Lots of good points in your comment. But this one really stands out for me!Shade looks like the second coming of the Kia Nurse/Kelly Faris type
I hope that’s the reason. I would love to see her get to where she can consistently give us 10-15 minutes per game of non garbage time!quite impressed and happy with KK and Ice. I was sad to see so many turnovers, which really plagued us last year. I suspect Amari got very few minutes as she is still recovering fomr her medical issues.
I Doubt it as wellAll and all a good game to have under their belt going into the regular season. None of the freshman (including ICE in that group) looked lost and for the most part looked pretty good. ICE and KK made the case for primary backups, Ashlyn and Q look ready to get non-4th Q minutes. I'm surprised Amari only got garbage minutes in an exhibition game; I have hoped she would begin showing some quality play this year. There is a whole season for her to do that but she'll need to play a lot of minutes to have a shot at raising her level and I doubt she'll get them.
Still isAnd when we're talking about rotations, let's not forget about Ayanna. We may see her next week. She has tremendous potential but last year seemed a little unsure of herself.
Good catch. Thanks.Which freshman, or do you mean the freshmen?
Be prepared to be continually surprised. With how thin the team is in bigs, Edwards and Brady will almost never be on the floor together, particularly with how much talent the team has at the guard and wing positions. Carol and Aubrey will be taking turns at the four all season unless something dramatic happens; if they are not, the team is in big trouble.My guess is that the starting lineup will eventually change and evolve. I was surprised by how small we started the game! Loved seeing Caroline start, as that signals she’s looked good in practice. Her at her best is another great asset to the team. Could eventually see Ice of Aubrey starting as well. It’s great to have so many options.
Paige being back is monumental. She played few minutes, but her presence was huge.
Agree the rotation will probably be 8, including todays starters, Ice, Aubrey, and KK.
Overall glad to be back and excited to see how this season goes.
She hasn't been able to practice at all. Don't hold your breath waiting for her. Besides, where would she it in? Whose minutes would she take?And when we're talking about rotations, let's not forget about Ayanna. We may see her next week. She has tremendous potential but last year seemed a little unsure of herself.
Whose minutes would you take away to give her 10-15?I hope that’s the reason. I would love to see her get to where she can consistently give us 10-15 minutes per game of non garbage time!
1-2 from everyone ? Just a thought. The same way everyone gets minutes. Execute in practice and execute when you're in a game.Whose minutes would you take away to give her 10-15?
I don’t think so but we’ll seeBe prepared to be continually surprised. With how thin the team is in bigs, Edwards and Brady will almost never be on the floor together, particularly with how much talent the team has at the guard and wing positions. Carol and Aubrey will be taking turns at the four all season unless something dramatic happens; if they are not, the team is in big trouble.
Quadence seems to be a talented playerI attended the game in person, and I've read all the posts in this thread. Generally I agree with them, but I'd like to add a few more observations that may not be as gung-ho as most of the posters in this thread. I'm focusing mostly on the "newbies" (i.e., freshman + Ice). I think all of the veterans except Amari looked outstanding and ready to go for the season.
- Is Ashlynn Shade really Kelly Faris V2.0, as many Boneyarders have suggested? I don't think so. Obviously, she is similar insofar as she plays intelligently, has the same ruggedness because she is in such good physical shape, knows her role and sticks to it, and always gives 100% hustle. But to my eyes she is much less athletic than Kelly was (running speed, quickness in changing direction, leaping ability). She is also an inch or two shorter than Kelly. That means she is unlikely ever to defend on the perimeter or rebound as well as Kelly did. She will be a valuable member of the team for four years, and she may turn out to be a better outside shooter than Kelly was before her senior year, but there is a definite ceiling on her realistic contributions.
- Can K.K. Arnold live up to her press releases? I say "unqualified yes" to this question. She is just as lightning-fast, quick, and relentless on defense as she has been described. Two skills that I saw which I don't recall seeing in the advance press are her ball-handling in traffic and her passing. There were several times when she had contested possession of the ball, where it could easily have been stolen from her, but she came out of the scrum with the ball. And she made some finishing passes that Paige or Nika would be proud of. The only thing that I didn't see from her was outside shooting. If that is a real problem and defenses figure it out, it will limit her minutes because no one will guard her closely.
- Is "Q" (Qadence Samuels) an Aubrey-in-waiting? I say Yes. I think she will have a year very similar to Aubrey's freshman year, with the same assets and limitations. She may be a better 3-point shooter than Aubrey is even now.
