Was Allie Over-looked?

[PhillyCoach]

Well, with 14 players last year and 15 this year, being overlooked can happen. I thought Geno saw "possibly my next best shooter" early last year. No doubt, it was a quick hook from Geno. Being a freshman with pressure to out shoot most of the team--it was too much. Her defense needed work too.
I over looked Allie after that. AS a frosh--you get mop up!
However, now It looks to many posters that Allie worked on a few things and is "competing for time." IMHO Geno is giving Allie more leeway and wants her to shoot her way into the top 8. Who could sub for Azzi? Someone who was said to shoot--49 in a row out of 50. Many stories of her "shooting" prowess are discussed.
This year, for whatever reason, I overlooked her again. However, this last game brought her to my attention. Shooting was more confident and relaxed. She scored inside too. And her defensive stance was lower and quicker. Of course, Not in the Azzi, Ash, or KK mode. Anyway, Geno is happy about the situation as it unfolds.
He just got his BIG for next year and Allie could possibly be the shooter needed to somewhat replace Azzi. Good coaches think ahead when needed.
I heard all the great shooting stories about Allie. As a coach, I was hoping she was not a "practice player" shooting out the lights in workouts, but not hitting in games. UConn needs gamers. Allie has to believe she can do it first. I heard---Azzi is helping her in her belief.
I think Allie will get enough time to prove to Geno that she has what it takes. A little improvement on defense and her playing time goes up. Next scene is coming in on a big game when UConn needs some vital 3's. Shooting under pressure is a whole nother thing. Clutch is everyone's goal.
I am rooting for her. Geno believes it is in her. Can anyone say "Development."

 

[PacoSwede]

she did more in the scsu game: good cuts through the lane, lots
of purposeful movement, showed she can drive and score inside, and hustled.

very favorable traits. a promising game.

 

[Basingstoke]

Allie was not overlooked by me. I found that she left a lot of her inate offensive aggressiveness on the sidelines to try and fit into the pass-first team concept. The result, I believe, was, what seemed as hesitancy to attack and shoot (& to create) - sort of the reverse of how Q approached her oncourt time in her freshman year.
But now, she has a year under her belt, probably the observations of Geno in an end-of-season interview to digest and apply and is displaying renewed confidence and showing that she truly "belongs."

 

[Gael]

In the following presser after the SCSU game, the first question Geno was asked was about Allie. Starting at 1:15 of the video, Geno says about last season:

"The first two weeks of preseason, she was probably going to be in the starting lineup. And then all of a sudden she was sick, missed about four or five days of practice, and never really, really recovered her, you know, sense of 'I'm really good.'"

Geno says at that point she "struggled with confidence issues," and the only thing that held her back was truly believing she belonged with the group. This year she's come back "better prepared," suggesting that she's she's regained confidence.

So, it's probably fair to say that Allie's actual skills and potential were overlooked to some degree because, as last year's rotation became solidified, she was not that much on display.

It's interesting to wonder: If Allie had started last season, over whom would she have started?

 

[FanSince17]

Allie was not overlooked by me. I found that she left a lot of her inate offensive aggressiveness on the sidelines to try and fit into the pass-first team concept. The result, I believe, was, what seemed as hesitancy to attack and shoot (& to create) - sort of the reverse of how Q approached her oncourt time in her freshman year.
But now, she has a year under her belt, probably the observations of Geno in an end-of-season interview to digest and apply and is displaying renewed confidence and showing that she truly "belongs."

Agree. She spent last year learning how to play basketball. I wouldn’t call it pass-first. Geno preaches confidence, aggressiveness, smart risk-taking, playing to what you’re good at, up-tempo, etc. It’s not middle school. Move, cut, screen, find the openings, run, rebound, and when you get the ball you read the floor. UConn grads are smart, and solid fundamentally. Rooting for you Allie!

 

[Cuango]

I watched quite a few of her games at Neenah and listened to a couple of interviews with her then coach. I was very impressed with how she played and her coach raved about her and how she had broadened her game and had become the best defender on the team. I’ve always felt she is a keeper but somehow it just didn’t happen last year. I am hoping she has put that behind her (she clearly is in much better condition) and will get consistent minutes this season on her way to being our top shooter next season. I am gratified (though not surprised) to hear that Azzi is helping her with her mental game. I think she could be a real difference maker in her final two seasons.

