UConn proving they are a top 4 team | Page 2 | The Boneyard

UConn proving they are a top 4 team

I'm not a stats guy. I've been looking at UNC, UCLA, and Texas -- rosters and box scores. I think I notice some positives for UConn.
1. These teams have taller players, but those players don't make all the difference. For rebounding, I think UConn has improved. Now, I think, the deficits would be smaller and manageable based on the "new look" UConn.
2. Perimeter defense, UConn has greatly improved. UCLA, for example, shot almost 50% from outside the arc. I think UConn would seriously reduce that in a game now.
3. Bench contributions. I think this is significant. The teams listed above have improved a little in terms of bench contribution. UConn WAY more.
4. Implications for Paige's "opportunities": With Ashlynn, KK, and Nika (and we're hoping Qadence pretty soon (Ines?)) shooting so well, defenses will not be able to pack the middle so much, spacing will be better, and Paige will have more room to take over if she needs to.
 
augusta TC....

As the boss, coach, of an orchestra (74-95), I made decisions that often pigeon-holed players (sometimes incorrectly) into a role just as Geno and the staff do...

Sometimes, I was completely wrong...I had a wonderful horn player, whom I thought was a great low horn man...because he was great playing 2nd...
Later he was principal of the MET opera for decades...Stupid, stupid me.

Ines gave some excellent minutes last season when there was only her available...I conjecture (with absolutely no proof) that Geno believes his kiddie-corps has more upside, even Q...and is relying on their growth...and that limits the time available for (essentially) the 6th guard.

In the case of KK and Ash, he was certainly right...these two are winners, possible all-stars.

The question left is....can you get more development out of Q or Ines as the season goes on...

They're not doctrinaires, this staff...They'll decide on the merits...But I expect to see an increase in Ines' minutes in the next few games...
 
After watching the most recent episode of the Geno Auriemma show on SNY. I think he understands how to "injury" coach now. He was talking about learning how to coach with the amount of ball handlers on the floor who all want the ball, all the time. And, he also talked about not letting the injuries affect their psyche long term. It took a year or two, but it seems he, and they, are figuring it out. Now, that could all go to heck when they play South Carolina, but it's working for now.
 
I understand that there can be addition by subtraction.
But there doesn't appear to be one single player that can replace Aubrey.
It's possible that several players can, but that could mean more game management decisions & adjustments would need to be made during a game.
That could also result in more room for error depending on which adjustments are chosen.
Relying on multiple subs can present more human variables since players have their own ups & downs.
 
hoopsfan22 said:
Ines gives 100% when she's out there. She wants to play. My feeling about Amari is she likes being part of the team, but is planning to go pro in something other than basketball. She'd be a good team manager that can sometimes play if needed kind of like that Providence grad assistant who plays.
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Team manager? That's not insulting to say to an athlete or anything. :rolleyes:

In any event, Amari had a couple of very good low post moves. I'd like to see her go to them a little more often in the minutes that she gets. If she can produce from them consistently, I suspect Geno may find more time for her
 
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JellyBean said:
Great comments by all but I don't think we are a top 4 team. We are playing some great basketball, and we are ranked fairly, IMHO. Just keep getting better, stay healthy, and the rest will take care of itself.
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I think it’s hard to see where this team stands. The losses were all early to top teams and none were routs. At the time, we hadn’t adjusted to the injuries. then Azzi goes down. The freshmen were not yet a factor and Paige was just beginning to feel her way back - Aubrey too for that matter and now we are having to adjust to her absence. Now Ice might be starting to get it. So we are definitely a better product compared to the team that lost those early games. We certainly have a few games left that should be a better measure.
 
Rowdy831 said:
They are looking better for sure but until they play a team they have match up issues with you won't really know. In my opinion the first game where they have match up issues will be ND and I expect them to struggle with a team they should dominate. There is no way you can over come the lack of height with Geno's current rotation.

Geno has made the decision to be the best really small team in the country. That is going to win every game in a very weak Big East Conference but won't work against taller teams. Problem is they don't have a lot of options for taller lines and we know from experience Geno is going to live and die by the 7 he is playing.

To me they are a top 8 team as they are and could move up but the truth won't be out there until ND. If they dominate ND and hold their own on the boards I will change my thinking but right now the bad competition they are playing isn't conclusive to me.
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This lineup will have a very hard time matching up with a club with bigs, incl SC, Stanford, and UCLA. ND will be another good test to see if they can shoot and press well enough to five such teams a challenge. It likely won’t hold together against SC which combines height with transition scoring and solid guard play.
 
