UConn will be High Octane

[Tonyc]

To win it all and to go undefeated we first of all can not take a game off. I dont see that happening or else you will sit the bench and someone else is waiting in the wings for an opportunity to play. You have an off game, or your sick or hurt or you get in foul trouble this season we have someone who can step up. Mentally having someone really good in the wings waiting for their chance to prove themselves keeps you mentally in the game and focused. The competition for play time this season with our immense talent will force everybody to play at their highest level and if they dont they will be subbed for. Its that simple. We are an explosive team with alot of options and no other team in WCBB has that. We have the ability and talent to score alot of points in a very short time and defenses can not slack off or else they game is over. We've seen that in the past with other UConn teams.

SC is loaded too and they can do alot. My guess is when SC plays their bigs one is gonna have to play a forward position and will have to hit some outside shots which will pull her away from the basket. If she is hitting her outside shots that works and if shes not that could hurt. Stanford on the other hand has bigs who can hit outside shots pretty consistently. When it comes to crunch time we will see who Dawn depends on for their go to player. My guess it get it down low. When it crunch time we have Paige and Azzi and they both will draw alot of attention and they both can create and deliver the ball to their team mates and make things happen. Those of you who remember Dianas highlights in big games saw that from Paige last season in many games She would step up when the team needed her. Now we have Azzi too. They will be tuff to stop and I dont think they can be stopped. Thats 2 go to players when we need it and no team in WCBB has that. That imo is gonna be the difference. Another point is we have the height to match up with SC and Stanford. All 3 teams have good guards and a good bench. UConn has P&A and thats the biggest difference in the top 3 teams and its a major difference. P&A will put alot of pressure on defenses who will always be looking for them. Now add in Caroline Saylor Christyn all who can shoot from deep and defenses will have to come out and guard them. Understand when you have players who will shoot close or over 40% from deep the defense will have to spread it out and the bigs underneath will be forced to come out and guard those shooters if defenders get beat.

Taking about Bigs. When was the last time you saw a big take over a game against another top team? Stewie Tina Becca Kara. Against UConn that didnt happen often. Scoring comes from good guards and bigs will score based on the ability of good guards who can get them the ball. When a big is able to get the ball down low without much attention/defense they will score but that wont happen against UConn this season and most likely wont happen against SC or Stanford. Teams rely on their guards to run the team and in most cases thats where scoring begins.

MY Expectations are Edwards will step up big this season as a scorer and rebounder much like she did late in the season last year. She will be a force. Dorka well she wants it thats why she chose UConn and I expect a fierce relentless attack from her. Caroline I feel has something to prove and she will from deep. This is the last season for our seniors and they will rise to the occasion.

Every player on this years roster will be eager to get their chance to prove themselves and they will all be fighting for playtime. Thats what competition does to those who want it really bad. We will be running on high octane ever second of the game and will be mentally focused because of the competition on the team. Can we go undefeated and can we will a NC? It will all depend our the development and how fast our team chemistry, continuity and confidence the 3 C's comes together. Dont worry about some hiccups early on this season. Hiccups are a result of your learning curve. The important thing is this team believes they can win it all and belief is a key to end goal.

 

[Huskee11]

Both UConn and South Carolina have a lot of returning talent but also a lot of new talent. How quickly will the coaches of those teams get the new players to fit in? What will their roles be? We will see pretty soon, later this month.

How it looks in April will be different than what we see in November as those players get more involved and comfortable over time. Coaching will be more important than ever.

Stanford will look good early because they are returning largely the same team, minus one and not a lot of new players to work in.

I think that our strength is on the perimeter and if our big players can play the bigs on South Carolina and, possibly down the road, Stanford more or less even, we will be in very good shape. I am optimistic in that regard, especially looking for Edwards to stand out.

 

[oldude]

When I look at the deep and talented teams around WBB, the two things that stand out about UConn are the significant number of great shooters as well as the outstanding group of passers on this team.