- Is Ice going to be in the top echelon of UConn forwards by the time she graduates (just as Aaliyah will be)? I say Yes to this question also. Ice is already a strong rebounder (as best as can be determined against this outmatched opposition). When she rebounds the ball, it stays rebounded. She plays intelligently and is not intimidated (again we need to see if this will be the case against top competition). I think Geno will eventually decide that UConn needs two "real" bigs against top competition, and therefore will play Aaliyah and Ice at the same time for long stretches. I would expect to see Aubrey and Caroline mostly at the "3", with roughly equal minutes. The "true" guards (Paige, Nika, Azzi, KK, Ashlynn, and Ines) can split the minutes at the 1 and 2 positions, with the first four of those obviously getting the dominant share against good competition.
- I am mystified by the mere 7 minutes given to Amari in a lopsided game. The only conclusion that seems plausible is that Geno still does not have confidence in her, based on her practice performance. In a game as non-competitive as this one, you would think he would give her enough minutes to get the rust out and develop some confidence. I guess that hasn't happened in the practices to date. So I hope that when Ayanna returns, she is much higher in Geno's pecking order.
I would assume that would be Geno’s decision. I just hope she can play well enough to force him to do that.Whose minutes would you take away to give her 10-15?
Perhaps this was the plan, based on the fact that she had back surgery this past summer?I attended the game in person, and I've read all the posts in this thread. Generally I agree with them, but I'd like to add a few more observations that may not be as gung-ho as most of the posters in this thread. I'm focusing mostly on the "newbies" (i.e., freshman + Ice). I think all of the veterans except Amari looked outstanding and ready to go for the season.
- I am mystified by the mere 7 minutes given to Amari in a lopsided game. The only conclusion that seems plausible is that Geno still does not have confidence in her, based on her practice performance. In a game as non-competitive as this one, you would think he would give her enough minutes to get the rust out and develop some confidence. I guess that hasn't happened in the practices to date. So I hope that when Ayanna returns, she is much higher in Geno's pecking order.
No "that's" is a contraction of two words.That’s 4 words.
Agree with everything but the Farris/Ashlyn comparison. I don’t think they are anything alike but I do think Ashlyn is much more athletic than Farris. A better comparison for Ashlyn imo is Shea Ralph. Obviously not as good but similar styles of play.I attended the game in person, and I've read all the posts in this thread. Generally I agree with them, but I'd like to add a few more observations that may not be as gung-ho as most of the posters in this thread. I'm focusing mostly on the "newbies" (i.e., freshman + Ice). I think all of the veterans except Amari looked outstanding and ready to go for the season.
- Is Ashlynn Shade really Kelly Faris V2.0, as many Boneyarders have suggested? I don't think so. Obviously, she is similar insofar as she plays intelligently, has the same ruggedness because she is in such good physical shape, knows her role and sticks to it, and always gives 100% hustle. But to my eyes she is much less athletic than Kelly was (running speed, quickness in changing direction, leaping ability). She is also an inch or two shorter than Kelly. That means she is unlikely ever to defend on the perimeter or rebound as well as Kelly did. She will be a valuable member of the team for four years, and she may turn out to be a better outside shooter than Kelly was before her senior year, but there is a definite ceiling on her realistic contributions.
- Can K.K. Arnold live up to her press releases? I say "unqualified yes" to this question. She is just as lightning-fast, quick, and relentless on defense as she has been described. Two skills that I saw which I don't recall seeing in the advance press are her ball-handling in traffic and her passing. There were several times when she had contested possession of the ball, where it could easily have been stolen from her, but she came out of the scrum with the ball. And she made some finishing passes that Paige or Nika would be proud of. The only thing that I didn't see from her was outside shooting. If that is a real problem and defenses figure it out, it will limit her minutes because no one will guard her closely.
- Is "Q" (Qadence Samuels) an Aubrey-in-waiting? I say Yes. I think she will have a year very similar to Aubrey's freshman year, with the same assets and limitations. She may be a better 3-point shooter than Aubrey is even now.
- Is Ice going to be in the top echelon of UConn forwards by the time she graduates (just as Aaliyah will be)? I say Yes to this question also. Ice is already a strong rebounder (as best as can be determined against this outmatched opposition). When she rebounds the ball, it stays rebounded. She plays intelligently and is not intimidated (again we need to see if this will be the case against top competition). I think Geno will eventually decide that UConn needs two "real" bigs against top competition, and therefore will play Aaliyah and Ice at the same time for long stretches. I would expect to see Aubrey and Caroline mostly at the "3", with roughly equal minutes. The "true" guards (Paige, Nika, Azzi, KK, Ashlynn, and Ines) can split the minutes at the 1 and 2 positions, with the first four of those obviously getting the dominant share against good competition.
- I am mystified by the mere 7 minutes given to Amari in a lopsided game. The only conclusion that seems plausible is that Geno still does not have confidence in her, based on her practice performance. In a game as non-competitive as this one, you would think he would give her enough minutes to get the rust out and develop some confidence. I guess that hasn't happened in the practices to date. So I hope that when Ayanna returns, she is much higher in Geno's pecking order.