Was Allie Over-looked? | Page 2 | The Boneyard
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Was Allie Over-looked?

Looking at the 2024-25 stats, Morgan was a relatively strong rebounder with more rebounds per game than Azzi (2.4 RPG vs 2.0 RPG). while Allie was the weakest rebounder on the team with 0.5 RPG.
However, even though Allie played in many more games than Morgan (33 to 24) but with less minutes (270 to 318), Allie only had 5 fouls compared to Morgan who amassed 41 fouls.
I suppose if Allie plays a more aggressive defense then she'll probably also committ more fouls.
Morgan certainly seemed to receive a lot more applause from posters than Allie did last year.
Because the season is still young & Morgan's health is in doubt along with the full roster, it remains to be seen whether this year will lead to Allie significantly increasing her stardom, particularly when compared to Morgan's popularity.

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huskyd said:
But she definitely belonged on the Cheryl Miller list if Caroline did.
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?

Caroline was a starter who carried UConn for a time as a freshman when both Paige & Azzi were out. Allie has started 0 games as a Husky, playing mostly mop up minutes.

Whether Caroline deserves to be on the Cheryl Miller watchlist is debatable. But the comparison between Caroline and Allie to be considered for that watchlist is an exceptional stretch.

That’s not a reflection on Allie’s potential. But she has to demonstrate that potential before she should be considered for any such preseason recognition.
 
I certainly never "overlooked" Allie last year. She was a very talented freshman near the end of the bench on a National Championship team - and rightfully so. Nothing negative about that whatsoever.

I agree with oldude's assessment of Geno's comments at Sunday's postgame media availability - positive with the usual dose of hyperbole to shape the message. In this case, Coach wanted to speak to the change in mindset that Allie brought into this year and how different her approach and self-confidence is now compared to most of last season. A very good thing.

Folks are reading too much into Geno's comments of where freshman Allie Zeibell was in "the first two weeks of the preseason".

From my perch, Allie still has a ways to go, primarily with regards to her defense. Sure she has trimmed down, appears to be stronger in the upper body, and has a year of learning under her belt. But is she quicker? Does she position herself better against the person she is guarding when in man-to-man coverage? Does she close out on three point shooters faster when in a zone coverage? I didn't see anything to help me assess - much less answer - those questions in two exhibition games.

Most importantly, is she able to adjust her role inside the overall team defensive scheme when playing within various rotations that Geno will be able to put on the floor, or is she better suited to simply learn her defensive role as a single-point substitution for a particular starter?

The latter half of this question is no small feat for a player looking for playing time on this very talented team. Let's say, for example, Allie will be the primary sub for either Azzi or Ashlynn in order to keep multiple three-point threats on the court. In such a scenario, can Geno switch between his "small ball" line-up and his "big" line-up and still rely on Allie's defensive prowess in both schemes - like he could last year with both Azzi and Ashlynn?

Bottom line: there is a lot more to the Allie Ziebell Assessment than her renewed confidence as an offensive player. On this team, with the caliber of talented teammates she has around her, it's not her three-point prowess, but her defensive acumen that will dictate her minutes on the court.

I am rooting for her to consistently demonstrate a sophomore leap. Watching UConn player development is a wonderful thing!
 
sun said:
Looking at the 2024-25 stats, Morgan was a relatively strong rebounder with more rebounds per game than Azzi (2.4 RPG vs 2.0 RPG). while Allie was the weakest rebounder on the team with 0.5 RPG.
However, even though Allie played in many more games than Morgan (33 to 24) but with less minutes (270 to 318), Allie only had 5 fouls compared to Morgan who amassed 41 fouls.
I suppose if Allie plays a more aggressive defense then she'll probably also committ more fouls.
Morgan certainly seemed to receive a lot more applause from posters than Allie did last year.
Because the season is still young & Morgan's health is in doubt along with the full roster, it remains to be seen whether this year will lead to Allie significantly increasing her stardom, particularly when compared to Morgan's popularity.

uconnhuskies.com

2425 wbb season - University of Connecticut Athletics

2425 wbb season
uconnhuskies.com uconnhuskies.com
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Sun - nice post. You brought out a different element to examine about Allie. Defense! Also, the perspective of Morgan on the court vs Allie. You made you point clear about fouls. Allie had less of this negative move. I want to know how many positive events happened because of Morgan's aggressiveness. Who will examine the film and count Morgan's steals, defensive touches on passes, and causing "hurry up" turnovers. That will tell the tale. Was Allie too passive since she had very few fouls or was she careful not to foul?
 
Gael said:
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?

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I was hoping someone would bring this up! (So O didnt have to go find it lol)
 
MooseJaw said:
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.
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Yes, She certainly looks much more comfortable out there and I’m guessing at least some of that comes from the very obvious improvement in her conditioning. As you say, she just looks different out here. I remember seeing a picture of her in the weight room several weeks ago and not even recognizing her at first. She clearly put in some serious work over the break and that is one reason I feel more confident about her future. She wants to play and went out and did something about it.
 
I hope that many of you are correct with your assumption's. I’ll wait until after Tuesday nights game. We need a shooter next year with Azzi gone. I hope that Allie can be that player.
 
