UConn will be fine

[Tonyc]

We have a team of studs who will step up. We showed everyone last season that our team that was full of injuries, with a very tuff bracket in the NCAAs, found the resilience to beat some very tuff teams and make it to the finals. We're a year older and healthier and once again Paigeless. Geno has a few months to get his team up to speed without Paige. After reading the threads there was a question and comments about another point guard. I do remember someone mentioning Azzi can play the point. However she is UConns shooting guard so that most likely wont be an option. With Nika foul prone we will need somebody else who can play the point. We can not imo go into the season without another point guard. Nika plays aggressive defense and we need that however playing aggressive leads to fouls and that could spell trouble for UConn at the point if shes on the bench. With that said we need someone with experience. Our early season schedule is really tuff so experience at the point is essential. Im sure Geno and his coaching staff are looking at their options and Azzi Caroline and Lou will be mentored and if thats not an option then UConn will be looking for someone who is formattable.

We will miss Paige's leadership on the court. Her positive attitude, her ability to make plays, and take over games may not be replaceable. We do have the studs to pick up the scoring and we do have the height and depth underneath to dominate. It will take time for Ice and Yanna to get up to speed in their new environment. They have the skills to be great. It wont be throw them in a microwave and they come out ready to compete at the college level right away. It will take time and it will happen as the season progresses.

I expect Amari to surprise alot of people this season. She has the skills and she has a good shot. Her height will be a plus this season along with her ability to pass the ball inside. Azzi Caroline and Lou are great scorers. We've heard all about Lou and we saw what Azzi and Caroline can due when they were asked to step up. There are gonna be some bumps in the road as we set out for our quest to win another NC and those bumps will become learning experiences and make us better as we move forward.

The things that need to happen to make up for Paige not in the lineup will happen over the next few months which means we have time to get ready. I am very confident that this team even without Paige is a great team. I just read that ESPN has now UConn ranked 6th in their poll. They are in for a big surprise.

 

[CL82]

We have a team of studs who will step up. We showed everyone last season that our team that was full of injuries, with a very tuff bracket in the NCAAs, found the resilience to beat some very tuff teams and make it to the finals. We're a year older and healthier and once again Paigeless. Geno has a few months to get his team up to speed without Paige. After reading the threads there was a question and comments about another point guard. I do remember someone mentioning Azzi can play the point. However she is UConns shooting guard so that most likely wont be an option. With Nika foul prone we will need somebody else who can play the point. We can not imo go into the season without another point guard. Nika plays aggressive defense and we need that however playing aggressive leads to fouls and that could spell trouble for UConn at the point if shes on the bench. With that said we need someone with experience. Our early season schedule is really tuff so experience at the point is essential. Im sure Geno and his coaching staff are looking at their options and Azzi Caroline and Lou will be mentored and if thats not an option then UConn will be looking for someone who is formattable.

We will miss Paige's leadership on the court. Her positive attitude, her ability to make plays, and take over games may not be replaceable. We do have the studs to pick up the scoring and we do have the height and depth underneath to dominate. It will take time for Ice and Yanna to get up to speed in their new environment. They have the skills to be great. It wont be throw them in a microwave and they come out ready to compete at the college level right away. It will take time and it will happen as the season progresses.

I expect Amari to surprise alot of people this season. She has the skills and she has a good shot. Her height will be a plus this season along with her ability to pass the ball inside. Azzi Caroline and Lou are great scorers. We've heard all about Lou and we saw what Azzi and Caroline can due when they were asked to step up. There are gonna be some bumps in the road as we set out for our quest to win another NC and those bumps will become learning experiences and make us better as we move forward.

The things that need to happen to make up for Paige not in the lineup will happen over the next few months which means we have time to get ready. I am very confident that this team even without Paige is a great team. I just read that ESPN has now UConn ranked 6th in their poll. They are in for a big surprise.

Well, I feel better now.

 

[hard2please]

thanks tony! i just threw away my crutches

 

[Bigboote]

Nika at the point for 30 minutes, Azzi for 10. They absolutely need a third player cross-trained at PG. South Carolina under similar circumstances played 6-4 Laeticia Amihere at point some of last year. Dawn worked it out, Geno will too.

 

[HuskyNan]

 

[LoboDays]

Cam Young is killing it Tony.

This was a Final Four team with Paige. Maybe they still are but many of the posts on this board are asking players to step up……be better than they ever have been before. The jury is out. This is still a very good team. For me, the chance of going to the Championship game doesn’t depend on current players playing better than they have before ( that’s a hope). It depends on the two incoming freshman making major contributions to the teams success. The team without those players will struggle to make the FF.

 

[Bone Dog]

Cam Young is killing it Tony.