That’s a deadly combination that will create nightmares for opposing coaches. This season, when UConn is moving the ball and knocking down shots, the Huskies will be unbeatable for all practical purposes, regardless of what their opponent does on offense.

 

[hoopsfan22]

Who are the great shooters? The team only had one shooter last season that could shoot 45/35/70 and that was Paige who shot 52/46/87.

 

[oldude]

Who are the great shooters? The team only had one shooter last season that could shoot 45/35/70 and that was Paige who shot 52/46/87.

I recognize that expectations on the BY are a tad elevated, but when it comes to 3-pt shooting, most basketball folks believe anything around 34% or greater (51% effective rate) is very good. UConn had 4 players who were basically at or above 34% last season, and both Christyn & Nika were substantially better during the 2nd half of the season after slow starts.

Add in Azzi & Caroline, two of the best shooters I’ve seen in HS, plus Dorka, assuming she returns to the 40%+ 3-pt percentage she shot as a sophomore and that gives UConn 7 players who can consistently knock down 3’s.

Put all those 3-pt shooters in Geno’s motion offense with 4 guards capable of playing PG along with a really good passing center and there’s going to be a lot of wide open looks from the arc.

 

[huskyd]

When I look at the deep and talented teams around WBB, the two things that stand out about UConn are the significant number of great shooters as well as the outstanding group of passers on this team.

That’s a deadly combination that will create nightmares for opposing coaches. This season, when UConn is moving the ball and knocking down shots, the Huskies will be unbeatable for all practical purposes, regardless of what their opponent does on offense.

You suggest, boldly and correctly, that UConn will be "unbeatable" "regardless of what their opponent does." Well, what did their opponents do last season? The Huskies led all major programs in allowing the least points against.
My math isn't good, but great offense and stingy defense adds up to "unbeatable."
Has anyone even mentioned the greatest coach of all time?
Pound your chest, baby.

 

[Carnac]

To win it all and to go undefeated we first of all can not take a game off. I dont see that happening or else you will sit the bench and someone else is waiting in the wings for an opportunity to play. You have an off game, or your sick or hurt or you get in foul trouble this season we have someone who can step up. Mentally having someone really good in the wings waiting for their chance to prove themselves keeps you mentally in the game and focused. The competition for play time this season with our immense talent will force everybody to play at their highest level and if they dont they will be subbed for. Its that simple. We are an explosive team with alot of options and no other team in WCBB has that. We have the ability and talent to score alot of points in a very short time and defenses can not slack off or else they game is over. We've seen that in the past with other UConn teams.

SC is loaded too and they can do alot. My guess is when SC plays their bigs one is gonna have to play a forward position and will have to hit some outside shots which will pull her away from the basket. If she is hitting her outside shots that works and if shes not that could hurt. Stanford on the other hand has bigs who can hit outside shots pretty consistently. When it comes to crunch time we will see who Dawn depends on for their go to player. My guess it get it down low. When it crunch time we have Paige and Azzi and they both will draw alot of attention and they both can create and deliver the ball to their team mates and make things happen. Those of you who remember Dianas highlights in big games saw that from Paige last season in many games She would step up when the team needed her. Now we have Azzi too. They will be tuff to stop and I dont think they can be stopped. Thats 2 go to players when we need it and no team in WCBB has that. That imo is gonna be the difference. Another point is we have the height to match up with SC and Stanford. All 3 teams have good guards and a good bench. UConn has P&A and thats the biggest difference in the top 3 teams and its a major difference. P&A will put alot of pressure on defenses who will always be looking for them. Now add in Caroline Saylor Christyn all who can shoot from deep and defenses will have to come out and guard them. Understand when you have players who will shoot close or over 40% from deep the defense will have to spread it out and the bigs underneath will be forced to come out and guard those shooters if defenders get beat.

Taking about Bigs. When was the last time you saw a big take over a game against another top team? Stewie Tina Becca Kara. Against UConn that didnt happen often. Scoring comes from good guards and bigs will score based on the ability of good guards who can get them the ball. When a big is able to get the ball down low without much attention/defense they will score but that wont happen against UConn this season and most likely wont happen against SC or Stanford. Teams rely on their guards to run the team and in most cases thats where scoring begins.

