Was Geno just imagining it that the team has began to show signs for a championship run?

[BlueSkyGLW]

As the team has shown better chemistry and coordination in its run against Big East opponents, GA has seen a glimmer of championship potential in the team's much more coordinated, growing intuitive play for smoother read and react action, it still have to face the test of stronger opponents - the two before the tournament are Tenn and SoCar. Although the team at #5 now is positioned to gain ground into #1 line, it needs to win both these games to ensure that it happens. Is there confidence among us that this will happen? Tenn first, against their pressing defense, then SoCar with their firepower and fairly solid defense as well.

There are signs of good progress: beyond Sarah and Paige who have been essentially constants, Ash and KK have continued to improve on both sides of the ball and it shows in the confidence with which they now play. Kaitlyn has finally settled in and her offense - for which she was known at Princeton - has become more efficient as her level of integration has become more seamless from greater comfort in playing together. I am never surprised at what Azzi can do but it has taken a bit of time to get fully comfortable with her body - she will be a prime asset against the stronger teams, especially.....even when used as a decoy. GA has been working the freshmen in to acclimate....and he is beginning to see improvement in their perimeter defensive performance. But the return of Aubrey defensive versatility: improves perimeter defense and it raises confidence in using the press effectively. It also adds another speed element to the offense.

It is taking a long time for Jana and Ice to reach their potential but most post players do take longer to be fully effective in their anticipated potential for how UConn WBB plays, especially in reading, reacting and switching on defense and creating opportunities on offense. Size is not enough.....reading the flow and moving to create opportunities for themselves and others around whom the guards and wings revolve....yeah, it takes time. Hopefully, both of them shall have improved much come tournament time....all the better if it begins to show against Tenn and then SoCar. The guards and wings are coming along fine, so much so that the team can play small ball or with size to counter opponents on court. The small ball lineup with Sarah as the big can be different combinations where all five are excellent 3pt shooters. Even all three freshmen can contribute in this way and Aubrey is no longer a slouch from distance. Because of their depth, GA can play fast all the time, sending players in waves as needed in each situation as he sees fit and quickly change to a different option if not working.....and they can press more as they are doing now.

I doubt they will lose both road games to these two teams but whatever the outcomes are, if they show excellent progress in what GA wants to see for March, it will be a bad idea to count UConn out if Paige, Azzi and Sarah and the rest remain healthy. If Jana and Ice show out more by the end of the regular season, I will be even more optimistic.

Paige and Azzi deserve to win a NC together after what they have been through with injuries. Doing it with this bunch would be exhilarating even from the cheering section!

 

[Rowdy831]

Is Geno as good a coach as Dawn? He has better players, she has the home court. I think that if UConn is as good as they should be with this roster they will beat Tennessee handily and also beat SC. They match up good with SC outside of one player and I think Geno will have the right mix on the floor for most of the game if not the beginning.

I don't know about "deserving" a championship but it would be a nice way for both of them to finish their careers at UConn.

 

[yhun89]

We here on the BY do not know better than the coach. If he thinks there’s signs of a championship team, there probably are.

Not many last year thought we be making it to the Final Four. Our team is a whole other monster in March, and combine that with Paige’s absolute desire for a Natty…

We lost to Texas, NC State, ND, etc last year. None of them made it to the Final Four. Some even dropped at the S16.

 

[ucbart]

While we may have more pros than South Carolina, they're a matchup nightmare for us because they out athlete us up and down the roster. We will have a very hard time rebounding with them and stopping dribble penetration. This game is simple, if we hit 3's we can win, if we don't we lose, perhaps by a lot.

 

[ERWUC65]

We here on the BY do not know better than the coach. If he thinks there’s signs of a championship team, there probably are.

Not many last year thought we be making it to the Final Four. Our team is a whole other monster in March, and combine that with Paige’s absolute desire for a Natty…

We lost to Texas, NC State, ND, etc last year. None of them made it to the Final Four. Some even dropped at the S16.

Last year there were maybe 5 real good teams. This year there are at least 15, many created thru the portal. A lot of who makes it to the last couple of rounds in March will be based on the seedings and draws.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

Is Geno as good a coach as Dawn? He has better players, she has the home court. I think that if UConn is as good as they should be with this roster they will beat Tennessee handily and also beat SC. They match up good with SC outside of one player and I think Geno will have the right mix on the floor for most of the game if not the beginning.

