UConn has too much fire power | Page 3 | The Boneyard

UConn has too much fire power

So, when will Paige assisted Azzi break Lou's 10/10 from 3? Freshman year? Game 1? ;);)

10-10 is a big nut. It will be hard. But she'll break Samuelson's assist and steal freshman marks before New Years. KLS was a designated 3pt shooter as a freshman. Freshman Fudd is so much more than that.
 
Seems like you folks spend the off season laying around spinning pipe dreams of imagined glory. If you played in a Power 5 conference you might be ready for a Final Four win at long last. As it is, you beat up on a bunch of Seaton Halls and enter the Tournament thinking you're as potent as your pumped up stats make you appear. When you play the Gamecocks reality will dawn - and if you had the guts to go to Palo Alto your pipe dreams would evaporate. You're actually pretty good for a mid-major.
So your point is what ? I find it amusing that when an upstart program starts to have some success, their fans come out of the woodwork to try and diminish what UConn has been able to accomplish. Your Gamecocks have won how many titles ? Your team can't be that good when the "mid-major "continually beats them. Oh and going to Stanford to play, UConn has been there and done that multiple times and I'm sure they will again.

You should enjoy SC's little run of success and be happy for them, no need to come to a UConn message board and try to trash the Huskies, not a good look . Come back and talk your sh#t when SC has won more than 11 national championship's.
 
So your point is what ? I find it amusing that when an upstart program starts to have some success, their fans come out of the woodwork to try and diminish what UConn has been able to accomplish. Your Gamecocks have won how many titles ? Your team can't be that good when the "mid-major "continually beats them. Oh and going to Stanford to play, UConn has been there and done that multiple times and I'm sure they will again.

You should enjoy SC's little run of success and be happy for them, no need to come to a UConn message board and try to trash the Huskies, not a good look . Come back and talk your sh#t when SC has won more than 11 national championship's.
Hoping that this newest poster on the BY issued his missive with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek and simply left out the emogee ;) If not, I strongly suggest that none of us provide any oxygen to him by replying to his otherwise silly posts.
 
Seems like you folks spend the off season laying around spinning pipe dreams of imagined glory. If you played in a Power 5 conference you might be ready for a Final Four win at long last. As it is, you beat up on a bunch of Seaton Halls and enter the Tournament thinking you're as potent as your pumped up stats make you appear. When you play the Gamecocks reality will dawn - and if you had the guts to go to Palo Alto your pipe dreams would evaporate. You're actually pretty good for a mid-major.
Where’s the thumbs down button?
 
Chiming in real quick... This about a 3 page thread now, so I hope I'm not touching on something somebody else already said, but the only chink in our armour is Geno's ability to trust a bigger rotation of players... We've got enough for at least a 10 man rotation on this roster... but it needs to be nurtured throughout the season, so, by tourney time, we'll be in a better position as a whole against the stiffer competition. Keeping more players accustomed to the rhythm of live game action will help out tremendously. That way, making it harder for opposing teams (that clearly have less talent) off balance. It'll help wear those other teams down...

We accomplish this, Geno gets another ring .. this time for one of his toes....
 
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So your point is what ? I find it amusing that when an upstart program starts to have some success, their fans come out of the woodwork to try and diminish what UConn has been able to accomplish. Your Gamecocks have won how many titles ? Your team can't be that good when the "mid-major "continually beats them. Oh and going to Stanford to play, UConn has been there and done that multiple times and I'm sure they will again.

You should enjoy SC's little run of success and be happy for them, no need to come to a UConn message board and try to trash the Huskies, not a good look . Come back and talk your sh#t when SC has won more than 11 national championship's.
I believe this clown is a Stanford fan.
 
Theses been alot of posts over the years especially this season on height. There aren't alot of bigs that score alot of points. The presence of bigs intimidates players going to the middle. Depending on a big for points in most cases is not their purpose. Their purpose their purpose is for defense and rebounding. With that said against smaller post players bigs are able to get alot of points but having a good defensive big can negate that.

Uconn this season has alot of really good outside shooters. UConn should be able to put up alot of points in a very short time. We have shooters much like KML was for UConn. Other teams dont have the fire power and depth in fire power that UConn has this season. Defenses will have a problem defending UConn one on one. If one player draws two defenders that will leave somebody else open. If that player is having an off shooting night then we have players who can come off the bench and score. This team is loaded with really good shooters and scorers.