MY Expectations are Edwards will step up big this season as a scorer and rebounder much like she did late in the season last year. She will be a force. Dorka well she wants it thats why she chose UConn and I expect a fierce relentless attack from her. Caroline I feel has something to prove and she will from deep. This is the last season for our seniors and they will rise to the occasion.

Every player on this years roster will be eager to get their chance to prove themselves and they will all be fighting for playtime. Thats what competition does to those who want it really bad. We will be running on high octane ever second of the game and will be mentally focused because of the competition on the team. Can we go undefeated and can we will a NC? It will all depend our the development and how fast our team chemistry, continuity and confidence the 3 C's comes together. Dont worry about some hiccups early on this season. Hiccups are a result of your learning curve. The important thing is this team believes they can win it all and belief is a key to end goal.

Once again Tony, excellent observations. I could write a novel length response to your comments, but I won't. Just a few points in reference to your comments.....going undefeated is a possibility but should not be a major concern. Winning the last 6 games of the season and hoisting the championship trophy should be. When the season begins Sunday with the exhibition game against Fort Hays State, those games are a "warm-up" for the tournament games in March. THAT is when you want to have it all together. You want to be on a roll with plenty of momentum, with all of your i's dotted and your t's crossed. Hopefully EVERYONE is healthy, confident and ready to go.

Ready - Set - Go. Being mentally and physically prepared is paramount to having a successful season. I've said in a couple of prior posts that I think THIS team will be better and more prepared to win the championship than next year's team (we lose 3 seniors and 12 years of experience) because of the make up of the team. I don't care how good the incoming freshmen are, they are going to play like freshmen, not seniors. Last year, we had no seniors on the team. We had a very young team. Team experience was at a minimum. That inexperience showed in the latter stages of the tournament. Last year's team was not ready to take the final steps it needed to to win the championship. In short, it was not their year. They did not lose by last second buzzer beaters, they lost by double digits.

However................they gained very valuable experience from the tournament that should serve them well THIS YEAR! They now know because they "experienced it". They know what it's going to take to get to the championship game, and win. Geno does not have to tell them what to expect, they know. The shock of losing to a dark horse Arizona team was devastating to say the least, but lessons were learned. Nobody saw that one coming. A good number of us were guilty of looking past Arizona.

I completely agree with your premise that there's no excuse why UConn can't win the championship this year. If not now, when? They have the talent, the experience and the coaching to do so. There are a lot of things this team must do to be successful this year. I think the most important thing is for them to adopt and maintain is a "killer" mindset/attitude. No more Ms. nice girl (Mr. nice guy). What is that? Jump on their opponent at the tip, and go for the juggler straight away!!! Get them down early and keep them down. Remember the former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell"? Something similar to that. Not 35, 36, or 37 minutes, 40!!!

What happens when you allow a team to "hang around", staying within 2-5 points halfway through the 3rd quarter? They start to think: "hey, we can win this game. They haven't put us away yet." When a team is down by 20+ points midway through the 3rd quarter, and can't gain any momentum/ground, they know it's over. The two games UConn lost last year were to experienced teams with an aggressive approach. Those teams didn't sit back and let the game come to them. They came out swinging and went right at UConn from the tip and took control of the game. Arkansas and Arizona played with a no fear attitude from tip to buzzer, and never let up.

That is is what this team MUST do. Our players can't afford to Lay or hold back and let the game come to them. That's what happen in the South Carolina game two years ago when UConn only scored 2 points in the first quarter. At that point, UConn knew they were in trouble. The game was pretty much over at that point.

They must attack from the tip with an aggressive take no prisoners approach. Take command of the game EARLY, and play from IN FRONT, not from behind. Put your foot "firmly" on their neck and leave it there. One game at a time. That's how the games should be played. No looking forward or back. The most important game on the schedule is THE NEXT GAME. Take care of the business at hand that's right in front of you, and things should work out fine.