I don't know about "deserving" a championship but it would be a nice way for both of them to finish their careers at UConn.

Is that a rhetorical question on who the better coach is? To me the a revealing measure of their coaching flexibility was during the last two years of Gabby when SoCar has Aja Wilson and an athletic bunch around her, their front court bigger than UConn's by any measure. Not only did UConn hold their own but beat the "stronger" team. For all their encounters that time, UConn had no depth. I won't bore you with the details of GA's coaching moves for the season and for/during the game. Of course, he was lucky he had a player named Gabby Williams......

Unfortunately, that lack of quality depth took its toll physically even as the pressure of extending the winning streak did the same mentally (in the first year of that period)....and so they lost in the SF for the NC.

As for deserving: both Paige and Azzi were #1 recruits and their talent supported those votes. But both had very unfortunate injury histories in their time.....and this is only the 2nd stretch of games when they are playing together. Unquestionably, they are as hardworking as anyone in getting their health back and learning the game even as the are sitting on the sidelines. My sympathies moves me to declare they deserve to win one, having gone to UConn expecting to win more playing together.

Undoubtedly there were other elite players who had the same idea and failed - perhaps a UConn team or two stood in the way - but I didn't know them. The tug of the heart on this tells me they deserve to take one before they leave, for all the hardwork invested and the misfortunes encountered.

 

[Charliebball]

I've seen glimpses of greatness, but not consistently and certainly not in non-conference play........the Tennessee and South Carolina games will give us a much better indication of how good UConn really is..........I'm expecting a split of the two games but considering their inconsistent play so far this season they could win both games or just as easily be swept.......

 

[packwrap]

Last year there were maybe 5 real good teams. This year there are at least 15, many created thru the portal. A lot of who makes it to the last couple of rounds in March will be based on the seedings and draws.

Most on the board believe there are only 7 elite teams. UCLA, USC, TX, SC, LSU, ND and UConn. Some don't even believe in LSU. Teams from 8-16 are good, but flawed.

Obviously, we get another chance to benchmark with TN and SC.

TN all about dealing with press and defending 3 pt line.

SC brings one of their best teams. Deep and experienced. A good but not great front court, and a backcourt full of shooters makes them very balanced.

UConn's big 3 should be ready for this, but to win someone from the Chen, Ash, KK, Jana, Ice, Aubrey, Morgan group is going to have to step up to a national level performance.

Aubrey could be the wild card here. She looks healthy on court, with no loss of speed and athleticism. Geno may use her as a defensive stopper to slow a hot Edwards, Fulwiley, or T Johnson. She can cover both a guard or a post. Aubrey also does not disappear v good teams.

Really looking forward to this. Paige/Azzi and now Sarah could sure use a signature win.

 

[Bone Dog]

— It’s difficult to win at the top levels of D1 competition, and even more difficult to beat the same top 5 team twice. This is why I’m not particularly worried about the consequences of losing to SC early. If you had told me, or any one else on the BY, that UConn would win an NC by beating SC twice, I’d have laughed. I suspect we all would have.

— On the question of athleticism, I don’t entirely understand how people are applying this category. Does it mean strength or speed? Or does it also include court vision? Or softness of shooting touch? Or finesse and verve of passing? Or clutchness? I tend to think of athleticism rather broadly, and by that standard, I wouldn’t think anyone on SC is close to Paige’s athleticism. But if we want to think more narrowly in terms merely of speed or strength, then one might have to conclude that Raven or Bree are better athletes than Paige.

By the same token, I think it’s clear that Feagin and Edwards are better athletes than Ice and Jana in both senses of the word. But neither Edwards nor Kitts are better athletes than Sarah, though Joyce may be a little quicker. Turning to the backcourt, is Raven a better athlete than KK? I think she’s a better passer, but as for the rest, I’d say KK is not lesser, and maybe a better scorer of the dribble. Should I compare Kaitlyn and Te’Hina? A similar conclusion here, I think. Kaitlyn is the better defender, but Te’Hina is the better scorer. Or should I compare Ash to Te’Hina?

I don’t know how to think of the rosters in terms of matchups, since SC is deeper in veteran talent than UConn. But if we limit the comparison only to the top 7 or 8, I think it’s close to being a wash. Kitts and Bree are sort of unaccounted for on their side. But Azzi and Aubrey are unaccounted for on ours. And I’ve left Milaysia out of consideration almost entirely. She can be an ‘X’ factor, or she can lose herself in games.

