious hi-low problem with Edwards. Interchangeable.

Yes, that’s my hope as well.

 

[SCHuskiedad]

I’ll take Brady. She’ll be a serious hi-low problem with Edwards. Interchangeable.

I'll take Brady as well, but we can't overlook El Alfy as well.

 

[Bone Dog]

This is Amari's year!

You heard it here first. Don't bother asking my reasons. I don't have any, or: "We don't need no stinking reasons." I'm going with my gut.

Go Amari!

 

[Bald Husky]

I think it will be Ice, as she has some of the attributes that Dorka had. She can rebound, shoot the mid-range, and can fight under the hoop. As far as I know, she hasn't yet developed a 3 pt shot, but of course that will be introduced in the next year or two. I am really enthusiastic about seeing the game of Ice and Jana. Both can be starters next year in the post, and both of their games really intrigues me.

 

[hoophuskee]

If Paige, Azzi and Caroline are healthy, - I'm not sure some people that massively overrate size and athleticism can really understand how great UCONN potentially is. It all comes down to health. Add the fact Edwards is tremendously well-rounded and Aubrey and Nika with their upperclass experience adds to a powerhouse. All these players make the game so much easier for someone like Ice.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

Aside from keeping everyone healthy, the one question in my mind is who will start alongside Aaliyah in the frontcourt. Certainly, UConn can and will, at times, go with a 4-guard lineup. But in order to bring home a 12th national championship, UConn will need a 2nd forward to establish herself along with Aaliyah to matchup with teams like LSU, SC and Stanford.

There are a number of players capable of filling the role. Aubrey, is the most experienced, but at 6’1” may be challenged against bigger lineups. After Aubrey, there’s a deep roster of forwards: Ayanna, Amari, Ice, Jana & Cadence, all of whom have the potential to play a significant role at forward. But all of which have to answer significant questions relative to experience.

Caroline is taller than Aubrey and has long arms, she is adept at getting offensive rebounds and scoring on a put back, only problem with her is getting knocked in the head again trying to mix it up under the basket.

 

[oldhusky]

Aside from keeping everyone healthy, the one question in my mind is who will start alongside Aaliyah in the frontcourt. Certainly, UConn can and will, at times, go with a 4-guard lineup. But in order to bring home a 12th national championship, UConn will need a 2nd forward to establish herself along with Aaliyah to matchup with teams like LSU, SC and Stanford.

There are a number of players capable of filling the role. Aubrey, is the most experienced, but at 6’1” may be challenged against bigger lineups. After Aubrey, there’s a deep roster of forwards: Ayanna, Amari, Ice, Jana & Cadence, all of whom have the potential to play a significant role at forward. But all of which have to answer significant questions relative to experience.

That is the main question mark with several different ways it could go. My worst case scenario is Ice and Jana are not ready, and Ayanna and Amari have not improved much if any. In that situation Aubrey probably starts at the 4, would not be available to help on the wing, Aaliyah would play almost all her minutes out of position at the 5, and we would not have Uconn's normally good backups for either position.

At the other optimistic extreme, Ice and Jana are very good from the get go, handle all of the 5 minutes between them, Aubrey can back up Aaliyah at the 4 and still have time to play significant minutes on the perimeter, and Ayanna and Amari are mop up minutes and injury insurance.

We have not been deep upfront for a couple of years. Last year we had two very good starters, but nothing off the bench and of course Dorka missed quite a few games. Ayanna was the closest to the third big, but was way short of expectations and normal Uconn standards. Two years ago we had a very good trio of bigs with Liv, Aaliyah and Dorka, but nobody reliable behind them. A three big rotation can work pretty well only if everyone stays healthy, and it is far from ideal. A four big rotation is much better and can be reduced to a three big rotation if necessary when an injury occurs.