Against teams like SC and Stanford they like UConn have multiple bigs allowing them to play a high low. That could be a factor if defensively they are quick enough to keep up with our speedy guards. That could also put them in foul trouble. UConns ability to score alot of points will most likely result in the game being slowed down. That could work if opponents can keep up with UConns scoring. IMO the only teams that can threaten UConn are SC and Stanford and Stanford is not on UConns schedule. Stanford and UConn are on SC's schedule. Im looking forward to watching those games.

I look back a few years on how dominate UConn was with the 3 some of Stewie Tuck and MoJeff. Well this years team is similar. I expect AE's improvement to put her in position to become a better scorer and that along with are guards and wings will give us a dominate scoring attack that will not be matched by any other team.

Those fans concerned about what happened at the end of last season I believe have nothing to be concerned about this season. We have the depth and experience to handle any threats. We are for the most part a young team that will be dependent on some young players and those young players will be lead by upperclassmen who will complement them on the floor. I dont think many fans understand how good this team is and how much better they will be by the end of the season. In December we have UCLA and LVille then in January we have Oregon and SC. These tests will amplify our weaknesses as well as our ability to play in big games. These games will allow Geno to tweak his team.

Its been a while since Ive been this excited about the up coming season. As crazy as it sounds, I think we can begin to start another win streak much like we did in the past. This is a special group of players with alot of talent and we have more talent coming in next season. Dont be surprised with double digit wins against good teams. The fire power is there and the ability to go on runs and put up alot of points in a very short time is a reality that opponents will have to guard against. As good as SC and Stanford are and they are the cream of the crop this season I dont think they can contain UConns explosive Ariel attack. We're Going to the Top....the Very Top
I agree with you but I'm still not sure of what will happen when the shots are not falling and the rims seem a little tight there are always games like these during the season and my question is who will step and be that guard or wing to attack the rim and draw fouls or put the other teams bigs in foul trouble most teams are taught to close out and contest when playing teams who shoot well from the outside which we will but who will be that guard or wing who can finish thru contact and make the old fashion 3 point play I wanna say CW or EW but they have not shown that so far and PB is too small and loves to pass when she gets in the lane ,will Geno put that pressure on a freshman AZ..but I agree with your overall assessment but I'm weary of that knockdown down gut check game and who will step and more importantly will it be when it's all on the line NCAA championship game?
 
Chiming in real quick... This about a 3 page thread now, so I hope I'm not touching on something somebody else already said, but the only chink in our armour is Geno's ability to trust a bigger rotation of players... We've got enough for at least a 10 man rotation on this roster... but it needs to be nurtured throughout the season, so, by tourney time, we'll be in a better position as a whole against the stiffer competition. Keeping more players accustomed to the rhythm of live game action will help out tremendously. That way, making it harder for opposing teams (that clearly have less talent) off balance. It'll help wear those other teams down...

We accomplish this, Geno gets another ring .. this time for one of his toes....
I pretty much agree with your observation.
While I cannot state in exact numbers how many members of this time will earn major court time, I agree with certainty that this team is BY FAR the most talented , top to bottom, of any UCONN team I can recall.
I do hope that all of them, regardless of ‘starting’ or ‘subbing’, work hard enough in practice (where playing time is EARNED), to allow coach to substitute liberally and suffocate the opponents with relentless ball pressure and a nonstop motion offense.
(Please note- I have avoided using the word ‘minutes’- I detest the use of this word in any meaningful discussion.)
As always, above JMHO.
 
You win the thumbs down award. Congratulations.

I think you're cherry picking a bit. If you are only using pts as a measure than yes but I was most interested in Azzi's defense after the injury and she was the 1st guard in that category. The guards you listed were just happy to trade baskets in my opinion. Without Azzi guarding the opponent's best scorer, they don't win that tournament.

No Way Commando GIF by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

Your bias for bigs as well as your complete lack of BB knowledge is showing again. There is no way Azzi was the 6th best guard on that team. What are you smoking and where can the rest of us get some? Azzi shot 52% from deep and defended the other team's best guard. Can we safely assume that Azzi is to be the new target of your vitriol now that Christyn Williams is about to graduate?
You need to remember, @Jingo is not a UCONN fan. He/she is a Griffin and/or Ossining fan. So unless Griffin or some other player from Ossining has a great game/season/career, Jingo is not gonna be happy. He/she will continue to talk up Griffin, complain about her playing time, and take shots at any other UCONN player whom he/she feels threatens Griffin's playing time. Well, until Griffin graduates, then he/she will disappear from the BY. We get these "player fans" every once in awhile. Some learn to like UCONN, but some never get past "their player".
 
