UConn still the team to beat

[ThatCG1801]

The most puzzling thing about this whole Cardosa/o situation is the assumption by most on this board that it is some kind of failure on Geno’s part that she is not now a Husky. As I recall, most here believed that she was actively wanting to come to UConn. If that is/was true, then it follows that she was turned down (or not offered). Yet no one seems to want to address that possibility. Instead, it is “a disaster”, a failure on Geno’s part, “a game changer” ! It seems very likely to me that she either was not offered or ( if she was approached) that she was not (for unknown reasons) open to the opportunity that was presented to her. Either way, it has probably worked out best for all involved. I, for one, think that this coming season is the beginning of another long (2-5 seasons) period of dominance by UConn! While it is true there are two other monster teams and 2-4 very good teams out there, I am confident that, five years from now we will not be looking at 11 championships. Imo, we have struggled (UConn standards) since our last true Alpha (Stewart) left. We now have (at least one, possibly more) another true Alpha surrounded by the right mix of other players and I believe we will see the results of that beginning next season.

I'm sincerely curious. Why is the possibility that Cardoso simply chose South Carolina over UConn such a difficult aspect to consider? It seems as tho that option is not even allowed to be considered within the realm of possibility.

 

[hart2hart]

Remember when Dee was a freshman we lost in the final four and........the next three years we won the National Championship . I have a good feeling about the next three years. Can’t wait until November to see all the gals play in person! 6 months snd counting down...........!!

 

[Bald Husky]

My question is this: when is Boston going to live up to the “generational talent” label that people have been attaching to her since she was in high school. Clearly she has not lived up to it yet. Maybe next year?

I think Dawn is the problem here, trying to put her two guards in the spotlight. Boston is not generational, but can be dominating if used right.

 

[Skeets]

No slight intended to anyone, but doesn't "generational" imply that there is only 1 per generation (4 years?). We don't talk about a herd of GOATs (maybe we should), I don't see why we talk about 6 or 8 "generational" players.

 

[huskiemaniac]

Late to this party, but might as well add my two cents worth...

Look, with regards to Cardoso Camillia possibly making UConn a better team next year if she came to UConn, apparently, Geno and his staff didn't think so and I agree with them totally.

Honest question-how did you reach the conclusion that the staff wasn't interested?

 

[CocoHusky]

I guess I just don’t understand the pedestal that people keep putting these two players (especially Boston) on. Boston’s career stats are 13 ppg, 10 rbds, 1 assts while shooting 24% on threes.That is over her first two seasons. Cardoso averaged 13, 8, and 1 while shooting (and missing) one three in her only season. Furthermore, Boston’s shooting percentage went from .608 last year to .485 this past season. Now clearly she is a good post player but I just don’t see the “generational” player that so many are raving about. Perhaps I’m missing something, but I just think it’s ludicrous that she (Boston) was rated higher than Paige. Nalyssa either, for that matter, though she imo is closer to Paige than Boston. Of course, the list was from ESPN, not exactly known for objectivity. As for Cardoso, I certainly would agree that she has a lot of potential and is perhaps terrific, but I doubt that many coaches would say more so than Azzi and certainly not more than Paige, who has already banked a far superior season. I’m sincerely puzzled about this so if anyone out there can explain why Boston is “generational” I’m all ears. I mean, Caitlin Clark blew Boston out of the water statistically and produced a freshman season for the ages and is two places behind her! ESPN is a joke and is hemorrhaging credibility daily!

Caitlin Clark, Paige and NyLassa do not play the same position as Boston so I'll reject those comparisons. The pedestal ( if there is one) that people are putting Boston on is being is being the best post player in the country -Right Now that is capable of leading her team to a championship. You might not like it but Boston has earned it. This was the same pedestal (AA) that in past years that Teaira Mccowan, Kalani Brown & Lauren Cox were elevate to. There have been no credible attempts ANYWHERE to elevate Boston to all time great or even POY status- except in your creative musings.

 

[CocoHusky]

This may be true but it really doesn't match the tone of Cuango's comments imo. Paige is a generational talent yet you still have media sources spouting Boston is better. I don't think it is then unreasonable to assume some are putting Boston as "generational" even if we can't find a specific post here on the BY. And imo that was Cuango's point.