This was a Final Four team with Paige. Maybe they still are but many of the posts on this board are asking players to step up……be better than they ever have been before. The jury is out. This is still a very good team. For me, the chance of going to the Championship game doesn’t depend on current players playing better than they have before ( that’s a hope). It depends on the two incoming freshman making major contributions to the teams success. The team without those players will struggle to make the FF.

I completely agree. We were a final four team with Paige and the main squad. Without her, we need the freshmen and Lou to carry a bigger load even to make the final four. That said, I think they can do it.

 

[oldhusky]

Nika at the point for 30 minutes, Azzi for 10. They absolutely need a third player cross-trained at PG. South Carolina under similar circumstances played 6-4 Laeticia Amihere at point some of last year. Dawn worked it out, Geno will too.

Short of getting another PG trained player as you say, and even if they do, your 30/10 minutes distribution at the point between Nika and Azzi is a pretty good prediction. Caroline and Lou should not even be considered for that role except in an emergency, but since Nika or Azzi could also get injured, we still need to find another PG option if possible, but of course at this late stage it won't be easy.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

what if...
what if geno turns this wholly unformed mass of clay into one of his smartest squads ever? he's got plenty of horsepower to start with, plenty of time to fiddle around with who stands where, and plenty of experience
to sculpt this crew into a coldly logical, diabolically efficient, and, dareisayit, plodding winning machine.
it's not fanciful, in fact, it's downright possible.

and, since injuries are part of the game, injuries can, and do often happen to the other teams too, so, there's that.

as always, as usual, as expected, it will be fun. we're already winners.

 

[veryolddog]

Very, very, nice post, Tony. Nice to read.

 

[oldude]

Great to have a fresh dose of Tonyc sunshine. I will offer this up as a recipe for UConn to get back to another FF. With Nika, Aaliyah, a healthy Aubrey and 2 physically gifted freshmen UConn has the potential to be a brutally tough defensive team, not even considering the contributions of Dorka, Azzi, Caroline, Lou & Amari It may not always be pretty, but UConn will field a team capable of “winning ugly” against any team in the country.

 

[meyers7]

UCONN will be fine.

I agree. However, UCONN may not be "great". Probably will need to be great to get by S. Carolina and Stanford. But we'll see. Gonna be fun to watch this season anyway.

 

[Rb335]

If you take our starting lineup from the tournament run, we lose 3 starters. I expect some growing pains, but we have a lot of talent.

Fudd has show glimpses of greatness, she’s the X factor to me. If she can step up and be the go to option, we are in a good spot.

Muhl, Edwards, Ducharme, and Juhasz have shown promise, we just need consistency.

Our starting 5 should put us in the top 10. The loss of Paige really costs us a player who can create on broken plays. There’s no doubt we lose offense and efficiency by replacing her minutes with Muhl.

We’ll be fine, we just need every player to step up. It’ll be another year where it’s done by committee, which is fitting for a team sport.

 

[Bone Dog]

I like the “win ugly” and “pg by committee” talk. The latter makes us roughly what Stanford was last year. They lacked a true pg, and it mostly worked. But the weakness was exposed against Texas and Rory Harmon early, and then against us in the final four. I know, a lot of people think it was just a fluke poor shooting night that did them in against us. But I think it was point guard by committee that did it. Haley jones, Lexie Hull, Anna Wilson, Hannah Jump — none of them could do the job without it costing them too much elsewhere.

We’ll win a lot of games, but I think we’ll really be tested against teams with quick guards. Noter Dame is the sort of team that could expose this weakness.

 

[socal613ws]

I like the “win ugly” and “pg by committee” talk. The latter makes us roughly what Stanford was last year. They lacked a true pg, and it mostly worked. But the weakness was exposed against Texas and Rory Harmon early, and then against us in the final four. I know, a lot of people think it was just a fluke poor shooting night that did them in against us. But I think it was point guard by committee that did it. Haley jones, Lexie Hull, Anna Wilson, Hannah Jump — none of them could do the job without it costing them too much elsewhere.

We’ll win a lot of games, but I think we’ll really be tested against teams with quick guards. Noter Dame is the sort of team that could expose this weakness.

Stanford shot 2 for 16 they just couldn't shoot. Probably worn out from Texas game.

 

[Monte]

Final Four: probably............National Champs: probably not

 

[Charliebball]

UConn will be a Top Ten team if Nika and Azzi remain healthy, something that they have yet to accomplish in their careers so far.......

 

[Conndog]

Our starting 5 should put us in the top 10. The loss of Paige really costs us a player who can create on broken plays. There’s no doubt we lose offense and efficiency by replacing her minutes with Muhl.