Eric, overall I agree with your comments. But I’m not quite sure I would suggest that SC’s guards & wings are more athletic than ours. Paige, Evina & Christyn are exceptional athletes, and they have a size advantage over SC’s backcourt. SC does have some exceptionally athletic freshmen coming in, but they are just freshmen.
OD, you and Eric make some very salient, real and objective points in your narratives. The thing UConn can’t do is go into the season so confident that they don’t believe they can be beat. While I believe that this is by far the deepest and most talented team Geno has had since the end of the Stewart era,

it must be understood that the only thing that will insure victory night after night is EXECUTION. That simply means putting the ball in the basket, and preventing your opponent from doing the same. Sometimes the best teams don’t win the game. The team that makes the most plays, especially in crunch time, does.

That was illustrated by the way UConn made critical plays at the end of the game versus South Carolina last season. Our ability to execute the game plan from tip to buzzer will determine the level of our success. If UConn wins the NC this season, it will be because of their ability to execute and make plays against other elite top 5 teams that they will have to beat to raise the trophy, not because they have the best players. We had the best players in the losses to Mississippi State and ND.

Sue Bird once pleaded to her teammates as they were taking the floor after a timeout: “if the ball comes your way, make a play.” That can be on either end of the court. Sometimes games are determined by which team make the last play. Yesterday’s WNBA game between Phoenix and Seattle is an excellent example.
 
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I agree! UConn is going to have to prove they can defend and I think that starts with Paige actually followed by Liv and Edwards defending without fouling. Aside from team defense which Paige is pretty good, she's got to get better one on one along with the other guards. I actually was pleasantly surprised by Azzi's work at the U19 in that area. I am hoping E will be healthier and able to degend better and same for Nika to continue her defensive progression. They have got to get back to the old days where the guards could just shut down a team's best scoring guard.
In a word………..execution!!!
 
I was a little dissapointed in Azzi's offensive output in that tournament, as she appeared to defer a little too much to others IMO. On the other hand her shooting ability, and scoring ability for that matter, are both considered givens for which there is little doubt. So watching her play for me was more a question of the rest of her game, and from that perspective I was pretty impressed that she will be a well rounded player, not just a shooter scorer.

In particular the ball handling passing was very good, and she looked strong defensively as well. I didn't see much on rebounding but overall the rest of her game impressed me, and also made me feel she could more easily blend in and find a role quickly on this team.
Well said, one point and I think a huge point... Did Azzi do her part in the games? I think she did, do we know what the coach asked her to do, I think not. Azzi played 100% team ball, she was solid as always. Jump forward to the next 4 years, do we need Azzi to grab 4-6 rebounds a game for us to win? God help us if we do. I want and hope for the Azzi to be the player she has been for most of her career, a leader, a winner, a team player. I think it's OK for us to analyze her games and discuss them, for some to pick nits before her first game as a Husky, I just don't get it. And I am not referring to you oldhuskie you articulated your disappointment and I get that, I feel that most of us can't wait for the season to get here where we can discuss what happens on the court in games that matter. I don't think Azzi will disappoint.
 
What the heck are you talking about? :confused:
Maybe too many Muehl to Bueckers to Edwards layups?
Or Westbrook to CW touchdown passes?
Or ONO to Aubrey backdoor slices?
Yeah, bunch of glory hogs!!
 
T
Whilst I love Tony's optimism and enthusiasm, IMHO there is no way UCONN will be dominant against the best teams this season. Sure we will likely blow out anyone not in the top 10, but there is no team out there who will roll over for UCONN, and I'm betting fans of Stanford and SC like their teams' chances a lot too.

On paper, SC is stronger in the post. They have guards and wings who are simply more athletic than ours. Does this mean they win? UCONN certainly has strengths they don't. While they bring back top 10 PG Henderson, now a senior, they have no one like NPOY Bueckers. And very few teams will have the shooting prowess of UCONN. I'd stack up Williams and Westbrook against any pair of off guards in the country, and no one has the intensity or aggressiveness of Muhl.

I suspect they will start Henderson, Beal, Cook, Saxton and Boston, but given how Amihere has improved, she may supplant Saxton. Off the bench they will have Littleton, Amihere, Grissett, and Cardoso. Not to mention the quartet of freshmen.