And my personal favorite on SC’s roster is Tessa, and she is hard to compare to any one at UConn. She and Paige knew each other in high school and played against each other a few times. From the time she was a freshman in high school, she was already the person the rest of the team relied upon. Does that sound familiar? I thought she was an incredible find by Dawn and I’m amazed there wasn’t more competition in her recruitment. Should I compare her to Paige now and ask which is the better athlete?

I don’t mean to deny the tremendous athleticism of Dawn’s roster. They seem like the best 10-player rotation in D1 to me. But the gap between them and UConn is not as great as some seem to think. They have more veteran experience while UConn relies on 2 freshmen and 3 sophomores within the main rotation — this is who Paige Azzi and Kaitlyn have to lead and set examples for — and this doesn’t even include end of the bench. And while Joyce and Sarah are comparable in some respects, and Joyce is a tremendous athlete, there are other respects in which Sarah far outshines her. And besides Joyce, I don’t see anyone else who compares to Sarah either. That said, if Geno ‘goes small,’ Sarah could end up having to guard Sania or Joyce too much and not get to play her full game. On the other hand, if Ice and Jana can be relied on to keep Sania more or less in check, Sarah should dominate Chloe, or Bree, or anyone else for that matter. In effect, if Ice and Jana play well enough, they will force unfavorable matchups on SC when it comes to Sarah.

— If there are signs of the possibility of an NC on Geno’s roster, I think they can only be 1) Aubrey‘s return looks increasingly promising, 2) The chemistry among the Big Three is developing well, 3) Ash’s confidence in her shot is peaking, 4) Ice and Jana are playing good D, 5) Kaitlyn and KK are scoring more consistently, and 6) Morgan and Allie are making fewer defensive mistakes.

 

[Charliebball]

— It’s difficult to win at the top levels of D1 competition, and even more difficult to beat the same top 5 team twice. This is why I’m not particularly worried about the consequences of losing to SC early. If you had told me, or any one else on the BY, that UConn would win an NC by beating SC twice, I’d have laughed. I suspect we all would have.

— On the question of athleticism, I don’t entirely understand how people are applying this category. Does it mean strength or speed? Or does it also include court vision? Or softness of shooting touch? Or finesse and verve of passing? Or clutchness? I tend to think of athleticism rather broadly, and by that standard, I wouldn’t think anyone on SC is close to Paige’s athleticism. But if we want to think more narrowly in terms merely of speed or strength, then one might have to conclude that Raven or Bree are better athletes than Paige.

By the same token, I think it’s clear that Feagin and Edwards are better athletes than Ice and Jana in both senses of the word. But neither Edwards nor Kitts are better athletes than Sarah, though Joyce may be a little quicker. Turning to the backcourt, is Raven a better athlete than KK? I think she’s a better passer, but as for the rest, I’d say KK is not lesser, and maybe a better scorer of the dribble. Should I compare Kaitlyn and Te’Hina? A similar conclusion here, I think. Kaitlyn is the better defender, but Te’Hina is the better scorer. Or should I compare Ash to Te’Hina?

I don’t know how to think of the rosters in terms of matchups, since SC is deeper in veteran talent than UConn. But if we limit the comparison only to the top 7 or 8, I think it’s close to being a wash. Kitts and Bree are sort of unaccounted for on their side. But Azzi and Aubrey are unaccounted for on ours. And I’ve left Milaysia out of consideration almost entirely. She can be an ‘X’ factor, or she can lose herself in games.

And my personal favorite on SC’s roster is Tessa, and she is hard to compare to any one at UConn. She and Paige knew each other in high school and played against each other a few times. From the time she was a freshman in high school, she was already the person the rest of the team relied upon. Does that sound familiar? I thought she was an incredible find by Dawn and I’m amazed there wasn’t more competition in her recruitment. Should I compare her to Paige now and ask which is the better athlete?

I don’t mean to deny the tremendous athleticism of Dawn’s roster. They seem like the best 10-player rotation in D1 to me. But the gap between them and UConn is not as great as some seem to think. They have more veteran experience while UConn relies on 2 freshmen and 3 sophomores within the main rotation — this is who Paige Azzi and Kaitlyn have to lead and set examples for — and this doesn’t even include end of the bench. And while Joyce and Sarah are comparable in some respects, and Joyce is a tremendous athlete, there are other respects in which Sarah far outshines her. And besides Joyce, I don’t see anyone else who compares to Sarah either. That said, if Geno ‘goes small,’ Sarah could end up having to guard Sania or Joyce too much and not get to play her full game. On the other hand, if Ice and Jana can be relied on to keep Sania more or less in check, Sarah should dominate Chloe, or Bree, or anyone else for that matter. In effect, if Ice and Jana play well enough, they will force unfavorable matchups on SC when it comes to Sarah.

