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Video of Jana

Patterson also had lingering medical issues from highschool. When they shut her down after the knee surgery, they shared that she had similar issues in highschool.
 
Just musing on Jana in the frontcourt makes me happy. If Raegan doesn’t want to come to Storrs, I’m fine with that. It may. It may not all come together for Jana next season. But it doesn’t have to. A frontcourt that can go big or small can be formidable, especially if Geno can rotate scorers and rebounders. We have strong bigs in Jana Ayanna Sarah and Ice. We have quick bigs in Ayanna Sarah Aubrey and Morgan. We have slashing bigs in Jana Aubrey Morgan and Sarah. We have smooth shooting bigs in Sarah Jana Caroline and Morgan. They don’t all have to do everything. The important fact is that Geno has a lot of alternatives to play with.
 
DEpup said:
Patterson also had lingering medical issues from highschool. When they shut her down after the knee surgery, they shared that she had similar issues in highschool.
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Maybe it is worth reminding folks that Ayanna was ranked number 3 coming out of high school...I think the best is yet to come.

www.theuconnblog.com

2022 No. 3 recruit Ayanna Patterson commits to UConn women’s basketball

The Huskies load up with another top prospect in the class of 2022.
www.theuconnblog.com www.theuconnblog.com
 
Bone Dog said:
Just musing on Jana in the frontcourt makes me happy. If Raegan doesn’t want to come to Storrs, I’m fine with that. It may. It may not all come together for Jana next season. But it doesn’t have to. A frontcourt that can go big or small can be formidable, especially if Geno can rotate scorers and rebounders. We have strong bigs in Jana Ayanna Sarah and Ice. We have quick bigs in Ayanna Sarah Aubrey and Morgan. We have slashing bigs in Jana Aubrey Morgan and Sarah. We have smooth shooting bigs in Sarah Jana Caroline and Morgan. They don’t all have to do everything. The important fact is that Geno has a lot of alternatives to play with.
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Notice Sarah is featured in every group!
 
Looking forward to seeing Jana next year. I like her aggression and physicality off the dribble and in the paint. Give her some space and let her go to work. I'm anticipating that she may initially pick up some charges, but she'll adjust. UCONN needs this type of athleticism and physical play.
 
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LwrcasefaN said:
Looking forward to seeing Jana next year. I like her aggression and physicality off the dribble and in the paint. Give her some space and let her go to work. I'm anticipating that she may initially pick up some charges, but she'll adjust. UCONN needs this type of athleticism and physical play.
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Exactly. The learning curve is mainly going to be about fouling. And how to handle positioning and switches on D. But the offensive package is well developed, and any flaws there will be more than made up for by her ferocity. Sort of like having a big Nika in the low post. So much heart in this kid!
 
For any BY posters who are unsure of the impact Jana will make next year, I suggest you read the story, and Geno quotes in today's UCONN WBB Weekly (the free story), It might eliminate any doubts, as long as she is fully recovered. Since GA thinks she would have been the number 1 recruit in the 2023 class if she played in the USA , coupled with the clear #1 in the 2024 class, I think we could be a pretty good team (an understatement) next year. If we are healthy, I could very easily see a match up of undefeated teams when we have our game with So. Car.

One thing I had forgotten about is that she was an early enrolee and was able to practice with last years team during the 2nd semester so Geno and the staff have a good idea on her skills.
 
What is the criteria for the mods to merge threads. This one picks up as a next post to the "Video of Jana" thread below.
 
“I've never coached anybody better at Connecticut —never in my life.”

I feel totally vindicated. Folks have been dismissing my gushing optimism about Jana for a year now — and maybe the rehab isn’t fully successful and I’m proved to be a fool, again — but at least I’ve got good company.
 
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Bone Dog said:
“I've never coached anybody better at Connecticut —never in my life.”

I feel totally vindicated. Folks have been dismissing my gushing optimism about Jana for a year now — and maybe the rehab isn’t fully successful and I’m proved to be a fool, again — but at least I’ve got good company.
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Those are all mighty words from Geno!! Very encouraging.
 