I suspect UCONN will start Muhl, Bueckers, Williams, Westbrook and ONO. Griffin, Edwards and Juhusz off the bench with our quartet of outstanding freshmen. We have waves of post players we can throw at them. They have waves of athletic guards and wings they can throw at us.

UCONN will likely play them twice in the regular season, something i'm not keen on. We could face them a 3rd time in the NCAA's. Anyone remember ND and how hard it was to beat a team 3x in 1 season?

Anyway my point is - while of course I hope we win, will we? We won't know till the teams play. Both sets of fans will feel confident but nervous. SC is every bit as deep as UCONN. They are more athletic. We have better shooters. On paper. How will that translate? Geno will have to devise a way to stop their post players. They will need to stop our guards.

I do think Stanford is just a whisker below UCONN and SC, but any team that is coming off an NC and has 4 starters coming back (I think they lost Kiana Williams to graduation) but bring back 6th year guard Wilson as well as Hull, Brink, and Jones (final 4 MOP). Prechtel may be the 5th starter, but they are a bit thin after that - Belibi, Jump, the other Hull, and their quartet of freshmen led by Demetre and Iriafen.

Tara is a tremendous coach and has done more with less (on paper) than most other coaches. By that I mean she's made deep NCAA runs with teams on paper having little top 5 (or top 10) firepower.

Going to be an exciting season. Some of those seasons UCONN won with Stewie et. al. - the final 4 was super weak (the year we beat Syracuse), or another top team had a monumental upset (Baylor with Griner/Sims losing to L'ville). That won't be the case for the next several years. All IMHO of course...
Thank you for such a thorough, realistic, and well-constructed post. I understand this is a UConn board, but some of the other users here write their posts like “Yes SC added three of the top four freshman and the ACC FOY/DPOY, but Nika Muhl’s and Aliyah Edwards’s sophomore leaps give us the advantage.”

UConn and SC (alongside Stanford, NC State, Maryland, and perhaps a few others) will ALL be threats for the crown next year. Maybe one of these teams does indeed emerge as a cut above the rest, but until that happens, we should give credit to the clear pool of top team talent and see what happens.
 
I am very excited about the upcoming season - who wouldn`t be? The offensive firepower should be something to behold and I expect UConn to break the 100 point mark on numerous occasions. It will be fun.

But it isn`t always going to be like a DePaul game. In order to win a national title they will inevitably have to win one or more games that are ugly, walk it up, possession by possession, knock down, drag out, physical, poorly officiated brawls. (South Carolina, maybe?) UConn will simply need to be physical and able to defend, and to make contested shots and free throws. I think playing time will be dictated largely on ability to defend.

The good news is that we do have some very good defensive players on the roster. It will be interesting to see how well the offensively gifted newcomers play on the defensive end and adapt to the UConn defensive system - not to be taken for granted, an example being Azura Stevens who never really figured it out.

On the defensive end, a major plus this season is the additional depth which will allow UConn to press and to defend more aggressively, since foul trouble should not be the cause for panic that it has been in recent years.
I agree that UConn has a lot of offensive strength, but I also agree with you that defense will be the key that unlocks the national championship.
 
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Seems like you folks spend the off season laying around spinning pipe dreams of imagined glory. If you played in a Power 5 conference you might be ready for a Final Four win at long last. As it is, you beat up on a bunch of Seaton Halls and enter the Tournament thinking you're as potent as your pumped up stats make you appear. When you play the Gamecocks reality will dawn - and if you had the guts to go to Palo Alto your pipe dreams would evaporate. You're actually pretty good for a mid-major.
It was Tara that ended the series NOT Geno, so if you want to talk about anyone not having the GUTS to play please direct it to the coach in Palo Alto.
 
It was Tara that ended the series NOT Geno, so if you want to talk about anyone not having the GUTS to play please direct it to the coach in Palo Alto.
Can’t believe it took so long for a b yarder to say this I just read it and was reading them all before I commented
 
You need to remember, @Jingo is not a UCONN fan. He/she is a Griffin and/or Ossining fan. So unless Griffin or some other player from Ossining has a great game/season/career, Jingo is not gonna be happy. He/she will continue to talk up Griffin, complain about her playing time, and take shots at any other UCONN player whom he/she feels threatens Griffin's playing time. Well, until Griffin graduates, then he/she will disappear from the BY. We get these "player fans" every once in awhile. Some learn to like UCONN, but some never get past "their player".
 