We have the potential for 5 or even 6 top level bigs if both Ayanna and Amari make major leaps, but I'm not counting on that from Amari, and with Ayanna I do expect significant improvement, but it is coming from a much lower first year performance than I imagined given her HS rating. Regardless if Ice and Jana come thru we should have that good four big rotation, which is deeper than we have been, but in their first year we also cannot expect Ice and Jana to be as good as they probably will be later in their career. To a certain extent they will probably be rushed into their roles a little, compared to what their roles would have been with an experienced player or grad transfer ahead of them.

 

[Bone Dog]

Regardless if Ice and Jana come thru we should have that good four big rotation, which is deeper than we have been, but in their first year we also cannot expect Ice and Jana to be as good as they probably will be later in their career. To a certain extent they will probably be rushed into their roles a little, compared to what their roles would have been with an experienced player or grad transfer ahead of them.

This is an excellent, sober assessment, @oldhuskie. Your closing remark really struck me. Ice and Jana won’t have an experienced player in front of them, or someone who they can test themselves against in practice other than Aaliyah herself. And I imagine we all probably think Aaliyah would improve her own skills even more if she could focus on practicing against Ayanna and maybe Ice who also could usefully develop 4 skills. This would leave Jana Amari and Ice to learn from each other and the coaches in practice.

In some respects, Jana reminds me of Ayanna. She also played largely against smaller competition in high school whom she could simply outmuscle, developed a face up game and a perimeter shot. Jana may be a better ball handler than any of the bigs other than Aaliyah, who sometimes played point-forward in hs.

Unlike Ayanna, Jana seems to have very good high post skills, which isn’t surprising considering her ball handling. This will make her more of a threat in the high post than Amari who can really only pass or shoot from there. Contrast this with Dorka and Aaliyah who regularly caught defenders by surprise with their ability to drive to the rim from the perimeter. There was something stunning about the way Aaliyah could drive the baseline around unprepared defenders. What do you do, after all, against someone that big moving so quickly with the ball? I expect Jana to to be able to do exactly this before the year is out. At some point, Ayanna will develop this same skill and then we’ll have several versatile threats in the frontcourt. I can only hope Ayanna makes this particular leap sooner.

 

[Ozimoto]

I suspect the male practice players will be expected to provide some help in providing opposition for the post players.

 

[Urshurak]

This is Amari's year!

You heard it here first. Don't bother asking my reasons. I don't have any, or: "We don't need no stinking reasons." I'm going with my gut.

Go Amari!

LOL. I hope she has a great year.

 

[BobbyJ]

I suspect the male practice players will be expected to provide some help in providing opposition for the post players.

The practice guys do provide a great service and numbers with their size and quickness. But they only use minimal contact and shot blocking for obvious reasons. To avoid injuries. So it's difficult to simulate the physicality of games. That takes awhile for the younger posts to get conditioned to.

 

[Alydar]

That is the main question mark with several different ways it could go. My worst case scenario is Ice and Jana are not ready, and Ayanna and Amari have not improved much if any. In that situation Aubrey probably starts at the 4, would not be available to help on the wing, Aaliyah would play almost all her minutes out of position at the 5, and we would not have Uconn's normally good backups for either position.

At the other optimistic extreme, Ice and Jana are very good from the get go, handle all of the 5 minutes between them, Aubrey can back up Aaliyah at the 4 and still have time to play significant minutes on the perimeter, and Ayanna and Amari are mop up minutes and injury insurance.

We have not been deep upfront for a couple of years. Last year we had two very good starters, but nothing off the bench and of course Dorka missed quite a few games. Ayanna was the closest to the third big, but was way short of expectations and normal Uconn standards. Two years ago we had a very good trio of bigs with Liv, Aaliyah and Dorka, but nobody reliable behind them. A three big rotation can work pretty well only if everyone stays healthy, and it is far from ideal. A four big rotation is much better and can be reduced to a three big rotation if necessary when an injury occurs.

We have the potential for 5 or even 6 top level bigs if both Ayanna and Amari make major leaps, but I'm not counting on that from Amari, and with Ayanna I do expect significant improvement, but it is coming from a much lower first year performance than I imagined given her HS rating. Regardless if Ice and Jana come thru we should have that good four big rotation, which is deeper than we have been, but in their first year we also cannot expect Ice and Jana to be as good as they probably will be later in their career. To a certain extent they will probably be rushed into their roles a little, compared to what their roles would have been with an experienced player or grad transfer ahead of them.

