UConn Women's Basketball Weekly

[RockyMTblue2]

UConn still figuring out what it has beyond Bueckers


An interesting read. Geno seems to think the big step ups will be Chen and KK, along with Azzi. Anyone who's watched the open practice, did KK look improved at all?

This is the Geno who 2-3 weeks ago said Kaitlyn has some maddening things in her game, but he's not going to change her, he's just "renting" her. I think your big step up could be an over- read. However, Chen's last meeting with the press had her saying Carla's offense was heavily reliant on set plays while UConn is more about motion principles. That could open a door to another level for Kaitlyn. I'm really looking forward to seeing her in action.

 

[Bone Dog]

This is essentially Daniel's reading of Geno's BE Media Day remarks, like here:

“We have nine players [and] all can contribute. The big thing is they contribute really good when they're on the floor with Paige, so we gotta find a way to be really good when she's not on the floor,” the coach said. “I think that's where maybe Kaitlyn can help — and KK — and it's really important that we get Azzi back because if we could get in a situation that whenever Paige is not on the floor, Azzi can take on that.”​

But he downplays the confidence Geno implies in what Azzi will do when she comes back. There's an 'if' involved, of course, but here's my read of the same remarks with a different emphasis:

Geno spoke about the return of the Azzi who looked like an NPOY contender at the beginning of sophomore year. This is what he's hoping for, so Paige and Azzi can be an overlapping platoon -- each playing 25-30 minutes and overlapping for 20. This is what he's looking for in March.​

And on Kaitlyn, I can see now how some folks who've been in her camp all along (like @BBallF) may be right. Geno may well expect to rely on her much more than I first thought. I was expecting to see a simple platoon with KK, but that's not exactly how he talks here. He says she almost like an assistant coach on the floor, that her maturity is impressive, that she's eminently coachable. These are the sort of things he says about someone he expects to be able to rely on heavily.

 

[oldude]

I have watched a lot of Kaitlyn Chen over 4 seasons at Princeton. What I have been impressed with is her ability to take over the game during crunch time. She breaks down defenders off the dribble, gets into the lane and either scores or dishes to teammates. She does this over and over, again and again. She's not a great 3-pt shooter, but always seems to make them when they matter most, and she's deadly with her pull-up jumper. While Paige is the #1 facilitator in UConn's offense, I can easily see Kaitlyn as 1A.

 

[boontonbomber]

Fair to say that the Dodgers were rather lucky last night,and that's coming from someone who started rooting for the Dodgers in 1949. Definitely the better team, but no way they shoulda won that game.

 

[Cuango]

We were a great team last season, and profoundly unlucky. If we hadn't lost Paige and Ice early on, and then Caroline and then Azzi, and then Dorka for a stretch, and even Ayanna and Nika briefly, I think we could have run the table. That's what luck can do to a great team.

I still remember how we talked about the team's prospects last summer, all of us recognizing potential greatness and trying not to jinx it. Think of it: we might have started Paige Azzi and Caroline, Dorka and Aaliyah all season long, with Aubrey and Nika first off the bench, and the magical Lou, who none of us really knew how to estimate the true worth of then. Ayanna and Ice could have worked their way into important roles with little pressure. OMG! Looking at that team with the benefit of hindsight, it would have been awesome, maybe even run the table great. Instead, a startlingly persistent run of bad luck cut the legs out from under us.

It's not enough to be good, or even great. You also need a little luck.

Well said!

 

[donalddoowop]

Will somebody please tell me who has the most upside, Somfai or Toomey? I have not seen either of them play. UConn missed out on Toomey. I wonder if Somfai commits to UConn if that would soften that loss any.

 

[Bone Dog]

Will somebody please tell me who has the most upside, Somfai or Toomey? I have not seen either of them play. UConn missed out on Toomey. I wonder if Somfai commits to UConn if that would soften that loss any.

I’ve only seen highlights of Toomey, but several entire games of Somfai. My sense, based on admittedly imperfect evidence, is that Lara is in no way a consolation prize. She’s a very mobile big with good post moves and decent midrange shooting and is a very capable defender. All this seems to be at least comparable to what I saw in Toomey.

One last thing: Lara is a big 6’4” and in the FIBA games this summer she had to contend with the 7’ Chinese player and did a respectable job. Australia defeated China and Lara’s efforts against a much taller player were an important element in that game. Lara’s mobility against a slower big was key.

 

[yhun89]

Will somebody please tell me who has the most upside, Somfai or Toomey? I have not seen either of them play. UConn missed out on Toomey. I wonder if Somfai commits to UConn if that would soften that loss any.

Lara is a lot better from what I’ve seen. Mobile, range, basically an ideal stretch 4.

 

[donalddoowop]

Thank you Bone Dog and yhun89 for your answers. I now understand why so many BoneYarders want her as much as they do.