— If there are signs of the possibility of an NC on Geno’s roster, I think they can only be 1) Aubrey‘s return looks increasingly promising, 2) The chemistry among the Big Three is developing well, 3) Ash’s confidence in her shot is peaking, 4) Ice and Jana are playing good D, 5) Kaitlyn and KK are scoring more consistently, and 6) Morgan and Allie are making fewer defensive mistakes.

a great synopsis.........from a pure basketball skills standpoint UConn is the better of the two teams........where South Carolina has always shined is on the rebounding and defensive side of the ball........they use their ball hawking pressure and athleticism (speed and strength) to get second shots, loose balls and turnovers as well as any team in the nation.......UConn needs to match South Carolina's intensity from the opening tip, shoot to their usual standards and dictate the play for all forty minutes to win this match up......

 

[BBallF]

First let's get past Tennessee and their press.

 

[Bone Dog]

First let's get past Tennessee and their press.

This thread is specifically about winning an NC, not beating Tennessee.

 

[Alydar]

— It’s difficult to win at the top levels of D1 competition, and even more difficult to beat the same top 5 team twice. This is why I’m not particularly worried about the consequences of losing to SC early. If you had told me, or any one else on the BY, that UConn would win an NC by beating SC twice, I’d have laughed. I suspect we all would have.

— On the question of athleticism, I don’t entirely understand how people are applying this category. Does it mean strength or speed? Or does it also include court vision? Or softness of shooting touch? Or finesse and verve of passing? Or clutchness? I tend to think of athleticism rather broadly, and by that standard, I wouldn’t think anyone on SC is close to Paige’s athleticism. But if we want to think more narrowly in terms merely of speed or strength, then one might have to conclude that Raven or Bree are better athletes than Paige.

By the same token, I think it’s clear that Feagin and Edwards are better athletes than Ice and Jana in both senses of the word. But neither Edwards nor Kitts are better athletes than Sarah, though Joyce may be a little quicker. Turning to the backcourt, is Raven a better athlete than KK? I think she’s a better passer, but as for the rest, I’d say KK is not lesser, and maybe a better scorer of the dribble. Should I compare Kaitlyn and Te’Hina? A similar conclusion here, I think. Kaitlyn is the better defender, but Te’Hina is the better scorer. Or should I compare Ash to Te’Hina?

I don’t know how to think of the rosters in terms of matchups, since SC is deeper in veteran talent than UConn. But if we limit the comparison only to the top 7 or 8, I think it’s close to being a wash. Kitts and Bree are sort of unaccounted for on their side. But Azzi and Aubrey are unaccounted for on ours. And I’ve left Milaysia out of consideration almost entirely. She can be an ‘X’ factor, or she can lose herself in games.

And my personal favorite on SC’s roster is Tessa, and she is hard to compare to any one at UConn. She and Paige knew each other in high school and played against each other a few times. From the time she was a freshman in high school, she was already the person the rest of the team relied upon. Does that sound familiar? I thought she was an incredible find by Dawn and I’m amazed there wasn’t more competition in her recruitment. Should I compare her to Paige now and ask which is the better athlete?

I don’t mean to deny the tremendous athleticism of Dawn’s roster. They seem like the best 10-player rotation in D1 to me. But the gap between them and UConn is not as great as some seem to think. They have more veteran experience while UConn relies on 2 freshmen and 3 sophomores within the main rotation — this is who Paige Azzi and Kaitlyn have to lead and set examples for — and this doesn’t even include end of the bench. And while Joyce and Sarah are comparable in some respects, and Joyce is a tremendous athlete, there are other respects in which Sarah far outshines her. And besides Joyce, I don’t see anyone else who compares to Sarah either. That said, if Geno ‘goes small,’ Sarah could end up having to guard Sania or Joyce too much and not get to play her full game. On the other hand, if Ice and Jana can be relied on to keep Sania more or less in check, Sarah should dominate Chloe, or Bree, or anyone else for that matter. In effect, if Ice and Jana play well enough, they will force unfavorable matchups on SC when it comes to Sarah.