 

[Boreifs]

I severely overlooked her. No longer

 

[oldude]

In the following presser after the SCSU game, the first question Geno was asked was about Allie. Starting at 1:15 of the video, Geno says about last season:

"The first two weeks of preseason, she was probably going to be in the starting lineup. And then all of a sudden she was sick, missed about four or five days of practice, and never really, really recovered her, you know, sense of 'I'm really good.'"

Geno says at that point she "struggled with confidence issues," and the only thing that held her back was truly believing she belonged with the group. This year she's come back "better prepared," suggesting that she's she's regained confidence.

So, it's probably fair to say that Allie's actual skills and potential were overlooked to some degree because, as last year's rotation became solidified, she was not that much on display.

It's interesting to wonder: If Allie had started last season, over whom would she have started?

I heard those comments by Geno, and while I think they were generally positive, I also believe there is some “Auriemma hyperbole” at work. Allie was unlikely to start over Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, KK or Ash last season. Now this year is a much different story.

With Paige & Kaitlyn on to the pros, Allie has a real opportunity to crack the regular rotation. She gives UConn another big time shooter to space the floor and she is sneaky quick attacking the basket off the dribble. Allie’s PT will be dependent on her ability to consistently knock down shots while also stepping up her defensive game.

 

[BobbyJ]

I heard those comments by Geno, and while I think they were generally positive, I also believe there is some “Auriemma hyperbole” at work. Allie was unlikely to start over Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, KK or Ash last season. Now this year is a much different story.

With Paige & Kaitlyn on to the pros, Allie has a real opportunity to crack the regular rotation. She gives UConn another big time shooter to space the floor and she is sneaky quick attacking the basket off the dribble. Allie’s PT will be dependent on her ability to consistently knock down shots while also stepping up her defensive game.

It's the microphone's fault, it knows he can't resist it. 😉

 

[Gael]

Allie was unlikely to start over Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, KK or Ash last season.

That's fair and probably right.

However, Geno's comment about Allie's starting was in the temporal context of the "first two weeks of preseason." At that very early time, with a bunch of first and second year players, some recovering from injury, and transfer Chen, I could see Geno being sure only about Paige, Sarah and Azzi (if healthy) as starters, and further being impressed by Allie's scoring potential as a starter possibility.

Anyway, last season turned around and out with a bang.

I like wings and guards who can efficiently score from all three levels, and I'm hoping that Allie can be that kind of player this season.

 

[Boreifs]

I heard those comments by Geno, and while I think they were generally positive, I also believe there is some “Auriemma hyperbole” at work. Allie was unlikely to start over Paige, Azzi, Kaitlyn, KK or Ash last season. Now this year is a much different story.

With Paige & Kaitlyn on to the pros, Allie has a real opportunity to crack the regular rotation. She gives UConn another big time shooter to space the floor and she is sneaky quick attacking the basket off the dribble. Allie’s PT will be dependent on her ability to consistently knock down shots while also stepping up her defensive game.

Please remember that Azzi was out at the start of last season. Alli would have been a viable option to fill in for her.

 

[oldude]

Please remember that Azzi was out at the start of last season. Alli would have been a viable option to fill in for her.

Even with Azzi out, Allie still wasn’t going to start over Paige, Kaitlyn, KK and Ash as Geno suggested.

 

[Stagnant]

No. We haven’t played a real game yet. Allie had some success against a division 2 opponent; I know she can do that. She could do that last year as well.

What can she do against a good division one opponent though? I thought she looked nervous against North Carolina during her freshman year. And I think it was the last time Geno really tried to give her meaningful minutes. How will she handle the speed of the game at that level this year? That’s what we are waiting to find out. We are waiting to learn if she can nail down a spot in the rotation. It is an open question as of now imo.

 

[Geew1992]

As far as by’ers… yup. She was overlooked. Some still had her at the end of the bench without considering a sophomore leap

 

[Jaml]

Not just Boneyarders, I believe just about everyone thought Allie would get lost in the depth chart. Where is she going to find playing time with all of the depth on the team?

I like what I am seeing from her so far and believe she will make a substantial sophomore leap. Of course with Geno, you also earn playing time in practice.

It seems like KK is one of her biggest supporters...they have that Wisconsin connection.

 

[sun]

With Morgan out and Allie having made progress since last season, there's more opportunuty for Allie to get increased PT. I think that it shows how important it is to not skip a beat as a newer member of the team since it can set a player behind experience wise. Morgan & Allie seemed to be best friends last year and somewhat tied at the hip in their course of development by being in the same class. Now Allie is receiving the nurturing.

