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Message: [QUOTE="NycUcWbbFan, post: 5010215, member: 13453"] I wouldn’t worry so much about having 5 incomers, 4 walking wounded who conservatively would become available only in January and the perceived prior injury-plagued play of certain posts. The starting 12 tough OOC games will make Geno rattle his brains to make his available 10-player squad (Paige, KK, Ash, Q, Ice, Jana, Morgan, Allie, Sarah and Kaitlyn) work. He has done so with the [URL='https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/connecticut/women/2003.html']2002-03 [/URL]squad (the year after TASSK graduated) — when Diana and 3 key reserves were joined by the 4-player Ann Strother class. That team started the year [URL='https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/connecticut/women/2003-starters.html']12-0[/URL], including an overtime win over TN on their 12th game. The [URL='https://uconnhuskies.com/sports/womens-basketball/roster/2024-25']2024-25[/URL] 10-player OOC team is better than that 2002-2003 team in that it has 4 point guards and is built to run. Morgan, it seems, has correctly intuited that she is probably most urgently needed as the 2023 Paige analog at the 4. In a way, having the walking wounded return only in January is a blessing, forcing Geno to play (5)+5 for most games with the incomers during the OOC games. Thus, when the walking wounded return, Geno can then develop his postseason rotation from battle-tested incomers and veterans. As far as minutes distribution, having two mini-seasons and a running game helps. Practice play development will be more intense. In addition, having a different (5)+5 in the first 12 OOC games evolving to an improved (5)+5+ ((5)+8+ in really tough games) in mid-January helps to keep all players in continuous self-improvement mode. [/QUOTE]

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