— If there are signs of the possibility of an NC on Geno’s roster, I think they can only be 1) Aubrey‘s return looks increasingly promising, 2) The chemistry among the Big Three is developing well, 3) Ash’s confidence in her shot is peaking, 4) Ice and Jana are playing good D, 5) Kaitlyn and KK are scoring more consistently, and 6) Morgan and Allie are making fewer defensive mistakes.

I kept reading "better athlete" over and over. I never once read about the elite scorers on SCar. and that is where UConn has a big edge. A much bigger edge than SCar's defense has over UConn.

If Pao Pao and Johnson start making a bunch of 3's SCar will be tough to beat. Or if not they could lose by DD's.

 

[Stagnant]

I disagree with something I read above. I think Dawn has better players. I think we only have 3 players that could play for south carolina. now the question is, did south carolina develop these players? Or did they outrecruit us? They also have a better balance on their roster with their bigs, their guards, and their wings. We have some more obvious flaws. They are better this year. I don’t think we will beat them.

But we don’t have to be better than them either. Iowa wasn’t better than them. But on one given day, they were. That’s what we will hope for.

For me Tennessee is the far more important game.

 

[Blueberries]

I disagree with something I read above. I think Dawn has better players. I think we only have 3 players that could play for south carolina. now the question is, did south carolina develop these players? Or did they outrecruit us? They also have a better balance on their roster with their bigs, their guards, and their wings. We have some more obvious flaws. They are better this year. I don’t think we will beat them.

But we don’t have to be better than them either. Iowa wasn’t better than them. But on one given day, they were. That’s what we will hope for.

For me Tennessee is the far more important game.

So despite the fact that Dawn and Geno recruit many of the same players, you believe that UConn only has 3 players who could play for South Carolina?

This seems like a recruiting flaw if true….

 

[Bone Dog]

So despite the fact that Dawn and Geno recruit many of the same players, you believe that UConn only has 3 players who could play for South Carolina?.

I sort of share your skepticism. But maybe it depends on how we phrase the question. If we mean, who on UConn could currently break into Dawn’s rotation, ie is better than an existing player, it’d probably be fair to say that Paige Azzi and Sarah are the only obvious ones. Ice could probably take the place of Dauda or Tac or Walker on the bench, but wouldn’t be able to supplant Feagin. Dawn would definitely have thought KK and Ash were worth recruiting, but would they replace Raven or Bree or PaoPao right now? Probably not. I also expect Dawn would have recruited Morgan if she thought she could get her. Same for Ayanna.

And as should be clear by implication , if we mean the question to ask, who could have made Dawn’s roster as freshmen and eventually earned a spot on her rotation, it’s a longer list. Dawn tends to recruit a slightly different type of athlete and teaches a different style of play. I’m pretty sure she could have built one of her trademark teams from more than three of Geno’s recruits. Of course, I also suspect she couldn’t have gotten Paige to come play in her system.

When freshmen arrive at UConn or SC, they have to develop themselves to earn playing time. But I suspect it is harder to learn Geno’s system than Dawn’s. Geno favors “Swiss army knife” types while Dawn appears to favor narrower, more focused talents. As examples, Watkins and Fulwiley could crack the rotation early without entirely remaking how they played offense in high school. Joyce Edwards is another case of this. She was an excellent power forward in high school and that is still how she plays. The main issue for Dawn is whether they can develop in terms of how they play defense.

By contrast, players often need time to fit themselves into the more rounded style of play Geno favors, the so-called positionless style. Morgan is a case in point. An injury slowed her progress a bit over the summer. But for that, I think she’d have made the rotation of a lot of top-25 teams already. And yet she’s still fighting to crack Geno’s rotation. And she’d still be fighting to crack Dawn’s rotation too.

This difference is why the question of what signs Geno could be seeing of the viability of an NC run is so difficult to see. He’s looking at a different development trajectory for his players than what we see on his main rivals. When we compare these teams in our minds, we’re often looking at apples and oranges, which makes eyeball assessments very tricky.

 

[Charliebball]

I kept reading "better athlete" over and over. I never once read about the elite scorers on SCar. and that is where UConn has a big edge. A much bigger edge than SCar's defense has over UConn.

If Pao Pao and Johnson start making a bunch of 3's SCar will be tough to beat. Or if not they could lose by DD's.

It's only an edge if UConn's elite scorers shoot well against a strong defense otherwise, their overall scoring stats are meaningless when it comes to winning the NC....