No one on the team should play an excessive number of minutes this year except in games against the elite teams. The starters can afford to go as hard as they can for as long as they can taking no plays off, then tap out if/when they need a blow. There will be plenty of reserve players that are more than capable of coming in and giving them a breather when needed. # Nodaysoff.

 

[MSGRET]

Once again Tony, excellent observations. I could write a novel length response to your comments, but I won't. Just a few points in reference to your comments.....going undefeated is a possibility but should not be a major concern. Winning the last 6 games of the season and hoisting the championship trophy should be. When the season begins Sunday with the exhibition game against Fort Hays State, those games are a "warm-up" for the tournament games in March. THAT is when you want to have it all together. You want to be on a roll with plenty of momentum, with all of your i's dotted and your t's crossed. Hopefully EVERYONE is healthy, confident and ready to go.

Ready - Set - Go. Being mentally and physically prepared is paramount to having a successful season. I've said in a couple of prior posts that I think THIS team will be better and more prepared to win the championship than next year's team (we lose 3 seniors and 12 years of experience) because of the make up of the team. I don't care how good the incoming freshmen are, they are going to play like freshmen, not seniors. Last year, we had no seniors on the team. We had a very young team. Team experience was at a minimum. That inexperience showed in the latter stages of the tournament. Last year's team was not ready to take the final steps it needed to to win the championship. In short, it was not their year. They did not lose by last second buzzer beaters, they lost by double digits.

However................they gained very valuable experience from the tournament that should serve them well THIS YEAR! They now know because they "experienced it". They know what it's going to take to get to the championship game, and win. Geno does not have to tell them what to expect, they know. The shock of losing to a dark horse Arizona team was devastating to say the least, but lessons were learned. Nobody saw that one coming. A good number of us were guilty of looking past Arizona.

I completely agree with your premise that there's no excuse why UConn can't win the championship this year. If not now, when? They have the talent, the experience and the coaching to do so. There are a lot of things this team must do to be successful this year. I think the most important thing is for them to adopt and maintain is a "killer" mindset/attitude. No more Ms. nice girl (Mr. nice guy). What is that? Jump on their opponent at the tip, and go for the juggler straight away!!! Get them down early and keep them down. Remember the former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell"? Something similar to that. Not 35, 36, or 37 minutes, 40!!!

What happens when you allow a team to "hang around", staying within 2-5 points halfway through the 3rd quarter? They start to think: "hey, we can win this game. They haven't put us away yet." When a team is down by 20+ points midway through the 3rd quarter, and can't gain any momentum/ground, they know it's over. The two games UConn lost last year were to experienced teams with an aggressive approach. Those teams didn't sit back and let the game come to them. They came out swinging and went right at UConn from the tip and took control of the game. Arkansas and Arizona played with a no fear attitude from tip to buzzer, and never let up.

That is is what this team MUST do. Our players can't afford to Lay or hold back and let the game come to them. That's what happen in the South Carolina game two years ago when UConn only scored 2 points in the first quarter. At that point, UConn knew they were in trouble. The game was pretty much over at that point.

They must attack from the tip with an aggressive take no prisoners approach. Take command of the game EARLY, and play from IN FRONT, not from behind. Put your foot "firmly" on their neck and leave it there. One game at a time. That's how the games should be played. No looking forward or back. The most important game on the schedule is THE NEXT GAME. Take care of the business at hand that's right in front of you, and things should work out fine.

No one on the team should play an excessive number of minutes this year except in games against the elite teams. The starters can afford to go as hard as they can for as long as they can taking no plays off, then tap out if/when they need a blow. There will be plenty of reserve players that are more than capable of coming in and giving them a breather when needed. # Nodaysoff.

If this is just a few points, I would hate to see your novel.

Remember the former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell"? Something similar to that. Not 35, 36, or 37 minutes, 40!!!