Paige could always get a shot if needed, and they went in often, no matter who was guarding her, against any team. What an insurance policy! I don’t know who else on this team can score, or at least shoot, when absolutely necessary. Azzi has a pretty quick release, maybe it’ll be her turn now.

 

[visitingcock]

Are the thousand + players who were in the portal this Spring bound by their post-portal “commitments?” Did they sign LOIs or did they merely announce?

I really don’t know since “commitment” became such a mushy word. Some of them may have only been 109% committed

 

[oldude]

Are the thousand + players who were in the portal this Spring bound by their post-portal “commitments?” Did they sign LOIs or did they merely announce?

I really don’t know since “commitment” became such a mushy word. Some of them may have only been 109% committed

There were 1,312 WBB players who listed their names in the transfer portal. 936 found a new home. That means 376 players either returned to their existing school or, in most instances, are no longer playing basketball.

Most of the 376 players were grad transfers who did not receive offers. These players would be highly unlikely to help UConn or any other top WBB program beyond providing a warm body at practice and playing “mop up” minutes during blowouts.

 

[Bone Dog]

As always, in this matter I trust Geno and the staff to have found all the players who could contribute to the UConn system. Lots of players in the portal were just not Huskies. I have no better judgment to offer on this question. Better to go with 10 than to add players who don't really fit in.

 

[Conndog]

Losing Paige also means losing a great defender. Paige is very quick & moved easily to stay in good defensive position.

I wonder how UConn will be defensively, especially getting rebounds against tall and aggressive teams. South Carolina killed us on the boards, but Liv was limited, Dorka couldn’t play, no Aubrey, etc. also, playing Aaliyah up at high post was a frequently occurring mistake throughout the year in my opinion.

This year, even without Paige, we can and need to be stronger defensively. Nika will play more minutes, which helps defensively, Caroline will be healthy again with her length, Azzi is an excellent defender, Aubrey is fantastic defender. I like Aaliyah’s defense too, and when Brady and Patterson are in the game, I think they will grab rebounds without problems. How will Deberry fare on defense, and is Lou going to be a good defender? Dorka needs to hold her position and hopefully her wrist won’t affect her rebounding.

We will sorely miss Paige’s offense and her defense too, but playing minutes this season may depend on being able to play good defense and getting rebounds, more than ever.

 

[Bone Dog]

I wonder how UConn will be defensively, especially getting rebounds against tall and aggressive teams. South Carolina killed us on the boards, but Liv was limited, Dorka couldn’t play, no Aubrey, etc. also, playing Aaliyah up at high post was a frequently occurring mistake throughout the year in my opinion.

I don't think we're gonna be so easy to move off the boards, with Dorka-Aaliyah-Ice-Ayanna-Amari. That's as much muscle as anyone else in the country, and a good deal more mobile than almost everyone else. But part of the reason we often give up rebounds to teams like SCar is that we play for the breaks. This means not sending 4 to the glass on D. You have to make your choices in this game.

As for Defense, if the injury situation breaks our way, I think we'll be one of the best defensive teams on the country.

 

[ClifSpliffy]

what if...
what if geno turns this wholly unformed mass of clay into one of his smartest squads ever? he's got plenty of horsepower to start with, plenty of time to fiddle around with who stands where, and plenty of experience
to sculpt this crew into a coldly logical, diabolically efficient, and, dareisayit, plodding winning machine.
it's not fanciful, in fact, it's downright possible.

and, since injuries are part of the game, injuries can, and do often happen to the other teams too, so, there's that.

as always, as usual, as expected, it will be fun. we're already winners.

hey! look what i just learned at another thread here!
'Kylie Feuerbach suffers torn ACL'
obviously not excited at her trouble, and hoping her a speedy recovery too...

but
'and, since injuries are part of the game, injuries can, and do often happen to the other teams too, so, there's that.'

imagine that. this post was aboot 16 hours earlier. that was fast.

 

[Bigboote]

Short of getting another PG trained player as you say, and even if they do, your 30/10 minutes distribution at the point between Nika and Azzi is a pretty good prediction. Caroline and Lou should not even be considered for that role except in an emergency, but since Nika or Azzi could also get injured, we still need to find another PG option if possible, but of course at this late stage it won't be easy.

I agree with most of what you say, but would add that if someone is pressed into action, she most definitely needs to practice at PG before she's pressed into action. And I think the odds are low that Nika and Azzi will both be available all game every game in the upcoming season. So someone, probably Caroline, will need to spend some time practicing at point absent a late addition.

I'll also add that I'm encouraged by what I've read in a couple of other threads about possible European options for additional point guards. Of course, Geno (a native European himself) will probably be pulling his hair out if he has ANOTHER European on his team. : )