I guess he said High school and that's correct Boston was not thought of as a generational in H/S as he mentioned/implies whatever. SO sure. But to take the next step when he asks the question "what year will she be" - there are opinions that Boston is better right now as of this moment. Faulty that they may be.

What makes this fun is that I'm sure there are many boneyarders here that favor the low post game. If they favor the low post game I'm sure there would be some out there that outwardly or inwardly believe Boston is better. To those that do, they would believe Boston is "generational" wouldn't they?

And we know some posters on here love love low post basketball over perimeter hoop.

Good lord!
Where do you have media outlets " spouting Boston is better than Paige"? "
Name one outlet?

 

[BobbyJ]

Breanna Stewart wants to know why the bar for a “generational talent” has been lowered so much. She’s noticed that all you have to do now is average double figures in Pts. and Reb. for a very good team and you’re in.

I'll reword this to be PC since she obviously hasn't stated these things publicly. I use her as an example that if there is such a thing as a GT, IMO Stewart would be it. In what I would call her generation, the time span of her HS, college, and pro career so far, she's accomplished more individually and for her teams than anyone I can immediately think of and her pure talent is superior. To me that's the bar. But I wouldn't consider a player a GT just because they MIGHT become the best of their generation, they actually have to do it. There have been others in their times but it's a very small category to reach.

 

[CocoHusky]

I'll reword this to be PC since she obviously hasn't stated these things publicly. I use her as an example that if there is such a thing as a GT, IMO Stewart would be it. In what I would call her generation, the time span of her HS, college, and pro career so far, she's accomplished more individually and for her teams than anyone I can immediately think of and her pure talent is superior. To me that's the bar. But I wouldn't consider a player a GT just because they MIGHT become the best of their generation, they actually have to do it. There have been others in their times but it's a very small category to reach.

Only here on the BY can a player (Boston) who did not even receive a single vote for 2021 POY in the AP voting be entered into a conversation about "generational talent". No wonder other boards and fan bases are laughing at us. I yearn for the days when we were the ones doing the laughing, like when VolNation pronounced Cierra Burdick a Maya Moore level talent.

 

[oldhusky]

In some ways the super-team competition makes the regular season even more important. Any loss by Uconn ,SC or Stanford will be huge, particularly with teams like Maryland, Louisville, NC State ready to potentially sneak into a number 1 seed.

For that matter it could be very important to try to get a one of the top two overall seeds if both Uconn and SC are dominant. You only want to play them in that case in a potential Final. Besides our record in Finals is soooooooooooo much better than our record in Semi-Finals!

 

[Zarathustra]

Late to this party, but might as well add my two cents worth...

Look, with regards to Cardoso Camillia possibly making UConn a better team next year if she came to UConn, apparently, Geno and his staff didn't think so and I agree with them totally. The Transfer we currently have gives us way more options, which is absolutely better for our style of play.

Boston is a good player at her position, But I have been saying now for years that she has under-achieved in my opinion, based solely on her numbers. just not that impressive to me, I know many have a different opinion but oh well, I'm sticking to my assessment. One of the preseason player of the year candidates going in an un-injured to the best of my knowledge ended up being average at best which opened the door for two freshmen to contend for player of the year honors..

If Geno doesn't win next year with not one but two "Generational PLayers" on his team when none of the other teams have a single generational player on theirs, plus the envious collection of talented players to accompany those two, he should be fired for goodness sake... What else does the best coach to play the sport need to win it all? UCONN has to be favored, anything else just doesn't make sense. NO disrespect to the other teams but not winning the NC next year would be a huge disappointment to the program, me and most likely Geno himself..

Hello,
I view the FINAL FOUR as a two game tournament. Four excellent teams and, often,
the National Champion is the team with the best two game outing ( one at at time ).! The refs,
a bounce of the ball, a "hot" game, an "off" game. etc. A team works to earn the opportunity to
" make it happen"( i.e. gets to the final four) and , of course, to WIN. So, I think the NC is in the cards
for UCONN, but if we again make it to the final four, I think we continue to be "GREAT"! Go Team,
go Dorka!!!
Zarathustra

 

[BostonBay]

In some ways the super-team competition makes the regular season even more important. Any loss by Uconn ,SC or Stanford will be huge, particularly with teams like Maryland, Louisville, NC State ready to potentially sneak into a number 1 seed.

For that matter it could be very important to try to get a one of the top two overall seeds if both Uconn and SC are dominant. You only want to play them in that case in a potential Final. Besides our record in Finals is soooooooooooo much better than our record in Semi-Finals!