I doubt she was…talented rosters top to bottom. BUT…I was overlooked on many basketball courts across America…and a few in Europe. I travel well…figuratively and literally. I mean why else would they play 4 on 5? 🤣
 
victor64 said:
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 %.
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And it's good to keep in mind that, in a close game, UConn players need to be able to hit free throws in the final minutes or they won't be on the court.
 
It's hard because it's such a deep roster. For me, predicting limited productivity for Allie was kinda based on Caroline potentially getting a chance to re-establish herself in her 5th year. But Allie could potentially be the second best shooter on the team. I've always loved her size and thought she could be really good. I will not be surprised if she has a very productive year. But to me, it means that barring injury Caroline will have a very limited role.
 
sun said:
Looking at the 2024-25 stats, Morgan was a relatively strong rebounder with more rebounds per game than Azzi (2.4 RPG vs 2.0 RPG). while Allie was the weakest rebounder on the team with 0.5 RPG.
However, even though Allie played in many more games than Morgan (33 to 24) but with less minutes (270 to 318), Allie only had 5 fouls compared to Morgan who amassed 41 fouls.
I suppose if Allie plays a more aggressive defense then she'll probably also committ more fouls.
Morgan certainly seemed to receive a lot more applause from posters than Allie did last year.
Because the season is still young & Morgan's health is in doubt along with the full roster, it remains to be seen whether this year will lead to Allie significantly increasing her stardom, particularly when compared to Morgan's popularity.

uconnhuskies.com

2425 wbb season - University of Connecticut Athletics

2425 wbb season
uconnhuskies.com uconnhuskies.com
Expand ...
The biggest difference between Morgan and Allie last year imo is that Morgan was more ready to compete athletically. Someone else mentioned that Allie lost confidence in her shot a bit last season. And I agree with that, I mentioned the North Carolina game. Allie became unplayable because she wasn’t able to give the shooting that would warrant her being on the floor. Morgan didn’t give that either. But she could rebound and play defense and I think might be one of the better passers on the team. So, she found other ways to contribute.

For Allie. Maybe she is more ready to compete athletically this year? And maybe her confidence in her shooting is back? That’s what we should hope for anyway.
 
Nah. Allie was not overlooked. Like others have stated, we had a 7-8 player rotation last year. The only way Allie cracking that rotation, the main core players had to be injured, we are up by 20, down by 20, or there were only 20 seconds on the clock. I don't think Allie was overlooked. She is on a team that was healthy and just clicking.
 
PacoSwede said:
are not these watch lists altered as the season advances? could allie make a run for the honor? indeed she could. 🤞
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Yes, watch lists are exactly what the name implies - keeping an eye on a player that could excel. Some will drop off the list and others added. It’s very fluid
 
Stagnant said:
The biggest difference between Morgan and Allie last year imo is that Morgan was more ready to compete athletically. Someone else mentioned that Allie lost confidence in her shot a bit last season. And I agree with that, I mentioned the North Carolina game. Allie became unplayable because she wasn’t able to give the shooting that would warrant her being on the floor. Morgan didn’t give that either. But she could rebound and play defense and I think might be one of the better passers on the team. So, she found other ways to contribute.

For Allie. Maybe she is more ready to compete athletically this year? And maybe her confidence in her shooting is back? That’s what we should hope for anyway.
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To me, what set Morgan apart last year was that she "got" the totality of what Geno wants the team to do. As a non-Paige, Sarah freshman, she still had/has work to do on executing some of those concepts, but she really understood them.
 
oldude said:
?

Caroline was a starter who carried UConn for a time as a freshman when both Paige & Azzi were out. Allie has started 0 games as a Husky, playing mostly mop up minutes.

Whether Caroline deserves to be on the Cheryl Miller watchlist is debatable. But the comparison between Caroline and Allie to be considered for that watchlist is an exceptional stretch.

That’s not a reflection on Allie’s potential. But she has to demonstrate that potential before she should be considered for any such preseason recognition.
Expand ...
Better to focus on the up-side of players. I do worry that we don't have a fully satisfactory guard to spell Azzi but hope one of the newcomers can fill the bill. My choice now is to use Ash to sub in for Fudd. She's very solid.
 
huskyd said:
Better to focus on the up-side of players. I do worry that we don't have a fully satisfactory guard to spell Azzi but hope one of the newcomers can fill the bill. My choice now is to use Ash to sub in for Fudd. She's very solid.
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Except that Ash is in the starting lineup along with Azzi. So the current choices to sub for Azzi are Blanca, Allie, Caroline, Kelis & Morgan if she gets healthy.
 
oldude said:
Except that Ash is in the starting lineup along with Azzi. So the current choices to sub for Azzi are Blanca, Allie, Caroline, Kelis & Morgan if she gets healthy.
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If Geno starts KK and Azzi, he doesn't need Ash. If he uses all 3, it doesn't have to be at once though. I'd rather see KK, Azzi, and Blanca plus Sarah and Serah to start with Ash coming off the bench. Pass it along . . .
 
Kayleigh and Blanca will sub for KK and Ash. Then the four will rotate with Azzi. Allie if she plays well will be the third guard in off the bench.
 
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