I've been watching the fiba u19 games from last year, most recently the game vs Canada. I think that game is a perfect example of one that kinda exhibits her talent. It is quite a blowout but she scores in a variety of ways. She hits a three, cuts and gets a lob, scores on a post move. She is also going up against Toby Fournier a lot who is a top 20 recruit going to Duke. Unfortunately, this is one of her last games before the injury, but I'm sure the mental reps and additional year in college has made her better in some ways. I remember there was a bit of criticism last year, she did kinda home run trot at times, really on both ends. But overall she looks great. I could see her having a bing time role this season.
 
jdote33 said:
she did kinda home run trot at times,
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She sprints the floor when she needs to… like when she gets a steal and takes it the length of the floor for a layup. There’s quite a few of those in the fiba games. She looks to be at least as quick as Aaliyah was in the transition game, and I loved watching Aaliyah get out on the break.
 
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I want very badly for Jana to meet and exceed every hope and expectation Geno or anyone here has, and there is certainly a non-zero chance that she will. After the better part of 2 seasons of being immersed in UConn culture, film work and training, Jana is as well positioned as any "freshman" ever was coming into a "1st" season.

There was no player I was more excited to see last season than Jana. I was gutted when I heard about her injury.

I will tamp down my excitment and remain firmly in the "wait and see" camp, fingers and toes crossed for good luck.

Can she excel in that uniform at this competition level? Damn, I hope so. 1st Egyptian All American? That would be very cool.
But...
Wait and see.
 
I keep thinking of the folks who doubt Jana and I want to understand it in order to cushion myself from disappointment.

Her low post offensive skills are uneven, judging from the last FIBA games. And on defense her energy and focus wasn’t always there. And she did “home run trot” down the court sometimes and cost her team easy buckets on both ends. This is what the videos show. I could attribute it to the erratic quality of the FIBA games generally. But the best players don’t ever let up. I can only hope that the high level of competition in Geno’s practices will shake this out of her.

Phew! That was painful for me. Now let me turn to the positive things I saw in those same games.
  • She plays tough against other bigs — you can really see this in the China and Canada games. She is regularly double teamed in the paint because of the weakness of the Egyptian guards but fights through anyway. In the China game, she went to free throw line a lot, and made a bunch of them. What is see is that she is not easily intimidated.
  • She has a decent perimeter shot. It’s not perfect, but she can hit the 3.
  • She likes to drive the lane and the baseline. This is really a sight to see, especially after she’s just “home run trotted” down the court. She’ll get to the arc late, receive a pass and drive into the lane, and she has excellent moves and handles for a big. Even other bigs seemed intimidated by this.
  • She is a relentless rebounder when she’s “on.” She can lose focus on defense and let rebounds get away. But at her best no one gets the ball away from her.
  • And she can run the floor when she wants to. In those same games there were a few cases where she took a steal or a rebound the length of the floor. I think she wasn’t always willing to trust her guards with the ball, even though an outlet pass would have been better. But it is wonderful (and maybe a little scary) to see someone this big charging down the floor. Picture having Stef or Dorka regularly running at the front of the break. This is what she can do.
  • Her weakest moments seemed to be early in games. In the 3rd and 4th quarters she was much tougher. This typically meant Egypt had to come from behind to win, which is not optimal. But this wasn’t entirely her fault. Here again, the China game is a really clear illustration of this.
So, yes. There are rough edges and undeveloped elements of her game. But the core virtue, her feistiness, that seems really well developed. This is what Geno sees. He can’t teach that. He can teach the rest, but effort and heart the player has to bring with them. And Jana has those two in abundance.
 
I don't think "doubt" is the proper characterization for the attitude of people who aren't ready to anoint her UConn's "next big thing" until they have seen her play a couple minutes against D1 talent.

Few, if any, doubt she can make some contribution, I just don't know how much AND I prefer a "wait and see" posture (with fingers and toes crossed).

Apart from being kind of a fact-based person in general, it is also serves me as a great cushion against disappointment.
 
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