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Message: [QUOTE="Bigboote, post: 4402512, member: 7631"] Well, I'll take a stab at the five questions: 5 points: what's the rotation, what's Aubrey's role? In all of this I'm going to assume a typical injury level -- that is, several players banged up and missing a few games, maybe one major injury, but we can't say who that will be. Who steps up? I think this team is gonna surprise a lot of doubters. I think everybody will step up. If I have to pick one player to surprise, it's Amari. Seeing how active she's been with the team and the work she's put in this summer, I think the only thing that will limit her (and Ice and Ayanna) is the plethora of front-court players. The Big East especially doesn't lend itself to playing three front-court players. Who leads: Vocal leader and floor general on the court is Nika with strong contribution from Dorka. Off the court in-game leader is Paige. She'll see things from the sidelines that she'll be able to point out to the players on the bench. Away from the court it seems we've seen a lot of leadership from Amari (and of course Paige). How do the newcomers do?: I'm doing my best to contain my enthusiasm and not jinx them or anything. But, have you seen these kids play?? I'm not as high on Lou as some, but she's a baller, and Geno's said as much. The only question in my mind is how does she fit into the UConn system -- being just one cog in the offensive wheel and having to step up on defense every single possession? Ice is as polished a post player as UConn has gotten in some time. Ayanna is not as polished as Ice, but the sky's the limit for this kid. I haven't seen much of Inês, but I like her attitude. It's too bad UConn didn't get her till so late. She seems like a bright kid who will learn quickly, but I do wish she'd had another couple of months to pick up the UConn way. Among the four of them, we'll see scoring, defense, energy. More importantly, they give much-needed insurance against injuries and the potential for many different looks to the team. Rotation: Dorka, Aaliyah, Caroline, Azzi, and Nika start. First off the bench is either Aubrey or Lou, depending on what the team needs (instant defense or instant offense). They will both inject energy, though. I think both will play ~20 minutes/game. I see Amari, Ice, Ayanna also getting plenty of playing time, but that might be only 5-10 depending on how individual games go, nagging injuries, and the staff's willingness to go with three bigs. I don't know whether Inês will progress to where she'll be able to direct the team for any meaningful minutes, but I think she and Azzi will probably see 5-15 minutes a game spelling Nika. One point that wasn't asked but has gotten some mileage on the board is recovery from injuries. I haven't heard anything about Nika's ankle, so assume it's 100%. I have no doubts about Dorka's wrist -- a wrist fracture is usually fully mended and rehabbed in three months or so, and it's in her off hand. Ditto Caroline's hip -- that's about double the recovery time, but she's likely already much healthier than she was all last season. As we've all acknowledged, backs are a different ball of wax, but Geno says Aubrey is 100%. A bulging disk isn't "we're not sure what it is, give her some muscle relaxants), though, so I'm very optimistic. The single thing that concerns me the most is that Azzi has made remarks recently about (IIRC) her foot being okay most days. That was a shocker to me, and I know others have remarked on it too. [/QUOTE]

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