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Message: [QUOTE="cferraro04, post: 5007798, member: 267"] By no means is Ashlynn a forgotten woman. Her contributions this last season are duly noted and certainly appreciated by all UConn fans. We don't get to the final four without her. This year, assuming we have a full roster of healthy players will be exceptionally challenging for Geno. Based on Ash's contributions last season does she deserve to be one of the top minute getters? The simple answer is yes. But, as noted in this thread where do the minutes come from, and at whose expense? Keep in mind that we have senior students who have contributed much-needed play when they were healthy. Geno is keenly aware of his upperclassmen and the fact that their college careers may soon be over. Aubrey and Caroline if healthy will be given their opportunities. The same argument could be made for KK...she was thrust into a starting role and while she may have come up short on the scoring end and her three-point shot could have been a little better she was a demon on the defensive end and she played a big role in UConn getting to the final four. Where do we get minutes for her? Azzi is probably one of the best three-point shooters in the country she has to play. If healthy everybody would agree that it will be the Paige-Azzi show next season. After losing Aaliyah Edwards we need to fill that void so both Ice and Jana have to play. Yeah, we could go to a small line-up but Geno knows that he has to develop the posts because a small line-up won't get the job done with some teams. Sara Strong is the number one recruit in the county and she didn't come to UConn to sit on the bench...she will play major minutes. Ziebel and Cheli aren't your typical freshmen they will be ready to play from day one. If anyone doubts it then ask yourself if Shade and KK were ready then why wouldn't the number 7 and the number 11 recruit be ready? Then what do you do with Kaitlin Chen...for her to decide to come to UConn someone had to outline what her expected role was going to be. It is already established that she is a tried and tested point guard who brings defense just like KK and who is a scorer and this is her last year of eligibility...oh, oh...another player who has to play. Couldn't we make a similar argument for Qadence Samuels...we know she can shoot, we know she can play defense and she is long, and quick on offense. She was needed to give UConn something off the bench. Will she make the sophomore jump? If she does where to we get minutes for her? If you want to talk about the "forgotten woman" look no further than Ayanna Patterson. Remember her play in her freshmen year? Yes, it was somewhat disappointing but, she was nursing injuries. She has had her surgery, she will be recovered by January and ready to play. Did anyone forget the videos of her in high school playing above the rim and dunking the basketball? What does Geno do with her? Geno has a big problem finding minutes for all his players. There is a reason why Geno isn't aggressively pursuing the transfer wire. He knows he has a minutes problem and if he doesn't manage it correctly he could lose players next season. He doesn't want to add to the quagmire by getting another player who only has one year left and has to play. Additionally, Geno knows that Ashlynn and KK are only sophomores. He knows that they both are about the team and understand that Geno has to put the team first. Geno, KK, and Ash know that they will get their opportunities in the post-Paige / Azzi era. All in all, your point is well taken...but, with one exception Ash is not the "forgotten woman". Finding minutes for this amazing group of women is a daunting task but, aren't you happy that we have this problem? I think there are about 300 Division One coaches who would love to have this situation. [/QUOTE]

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