I can see 2 of the 3 teams (UConn, Stanford, SC) going undefeated into the tournament next season - as they are heads and shoulders above anyone else on any dimension. Tourny seeding will be critical.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

My question is this: when is Boston going to live up to the “generational talent” label that people have been attaching to her since she was in high school. Clearly she has not lived up to it yet. Maybe next year?

1. Boston was the third rated player in her class. the generational thing as far as I can tell is one sort of strange UCONN fan on here.

2. In two years, she's been second team All America and First Team All America, All SEC First Team 2x and 2x SEC DPOY for teams that finished #1 and a bucket short of playing for the Championship.

 

[Gamecockfan77]

I think Dawn is the problem here, trying to put her two guards in the spotlight. Boston is not generational, but can be dominating if used right.

No. Staley would much rather play inside out.

 

[HuskyNan]

1. Boston was the third rated player in her class. the generational thing as far as I can tell is one sort of strange UCONN fan on here.

It’s actually one UConn fan that started calling Boston generational back in 2019. This poster freaks out every time So Carolina gets another big, dunno why 🤷‍♀️

 

[Cuango]

I'm sincerely curious. Why is the possibility that Cardoso simply chose South Carolina over UConn such a difficult aspect to consider? It seems as tho that option is not even allowed to be considered within the realm of possibility.

I think most of this comes from the report early on that UConn or Auburn were her preferred landing spots. That may not have been true in retrospect, but I think a lot of people believed it and that is why there was so much angst over her choice.

 

[cbraarj]

Coates and Wilson hurt SC more than helped when playing together especially against UConn. When Coates got injured is when SCs offense was a lot better and IMO why they won the NC. I see the same problem with Boston and Cardoso. The middle will be clogged and that will benefit the other teams.

 

[hoophuskee]

Good lord!
Where do you have media outlets " spouting Boston is better than Paige"? "
Name one outlet?

View attachment 67235

Tell me what I can post on here as a link and I can do. But ESPN - Charlie Creme -has Boston 2nd and Paige 3rd for the upcoming season (Smith from Baylor 1st). He identified that on April 29th.

The Athletic had this past year Boston as POY.

 

[BBallF]

I agree with you on some points. Ive been saying who knows who is going to be better Dorka or Cardoso. I think Cardoso doesn't have to be that good next year because you have Boston and some solid post players. I think for Uconn to be a really great team Dorka has to be much better than Ono was in big games. This is the question mark. We will see once she hits the court.

Agree. Or, the combination of Dorka and Liv is much better than Liv was in big games alone, or the effect on Liv by having competition and by being pushed by Dorka in practice makes Liv better in big games. I will take any permutation.

 

[Dokey]

Isn't Betts not due for another year?

Betts is 2022. Wonder if she is still growing.

 

[Dokey]

SC, Stanford, and UConn are the standouts. The unknown is how new bigs will affect teams. It is less of a question with SC and, to a lesser degree, with Stanford, Betts being a year away. If AE, Dorka, and Amari produce, UConn remains in mix, but they need tough non-conference action to prove their worth.

 

[hoophuskee]

I believe Paige is the better of the two. While I think Azzi has a chance to be great at some point, maybe soon, I wanna see how close to 100% she is when she arrives. The question about Azzi is the same as it was about Paige and about other great prospects: when will they become impactful?

But Rivers can't be left out of the equation anymore than Fudd can with the same question pending.

Okay but you realize you are changing the subject though, right? I respect your opinion who you think is better etc but in terms of what I replied to was from Dee's post she stated a scenario if Azzi was better. - Your view that Paige is better -it's not relevant to my discussion with Dee that you replied to. I agree with you if Azzi isn't as great as many say she is then that has a definite impact. But that's not the subject.

Because the poster Dee indicated if Azzi was best. So that is the presumption/ subject we have to go with. That's what I replied to. I was replying to Dee mentioning if Azzi was the number 1 player then my question was if she were number 1 (and it would mean she would be better than Paige)- why was Dee undoubtedly saying SC is number 1? Then that was then my question to you- seeing how you were replying to my response to Dee.

So if Azzi is better than Paige (in Dee's scenario) - why would one say that SC is still undoubtedly number 1? There are other "generational players" ot counter these two super great players (if Azzi were better than Paige as the subject I was replying to)?

