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

[HuskyNan]

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.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

— 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.

Well said.

 

[Just.A.Fan]

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!

No one deserves to win a NC, it must be earned on the court by beating each opponent until there are no more to beat.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

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.

You took the words out of my keyboard.....should have visited earlier. Thank you for excellent reply - we don't see much of what he sees. GA is making his judgment based on how the team is progressively performing in games and in practice towards what he knows will afford them a good chance for #12. Although we see the games, you won't see what he sees unless you know not only what to look for but must also replay over and over, isolating on each individual re: what they are doing and then see how the team is performing....whether it will eventually have a chance to deliver in March.

I never expected last year's team get as far as it did - he might have thought it possible but he never said anything about seeing daylight for an NC12 run....and this is true for all the Paige & company reached. Now he has.

 

[BlueSkyGLW]

No one deserves to win a NC, it must be earned on the court by beating each opponent until there are no more to beat.

Ahhhh.....do you really think they have been sitting around just waiting for it? They know the effort required - GA would not let them forget - and from all reports they are working their butts off in order to get over the hurdle they have been facing. For all this work, if they succeed in doing what GA is asking them to do with all the hard work in becoming the team they can be, then they will deserve it if they win NC12.

BTW, how many of the teams who have won the NC do you think did not deserve it for any reason: how they played, how they came together as a team and most of all, how they collectively worked hard to become the team able to do it in the crucible of the the championship game?

Yeah, I thought so.

 

[HuskyNan]

Here’s another. Ice committed as a sophomore and didn’t discuss her recruitment in the press.

 

[Stagnant]

South Carolina offering is a different conversation. You think Morgan Cheli or ice is breaking through in February 2025 and getting minutes at South Carolina if they were on the roster? I am saying no. That’s my opinion.

In my initial post on the matter, I mentioned player development and pondered if South Carolina is better at it than us.

 

[packwrap]

South Carolina offering is a different conversation. You think Morgan Cheli or ice is breaking through in February 2025 and getting minutes at South Carolina if they were on the roster? I am saying no. That’s my opinion.

In my initial post on the matter, I mentioned player development and pondered if South Carolina is better at it than us.

Yes both would. Of course that assumes the roster would be still 15, not go up to 17.

Why? Dawn, like Tara formerly at Stanford, makes a point to play everybody. You know in the recruiting discussion that you probably won't play more than 20 min, but you will compete every year for titles, get pushed to improve in practice, be part of the fam, and get to play more as a senior if you are loyal to SC. That's the program and style she has developed.

Geno historically has run a bit leaner. Stars playing 30min, only using 7-8 players, only rostering 11-12 players. This year's big team is an exception due reaction to recent injuries, and the good performance of the 3 freshmen.

 

[HuskyNan]

Sometimes I wonder why people bother to root for a team they perceive is so awful. Bad players, bad coaches, bad opponents- why are those people still here?

 

[GoUconn7961]

Dawn got better bigs the past few years.
Geno had what, three years of serious injuries?
Dawn has been successful of late. When she wins 12 National Championships and 4 back-to-back, then we can talk about coaching.

 

[GoUconn7961]

Sometimes I wonder why people bother to root for a team they perceive is so awful. Bad players, bad coaches, bad opponents- why are those people still here?

So true.