There was one coach that outdid Nolan and that was "Tark the Shark". He went into Arkansas (Feb 91) and gave them his version of "20 minutes of hell". UNLV was down at the half and came out and outscored Arkansas 29 - 11 in the first 7 minutes and were up by 23 points with a little more than 2 minutes left in the game. They won 112 - 107 and even Nolan was in shock after the game.

 

[veryolddog]

To be honest, Tony, you lost me on "to win it all,". I concur with everything that you have said. For old people, could you please shortened it down to a few sentences. Some of us will not live long enought to finish everything that you scribe.

 

[MilfordHusky]

Who are the great shooters? The team only had one shooter last season that could shoot 45/35/70 and that was Paige who shot 52/46/87.

 

[jchusky]

You suggest, boldly and correctly, that UConn will be "unbeatable" "regardless of what their opponent does." Well, what did their opponents do last season? The Huskies led all major programs in allowing the least points against.
My math isn't good, but great offense and stingy defense adds up to "unbeatable."
Has anyone even mentioned the greatest coach of all time?
Pound your chest, baby.

least points against but it's the big east. I get you can only play who is on your schedule, but it would tell me a lot how they did in points against vs power 5 teams.

 

[JellyBean]

I love the potential of what could happen with this talented roster. On paper, our beloved UConn squad looks impressive as heck! I hope that Coach Geno and the rest of the awesome coaching staff comes up with some type of offensive and defensive system that unleashes their talent. I also hope that each player plays beyond their potential. Plays with confidence, aggression (the good kind....attacking the basket, rebounding, defending), and hustle. This team could be lethal!

 

[Carnac]

If this is just a few points, I would hate to see your novel.

Remember the former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell"? Something similar to that. Not 35, 36, or 37 minutes, 40!!!

There was one coach that outdid Nolan and that was "Tark the Shark". He went into Arkansas (Feb 91) and gave them his version of "20 minutes of hell". UNLV was down at the half and came out and outscored Arkansas 29 - 11 in the first 7 minutes and were up by 23 points with a little more than 2 minutes left in the game. They won 112 - 107 and even Nolan was in shock after the game.

Once again Tony, excellent observations. I could write a novel length response to your comments, but I won't. Just a few points in reference to your comments.....going undefeated is a possibility but should not be a major concern. Winning the last 6 games of the season and hoisting the championship trophy should be. When the season begins Sunday with the exhibition game against Fort Hays State, those games are a "warm-up" for the tournament games in March. THAT is when you want to have it all together. You want to be on a roll with plenty of momentum, with all of your i's dotted and your t's crossed. Hopefully EVERYONE is healthy, confident and ready to go.

Ready - Set - Go. Being mentally and physically prepared is paramount to having a successful season. I've said in a couple of prior posts that I think THIS team will be better and more prepared to win the championship than next year's team (we lose 3 seniors and 12 years of experience) because of the make up of the team. I don't care how good the incoming freshmen are, they are going to play like freshmen, not seniors. Last year, we had no seniors on the team. We had a very young team. Team experience was at a minimum. That inexperience showed in the latter stages of the tournament. Last year's team was not ready to take the final steps it needed to to win the championship. In short, it was not their year. They did not lose by last second buzzer beaters, they lost by double digits.

However................they gained very valuable experience from the tournament that should serve them well THIS YEAR! They now know because they "experienced it". They know what it's going to take to get to the championship game, and win. Geno does not have to tell them what to expect, they know. The shock of losing to a dark horse Arizona team was devastating to say the least, but lessons were learned. Nobody saw that one coming. A good number of us were guilty of looking past Arizona.

I completely agree with your premise that there's no excuse why UConn can't win the championship this year. If not now, when? They have the talent, the experience and the coaching to do so. There are a lot of things this team must do to be successful this year. I think the most important thing is for them to adopt and maintain is a "killer" mindset/attitude. No more Ms. nice girl (Mr. nice guy). What is that? Jump on their opponent at the tip, and go for the juggler straight away!!! Get them down early and keep them down. Remember the former Arkansas head coach Nolan Richardson's "40 minutes of hell"? Something similar to that. Not 35, 36, or 37 minutes, 40!!!