Can’t believe it took so long for a b yarder to say this I just read it and was reading them all before I commented
I hate it when people accuse Geno of dodging other teams. I've seen Dukies, Vols, Terps, and others state it's UConn and it's never been UConn. Both Duke and Maryland ended the series because of their coaches were getting tired of geting whooped every time they played. Pat ended the series because she hated that Geno got Maya and not her. While there have been others these three stood out. Now the Vols have renewed the series and I believe that Maryland has a home and home starting next year. I hope that Kara changes the Blue Devils opinion of playing UConn.
 
Seems like you folks spend the off season laying around spinning pipe dreams of imagined glory. If you played in a Power 5 conference you might be ready for a Final Four win at long last. As it is, you beat up on a bunch of Seaton Halls and enter the Tournament thinking you're as potent as your pumped up stats make you appear. When you play the Gamecocks reality will dawn - and if you had the guts to go to Palo Alto your pipe dreams would evaporate. You're actually pretty good for a mid-major.
As a 19 year old trash talker you must have missed the 11 NCs by UConn. Bye bye Precious.
 
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You need to remember, @Jingo is not a UCONN fan. He/she is a Griffin and/or Ossining fan. So unless Griffin or some other player from Ossining has a great game/season/career, Jingo is not gonna be happy. He/she will continue to talk up Griffin, complain about her playing time, and take shots at any other UCONN player whom he/she feels threatens Griffin's playing time. Well, until Griffin graduates, then he/she will disappear from the BY. We get these "player fans" every once in awhile. Some learn to like UCONN, but some never get past "their player".
Jingo is a Christ the King fan - Chamique, Sue Bird and Tina Charles, eh? Both of HIS daughters played for Christ the King - Chelsea pictured - and both were starters and 1st-team All-City in New York City. Jingo coached for the Liberty Belles AAU club, for which Chamique, Sue & Tina played. Jingo coached against Brion Giorgis and considers him a gr8 coach. Jingo saw Aubrey play in the NY State High School tournament and considers her to be the 'best athlete' on the UConn women's team. Aubrey played phenomenal in the NY State tourney and is ready to 'break out'.
My favourite player on the UConn squad is [lottery pick] ONO who leads the team in rebounding, blocked shots, intimidation and is 2nd in assists behind Paige.
Money corrupts! Paying college athletes makes them think more about their stats than about what's good for the team IMO.
My favourite hoops motto [from iS8]: "Bring your game, not your name"
Paige certainly brought her game; let's see if Azzi can too!
There you have it!
 
It was Tara that ended the series NOT Geno, so if you want to talk about anyone not having the GUTS to play please direct it to the coach in Palo Alto.
Who says that the series has ended? This is not a Pat-Geno situation. I am not aware of any hostility or nefarious accusations being made by either UConn or Stanford against each other, unless you want to go back to the 1996 Olympics.

The two teams have played many times since then, in Connecticut, Palo Alto, and neutral sites. They will probably play again before long, just not in the upcoming regular season.
 
Who says that the series has ended? This is not a Pat-Geno situation. I am not aware of any hostility or nefarious accusations being made by either UConn or Stanford against each other, unless you want to go back to the 1996 Olympics.

The two teams have played many times since then, in Connecticut, Palo Alto, and neutral sites. They will probably play again before long, just not in the upcoming regular season.
Don’t forget Tara cancelled the last scheduled game to avoid getting whooped by the Stewart led Huskies
 
Don’t forget Tara cancelled the last scheduled game to avoid getting whooped by the Stewart led Huskies
my guess it won't be any time soon esp after the Nneka situation
 
I agree that UConn has a lot of offensive strength, but I also agree with you that defense will be the key that unlocks the national championship.

+++

For all the attention that is correctly given to UConn's offensive potential I am convinced that their 2022 defense will be awesome. Defense is more about effort and teamwork than about talent. Last year UConn relied heavily on 3 inexperienced freshmen. This season the UConn defense will likely get lost in the media's attention to their offense but it will be their defense that will bring home the title.
 
I hate it when people accuse Geno of dodging other teams. I've seen Dukies, Vols, Terps, and others state it's UConn and it's never been UConn. Both Duke and Maryland ended the series because of their coaches were getting tired of geting whooped every time they played. Pat ended the series because she hated that Geno got Maya and not her. While there have been others these three stood out. Now the Vols have renewed the series and I believe that Maryland has a home and home starting next year. I hope that Kara changes the Blue Devils opinion of playing UConn.
Are you sure about Maryland? I thought the series was renewed but it was postponed due scheduling?
 
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