UConn stats... Serah Williams career stats are really impressive...!!

[Bone Dog]

Coach Close was frantic because they had no second plan. IMHO UCLA will be a top team, but UConn has a major advantage with coaching and changing to a new system when things don't go well.

Cori said something in one of the sideline interviews during the final four game that supports what you’re saying. She said her team wasn’t prepared to play at the speed UConn plays, “and that’s on us.” I didn’t think she was talking about foot speed, but rather the pressure of Geno’s read and react offense and the speed of his switching defenses. The closeouts on defensive rotations were simply too much for them, and the offensive pressure Sarah Paige and Azzi could put on their defense was also too much.

One play epitomized this, when Azzi hit Paige with a long pass on a transition break and Paige volleyed it to Kaitlyn who scored easily. Kiki Rice was trying to keep up with Paige, but the volley over to Kaitlyn was simply indefensible. On the replay you could also see Jana coming in right behind Kiki, in effect 3 players storming down the court. And as if to underline their dominance, they pulled the same play a few minutes later, this time with Kaitlyn volleying the pass back to Sarah.

 

[JellyBean]

I don't think Serah will have a confidence problem, and I don't think she will have a problem fitting in. She is a senior, and she has banged with the best of the BIG. I expect her to really stand out this season, and I have to agree that there will not be a better 4/5 combo in the country. I don't know who the other combos around the country are, but in my opinion, it doesn't matter. They will be the best, and I believe Serah will really bring her draft stock up by the end of the season. First round W draftee, guaranteed.

We shall see. I am just keeping my expectations low because I have seen transfer players do really well with their new teams and some that did not do so well, and a lot was because they lacked that confidence. Like I said, we shall see what develops.

 

[NycUcWbbFan]

Cori said something in one of the sideline interviews during the final four game that supports what you’re saying. She said her team wasn’t prepared to play at the speed UConn plays, “and that’s on us.” I didn’t think she was talking about foot speed, but rather the pressure of Geno’s read and react offense and the speed of his switching defenses. The closeouts on defensive rotations were simply too much for them, and the offensive pressure Sarah Paige and Azzi could put on their defense was also too much.

One play epitomized this, when Azzi hit Paige with a long pass on a transition break and Paige volleyed it to Kaitlyn who scored easily. Kiki Rice was trying to keep up with Paige, but the volley over to Kaitlyn was simply indefensible. On the replay you could also see Jana coming in right behind Kiki, in effect 3 players storming down the court. And as if to underline their dominance, they pulled the same play a few minutes later, this time with Kaitlyn volleying the pass back to Sarah.

I think the speed we’re talking about here is also essentially what Sue articulated (in a comical way) in her Naismith HoF speech. It is also what Dawn described previously as being a machine.

Sue said that the best Geno advice on basketball was when he said “basketball is not a game of ‘how to’, but a game of ‘when to’”.

This is at the heart of Geno’s metamorphosed schemes. He and CD try very hard to recruit players who they think will do well with these schemes (and not necessarily, say, tall and athletic players per a poster who had roster envy of another team last season).

So, imagine 40 minutes of full-throttle symphonic stress-tested “basketball player” mix-match featuring this type of speedy perpetually recalibrating team basketball. As opposed to opponents’ frequently rigidly monochromatic schemes.

Serah’s arrival makes Geno’s schemes extra-lethal.

Sarah’s and Serah’s advanced metrics (Sarah | Sera | explainer) &1 portend to a devastating complimentary combo at switchable 4/5 positions. But it is more than that.

• Sarah, perhaps the best D1 post passer, now has a great finisher; and Sera, a great passer herself, has a great finisher;
• This, along with more bandwidth and Geno’s inimitable harping &2 on the most important postseason weaponization opportunities, will result in better practice iterations on improving post play including passing into and within the post — ergo a more lethal full-fledged mix-match (a lead into next year with Olivia?);
• Sarah, Sera and Blanca are this year’s analog to last year’s Paige and Azzi who were all crucial to all the mix-match lineups.

&1 Including performance against tough opponents.

&2 Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Geno and CD will make sure the already quite-polished Serah will shine for the postseason and improve on her draft stock.

 

[Bone Dog]

This, along with more bandwidth and Geno’s inimitable harping &2 on the most important postseason weaponization opportunities, will result in better practice iterations on improving post play including passing into and within the post — ergo a more lethal full-fledged mix-match (a lead into next year with Olivia?);

Now you’ve gone and done it, you’ve reminded me of the interior passing in the paint of the old Celtics in the Bird-Parrish-McHale years. This past season, Paige Sarah Azzi had tremendous passing into the post, typically from the top of the key, and the best back cut passing in D1. But they also showed glimpses of the sort of interior passing of the old Celtics. I would really love to see it come to full flower next season. since Serah gives Geno the sort of personnel to take the passing game to another level.

In addition, if she can recover her game, Carol is another player with the passing skills and size to make an interior passing game work. Blanca may be another. In high school, this was also a feature of Morgan’s play with McKenna Woliczko — she’s already lived it, implemented it, and may be able to raise these skills to the level Geno would demand.

In the battle for front court playing time, this is likely to be one of the things that could help Jana Ice and Ayanna compete.