What happens when you allow a team to "hang around", staying within 2-5 points halfway through the 3rd quarter? They start to think: "hey, we can win this game. They haven't put us away yet." When a team is down by 20+ points midway through the 3rd quarter, and can't gain any momentum/ground, they know it's over. The two games UConn lost last year were to experienced teams with an aggressive approach. Those teams didn't sit back and let the game come to them. They came out swinging and went right at UConn from the tip and took control of the game. Arkansas and Arizona played with a no fear attitude from tip to buzzer, and never let up.

That is is what this team MUST do. Our players can't afford to Lay or hold back and let the game come to them. That's what happen in the South Carolina game two years ago when UConn only scored 2 points in the first quarter. At that point, UConn knew they were in trouble. The game was pretty much over at that point.

They must attack from the tip with an aggressive take no prisoners approach. Take command of the game EARLY, and play from IN FRONT, not from behind. Put your foot "firmly" on their neck and leave it there. One game at a time. That's how the games should be played. No looking forward or back. The most important game on the schedule is THE NEXT GAME. Take care of the business at hand that's right in front of you, and things should work out fine.

No one on the team should play an excessive number of minutes this year except in games against the elite teams. The starters can afford to go as hard as they can for as long as they can taking no plays off, then tap out if/when they need a blow. There will be plenty of reserve players that are more than capable of coming in and giving them a breather when needed. # Nodaysoff.

Correction: in reference to the vein in the neck, that should be “jugular” , not juggler. An honest typo.

 

[hard2please]

frankly im disappointed tony didnt predict another large winning streak

 

[Carnac]

To be honest, Tony, you lost me on "to win it all,". I concur with everything that you have said. For old people, could you please shortened it down to a few sentences. Some of us will not live long enought to finish everything that you scribe.

Hey VOD, I’ll keep your request in mind the next time I get the urge to go long. I don’t want to lose you.

 

[CL82]

To be honest, Tony, you lost me on "to win it all,". I concur with everything that you have said. For old people, could you please shortened it down to a few sentences. Some of us will not live long enought to finish everything that you scribe.

We gonna be good

 

[TeamFirst!]

I agree that fewest points against is really indicative of the relatively weak schedule we play. Maybe it was good to have "undefeated" teams in yesteryear but we are now in a parity mode. The girls are getting more exposure and more programs are getting top talent. Lots of teams could win it all. We may be better off with a few more top teams in the mix of our schedule. That early tournament will tell us a lot. I think South Carolina, Stanford and Uconn have similar talent. I think each of those top 3 will be BETTER this year. Our strengths are teamwork, cohesion, confidence, perimeter shooting. One thing about perimeter shooting though is that it can have a bad day and then what. We are going to need an inside game sometimes and a perimeter game other days. I think Uconn players have great conditioning and now they are deeper. We absolutely have a real shot. We have to take it to the other team and have confidence. If you aren't confident raise your hand and get subbed. You gotta believe.

 

[TeamFirst!]

Wjhen I look at Stanford I see several consensus top 1-3 prospects. The universal top prospect next year in Betts. Supposedly they had the #6 prospect signing group this year but this girl is #4 on their depth chart this year as a #19 prospect? She looks like more than that. 15 rebounds, 23.3 PPG a game in LA area schools ( LA area player of the year ). Heh, she looks like more than a #19 prospect and she is supposedly the 4th best prospect they signed this year:

 

[TeamFirst!]

This isn't going to be a cakewalk folks. Those days are over.