 

[Cuango]

Caitlin Clark, Paige and NyLassa do not play the same position as Boston so I'll reject those comparisons. The pedestal ( if there is one) that people are putting Boston on is being is being the best post player in the country -Right Now that is capable of leading her team to a championship. You might not like it but Boston has earned it. This was the same pedestal (AA) that in past years that Teaira Mccowan, Kalani Brown & Lauren Cox were elevate to. There have been no credible attempts ANYWHERE to elevate Boston to all time great or even POY status- except in your creative musings.

Earned it how? By averaging 13 points a game, by her shooting % declining in her second season, by shooting 24% from three, by not being able to make a layup despite multiple efforts in the two biggest games of her season? As for my “creative musings”, I have heard over and over how great she is and simply don’t see the results that back that up! Re: your list of comparable players, I don’t remember any of those players receiving the breathless adulation that Boston has since she first arrived at SC. I’m not even referring to her AA status, although I think others had equal of better claims. As I said earlier, I think she is a good post, just not as good as ESPN wants her to be. She may become that, but she certainly isn’t that yet!

 

[Cuango]

Good lord!
Where do you have media outlets " spouting Boston is better than Paige"? "
Name one outlet?

View attachment 67235

ESPN!

 

[CocoHusky]

Earned it how?

By leading her team to the number one ranking in the country and a decisive win over UCONN as a freshman.
By leading her team to a FF as a sophomore.
By getting enough votes to be named "consensus" AA as a sophomore.
By being the best post player in the country-are you disputing that she is?

 

[CocoHusky]

ESPN!

Show me a link where ESPN EVER said Boston was better than Paige.
Top 25 women's college basketball players for 2021-22

 

[Bajan Best]

Honest question-how did you reach the conclusion that the staff wasn't interested?

The same way others were projecting that they were interested...
( Rumors, friend of a friend who knows "X", Sheer guestimate )
Can anyone anywhere confirm that she was given an offer or even a call from anyone at Storrs?

 

[Gamecockfan77]

Coates and Wilson hurt SC more than helped when playing together especially against UConn. When Coates got injured is when SCs offense was a lot better and IMO why they won the NC. I see the same problem with Boston and Cardoso. The middle will be clogged and that will benefit the other teams.

I don't think the evidence actually supports this conclusion.

South Carolina scored 64 vs Miss State with Coates and 59 and 67 without her.

South Carolina scored 71 vs Arizona State, 71 vs FSU, 62 vs Stanford and 67 vs Miss State in the NCAA tournament. All of those were well below the season and conference averages.

South Carolina's second lowest scoring game of the season was vs Miss State without Coates and its third lowest scoring game was vs Missouri when Coates was injured.

Neither the numbers nor my recollection really supports the idea that South Carolina got really dynamic without Coates. They pretty much continued to grind games out with defense rather than offensive explosion.

I'm sure the 55 pt game vs UCONN caught your attention, but I'm sure UCONN was probably near the very top of the defensive rankings that year. Really good teams are hard to score on. I'm not sure removing the double double threat would have helped.

 

[DeeHusky]

For me you don’t have to average 25 ppg, 25 Rbs, 10 assists, and 10 blocks to be a generational talent.

Boston separates herself with what she does defensively and if South Carolina could play well in the half court she’d average 20 or more.

Diana Taurasi, I dare not compare anyone to her, ever!!! However, she did not average 30 ppg. She did what very few, and I mean very few players could do and make her teammates better.

I feel like there are some older stubborn UConn fans who don’t like to admit when other teams have nice players and feel as if when another UConn fan does acknowledge a good player, we’re crazy. I’m not saying South Carolina is the #1 team and the best collegiate women’s bb team of all time, I just simply stated Boston is good.

Stop projecting your fears of these teams playing on others, you can only win or lose.

 

[jumpstart]

My question is this: when is Boston going to live up to the “generational talent” label that people have been attaching to her since she was in high school. Clearly she has not lived up to it yet. Maybe next year?

Why do you think Boston should live up to someone's expectation ? She plays in a system and she is very good at what she does. She was not the No.1 recruit, she was No. 3...but she has played as well as any other recruit...I don't get this..."live up to" idiocy that people throw out there. Boston is a great player she and never claims anything...so stop with this stuff. Here's who Boston is...