WLT1717 said:
This lineup will have a very hard time matching up with a club with bigs, incl SC, Stanford, and UCLA. ND will be another good test to see if they can shoot and press well enough to five such teams a challenge. It likely won’t hold together against SC which combines height with transition scoring and solid guard play.
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If Carolina plays the way it did against Mizzou the other night, you guys have more than a shot to win. Kamilla did not play well at all. The key will be neutralizing Kamilla for UCONN to have a chance to win IMO....
 
TN-Gamecock said:
If Carolina plays the way it did against Mizzou the other night, you guys have more than a shot to win. Kamilla did not play well at all. The key will be neutralizing Kamilla for UCONN to have a chance to win IMO....
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I agree, and I'm game for speculating. But just to be clear, I think the NC is SC's to lose this year, and if they're upset in the tournament, then it's UCLA's to lose.

Now that I'm thinking of upsets, even long shots, I can imagine a way UConn could pull one off. There is really no one on SC who can match up with Paige, not Raven, not Bree, not Te-hina, not Kitts, not Milaysia. There also isn't a good matchup for Aaliyah. On the other side, SC is simply bigger and stronger in the front court with Kamila, Watkins, Feagin and Kitts. That's too much to overcome even if they only have an ordinary game. SC averages 50 rebounds/g and will probably out rebound UConn by >15. This is not the stuff upsets are made of. I think the keys are Kamilla and Raven.

But... if Kamila has a poor game, or gets in foul trouble (which, frankly, hasn't been a problem for her), and if Ice has picked up her game a bit by then, I could see Watkins Feagin Kitts not being able to pick up the slack against Aaliyah. This is the first improbable thing that would have to go UConn's way. The second is the freshmen + Nika have to outplay Raven Bree and Te-hina. To do this, I think Geno has KK defend Raven, who is just a little too quick for Nika. Then Ash and Nika switch as needed on Bree and Te-hina. And that's just the defensive side. On offense, KK Ash and Q have to have hot shooting nights. Can KK burn Raven with that crossover? Can Ash get open for that midrange jumpshot, and can she hit from 3? If they can, and Q gets hot, then things get a lot easier for Paige and Aaliyah.

The final ingredient is Paige working her magic. Let the freshmen worry about the perimeter. She needs to be really clever in the paint -- not against Kamila, but against the others. She's quicker than they are and much more talented as a scorer.

In conclusion, an upset is just barely possible -- and I think somewhat less unlikely in a second meeting in the tournament than in February.
 
TN-Gamecock said:
If Carolina plays the way it did against Mizzou the other night, you guys have more than a shot to win. Kamilla did not play well at all. The key will be neutralizing Kamilla for UCONN to have a chance to win IMO....
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I’ve never subscribed to the notion that the SC game is a definite loss. I think it’s more likely than not that they will win but, we definitely have a “punchers” chance. We probably are going to need a little help to pull off the upset but it’s not completely out of the question. The game could be a blowout of course, (I’m sure Dawn is going to have her kids breathing fire at home) but if we can somehow stay close at the end, we have the best “closer” in the game on our team. Just hope we can be healthy!
 
TN-Gamecock said:
If Carolina plays the way it did against Mizzou the other night, you guys have more than a shot to win. Kamilla did not play well at all. The key will be neutralizing Kamilla for UCONN to have a chance to win IMO....
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:rolleyes:
 
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Ozimoto said:
ND has Citron and Westbeld back. After the 50 point drubbing of BC last night the game with them looks like it won't be a cake walk.
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Except for a 10 year span when ND won 8 out of 10, Uconn has always had winning vs ND under control. Qbviously Uconn plays it's best when they have a team like the rivalry with ND and the total domination of ND in the total games played with a 39-14
W-L record.A lot of the wins came when ND had premier players and were very highly ranked, ND's overall record is 1073-372.Uconn's overall record is1278-320. I don't fear ND the way a lot of posters seem to. The tangibles they bring up Don't really apply to Uconn, because Uconn is UCONN AND THEY GO THEIR OWN WAY.........win!!! GO FRESHMEN!!!! GO HUSKIES!!!!!!
 
EasyEd said:
I think UConn has played their way to top 10. Assuming no losses in Big East, a win over ND will put them top 8. A win over SC will put them back in the top 4.
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UConn is in the Top 4 NOW. Don’t waste time on THE SILLY POPULARITY POLLS that don’t matter. Look at the NET.

With Texas’ loss today you will probable be ranked third on Monday in the NET
 
donalddoowop said:
Watching the same games. Just what have you seen about Ines that makes you think she cannot play D1 basketball? She could start on most of the Big East teams.
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Really?! Name the majority of Big East teams where she would start.
 