 

[Bigboote]

Even with Azzi out, Allie still wasn’t going to start over Paige, Kaitlyn, KK and Ash as Geno suggested.

Yes -- I wouldn't say she was overlooked. Geno saw her every day and didn't think she was a viable option, and AFAIK no Boneyarder saw more of her. 😉 And many Boneyarders thought she'd get meaningful time before last year, and there's been a lot of talk even prior to the exhibitions that she'd see meaningful time this year.

I've seen a great difference in her in the two exhibitions vs. last year. She's much more deliberate on offense and defense, i. e., not looking lost, which she did last year (I'm hoping we see the same from Ayanna). If she continues that and hits shots, she'll see 10-20 minutes/game.

 

[Bone Dog]

Overlooked last season? If that means should Allie have made the rotation, then no. I don’t think so. It’s not just that this was an NC team. It was also a team that went on a tear after the Tennessee game, that became a juggernaut because of the cohesiveness of every aspect of the rotation. The chance to prove yourself and earn a spot in the rotation was before February and she didn’t do that. And the fact is, I’m not sure even Morgan was ready to be in that rotation last February. The injury may have masked this, but she was still figuring things out in January.

Will either of them earn rotation minutes this season? In Morgan’s case it depends on the injury. But for Allie it’s just a matter of showing she can play defense to go along with her shooting.

 

[DEpup]

I think for Allie, she needs to maintain the confidence to do the head fake and drive in addition to the jump shot so the defense has to stay honest. That will give her more space to get that 3 up.

 

[victor64]

Here is an odd stat that would make DavidinNaples proud.

Allie was 6-12 from the line last year. 1-3 from the line in the two exhibitions.

I realize it is a small sample size but she is too good a shooter to have that FT %.

 

[HuskylnSC]

Overlooking depends upon who is doing the looking. To fans, yup overlooked. She was at the end of the bench, and yet, while Q, who got many more opportunities, was a lock to go, I never heard a word about Allie transferring. Evidently the coaches made sure she did not feel overlooked and confident enough to stay the course. To fans, yup overlooked. To coaches, not so much.

 

[huskeynut]

It is not ucommon for a talented freshman to not make the rotation. UConn is not an easy program to play for.

It looks like Allie took a page from Azzi's playbook - diversify you offensive play. The mid range jumper and drives to the basket makes you more difficult to defend and actually makes your 3 pointers easier. In today's game you cannot be a one dimensional player. Azzi proved that during last season.

If Allie continues, she will earn her minutes.

 

[EricLA]

A lot of interesting and good comments. Just to add my $.02...

I think a few are getting lost in the semantics of "over-looked". She had confidence last season early on, but then got sick and never really recovered. I'm sure she and the coaches worked on her game, but she never looked comfortable, often a tad lost, and her 3 point shot was average at best (%-wise behind Paige, Azzi, Sarah, Kaitlyn, and Ash).

It's not like she didn't have opportunities - 22-64 from 3 and averaged over 8 MPG -not bad on a team that won the NC and was the best team in the nation by a country mile for the last 2-3 months of the season.

But bottom line she didn't make the most out of her time on the floor and didn't earn more PT. I'll be honest - before the start of the season, I penciled her in as bottom 5-7 and NOT part of of the core 8-10. I definitely "over-looked" her. So far she's blown past my thoughts on where she'd be, and I'm rooting for her big time to be part of the core group, and a legit contributor (not just a place-holder).

 

[ec33]

Last season she was a shooter who couldn't shoot and offered nothing defensively. She rendered herself unplayable.

Since the offensive struggles were psychological she merely needed a reset to regain her confidence. Defensively -- the real area of concern, she seems to have intellectually grasped her assignment and has done okay to date.

We will see how she fares when the lights come on and they have to face real competition. Beyond being a UConn fan I hope she succeeds because she seems to be a very hard worker.

 

[MooseJaw]

Even with Azzi out, Allie still wasn’t going to start over Paige, Kaitlyn, KK and Ash as Geno suggested.

Yes, agree 100% and add that last year she didn't deserve much playing time. A stark contrast to this year so far. She looks trimer, quicker, more confident, has more court awareness with dead eye shooting. Ok throw in a better defensive stance, with better reaction time. Sports fans this is what a sophomore jump looks like. I hope for her sake and ours that she continues her upward trajectory.