Brady's size puts her at the head of the class for UConn center candidates. She has pf skills out to the perimeter but she also has a wide body that is needed in the paint.
Brady may be a 1st year player on paper but I think she is far beyond that designation. A year ago (prior to her arriving on campus) Geno stated that she was going to see minutes at the high post. Then she spent 5 months training and playing (June-Oct) and Geno was very happy with her progress. She was behind the other posts perhaps but it was clear that she was going to play. Those 5 months are a dark zone to fans who judge on what they see, gametime. But the learning didn't get flushed down the drain when she got hurt.
There are no sure things with freshmen (unless they are named Bueckers) however she had already convinced the coaches to play her in games which indicated she was "getting it". That is the toughest hurdle for any freshman. It's perfectly reasonable to expect her to be better next November than she was last Nov. And that would be pretty good.

I also think Bettencourt is being dismissed. I see good size, decent defense of a freshman, good end to end speed, and poise/maturity. All after missing the entire summer last season. She may never have Arnold's ball skills and foot speed but could be better in other things, like shooting. Samuels and Shade are purported to be good 3pt shooters and Geno may have more need of that than a third pg. Who plays may be more a function of team needs than overall talent level.

My long shot prediction is that Deberry finally puts in the effort Geno has been waiting to see. I suspect that Geno has felt she was cheating her talent and that is why she sat. It's a suspicion but if true, and she has a catharsis, she could put UConn over the top on their front line. Time for Bueckers to get in her head.

 

[Bone Dog]

I also think Bettencourt is being dismissed. I see good size, decent defense of a freshman, good end to end speed, and poise/maturity.

Inês is feisty -- Nika-level feisty. You only have to watch her chase down a fast break from behind and block the shot to see this.

My long shot prediction is that Deberry finally puts in the effort Geno has been waiting to see.

Welcome to my club... or is it a cult? Here, have some Kool-Aid. I am sticking by this long shot prediction and by Amari. Don't ask me why. It's not about skills, but fire, with her. I suspect the fire has been lit.

 

[BobbyJ]

Inês is feisty -- Nika-level feisty. You only have to watch her chase down a fast break from behind and block the shot to see this.


Welcome to my club... or is it a cult? Here, have some Kool-Aid. I am sticking by this long shot prediction and by Amari. Don't ask me why. It's not about skills, but fire, with her. I suspect the fire has been lit.

Not talking about skills like shooting, passing, and ballhandling here. Athleticism and motivation/motor can be very good assets and set you up for serious potential improvement like Patterson. A lack of one like athleticism at a high level program like UConn tickets you for mediocrity. Say Kyla Irwin. A lack of both puts you where DeBerry has been for two years.

 

[Alydar]

Inês is feisty -- Nika-level feisty. You only have to watch her chase down a fast break from behind and block the shot to see this.


Welcome to my club... or is it a cult? Here, have some Kool-Aid. I am sticking by this long shot prediction and by Amari. Don't ask me why. It's not about skills, but fire, with her. I suspect the fire has been lit.

I'd need long odds to bet though. If she just isn't good enough Geno would have made that clear to her. Deberry was named by the practice players as the most underrated shooter on the team. Her shot-blocking instincts are excellent. The real puzzle is that Geno seems to genuinely like her as does the rest of the team. She has a great bench attitude. I'm hoping that 2 years of sitting and some encouragement from her team mates will change things.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

I'd need long odds to bet though. If she just isn't good enough Geno would have made that clear to her. Deberry was named by the practice players as the most underrated shooter on the team. Her shot-blocking instincts are excellent. The real puzzle is that Geno seems to genuinely like her as does the rest of the team. She has a great bench attitude. I'm hoping that 2 years of sitting and some encouragement from her team mates will change things.

Well said. If she can break out of her shell, maybe we’ll see why she was ranked so highly coming out of high school.