Bone Dog said:
I agree, and I'm game for speculating. But just to be clear, I think the NC is SC's to lose this year, and if they're upset in the tournament, then it's UCLA's to lose.

Now that I'm thinking of upsets, even long shots, I can imagine a way UConn could pull one off. There is really no one on SC who can match up with Paige, not Raven, not Bree, not Te-hina, not Kitts, not Milaysia. There also isn't a good matchup for Aaliyah. On the other side, SC is simply bigger and stronger in the front court with Kamila, Watkins, Feagin and Kitts. That's too much to overcome even if they only have an ordinary game. SC averages 50 rebounds/g and will probably out rebound UConn by >15. This is not the stuff upsets are made of. I think the keys are Kamilla and Raven.

But... if Kamila has a poor game, or gets in foul trouble (which, frankly, hasn't been a problem for her), and if Ice has picked up her game a bit by then, I could see Watkins Feagin Kitts not being able to pick up the slack against Aaliyah. This is the first improbable thing that would have to go UConn's way. The second is the freshmen + Nika have to outplay Raven Bree and Te-hina. To do this, I think Geno has KK defend Raven, who is just a little too quick for Nika. Then Ash and Nika switch as needed on Bree and Te-hina. And that's just the defensive side. On offense, KK Ash and Q have to have hot shooting nights. Can KK burn Raven with that crossover? Can Ash get open for that midrange jumpshot, and can she hit from 3? If they can, and Q gets hot, then things get a lot easier for Paige and Aaliyah.

The final ingredient is Paige working her magic. Let the freshmen worry about the perimeter. She needs to be really clever in the paint -- not against Kamila, but against the others. She's quicker than they are and much more talented as a scorer.

In conclusion, an upset is just barely possible -- and I think somewhat less unlikely in a second meeting in the tournament than in February.
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Great Analysis
 
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npignatjr said:
After watching Iowa yesterday, playing with basically 4guards, and 3 officials, there is a case for UConn to be ranked with Iowa. Who has Iowa actually played?
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UConn is ranked with Iowa in NET
 
npignatjr said:
After watching Iowa yesterday, playing with basically 4guards, and 3 officials, there is a case for UConn to be ranked with Iowa. Who has Iowa actually played?
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UConn and Iowa are built very similarly. UConn seems a bit like Iowa on steroids though because I think their supporting cast around the star players are better on both sides of the ball. I’m surprised more people have pointed this out/made the comparison on here and in the media.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
UConn and Iowa are built very similarly. UConn seems a bit like Iowa on steroids though because I think their supporting cast around the star players are better on both sides of the ball. I’m surprised more people have pointed this out/made the comparison on here and in the media.
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Yesterday's game cemented my thoughts about Iowa. Indiana less so, as their star is not as good as UConn's opposite, AE.
 
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Topsail said:
I agree with a lot of what you stated but it was an easy opponent. I want to see us blow out Notre Dame and keep it close against SC before pronouncing us a top 4 team . We have to shoot a high percentage, limit TOs and fouls to compensate for our weakness in rebounding against the better teams. I dont see Amari getting more than a few minutes a game unless we are up 40 . Her defense is just not there.
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Agree with you wholeheartedly. Last season the other Big East teams were a lot better. So far not impressed with any of them that UCONN has played so far.
 
TN-Gamecock said:
Great Analysis
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Don’t sleep on Fulwiley! Though I’m very happy with KK and would not trade her for Fulwiley, she (Fulwiley) is just the kind of under the radar player that can creep up and bite us in the @**! Somebody, presumably KK will have to deal with her.
 
browns said:
If Uconn didn't have 3 losses they would be in the top 10..People say they were all in the top 5...correct but they were losses..it's good to play those teams for your SOS but you have to win them not lose them
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That is true but if you are going to lose three games it is clearly better to lose to top five teams.
 
UConn will probably be 5th when next they vote, behind South Carolina, Iowa, Colorado, & USC. I think they deserve a 4th place vote, but won't get it. They should be on their way to the final four.
 
hoopsnloops32 said:
UConn and Iowa are built very similarly. UConn seems a bit like Iowa on steroids though because I think their supporting cast around the star players are better on both sides of the ball. I’m surprised more people have pointed this out/made the comparison on here and in the media.
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I don't know.. At Uconn, everybody eats.. At Iowa, only Caitlin eats.. Caitlin is literally the whole team. You beat Iowa by guarding everybody else and let Caitlin be Caitlin.
 
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