 

[hoophuskee]

Wjhen I look at Stanford I see several consensus top 1-3 prospects. The universal top prospect next year in Betts. Supposedly they had the #6 prospect signing group this year but this girl is #4 on their depth chart this year as a #19 prospect? She looks like more than that. 15 rebounds, 23.3 PPG a game in LA area schools ( LA area player of the year ). Heh, she looks like more than a #19 prospect and she is supposedly the 4th best prospect they signed this year:

If Iriafen is awesome then it might mean Brady will be off the charts. Others can correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Brady and Iriafen went head-to-head when Iriafen was a senior and Brady a jr, and they played to a standstill. I'd bet on the younger player being better in her career if this were the case.

 

[hoophuskee]

This isn't going to be a cakewalk folks. Those days are over.

It rarely ever was.

 

[Skeets]

This isn't going to be a cakewalk folks. Those days are over.

We are an excellent team, maybe the best, on paper. But the game isn't played on "paper". Once the ref tosses the ball in the air the "paper" is meaningless. The kids need to understand that and be grounded in reality. I'm sure Geno will ensure this...

 

[oldude]

This isn't going to be a cakewalk folks. Those days are over.

During the 2015-16 season an undefeated UConn team with the NPOY, 3 NDPOY’s and six 1st team AA’s beat every team they faced by double digits while leading the nation in both total offense & total defense. That might have been as close as it gets to a cakewalk.

The other 10 UConn championship teams, including those that went undefeated, all had a challenging road to win it all. For UConn to win #12 this season, everyone on the team knows it will be hard. As Tom Hanks said in A League of Their Own, “It’s the hard that makes it great.”

 

[BobbyJ]

If Iriafen is awesome then it might mean Brady will be off the charts. Others can correct me if I'm wrong but I thought Brady and Iriafen went head-to-head when Iriafen was a senior and Brady a jr, and they played to a standstill. I'd bet on the younger player being better in her career if this were the case.

This is an example of why I pay very little attention to these HS evaluators. IMO, for the last two years Iriafen has been one of the two best 6-3 players in the country along with Barker That I Have Seen on video. Being #19 is a joke. The major difference with Brady is athleticism. Brady’s is very good, Iriafen’s is elite. Both are excellent shooters, Brady maybe a little better from 3. But in a short while Iriafen will be able to attack from everywhere including transition. Brady’s skill set will work better for her from within Auriemma’s offense. Both are very strong rebounders. Different players but high impact players for each school.

 

[hoophuskee]

This is an example of why I pay very little attention to these HS evaluators. IMO, for the last two years Iriafen has been one of the two best 6-3 players in the country along with Barker That I Have Seen on video. Being #19 is a joke. The major difference with Brady is athleticism. Brady’s is very good, Iriafen’s is elite. Both are excellent shooters, Brady maybe a little better from 3. But in a short while Iriafen will be able to attack from everywhere including transition. Brady’s skill set will work better for her from within Auriemma’s offense. Both are very strong rebounders. Different players but high impact players for each school.

I have to step back to you and anyone else who has watched significant play of H/S kids. The little I saw of the matchup - highlights only I think (trying to recall my memory which is not so good I think)- and from what I saw from the stats - they played even. If they played even - the younger player that's the quite a bit higher recruit I tend to think as probably being better though I realize that means very little and it's just a very broad generalization I'm making. It's just that I do prefer shooting to a degree.


If you say Iriafen is an excellent shooter - okay we'll see. But she was talked a lot on here and at the time and even now I tried looking at some of her vids then and now and the only thing I see at this moment (or recall) in regard to outside shooting was a jump shot around the free throw line maybe a bit in. Everything else is inside. So we'll see how excellent of a shooter she is. I can only go by what I see briefly and the ratings. From what I see- I prefer Brady- granted my viewing of them is very, very, very, very little. But I love skill from bigs. Love it. As a result, I’m skeptical of players that can’t shoot. Not all tthe time - for example with Patterson (another UCONN commit) - not a shooter- but I see terrific floor speed and tenacious rebounding. I didn’t see that type of explosiveness from Iriafen - but again only just highlights I saw so maybe she will be a beast as you are implying. So I understand your pov - and you have seen her much more than I. So we’ll see. I do hope Brady proves to be better though. But ofc not sure.